The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1879-12-05
CHARGES AGAINST OBHON
COUNTY. OFFICIALS.
Governor Of SsiSsOuri so Des
TnaRd EsenaratIOn, sc.
HILLsBoRo, JEFFERSON Co Mo,
NJ 2I 1870

kerson was indicted by the grand jury
of this county for grand larceny, n
the stealing of valuable mare from
Chas. Warner, Esq, now Auditor Of
the Missouri Pacific railroad company
Confined in Jail, in default of bail,
awaiting trial, he, on the 18th day Of
March, 1873, together ith the noto-
rious preacher horse thief" George
f. Mayer escaped from jail by saving
through the bars of their window with
fne steel burglar saws, that Mayer hal
brought into Jail concealed between the
soes of his boots.
Every effort was, at the time and
has since been, made by the county
! officers to apprehend these men. Both
49, Phelps aud the County Court OF
'f-JesFerson county, Mo, offered rewards
for tue capture Of Wilkerson. Horses
and mules have been steadily disap
pearing, at least twelve horses aud
mules having been stolen from citizens
of Jefferson county, and neither the
thieves appreheDded or property re,
covered, and in many cases suspicion
was directed strongly towards Wilker-
son and his accompliees.
During the past summer Sheriff I.
j. Jones received information from
Moscow, Ky. which led him to believe
that desperate infestiug Kentucky,
in the neighborhood Of Moscow and
/ Hickman and the ighboring counties
of Tennessee, under the name of j IL.
/ Arkwright, was really Henry c vii
/ kerson, and recommended the arrest of
/ Arkwright
Wednesday evening, November 10,
Sheriff Jones received telegram. at
/ Hillsboro, No, from J a Warner, a
celebrated detective officer at Hick
man. Ky, that he had J H. Ark
wright iu Jail there. Jones at ouce
wired to Warner TO hold Arkwright
and, taking me with him to identify
the prisoner as WHkerson, started TO
Hickman, which place We reached
Thursday at l p. N.
The prisoner, being well acquainted
with me. was at once Identified as
+ Henry c. Wilkerson; and when told
/ that we had come 20 take him to Mis-
souri,, he said Boys. I know you
can't make me 20 without a requisitiou
/ but you can keep me here in Jail till
YOU get one, but / don't want to put
you to the trouble and expense Of
waiting; "Iil go with you willingly
q s.E l. !
ly informed that be could use his
pleasure: if he demanded a requisitiou,
we would wait at Hickman ull one
could be procured. or, if he preferred
to 90 willingly and not require Us 10
wait for a requisition, we would start
at once, when he asserted that he was
egilling TO 20 aud had no desire to wait
ythe time that would necessarily be con
sumed in procuring a requisition upon
the governor of Kentucky, aud his
warrant Of extradtiOn hereunder
There happened to be no boat going
up the river that afternoon or night
aud, as a matter of expedition as we'll
as convenience, we. accompanied by
Mr. Warner aud the prisoner, proceed
ed by hack that afternoon TO Union
City to take the 6:30 train FOR Colum-
bus
At Union City. where officer War
ner was well~known. we and our pris-
oaer were surrounded by a crowd
headed by W b Bennett, deputy
sheriff of Obiou county, Tenn, who
demanded to know swho and what We
we're, aud where we were taking the
prisoner and what he was charged
with
The crowd was by me politely made
acquainted with who and what We were.
and with all the circumstances of the
crime and fight of Wilkerson and of
his arrest by Officer Warner, and the
prisoners willingness to accompany
US from Hickman, KY, to Missouri
without demanding or requiring US to
wait for a requisition on the governor
of Kentucky Two men, claiming to
be deputy sherifs, then said, that as
no requisition upon the governor of
Tennessee had been made, the prisoner
should not be taken away While the
matter was being discussed and Officers
Warner and Jones we're insisting that
the prisoner was going willingly and
could as we'll have been held at Hick-
man, on expenses, till the required re-
quisitions were procured or have been
taken directly up the river from Hick-
man without being brought into Ten
nessee, one S. o. Higgerson,a clerk
of the Circuit Court of Obion county.
Tenn cane hastily up with two ca
phases for the arrest of j. IT, Ark
wright, both charges being for carrys
ing weapons unlawfully. Upon these
the prisoner was arrested and taken
forcibly from Sheriff Jones, who at
once teIegraphed to Gov. Phelps of
Missouri for a requisition upon Ten
nessee. Circuit Court was in session
at Union City at the time, which ex~
plains the whole thing clearly and
plainly. The officers wanted little
costs Arkwright or WiIkerson was
worthless and had he been fined,
being unable to pay fine and costs.
would have been sent to Jail one day
for each twenty FIVE cents of costs and
fine; the costs have been paid by Obion
county, and the jailor get 40 cents
day for boarding prisoners for the pc
riod of his confinement
Upon the advice of r. A Pierce.
Circuit Attorney. then attending court,
[ made affidavit before justice of the
peace, Esq Layne, as to the fact of
Wilkerson being fugitive from JUS
tice, charged with felony in Missou-
ri, aud he thereupou issued a warrant,
upon which Wilkerson was arrested
aud brought before him for examiua-
ton. The Justice found the facts, as
stated in the affidavit, to be true, and
made an order to hold Wilkerson till
Monday, Nov 24th, to await requi
sition from Gov. Phelps upon the gov