The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1883-06-20
a kENTUCKY FEUD
Brought to An END BY Heroic Treat
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Brought to An END BY Heroic Treat
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MT. STERLING, June 19.-The most re-
markable case In the annals or Kentucky
crime Is the Barnett case, which has
Just been tried here. 1t Is obscure In its
beginning, intricate In its progress,
wonderful I'm its events, and awful In It's
denOuement. The details of the various
crimes which make the history of this
trial of John ID. Barnett SO startling and
so awful have been given at various
times.
On the 18th inst, John Barnett, by his
attorney, came into court and withdrew
his plea of not guilty Of the murder of
Vaughan HeltOn. The scene was extra
ordinary. The court room was crowded
with anxious, expectant people. Noun
tainmen and women, who lived forty
miles away, were here to attend the trial
of q man who has made Menifee county
red with.blOOd and maintained feud as
fierce and as deadly as the historic feuds
of the middle ages. The interest In this
place was intense because of the mob
which came here three weeks ago, at
tackled the jail and attempted to take
out the prisoners and hang them. Con-
sequently when Judge Holt, for the de-
fense, arose this morning and announc-
ed that the leader of the most desperate
lucky had pleaded guilty, every upturned
face became source OF astOnishment,
and IL went around that such thing
never occurred in Kentucky before.
In order to show the enOrmity of the
crime the prosecution introduced Mrs.
Susan Helton as witness. Mrs. HeltOn
came in. She is a large, handsome wo-
man, with coal black eyes, black hair,
rosy cheeks, and full habit. She gave q
detailed account of the killing of her
husband, Vaughan Helton, on May
IL, in such manner as to carry
conviction with 1t, and cause the
cheeks of every man to blanch
with the horrible recital of the crime Of
her brother, who led a band of cOnspir-
atOrs to. kill her husband. She said that
Mark Miller, Nelson Watkins, and John
Elliot Watkins came to her house, took
supper, and went to bed to stay all night.
| She disposed of them az best she could
| in q small log cabin OF two rooms. At
midnight others came, and after being
refused a,lmittance said that IL they
were not allowed to come in peaceably
| they would come in in a damned rough
manner Her husband seized his shot
gun frOmlwhieh the caps had been Ia
ken By the traitors inside. Just as he
put others on the door burst open and
In came three masked men. The plucky
woman grabbed the first man and held
his right hand, but be soon swung her
violently away and the shooting began.
| By the time she recovered her feet her
husband lay back on the bed dead. He
had fallen upon the little two year cid
child tn II lay upon the bed.
The silence was awful as the audi
enct ctDwaited almost breathless to catch
every accent that fell from the lips of
the handsome, modest stricken woman,
and many a tear was brushed rapidly
away from weather beaten cheeks Of
sturdy men. During the recital Bar
nett, the brother. hid his thin, callOua
| face in his hands, while strong men
could not hide their rising SemOtiOn.
She said she had, not been able 10 see
much of the murderers in consequence
| of the scufiie with the man she reeOg-
| nized as Newton Yarber. Hence she
did not know who the other two men
| were. &c.,
AS she left the stand. Laura Riley, an
illiterate mountain girl, took the stand
and told simple story of the murder
\ and Of the actors In. it, which
Ideepened the impression OF its cold
| bI0Oded horror. She. had been sleeping
| In the foot of the bed with HeltOn and
wife, and when the door was pushed
back she stood up In bed, and leaned
over the door so as to command view
within and without She recognized
two of the men inside, Newton .YarbeI
and Sol Becraft, who did the shooting