The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1921-01-20

stated yesterday that he was given
his job again with the mule COM
pany.
be any more depressed yesterday
than usual, he said.
when I got into the car with my
family to go to Pamplico," Edmund
Bigham testified, II left my mother
and sister and the children at their
various occupations and play. AS far
as I know there had been no quar-
reling during the day. Instead Of
going straight to Pamplico, I went
up the road to see Bob Foxworth for
a minute. AS we came back we saw
mother stagger out Of the yard. I
then turned and caught glimpse of
Smile. turning into the woods almost
in a run. He had his right hand up
toward his breast as if something
was in it, but did not see any pistol.
my mother died as we were carrying
her into the house. T. D. Garrison
and Hoyt Bostick had come up in
the meantime. I called my sister,
Mrs. Marjorie Black, but she did not
answer.
Finds Youngest Child.
"I then went on the back piazza
and found John McCracken, the
youngest child, dead there. My
mothers cap was also on the floor
just by the back door and there was
blood all about. believe my mother
and the child were shot on the piaz-
"a and that she tried to get into the
road for help.
1--WE then started to look, for my
sister and the other child. It was
almost dark, probably two hours af-
ter we reached home, that we found
Mrs. Black dead in her room up
stairs.
Later some one found the child,
Leo McCracken, on pie Of straw
behind a potato bank out in the yard.
He was still alive. We called DR..
Poston as soon as possible. The boy
died about 5 o'clock this morning.
It is evident that the boy was run
ming when he was shot
Mr.. Bigham could not say why the
room of Mrs. Black was not searched
sooner. 1T just happened So" he
said, that we did not think about
it."
Some one had asked him to go up
stairs, but he just did not do it. Mr..
Bigham also declared that his brother
had been in financial troubles and
had aften spoken of them. Two
years ago while he was postmaster
at Drum, he was charged with a
shortage. There had always been a
question about this and it had nev-
er been settled. He had also spok-
en- of certain people who had been
trying to do him wrong, he said.
'That morning about IL o'clock,
we had paid off the hands together
and I noticed that my brother was
awfully depressed. He would stand
up and gaze about in an distracted
manner. He did not have pistol
that I know Of. The pistol he did
the killing with was mine and was
III my bureau drawer when I left
the house. There was another pis-
tol somewhere in the house, in my
mothers room, I Think
The testimony of Mrs. Edmund
Bigham and her two little daughters,
who accompanied Mr.. Bigham In the
car away from the house just be-
fore the shooting, tailed at every
point with that of Mr.. Bigham.
There were some at the scene OF
the shooting today who were inclln-
ed to doubt that Smile Bigham had
done the wholesale killing or that he
had killed himself. All of the evil
dence which could be found today,
however, pointed toward him as the
murderer and suicide. The complex
situation in which the Bigham estate
has been involved for the past year
or two, gave rise to the doubts ex-
pressed by some of the people living
in the community.
Kills Mrs. Black First.
From the situation at the scene OF
the shooting it is believed that the
murderer shot Mrs. Black first. From
the cleanness Of the bullet wound,
he evidently crept into the room and
shot her before she knew it. 1t is
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