The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1884-05-03
MURDER MOST FOUL.

Law oI inc NtuEueFen man Onarged with
the Crime-The Tragedy the Result of
Family Neutrality-suspicious. not Improb.
able.
DIES MONIES. IA. April 20.
Details of the murder of Hiram Jeler.
son near Audubon Saturday morning,
show that it was a most brutal and dia-
bolical affair. Eighteen years ago Jeller-
son came from Pittsheld, ILL.,, and settled
on a farm near Audubon. He has raised
family OF one boy aud Eve girls. Three
of these are married Some three years
ago man from Greene County named
John Smythe married one of the Jeller-
son girls. He was rough, drinking
character and soon succeeded in causing
disturbance in the Jefferson family and
arraying the mother and children against
the father. He accused the latter with
the crime of incest with one of the girls,
and threats were made by Smythe and
others against the father. Smythe moved
to Carroll County about year ago and
induced Jellerson's boy Cicero and Lucy,
the girl accused OF incest, to leave home
and live with him. Frequent threats
against the life of the old man have been
made by several relatives during the past
two years.
Jefferson was flfty-four years old, Grip
pied and not very strong mentally, but
was scrupuously honest and upright in
all Ills dealings and kind husband and
father. His son Cicero and son-in-law
Smythe have so harrassed him that for
the past year he has been partially In
sane. At times of late none of the chill
dren have been at home.
At four O'Clock Saturday morning the
old man and his wife were sleeping in a
bedroom opening from the front room of
the small house in which they lived, and
facing the road. Around the house is a
row of trees, inclosing, perhaps, two
acres, but the lot Is not
fenced. Three horsemen rode up
and tied their horses to trees near the
southeast corner of the lot or garden.
Mrs. Jefferson says that she was awakened
by their boisterous entrance into the
house and bedroom. 1t was so dark that
.she could not see their faces and could
only distinguish the outlines of large
sized man. She asked who they were
and what was the matter. A rough voice
answered and told her to keep still, and
then she felt the hands of q man on her
face. Her husband said: "Wbat are you
here for, Cicero?" He replied: alt is not
Cicero, but it is John Smythe." Then
her husband, who was lying on the back
side of the bed, was seized and violently
dragged from the bed onto the floor The
old man cried for help. -
Putting a rope around his neck the
murderers dragged him $40 feet to a ma.
pie tree, at the southeast corner of the
lot, and, throwing the end of the rope
over a limb about eight feet. from the
ground, drew him up so his feet barely
touched the ground, and pinioning his
arms with the end of the rope, they mount
ed their horses and started east. The ole
lady says that when they took him from
the house she jumped up from the floor
ran to the door and called for one of the
neighbors, who resides perhaps four hun
dred yards distant, when one of the muir
derers came back and told her to keel
still, or they would put the rope arounC
her. She says that two men were drag
ging the body and one was following
after.
The Coroner's Jury returned yer
dict that in their opinion Jefferson
met his death by hanging at tn
hands of his son Cicero and hi
son-in-law Smythe and another partl
to them unknown. The testimony di
rectly implicated these same parties
and one if not two others. Sheriff
Herbert and Deputy Johnson starte,
north 10 arrest Cicero Jefferson ant
Smythe. One of the murderers lost hi
cap in the bedroom and also colore'
cotton handkerchief with holes cut IL
1t for the nose and eyes, and which h
evidently used for mask, as it was tie'
lust to fit the head
1t was a cold-blooded, premcditated
unprovoked murder the most dastardl
outrage ever perpetrated In that section
and the neighborhood and the citizens ar
very much aroused and excited over
and all concur in the opinion as to VIII
the guilty parties are. Should Sheriff
Herbert return with the suspected one
it will take strong jail to hold an,
guard to protect them, judging from tn
murmured threats heard upon the streets
A large number of persons visited tn
scene OF the murder Saturday. There |
plain path or furrow from the hous
through the garden, where the make
body of the poor, helpless old man wa
uldSSCh W NC Oh ehO biSS bhoO IL
own hands planted several years age
The skin and flesh. was torn from tn
back by being dragged through tn
weeds and dirt. He evidently died fror
suffocatlon and stranguation, as the bod
when found was standing nearly flu
weight on the ground, the rope being jus
tight enough to keep it in vertical pos
ton.
Neither Jefferson, his wife nor thei
children were considered very strou
mentally, and Cicero is far below the av
erage young man in intelligence and
Just such a fellow as might be expecte