The Dillon herald. [volume] (Dillon, S.C.) 1894-????, 1920-07-08
DILLON NEGRO
IN DOUBLE TRAGEDY
OFFICER KITCHEN AND DAN BE-
THEA BOTH DEAD.
John Henry Bc;hea ESCAPED ia'o
WoodS-Two Negro Women
Lodged in Lumuelton jan.

There was a double tragedy near
Seven Bridges i'll EobeSoh CouH's
Friday night il which Dan BeInea'
Dillon county negro, was kllieu an"
Jim Kitchen, deputy sheriff OF hoD-
eson. met his death. Bethea oooS
arrived in Dillon Sunday mo- hihS du"
a ghastly bullet wound in the centre
of his forehead showed the manner
in which he met his death. :,
The details of the tragedy are haIu
to obtain. From what could be gati
cred il seems that Dan Bethea ana
his brother John Henry Bethea' were
returning from Fayetteville with an
automobile full Of whiskey. In the
automobile with the Betheas were
two negro women, residents OF Roo-
eson county. When the party re2cheo
what is known as Seven Bridges
somewhere north OF Lumberton, tney
,were met by Deputy Sheriff w. w.
Smith and Rural Policeman Jim
Kitchen. The officers halted the car
but before the car came 10 stop lhe
negroes began shooting. The Officers
returned the fire and Dan Bethel fell
with a pistol bullet through the
brain. OFFICER Kitchen received
mortal wound at the first voiley ana
expired in a few minutes. 1t Is not
known whether he or Deputy Sher-
iff Smith killed Bethea.
Jno. Henry Bethea escaped into the
woods and left the two negro women
in the automobile. They were arrest
ed by Deputy Smith and lodged IN
Lumberton Jail.
Dan Bethea was a sou OF Diana Be
thea who lives in Dillon. He lived on
Mr.. T. L. Manning's place where ne
had a share crop.
Later-A later report states that
the negroes had stopped the car IN
the road and We're cranking 1t up
again when the officers came upon
them. Dan Bethea was at the crank
handle and he was killed in ms
tracks, falling backward in the MD
die of the road where he was found
next morning partly doubled up
against the front of the car by Law
renee Reaves, the colored undertaken,
who went up for the body. There
was a third man with the party who
escaped in the woods.
A report was in circulation Mon
day afternoon that Jno. Henry Be
thea had been killed by possee VINO
came upon him hiding in swamp
but this could not be verified.
Deputy Kitchen Was Popular.
The following from the Lumber
ton Robesonian throws more light on
Friday nights tragedy:
Deputy Sheriff j. A. Kitchen Of AL
fordsville township was shot and kill
ed Friday night by John Henry Be
thea, colored, and Ben Bethea, broth
er of the man who killed Deputy
Kitchen, was shot to death during the
exchange of shots between the ne
groes and Deputy Kitchen and Rural
Policeman Walter Smith.
The shooting took place in Maxton
township about 4 miles from MaXton.
Messrs. Kitchen and Smith were out
looking after some official business
when they came across a Buick auto
stopped in the road. They were unable
to get by the Buick and stopped their
car. AS the officers stopped their car
a negro woman jumped out Of the
Buick and ran. This attracted the at
tention of the officers and Deputy
Kitchen stepped out Of his car. Just
as he stepped to the ground Bethea
began firing at him. One bullet en-
tering his abdomen and another
struck his left arm. Officer Kitchen
fired five shots at his assailant after
he had been mortally wounded, but
the negro escaped and has not been
apprehended. AS above stated, Ben
Bethea was killed during the pitched
battle. The auto driven by the negroes
was captured and there were five GAL
Ions of whiskey and about 100 pounds
of sugar on the car. Deputy Kitchen
was rushed to hospital at Hamlet
and died about 3 o'clock Saturday
morning. The shooting took place
about 9 o'clock Friday night. The
Bethea negroes lived in Dillon coun-
ty, South Carolina. They had stopped
their car on account of a puncture.
Deputy Kitchen was around go
years old and is survived by his wife
and children. He was well
and favorably known throughout the
county. He had served as a deputy
for a number Of years and was one
Of the most fearless officers that
ever served the county. His untimely
death brought sorrow to many hearts.
A reward Of $3.50 has been offered
by the county commissioners for
the arrest of Bethea. 1t has been re-
ported to the officers that Bethea
was struck by two bullets, but that
he was not seriously hurt.
Mr.. Kitchens funeral was conduct
ed from Mt. Moriah Baptist church
of which church he was a member at
o'clock yesterday in the family
burying ground. The funeral was at
tended by large crowd