The Semi-weekly leader. (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1905-1941, 1909-02-24
THE MOSES OUTLAWS.
IA BLIND TIGER CASE, WITH AN UN.
USUAL FEATURE. IN THE NAY
OR'S COURT.
A Reputable White Lady and Deeply
IIumiIiated Wife appears as State
Witness Against Notorious
Negro Criminal.
The Court Gives Him the Limit and He
Appeals Citizens Mutter for an
Appeal to Hemp.

Mayor Hoffman had before HIM
last Saturday morning a blind tiger
case with at least one extraordinary
and unusual feature. So far as
The Leader has any recollection or
knowledge, it was the first time
that a reputable and worthy white
lady ever appeared here as one of
the chief witnesses for the State in
case of this character, the defend
ant in the case being Brookhaven's S
notorious ranking negro blind
tiger and habitual offender, Charley
Moses. The main facts of the case,
as brought out at the trial, and
learned by The Leader otherwise,
are given below:
Last fall a genteel looking busi-
ness man named L. B. Ligon and
his wife came from Gallatin, Tenn,
to Mississippi, first stopping a
while at Silver Creek, and then the
latter part of November coming to
Brookhaven, where they have since
made their home. Ligon appears
to be one of those unfortunate NOR
tails who, by heredity or over-self-
indulgence, has become seized of an
uncomfortable appetite for liquor,
when once he gets taste of it, and
it seems has been under the infiu-
ence of liquor, at times bordering
on mania portu, most of the time
! since his arrival in this city,
though, SO far as appears, never
disorderly. His wife, who is a
modest, lady-like, attractive young
woman, became very solicitous over
his continuous spreeing. and set
about learning from whence he was
supplied with liquor, as she had
been told Brookhaven was under a
prohibition law. From her hus-
1bandy or in some other. way, she
managed to learn that he was get
ting it from Charley Moses we'll
known dive in the northeastern
part of the city, and being a
stranger in the city and anxious to
avoid any humiliating publicity in
regard to her husband, and not un-
derstanding the character of negro
she had to deal with, conceived the
idea of paying a private visit to
Moses place and making personal
appeal to him to cease selling her
husband liquor, which she accord
ingly did, but, as the sequel prov
ed, in vain.
One day last week City Marshal
Smylie Blue got hold of this story
in some way through a third party
and decided to secure search war
rant from Mayor Hoffman and raid
and search Charley Moses premises
for liquor, which he did on Thurs
day. Six quart bottles of whisky
were found, three concealed in one
room Of the house and three in an
other, only one having the seal
broken and part Of the contents
gone. This was followed up by two
affidavits charging Moses with sell
ing liquor to Mr.. Ligon, one being
for violation of the city ordinance
against the sale of Intoxicating
liquors and one for violation of the
State law, and he was arrested and
the trial set for Friday morning.
However, the case had to be con-
tinued and reset for 8 O'Clock Sat-
urday morning. because Ligon was
too drunk and unsettled in his mind
to appear Friday morning to testi-
fly, and an attachment was issued
for him and he was taken into GUS
tody by Marshal Blue and Police
man Buchanan to sober up suffi-
,clently to understand what he was
talking about. The grieved and
humiliated young wife, with true
womanly devotion, ready to go to
the uttermost to save her husband
from the clutches Of the drink
demon, had signified her willing
ness to Mayor Hoffman to appear
as a State witness.
This was the general status of
matters when the case was called
in the Mayors Court Saturday
morning and Judge Hoffman, sitting
both as Mayor and ex-oficio a JUS
| tic of the Peace in the city, pro-
ceeded to try Moses on both affi
davits simultaneously.
City Marshal Blue was the first
witness placed on the stand. He
told about the search he had con-
Quoted when he raided Moses
premises and found the six quarts
! of booze. Charley Moses was not
| at home at the time, he said, but
his wife, Belle Moses, was, and
before he began the search met him
| at the door and stoutly denied that
there was drink of liquor on the
place. She became SO demonstra-
| tive and impudent at one time that
the. marshal threatened to take a
chair to her. In addition to the
whisky found, Marshal Blue testi-
fled that he noticed in one room
four empty whisky cases. three Of
them but recently emptied; three
or four empty barrels in which bot
tiled beer had apparently been
| lately received and a goodly lot of
Iempty beer and whisky bottles in
| the back yard.
With very serious air His Hon