The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1913-08-07
NEGRO UNDER ARREST.
Charged With Assaulting White Girl
Whom He Harbored in His House.

Sunday night young white girl who,
it is claimed, had been kept in his
house for several nights for immoral
relations with white men. Lee Will
son, a negro hackman, was yesterday
afternoon arrested by city police and
turned over to the sheriff for incar
ceration in the county Jail. On the
face of the allegations. the case is
one of the most deplorable that has
ever been brought to light by the city
authorities and brings to the front
once again a serious problem which
the public have had to face for some
time.
Yesterday afternoon Privates Pat
terson and Smith observed small
white girl enter the rear door of a
negro dive near the Southern railway
passenger station. They promptly
took charge of the child and soon
learned from her few facts that
later led to the arrest of the negrt
hackman. The girl was carried to the
police station and was there confront
ed by the chief and the inspector OF
police to whom she told story of
shame. From the police station the
girl was carried before Magistrate
Samuel Stradley, where she made an
affidavit setting forth the charges
against the negro hackman. Upon
this affidavit and one from another
negro hackman which corroborated,
in certain details, the story told by
the girl, Magistrate Stradley issued
an arrest warrant for Lee Wilson. He
was placed under arrest and trans
ferred to the county Jail.
In her affidavit the girl alleges that
she is Is years of age and will be l6
in December; that she was born in
Durham, n. c., and raised in Colum-
bia, S. c., for the past four or five
months has been making her home. in
Greenville; that on Friday night she
was taken to the home of Lee Wilson,
where she was kept that night, Satur-
day night and Sunday night; that
white men were brought to this house
by Lee Wilson for the purpose of hav-
ing unlawful relations with her; that
Sunday night the negro came into her
room and overpowered her, that she
was not permitted to leave the house
until about 9 o'clock yesterday morn
ing.
A negro hackman by the name of
Parker Evans made an affidavit be-
fore Magistrate Stradley to the effect
that Lee Wilson did not stable his
horse at the customary place at all
Sunday and that the cot which he
slept in at the stable was not taken
down that night. This would indl-
cate that the negro hackman was
elsewhere than his customary haunts
on the night the girl alleges he at
tackled her.
The child was turned over to the
Salvation Army yesterday and will be
cared for by this organization. 1t is
stated that she lived in Greenvllle
heretofore and that her mother died
at the Salvation Army emergency hos
pital about two years ago. The girls
father, it is said, lives in Columbia,
but has had nothing to do with his
daughter since the death of the moth
er. At the time the girl lived here
with her mother they worked at one
of the local cotton mills and since
the child came back to Greenvllle,
it is said, she has worked at mill
near the city.
The house where the girl alleges
this offense took place is situated on
Parker street in that section of the
city commonly known as "Buckner
town. Following her arrest yester-
day, the girl showed the police the
house where the alleged offense was
committed and the room in which she
stayed.- News.