The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson, S.C.) 1914-1917, 1914-12-29
ANOTHER ACCOUNT OF
FAIR PLAY TROUBLE
THIS REPORT STATES THAT
NEGROES WERE BEATEN
UNTIL DEAD.
WERE DRUNK.
Story from Walha!!a To a Green
VILE Paper Coeos Into
Detail.
0FrOIn Sundays Daily.)

tFrom Sundays Daily)
Inc following account Of the recent
trouble at Fair Play when two or
more negroes were killed and sever Il
| wounded and some four or I've white
men wounded was sent out from Wal
halla and published in tn. Greenyillo
Daily Piedmont Of last Thursday.
NO official Information has as vet
| been given out az to the depIorobIc
tragedy that took place near Fair PLAY
during Sunday as the result OF which
two negroes. Green Gibson and his
son George are dead and IL third, Tom
| SprlHht. Is said 10 be seriously injur-
ed, having been beaten up. Sprigllt is
In the hands of Sheriff Sidney John
son or Hart county. Georgin, who IS
keeping him safely until the trouble
at Fair Play blows over.
Detailed information rage rdint. tbo
horrible affair is hard to ret and there
are many rumors concernin,: the trou-
bic. From sources deemed reliable
this Information Is given:
1t seems 10 be the general cp,nion
that wliskey is at tile bottom Of tJe
whole ghustly affair. While tile Kill
ing or Green Gibson took place I'm tho
afternoon OF Sunday the beginning of
the trouble was early ir the morning
when Woodrow Campbell. who lives
near Townville, went TO the l:ome of
rom Spright, awakening him and
telling him, Get Cp from there and
| iets go TO Georgia." Thc negro de-
INJURED. but he WIS taken ANYWAY
ana 1t Is said that the white man
compelled three negro men to go along
anu do the beating of Tom Spright.
The crowd seemed TO increase In size
| as the party moved toward Georgia.
While the angry crowd wa3 standing
In the road near Knox bridge, George
Gibson and his brother came along in
buggy and asked The white men to
let them pass. They Informed the re-
groes that they knew when To let item
go on. About this :ime ono Of the
white men walked up to the tuggy in
which the negroes were riding and
/ said: We want this one" ,erki, y
George Gibson from the buggy and
hitting him over the head with pistols.
He and Tom Spright we're carried
across the bridge to the Georgia side
and the negroes were whipped by the
three negroes brought along by Camp-
bell, being given in the neignborhood
nj geo to 400 lashes each With buggy
traces. They would whip one ,wtile
and make the other stand aside and
get sore. as they said, and then whip
him again. Finally both negroes fell
! exhausted.
The negroes were carried by white
friends to the barn of Mack Craw-
ford. about quarter of a mile away.
but died some time during Sunday
night. Spright also spent the night
| In Mr.. Crawford's barn. In the mean
time. the young Gibson negro. who
was accompanying his brother George.
turned his buggy around and went
back for his father, Green Gibson.
who lived on Allen Marret's place. Tho
boy and his father soon returned with
shot guns to the bridge, where the
! men were still engaged on the opposite
side OF the. river in beating George
Gibson and Tom Spright. Green
Gibson, the father Of George Gibson.
and his younger son opened fire on
the crowd with shot guns while they
were still beating George Gibson.
Some 25 or 30 shots were exchanged
between the Gibsons, who were under
| cover OF the bridge and the white men
on the Georgia side. The Gibsons fin
ally retreated from the bridge. The
white men followed in pursuit and
late in the afternoon Green Gibson
| was shot to death on the place of
Magistrate Mcclure and his body was
seen by numbers Of people who pass
cd. lying out in a cotton field on the
Mcclure place. His shot gun had been
! taken away from him and beaten to
pieces over his head and was lying
broken by his rigid form. The body
| remained where 1t fell until Monday
| night or possibly longer. The white
| men who received injuries In the fray
are reported as follows: Magistrate
McClure. who is said to have about 80
shot in the face and head; Woodrow
Campbell and Marett, both only
slightly wounded by scattering shot,
and John Mcdonald, who Is said to
| have one eye shot out.
Sheriff John w. Davis. of Oconee,
has been on the scene now for the
past 48 hours. but no word has come
from him save that at present all is
quiet in the Fair Play section.
Tom Spfight farmed with Woodrow
Campbell the past year In Anderson
county and Is said to have made a
gocd cron and had on hand ut the time
he was taken to Georgia IL bales of
cotton. Green Gibson and his boy are
said to have been Woodworking peace
able negroes. ia. s.
l5S,s..s 5 REyNSTATED. JBe t