Whig and tribune. [volume] (Jackson, Tenn.) 1870-1877, 1874-06-20
NUMBER 81

J buy more land: worth at that tim
=. from 800 to $50 per acre, and deem
ing it 4 safe investment bought
great deal Of il on credit He ais
traded very extensively IN cattle 70
the New York market, making mon
ey very rapidly at first, but after
n wards losing it faster than he had
made il. This, joined to 10 per cent
interest on the purchase price of IN!
- land, threw him deeper and deeper
~ in debt every year, while the price ol
~ land and every thing raised on Il
steadily declined. livery effort ht
~ couIG make failed TO relieve him of
THE BURDEN WHICH WAS PRESSING HI8l
down,
and following the natural bent Of his
mind, he engaged very largely in the
IS- breeding of thoroughbred cattle, and
"a became known throughout the Union
10 as owner and breeder of some of the
% best cattle in the country. But even
% this came too late to save him, and
y some months ago he was compelled
:, TO make an assignment of all his
\ property for the benefit of his credi-
'; tors, with liabilities to nearly OF quite
$40, 600. His land was sold for a
ID bout half its original value, so great
Il " has the price Of land decreased, ,
and this, with all his personal proper
n ty, failed to pay OF all the liabilities.
"a Hughes and Smith had in their in
"A timacy indorsed for each other to
large amounts, and now that the form
= er had failed tine mind of Granville
Smith began TO be vexed with a NOR
bid fear Of having his last remaining
: vestage of property swept away from
l him 10 Pay.these security debts. This
= constant thought preyed upon his
mind until his former affection for his
nephew became bitter and intense
hatred. lie became gloomy and mo-
rose, and let fall various dark hints
e pointing to some
TERRIBLE REVENGE
upon Hughes. He even threatened
his life upon several occasions, I un-
derstand. Last week while very
quietly tho family was sOlemizing
the wedding of his lovely daughter to
young Charley Bronston, of Richmond,
Smith rode up to the gate, and calling
Hughes out handed him a noie in
which he stated among other things,
that he (Smith) was going to hell any
how, and would take Hughes with
him.
The latter kept these threats to
himself and bore cheerful counten- |
ance dispiteihls financial troubles and (
the fearful shadow of impending |
death that was ever about him. His /
wife had relinquished her dover in I
terests in his lands, in consideration 1
of which <the creditors had allowed 4
her Its value IN money. With this 4
and some other money belonging to I
her he had purchased small farm in /
Boyle county, near Danville, and /
hoped TO remove quietly thither,
( leaving his uncle to gradually recover
! from his frenzy as time elapsed.
Yesterday morning carly he left
I Lexington with all his household
| goods packed in wagons aud himself
and his wife in their buggy along with
them.
Granville Smith had left his home
the day previous to 60 10 Mercer
county as was reported, he took with
him his horse and buggy and little
negro boy. Monday night lac stayed
at the house Of Oliver Perry IN this
county, at Camp Nelson, just this
side of the Kentucky river. Tuesday
morning he left the house in his bug
gy, and taking along a gun he had
gotten several years ago, made TO or
der, and of a peculiar pattern. 1t was
a repeating rifle with four barrels,
carrying a ball of about 40 TO the
pound-a gun 50 weighty that none
but himself, for he was large, mus
cular man, could use il, and with
which he was q dead shot. He said
he was going out to shoot ducks, but
he had told his landlady the night be-
fova that ha NrToo CIV xrnr1 xynar~a old I
and had been
RUINED BY HIS NEPHEW,
whom he had loved and befriended,
so that she feared that all was not
right with him. However, no one
having the right or power to control
him, he went his way.
Crossing the river Mt the bridge he
ascended the cliff on the other side to
the toll gate, and there left his horse
and buggy, telling the toll woman the
same story that he had previously !
told his landlady, that he was going
to hunt ducks.
THE AMBUscADE.
He returned down the road a short
distance and selecting a suitable place /
mp on the bank beside the. pike, cut =
some bushes to shade himself, and I
lay down behind a stump to await
the approach of his victim. This
was about eleven O'Clock in the Inorn-
ing.
Just about this time the wagons
with Hughes aud his family were
driving down the brow of the cliff on
this side OF the river. At half-past
eleven they stopped to bait the horse
and rest themselves. An hour after
wards they were winding around the
road, descending TO the bridge. BY
one O'Clock they had crossed, and were
ascending the cliffs on the other side
of the river in Garrard county. Be =
tween then and half-past one they
came in range of the murderous rifle.
Just here the road winds about the
cliff with precipitiOus bank on one
side and q deep ravine on the other
Hughes and his wife were in the bug
gy together, holding q bird cage be-
tween them He was sitting on the /
the left hand side of the buggy, while
Granville Smith was secreted on the
right of the road, and rather above
them, so that he would have to fire
downward and pass Mrs. Hughes to
hit her husband. So unlocked for
change in the position Of the parties {
the man usually riding on the right :
L
side of the buggy would have discon-
certed almost any man, but Smith c
was q fine shot, and was evidently pre- ]
pared for every contingency.
Mrs. Hughes was leaning forward, =,
her husband leaning back and inclin- !
ing to the left, so that by permitting l
them to pass q little beyond the place S
of ambush, a cool, skillfui marksman {
could send bullet into his right side {
Just under the armpit, ranging a lit
tie forward, passing through one,
possibly both, lungs and coming out
near the left nipple.
Granville Smith was cool, skiilful
marksmnn, and the bullet went as 1
have indicated. (
The victim and his wife were riding
along talking over their prospects in a
future that seemed mono too bright, !
and thinking that the Kentucky river
lay between them and danger, did not s
suspect the presence Of their kinsman
so lately become their foe. The first I
inhmation they had was the shot
which took effect, followed by two
others in rapid succession, but doing :
no damage. The horse reared and
plunged with the first shot. Mr..
Hughes, desperately wounded as he
was, bethought him of his wife, and :
cried to her;
'sHE has KILLED NE, LEAN BACK OUT
OF TIE Way !