The Covington leader. (Covington, Tenn.) 18??-current, 1919-03-20
CRAZY NEGRO RUNS
AMUCK FRIDAY NIGHT
GOLDIE BUFORD AND CITY MAR
SHAL IN TERRIFIC FIGHT
Negro Burns Barn and Makes At
tempt to Rob Several Stores Before
Being Finally Arrested and Return
ed to Asylum in Bolivar.

A negro, Goldie Buford, escaped in
mate of the insane asylum at Bolivar,
rode into Covington between IL and
l o'clock Friday morning on horse
he had stolen from Mr.. Arthur Smith,
Of Upton, and created quite a dis
turbance on the square by his loud
singing and yelling.
City Marshal ]. H. Hunt ordered
him to leave the square, which he
did, but resumed the yelling after
he had gotten off a short distance.
The marshal thought the incident
was closed, and when Buford, a short
time later, made his appearance on
the square, this time walking, he
did not recognize him as being the
man of the loud voice. When the
marshal asked him to give an ac-
count of himself and where he was
going at such an unseemly hour, the
negro became very insolent and VIC
iously attacked him with poker
which he had stolen from the wait
ing room of the illinois Central rail-
road depot, striking him in the face
and over the head several times, cut
ting a deep cash in the side of his
head and knocking him down and
stunning him for the time being
The negro then disappeared in the
darkness. AS soon as the marshal
got himself together he began
search for the negro. He did not see
him at once, but when he heard a
glass in the front door of Walkers
hardware store smash, he was sat-
isfied he was the man who had done
the work The marshal then started
in the direction Of the noise, after
firing his pistol twice, but met the
negro coming, toward him with the
poker still in his hand, and opened
fire on him Three of the shot took
effect in the breast, side and arm,
but none were Of a necessarily serious
nature. One shot struck him in the
right breast, but glanced downward,
broke his right arm above the elbow,
and another shot struck him about
two inches below and to the right
of the heart. but neither of the shots
penetrated the cavity Of the stomach.
After the marshal had emptied his
revolver, and after hard fight with
the negro, Buford made his escape,
the officer being very weak from loss
Of blood, and was afterward arrested
by Deputy Dan Archer near the depot,
where he had hitched the stolen
horse, and after vigorously resisting
arrest, and was taken to Jail, where
re was held to await the arrival Of
Dir. Wallace, from the insane asy-
lum, who took him back to Bolivar
the same night,
Buford. who is about rs years of
age, was taken to the asylum about
three weeks before, but as stated
above, made his escape, coming back
to this county. It now develops that
Buford, on his way to Covington
Thursday night. stopped at the barn
of Esq. D. r. Tinker, lust south Of
Brighton, and set the building on fire.
The barn was destroyed, together
with seven bales of cotton, an auto
mobile two wagons, between six and
seven hundred bushels Of corn. a
lot OF hay, tools. etc, entailing a loss
of between $4,000 and $4,000. There
were several head of horses and
mules in the barn, but these were
turned out before the building was
set on fire.
Buford also attempted to burglar
ize the stores of ]. M Smithson, at
Brighton, and A. S. Miller, at this
place, the same night, but did not
succeed in securing anything.
Marshal Hunt, as stated above, had
a deep cash cut in his head, and
was otherwise badly bruised about
the head and nose. He was confined
to his room about three DAYS after
ward, but is able to be back on duty
again.