Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1919-06-03
STOLEN BUGGY RECOVERED.

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the Emerson buggy that was stolen
from his home on the Sheider place,
two and q half miles south Of York
Vile, and the thief. a negro by the
name Of Bob Hope, was committed to
Jail yesterday in default Of $500 bail.
1t was Mr.. Ashe himself who located
the buggy. He found it at Mt. Zion
negro church last Sunday and the ne
gro who stole it was arrested by Joe
Barnes, constable for Magistrate Craw-
ford Of Bethesda township.
Mount Zion is a noted place for an
annual negro gathering on the first
Sunday in June. The first Sunday in
June is Mount Zion day so far as a
large portion of the negro population
is concerned. On the first Sunday in
June they gather there from all parts
Of the county and sometimes the
fcrowds aggregate thousands. In the
old days, when liquor was more plenti-
full than 1t Is now, the annual gather
ing was always the occasion Of more
or less ffghting-sometimes of pitched
battles, with stones, clubs, pistols and
raZors. There have been number OF
killings at this place, and several hang
ings on account Of the killings. The
meetings have been less disorderly
during the past few years, on account
Of the scarcity of liquor; but none the
less well attended.
Last Sundays gathering was UP to
the old time standard in point Of at
tendance. The people were there from
every section over a radius Of twenty
miles or more. They~went on foot, on
mule back, in wagons and buggies and
in automobiles. 1t was a tremendous
crowd.
Thoroughly familiar with the char
acter and traditions Of this meeting,
Mr.. Ashe went there on the lookout
for his buggy. Recognize 1t, why OF
course he could. There were hundreds
Of buggies there; but 1t was the first
buggy he had ever owned, and why
could he not pick it out from among
hundreds? Anyhow that Is what he
did.
After locating the buggy and max
ing sure Of it, he called upon Constable
Barnes, who took it in charge, and
Bob Hope, the negro who brought 1t
there boldly claimed 1t as his own.
That was where Bob Hope fell down,
because on the strength of the claim
Constable Barnes took him along.
There was a preliminary before
Magistrate Conner yesterday. The tes-
timony amounted almost to a trial. In
that it went further than an ex parte
showing. Bob Hope claimed that he
had bought the buggy from the bug
gy factory in Yorkville with the big
oak tree in front o it." Mr. r. T. AL
lison, proprietor Of the place described,
testified that he had not sold an Emer-
son buggy. Mr.. Ashe told how he had
identified the buggy. A certain nut or
tap had been replaced with tap that
did not match the others, one of the
spokes showed slight split right at
the hub, and at another place there
was q slight bruise; also because 1t had
no head on it, one Of the tacks with
which the tag of the retailers had
been attached, was still in the body OF
the buggy. Mr.. G. w. Carroll, Of Car
roll Bros, who sell Emerson buggies,
testified that he had sold this particu-
lar buggy to Mr.. Ashe; that when he
tagged it he found he had run out OF
the tacks regularly used for the pur-
pose and that he had used one head
less shoe tack instead
There seemed to be no doubt about
the identity Of the buggy, and 1t was
turned over to Mr.. Ashe. The bond OF
the negro was fixed at $500 and he was
sent to jail until the bond could be ar
ranged.