The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1912-08-29
COLLETON PLANTER SHOT AT.
Discharged Negro Seeking His Life
Around Green Pond.

]. NJ. Pennington, planter and
merchant of Green Pond, Colleton
county, with a residence also in Char
lesion, is seeking protection against
negro bandit on his plantation who
has twice recently shot and wounded
him from ambush, and has so terror
lied the other negroes of the vicinity
that he has persistently foiled all the
attempts that have been made to cap
ture him, at present being in hiding
somewhere near Mr.. Pennington's s
Green Pond plantation threatening
to kill the proprietor at the first op-
portunity. He has twice come 80
near carrying out his threat that Mr..
Pennington is unable to attend to
his business properly as he has to be
cautious about remaining on his
place after dark, and as the Colleton
county authorities have so far failed
to relieve the situation, the planter
was to-day in cosultation with the
local police authorities to see if they
could help him out of the difficulty.
AS the negro desperado, whose
name is Cato Payton, is in another
county, the local officers of the law
can do nothing in Mr.. Pennington's
behalf, so that he is looking for a
private detective or officer of some
kind who will undertake to hunt
down and capture the fugitive. A
reward of $50 for his apprehension
has been unavailing, as the hands on
the plantation and other negroes of
the vicinity are so intimidated that
they will not try to catch Cato, and
he has easily kept out of the hands
of the Colleton county officers. Only
yesterday, when Mr.. Pennington was
down at Green Pond on the planta-
ton and attending to the neglected
business of the store, several of his
negroes brought him word that Cato
was hiding in the woods nearby
and was waiting for a chance to
shoot his former employer. Mr..
Pennington has a buckshot in his
back and several birdshot buried un-
der the skin of his face, two of them
having gone in the corner of his eye
and lodged in the temple, as result
of Catos attempts on his life, so that
he is taking no more chances on
hunting him down through the woods
single-handed, but has determined to
get the desperate some way.
1t was only two weeks ago that
Cato was a hand on the Pennington
place. 1t came to the proprietor's
notice, however, that the man was
Systematically stealing clothing and
food from the store, during the night.
One day Mr.. Pennington went armed
to the negro's cabin and made him
bring out a quantity of stolen goods
and return them. He then obtained
warrant for Cato's arrest and ask
ed the constable to serve it on him,
but the matter was clumsily handled
and the negro got away to the woods
where he has been hiding since. The
next day word was brought to Mr..
Pennigton that Cato had sworn to
shoot him in revenge for his attempt
ed arrest. So that night upon hear
ing noise outside, the merchant left
his house by the front way, stalked
around and found Cato at the back
with a gun leveled on the back door
which is the one generally used. Mr..
Pennington fired but missed, and when
the negro fed to the woods, he pur-
sued him, but when the fugitive got
to the cover he fired, and Mr.. Pen
nington had dropped just in time to
get only one of the shot instead OF
the whole charge. Two or three days
after that, when sitting outside the
store in the evening, there was q
flash from the woods and load of
buckshot nearly put out one eye, in
ficting a dangerous and painful
wound. .
Mr.. Pennington was confined in the
city for some time after that, but
upon going back to his plantation
yesterday he was greeted with the
message that Cato was still on the
hunt for him and was determined to
kill him.-Charlesto Evening Post,