davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Tupelo journal. (Tupelo, Miss.) 1876-1924, 1909-03-26
THE cOoPER-SHARP TRIAL
ENDED.


The Cooper armack trial,
which had dragged its weary
length through nineteen weeks,
was brought to a close Saturday
morning at Nashville. The jury
on Friday acquitted John Sharp,
and on Saturday morning brought
in a verdict of guilty of murder
in the second degree for the
'Coopers and fixed their punish
ment at Imprisonment in the
penitentary for a term of twenty
years.
The course of the trial has been
watched with considerable inter-
est by the public generally on
the account of the political aspect
of the case. The verdict..of the
jury was a disappointment to a
great many of Carmack's friends
who felt like.he had been assasi-
mated by the Coopers, and also
a surprise to many others who
believed that the Coopers should
have been acquitted.
AS soon as the verdict of the
jury was announced motion was
made for bail and Judge Hart
fixed the amount at twenty five
thousand dollars each, which the
defendants readily gave
The case will now go to the
Supreme Court where the judg-
ment Of the Lower Court will be
reviewed.
The Tupelo journal. (Tupelo, Miss.) 1876-1924, 1909-03-26
Good Pay, Short Hours.

A cottage and it's old mistress
had improved so greatly in COM
fort and appearance that visi-
tor shrewdly surmised that the
son Of the houses lazy ne'er- do
well had turned over new leaf.
He inquired about it.
Eyes, sir, my sons at work
now, said the smiling old moth
er. Makes good money, too.
All he has to do is twice a day at
the circus to put his head in the
lions mouth. The rest of the
time he had to himself.
The Tupelo journal. (Tupelo, Miss.) 1876-1924, 1909-03-26
Sale Of Land for Delinquent Taxes
State Of Mississippi

D 1922 the
fany
hhehxes mahunaM on tina
The Tupelo journal. (Tupelo, Miss.) 1876-1924, 1909-03-26

Theodore Roosevelt and his
party sailed from New York on
the steamship Hamburg for Ma
Piles, Italy, from which point the
Ex-President- will continue tt
journey towards Africa. Mr.
Roosevelt will find more strenu
Gus adversaries in the African
jungles than he foundin congress
the past four years.
The Tupelo journal. (Tupelo, Miss.) 1876-1924, 1909-03-26
The proposition to place a tar
if tax on stockings is bringi ng
forth a vigorous feminine kick
from all sections of the country.

The official organ of the Farm
er's Union will be hereafter is
sued from Jackson, with B. F.
Ward, Jr., as editor. Mr.. Ward
is a good newspaper man and is
we'll known throughout the state
as a forceful writer.
The Tupelo journal. (Tupelo, Miss.) 1876-1924, 1909-03-26
RATES OF ADvERTIS

DISPLAY advertisements at rate of
$1.O0 per running il ch per month OF
four weeks. Liberia, discounts made on
yearly contracts.
Notice of meetings of strictly chart
table organizations will be inserted one
time free; all other notices must be paid
for.
The Tupelo journal. (Tupelo, Miss.) 1876-1924, 1909-03-26

The Nashville jury fell far
short of the demands of some
people; they didn't hang the
Coopers, turned John Sharp
loose and failed to convict and
impeach Ham Patterson. But,
then the, jury couldn't read, a
fact not to be overlooked in con-
sidering the verdict they reached
The Tupelo journal. (Tupelo, Miss.) 1876-1924, 1909-03-26

1t is reported that E. H. Harri-
man will sailisoon from New Or
leans on his private yacht for
Panama for the purpose of in
specting the work on the Pana-
ma canal. Wonder if he intends
having tn e job declared off?
The Tupelo journal. (Tupelo, Miss.) 1876-1924, 1909-03-26

Chaplain J. William Jones, one
of the most widely known of the
Confederate Veterans, died at
Columbus, Ca, the 18th. DR..
Jones was the Historian of the
Confederacy, and contributed
many valuable papers to the his
tory of the lost cause.
The Tupelo journal. (Tupelo, Miss.) 1876-1924, 1909-03-26

You can always find the latest Styles
and novelties in Photographic card
mounts and folders at Jones Snudio.
The Elbert County tribune., 1909-05-06

to follow it. At that tine none OF US
knew much about tracking. and we
had had such bad luck after the ele-
plants that we did not think much
of our shikaries. and did not think
1t was much good. Abdullah persuaded
me and 1 went. After we u.I followed
the track for some distance l quite
caught his enthusiasm. and when the
single track was Joined by three 9TH
ers. I was divided between delight at
the prospect of having four lions all
to myself and the thought that per-
haps had more on my hands than
could manage alone.
After a track of about an hour we
came in sight of two or three big
thickets of 'irgin" bushes surrounded
by open mimosa scrub ano intersected
by narrow paths. My second shikari
at that time was a very tall fellow,
called jana. with enormous feet. Sew
eral times during the track Abdullah
had turned round to pitch into him for
making such noise. and now he con-
ddod to me that jana walk all same
cow" and that we had better leave
him behind here with the pony and
boy. as the lions were sure to be In
the place In front Of US. Knowing
nothing about 1t, | agreed and went
on with Abdullah. We were walking
quietly along the outside of one Of the
thickets when Abduilah suddenly
clutched me by the arm and pointed
towards tree standing on the edge
of the bush yards of. The tree was
divided into two towards the bottom.
and the sun was throwing the shadow
of bush on the ground inside the
hollow.
This was where AbduIlah was point
ing. getting more excited but l could
make out nothing at all. until . great
yellow beast moved suddenly out of
the shadow and slipped away on the
far side. fred from the hip. letting
off both barrels into the tree. We
rushed round to the other side of the
thicket just In time to see q fine
lioness come out. I could not get a
clear shot at once, and when did,
after running some distance, l was
shaking SO that could not get on her
at all, and missed. She kept lobbing
along just ahead. every now and then
stopping to look around and show her
teeth at US. Each time she stopped
The Elbert County tribune., 1909-05-06

We had shot or two at the sound.
and the beasts. whatever they were.
went away. AS at that time we knew
nothing about lions, we were not
quite sure that they were net hyenas
after all; but Abdullah stuck to It
they were lions. so we got our beds
and lay down one on each side OF the
opening, just behind the fence to
watch. hoping that the brutes would
come back. Nothing fprti r happened.
however. At daybreak we sailed out
to see II by any chance we had man.
aged to hit lion. but we only found
two or three dead hyenas. One of
these brutes had been partly eaten:
we thought at the time by other hy-
enas. as 1t was still too dark to make
out tracks. We came to the conclu-
sion we had made idirts CT ourselves,
and had been shooting all night at
hyenas, and we did not feel any the
better when our friends came back
from their night at the village and
told us we had probably frightened
every lion out of the country by our
bombardment.
The Elbert County tribune., 1909-05-06

hill again; but here. 700. we were dis
appointed, and gravitated back to
where we had first lost the spoor. We
knew that the lion had not gone
straight on, nor had he turned back:
the ridge and then crossed into other
stony hills where Is was hopeless to
try to track him.
Abdullah. who is never. defeated,
said there was big river-bed further
on In the direction In which the lion
was going. 1t seemed a very slender
chance, as he might have turned on
anywhere In between. but 1t was the
only one. SO of we went. We were
evidently in luck that day. for we had
only gone about a quarter OF a mile
when we struck the spoor. The lion
seemed now to have made up his
mind as to his direction, for he kept
on straight down the middle of the
river-bed- The sun had come out from
behind the clouds. and in places the
sand was very deep, 80 that we were
not sorry when at last the track led
into little island of bush in the
great fiat sand. There was no doubt
the lion was at home, for on casting
round no sign was perceptible Of a
track coming out. The island, raised
little above the river-bed, was
formed of a mass Of thick-tangled
bush and creepers clustered round a
few big trees. The water coming down
the river after heavy rain had WASHED
1t roughly into the form Of triangle,
the apex of which pointed up the
river. From this point the sides
widened out to the other end. which
was about thirty yards broad, the
whole length being somewhat urder
a hundred yards.
The Elbert County tribune., 1909-05-06

shot, but SO badly that l wasted
seven bullets at different ranges
without touching her. The hrst six
did not seem to annoy her AT all. but
the last hit the ground just under her
teeth. and either the bullet so close.
frightened her or q stone hit her. for
she sprang on with snari and .
flourish OF her tail and. putting ON the
pace. In q minute or two ran clean
away from US. was terribly disap-
pointed and annoyed with myself. and
l thought of course. that everything
was over for the day after all this
shooting; but Abdullah. who was al
most weeping. hardly gave me time
to get my wind little before he
rushed me back again. AS we ran
round the place where We had first
seen the lloness, fine lion appeared
walking slowly out OF another thicket
towards us. AS l shot, he turned
and plunged thorugh an opening in the
bushes to our right. We ran round an
outstanding bush to head him II he
broke out. and met a lion facing US. Just
as fired ! heard moan to the right,
30 was sure 1t was not the same lion.
and fell stone dead close by.
Death Of the Jungle Lord.
Abdullah called up jana and the
pony boy. and they soon had the hide
OF and tied on the pony. thought
all the time that Abdullah knew all
about the other one. but as he seemed
to be going right home. asked him II
we had not better go and look for 1t,
and he replied that 1t was the same
lion all the time. and that had
missed 1t the first shot. did not feel
quite sure about 1t myself, but the
moan In the bushes could only have
come from a wounded beast. 80 told
him we had better go and look any
way. He evidently thought II was
waste of time, but when we got back
to where the lion had been hit we
soon found some blood. and going
quietly down little path between the
''irgin" bushes we came round cor
ner almost on top OF the lion. He was
stone dead. l was very pleased at
scoring on Abdullah. as he mad shown
such evident disgust at my shooting
We met one OF our party on our way
back to camp, and told him he might
run across the lioness II he followed
come from. An hour after we got
back to camp he came galioping up.
having seen two lions. curiously
enough both males. and had shot one
with a better name than either Of
mine.
have at another time described
The Elbert County tribune., 1909-05-06

point one could easily command the
whole of it. The lion was almost GER
tain to break out of ono Of the sides
towards the bush on the banks OF the
river-bed, in which case l should get
an easy broadside shot. II We fol-
lowed the track into the place, the
noise we were sure to make would be
very likely to get the beast on his
legs, and he would sneak out at one
side as we went in at the other. es
pecially as the water had left lot of
dead sticks along the edges, over
which 1t would be impossible to walk
quietly. Abdullah also said that from
the way he had wandered about this
lion must be very hungry, and would
sleep lightly. These considerations
decided us to drive. l posted myself
with Abdullah a few yards out from
the point. and the other two men, hav-
ing collected some stones. began throw
ing them In at the far end. Abdullah
was right about this lion sleeping
lightly; for at the first stone there
was a growl and crash In the bushes
and then, for minute or two, not a
sound. The men started to walk down,
one ON each side. shooting and throw
ing In stones. was watching them, and
wondering what had happened to the
lion, when there was faint cracking
Just in front of US. and he appeared at
the point of the island. Although we
were standing within few yards of
him, and absolutely in the open. he
did not see us.
He was facing straight towards us.
and was so close that | did not like
to fire at him as, on receiving the bull
let, he would be very likely to plunge
in the direction he was going and be
into us: nor did l want him to come
any closer; so. as he stepped down ON
to the sand. moved my rife up
towards my shoulder to attract his at
tention. He saw the movement at
once. stopped dead. and turned his
head sharply towards US. For the
fraction of a second thought he was
going to be startled into charging.
but he plunged of to the left with an
angry snarl at us over his shoulder.
As he passed pulled, and he skated
along on his stomach and fell down a
little ledge in the sand. This slowed
him round, and he lay facing us.
spread-easled on the sand. evidently
The Elbert County tribune., 1909-05-06

two different methods OF hunting lions
One OF them could hardly be called
method at all. us 1t depended on
news brought in by natives as to
where lion had actually been seen.
The second plan consisted of tying
up a donkey for bait, and sitting up
to watch at night A much more in
teresting way of hunting lions than
either OF these and very success
full one II the native shikaries en-
ployed are any good, is this process
of tracking them. A lion lies up in
some cool, shady place for the day,
unless the sky is overcast and the
sun cannot get out, when he will oc-
casionally be found hunting at any
hour. II you can strike his spoor Of
the night before there Is a very good
chance Of following it up to where
the lion lies, should the ground be
suitable. There Is no form of hunt
ing SO exciting as this. When the
spoor Is found there Is generally
nothing to show II you have struck
It early or late in the lions wander
ings, SO that It is quite a chance
whether 1t leads you for hours over all
sorts of country. or whether, after half
mile down on sandy river bed or
path, 1t turns off into a thick patch
of reeds or bush close by. where the
lion is lying. It Is extraordinary how
the excitement grows as time goes on,
and still you keep the track some
times very slowly, where only now
and then part of footprint can be
seen on soft place between the
stones, at other times as fast as you
eau walk over soil where the track
is visible many yards ahead. And
when the spoor is lost and minute
after minute goes by while you cast
about vainly in every direction. how
wretched you are. and how quickly
your spirits rise again when low
whistle or swapping of the fingers an
nounces that one Of the trackers has
hit 1t OF further on!
At last certain signs show that you
are getting near the end; the trackers
take OF their sandals and tuck up
their loin-cloths under their belts, lest
a corner tapping In the wind should
scare the lion. For the first time you
take your rife from the native who
has had charge of 1t, and. with your
head shikari carrying second ride.
The Elbert County tribune., 1909-05-06
Reading the Lion Tracks.

Abdullah rtill insisted that there
had been lions round the camp. and
a little later We found the spoor Of
one big lion by the body Of the half
eaten hyena- The ground was very
stony and there were no other tracks
to be seen, but one lion could hardly
have dragged the donkey and heavy
barrel away SO quickly, SO there were
probably more. The other hunters
had got hold of man at the village
who said he knew where the lions
always lay. SO they went with aim.
Soon after they left. Abdullah. who
had been hunting about. came and
told me that he had picked -p the
track OF one non on soft ground lit
tie way from camp, and that we ought
The Elbert County tribune., 1909-05-06

side, and 1t was evident that some
thing was attacking our donkeys. 1t
was pitch dark. and we frs several
shots In the direction of the sound
before we discovered that the attack
Ing beasts were hyenas. We did not
mind having donkey killed instan-
taneously by a lion. but we had not
bargained for the poor beasts getting
mauled BY hyenas, so taking a lamp
we went out to see what had hap
pened. My donkey had got of with
nasty bite In the hollow of the hind
leg above the hook, and we had him
taken into tue camp at once. The
other was completely disembowslled
and must have been killed instantly.
We could not find any dead hyenas.
but we were pretty sure that on. or
two must nave been hit. Eeeing that
If the lions did come to the dead dom
key there would not Je much chance
of hitting them on SO dark a night.
we pulled the carcass right under the
skerm or fence round the camp, and,
to prevent hyenas dragging 1t away,
Z tied rope to one of its legs, and
passing 1t over the fence, fastened 1t
to heavy water barrel inside the
camp. We sat up for q bit and got
few shots at hyenas, and then we
went to bed. telling the sentry to keep
sharp lookout and to let us know II
lions came to the carcass.
Some time after I awoke to find
Abdullah bending over me, with my
rife In his hand. He was frightfully
excited. and all could get out of him
was "Libah. sahib. llbahi" ('Lion, sir.
lion!") Jumping up l rushed out Just
as my companion fired two shots into
the darkness. The first thing I saw
when l got to where he stood was that
great piece of the skerm round the
camp had disappeared. leaving a
broad gap. I could not for a moment
think what had happened, and then 1t
struck me that when the carcase had
been dragged away the water barrel
must have got hitched against the
Inside Of the interlaccd minosa
boughs and the whole lot had gone to-
gether. 1t was frightfulIy dark out
side. and we stood peering out for
some time without being able to dis
tinguish anything; but after q few
minutes we could hear something
tearing at the flesh quite close by.
The Elbert County tribune., 1909-05-06
l. / n
Shooting
Son1a1i1and
BY Lord Deldmere

Foremost among the great hunt
ing authorities of the English speak
ing World IS Lord Delamere. lie is
credited NTH being the heaviest kill
er IN the party which 6agged the
record number of african lions some
feO pears ago. In East Central At
rios his prowess is familiar to every
'atise. Not long ago locality beset
Wssh lions sent a delegation four
husdred miles to call on Lord Deld-
mvs to ask him to come and toipe
o0t the destroyers of their cattle. In
this article he vividly contrasts the
theory and practice of lion hunting
IN the region which Br-President
Rsssecelt tDilI invade.
The Elbert County tribune., 1909-05-06

Agitation regarding the pay OF
French military officers has had some
effect. for the minister of war has
asked for an extraordinary credit Of
100000 to supplement the pay of the
officers. which has not been Increased
since 1870. In that time nearly every
grade of state official has had his sti-
pend raised. but the sub-lieutenant has
had to make both ends meet as best
he could with six francs day and
the lieutenant with eight
The Elbert County tribune., 1909-05-06
| j
|g@|

Two of my men got badly mauled by
lion, SO our camp had to stop where
1t WIS till they could be moved. After
q time one of them was able to walk
about with his arm in a sling, and the
other was getting on we'll, SO one night
I decided to leave the big camp next
day and go with two or three camels
to some villages only a days march
away. Early the next morning Ma
homed Moor, the headman, started
with the camels. I stopped behind to
get some breakfast. Just as we were
going to follow, camelman, who had
gone up the river-bed close by to get
some water, came running back to say
that lion had been down to drink
at one of the shallow sand wells in the
night. | started at once with Abdul
lah and two other trackers, telling my
pony.boy to follow on as soon as he
could get the pony saddled. When
tracking. 1 have always found it the
best plan to have the pony led some
distance behind. The boy ought to
have no difficulty in following the
tracks of two or three men and
lion. and II the pony is kept close
up, It is sure to stamp or blow its
nose at the critical moment.
When we got to the well there was
the spoor plain enough in the sand.
but rather blurred by some rain which
had fallen at daybreak. This made
the tracking little difficult after we
left the river-bed. but when we had
followed it slowly for some distance,
we came to place where the lion had
lain down under a thick bush, evi.
IDENTIFY to shelter from the rain, as tie
spoor after this was quiet distinct on
the top of the damp ground. This
made US think we were in for short
track. for it must have been light
when the lion went on again from
here, and lions generally lie up short>
ly after the sun rises; but this day
proved an exception. be ,ause 1t was
cloudy and cool through tho forenoon.
Trailing the King of Beasts.
The spoor now led us along sandy
path, where we could follow 1t as fast
as we could walk. When 1t turned off
into the bush we quite expected to see
the lion at any moment; but not bit
of it-he wandered about through
endless olumps of mimosa a-d "irgin"
bushes, as II he did not mean to lie
up at all.
The track at last ed us down a
little sandy watercourse. which it fol-
lowed for some distance. Up to this
time we had had no real difficulty
In making it out, but now came our
first serious check. The nullah turned
Off along the side of a stony ridge,
and, instead of going along it, the
lion had turned up the hill. We had
got the general direction tn" the lion
had been going in, but this was no
good to us, as on casting forward in
the same line to the bottom of the
other side of the ridge where there
was some sandy ground, we could find
no sign of his having passed In that
direction. We spent some time hunt
ing about, growing less hopeful as
time went on. A man following
trail by sight certainly has an enor-
nous advantage over hound hunting
1t by nose, because time Is of no
particular object to him, and every
direction can be tried in turn. After
making out cast forward we went
back to the little water-course, and
followed that down for some distance.
scping that the lion had turned down
The Elbert County tribune., 1909-05-06
Perils Of the Man Eater.

My first experience In tracking lions
was early in 1892. and the night be-
fore was rather an exciting one. After
hunting elephants unsuccessfully for
about month. we were on our way
south. when we arrived one day at
some villages where the natives had
been very much bothered by five lions
which were said to be still In the
neighborhood. A girl had been killed
two days before. and an enormous
amount Of damage had been done
among the sheep and cattle. The first
day we camped there two Of our party
had shooting zerebas made at the vii
uage to which the lions generally
came. and just before sunset they
went on there.
l tied up our two donkeys Just out
side the camp. on the chance that the
lions might come and look US up. Just
after dark we were having dinner In
the tent when there was a scufle out
The Elbert County tribune., 1909-05-06

HE best piece OF
lion tracking l ever
saw lasted five full
hours and is SO
memorable in sew
eral respects that !
purpose to use it as
an Introduction to
that general method
of lion hunting.
The Elbert County tribune., 1909-05-06

quite unable to move. All the life In
him seemed concentrated in. his eyes.
which glared at us furiously. Another
shot put him out Of his misery. The
first shot. q very bad one, had grazed
the spine Just in front of the withers:
another quarter Of an inch higher and
1t would have missed alto -o.,er.
This lion was quite maneless, ex-
cept for few long hairs on each side
Of the neck. and his teeth were worn
down quite short, SO he was evidently
very old. He was In very good condi-
ton. notwithstanding. but his stomach
was quite empty, which accounted for
his going SO far before lying up. We
had to stop at the main camp for the
night when we got there. and did not
follow up our camels till the next day.
have described this track rather at
length because it is good example of
many similar days.
The Elbert County tribune., 1909-05-06
HospitabIe.

She-And did you enjoy your At
rican trip, major7 How do you like
the savages?
He-Oh. they were extremely kind
hearted! They wanted to keep mo
there for dinner.
The Elbert County tribune., 1909-05-06
Driving the Lion to Bay.

The shape made II \ easy place to
drive, for little way out from the