Milford chronicle., 1911-06-30

! who resides near Seaford, told of bein
] in Laurel the night of the murder an
a SAW the rioting. He stated he was stand
. ing around the corner of the printin
: Office and lust went down to see what wa
! going on. as he saw a large crowd con
. gregated and loud words being spoken
He testified as to seeing Stockley whe
he started down the street and was look
ing in the direction in which the negroe
were alleged to have been shooting. II
said Stocklev was facing the direction o
Wright's house heard three shots an'
saw the Young man fall Stockley, h
, said. tried to scramble to his feet ant
said. I'm shot He told of severa
shots being fired by the whites while HI
. was standing near the printing office, bu
could not tell who was taking part IN It
County Engineer William J.. Mustard
of Georgetown. testified TO the distances
of the several points brought out, and eN
planned the location where the riOtOus
crowd were alleged to have been at the
time Stockley was shot. State Detective
Walls testified that he knew StOCkley was
deed; Drs. Iones and Hitch, OF Laurel,
who made somewhat of an examination
of the wound as to its nature and the re-
suits attendant upon it, each of whom
agreed that it was the cause of his death
which resulted in his death the following
dav. W. Downs, who conducts business
not far from the stables, told of some
cOlored men who wished to purchase a
revolver from him but did not pay any
attention to what they were saying, and,
I in fact, knew little about what was going
on where he heard the shooting.
The State at this point concluded its
/ testimony, and Immediately Mr.. Tunnel
of counsel for the defence asked the Court
/ to give binding instructions to the jury
to return a verdict of not guilty arguing
| that the proof in the case did not connect
! Wheatley with the crime. In reply Deputy
Attorney General Jones stated that II was
the first time he ever knew of the Court
being asked to give instructions to the
jury to return a verdict in murder case,
and thought he had shown quite clearly
why Wheatlev had been made a connect
ing link with the crime The Court re-
fused to entertain the motion of counsel
for the defendant saying that 1t was a
question of facts for the jury and not the
Court 10 determine.
Dr. Hitch was the first witness called
for the defense and told of the trouble.
He said he was directly in back of Stock
ley when the latter was shot and it was
lucky for him that Stockley was in front
for had it been otherwise he would have
received the load. He had Just come out
of an office and was crossing to the OppO-
site side of the street when Stockley fell.
He said he thought the bullet which hit
StOckley came from the side of the street, 1
diagonally from where Wheatley was said
to have been when the young man was
shot. Everything was in an uproar, he I
stated, and many shots being fired IN
nearly all directions. He told of making /
an examination of the wound and stated 4
that the bullet rebounded as the ragged /.
edge and the increased size of the wound I
was proof. When a bullet enters the .
body, he said, the hole is about half the I
size of the ball, but when 1t rebounds and .
comes out it causes ragged edges and /
causes the hole to be a fraction larger .
than the bullet, and owing to this being .
the case he was positive that the ball had /
come out.
Wheatiey was then put on the stand in
his own behalf and told the complete
story. He said he was in the livery stables
of Whaley, working, and repeatedly kept /.
hearing shots about the town, but he
too busy at work. He told of five or six n
white men appearing at the stable door
and talking in low tones He said he did II
not know any of them, but asked if the G n
was anything he could do for them or d II
they want to see Mr. Whaley He sHd \
he was in the act of hanging up a VIII p \
in a little Office at the stable when TWO OF
the men swatted him, one side of the
him unconscious He stated he did not
know how long he remained in that con
litiou but about three minutes after
coming to his senses he saw Hitch and
Collins, who told him he had better get
away from the stables for there was
gang of whites who were trying to drive
he uegross from town Procuring his
pistol from his vest pocket which he said
lad been given him that morning by the
Nhaleys, he put it in his pocket and left
or the purpose of going to Whaley' 5
lOuse to tell him about tile five or six
men coming to the stables and accosting
lin. He said he started up the street,
With the hope of avoiding any of the
rouble, and when he had gotten near
he residence of Wright the whites were
making such an onrush that he drew his
pistol and shot in the air twice Just to
ct them know there were FIRE arms down
hat way. Before he shot he said a shot
rom a gun entered his head. He stated
lie did not shoot in the crowd but at AN
.ngle of forty-five degrees. - During the
ioting hewas shot in the eve and blinded, /,
nut he said he never received any medi-
al attention because he had heard about
.aurel that any nigger who was wounded
would get no attention from the doctors. Z"
ie did receive treatment. however, about
our days after in Jail at Georgetown from
he Jail physician, DR.. James H. Chip
nan. Wheatley said Collins, who was
With him was shot and that after he re-
eived his wounds he went to the home
Hitch where Mrs. Hitch gave him at
autiOn until the next day when he went
o the home of Collins mother where he
emained until a short time before his !
rest. Wheatley is a negro of small 4
tature and claims his home is at Seaford
lie had not been in Laurel very long
'rior to the riot, and was not very well
nown by the people of the town. He is
man of remarkable intelligence for one
{ that race, is a fluent talker, and mast
RS English very we'll. Despite the ef
)rts of the Deputy Attorney General, he
dheres to his story and has made but
Its Quite Different Now.
A few years ago, if people wanted