Martinsburg statesman-democrat. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1906-1921, 1913-02-14
CUMBO LABORER
IS FOUND DEAD
ALONG HIGHWAY
Harry Cross Beaten to Death on
Way to Camp.

Man With Bloody Face Arrested at
cumbo Who Says When He Woke
Up After Being Beaten by Robbers
Found Himself Lying Along He'd
aesviIle Road Beside Body of Dead
Man, Who Proves to be Harry
Cross.
With the back part or his skull
crushed as though by some blunt in
strument, and his body frozen stiff
from lying out on the ground all
night, man by the name of Harry
Cross, about so years old, laborer
at the construction work at Cumbo,
and who came TO this section early
last fall from Washington, where his
wife is said to reside. was found dead
early this morning along the Hedges
Vile road about a mile and half
northwest of town.
There is every indication that the
man died from his injuries, fastened
perhaps by exposure in the cold night
air: but the circumstances of the
tragedy have not been obtainable so
far. The deed may have been com
mitted in fight, because If robbery
were the motive the murderers miss
ed SIS that Cross had in his right hip
pocket,
Coroner Kline was notified by tele-
phone of the occurrence, and he and
Undertaken Wilen went to the scene
this morning and brought the dead
man to town Near the body We're
two caps. one of which belonged to
the dead man, presumably, and two
whiskey bottles, one empty and the
other partly full. Near where the
body lay along the road were ashes
where fire had been built. Cross
was identified by B. & o. brass
check with number 6097 in his pocket,
later ascertained to be Cross number
by inquiry at the Cumbo office.
Early this morning a man with a
bloody face was seen walking along
the road, not far from the scene of
the tragedy, and going in the direc-
ton of Cumbo. Constable Wild was
sent after this man and found him at
the latter place. The man was
brought to town at noon and taken to
the Kings Daughters Hospital, and
afterwards was placed in the lookup
as a material witness at the coroner S
inquest to be held tomorrow after
noon.
This man is Jere Nolan, who says
he came from Philadelphia to Cumbo
to work last December, and knew
Cross quite well. When seen by a
representative of The World this
afternoon Nolan told a rather re-
markable story. He said that he,
along with the other workmen at
Cumbo got paid off yesterday morn
ing and then came to town to get his
check cashed and make few pur-
chases of store goods. He left town
about o'clock in the evening with
about $22 in his clothes, he said, on
his way to the camp at Cumbo When
he reached the place where Cross
dead body was found he stopped
along the road to warm his hands al
a fire that two men whom he didn't
know had just built While he was
warming his hands there one
of the strange men, he says, felled
him with black jack, and after beat
ing him up, robbed him of his money
He described the men as being ordi
narily dressed, one of them being tall
and the other short. One wore black
SLOUGH hat and a black coat, The
smaller man wore a soft hat and
brown coat.
ON his head and face knocked him
senseless. He revived some time af
terward, it then being dark, and found
himself lying beside a man. He
spoke to the man and when the latter
answered he says he recognized this
voice of Harry Cross, whom, he says
ne hadn't seen there before. Cross
told him he had been beaten up. TheI
Nolan relapsed into Inconsistencies
and so remained until about daylight
this morning when he discovered tina
Cross was dead and his own. Nolan'i
feet frozen from exposure. He theI
started up the road and says h'
stopped at house and told OF wha
had happened 10 him.
How much of this story of Nolanh
is true is. OF course, not known; no
what part. if any, he had in the dealt