The Dallas weekly herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1885, 1884-02-28
A CAUSE CELEBRE,


The Woody trial in Bosaue county, be-
cause OF its navel features. authorizes q
fuller account tnan your correspondent
would ie.l justified In taxing your columns
with in an Ordinary case OF killing.
John l. White, deputy sheriff OF this
county, and A. N. Woody, Of Fort Worth,
one OF the train guards on the Santa Fe
railroad who was seeking to suppress train
robberies and sacking OF trains at night,
we're ioiatlv arrested at the August term,
1888, for the murder Of Bass Kavanaugh.
They chose to sever, and, on the appllca.
ton of states counsel, the venue was
Woody, ard the state continued as to
Woody. At the December term at Gle
burne the White case was continued. and
At the January term in Bosuue. just ended,
the case OF Woody come up, and after four
days spent in 1t there was mistrial. and
the case stands over to the August term.
IL Is not the purpose to effect public senti'
ment as to either one, bat TO give the pub
lie striking points AZ to the law of Texas as
CONNIE cted with this case that your cores
pondent feels authorized to refer
10 1t and the rulings OF the able
and sterling Judge Abbott upon 1t.
points upon which there would have been
. review before the court OF appeals, II
..hera had been q conviction.
TIE ttate was represented by hon. j. "a.
Massey, employed to prosecute: W N;
Knight the county and O. L. Lockett, Of
he Meridian bar appointed BY the court.
The defense by Colonel w. M. Flournoy, Of
Waco, assisted BY Colonel }. O. Jenkins, Of
Waco, and Colonel Herbert Fielder. OF
Meridian. The trial was managed with
great Q al on both sides, the judge and Jury
we'll composed gave 1t profound and deeply
Interested attention.
document for murder in Houston county
where he was raised. and had lived In
Bosque county, but at the time was fugi.
tive and under general repute % man OF
desperate character. The sheriff OF Hous
ton county had sent capias with particu-
lar caution to Whitworth, sheriff OF Bosqre
county, who had given Instructions to
White and Prophet, deputies, living in dr.
on the pui vive to find and arrest the party
Prophet had met him and been n sisted
by arms, and had. without notifying his
principal or White returned the capias to
Houston county Q few days before
the killing. Woody had seen
the capias In the hands Of While for some
time before and been rejected by him to
look out for the fugitive. The evidence OF
been resisted by Kavanaugh. was rejected
by the court The deputy sheriff, White,
who had previously had the capias, and
did not know Prophet had returned it,
coming out rom Waco to McGregor on his
return from the Federal court with other
witnesses, in March last, found that
X ,vansugh was ON the train; Money ives on
the train also; at McGregor he summoned
Woody and Doody another train-gusrd to
assis him In making the arrest, but
Ksvanaugh, who knew their purposes, left
and undertook to escape across the prairtes
toward Harris creek; they pursued, White
armed with the pistol he usually carried,
and Woody and Dowdy with their pistols
and one with q shot gun. the other with .
Winchester rifle. Dowdy whom the prose.
cution did not know was not indicted: ana
There was proof that Kavanaugh was armed
with pistol and other proof tending to
chow that he was not. The flight and pur-
suit were witnessed BY a collected crowd.
The killing wssabout mile distant from
the depot, and after the pnrsuers had en-
tered the brush Of the creek and the fugi.
tive had crossed 1t into the open field
beyond; some Of the witnesses VINO oia
not follow, saw the smoke Of the gun, and
saw no shots from Ksvsnsugh; others saw
the smoke of two shots from where he was
fleeing; two boys who had followed on. saw
them distinctly; Dowdy testified positively
to the two shots; that K. had stood them
off two or three times before he had crossed
the creek; that he threw away bis pistol
and was shot from the back BY one OF the
prisoners not then in his sight, the pursu-
ing parties having separated; witnesses tor
the state standing near the place OF starting
representing the three prisoners o. being all
nearly together ct the time; proof as to two
searches for the pistol, and at later period
the finding OF II, imbedded In the mud
where it was under water at the time, with
two barrels empty, and the hammer down
on the third. Such ID an outline only q
entered the upper part of the thigh from
the rear and broke the bone. He was i'm
mediately brought on the evening train 20
Meridian. where some months later he died
OF the wound In jail, thus giving 1urisdic-
ton to the district court Of Bosque county
- Tie IL court rejected evidence Of the
Etc., offered after the other
proofs had been made, his character - .
desperate In BosQue, Houston aud other
counties where he was known,
An able and elaborate charge was given
to the Jury, in addition to the general law
Of homicide, the controlling points OF
which were that while ]. l.. White, the
deputy sheriff, had power and " We =. n y.
Bosoue county, in which he was acting,
and might parsue party and arrest him
under It in another county, and had the
power TO summon a. many citizens % we're
necessary to make the arrest. he had no
authority to make an arrest out OF his
county unless he had the eapiss at the
time, and ii he did,uot have such capias be
had no more authority than any other pri.
vste citizen; and that private citizens could
not lawfully make an arrest without . war
rant, even In . felony case, except where II
was committed 10 their presence OF view,
IN such 3 case the arrest By White, without
| the oapzas. would b illegal and the party
We j6stinabls In resistins. and thas ths