The Morristown gazette. [volume] (Morristown, Tenn.) 1867-1920, 1874-01-14

MURDER IN CLAIBORNE COUNTY
A fiendish and most brutul murder
was pcrpetrated in Claiborne county,
near Powelrs river, 10 or y miles
from Tazewell, on Saturday, j an. 8.
The victim was a we'll known, re-
spected and wealthy citizen of that
community by the name of Thomas
Ausmus. The particulars of the find
ing Of tile body of the murdered man,
as gathered from a gentleman re-
Gently from the vicinity of the trag-
edy, are as follows: A man by the
name of Thos L. Myers, under in
dictment for malicious shooting, has
for months past, been Gliding the
officers of Claiborne county. by hid
ING in the woods and refugeeing
from one secret place to another to
avoid arrest. He was known to the
community as a desperate and dan,
gerous man. On Saturday, the 3rd
inst, Annias Honeycutt, a brother
in-law OF Myers. approached Thos.
Ansmus, and informed him that he
htd just come from the hiding place
of Tom Myers. and that Tom want
ed him to sell his horse to enable
him to leave the count Y. Honey
cutt further stated that Myers had
s:gnitied 4 willingness to take $50
or S13 for the hOrse-a sum insio-
nificart compared with the value Of
the hOrse-as it was regarded one Of
the most valuable animals in that
part Of the c0Tnty. After consider
able persuasion on the part Of Honey
cutt, with assurances that it was but
a short distance from where they
were to the place where Myers was
concealed. Ausmus consented to 90
and trade for the horse. A short
distance from their starting point,
they met gentleman who wanted
to see Ausmus on business, but
uoneycutt insisted that Ausmus
should not stop then, and when Aus
mus told the gentleman that he
would be back in an hours time,
uoneycutt added that it might be
several hours later before he cot
back. That was the last time
any witness saw the two parties i'll
company. Later in the evening Of
the same day, two gentlemen hap
pening to be near the bank of tie
river noticed Thomas j.. Myers
emerge from the woods on the OBJ
pOsite side of the stream some dis
lance above them and get into
canoe at place very unusual fo-
one to be kept. He pulled out into
the stream and 1oated with the cur
rent some distance, when nearly
posite where the men were standing,
a voice from tie opposite bank ar
rested Myers. by calling cut to ghinf
to come to shore. Myers held his
boat steadily in the stream, and re-
piled, is it you? I've killed him."
BY this time the speaker on the OPP
pOsite shore made himself visible at
the edge of the water, and the an
observed watchers on the other side /
him as Henry Myers,
father of Tom Myers and father-in-
law of Honeycutt. Henry MIXERS |
then inquired if he was sure he had |
killed him, and where it had ocur-
red. IIoneycutt replied that he had
mashed his skull with n rock break
ing it in three places, and had per-
petrated he deedin Wagon Hollow
Myers replied that that was q good
place to do the job. After some fur
her conversation, Myers disappear
ed in the woods and Honeycutt con-
.inued his way down the river. The
men were unsuspicious of any foul
lct, and it was only after Henry
Myers had startled the community
~ going to Wagon Hollow and dis
covering the murdered man that this
episode was reco!lected. Henry
Myers was at once arrested. There is
lot the slightest doubt of the guilt
If uoneycutt and probably Tom
Myers was an associate in the muir
Ter Ausmus was we'll known as a
nan general Y carrying large sums
# money on his person, and the
lOrSe trade was only usad.as a dacov