Show I i I 1 11 1 L OR Not GUILTY I I J JJ J c J j f I I 7 i 1 In the e town ot of Columbia Marlon Miss cIrcuIt court c urt was In se aes fIa The judge had been escorted thither her by one hundred militiamen i o anti It was understood that somo very Important mp cases were to be tried Robert Newman and others had been I it I the indIcted feted c fOr the tho burning ot of George Georgef f l Browns BrOin cotton gin New mans case caseb b being lri the first on the docket Judge Judco 1 LI proceeded with the T The e court room was crowded Doubt l lees seine few had gathered through tI another class while not ex cx any Immediate riot were loyal loyala a m men rl and were there because they w wanted to seethe see the law enforced There Thera t w were re Yet ota a third division of whom wo we 1 shaH not speak In numbers they comprised cO l tullY fully ot of the tho audi audience epee ence M The case caso proceeded A jury WM Im Impaneled impaneled paneled wIth Witness after actor ij witness was examined but bul nothing was broUght out calculated to de defendant At last James Jamea Buckley Duckley gas o c called his IUs testimony was waa lie 11 e i I WM was an eye eyo witness His brother Dan 9 followed toll owed and corroborated all that James had said sald t With this evidence the tho prosecution Tested rested Newman WAS sullen lie had no counsel and dId not lIot wish to otter offer i any defense In tact fact ho he paid ald little at attention to the proceedings but kept watchIng two or three knots ot of angry r men In the audience The p prosecuting attorney did not care t to make nake an argument The Tho court t Charged the jury which retired and i after fifteen minutes returned a verdict The ot of this story does docs not refer reter to Mr Newman nor Is It our purpose to follow hIm further the t sentence ho he received was WIlS just and Wo we leAve him to his hili fate When the verdIct of guilty was WILS ren der the suspicious class of men re ret to above simultaneous arose arosen t and n left the court room Proceedings Pr for tor the tho time were sue sus l All Ali were busy Interpreting the strange move What did It t mean Were Weri those men Intending to arm th themselves then return and break up thee the court 7 t ii Just then a 4 gentleman entered and i pressed forward to the Judges desk l YO Your t honor ho he said I would like you u to read this placing a note In his hand r I found it on a tree at the i cross crON roads reads k Mr Lincoln rapped for attention Ills tact face turned a shade paler but he rend read with a firm steady voice ITo To whom It may concern It T Judge Lincoln wants to try the tho case caso of Bob 1 I Newman for tor burnIng George Georgo Drowns Browns cotton gin he may do so But Dut If any 1 man gives evidence aGainst Mr New Newman man ho he w will do so at JIb his peril for tor I death be his doom SIgned WHITECAPS This ominous warnIng come came like a revelation ot of evil For a 0 moment the tho theR R was painful I The judge turned to the Buckley boys and asked how far do yort 0 live from 44 here NIne miles your lOUr honor It is 1 now after atter sunset and you had better remain bere here till morning l James replied No we had better hurry home Mother Is there alone i I fear that our house bouso will be burned tonight to night We must go co goThe The judge grew very cry much In earn cat Would the Whitecaps burn the tho 1 possessions ot of these two honest young 1 men because they were knowing to one i ot of the dark deeds ot of this secret so eo clety old are you he asked the theelder i 1 elder brother Twentythree lAnd And your our brothers age Js 16 there no one at home with your yourl our l moth mother rY rYNo No we are her only children She SheI I Js If a widow Within Within the radius of oC his acquaintance iii aU knew that James Jamell Buckley Duckley was no coward And yet ct the mu muscles lett of his face were seen to twitch uneasily But Dut Ewa s not for tor himself Ito Ho was WIUf thInk thinkIng Ing ot of his dear mother and wondering If ft he and Dan could reach homo home before th the Incendiary than would apply the torch to all allt t they po possessed on earth carts and perhaps cause their mother to perish In the theames flames ames The rhe crowd which left the court room o had dispersed dl persed The Tho full tull moon was struggling through the tho wavIng tree treetops r tops The two young men mounted end accompanied Ii by a neIghborIng boy about thirteen years ears of age e rode rapId rapIdly ly i journe afforded a good I unity for tor refection In spite of 1 t them themo 4 o t tt theIr heir minds were filled with tore fore t bodings of evil Thoughts ot of the an j try ary crowd leaving the tho court room the tho judges anxious concern the note noto of of t WarnIng but worst ot of all the of theIr home enveloped In flames lIames all these thoughts filled their minds as y they rode along In silence At last James turned sUddenly to Ills his brother Dan he bo saId I wIsh you never to joIn any secret socIety that operates against the tho laws of our country r Never have anything to do with White Whitecaps caps Never commit commit any deed decd that Would dishonor our name The young oung man addressed was used to receiving counsel from his brother but the peculiar earnestness of his tone tono an manner tonight ht sent Bent a 0 shudder over Dan which he be could not account I for fori i WhY Jim you dont expect any fi thing to happen do you yourl ou rl fJ No ot of course not noti but think what 1 a terror to our neighborhood the In Internal r fernal Whitecaps have always been It If two va can sell lIell the tho farm I think we had better move away i the Whitecaps replied Dan Dani But you be afraId of my InY hay hayIng hayi i i Ing anything l tv do vilh them unless they attack us tonight and then I shall 1 try to kill on off n a load lond of the tho devils dols But Dut we oUGht to hurry home Jim and set get our Runs guns ready We can cani i hide In the brush by the smoke house and when they crowd Into the T wall 11 be the time to sprinkle them wIth th buckshot t They were now no about aboul halt half way wa homet home and were nearing the crossing ot of II a t t little stream What a scene of beauty would have burst upon their vision Islon had thEY been In II a mood to see feo It The tail sweet gum Um and cypress and magnolia overlapping like an arch above the road while the underbrush on each side was so Intertwined with bramble and J ivy and grape as to be I almost impenetrable to man And the road descending the tho had the Appearance ot of enterIng II a In Indeed Indeed deed It was as a n tunnel of forestry The night was calm and pleasant and the Jh flies tilled filled the air like sparks res In from the burning Grate The trIo had just crossed the stream and were risIng the hill on the Oil op aide Ilde when suddenly a man with hand stepped d into the road just JUIt ahead ot of them and shot James Duck Buck Buckley ley from his horse There stood the bloodthirsty demon lr In the tho road preventing the lie other two boys boya from passing passin T To retreat per h traps meant to fail int un ambuscade The murderer WM was nt upon finishing ii I his work ot of destruct rn so well begun nut But Providence int The cart cartridge cartridge ridge shell got fast ned In hi his gun and 1 atter several eral vain efforts to extract 1 it ithe he fled l Dan dismounts and bends over oer the 1 ate form fonn lie lifts the silent 0 JIm JIm speak peak to me he be III I a S u cries ne lie kneels beside him Cant you speak to mo again Surely you are not dead Alas It Is too true Ire discovers that the brave young man breathes no Ion long longer er cr Oh what fearful sorrowful moments those are to Danl ills onlY brother but n minute ago aJo so full tull ot of life now nowa a corpse at his hili feet The two boYS hurry home The Is aroused and many kind friends gather to offer oCter sYl sympathy path and assistance There Is no longer any fear fear of the tho Buckley Duckley homo home being burned burne 1 for tor the tho Whitecaps have already wreak wreaked ed cd a more terrible vengeance than the destroying of property The Tho bodY was for at once and was quietly taken home The Tho sheriff was notifIed of the awful tragedy The question now arises Who was the murderer Doth Both Dan Buckley DucKley and Ids companion know that he he was none other oilier than Will Purvis an aneo and so eo testified In court We now have to take up another thread ot of our thread out of which tate fate wove the destiny of the man just name named 1 Traveling In tM the south even een yet one meets with many things to remind him of the days das of slavery One such relic retlo Is the bloodhound orIginallY kept by sIn stave e owners for the purpose ot of trailing fugitiVe negroes Title canines Instinct of scent is hI so marvelous that thattie tie he can follow any particular track ot of either man or beast and distinguish It amongst a thousand ot of its Ito kind Very early carly next morning after Mr Dir Duckley was as killed the sheriff sheriN repaired to the tho place taking with him his tw two bloodhounds rue rhe dogs took the tho mur murderers murderers trail at once and followed It to Purvis home Thus the unerring brutes added their testimony to the direct statement ot of the he two eyewitnesses Young Purvis was taken Into custody and safely lodged In n jail It often otten happens that the killing of human beings Is neceSSArY to arouse arous people to a full tull realization of some flome tero ter terrible menace to society It Is certain that the murder ot of noble James Duck Buck Icy had such an effect In county Every lo loyal al citizen became a 11 patrIot ready rendy to lay Iny down his life It if necessary In the tho defense ot of rl right ht There Is n 0 power In moral or spiritual power that we can hardly account for The rho better of men In the tho country were In the ml mi minority ity but the tho courage and lo t n with which they were Burl sud eniy denly tilled filled had the effect ot of crushIng the Influence of those who stood on the side ot of anarchy Loyal men were no longer afraid to speak against secret works of darkness and denounce them from the housetops In issuing the tho mandate for tor Buckley to be killed the tho Whitecaps had given the order for Cor their own dissolution lis as n a so clet clely Thc They were now conquered even be before foro they had been whipped d Three months after tiro tho trial of New Newman Newman man Judge Lincoln returned to resume his hili York work Ho came no now unguarded The Tho time was opportune for tor strIKing a telling blow lIe came with proffered leniency to the tho better class of White Whitecaps caps It if they would confess contess and re renounce their allegiance to this murder OilS ens league Justice was tinctured with mercy To thin standard the tho crestfallen wretches locked b by hundreds The Tho oath they lied taken Was pub Malted In open court It was to the of ef feet that It if nn any man should reveal the tho secret works of the members or fall to perform any act required of him b by the league ho he was to ha bo assassinated by his fellows Tire lW society Is by no means n a new thing under the sun It Is only one ot of those secret societies who whoso o origin reaches nache back t to the beginning of the therace therace race tells ot of Satans revealing n a oath th to Cain who In turn nil ad mInIstered It to others thus In fag a system ot of plunder and murder The case calle of Purvis wn was the first to be called Wo ll a shall not follow the tho details ot of Ida trial since the evidence has half al 01 already ready rendy boon been touched u upon on It to say he was convicted and sentenced to he be hanged on 7 1194 On this date everything was In rend ness and n a large croWd tied had gathered to witness the execution The sheriff was particular to ask the bystanders to ex examine amine limine the knot that he had just tied tany did so At last the hour tour arrived The cUlprit was assisted to the platform M Mr have havo you anything any thin to tosny say asked the sheriff livery J ery eye Q was fastened upon the tho doomed man lie WitS was above medium height and size Ills HIs face tace did not wear exactly trio tho expression ot of a criminal but perhaps this tact fact was dl di to his tender years ars for tor he was Wall not yet et through though he was well dovel doel for hi isle age and was a decided character and lender leader among his hili O elates and manners Indi good breeding compared with the country countr In which he was raised Ills face was ashen pole pale but his hili voice was firm and anel his lua dark eye ee steady It was easy cosy to see fee that young PUrls Purvis had the pity though not generally the sympathy of the lire gathered crowd Ile saId saIdI I tUn am not guilty ot of killing James Buckley though I know whop ho did It Mine Is the crime of being a whitecap Scarcely a year eor IO ago r I was persuaded to take the tho oath I soon poon found that they did many things that wrong but I dared not renounce them I was corn com compelled pellet to do their bidding however hover do dG testable or criminal It might seem em to tome tome me I was a slave to n a gang of mur deters My young oung friends continued the speaker showing signs of l greater men tal al distress profit by my experience I hope rope the scene which you are about to witness will make a I lifelong impression upOn your OUr minds r I was at the burning ot of Brown cot and ond at many oilier times limes and places have I worn the white cap Now with will n a ghastly am doomed to put on one of another color I hope you ou will take the word ot of one who Is about to po pay the tho penalty of hIs wrongs II by the offering ot of his There nothing good In the ion tion whIch Is directly the cau cause e of my being here today Dont join It young oung men ns as you OU value honor liberty and life Itself ills voice olce had now become tremulous as though he were wrestling with willI some strong inward emotion tm I once W was S happy lie continued Mv h hopes hones were bright Md and life lito was full or of nut But one tall false stop It was fn lay downfall and no now The young oung man could say lIay no more For a few minutes ho he was convulsed with emotion then beckoned to the tho om oil that ho he had no more tl to sa say The cap Is placed over oer lira his face ace The fatal tatal nOO noose Is slipped over oer his head and ond adjusted around the neck The Tho and suspense of the crowd crowll Is beyond descrIption Some Somo cover COer their tacos with their hands others turn turna a away 1 The sheriff steps forward and ond mo motions that all Is read ready The Tho signal Is given henl Tho Elio trap Is sprung And Will Purvis II is from the Into Not so 60 the rope In some mysterious W way r unwinds from his no one can the young oung Whitecap Is lying halt unconscious but still alive upon the ground In a dazed way a ho be arises tr d looks Wild wildly about The sheriff proceeds to make another knot as though he would try again The crowd becomes wild with excite meat ment The simple country people look upon the as manifesting the hand of 01 Providence and go so 80 tar far faras nil as to forbid him hanging PUrls Purvis again There Is II no other alternative than to confine the prisoner tn in jail and keep him there till he cnn can be or pa pardoned But Dut first he bell begs to bo be I driven home that hi his parents may know that ho he Is still alive They rhey reached the parental home as the of oC night were Ver tailing The sheriff leaving young Purvis In care caro of a 11 deputy went vent In to break the jo joy joyful tul ful news to the tare father and mother He found lound them In n a back room prostrated with grief just IlS as ho he expected they would be Mr Purvis began belan the tho officer gent gently ly by r I have hao brought your son lion William WilliamA A renewed |