The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1878-01-13

%. who would love but single girl?
The man who would love but one.
land her alonel is a simple churl.
And worthy, ween. of none.
Then give me the girl with the coal black eye
The slender, and slight. and tall.
And her OF the blue and her of the gray.
And hazel-I love them all.
TEXAS DESPERAD0ES.
SOME STRANGE RECORDS OF CRIME
FROM THE LONE STAR STATE.
A Man only Twenty-sIx Years Old who
Counts Thirty-six Murders.
my. World.1
While In Galveston we made a call
upon William p. Longley, one of the
most prepossessing Of men. He ia
about twenty six years Of age, tall and
graceful, with dark mustache and
goatee, a nose slightly Roman, white,
even teeth, and mild hazel eye. He
had on the Texan hat, or sombrero, with
the broad brim and the snake like
band, and it was hard to discover in his
appearance or manner anything sug-
gestive Of the terrible Desperate which
places him far above any that have
cursed Texas for generation past
During the last ten years 1t is claimed
that Longley has killed no less than thir-
ty-two persons. He is now under SEN
tence Of death, but has appealed, and it
would be just like the luck Of this phe-
nominal villain to escape the moose.
"Do you KNOW" said our stage driver,
that Longley, Hardin a, and them chaps
never rob fellow? They just shoot
him down like a man, but ain t mean
enough to steal anything from him. :"
1t was evident where the speaker drew
the. line between the crimes of murder
and robbery, and he only uttered SEN
timent which still fingers in the wilder
sections Of the Lone Star State.
Longley spent his youth in Ever
green, which has been sort of training
school for murderers for many years.
just after the close Of the war he and
a companion, named Johnson, started
out to disarm some freedmen, one of
whom showed fight. Longley killed
him in the most brutal manner. With
two boon companions he dashed into
Lexington one night shortly after and
opened fusillade upon some rollick-
ing negroes, killing two and wounding
q third. The shooting of another negro
in Evergreen resulted in an indictment
against Longley, and he fled to Con
zales county, where he killed soldier,
member Of the Sixth Ohio Regiment.
ABOUT this time the desperate con-
Arkansas. Here he fell in with
Tom johnson, the noted horse
thief. At night their cabin was sur
rounded by a vigilance committee,
and both were taken out, strung
up and shot at. johnson was killed
but the rope around Longley's neck
hitched under his ear without slipping.
and money belt about his body turned
aside the bullet. After the departure of
the vigilantes, friend cut down Long
ley, and unfortunately succeeded In
nursing him back to life. He soon after
joined q gang and helped to hang the
same fellow who tied the knot around
MS neck. He claims to have killed six
others OF the same parry, but this is
probably merely boast. Longley was
generally associated with q conpenial
spirit, and the killing OF negroes bv
them was looked upon as a mere pas.
time. John Wilson, fully as heartless
and bloodthirsty as Longley, finally |
separated from him on Ridgeway Prai- |
RE and went into Eastern Texas, where |
a man named Merriman.
While going through the Indian Ma
ton Longley killed cattle droyer and
Two Usage Indians. Longley went to
Fort Leavenworth, where he became
involved with Federal soldier and shot
him dead. While fleeing from arrest he
was captured at st. Joseph, Mo-, and
taken back to Leavenworth, but sue
ceeded in escaping in less than a
month. Longley then secured a situa-
Ilon as government teamster between
camp Brown and Fort Burger. He
quarreled with the quartermaster over
the division of some money out of which
they had cheated the government. and
gne quartermaster was killed. AS usual.
nongley lied and took to the noun
IIalns, put was pursued, taken and
OIougnt pack. A court martial result
ed In his being sentenced to thirty
YEARS Imprisonment in Fort Madison,
IOWA, put before he was sent there he
escaped. went among the Utah Indians 1
anu persuaded parties of them to attack !
,s ana soldiers wherever the {
would return to his old home in Tayas
Vhere his heart broken parents still i've {
"a MS way there from the plains he :
aiIied young man in one of the west.
,rn towns of Kansas. After faw =
weeks stay the young desperate drift. !
ID into Comanche county. where he :
mot negro, a member Of the State +
,oilce. In Lee county lived Caleb .
iongley, an Uncle of Bill, whose son t
had been murdered by a man named i
anderson. The later was brutally shot q
lead by Bill while plowing in the field =
fter this came crimes upon which I q
annot find time to dwell. One of the 9
aost terrible was the shooting to death t
I Rev. Mr.. Lay because the latter had Il
opposed his marriage to a young lady. 9
te was finally captured, tried, found i
ulity OF the murder OF Wilson Ander- b
on and sentenced to be hanged.
An account Of the desperadoes of
'exas would not be complete without i