The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1918-03-11
Man Gets Religion
And COnfeSSeS To
Crime Committed
CONTINUED from page 81


be in the court room who are armed
and who will be prepared to open fire
if verdict of guilty is returned. l
will get some kind of weapon in
iail and lock the jailer up and es-
cape but before | do, | will-kill Ir,
vim Stewart"
Stewart, just before the close of the
trial. secured a pistol permit, saying
he was engaged to Dora Anderson at
the time, a niece of the defendant, and
said he feared her father George An
derson, and the defendant should he
be turned loose. Soon after Anderson
was sent to prison. Stewart went to
Miami, where he has worked ever
since, leaving a 500 month job, he
said, to give himself up. He had no
belongings when he appeared at the
sheriff's office except the clothes he
wore.
Before coming to Tampa Stewart
spent few days at Mulberry, visit
ing his sister, Mrs. N. E. Crumley,
and telling her husband what he ex-
pected to do. He said his sister ad-
vised against it, but added that she
did not know what pain or feeling he
had gone through. He had also seel
a sister of Anderson who had begged
him not to give himself up. He said
he knew of the pardon which was
expected to be granted next month
The GruesOme Confession
Here is his story as related at the
county Jail to Tribune man yester
day afternoon:
1.-THE eighth of next April it will be
five years. I didn't have much educa-
ton. My mother died when | was four
years old and my father died when |
was seventeen. r. A. Anderson, a
brother of Mitch, was guardian for
me and my sister He's in the pen
now for two years for stealing cattle
up near Nichols. He was tried in
Barlow
After my father died, R. A. Ander-
son took charge of me till was
twenty-one years old Me and his
brother Mitch was about the same
age and we were raised together
Mitch had lot of influence over me
and got in love with the Wread girl
and got married. Mitch built a house
on old man Wread's land, but he and
his wife couldn't agree and fell OIL,
and old man Wread took the prop.
eTty back. I don't know what hap
pened to Mitch's wife, but he got to
drinking worse and got at outs with
the old man, blaming him for his
troubles and because the old man wa,
defending his daughter.
We was out buggy riding one day
and he told me his troubles and asked
me to join him in putting the old
man out of the way. It was an aw-
1ui thing and all of it was planned
out ahead of time. l seemed to do
anything Mitch says and we went 70
Plant City and got some kerosene oi,
and drove back to old man Wread,s
house. :
1t was after dark. l had a re-
VoiVer laying on the seat, but Mitch
mad a shotgun and we went in th,
mouse In dark room I was q l;ttlo
ahead and | guess 7 called for tho
ola man to come down. When he came
IN the room l was going to get his
attention while Mitch shot him. Well
ne came in and lit a match and Mitch
hred. He was about ten feet awav and
doht know whether he shot both
barrels or only one. We didn't look
10 see II he was dead, but we poured
kerosene over him and all over tina
mousse and set fire to the place and
left and went to Nichols. I was hoard
ing with a cousin.
Both Are Arrested
Next day, Ed Isom, the deputy At
Plant City, arrested Mitch and I was
arrested at Barlow and they put me
in the Jail in West Tampa. was
charged with being an accessory to
the crime, but there weren't no wit.
nesses and they didn't do anything to
me except to use me as witness at
the trial. Anderson denied it all the
way through the trial. He's got an
iron constitution and nothing like
that ever affects him. He got convict.
ed and sent away and | went to Mi
ami. l had one letter from him since
that time.
Last Friday I saw Anderson's sis.
ter. Mrs. c. c. Morgan, at Mulberry.
and told her what l was going to do
She wanted me to put it off. stayed
in Mulberry with my sister till came
to Tampa this morning.