The Washington times., 1919-04-27

]
again sought to take charge Of the
| church.
Morris led the crowd in. They
took front seats. All went well for
a time and it appeared that for once
We would have no trouble. We were
wrong.
Bottles Of brandy began to ap-
| pear. Morris and his followers be-
| gan to drink. When the liquor tool;
\ effect, they got noisy. They tried tu
make the worshipers pass the bottle
around, and drink with them.
Began to shoot.
"Enraged because the congregation
would not be sociable, the drunken
visitors drew their guns and began
to shoot.
MY patience was exhausted. I
stepped to the edge Of the platform
! and asked: will some one please loan
me gum
''They either had no guns or were
afraid to show them.
Finally, sent a committee out to
get shotgun. 1 told them 1 would
kill him.
Morris apparently had friends in
the congregation, because someone
tipped him on that had sent for a
gun. They got away before the COM
mittee returned with the gun"
AS a result Of this escapade
charges were brought against Morris
in Magistrate Bluford G. SuIlivan's
court, down in the Monroe District.
The magistrate was in thorough syr1-
pathy with the work OF the mission.
which means he was rated an enemy
Of Morris a
Morris refused to abide by the. de-
cision Of Magistrate Sullivan, so the
case was taken on March %, last. to
Stanardsville. the county seat, to BE
heard before Magistrates A. c. Hern-
don and J. Q. YowelI, of the Ruckers-
vile District
Edgar told me he didn't think he
had fair trial before Son Sullivan.
because Son had It in for him"
Sheriff Malone told the writer.
Sullivan At Hearing.
Sullivan was at the hearing of the
case in the courthouse at Stanards-
vile. He had come in to demand
that he be sustained.
Attorney John s. Chapman. former
Commonwealth Attorney for Greene
county, appeared as counsel for Nor
ris.
Seated about a table in the court
room the matter was being discussed
informally, while a dozen interested
citizens looked on. One of them was
John Henry Morris, mot a relative |
Of Edgar) who appeared as a witness |
against him.
The two magistrates from Fuckers |
vile had virtually agreed on a nOmi- |
nal fine, when Sullivan rose and be- 1
gan to protest. He held in his hands |
a volume Of the Law, from which he |
began TO read.
Norris, in the meantime, had been /
outside on the courthouse green.
E As Sullivan read Norris entered. |
Some friends were with him
The outlaw drew two pistols and |
began firing. A bullet struck Sui |
livan between the eyes and he COL /
lapsed on the table in front of him |
-Four more shots entered his body be /
fore he finally toppled on the table |
to the hoor-dead.
To escape the fusilade of lead At /
torney Chapman. over whose shoulder |
the first shot was fred, fell prone IN |
the table and lay fat.
"One Of those bullets was meant for /
me because l testified against him"
John Henry Morris said later, The /
good Lord protected me because I |
have a family"
No One Dared Move.
As Morris held the crowd at bay
there flashed across their minds the
record Of the bOastful outlaw. No one
dared raise hand against them. One
Of their number lay dead.
Morris walked out Of the courtroom
by a seventeen-year-o,dl
youth, Herman Shinlett, a daring
young mOUntaineer. who had followed |
him in many Of his escapades.
Shihlett. according to some oil
those in the courtroom. also had two
pistols, which he fired and with
which he aided Morris to make his
escape.
Almost before the two left the
the news was flashed Owe
the little town Of Stanardsville that
Edgar Morris has killed Son Sull-
yam
The women in the town hid in their
homes and the men stood aside awed
Is Morris and Shifflett calmly walked
rom the courthouse to the main road
Ind struck out afoot for the noun
aims, ten miles away
The only detailed story Of the shoot
ng given by either Morris or Shift
lett, is given by the latter to this
writer.
Story In the Cell
Young Shifflett, who is only seven
cen, but talks with the wisdom of
orty, gave his version of the shoot