, 1877-12-30
Execution OF the Murderer Har-
Mss at Clinton, Tenn.
The Condemned Mans Life Prolonged
an Hour by the Sherif's
Neglect.
When All Else Vas Ready, the Death-
Warrant Vas Found TO Be
Missing,


God grind slowly, but they grind exceedi
at small" Retributive justice, though often s1o
Of is generally sure; and, while the procrastir
iu tion Of the evil day often begcts fancied sccu
It t., and beguiles the guilty into tue belief til
be immunity is theirs, yet the Nemesis is folio
1c ing on their pathway with nureenting trea
&C Such has been the experience of Jacob Harnis
ID who to-day suffered disgraccful death on Il
D. scafTold for
20 4 MURDER COMMITTED FOURTEEN YEARS AG
rs The 'motivu OF the crime, the cxpiatlon
J which has been so long held in abeyance, was
&c | political nature, growing out Of hatred e.
eendered by the civil war then being waged b
tween the North and the Sonth: III no sectio
= OF the country was there such intensity of fec
u 'ng as in the mountaiu-region Of East Tenne
y see. where not only were communities divided
nut even the ties OF consanouinity rent asundcl
by the strife Of party-faction. The natives ar
: ehphatically sui generis,-as much SO, pei
5 haps, as Cesar found the Dc1g:r In his conques
| OF Gaul- Born and reared amid their natiy
mountains, the very atmosphere appears to in,
buc them with spirit OF rugged independents,
in thought and action, that brooks no control
aud which the strong arm Of military powel
tonnd itself unable entirely to subduc. Ir
political sentiment this section was more cyenl,
divided than in any of the seeded
States; and this fact appeared to render
the bitterness the more intense. The
Secession element prclominatcd in the towns
and villages, while in tho rural districts the
traditionary legend Of Jackson, ':Thc Union
must and shall he preserved" was yencrated as
sacredly as words Of Inspiration.
| The first two years Of the Rebellion, East
| tennessee was occupied by the Confcaerates,
anu every effort possible made to crush out the
! love OF the people for the Government OF their
fathers; bnt In vain. Conscriptlon. too, though
enforced with yigor Us despotic us that which,
| prevailed III France under the First Napoleon,
| proved unarai!ing; Jr, though neither beard
| less Youth nor hoary aye was spared. vet, for
| every man forced into the Southern ranks. two
others Ned the country and entered the Federal
army. Many Of these had endured prosecutions
ut the hands OF ncighhors, who forgetting the
tics OF friendship, reported the expressions that
ie.l inadvertently from their lips in confidential
traitors to the Confederacv, or .sLincolnitcs,n
as they were orprobious1v called.
That those who suffered insult and injury
should embrace the first opportunity tor re-
ycngc, was natural in the then unsettled con-
dltion OF affairs, and
NA,;Y a nLooDT VENDETTA
was tho result-vftenrimcs iu manner that
would put to blush the participants in Cor
The chief actors In The tragedy herewith giyen
were oppose'i to each other in sentiment
Hartliss being what was known as a Union
man, while thc man he murdered was .sRebel
syInpathzer', The facts eounecfed with the
commission OF his crime ate such as to excite
horror at the depth Of dcnravity cv,nccl, and |
amazement that justice WIS SO long dcfraudcd i!
OF her due.
During the Confederate occupation, Harniss |
Kas Knoxvia a9a 19F tine g1nHsa n The
OF ot4e H. 1saas s:v1Wi White, prs
Dohnceu Southern man. He WIS subsequently !
released, and soon after fed to Kentucky. where
be enlisted IN the Second Tennessee (tederuD
Reci1nent Of Infantry, aaa was captured BY the
Confcderatcs aud again imprisoned. While
prisoner. he denounced White as the author OF
his tnlsfortunes, and declared his purpose to kill
him as soon as he got out of jail: Shortly after,
he escaped. and at once proceeded to carry out |
his dreadful threat.
The homes OF both were near Pi1ot.Afountain,
in Anderson County: and it was in a field be-
longing to Har,liss that the killing was done. I
White was distiller, and Harniss had, in days |
Of vore. been regular customer, and still owed
him for whisky long since consumed; and it was
bis Neglect or reiusalto pay the debt that caused
White to betray him to the authorities in the
frst instance.
It was in Julv, 1863, that Harn:ss escaped
he easily eIuded the Confederates, and returned
to his home, having in he meanwhile perfected |
HIS SCHEME OF VENGEANCE.
White was std following his old avocation OF |
dlstilcr, and. on the nunt Of tfe 18th, Har- |
Mss went to his stili-housc and carried away |
kcg Of the product known as ''lo1,b}ings, ii
taking care with the GINNING of an Indian, to
leave trail sufficiently broad for the owner to
follow. Harniss conveyed the beverage over the
mountain. and hid it in 4 log-hsap. The next day,
July 16, White came TO look for the stolen liquor,
which was what Harniss dcsired,-and walked |
into the snare so skil1fully concoctcl Harpjss !
was accompanied By t,is wife aud children and q |
negro girl: and all lay in ambush, awaiting the
arrival OF the unsuspecting victim. Soon White !
appeared, and entered the field In full view Of |
harniss, Who, seeing him approaching, cooked
his rifle, and, in mOuntain-parlauce, "dreu q |
bead' on the unfortunate man; but his wife,
her womanly instincts aroused, struck down the
WEAPON. aud imp'ored him to abandon Ills fell
purpose Furious with rage at the unexpected
Harniss threatened summary yen-
geance on her il she again attempted to balk him
OF his revenge, and once more took drliberatcai
at White, who had approached within about fifty
yards, and fired. White tell. mortallv wounded. ,
Emerging from his concealment, Haruiss ap-
pFoachcd White as he lay bleeding on the {
ground, aud mocktnGly rendered him Gun Of I
bis own whisky that had been stolen the night
before Seeing himself in the power Of his
ylndictive Zoe, White {npored him to osparc him
Tor The short time he could live; but. with the q
smile Of fcnd, Harniss placed the tnuzzle Of | ;.
the rife TO his head. and
GAVE HIN THE cour DE GRACE. t'
blowing out his brains. With the aid of the 6
i1iFed negro girl, Narnss then dragged the t
body to the edge Of the field and hid it between :
t"o 1ogs.-trst, however, seyering the head | :
IRON The body, using his pocket knife for the !
purpose, and throwing the head down the ! =
nounta1n'side. where it bounded over tile | =
descent - for all the world like | l
as he afterwards told one of tho W.T.
nesses to whom he related the details nf the | -
scene. The maitnel trunk was thrn I -
covered with bushes, and the murderer and viii |
1eEses OF the crime returned home ITO steen | !
ocrchance Ito dream" )" Tor Harniss was of y | :
nature too callous to be troubled with remorsc :.
u conscience. i
Knowing that, II recaptured in the Confeder - -
tie liues, it would go hard with him, Harniss y y
eft the night after the murder, and rcjoiard his +
eglulent- A few hours before bis fight. how | g
vcr, one OF the principal witnesses against Hay- :,
Hiss, named Vanu, and man named Jones, | i
ou1e to his house and asked for Haruss, AS | g
hey entered tho door, the click Of rifle was / r
'card as the murderer: who was lying Derd,1 n
ndcr the bed, cooked MS piece: but, recognizing i
'ann's yoice as that of a friend, lie came out !,
rom his concca!ment, Tudcly apologizing for a
lav'ng: mistaken him for an enemy. and a
avtng that, had he been .such, he would
'ot hare hesitated to kill him. rs be
az killed one man the day preyiou.
Whitc( and would as soon kill another as not. |
sarniss then told Tann The facts connected with cl
le murder; hut, Us Whitc was a ..Rebel,.' | Y
ann took no steps to have Harniss arrested. II
IN lew DAYS, Whites presence was missed ! =,
the olstil1e,y, and an active search instituted ~
OF his discovery. Suspecttng foul play, the q
rescnce ut large number of buzzarx1s circ- os
ng over the trees near harris field attracted al
ttention nnd. g