The Palatka news and advertiser. [volume] (Palatka, Fla.) 1908-19??, 1915-09-24
INDIAN BILL PLAYED
HE'LL ON THE RIVER
Last Friday, Causing Death
of Two-Tragedy Still
a Mystery.

The first known of it in Palatka
was when Jim Meredith, alias "Greesy
Jim, acame sliding into the city about
|8 o'clock last Friday night with his
anatomy carved to represent mod
ern landscape painting. He was
brought in by a companion and
while DR.. johnson was sewing up
some twenty-one knife wounds, two
of which were deep, he mumbled
something concerning row on. the
river; of how he swan two miles and
half in a comatose condition and
found himself when he came to, lying
with his eyes turned toward the stars
in the swamp shore above San Mateo;
how he went to asleep again and then
came to in Palatka. While DR.. john
son was stitching his wounds he re-
marked that the doctor had mistaken
his calling-that he ought to have
been a tailor for the reason that he
never missed stitch. Then he
tainted again and while unconscious
from the faint DIR. johnson mended
him.
Sunday T. R. Higgins with Mrs.
Higgins and son, while cruising on the
river near San Mateo saw a body
floating on the river surface. Mr..
Higgins reported the find. The Off
IcisSs went, after it and brought home
I&fe body ota.R. E. Barrows with the
head nearly severed. On Monday af-
terroon the body of Tony Wells was
also found floating in that vicinity.
TUfficials examined it and DR.. Steen
said death resulted from drowning.
He had been cut with a small knife
just below the hip.
Gradually it has leaked out that
there were several small boats in
nunn's Creek on Friday; that their
occupants got together; got their
boats in tow and held a picnic in the
Iiedofhg LAUGH, where there were "a
Full Quarts of Indian Club whisky.
Naturally, where there was so
much whisky there was too much
drinking. The party according to re-
port consisted of R. E. Barrows, To-
ny Wells, Jim Meredith, r. 3. Walker,
Walter Rains and j. Usina.( Walker
and Usina appear to have baen sober
enough to cut loose from then crowd.
Of the other four Barrows andSWells
are dead and buried, while Meredith
and Rains are being held pending the
inquest, which having consumed sew
eral days without finding anything
definite, has been adjourned until
Monday in the hope of securing some
evidence of value. Judge Marshall is
holding the inquest.
Walker and Usiua have been dis
charged. They are~aot of the kind
to mix up in murder episodes. Wal
ter Rains has bourn a good reputa-
ton here. He is quite q young man
land comes of a good fGnily. But n
was in bad company and when fouk N
his position was such as to waTaA
suspicion. \
Jim Meredith is a wonder; he
doesn't know anything; all is blank
ito him. He remembers being stabb-
ed, but how he got in the water; how
he managed to swim so many miles,
cut into shreds and bleeding from
twenty-one separate wounds, is too
many for his understanding. AS a
witness he led the court room crowd
up to point of deep expectancy and
interest, and then dropped them with
the statement that he remembered
ItOllIS IlOle Ills SODTlQueI, "OFee-
sy JIM" harmonizes with his char
acter.
How these two. men died is only
conjecture; nothing has yet been
found that would fasten the crimes
on any one of the 1.-TWO Men in >4ne
Boat" who survive.
It is said that Barrows was in the
business of supplying Indian Bill"
booze to the natives; that the "a Full
Quarts were his property. All the
men acknowledge that they had taken
several drinks.