The Morristown gazette. [volume] (Morristown, Tenn.) 1867-1920, 1881-11-30
THE MURDERER.

Joe Harris, the murderer OF Chaf-
lie Brown and Andy Heck, at Mar
BILE Hall, Hawkins county the night
of November p, 1880, expiated the
crime on a gallows near Rogersville
last Friday. The most Of our read |
ers are familiar with the particulars
of the depraved and horrible deed
.one for fendish atrocity scarcely
equalled in the annals of crime. The
hanging is said to have been sick
ening, disgusting scene, witnessed
by about two thousand spectators.
Harris was drunk and made an in
coherent talk from the scaffold, con
Tossing that he did the killing but
claiming that it was not intentional.
The following is the confession he
wrote and gave to his jailor:
II shall tell you the facts about this
trouble. The first start of it was,
Charles Brown and his father wanted
me to go to Bristol with them and
work in blacksmith shop for ten dol
lars month. l told them that would
work with them if they would give me
twelve dollars a month. They said they
would rot give 1t, and then got at me
to hcl p them drive their hogs to Bristol.
told them I would but they changed
their minds and said they would drive
them to Whitesburg and ship them to
Bristol. Went with them to Whites
burg and when we got there, they put
the hogs in a lot, and the old man
Brown gave me twenty-five cents and
told me to go back and stay at Buck
| Prices till one of them came back, ana
they would pay me. When Charlie
got back, asked him for my pay and
he said if | would help hIm Kill his
hogs, he would let me have his pistol TO
settle the debt | agreed to that and l
helped HIM kill his hogs and got the
pistol and sold it, and then left. Be
fore [ left he told me to come back be-
fore he left, that he would study about
giving me twelve dollars month. L
did not think that 1 would go back any
more, but on Monday l went TO the
quarry in order to get work to do for
few days till my brothers time was out.
! They had hands enough. When broth
er's time was out we was going home.
Not getting work, l started home before
his (my brothers lime) was out and
went to Riley Shank's store. A man
| came there and asked me to go to
Rogersville with him to take some
horses back to CIinch, and | did so,
and when | got to RogersVille he got
| another man to help him, and it knock
ed me out, and l thought | would go
home any how. and it was so late that i
gave out going that night and went to
MIR. GambePs barn and intended t. stay
there till morning. l got to studying
about going over to see il Charley
would give me the price l asked. l
| then got out of the barn and went over
there, and he had gone to bed. knock
ed at the door and he came and opened
it. He was in his slips. He had
sumo liquor there. They had their bed
made down before the fire. He banter
ed me to play cards for the drinks, and
we sat down on the side of the bed and
PLAYED for drink a game. l had some
money and put it up against the drinks.
When | would beat him he would get
mad. We played on till we got very
tight, and the young man (Heck) would
look in my hand and tell Charlie what
l had. At last Charlie got so mad be-
cause | was beating him that he struck
at me, but [ did not care for it, and l
played on with him. There was on the
firehoard a butcher knife, and he got 1t
and ran at me with ft. | tried to get
out ofsthe house but he was on me so
close with the knife that l grabbed a
piece of split ash wood with sharp
edge and big end which was in the
! corner and struck him with the big end
| of it on the head and knoc ked him in
| the fire The other one was coming on
| me so fast that l turned around and
struck him and knocked him back on
| the bed Then / pulled Charlie out of
the fire and threw him on the bed. And
as it was cold night and [ expected to
! lay out, l grabbed the Overcoat and ran
out of doors l did not know that |
had killed them, for did not aim to.
When l left they were trying to get up.
do not know how the fire got on the
bed, unless Charlie was a fire when l
ierked him out. l burnt the stick up
/ did not kill them for their money. |
did not know that they had it. The
money was in the overcoat pocket and
did not know that | had it until / had
gone away from there. When felt the
pocketboolz l pulled it out and opened
it and found the money in it, but / did
not know how much, and [ did not
know what to do with it. 1t made me
feel bad, because 1 did not intend to kill
the men or take anything they had. If
| had not taken the coat | would not
have had the money, but it was cold, and
the coat was on the chair, and | took it.
| did not know how hard | struck. |
| was very drunk, and the rest were too.
If we had been in our right minds We
would not have gotten into row. l
went there to stay all night with him,
and l did not think that would kill or
hurt any one till the knife was drawn
on me. God will forgive me for all my
sins, and l do thank God for the name
of Jesus. know that Jesus died for |
us all, and I am going to that happy |
and where Jesus is and where troubles |
never come. JOSEPH HARRIS"
Ponder on these Truths.
Torpid Kidneys, and constipated
novaIG arc the great cauScS of