Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1877-09-12
"a KENTUCKY TRAGEDY.
Bloody ARRAY Between Official Presery-
els OF the Peace in Kentucky.
Cincinnati Commercial.

STANFORD, Ky, August 30.-On Mon
and fatal difficulty occurred at Rich
mond, the county seat of Madison coun-
ty, Kentucky, between Edwards, the
town marshal of that place, aided by
two of his brothers, on one side, and
w. G. Saunders, ex-sherif' Of Lincoln
county, Kentucky, aided by his broth
er-in-law, Tuck Ballard, and William
Kennedy, on the other, which resulted
in the shooting and instant killing Of
Saunders and Ballard, and the slight
woundlng IN the arm and leg of Ken
nedy. The origin of the tragedy was
substantially as follows: Last week,
during the stock fair. at Richmond, a
brother Of Saunders, aged about nine
teen years, is said to have behaved i'm
properly on the fair grounds, where
upon Edwards, acting marshal, knocked
him on the head with a stick and seri-
ously injured him This fact being
communicated to W.. G. Saunders, the
dead brother, who was at his home in
Crab Orchard, Kentucky, he repaired to
Richmond with his friends, Ballard and
Kennedy, to investigate the matter A
difficulty between the two parties was
then apprehended, but it did not at
that time take place Meantime young
Saunders. who had been knocked sense
less at the fair grounds, was arrested
and held for trial on a charge of a breach
Of the peace, his trial fixed for Tuesday
last, and he gave bond for his appear
ance. Being too unwell to appear, his
brother, w. G. Saunders, and Ballard
and Kennedy, again went to Richmond
to have the trial postponed. Before the
day came, however, the fatal tragedy
came on. The Edwards brothers were
sitting in front of q hotel in Richmond
when Saunders and his party walked
up to or near them, and w. G. Saunders
took hold of the arm of Marshal Ed
wards and said Mr.. Edwards, | wish
to have a talk with you Edwards re-
piled: " Let my arm loose and / will
walk with you" This Saunders did not
do, and brother of Edwards stepped
up and told Saunders to let his broth
er's arm loose. Saunders then asked,
=" What have you to do about it?" The
response was, He's my brother, damn
you, let him go" and Immediately fired
a pistol-ball through Saunders brain,
killing him instantly. Ballard then ran
up into the hotel door, and as he did so
was shot in the back, the ball passing
through his heart, and he dropped dead
IN the doorway. Some one also shot at
Kennedy, and hit him in the arm and
leg, producing only slight flesh wounds.
He IS walking about, and was present at
the burial, the following day, Of his two
comrades. Kennedy, after the shots he
received, ran through house. swiftly
pursued by the Edwards party, and
made good his escape, else he, too,
would now be sleeping IN the cemetery
at Crab Orchard. Kennedy, I learn, is
a brother of the notorious outlaw,
Grove Kennedy, Il fugitive from justice,
who has killed four or five men and at
tempted to take the life of others. His
last victim was his uncle, whom he shot
last Spring at Lancaster, Garrard county,
Kentucky. William Kennedy, the com
rade of Saunders, is Il bold, bad man, as
| learn. Saunders has killed three men,
namely: Holmes, at Crab Orchard, in
1865; the notorious Jim Bridgewater, of
civil war lnfamy, in 1866 and a man
named Berthurn, in 1874 Or 1875, all in
this county. He was tried for each
case and honorably acquitted, the proof
being that he acted in selfdefense each
time. Ballard has been in a number of
affrays, but never killed any one that
| can learn of. But little sympathy is
expressed for these men SO far as / can
co i-as-'s~Es-a