Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1882-09-15
BORDER OUTLAwRY OUTDoNE.
Passenger Train Boarded at Sweet
water by Brothers of
L Prisoner, John Taylor. They Shoot
and Kill sheriff Cate and Deputy
Conway,
OF Chattanooga, Capture the Train and
Run it on Lenoir's,

where They Leave the Train, Win the
Rescued Prisoner.
Yesterday afternoon, on the passenger
train, sNo. 2, from Chattanooga, there was
enacted piece of outlawry, assassination
and bloodshed, which for boldness and
daring is not to be surpassed
in the annals of history. In the affray
Deputy Sheriff John J. Conway, of Chatta-
nooga, was killed instantly, and Sheriff N.
T. Cate, of the same place, was mortally
wounded by the Taylor brothers, who res
cued their brother John Taylor, a prisoner
being brought from Chattanooga to the Su-
preme Court, and all escaped The facts in
detail, as far as we can gather them from
various sources, are about as follows
Sheriff w. T. Cate, of Hamilton County,
and Deputy Sheriff John J. Conway started
on No. 2 passenger train, which left Chat
tanooga at 1910 p. m, having in charge
three prisoners, bringing them to the Su-
preme Court, where they were to have
hearing, on an appeal. They were John
Taylor, under sentence of ten years for
killing Captain John Fletcher, J. L.
Carter, white, under sentence of seven years
for being implicated in murder, and Ed
Bivens, colored, under sentence for rob-
berry. The train was in charge of Capt.
N. j. Bell, conductor, and pulled by En-
gineer Sam. Toms.
At Sweetwater three men took the train
in party, entered the first car, behind the
baggage and express car, and took seats
towards the rear of the car. Two of the
men paid their fare to Lenoir's Sta
ton, and the other gave ticket to the same
place. In this same car, about
four seats from the front we're seated, the
prisoners. Two seats were turned together.
On one was seated John Taylor and Jake
Carter handcuffed together, one of each of
their hands being enclosed in the cuffs. In
the other seat sat Captain Conway, next to
the window, facing the front of the car, and
by his side Ed Bivins, handcuffed to the end
of the seat. Sheriff Cate sat in seat
on the other side of the aisle,
nearly opposite to the prisoners. No par
ticular attention was paid to the men. The
car was crowded with passengers. 1t was
noticed, however, that glances of recogni-
ton passed between the prisoner and one of
the men.
At Philadelphia, the first station, z miles
this side of Sweetwater, the train stopped.
No sooner had the train Stacked
than two of the men got up and came to-
wards the prisoners, and the first thing
known the man who proves to have been
Bob Taylor, the older brother of the pris-
oner, John, presented his pistol within
about six inches of Conway's head and fired
the shot taking effect in the left temple and
going through and through. Conway
barely SHE'D his head, as if to dodge,
before the shot 1t was deadly one, how
ever. He hardly breathed, but fell over,
with his head behind Bivens, quivered and
died. Immediately upon hearing the shot,
Sheriff Cate rose up, drew his pistol and
fired at the rescurers.
As soon as Conway was shot, Bob Taylor
secured his keys and pistol, unlocked John
Taylors handouts and gave him
the pistol. According to the
most reliable information, John
then fired and shot Sheriff Cate, apparently
in the bowels which seemed to stagger him
The shot of Sheriff Cate wounded John
Taylor slightly in the arm. Some eye wit
nesses say Gate was shot again, immediate
ly, in the breast, but by whom it does not
appear. A general stampede ensued, and
the coach was almost emptisd. Sheriff
Cate, it seems who was very near the front
door, got down on the
platform, and was in the act of aiming his
pistol at Bob Taylor to shoot, when two
more shots were fired, he fell quivering to
the ground.
Capt. Bell, conductor, was in the coach
behind when he heard the shooting and
came forward. AS soon as the shooting was
over Bob Taylor and the man who appears
to have been his brother, Andy, and the
rescued prisoner, John, presented their
HOotOlo " Odpt. Dol duu OIucIoo ulLu W
move the train out from there at once, or
they would shoot him. Bob appeared anx-
ious to shoot him any how, but John inter
ceded and prevented it. The train moved
off at once. The three brothers then went
forward with their pistols and took posses
sion of the engine. Loudon was the next
station, and engineer Toms was ordered, at
the penalty of his life, to pass through
there without Stacking speed. No halt was
made until the train reached Lenoir's, where
it was ordered stopped. The three Taylors,
accompanied by another man-who he was
he ere unable to ascertain-left the train
here, and the four were seen to go off down
the track. The Taylors told Engineer
Toms that they had horses there and would
take them and make away.
Jake Carter, the other white prisoner,
who was released when Taylor was iber-
ated, but had the two cuffs still hanging to
his arm, bore himself nobly. The Taylors,
he says, offered to him with them, but he
declined to go. Bob wanted to kill him
and get him out of the way as witness, but
John wouldn't let him. Carter secured
the keys to the cuffs, came on in the coach
| to Knoxville and surrendered himself and
Bivens to Sheriff Homer Gilmore, of this
county, who took them to Jail. Carter re-
ceived slight wound in the right ankle
from one of the shots.
When the train reached Knoxville there
were but few men in this coach, most OF
them being crowded back in the other por-
ton of the train Telegraphic infor-
nation was received at the rail-
road Office of the occurrence, 9
few minutes before the arrival of the train,
at 4:47 p. m., but only few people knew
it. As soon as the train ran in and the
facts began to be noised there was i'm
mense excitement, and wonderful anxiety
on the part of every one to get sight of the
Lox,e