The independent. [volume] (Elizabeth City, N.C.) 1908-1936, 1920-12-03
4 MYSTERY SURROUNDS
THE KlLLlNGnOF. .GALLOP
Conflicting Testimony Promises To Make Late
Currituclx Tragedy Hard Fought Legal Bat
tle-Dead Man Said Lewark Shot Him
sy w. O. SAUNDERS

There is more or less mystery
surrounding the death of Der
wood S. Gallop, of Powells Point,
,,rrituck county, who was shot
,,,r the marshes of the Pine Is
,ard Club in Currituck Sound on
Trursdav evening Nov. Is and
...f,n died in St. Vincent's Hos
n;-aI Saturday morning, Nov. II.
Gallon in the throes Of death
declared that he was shot by ST..
lair Lewark, a guard in the en-
.,,v oi the Pine Island Club. His
>ror> is substantiated by James
Shannon. companion who was
with him at the time Of the
shooting. The bullet that killed
CaIlop was Of the type used IN
the Winchester Automatics car
ried by guards who patrol the
marshes owned by northern
cI1brnen in Currituck sound.
The shooting seems to have occurred
between sunset and dark and Shannon
saws the shots were fired by guards OF
rho Pine Island Club from the Pine Is
land Club property. He says he recog-
nized the voice of Lewark, but in the
semi darkness he could not positively
IDENTIFY him except for his voice. Others
saw they saw Lewark near the scene OF
the crime, going in an opposite direction
few minutes after the fatal shot was
fired
Shannon says he and Gallop were in
A small boat hunting geese with decoys,
having their decoys in the sound, away
from the marshes; that the guards hail
ed them and opened fire on them. DE
says 12 or 16 shot in all were fired
When the first shots were fired, he and
Gallon dropped below the gunwales OF
the boat. That the fourth or fifth shot
passed through the side of the boat,
struck young GaIlop and he tShan-
non( called to the man on the
marsh to quit firing, saying, My God.
YOU have killed . mani" Shannon says
the man on the marsh kept on firing till
ne had emptied his rifle. Shannon row.
ed and poled his boat to Powehs Point
y distance of Hearly seven miles and
carried young Gallop to his home In
diving condition. The shot that killed
Gallon entered his lower abdomen ana
plowed its way an upward course thru
bis intestines, indicating that he was
living down when shot.
LyaehlRs Feared
ST Clair Lewark and John Wicker.
,uards of the Pine Island Club were
not indicted for the shooting unth cne
Saturday afternoon following. News OF
Galiop's death in Norfolk had not been
received and they were released unoer
bonds of $254 e9ch They came to Eilz-
abeth City Saturday night to consult a
lawyer and while they were IN the OF
flee Of attorney E. F. Aydlett the CHIEF
Of Police of Elizabeth City received
nbope message from Sheriff Flora OF
Currituck to apprehend both men and
hold them for murder. They were ar
rested Sunday morning and placed IN
rhe jail here. Sheriff Flora would not
remove them to Currituck. He says
their lives would not be safe In that
.ountv, so intense is the feeling against
them.
From Thursday night until Saturday
Of LEST week neither Lewark nor Wicker
gave any indication of any knowledge
that anything had occurred Le"ark
and Wicker in Jail here in Ellzaoetn
City Stoutly proclaim their innocence
and declare they knew nothing ABOUT
the shooting until they were served VIII
warrants last Saturday. And there is
at least one reliable man who Is e1-'
pected to swear that he was IN conVer-
sation with Lewark. 1T some other place
at the very time the shooting is said to
have occurred.
Ga,lep's hsishbers Aroused
In endeavorinx to get the facts, con-
cernins what may prove the most SEN
aational murder in this vicinity In de-
cade, 1 drove the length of Currituck
county this week, interviewing many
people I found the people of Powells
Point and immediate vicinity in an ugly
mood and every one convinced that he-
wark was the murderer of Derwood
5ailor In other parts of the county
] found little interest in the case and
no one seemed to know the facts about
it. There were all sorts Of rumors as
TO what had happened.
Nf one thing I am convinced; II De-
wark killed Gallop it wasn't thru any
Encouragement or standing i'll will The
TWO men apparently did not know each
Other. Lewark says he never knew
iallop Gallops mother says her son
did not know Lewark.
LeWark's Reputation
Lcwark bears bad reputation around
P"wrlls Point, his old home, and good
reputation around Poplar Branch where
he has lived for several years past. He
nS"d to be a heavy drinker and when
Hrnkng he was a bad man to mix
with. He could hit hard and shoot
straight and had the reputation of being
h't afraid of anything or any number
U" lAngS walking on two legs. And
"h"h he wanted to beat up a man. he
meyer bothered about using his gun; he
went after him with his compact fists.
= i> told of him that on one occasion