Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1913-09-03
HALLA, SOUTH OAROLINA, WEDNESDAY, sEPT 8, Don
ALLENDALE POLICEMAN KILLED
j. Is. Harter Receives Bullet i'm His
Heart While at Depot

Hampton, Aug. 31.-Chief of Po-
lice j. B. Harter, Of Allendale, was
shot through the heart and instantly
killed on the depot platform at Lena,
near this place, about $50 o'clock
this afternoon. Harter was waiting
to board a train to return to Allen
dale when shot.
j. F.. Walker, section foreman for
the Southern railway at Lena, is
charged with the shooting and was
arrested at about 5 o'clock by Magis-
trate E. A. Ieigler, Of Estill, and
turned over to Sheriff J. II. Lightsey.
who will bring him to the Hampton
county Jail tonight.
Walker, it is said, will not deny
having been one of the principals in
the shooting, refusing to make any
statement regarding the affair by
advice Of his attorney.
Details of the shooting are meagre
and have been very hard to obtain
SO far as is known there were no
eye-witnesses to the shooting, eX-
cepting the man who did it and his
victim.
Chief of Police Harter was a very
popular man in his community, and
was faithful and efficient police Off
Ger. He was prominently connected
with the chase which resulted in the
capture Of the desperate Austin a
few months ago. He was a man of
family and is survived by a widow
and six children. He was about
forty years old.
Old Trouble Alleged.
Allendale, Aug. 31.-J. B. Harter,
| chief Of police of Allendale, accord
ing to news received here, was shot
and killed to-day about p. m. by
A. l.. Walker, at Lena, where he had
gone to take into custody a negro
prisoner. While Harter was waiting
at the depot to take the train home,
Walker, who is the section foreman
at that place, is reported to have ap-
preached without warning and shot
Harter, killing him instantly. ".
1t is said that Walker had an old
Crude against Harter and had made
threats against his life. 1t seems
that about year and half ago Har-
ter arrested and disarmed Walker on
the streets of Allendale, but whe-
ther or not this incident had any
bearing on the tragedy to-day is not
known.
Walker and Son Held for Killing.
Hampton, Sept. 1.-The coroner's
jury of inquest over the dead body of
j. B. Harter, chief Of police of Allen
dale, who was killed yesterday after
noon at Lena, this county, this even
ing rendered a verdict that the Off
Ger "came to his death by pistol shot
wounds from a pistol in the hands of
j. F. Walker, aided and abetted by
Ben Walker, his SON." Ben Walker,
the 11-year-old son of Joe F. Wal
ker, was arrested to-day, and the
coroner's jury implicated him in the
shooting of Harter.
The inquest was teld at Estill to-
day at 12 o'clock. Oscar Pasleton,
j. B. Prosser, T. ]. Mcintosh and j.
e. Young, all eye-witnesses to the
killing, testified in substance to the
following statement of facts: On
Sunday afternoon at about o'clock
Mr.. Harter was sitting on a bench on
the depot platform at Lena in COM
pany of Rev. w. j. Langston, of CO.
lumbia, and Oscar Carlton. j. f.
Walker and his son Ben came walk
ing down the railroad from the di-
rection of their home. On arriving
at the bench, Walker demanded his
pistol from Harter, who stated that
he did not have it. When the re-
quest was refused Walker hit Harter
over the head with a pistol. Harter
attempted to resist, but was pushed
back by Walker repeatedly. while
Walker and his son kept up a con-
tinuous fire in the direction of Har-
ter, the younger man standing on the
left Of his father. The attention of
the witnesses was not called to the
affair until after sevc al shots we're
fired. Each of them swore that he
did not see Harter shoot at all.