Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1915-05-14
HORSE RUNS AWAY
|NJUR|NC LADIES
Near Tragedy on Burke's Garden
Mountain Friday Close to Spot
Where Mysterious Murder
Occurred 10 Years Ago.

An accident, in which three people
one man and two women, came very
near losing their lives, occurred on the
mountain road from Burke's Garden
last Friday.
Mr.. and Mrs. j. c. Kits and young
Miss Thompson, were driving over
from Burke's Garden, in a single bug
gy. Some distance from the top of
the mountain, on this side, the horse
took fright from what cause is not
stated, and dashed off down the noun
tain at a rapid rate. After running
some distance the buggy was hurled
against rock cliff, on the upper side
of the road and smashed. The occu-
pants were thrown with great violence
against the solid rock cliff and bodily
injured by shock and cuts.
The young lady was most seriously
injured, her skull sustaining frac-
ture, and Mrs. Kits was seriously
bruised and cut. All three were un-
conscious when found by a man pass
ing in wagon. Help was summoned
as quickly as possible from the town
and Burke's Garden, and the suffer
ing women were taken home in an
automobile.
Latest report is favorable to the
recovery of Miss Thompson, whose
life was despaired of for sometime.
The fool horse went over the bank
on the lower side, through wire
fence, and on down the cliffs, and
through the woods and mountains,
and would perhaps have been run
ming yet if some one had not caught
him down about Captain Glider
sleeves, on the Clear Fark road.
The horse was uninjured.
A MURDER TRAGEDY RECALLED
Many of the citizens of this commu-
nifty will recall another tragedy which
occurred at just about the same spot
where the above accident occurred, of
the murder of an unknown man,
whose name was. never ascertained,
or any trace of his people.
On Saturday evening, Feb. /, 1896,
a little more than 10 years ago, the
body of a man, about 60 years of age,
was discovered by Mr.. Joseph Meek,
who was returning to his home in
Burke's Garden from Tazewell. The
man was not yet dead, as Mr.. Meek
heard him groan. He also heard the
shots which were fired into the head
and body of the man. A Mr.. Honak-
er, coming out of the Garden, met two
men-one young man about 25 years
of age, and the other about 60, just u
few moments before meeting Mr..
Meek. The men were walking. That
same night horse was stolen from
Mr.. Meek's stable, presumably by the
young man who committed the mur-
der. The horse was found near Mar
ion and the thief traced into North
Carolina.
After coroner's inquest, held at
Mt. Olivet church, on Sunday morn
ing, February 2, the body of the I'M
known murdered man was buried at
the expense of the county, and the
authorities and detectives went on the
trail of the young man last seen with
the dead man. To make long story
short, a young man named Doug
las, was finally arrested in Statesville,
N. c., and brought to Tazewell, and
lodged in Jail charged with being the
murderer. The trial was held in July.
Barns & Barns and Chapman & Gil
lespie, for the Commonwealth; May,
& May, Of Tazewell and B. f. Long,
of Statesville, N. c., defended Doug
las. There were a large number of
witnesses from Statesville, including
Presbyterian minister, lady of
prominence, the Sheriff, merchant
and number of Others.
When the witnesses for the prosecu-
ton were put on the stand they swore
that Douglas was the man whom they
saw in company with the murdered
man, as the two passed along the
road from Pocahontas to the foot of
the mountain. All these witnesses,
some of whom talked with the two
men, one had sold them apples, anoth-
er, colored woman, had let them
have something to eat. All of them
were positive that Douglas, the pris-
oner at the bar, was the right man,
and when the prosecution rested, there
was no doubt in the minds of the jur-
ors and the people, but that the YER
dict was bound to be murder in the
first degree.
And now, here comes the strange
part of this remarkable case. Every
North Carolina witness put on by the
defense, including the Presbyterian
minister, swore positively that Doug
las, the prisoner, was in Statesyille,
on Saturday, February 1st, the day on
which the old man was killed. The
Sheriff saw him at the depot. The
merchant sold him a plug of tobac-
co, the lady, (whose name has been
forgotten), swore that he was at her
house, others saw and talked with
him, on that day. The minister swore
that Douglas hitched his horse to the
buggy-all on Saturday, Feb. 1st
and, of course, if these witnesses, all
of them highly reputable, were not
mistaken, Douglas could not have
been in Tazewell on that day. The
Tazewell witnesses, all equally reputa-
BILE, were absolutely certain that