The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1921-03-23
JUDGE 0vERRUlES
PLEA FOR BINGHAM
Continued from page one)

went after Rose. There was no testi-
money covering the period between
;he first quarrel described which ap-
bears to have actuated the trip of
Smiley and Mrs. Black to Consult Mr..
Arrowsmith, and the day of the kill
ing.
i, Goes Into Woods
According to the negroes, on Janu-
airy is, Edmund left the house about
o'clock to go to the woods to meas
ure the wood that had been cut An
drew Singletary, negro, was at the
house. To him Mrs. Bigham said
also bht that she feared for him to
do so because she was afraid he would
be killed by Edmund She asked
Singletary to go with Smiley. Single
tary testified that he and Smiley Big
ham left the house together and that
Smiley had with him lot of papers
which he told Singletary were land
papers which Edmund had stolen from
him and which he had taken back.
They remained in the woods while Ed
mund measured pthe wood and paid
off the men. Others besides Single-
tary testified to the fact that Edmund
had in his possession while in the
woods the same pistol that was found
Sngletary said that later in the
day when he was passing the Bigham
house, little Leo McCracken came out
to the road and gave him vest which
Mrs. Bigham had sent him. While he
was putting on the vest he saw Ed
mumd Bigham coming out the woods
near the place where Smiley's body
was found. After visit to another
negro's home. Singletary and this ne
gro, Hezckiah Davis had returned
along the road beside the Bigham
house and had seen Edmund Bigham
and his daughter pouring water into
their automobile. He saw no one else
on the premises,
There followed the story that Ed
mund and his family had gone, to Fox
worth.s, and on returning only half
hour later had found his mother
wounded. Witnesses differed as to the
statements made by Edmund. At one
time he was made to say that his
mother had come staggering to meet
him; at another that she was sitting
down; at another that she was living
down. All the witnesses agreed that
there was no effort 60 find the BODY
of Mrs. Black for long time after
neighbors had told the story of the
killing Of Mrs. Bigham and John Nc
Crackon.
An outstanding feature of the in
quest was the testimony of Miss
Louise Bigham, Edmund's 14-ycar-old
daughter She said that she had new
er known at any time of any differ
cnces between her father and aunt
and uncle or that they had quarrclcd
about the deeds, as had been told by
her relatives to their counsel, Mr.. Ar
rowsmith. If questioned too closely
as to details, the young woman did
not remember.
Mrs. Edmund Bigham's testimony
was much like that of her daughter,
and was given after she had been
fully. assured of her rights as
wife and witness. The one circum-
stance that had seemed to connect her
with the troubles of the brothers-the
sending of the daughter to the woods
on the day of the killing--was ex-
planned by the assertion that she had
sent to her husband for a dress that
she wanted.
Carried Paper to Clerk
She admitted that she had carried a
paper to the clerk of court for rec
ord and that he had refused it because
she did not give him the amount of
the war tax but she did not know the
nature of the paper. Her husband
had given it to her to take to the