The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1876-11-04

| lhe rope was uelUE llrl around his
neck, and hoped all would meet him
in Heaven. Catchings neither spoke
nor changed his countenance. Payne,
after the cap was drawn over his face,
commenced again to pray, and contin.
ued until launched into eternity.
THE DROP FELL
AZ 2:lO, and in seven minutes Drs.
Halenquest, Splon, Mulkey aud Wat.
kins declared life extinct. Payne died
the harder of the two. Catchings died
first, his neck, according to the doe
tors, having been broken in the fall
CONFESSION OFJACIl MOORE ALIAS Mil.
PAYNE
taken from him 10y your reporter .yes-
terday, is as follows:
propose to make short onfesslon,
promising to tell nothing but the truth,
! can certainly have no motive for tell.
ing falsehood, feeling that am
doomed man, having no hope OF par.
don, and there being no possibility Of
A0AhlNs lllbNN w bAhNl NtlNllhllDt
but to cNpiate on the gallows, next
Friday, the murder OF John Love, for
IL was that struck the fatal blow.
was born in Montgomer Shelby
county, Illinois, in the year 1854, and
am the youngest of eight children.
My father James Moore, il an octoroon
negro Indian, and my mother n full
blooded Indian Father served four
years in the Federal army, IL Free
Mason, aud we'll thought of by all his
neighhors. He owns five hundred
acres of land in Shelby county, about
one hundred of which is il cultivA
ton.
was sent 10 school about one year.
during which time | learned to read
and write. In 1870 came to Texas
in company with Mr.. Atkinson, who
now lives ut Farmersvill, Collin
county, in this State, with whom |
lived and got along well, until one day
while AT mill, had difficulty with II
white boy named Jones, when | was
advised to leave that section. | then
went to Shelby county, In this State,
aud spent few days with my uncle,
Jack Jones, for whom | WAS named, AZ |
ter which rambled from place to place
| borrowed u mule from Henry Pat
terson, colored man, to ride to my
Uncle's. When | got through my
visit | started back with the mule, and
had gotten about fifteen miles when
he got tired. After whipping him
about two miles, with but little effect,
| rode him out into the bushes, took
of my saddle, hung ~ up in n tree,
and then took my knife and deliber-
ately cut his throat. The blood spurted
in my face and on my clothes, and
gave me such war-like appearance
that my uncle, ON meeting me, asked
the cause Of my return and bloody ap.
pearrDce, | told him | had been at
tackled by man while quietly riding
| along the road, and that | killed him
| and dragged him IA few yards from
the road into the brush and left him
that in the rounds my mule had gotten
away, and gone on home, supposed.
My uncle said did exactly right, and
proposed that | take his horse and
make my trip and find what had he
aud went to Patterson, told him the !
mule had been stolen from me, but !
that | would replace him with the
horse WAS riding; 40 gave him my
uncle's horse, which was quite salts.
factory. In about week Patterson
and myself went to Marshall, and ~
we returned, stopped ut negro's, Sat.
urday night, at whose house there was
a ball. We mad keg OF whisky |
with us, and succeeded In making |
nearly all the party drunk got into u
row, and | fired my derrlnger into the
crowd and left quite unceremoniously. |
The sheriff pursued, but without avail.
| next turned up in Buck Snoot,
and remained four days and u
half. Then returned to my uncle,
and told him exactly what disposition
had made { fhis horse; promising to
replace him, with just as good one
which did in IA very short time, sim
ply by transferring u horse from lot
in Rusk county, to my uncle. ] re-
manned with my uncle about two
months working on the farm. Soon
after leaving him, made the acquain-
lance of four negro boys about my own
age; to whom | made the proposition,
that we go to the livery stable in Car
thage; hirea horse piece, and go
South, which we did. We sold the
horses in Chissno, Nacogdoches coun-
ty, and footing it back to Shelby coun-
ty, where we were all arrested, tried,
and sent to the penitentisry
for five years. The sheriff who had me
in charge, told me could get away II
| tried; and that II succeeded, to be
sure to charge my name. For the
first five days was kept within the
prison walls; the second week, on IA
farm one mile from Huntsville, from
which place | was sent to work on the
railroad, where | remained ten
when | bounded u passing
train; being mistaken by the train
guards for a trusty convict. Pretty |
soon, while the train was on an up
grade, jumped off; turning COM
plete s0mersault before / reached the |
ground. travelled seven nights afoot;
laying in the brush in the
day time, before got |
rid OF my prison suit. / got my meals
by call at d place after dark, and ask.
ing to have something brought to me,
stating that i had money to pay for it; |
but the instant ! got 1t was away. !
When reached Rush county, white
man gave me citizens clothes, and |
threw my prison garb in an old well.
He engaged me to work on his farm at
fifteen dollars per month, and payed
me promptly AZ he promised, at the
end OF the first month, and five dollars
additional, stating to him that
wanted to attend horse race, across
the East fork Of Trinity river. and
make a raise. told him / would be
back In two or three days, but never
went back, and never sent him the
money borrowed.
Some time after l met my benefac-
tor near Mckinney. He asked me II
my name was Josh More, l told him
no, that my name was Hill Payne,
which was my assumed name. He
said / looked very much like id
niger who had swindled him out of
five dollars, and that II he ever met