Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1884-07-12

soon began to excite suspicion, and q |
party was organized to search for |
OHalleren's body, for they believed |
he had been murdered. They went TO |
the neighborhood of Thompson's |
house and examined an old well from |
which emsnated a horrible stencil. |
This smell was explained by Thomp-
son TO arise from u hog having fallen
into the well, but his great agitation
increased their suspicious, and being |
determined to know what was in the |
we'll they got "A long stick, sharpened |
one end and twisted II about the de- |
caying body aud brought up some |
pieces OF clothing and other indica-
lions to show that 1t was not hog, |
but the dead body OF O'Halleren.
They brought up the body, exam
ined It. and found a knife wound In |
the eide and fractrresin the skull |
When he saw them bring up a piece
of clothing on the stick Thompson
confessed to having killed o. Halleren
and thrown the body into the we'll;
said that while O'Halleren was sick
he was very cross and peevish aud one
day when he had made him some
soup O'Hslleren said he had put too
much salt into 1t and made Il 80 he
could not eat It; that he believed he
was trying to poison him anyway, in
order to get his part Of the property.
A quarrel followed and O'Halleren
then attacked him with large knife
and run him out the door aud around
the house. o Halleren then seized an
AK and headed him of and was about
| to brain him when he seized tom
fuller pestle and struck
| him over the head with 1t. Surprising
| l,a "A ran him,
| he claims to have underworld to bring
him to, hut soon learned that O'Hal-
leren was dead; that In u moment of
| fear, lest he be discovered and his
crime detected, he threw the corpse
into the old we'll and then threw some
ashes on 1t. These other tales he con-
cocted in order to escape detection.
This was the statement Thompson
made to the men whe found O'Ilal-
leren's body and TO the jury while he
was on the witness stand, but his
statement was disbelieved. Circum-
stances were all against him and
tended to show that o Halleren was
murdered In order that Thompson
might come into possession of his
interest in the property they
owned together. The jury took
this view of the case
and convicted him accordingly. Az
ter being sentenced Thompson Joined
the Baptist church, and made some
! few preparations for death. but did moi
seem possessed of much religion, or to
realizr that he really must die on the
gallows.
. JACK woMANkILLER, ALIAS GAL
CATCHER,
! is a full blood Cherokee Indian, ap
parently about pr years of age. The
crime for which he Suffered the ex
: treme penalty OF the law was the COW
: ardly murder of an old man named
: Wyatt In the early part of May, 1883
= WOmankiller WAS seen riding along ,
5 lonely wood in the Cherokee nation
t on the 7th day of May In compan,
with old man Wyatt, who was on foot
{ and leaving the old man, he stopped
I at the house of Cherokee friend
D to get something to eat. While Their,
t he was asked why the man who wa
( with him did not stop and he answered
that he did no. want any dinner; thai
a he had told him to go on and he wonlt
/ overtake him in the woods and xii
, him, but he said the old man could no
4 understand him, as he spoke In Cher
4 okee He told them that. when the,
: saw the buzzards lowering around II
! the woods they might know the oil,
y man Is body was there. Womankille
s was drunk and his remarks made liz
s tie impression OH his hearers. He Ina,
: a flask of whisky and two kegs In
! sack across his saddle, and with thes
/ he rode leisurely away after finishing
$ his dinner IN the direction taken b,
o old man Wyatt, who, being over rev
: enty years of age and very fee
y BILE, WAS unable TO trave
d very fast. a pistol-shot wa
heard In the woods, and three days
la,er the dead body of Wyatt WA
y found, with bullet hole through tn
K head. near the place where the sho
n found flask and piece of ribbol
r that was identified as the piece wor
e by Womankiller for hatband. Thes
u circumstances led to the arrest G
r. Womankiller, who admitted havin
II killed old man Wyatt while he wa
=. lying asleep beneath the shade of
r tree, resting from the fatigue OF hi
IS journey during the heat of summe
le day. He had no purpose in commit
Z, ting thus murder except wantOn de
" sire to kill somebody, which was Gre
IL ated by his drunkenness. After tn
lie commission OF this cruel deed the mul
pr derer robbed his victim of wins
N little money he was possesse
IL and then rode away rejoicing. JAG
ID Womankiller was tried and convicte
E. of this crime last March, but sine
II that time he manifested no concer
ie whatever in his impending fate.
IN seemed TO be of little consequence
IL him whether he was hanged or turne
ID loose, aud the verdict of the jur
\ l.t t..a