Milford chronicle., 1925-05-15

{ yard adjoining the jail.
The crowd came, however, an
managed to reach the county sea
in all kinds of conveyances used il
those days.
The streets were full of peopl
and vehicles; the two-wheeled gil
with it's circular springs extending
out behind, was prominent in thos,
days, and only those in good finan
ciaI condition were able to owl
them.
When the people realized tha
they had been fooled, they did nOt
get mad; but, looked for Other
means to amuse themselves. Fires
were built in the streets and on the
square; old doors and boards were
taken and placed on the sand; fid-
dies, mouth organs, jews-harps, ETC..
were brought into play to furnish
music, and where music could not
be had, "patting husky" was sub
stituted, until there was staged one
of the greatest dancing contests ev-
er witnessed at the county seat, and
a medley of music rendered which
would make the noise Of cat fight
sink into insignificance.
Men and women, irrespective of
age, engaged in the old time sport
until they retired exhausted by their
strenuous efforts. It was said of
one man who danced that day, that
he danced a jig with a glass of wa
ter on his head without spilling a
drop. Wrestling was engaged in,
and an occasional fight to make
things more lively. "Rot-gut Whis-
key" was to be had for the asking
and in consequence many were more
or less under it's influence. But the
cry was "on with the dance" and
sand the floor, which was done to
keep the dancers from slipping.
The fiddles squeaked, and from the
sound coming from them, you could
not tell whether they were trying to
play "Arkansaw Traveller" or Yam
kee Doodle The fun continued until
time for the great event which they
had come to see was to take place.
All activities ceased and the crowd
moved in a body towards the Jail.
On arrival they were met by armed
guards with bayonets fixed, who in
formed the crowd that it could not
enter certain prescribed limits, with
out a written permit from the Sher-
iff, Tt being a good natured crowd it
retired without protest, and turned
to devise a way so that some one
could climb up on a high place, |
where they could look down in the |
Jail yard, and tell the people below |
what was happening in the Jail |
yard.
Nothing feasible developed until
young man volunteered to climb one |
of the trees in yard surrounding |
the court house, from which eleva-
tiOn he could see the scaffold, and
inform the crowd below of what was
being enacted behind the brick walls
of the Jail yard. He had not been
long esconsed on his high perch, be-
fore things began to happen and he
reported as follows:
They are coming out through the
jail door.
They are ascending the scaffold.
They are adjusting the moose and
caps.
The minister is praying.
The Sheriff has gone down to
spring the trap.
just as he started to continue and
say that the Sheriff was pulling the
rope to release the platform on
which the culprits stood, the limb
lroke and down the tree came the
nan. landing on the neck and
shoulders of big giant fellow from
lown Gumboro way; both fell to the
,round. People rushed to their aid
,ut found they had not been serl-
,usly hurt.
The execution being completed and
he men and women being pronounc-
ID dead by the physicians in attend
nee, the good natured Sheriff
moving how far some of the people
lad come. and how anxious they
we're to see the hanging, did the
,est he could for them. He threw
pen the wide doors which led into
he yard and permitted the people to
Iass in single file; permitting those
Who desired, to stop and view the
.ruesome sight, of three negroes
anging by the neck, ready to be cut
own and placed in the coffins.
I passed by the doors with the J
rowd and beheld sight which is
stamped on my memory, s
nd throughout all the long years, l
here are times when I seem to see L
hose criminals, who were John Can :
on, who killed a young school tea
her; Levi Jenkins, for rape of
olored girl, and Sara Jane Bradley I
7ho murdered a young child, all
angling by the neck on one scat {
old in the old Jail yard, seemingly
S plain to me now as 1 saw them I
iXty odd years ago, when the event l
OOk place. 1 never again have want
d to view another such scene. The
ody of Cannon was turned over to l
is mother and it was buried at or
ear Milford. The bodies Of Jenkins 1
nd the Bradley woman were buried
4 a "thicket" near Georgetown. G
RumOr later stated that all three I
f the bodies were stolen by medi-
al students for dissection purposes. '
The people dispersed to their a
ONES and the old county seat re-
umed it's peaceful pose; so that @
anne day one passing through the 7
OWN a few hours later would not C
ave supposed that there had been a
nacted within it's confines the t
Genes described; when three hu- t
ian beings were sent into eternity "
the only time in the history of {
when three criminals a
ere hung from the same scaffold a
the same time, and the only time
lat a woman was hung and paid L
lie penalty for the crime Of murder. o