The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1923-04-11
BOSS IN CAMP
OF SENATOR is
HELD BY JURY
Whipped l7.Year-Old Wash.
ingtOn, ID. G. Youth I'm
mercifully, Is Charge
Observation-Disclosures
North DakOtan Charges Con.
spiracy of Florida Sheriff
and Lumber Company

Macclcnny, lFa., April ll.-John
Roddenburg, convict gang boss at
the Baker county turpentine camp
! of state Senator John Knabb was
indicted late yesterday by the Bak-
cr county grand jury on charges
made by Paul Revere. white, II
years old. Washington, d. c. youth
who maintained he was fogged un-
; mercifully as oftc1 rs twice II day
while serving sentence at the camp
for vagrancy.
He was leased to Senator Knabb's
company by the county.
Madison. Fla, April l1.-lnvestira-
tion into the death of Martin Tabert.
North Dakota youth, while serving 4
sentence IN convict labor camp IA
months ago, was started today by the
Madison county grand jury.
Included in the list of witnesses
were former guards at the camp
where the floggngs are said to have
taken place and former convicts who
say they were whipped
Walter Higginbothan, former con-
vict boss. who is being held on a
murder charge for Tabert's death.
was brought here to await outcome
of the grand jury action. IN
The state, it is unde erstood, will
ask an indictment of Higginbotham.
The defense. on the other hand.
Will endeavor to show Tabert died
of complication of diseases, brought
OF complication of disease
brought about by fever, which is the
contention of the lumber company to
which Tabert was leased
Conspiracy Charged.
development in the case yester-
day was the assertion of G.. Crimson,
states attorney for Cavalier county,
North Dakota, that he had evidence
to prove that Sheriff Jones of Leon
county and other officials were in
collusion with railroad detectives to
arrest men who were riding through
the country, have them seYter ced and
lease them to the Putnam lumber
company.
Through his attorney, Higgin-
botham yesterday made general de-
nial of all accusations against him.
but admitted he had flogged Tabert,
asserting the licks administered
"were all light ones and only hit
him II very few times"
Higginbotham refused to discuss
the ease.
81 may have statement to make
later he said. 81 remember Tahart
and | admit whipped him. A fell
low can't handle bunch of convicts
with kid gloves, but the punishment
given him was within the law and
instead of lashing him severely |
merely gave him a few light taps
Tabert died of pneumonia, according
to the camp physician, who made a
thorough diagnosis of the case
That's all ! know about it,"
The state had assembled today
more than n score Of witnesses, some
of them young men who were arrest.
ed on minor charges and given pri-
son camp sentences and former con-
vict guards stationed at the lumber
camp where Tabert died
All true, SiyS NsulrU
'Al of the activities at the
camp pertaining to brutalities OF
prisoners are true,' declared A. b.
Shibers of Doe Run. Ga, former
guard. Shibers while waiting to
testify told of floggings and other
brutalities which he said took
place at the prison camp. He said
men were forced to work waist
deep in water at the swamp from
sun-up to sun-down and that he
was employed to stand over them
with sawedoff-shot gun to pre-
vent their escape and to speed
them up in the work.
He declared that Walter Hig-
genbotham, whipping boss rode
around the camp on a white horse
with a whip weighing 7k pounds
hanging to the saddle. No man.
he said. Gould survive the malaria
if he remained OH the job. He
said he quit his job as guard be-
cause OF his health.
Another Prepared
j. w. Jackson, another guard,
ooSSi SSu tAoI uc "dS "
tell a story of how he made ready
the body of Tabert for burial. He
said the body was almost solid
mass Of sores while deep welts
which he said were caused by
heavy lash. stood out on the back.
Jackson said that at least ten
men were whipped at one time in
an afternoon and night, among
them Tabert. Tabert was whip
ped severely.
More Than 80 Licks
Jackson and Shibers both as
serted that they counted the licks
on that occasion and that they to-
tailed more than ninety.
Glen Thompson, native OF Iowa,
who served q sentence In Putnam
Lumber company camp, asserted
that the North Dakota youth died
as result Of whipping given BY
Higginb0tham. He declared that
Tabert was almost blind with
malaria at the time and that he
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