Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1885-06-27
NEWSPAPER FACTS

The average newspaper reporter
couldn't well be taken ais an exemplar
az accuracy. He gets facts the best
way he can, and sometimes draws on
lively imagination TO supply what
he hasn't otherwise been able to OBJ
tain.
We have come 10 this reflection from
reading the various reports OF the
hanging sent from this city On the
18th inst Some OF them contained
statements contradicted in toto by
others, and some OF them make bold
assertions that cause the people here
abauts to remark show this world is
given to lying"
The special to the Memphis Appeal
says:
Morrow rested badly last night,
sleeping only few minutes after ,
o'clock this morning. lie ate no
breakfast, but at II O'Clock took glass
of milk and a piece of cherry pie
This is not altogether in accord with
the Americans report, which states:
He had good nights rest He
arose early this morning and ate a
hearty breakfast, expressing himself
rs feeling quito we'll and fully nerved
for the or'ieil and prepared for eter-
nifty
One genius. in giving nm account OF
the Brown murder said fhat @pine
fagotS" were piled ON the body in the
ar7sFS1,t to 10 burn il The nearest
pine forest to the lonesome coaling
where that dark decd WAS done is
probably 200 miles away.
The young man who wrote the
thing up for the Union informed the
public that it was the first legal. exc
cutiOn that ever tonk place i'm Mont
gomery county" This piece Of news
must have put to shame our enterpris-
ing contemporary across the street
which gave IN its Fridays issue de-
tailed accounts of several affairs of the
kind that had previously occurred
here.
The particulars of the execution us
dispatched To the Courier-JOurnal are
tolerably correct. but it is evident that
some Office artist touched up the his
tory of the crime and that Of the Nor
row family,as given in that paper. In
that rather remarkable production the
I'LL
Eighteen years ago an old man
named Sleigh, doubtless one of tie
gang, Was killed, and soon after young
Bellamy's trial young Thomas j.
Sleigh, who knew all the facts, COM
menced talking freely about the Nor
rows and the killing of Jim Brown.
The MOrrows managed to get him out
hunting and Ben Morrow killed him
They claimed that it was accidental,
and made great pretentions to grief,
but Ben Morrow WAS indicted for
murder, ran away and has never been
seen since. A man named Paco, who
knew some Of the facts, sold out and
went TO Dakota tor fear the Morows
would kill him. There are great
many more things of this sort known.
This is absurd enough to any one
who is familiar with the real facts in
the case. Ben Morrow WAS tried i'm
the Criminal Court in this city last
March lor the murder of Sly and ac-
Quilted On plea of self-defense. Jim
Pdccaud, to whom the name "Paco" evi-
IDENTITY refers. was the principal wit
ness against Bill Morrow
In the face of these contradictory
and exaggerated accounts we are not
surprised that paper which has en-
deavored to gather the true story from
reading the various reports should get
things so badly mixed as the National
Review does in the following:
The details of the murder. us REPORT
ed, are shocking. The negro, it is sIid,
was murdered in the woods on Sun
day, and bIdly burned after death
That night his body was pitched into
a cave, and remained there ten months
A friend Of Morrow's after awhile told
the story, and the result Was yester
days hanging. Morrow stoutly main |
tline,l that he killed the negro for
making indecent proposals to his !
tMorrOws) little twelve.year-old girl