The times and democrat. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1881-current, 1908-09-18
nELDFOR CONSPIRACY
ALLEGED PLOT AGAINST WHITES
DISCOVERED AT GREENWOOD.

ID
DISCOVERED AT GREENWOOD.
BacIzs at Ninety-six Said to Have
oonspired to kin Four Prominent
white Citizens.
& Eleven negroes were brought to
greenwood Saturday, September II,
about noon. from Ninety-Six, in the
custody Of Sheriff Mcmillan and De-
patty Sheriff Charles Dukes. under a
warrant charging them with con-
spiracy. The arrest of these negroes
+ was the outcome Of an investigation
on the part Of the local authorities
and certain citizens in Greenwood.
Very little was known in Ninety-Six
up to Saturday morning Of the pro-
posed arrest or the cause therefor,
hut several Of the leading citizens
Of Ninety-Six were fully aware of
the situation, and the bringing OF
s the. negroes to Greenwood was de-
cided upon as the best method to
{ proceed in a lawful and orderly man
ner. Saturday evening another
negro was arrested and brought there
on the same charge. The negroes
first arrested are: P. B. Dean. S.
IT. Jackson, a preacher. Jas. Step
hens, Anderson Stephens. Ed Har-
( ris, Tom Bishop, Davego Williams,
Wayman jackson, John Calhoun,
Zeke Chappell. another preacher, and
Wade Williams. The negro brought
Saturday night was Press Goodwin,
The investigation, which led up to
the arrest of these negroes, started
in Greenwood on Tuesday, Septem-
Der 8. On that day certain negro
in Greenwood received BY mistake a
letter addressed to another negro in
3 Greenwood, and that letter, upon
which the whole. case hangs, as it
were, is the most important docu-
nent and development in the whole
affair. The great question is, is the
letter genuine or fake? This is the
letter:
"Ninety-Six, September Z, 1908.
''Mr. Hartie Harris, Greenwood, s..
c.: We want you not TO give us
away in this me an Tom Bishop and
Rev. Zeke Chappell is committee
to get up men to buy Winchesters, to
fix for white folks in a few days.
We are going from house to house at
night and shoot in. and they will
think 1t Is Tolbert. Now, we want
you to see how many at Greenwood
tfwiI help. All of us who come up
there to Tolbert Convention is in it.,
but Joe. Don't know anything about
this. It is US. who is s. T. Jackson
there. We will be ready by Sunday
night to start If our men get back.
Don't tell anybody of this, and burn
this letter up. Let me know who
will come from there by Tuesday.
f"Signed) Wade Williams.
AS stated above, this letter by mis-
take was received by another party
than the one to WHOM it was address
ed. This party, q negro, states that
\ he started to put the Letter back in
postofice, but rcalizing the seri-
M bus nature of its contents, he turn
Ia it over to Chief Of Police. Nc
Combs. The chief of police imme-
diately consulted with Sheriff McMil-
Ian and these two with several other
representative citizens began the in
Eestigation.
s~s'S The negro who had received the
letter, having himself been resi-
: dent. of Ninety-SiX was most closely
questioned. He let it be known that
knew something OF what was or
ad been going on among the color
people at Ninety-SiS. Expressing
Ear for his own safety he was reluc-
Int to divulge anything. Repeated
nestioning finally brought out the
seatement that two negoe societies at
s,ssineSy-SiE had been indulging in in
r denciary talk against the whites in
their secret orders for some time.
! These talks had been more frequent
and more violent since the recent
\ trouble at Ninety-Six, as the result
pf the local election on the matter Of
issuing bonds to build 4 school house.
Fhe negro did not connect any white
person at all with these talks, but
stated that the t;Iiks were original
with the negroes and confined ex-
clusiveIy to their own secret orders.
He stated that the negro Odd Fel-
lows Lodge at Ninety-SiX was TAX
y ing an active interest in the matter,
las were the members of another Sc
ecret society among the negroes,
j known. as the knights Of the Guild
ing Star of the East" He stated that
committee from each of these
sdges had been appointed to have 4
Spference with each other as to the
rchase OF guns, and to do certain
er things, so he had been inform
After considerable p3ricylnS nc