Knoxville weekly chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1875, 1874-01-28
CLAIBORNE COUNTY HOMICIDE.
i&n Interview with the Murderer OF Aus.
mus,
Correspondence of tho chronicle.l


Correspondence of tho Chroniclel
TAzEwELI., Tenn, Jan. 1G, 1874.
Among the inmates of the county Jail
in Tazewell / found Ananias Honeycutt,
a rather pleasant-faced, able-bodied speci-
men of human development, not precisely
the man one of the detective force would
place under surveillance. Myers and
Honeycutt sportiron jewelry, mark of re-
gard from the Sheriff of the county.
Make room, if you please, for Honeycutt
TO rest his hand-cuffed wrists upon the Jail
door, and with dropping head and sideling
glance, tell the story of the killing of Thos.
Ausmus. ...
II had talked with Ausmus about pur-
chasing track of land we were walking
over it and came upon timbered ravine,
Ausmus in front. i remarked twas fine
range for hogs, and turning to me, re-
marked he understood L had killed some
of his hogs was sort of ambitious like.
I told him as for killing his hogs i knew
nothing of it. He remarked that it was a
id lie. He was facing me, L took up a
rock and struck him between the eyes,
and after he fell L struck him two more
blows-one on the left jaw and another on
the neck. In the scuflie, his pocket book
fell out, which ] took and left him lying
on the ground.n
CorrespondeRt-" Mr.. Honeycutt, did
Ausmus struggle after the third blow"
PrjsOHer-"I left him trying to raise up
on one elbow. He had but $3.50 in his
purse"
Cor" Mr.. Honeycutt, if you had this
matter to do over again, would you at
tempt it?' .....
With a strange, quivering wink and
,ronVulsiVe stretch of his manacled arms
l,o1o hx,n ho ply orI, Il Of 40
he replied, mo" .. ...
Mr.. Ausmus,n continued the prisoner,
lives near Speedwell. L was captured by
w. II. Keywood and C. II. Rogers, about
midnight, at Sulphur Springs, in Roane
county, about $50 miles from the scene Of
the murder.
After leaving Ausmus' / went to my
mothers mile and half from the body,
from thence through the Ausmus tract /
went home, one quarter of mile from
Grassy Hollow, on Powell's River and four
miles from the corpse, thence shome and
dUsted.'
1.-THE irst night | was taken to DIR. Key.
woods, the second night to Col. Ellis in
Roane county, the third evening to Jacks
boro', where L got supper, thence to S. II
KeywCod's where we staid all night-next
day to Tazewell." ...... ......
COr.-Mr. Myers, why are you in Jail .
The mouse eyes twinkled in the darkness
ana aSnrlil piping voice replleu II can
tell you.n ..r...'-... -.
"Honeycutts statement when first i'm
prisoned was that he, the murdered man
and Myers were walking together, and as
they descended the hill side Myers struck
Ausmus with rock in the back of tn,
head, smashing his skull and following
The first with two Others, and Huneycut
finished him. Two little boys heard tn,
victim cry out, looked at,the scene mo
ment and then ran home too badly fright
.ened to say anything Ineligible for hours
Cor" You took but $3.50, did you, Mr.
Honeycutt?n ...eF ..a-..
PriSoner-"That was ALL ... .r.
a The parallellogram with its strange face
embossed door is exchanged for the QUITE
air and the blue sky, your correspondent
possibly no nearer the facts than at first.
Honeycutt is heavily ironed, Myer!
handcutfed, Ausmus in his grave, you have
the closing tableau. r CLAIBORNE.