A Killing At Stilesboro.
Tom Ballard Shoots a Negro Last Monday Afternoon.
Dies From Wounds Next Day.
The cause of the shooting as stated by Ballard and the Negro.
Ballard in jail.

On the farm of Mrs. Boler Moon, near Stilesboro, a shooting occurred on Monday evening.  Tom Ballard, a renter on the farm, shot Ernest Jones, a negro.  The shooting occurred at Ballard’s house, at about dusk and the negro died on Tuesday at about 2 o’clock.  After the negro’s death Coroner Frank Patterson, whose home is at Stilesboro, summoned a jury and held an inquest over the remains.  The following citizens composed the jury: R. H. McGinnis, J. C. Caldwell, C. T. Jones, John Colbert, Belton Lewis and Robert Patterson.  An ante-mortem statement had been taken from the negro by Dr. Turk and was used before the jury, as well as other evidence.  The negro’s statement was in effect that Mr. Ballard had been drinking, that another negro and himself were at work with him in the field.  That Ballard accused him of taking a bottle of whiskey away from him, and talked so to him that he was afraid he would hurt him.  He told Ballard that his (Ballard’s) wife had taken the whiskey to keep him from drinking it.  He went to the house to get Mrs. Ballard to let him have the whiskey to give to Ballard. That Ballard followed him and as he was in Mrs. Ballard’s presence, pulled his gun on him; that he started to run from the house when Ballard shot him as he reached the door.

The coroner’s verdict was that the killing was murder.

Deputy Sheriff T. W. Tinsley, on hearing of the shooting accompanied by Mr. William Puckett, went to Stilesboro on Tuesday evening and found Ballard at the home of his brother, who lives on the Madison Milam farm, and arrested him.  He was brought to the city and placed in the jail.  Ballard’s statement as to the shooting is that he was with the negroes in the field, when he missed Ernest Jones and suspicioning that he had gone to his house, he went there, only to find that he was there.  That when he approached the negro had hold of his wife.  Believing that it was a case of assault he said “I have got you now.”  The negro started to get away and ran into another room, he following him with his pistol.  That he found him crouched under a table from whence he rushed for the front door to get away and as he darted out on to the steps he fired three times.

The ball which caused Jones’ death struck him on the left side from the rear.

Ballard is about thirty years old, has lived in the Euharlee and Stilesboro neighborhoods for a number of years and is known as a very industrious farmer.