The Union times. [volume] (Union, S.C.) 1894-1918, 1913-07-04

| lance away ON MS right, two or three
miles, he judged, light like the light
of large lantern. 1t was then just
3:45 o'clock. He thought to himself
that somebody is getting up very
early. AS he rode slowly along he
watched the light, which seemed to
grow larger. In little while the
doctor came to the head of the road
that leads down to the Jacobs place.
He stopped his buggy, and it was
in his mind to mount his saddle horse
and hurry down there to see what
was the matter but did not. In a lit
tie while what had appeared to be a
lantern became large blaze, spread
ing very rapidly, and the doctor
thought to himself that somebody
had lost his barn. He says he would
have had time, if he had gone when
it first occurred to him, to reach the
place before the fire burst into q
big blaze. Some miles this side Of
Peak ID. Brown met G. w. Jacobs and
others in an automobile travelling at
rapid rate, but did not learn of the
tragedy till he reached Newberry.
Mr.. Jacobs had been called up by
telephone by Joseph Eargle, one of
his brothers neighbors, and left at
once for the scene. Sheriff Blease
left here at o'clock-as soon as he
heard of the affair-going in his au-
tomobile and carrying r. C. Perry
and Richard Burton, reaching the
scene in an hour and half. He re-
turned to Newberry at 1890 this af-
ternoon. He said that he found
large crowd of persons present, in
Guiding Sheriff Miller, of Lexington,
who was doing all that was possible
to get at the facts in the case.
Sheriff Blease said bloodhounds
were tried, but did not follow any
trail. He further said that the first
theory that the house was set on fire
by lightning was without foundation.
DR.. Brown, who saw the fire, as
above stated, says there was no
lightning at all at the time, nor any
where near the time.
The charred bones of the bodies
were found in their respective rooms,
on the springs of what had been their
beds. There were no tracks, no clue
nothing to throw any light on. the
terrible tragedy.
Mystery Shrouds Jacobs Tragedy.
Peak, June 29.-The death Of John
d. Jacobs, his wife and four children,
disclosed when their home was dis
covered in flames early Saturda
morning is mystery that will never
be solved. A day of calm investiga-
ton following the discovery of the
awful tragedy has shown only that
human hands and not lightning bolt
or a chance tongue of flame resulted
in the sudden death of six persons as
they slept in their home in the rich
Dutch Fork section of Lexington
county, five miles from Peak.
Only two chimneys and a pile of
ashes and debris represent today
what was Friday evening the SUBJ
stantial home of prosperous plan
ter. The charred remains of fam
lily of six were this afternoon buried
in single grave at the family bury
ing ground on the Jacobs plantation.
The bodies, horribly burned, show on
ly that the skulls of three were
crushed. This is regarded, in the
light of other developments, as con-
elusive proof that they were murder
ed and did not meet death from the
flames that burned the house. The
fire that burned the house destroyed
any evidence of the murder.
A theory at first entertained by
many that the family might have
been burned to death when the house
they occupied was destroyed is dis
missed by the statements of numer-
Gus residents of the community, who
declare that the storm that passed
over this section between 9 and To-
o'clock was over at 10 o'clock. Sc
we're lightning accompanied this
storm, but no lightning was seen by
neighbors after 10 o'clock. The fire
was discovered between $3.50 and 4
o'clock. Persons first on the scene
found the front of the house con-
sumed but the rear still burning. The
house was burning rapidly then and
could not, say early arrivals, have
been burning since the early evening,
as would have been the case If the
origin had been lightning.
No Motive known.
Other suppositions are hardly less
battling. John d. Jacobs was q high