The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1868-08-08
n YsTERIoUs AFFAIR.
Two Eoted Horse Thieves Captured
and Hung

The Memphis 1ppeaZ Of the Ist inst. con
tains the following:
Early yesterday morning we b, on the I
street that a couple Of men, well-knOwn in /
the community had been found hanging to T
a limb Of a tree by the wayside On the
Raleigh road. On making inquiries in the
proper direction we learned that such was
really the case, and that parties had been !
sent out to Investigate the matter. Mean
while, Constable William Day, Of Raleigh, I
had come into the city aud made the follow |
ing stamement to the proper authorities:
On Thursday morning a horse was stolen /
from a farmer living IN the Corner,
named VIM Ready, who discovered his loss
/ in the course Of half hour or so and calling
1 In posse, he made chase in the direction
! which he supposed had been taken by the
/ thief OF thieves After a short pursuit the
t party overlook the animal which was being
/ ridden by two men, who proved to be
/ couple of youths named Chris Bender and
/ John, alias Bud Whitfield
They marched their captives back to
! Raleigh and carried them before Squire
/ Stewart, who, after brief examination put
them under two thousand dollar bonds, each,
! to answer TO the Criminal Court They
were not able to furnish the requisite bonds
and were accordingly turned over to the
/ Constable, William Day, Esq, to be con-
| veYed to the county Jail Mr.. Day, with a
couple of guards, placed the prisoners in a
wagon, and toward the cool of the evening,
started into the city with them. They pro-
ceeded in perfect safety until within about
four miles of the city, when, Just as they
| neared a clump Of trees, IN front of the
house of Mr.. Mott "a preacher, they found
themselves surrounded by a troop Of horse
men, numbering from fifty to sixty, heavily
armed, masked and fantastically attired, with
high, conical hats. The leader of the band
approached the wagon and asked who was
in charge of the prisoners, and on being told,
demanded them from Mr.. Day, who, having
no alternative, gave them up Mr. Day and
the two guards were then ordered to depart
or not to follow, and the prisoners, pinioned,
were placed upon two led horses, and the
cavaIcade turned and went rapidly back on
the road, bearing the prisoners with them.
At the corner of Parson Motifs field, a
road runs into the old Raleigh road at right
angles, and leads across the railroad to the
new Raleigh road good portion of the
way through a dense wood. Through this
path or road the hOrsemen took their way
and were soon lost to sight and hearing.
Yesterday morning, in the early dam,
some negroes coming into market, saw
swinging from the limb Of tree, on the
roadside about mile and a quarter from
the bridge over Wolf river, two ifeless
bodies. Too much alarmed to stop or stay,
they made their way as rapidly as possible to
Rutchman's, near the Fair Grounds, the
= nearest house that they could find open at
/ that hour Of the morning, and told what
they had seen.
Cooney Rutchman mounted his horse
, and made his way to the spot described by
the negroes, and there found the lifeless
> bodies of the two unfortunate men who had
been so mysteriously taken away from Con
stable Day the evening before The scene
selected by their terrible execuEioners was
! Immediately on the new Raleigh road, or
: ! the left side opposite to the center of a
large cornheld, about one mile and quar-
ter beyond Wolf river bridge, going toward
, Raleigh. The tree selected was a sweet gum
! about twelve inches In diameter, with a large
1 limb, running out from the body at RICH
= angles, about ten feet from the ground. TX
. this limb they were hung by a small grass
. line quarter of an inch In diameter, which
was fastened with sliding knot around tht
=. throats of the two bodies; that of Whitfield
= swung clear, his feet some six inches from
= the ground, while the toes Of Bender rested
> upon the earth Both had evidently died 0
strangulation simply, and presented (wheI
we saw them later In the day., most hide
> Gus and frightful sight, the horrors of whicl
A. we will not attempt to portray. To each 0
y them was pinned card with these word
y written thereon: Horse thief" d" By a
= outraged community"
- Intelligence was conveyed as soon as pos
sible to the relatives of both parties, ant
they Immediately started out and took tn
~ necessary steps towards removing the bodies
- Squire Smith, of Raleigh, being the neares
:, magistrate, was sent for and acted as a Core
ner. The jury, we understand, rendered
. verdict in accordance with the above facts
y The bodies were cut down, placed in a Wagon
- H., h. Ar,FEl L.,
- to the corner of the old Raleigh road an
- Mosby avenue, opposite Rutchman's, an
- that of Whitfield to Hill street, near th
- brewery.
Ih Not the slightest clue to the perpetrator
-, Of this act of swift vengeance has been dit
covered and we imagine it is one of thos
- secrets which will never be known until tbs
~ great day when the " dread arcaua Of eartl
. and hell, and heaven shall be all mad
- clear.
~ The miserable men who were thus cut 0
l0 so suddenly, in the midst of their evil way
y and hurried into the presence of their NJ;
80 ker with all their imperfections on them,
- were neither Of them over twenty-four year
10 old. Both, we understand, are natives
Memphis, and both have respectable col
49, nectOns.
~ We hope that this will serve as a warnin
to the other young men of the gang, an
al cause them to leave course of conduct thi
be cannot but lead to the same fate; for the
TX can rest assured that the men who meted OF
We this vengeance, nave their eyes upon thea
n and their hands are ready to punish th
on slightest encroachment upon the rights
society.
ne A private letter from Oxford, Miss, give
ne the following story "a few days as
y Sheriff w. S Mckee, on returning hon
10 from an adjoining county, stopped to bath
en- in the TaIahatchie river. His feet touchin
something smooth on the bottom sewers
" times, curiosity at length led him to ezamir
r., closely, when he found small iron ches
ng Procuring assistance he took it to Oxfor
~ ~ broke it open, and found 5000 in silve
8, 800 in gold, 200 Mexican dollars an
- $4,000 10 Confederate money. There wei