The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1921-03-30

handled pistol in Edmund's pocket. |
He did not have it,
The witnesses said Bigham said that
after paying off the hands in the |
woods on the day Of the tragedy, he |
and Smiley came back to the house
together. He had no pistol, she said !
Smiley and myself went in the
house to the dining room. My wife,
Margie and motehr were in the room. |
The McCracken children were in the
yard. My children were up stairs. I
heard the mail drivers horn and went
out and got the mail. There was
letter for Smiley.
| Il went on upstairs to my bedroom.
When 1 came down, went in the din
Ing room 10 get a cork used in my
radiator. Margie and mother were
there. pumped up tire and my wife
and children got in the car. After
backed out / saw Smiley standing at
the lot near where the bees were.
The last time l saw Smiley he was
standing right there
Il drove on TO Foxworths and one
OF Foxmorth's little boys went and
called his father. / told Foxworth
was not going to haul any more wood
to Pamplico and arranged to have
him haul and pile it in the woods.
! Then l went back towards home.
At the top of tho red hill | saw Smiley,
his hand in front of him, going across
the road. About fifty yards from the
house l noticed mother"
Here the prisoner showed his grief
and wept. Almost with sobs he went
on. Il saw blood on her face and on
her clothes. / took hold OF her. She
said, Smiley has shot us, or Smiley
has killed u.s. She said, / want to
lay down, and I took her in the back
yard. She said she wanted some wa
ter. AT the benches in the back yard
she relaxed and fell back. If she ever
. brcathcd again / don't know it.
= Il think Mr.. Garrison was the first
person TO drive up. | went out 10
him. Then Mr. Hoyt Bostick drove
: mp. We went 10 the back yard where
mama was and something was said
about taking mama into the house.
: We took her in and laid her on the
| bed. We went out again and got the
little hoy, who was lying on the back
f porth and put him on the bed with
f mama. After that l don't remember
} exactly what happened except that
5 Army FoNworth drove up and l ask ed
, him TO go MP the road and tell the
| people and tell them to come there. /
told Il negro with FoXworth to go and
= tell Robert FoXworth. Then Il negro
man and woman drove up. Finally
the man came back and took the wo-
[ man away. Later | saw a mule and
l buggy belonging TO the estate behind
the wood pile. ] saw q negro come
4 and get ii. II that negro had looked
he would have seen that little boy.
l. When Mr.. Hayes and the others came
t somebody said they heard groans and
Q they found the little boy. They took
him in the house after [ had asked
s somebody TO go for DR.. Poston"
4 We'll, now about your sister," said
= Mr.. King.
= Il asked them to look for her." he
e said. Il called Margic about sun
> down. She did not answer. l went all
!, around the outbuildings looking for
S her. About sundOwn | asked Mr..
Melvin Brown 10 go with me upstairs
and we found Margie leaning over the
little trunk III which she kept the lit
tie boys clothes. There was blood
beside the trunk"
Here the prisoner broke down
-
with emotion.
Il asked DR.. Poston when he came
not to spare any thing to save the lit
tie child he continued. when he
started away | went to the car ana
asked him TO come back to that little
child and he did. The little boy was
dead. l stayed in the sitting room all
night, my wife, the two girls, myself
and the neighbors and jim Burch.
About IL o'clock Mr.. McCracken ana
another young man came in. 1t was
the first time l remember seeing Mr..
! Mctracken. He asked to see the lit
tie boys and some one went with him.
After daylight Mr.. Flowers and | went
out. | opened the blinds and we went
| to the lot. lie says | gave him a
pistol l take his word for it, l don't
| know. l went to the kitchen and was
there fifteen minutes and L went and
told them breakfast was ready. AS
remember, all of them ate break
fast. l stayed right there within the
yard. Between me and my God, I
) never went out of that yard from that
time till Sunday night. | don't re-
member telling searchers the direc-
ton 10 take TO find Smilcy's body.
did tell the direction L had seen him
going"
Bigham never answered a question
rs TO why he had kept the deed until
all the members Of the family had
died before Offering il for record. He
denied that any erasures had bean
mad" in the paper or any dates chang
ID. He denied writing any notes to
his wife and 1pclol.a6 ~ NNaS
cent of any crime.
other witnesses for the defense to-
DAY offered testimony attempting 20
show that smiley Bigham was insane
and that his father before him was
also crazy. This is one OF the points
the defense is seeking to establish.