Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1909-02-26
THE MURDER OF CARMACK.
Progress Of the Trial Of the COOperS
and Sharpe.
ALL Three PRINCIPALS ON Stand.

ALL ihhII rhlNIlrALo oH oiAHD
Testimony Of the Defendants Intend:
to Show That There Was Nothing
rremeoItated In the killins-Just 4
Case pr ssIf-oetense.
Nashville, Tenn, Feb. '23.-The sixth
day of actual testimony in the case
VI Coi. Luncan 3. Cooper and koDIr
J. cooper and Jonn -. Sharpe, cnargeu
win the muruer OF former senator Il
w. CarmacK, closed with the aged oe-
lenuant, Col. cooper, on the witness
sIand. his own counsel were ques-
,.onIns nun, anu wnen court adjourned
lney animated tnat tney we're ABOUT
man through. rney mad taken MIN
over the trouble, commencing touI
years ago. and brought HIM down to
lne start from his sons once to the
sovernoEs mansion. 1t was during TINS
walk tnat the senator was kilied.
COL cooper made an excenent wit
ness. he appeared very cool, collected
ana a.Ihost disin.eresteu. Inc only
llme ne showed emotion was wnen
counsel were reading the editorials
wn,cn ied up to the killing. linen MS
already norId tace nushed more deeply
ana the scarlet stole up over his baio
mead, accentuating the whiteness OF
what little hair Is lett him.
mat the state will grill Col. Cooper
on cross examination to the limit OF
counsefs ability goes without saying
rossiply, too, this is why the defense
did not conclude direct examination OF
tie colonel today.
Following the announcement of Gen.
Garner that the state did not care to
further cross-examine Sheriff Sharpe
the defendant was briefly questioned
oy counsel for the defense. Gen. Nc
earn OF counsel for the state followed
with a few questions. Sharpe saio
ne made no statement about the snoot-
ing until called to the witness stand
yesterday. He said he had no engage
ment at the governors mansion wnen
asked to go there by the Coopers on
tne day or the shooting, having merely
agreed to accompany them.
Col. duncan b. Cooper was then call
ed to the stand. He Is short, heavy
SET and very norid, and somewhat bald
ana his scanty hair, like his moustache
IS very white. His eyes are GEAR ano
naro. He is "a years old.
Cooper gave his war record with
FOREST. Then he said:
II met Senator Carmack years age
at Columbia when he was quite young
L brought him to Nashville as editor
of the American and he remained with
me until 1892, when he went to Mem
phis."
Cooper said that in Memphis in 1892
Carmack wrote an editorial thanking
the witness for what he had done fol
MIN (Carmack). This editorial was al
lowed by both sides to go into the
evidence.
1t was Carmack's farewell, in which
he expressed regret at leaving the
American and gratitude to the paper
and it's friends. 1t closed with these
words: Il desir" to express especially
the regard l feel and the debt l owe
to Col. D. B. Cooper, under whose d.
rection 1 entered journalism. 1t Is
pleasant now TO be able to say that
can not recall a word or an incident
that ever marred the pleasure Of our
association"
Did you, after he left, maintain
friendly relations?" the witness was
asked.
Absolutely so. We corresponded
and the last very friendly letter l had
from him was in December, 1904.
A portion Of this letter was admitted
in evidence. 1t read:
Dear Colonel: have been trying
to get Senator Mitchell Of Oregon to
locate some good place for Van In
connection with the Panama canal, as
he is doing something for some one
else. l am inclined to think the best
thing Van can do is to tackle the pres
ident himself and tell him what he
wants. However, 1 will do anything
1 can"
The letter was signed Sincerely
your friend"
The Van referred to is a friend OF
Col. Cooper.
Cooper said he earned the title OF
colonel" in the army, being commits
stoned as a colonel to go into the Fed
eral lines and raise a Confederate bat
talon. He said the relations between
himself and Carmack were not cordia
during the Carmack- Taylor senatorial
contest. He said:
THE first offensive note appeared In
the Memphis NewsScimitar in 19OS.'
Cooper supported Taylor then. Witness
said that when he supported Patter-
son for governor Carmack ceased
speaking to him.
An editorial in the Memphis News
Scimitar Of March Is, 1908, was intro
duced in evidence in part as bearing
on Cooper's mental condition. Cooper
had been informed Carmack wrote 1t
The editorial referred to Col. Cooper
and Col. Gates as consistent boilers
who got together in support of the only
governor the Louisville & Nashville
railroad, in it's history Of crime anc
debauchery, ever owned"
The state objected to the tone o.
the voice in which Attorney Washing
ton read the paragraph and the cour'
offered to let the prosecution read Il
if he wanted to, but he declined.
Col. Cooper said that in the join
debates between Carmack and Patter'
son his name was used very often. II
began" he said ''in a spirit of ridicult
and later charged me with corruption
His first reference was to "a little bale
headed angel named Dune Cooper
Later referring to the angel M
asked If the angel was white or blacl
and were it's feathers tainted with
sulphurous SMELL"
"Who uas tho angel he was talkine