The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1881-09-17
A Hanging Bee

~ haukt"B s'Oc'
A, For, Smith, Arkansas, famous for its nu
merous hanging bees an entertainment of this
sort of unusual magnitude took place on Fri.
day of last week, no less than five murderers
three white men and two administering
strung up IN row. The following Is a brief
sketch of the murderers and their crimes:
Geo. W. Padgett was born in Texas He SAID
II am 90 years old My father was wealthy
platter and gave me good education, intend
ing 10 start me IN re mercantile business, but
| | was wild and maynard, soon left home
and started in the world for myself. need
not recall my variOns adventures. You know
perhaps what the lite of one living on the
| Texas border is, hence shall only allude to
the crime which | expiale on the scattOld.
was employed by William II. Stevens, and
with him was taking some three thousand
head Of cattle from Texas to the northern
market. While passing through Indian Ter
| ritory we got INTO quarrel about two or three
dollars which he owed me on q former settle
ment. NV blood boiled in my veins and for
an instant became wild with rage. Snatch.
ing q revolver from my belt leveled 1t at
him. When the smoke cleared away i saw
him lying dead on the prarle, having fallen
from his horse with bullet in his brain.
was stunned for moment and then fled. was
followed, captured and condemned to death |
am sorry, bat die happy. Death has no terror
for me, for Jesus has washed away my sins"
Padgett was young and handsome man Of
pleasant address, and belonged to that class Of
desperadOes who fear nothing.
Another white murderer, named William
Brown, said nervously: ~ was born in Da-
Wis county, Missouri, twenty five years ago. i
haven't any history. l killed Ralph Tate,
near Fort Sill, in the Chickasaw nation, three
hundred miles west Of Fort Smith, Ark,
through mistake thought he was another
man, named Caller, an enemy Of mine, whom
| wanted TO lay out | ran away to Texas.
was caught, brought hack, tried and sentenced
to death. Young Tate's father hunted me
down, and we rode four hundred miles chained
together so fearful was the old man that
would escape. | amt afraid to die, but I'm
sorry for my crime.'
Patrick MCGOWAN, still another white muir.
lerer, was calm and collected. Said he: ITS
no matter where | was born. | am rs years
old, and served five years in the union army.
killed Jim Latta because he threatened TO
kill me. You see We had land leased in Indi-
an nation and were cultivating a crop. Latts
grew dissatisfied. | bought him ont After.
ward we quarreIed, when he threatened to take
my life, and | killed him. The act was one of
self defense but have to die for it,
Amos and Able Maney, the two Indians,
aged Is and 20, declined to be interviewed. as.
sertlng they had nothing to tell beyond what
WAS already known. The story of their crime
forms one of the blood thirstlest in the page
of criminal annals One night last winter
while ont hunting, they got lost. At length
they found their way to the cabin of white
man named McVeigh, some Distance from
Eufulia, in the Greek nation. When they
reached the humble dwelling they were almost
exhausted and suffering severely from hunger
and cold. The ponies were covered with snow,
and the breezes that swept across them were
cruelty keen and pitiless. McVeigh took the
wanderers IN, giving them food and shelter
ungrudgingly. The inmates of the cabin re-
tired, and nothing broke the stiffness save the
wind bowling around the house, rafting the
door and windows. About midnight McVeigh
got up with one of his children, who was III.
While seated before the fire pushing il, one
Indian sho, him through the heart As he fell
dead on the cabin floor the other seized an ak
ond cleft the skull of young man named
Barrett, whom McVeigh had IN his employ
Barrett also dropped on the floor. The wretches
then cut off one of his hands and tired 10 cut
off one of his legs, leaving him welteriDg In
a pool of blood. They then turned on Mrs
McVeigb, who was screaming pi,eOusly and
clasping her twin babies 10 her bosom Before
they could murder her, however, Rob, a
dwelling dog on the outside, commenced bark.
ing savagely, turning his head frequently in
the direction Of the road as If someone was
approaching. The incident, slight though IL
was, saved the lives of the young mother and
twin babies as the cowardly murderers were
frightened away. The terrified woman, leav-