The weekly herald. [volume] (Cleveland, Tenn.) 1876-1888, 1878-09-05
A Revolving Murder.

Jacob Harniss, was hanged at Knox
vile, Tennessee, recently, for the mur
Of Isaac White, committed In 1865. Tn,
following Is the tale. Harniss was
Union man, while White, his victim
was a Southern sympathizer. They
were near neighbOrs, and had frequen
business transactions, White being
distiller and Harniss one of his custom
ers. Harniss owed his nelghbor for
quantity of whiskey long since con
sumed, and White procured his arres
by the Confederate authorities, on th,
charge OF being "Lincolnite." Will,
shut up in Knoxville he vowed ven
geance on White. Harniss was con
fined In the Knoxville Jail, then known
as "Castle Fox" After a short con,
finement Harniss being released, he
made his way across the mountains and
entered the Federal army. Sometime
aiterward he was taken prisoner, anC
while again confined he repeated hi:
threats against White. declaring his in.
tention TO escape and kill him before
rejOining his command. In the early
part of July, 1868, he succeeded in
breaking out of Jail, and, knowing the
country thoroughly, he easily eluded
the rebel guards and made his way
home, having while on the way con-
cOcted plan of revenge as simple as it
proved effective. On the evening pre-
ceding the murder Harniss went to his
neighbOr's still house and stole keg of
LIQUOR. He made no effort to conceal
the theft or his footsteps, crossing the
mountain toward his home, and con-
cealing the keg under brush heap in
the edge of the wood near his house.
Next morning Harniss armed himself.
and accompanied by his wife and Il ne
gro girl living with his family repaired
to the woods, and lay in ambush for
White, who was soon seen coming
across the field, As he arrived within
easy range Harnss raised his rifle, and
wife struck down the piece and lmplor-
ed him to abandon his tiendish purpose
But with terrible Oaths he threatened
her with death If she again thwarted
his design, and once more raising his
weapon he fired upon his unsuspecting
victim, who had approached within
fifty yards of the ambuscade. White
fell mortally wounded, when Harnss
emerged from his hiding place and ap.
preached his fallen enemy, who pite-
ously begged for the brief span of life
yet remaining to him. His murderer
proflered him drink of the stolen liq-
uor with words of mocking sympathy,
and while the appealing eyes of the
wounded man were fastened on him
trying to discover a ray of mercy in his
countenance, Harniss, with tiendish
smile wreathing his lips, placed the
muzzle of his gun to the head of the
defenceless man and completed the
bloody work by blowing out his brains.
But the savage disposition of the mur-
derer was not satisfied. With the as
sistance of the negro girl he dragged
Whites body into the woods on the
side of the mountain, and with his
pocket knife severed the head from the
shoulders. Then he threw it down the
precipitous declivity, it bounding along
in the descent "like a damned old
pumpkin" to quote the murderer's
language as he afterward described the
bloody deed to his comrades. The
mangled trunk was then ritied of a
small sum of money and concealed be-
tween two logs, over which a quantity
of brushwood was placed. The culprit
then calmly went home and remained
there until night. During the after
noon two Union men, named Vann and
Jones, came to the house, and as they
crossed the threshold were greeted with
the Omnious click of rife drawn to
full cock. Vann then asked Mrs. Har-
Miss if her husband was at home, when
the murderer came from beneath the
bed, gun in hand, and remarked that
it was fortunate he recognized his
friends voice or he would have GER
tainly killed him, adding that he had
already killed one man that day and he
would just as soon keep his hand in as
net. Harniss then related the details
of the shocking affair to his friends.
The same night he fled to Kentucky,
knowing that if he was recaptured he
would be treated as spy. Rejoining
his regiment he served 10 the end of
the war, receiving an honorable dis
charge at its close. He then settled in
Kentucky, After remaining absent
till 1875 he returned to Anderson coun-
ty, He appears to have believed that
twelve years. absence had eflaced from
the community the memory of his afro
cious crime. He was soon arrested for
the murder, and on his trial In July,
1875, he was found guilty of murder in
the first degree, anI sentenced to be
hanged.
A Curious Wager.
Perhaps one of the most cHriou