The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1908-09-18
IL NEGROES HELD
FOR CONSPIRACY
PLOT AGAINST WHITES DIS,
COVERED AT GREENWOOD.
Blacks at Ninety Six Said to Have
Conspired 10 Kill FoL4 Promi.
nent White Citizel.s,

September 12, about noon from Nine.
l. SIX in the custody Of Sheriff
M'A'll"n and rcputy S. cr;fr Charles
Dukes, rndcr Il warrant charging
them IN conspiracy. T'rc arrest Of
these negroes vas the Outcome or an
1nvcEl'"ali"n on ;...c pa.t oi e local
authorities and certain citizens IN
Greenwood. Very litt', was known
IN Ninety Six up to Saturday morn-
ing OF the proposed arrest or the
cause therefor, but several of the
leading citizens Of Ninety Six were
FULLY aware OF the situation, and the
bringing of the negroes to Greenwood
was decided upon rs the best method
to proceed in Il lawful and orderly
manner. Saturday evening :nothcr
ncGr" was arrested and brought here
on the same charge The negroes
first arrested are: p. b. Dean, S. r..
jackson. II preacher, Jas. Stephens,
Anderson Stephens, Ed. Harris, Tom
Bishop, Davcgo Williams, Wnymm
'IackS"n, John Calhoun. Zckc Chap
pell, another preacher, and Wade
Williams. The negro brought Sat
urday night WAS Press Goodwin.
The investigations, which led up to
the mrrSt of these negroes, started
III ''r"rnw"nd on Tuesday. Scptcm-
Der :. On that day Il certain negro
III Greenwood received by mistake IL
letter addressed to another negro in
Greenwood. and that letter. upon
which the whole cause han"s, as #
were. is the most important docu..
m"nI and development in the whole
affair. The great question is. is the
letter genuine or fake? This is thc
letter:
"Ninrty Six. September +. l9oS.
MIR. llartir Harris, Greenwood.
=. c.: We want You not io give us
away IN this me and Tom Bishop and
Rrv. I"kr thapprll is II committee
/" get up men to by Winchcstcrs, to
Tx for white folks in few days. We
arc going from 'liolSr to house at
night and shoot in, and they will
thlnk 1t is Tnlbcri Now, we want
N"u |" see how many at Greenwood
Will help. All Of us who come uu
there to Tolbrrt convention is in if.
but doe. Don't know anything about
tins. 1t IS lis. who is $. II. Jackson
there. We will he rcadv by Sunday
might I" start if our men "ct back.
Don I tell anyb"ly of this. and burn
ShlS letter mp. Let me know who will
v"'nr from there by Thursday.
(SI"nrm Wade WilliamS.'
AS stated above. his letter hv mis-
take WAS received by another party
Than the one to whom ii WAS address,
"d. This party, Il negro. states that
he started To put the letter back in
The lctt" back in the pnslnllicc, but
TralZmg the serious nature Of its con-
tents, Ire turned it over tn Chief of
Police Mct"mbS. The chief of police
immediately consulted with Sheriff
McMlllau and these two with several
other representative citizens began
the mNr>ligai ION.
The nr-r" who had received the
letter havin. himself been 4 resident
OF Ninety Six. MAS lun>t closely
questioned. He let il be known that
ne knew something of wha, was or
had been going on among the color
rd people at Ninety Six. Expressing
Tear i"r his own safety he was re-
lurianl I" hivul"c anything. Re
prai"d questioning finally brought
out the statement that two negro
societies at Ninety Six had been in
dulGing in incrn,liary talk against
the whites in their Sccrc, orders for
some time. These talks had been
more frequent and more violent since
the recent trouble at Ninety Six, as
'ihe result Of the local election on
the matter of issuing bonds to build
"A school house. The negro did not
connect any white person at all with
these talks. but stated that the talks
were original with the negroes and
confined exclusively to their own
secret orders. Ilc stated that the ne.
gro Odd Fellows Lodge at Ninety
Six was taking an active interest in
The matter as were the members Of
another secret society among the no.
grocs, known rs the "Kniehts Of the
Guiding Star of the East lie stat
cd that II committee from each of
these lodges had been appointed to
.hnNc q cOnfcrcncn with narL nthn,