The Lexington dispatch. [volume] (Lexington, South Carolina) 1870-1917, 1909-05-26

SneriH WVulu'0S Sioyei W." !"
PenitentiaY-Had Had Nothing to
Eat in More Than Three Days and
Was Almost Starved-Good Work
Of Deputy Sheriff MiIIer-sheriff
CorIey Improving.
Ed Bynum, the negro who shot
Sheriff P. II. Corley week ago to-
day, is now safe behind the prison
walls of the State penitentiary. With
out having closed his eyes for one
moment and nearly starved to death
by his more than three days and
three nights sojourn in the swamps
of the sand hills, Bynum weak and
almost driven to frenzy, walked
into his brothers. home about Is miles
from Lexington at daybrake Saturday
morning and stated that he was ready
to give ur.
He remained in his brothers. barn
all day Saturday and was carried to
Columbia Saturday night by Mr.. Jake
Oswald, his son, Willie D. Oswald and
Tillman Taylor. The long journey
was begun at 8 O'clock Saturday night
and at O'Clock Sunday morning the
Governors mansion was reached.
The party went around through the
Dutch Fork, crossing the river at
Longs ferry.
Deputy Sheriff Miller had been on
the hunt night and day for Bynum
since the crime was committed, and
to him the credit of the negro's cap
ture is due. When he realized that it
would be an impossibility to run the
man down with dogs, he went to By
NUNS father, gained his confidence,
and the old negro assured Mr.. Miller
that he would see to it that his son
gave up. True to his 1wofd, the OLD
man came to Lexington to see Mr..
Miller Saturday morning and to tell
him to come get the boy, but Mr..
Miller was in Columbia and did not
see him. Bynum left word with Mrs.
Miller for Mr.. Miller to come to his
house as soon as he came home. This
he did, but upon arrival it was learned
that some parties had told Bynum's
brother that crowd would surely
lynch Ed if he remained in that neigh
borhood Saturday night, and, becom-
ing frightened at this, Mr.. Oswald
was asked to carry him to Columbia,
and the party had left before Mr..
Miller and the old negro got there.
Henry Bynum, the father of Ed
Bynum, came to Lexington Sunday
morning to get Mr.. Miller to 'phone
to Columbia to see if his son had ar
rived there safely. He was very
much disappointed that Mr.. Miller did
not get to carry out his plans. He
told The Dispatch man that. had it
not been for the efforts of Mr.. Miller,
his son woald not have given up. He
stated also that he was glad that he
had given up, and That he wanted't he
law to take it's course. He said that
no defense would be attempted; that
Ed would plead guilty and ask the
courts mercy.
Mr.. Oswald said that Byn um told
him that he had not had anything to
eat in more than three days, and had
not been inside of house until he
reached his brothers Saturday morn
pg. He said that he had Waded the
run of creek, hiding here and there
beside the banks, to elude the posse
and to throw the dogs off his trail.
Bynum remained in the swamps
and was out in ali tie rain that fell
last week, and was nearly dead from
exposure. He says that crowd was
right in behind him Th ursday night,
and it seemed that his time was up:
He heard them coming and ducked
beneath a bridge while the crowd
passed over him. He heard them
talking about what they would do
with him, and recognized some of the
voices. He says he knows that he
did wrong and is sorry for it.
Deputy Sheriff Miller and his friends
are Justly indignant over the pub
lished re ports in some of the papers,
giving Detective Broom, of Columbia,
all the credit, when it was the work
of Mr.. Miller that caused Bynum to
give up.
While there is no objection to the
negro's being carried to Columbia, it
is generally believed that he could
have been kept in the Jail here in per-
feet safety and there would have been
no attempt at lynching. In fact, in
the true meaning of the word, there
was never any danger of lynching.
The negro would have been shot down
like a rabbit, because he was thought
to be heavily armed and the desper-
ateness of his nature was known to
every member of the posse.
Bynum will be brought back to Lex
ington for trial at the approaching
term of court which convenes on the
second Monday in June, with Judge
Robert Aldrich presiding.