The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1921-03-24
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Evans, Friday confessed to the rob-
berry and murder Of Tobe Williams,
the negro man whose body was found
in the run of Lemon Swamp Monday
afternoon of last week with his
throat cut and face slashed. The
confession of Evans came as eli
max to chain of circumstantial evi-
dence that was damning in every de-
tail, and pointed to the guilt of the
accused man. At first Evans staunch-
ly denied any connection with or
knowledge of the crime, and in an in
soIent manner confronted the OIL
GERS. He denied that he had ever
seen the dead man before he was
carried to the guard house to view
the remains of Williams. On the
arrival, however, Of two gentlemen
from Harleyville, thought to have
been the home of both men, he gave
in and confessed the horrible and
sordid crime in every detail.
Evans was arrested at the instlga-
tion of Sheriff Ray by the police OF
Branchville Monday afternoon, a few
hours after the discovery of the
body of Williams in the swamp by
some white boys who had gone tsh-
ing in Lemon Swamp. He was seek
ing to make his getaway, and came
very near accomplishing it. But for
the hasty and unerringly piecing to-
gether of the few circumstances
known at that time by Sheriff Ray,
Evans would have been many miles
away, doubtless, and his apprehen-
sion a matter of grave doubt, as no
one in Bamberg even knew the ne
gro's name.
The Bamberg officers cannot be too
highly commended for the manner in
which they handled this case. The
fact that both the criminal and the
dead negro were utter strangers in
Bamberg, both without friends or ac-
quaintances, did not deter the sher-
iff in his efforts to bring the guilty
man to the bar of justice.
When the last issue Of The Herald
went to press, Evans was in the coun-
ty Jail, charged with the robbery and
murder of an unknown negro. All
efforts to identify the murdered man
had been unsuccessful, even his name
had not been ascertained. Some of
the local colored people, though, had
an idea that both had come from
Harleyville, Dorchester county. The
authorities at HarleyWille were COM
municated with and arrived in Bam-
berg Friday, after Williams. had
been buried in the potter's field here.
The magistrate at Marleyville, F.
A. Gross, and C. E. Parler, a busi-
ness man of the same place, on their
arrival here requested that the body
be disinterred for Identification, and
this was done Friday. The dead ne
gro was identified without doubt as
Tobe Williams, who had worked for
Mr.. Parler at his planning mill at
Harleyville. The accused man was
likewise known to both parties, and
it was ascertained that he worked in
Harleyville as Preston Evans, though
he had given his name here as John
Evans.
When confronted by these gentle
men. Evans decided that he would
confess all. The two Harleyville men,
in company with Magistrate Dickin-
son and a number of other persons,
visited the county jail and saw
Evans about o'clock Friday after
noon, when the whole story was re-
lated to them in detail. Evans did
not attempt to justify his terrible
deed. He readily acknowledged that
the crime was committed solely for
the purpose of robbery.
Evans stated that he and VIII
Iiams had been in Bamberg on Sat-
urday before the killing; that they
went to Harleyville to spend Sun
day, and came back to Bamberg
Monday morning on the II O'Clock
train. They had been working dur
ing the previous week for J. H. Dixon
at the latter's saw mill near town,
and upon their arrival here started
back to the saw mill, after some in
tervening time spent in Bamberg.
AS they approached Lemon Swamp
which they must cross to get to the
saw mill, Evans says he suggested to
Williams that they could save some
distance by taking near cut through
the swamp and crossing the creek
where the killing took place.
While on the way to the mill
Evans SAYS he saw Williams pull a
o&