The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1910-12-07
AWFUL Times
On the Circus Train on Which Young
Williams Was Murdered.
TRUE BILL IN The CASE

TRUE BILL IN The CASE
George Nichols, John Wilson, Elijah
Clark and Garland Brown Are
Charged With the Brutal Murder
of tho Young Man From Column
bia While on the Train.
At a special term Of court ordered
by Governor Ansel, the general ses-
sions court for Lexington County on
Monday entered upon the trial OF
several defendants for the murder
and robbery Of young Paul Williams
Of Columbia, which occurred October
2 last, on a special train over the
Southern railway, carrying the Ha3-
enbeek G Wallace circus to Augusta
from Columbia. Judge George w.
Gage OF Chester is presiding.
The evidence Monday gave some
idea of the wholesale pillase of the
first section of the Hagenbeck-Wal-
lace circus train by bands Of riotous
circus employees, white men and ne
groes, which took place in the early
morning of October 2, between Col
umbia and Augusta. and during
which Paul Williams was shot and
! robbed.
The circus men were paid off in
Columbia on October L. In the
privilege" car on the first section
OF the train going to Augusta there
was an abundance of whiskey. The
roughs and toughs of the circus gang
proceeded to get tanked and robbed
or "red lighted" their fellow en-
ployes. In circus parlance, red
lighting" is throwing a man of the
train and letting him see If he Is
able, the red signal lamps on the
caboose. FELTON, Gilbert, a negro,
who testified against Dave Woods
and Ed. White, was among those
red lighted" during the riot.
Masked bands Of negroes and
white men, armed with pistols, roam
ed the train on the night Of October
3, robbing and "red lighting" prom
iscuously. Members Of one Of thest
gangs shot Paul Williams and threw
his body overheard. George Mich
OILS, Elijah Clark, Garland Brown and
John Wilson are charged with being
the guilty men. In their stories each
excerpts himself, but declares that
the other three did the bloody work.
The first indictment handed the
grand jury by George Bell Thinner
man, solicitor, was that charging
George Nichols, Elijah Clark, John
| Wilson and Garland Brown with the
murder Of Paul A. Williams ana
with carrying concealed weapons.
The grand jury returned a true bill.
The four men charged with the
murder are very low types. George
Nichols, the white man, about thirty
years old, has a weak, vicious face.
On his chin Is a heavy growth OF
beard. Elijah Clark is a coal-black
negro, with the features, arms aud
torso of a gorilla. He was named
in two of the true bills returned by
the grand jury, besides the one
charging that he murdered Paul Will
liams. John Wilson and Garland
Brown are both mulettoes. John
Wilson, the younger Of the two is
not over twenty years old. He claims
that he was born in London, Eng
land. He has a letter from his
sister, written from Springfield. O.,
in which she advises him to com
mend himself to God" Garland
Brown is a thick-set mulatto, with
a low, receding forehead.
In the case, the court appointed
as counsel for the dtfense Messrs. j.
B.. Wingard of Lexington, and Bar
rett Jones Of Batesburg. Solicitor
Zimmerman has secured several I'M
portant statements, practically con-
LESSONS, from various ones Of the
defendants and witnesses. The sub
stance Of some of these statements Is
as follows
Garland Brown, colored: I was In
1t, me, Elijah Clarke. John Wilson
and George Nichols. (Nichols is a
white mani. Nichols said: Come
ON, know exactly where he is.
Made two fellows jump off. Paul
Williams said: Don't kill me, don't
kill me-" John Wilson said: &C.
d. you, I am going to kill you.
You are too damned hard on negroes
down here in the South" And then
hit shot him in the head and Made
Cabe G.. o. Cabe, white, a witness)
jump, and shot again. I had a pistol.
Nichols had a sack, making as II 1t
was a pistol. After that he goes t.
another wagon, where / work. E.
Clark hit another fellow called
Shine" over the head with a pistol.
Geogre Nichols was saying: "Giye
me the gun" George Nichols had
on a black shirt with sleeves rolled
IN opd a h;p b1onR u1oupb hat