A terrible murder occurred in Gilmer County at Stout’s Mills,
Friday night, Charley Townsend shooting and killing Squire Wm. Moss and
seriously wounding another man.
Townsend and his wife had been having some trouble for several
days and a peace warrant had been issued for Townsend. He defied the officers,
threatening to kill anyone who tried to arrest him, and succeeded in bluffing
them and retained his liberty.
He had made several attempts to kill his wife, whom he kept
under his watch at his home. Thursday night, she made her escape by dressing in
men’s clothes, and went to her father’s, whose name is Blagg. Friday night,
Townsend went and got her, stating as he left the house that he was going to
take her down the road and kill her.
Her father got Moss and some of his neighbors to help rescue his
daughter. They intercepted the man and woman at the bridge at Stout’s Mills and
took Mrs. Townsend and started back with her. Townsend drew a revolver and began
shooting; the first shot killed Moss, the second hit Blagg in the leg, and the
third went through the woman’s hair. He snapped the revolver several times after
that, but the balance of the cartridges failed to fire.
He made good his getaway, swearing that he would not be taken
alive. Blood hounds from Weston were put on his trail, Saturday morning, but at
this time he has not been captured.
One of the trends noted in modern-day civilization is
conformity, which is thought to be caused by the better dissemination of news
and pictures to every corner of the country. The most outstanding example is
that of cigarette smoking.
Not so many years ago, this custom was not accepted by many, and
women smoking was widely frowned upon. Through movies, magazines, newspapers,
radio, and other means, the habit was sold to the majority.
Though drinking has been a custom for hundreds of years, there
is no doubt that it has been popularized greatly by movies, in which the hero or
heroine always downs a few in a tight situation, and by other media.
It is becoming unusual to find many youngsters who have resisted
the trend to smoke and other things. Parents must increase their efforts to set
a sensible example.