The Morristown gazette. [volume] (Morristown, Tenn.) 1867-1920, 1881-07-20

| 10 the escape Oh hufIeI was DIouSh'
pointedly to our attention at Knox
vile last Thursday, by a long es-
teemed personal friend Of ours and
of this community, now occupying
responsible position in the U. S. Cir
cult Court in session there. He as
sured us that the article, together
with the verbal reports given OF the
escape of Murrell by government
employees engaged in the arrest OF
parties implicated here, was serious
| Iy compromising the good name OF
our town, and requested that we
should give the facts in the case.
The extract quoted is so entirely I'M
lust and untrue in its differences to-
wards all who were so unfortunate
as to be in proximity at the time,
and especially to Rev. W. T. Senter,
that we deem it our duty to point
out the falsehoods and misrepresen-
tations it contains, and to give to the
public a statement of the affair as
we have it from a reliable source.
In the first place it is said
Murrell was allowed to go and con-
suit with his lawyer, Mr.. Win. S. Dick
son. and about this time Mr.. Senter APP
reared and Murrell was discovered in
the act of getting on his [Sentel horse.
BY this it may have been intend
ed to convey to the public the i'm
preston that Murrell and his attOr-
ney had gone off alone to consult,
and while so alone with his counsel
he effected his escape. If this was
the intention of the Chronicles in
formant then, in justice to Mr.. Dick
son, we must say that he wilfully
disseminated a malicious falsohOod,
as we will presently show.
Again, it is said:
"Larkin at once gathered the re1ns of
the horse and tried to stop further pro-
gress, but the horse was taken from his
hands By Mr.. Senter, turned at large,
and the prisoner thereon made his es
cape"
The only particle of truth in this
is the statement that the prisoner
escaped on Mr.. Senter's horse. Lark
in never caught the reins. Senter
never took the horse from him and
turned it lose, nor did he offer or at
tempt in any manner whatever to
interfere with Larkin. The facts
are that Murrell had been arrested
and brought away by Larkin with
out informing his family of the ma
ture of the charge. When his ia
Their learned of the arrest some time
afterward, he being an old, feeble
man, requested Mr.. Senter to ride
to Morristown and learn the partic-
ulars of the affair When Larkin
and Murrell reached MorristOwn
they first went to the house of the
former, where his horse was put in
the stable. They then called at the
house of friend Of the Murrell fam
lily, who advised Murrell to consult |
a lawyer about his case. The officer
and his prisoner then set QUITO hunt
Mr.. Dickson, whom they happened
to meet on the street. After a few |
minutes conversation the three start |
ed down the street together, intend
ing to 90 to Mr.. Dicksons office, |
which was $50 or 200 yards distant.
They had gone so or rs yards when
they were overtaken by Mr.. Senter,
who stopped his horse in the street |
and requested to speak to Murrell.
Murrell stepped some three or four
steps into the street, leaving his
companions on the pavement, spoke
to Mr.. Senter and almost immediate
ly vaulted into the saddle, turned |
the horse round and was off like the |
wind, leaving the whole party for
the time being in a stupOr Of aston
ishment at the audacity of the act.
Larkin upon recovering from his |
amazement gave immediate pursuit,
firing two shots at the retreating |
figure, but, though feet of foot,
George soon found that he was no
where in the race with the horse,
and the prisoner vanished in the
darkness.
The report that the riding Of the
horse to town by Mr.. Senter was
part of plan coneoeted to aid in the
escape, we are satisfied, does gross
injustice to that gentleman. The
theory that it was preconcerted
plot is unreasonable from the fact
that there had been no possible OPP
portunity for such Encouragement,
and it could not be foreseen that
such chain of circumstances would
exist as to make the escape possible.
This is a brief and truthful statement
of the facts in the Murrell escape
The Chattanooga Times, of the
18th chronicles another ATTEMPT at