The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1878-05-08
A STRANGE STORY.
Once Hung and Possibly 10 he Hung
Again.
[st. Louis Republican, May A.


st. Louis Republican, May Al
A gray headed and decrepit prisoner ar
rived here from the west Thursday night in
charge of Detective r A. Kincade, of
Olney, Illinois, and j. Stone, ex sheriff of
Putnam county, Indiana. The old man was
lodged in our city JAIL and last evening he
resumed his journey toward Perryville,
Boyle county, Kentucky, where he is
wanted TO answer the hideous charge of
having murdered an old and helpless lady
in cold blood on the night of the 18th day of
Aprll, twelve long years ago. The record of
those twelve years shows that, il John
Taylor's crime was terrible one, his
punishment is almost commensurate
with il. Aged and friendless, he
has from day to day lived the
life of an outlaws hunted thing who knew
no home, and whose sleepless, inexorable con-
science kept alive within him terror of ret
ribution which barred for all time any feel
ing of security. In his travels and his suf-
ferings his wife was patient sharer, until,
two months ago, her system yielded to the
stress OF mental anxiety and physical abuses,
and she died where her husband was finally
captured. And SO it must be a very relief to
John Taylor to know that his agony of sus-
pense is over, and that the pursuers whom,
sleeping or waking he never failed to fear,
have fastened their clutches upon him. He
goes back to Perryville, probably to expiate
his crime with his life.
In 1866 John Taylor lived near Danville.
KY. and enjoyed the luxuries of good
health little care, a fair means of living and
a large family. His son, VIM. Taylor, was
indicted by the grand jury of Boyle county
on charge of burglariEing country dwell
ing and stealing some goods, and one OF the
principal witnesses to be feared ia his case
was Mrs. Mary Bolton, widow, who lived
in farm house, with no other companion
than a little granddaughter. On the morn
ing of the 18th of April, that year, the old
lady was found dead in her bed with
buliet-hole In her head, and the bed clothes
drenched with blood At first the horror
promised to remain a mystery, till the little
granddaughter, whom fright for long time
rendered mute, made shocking revelation.
She said that she awoke about twelve o'clock
the night before and saw two men in the
room whom she readily recognized as
John Taylor and his son William. She knew
it meant mischief, and she quietly covered
herself up with the bed clothes, childlike.
She heard the rife shot that killed her
grandmother. but was paralyzed, and so gave
no sign. The men did not discover her, and
so left witness to their crime whose testi-
mony was to prove fatal. At once the father
and son were placed under arrest to be held
for trlal. The citizens, however, who had
held the old lady in high regard, determined
to brook no laws delay, and the prisoners
were forcibly taken from the officers, carried
to the woods and hung to tree. The crowd
remained on,y long enough to complete their
work, as they supposed. By some agency
possibly through a defect in the rope-the
old man was allowed TO fall to the ground
shortly after the crowd left, and there he
lay for several hours. He finally recov-
cred the use of his limbs, but not of
his mind, and went wandering.
He was of course recaptured, as he had not
the wit to make effort to avoid it, and this
time he was committed TO jail. There he re-
gained his strength, and two or three months
later he, with a colored hog thief known as
Rev. J. Holman, broke Jail. He made for
Illinois and found safety in the swamps of
Egypt for nearly year. Thence he went to
Cooper county, Missouri, thence to Kansas,
thence back to southwest Missouri, thence
to Burbane county, Kansas, thence to
Vernon county, Missouri, where he made
his final settlement, near the town of
Nevada, Vernon county. At each of the
above places he spent a year or two, leading
the wretched life of a squatter, but at the
lastIplace he met with some success In tilllng
a patch of ground.
A couple of months ago something brought
the case TO the attention of Detective Kin
cade, and by much perseverance and exer-
else of ingenuity he traced the fugitive
through the long course above detailed.
Having finally located him in Vernon coun-
ty, he went there with Mr.. Stone, armed
with requisition. Sheriff William McGin-
mss. of thar county, who had given valuable
assistance in the case previously, went with
them TO the farm, where they found Taylor
hoelng in his potato patch. He was cap
tured without trouble. and he has nothing
to say. He has a daughter living in Ken
lucky and five sonsin-law, some of whom
live in Missouri.