Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1886-04-26
MEREDITH GROW.
Arrested for Murder In the Indian
Territory Six Years After the KIN.
Ing, Tried aud Convicted.
The President ccmmutes his Sentence 20
Life mprisonment--A Letter TO the
Wife OF his Bosona.


Correspondence OF the Gazette.
FORT SMITH, ARK, April 2l.--The fol-
lowing is a verbatim copy Of q letter writ
ten by NJ. D. Crow, one OF the men who
was to have been hanged here next Fri.
day, to his wife at Marysville,
Cooke county, Tex, the day following
hls communication Of sentence to life i'm.
prisonment. Iuse 1t by his permission
FORT SMITH, ARK, April 20, lssG.--
Ny DEAR WIFE; | received the news
yesterday that the president had spared
my life and given me life sentence in the
house OF Detroit, Mich ! assure YOU L
am anything but happy, believing that my
life Will be worse out In d prison home, cut
off from my dear little infant family.
am reliably informed that stand good
show to get pardoned IN the course of
time. ] do hope you may have health
and be able to take care of and raise my
dear, sweet infant babies In credit. Force
them through kindness to love you for
the happiness Of our little ones. DO not
teach them by your actions and words
that you are in trouble about me.
for II Is not necessary that they
should know you are In trouble. Try and
keep their poor innocent hearts from sor-
row, let them forget that they have a
father In prison for life. know Won viii
have quite task, still know you will
enter bravely. My darling wife, may be
asking more than l should, and II am,
| hope you will look over and forgive.
Though l so TO my prison home,
leave my heart with my loving and faith
full wife, who has been the idol and pride
OF my heart. Try, ask you, to make the
best of your opportunity you can. What
hurts me is the thought that am the one
that wrecked your pure, innocent self.
would willingly give my life tonight il /
could make you happy, for you have
helped nobly to fight the battle OF life for
twelve years, and since have
been in prison have missed that gentle
hand that once was ready at all times TO
battle my feyered head. It Is not that
care for my condition, IL is you and the
little ones, for life is hard at best, still |
ask you to make the best Of your condi-
ton, and pray you may have courage to
perform the duty of mother. / will
write you as soon as Crayens gets back
You have likely heard from him, at least
hope so. Let me hear from all Of you
soon. ! will write to pa, ma, JEFF
George, Rus, etc, tomorrow. By.by-
M. 7. CHOW.
MEREDITH CROW
! is a white man thirty-eight years Of age,
and was convicted October2, lsS5,ior the
murder of Cub Courtney In the Chicka
saw nation, on the sth of June, 1879.
After the killing Of Courtney, Crow tiet
| to Texas, and remained at large until the
| 9th day of January, 1855, when he was
arrested by James il. Gay, who was after
wards murdered by the Lee boys. H'
was suffering from gunshot wound IL
the leg at the time OF his arrest, from
which he did not recover until some tint
after his incarceration In jail here.
He never denied the killing, but claimed
he did 1t purely in self-deferse, and h
frequently remarked after receiving sen
! tence that If IL was 10 do over again ht
would do the same thing. The evi
dence showed that Courtne,
was wild, reckless youni
fellow, and that he haS
| becomes smitten with q young widow
named Thurman, but this widow fayore'
the suit of Theo. Pitts, another admire
Of hers, which caused Courtney 10 maxi
dire threats against the lives Of Mrs
Thurman and every man who favored he
with attention. On the day of the killing
which was beautiful sunshiny Sunday
Courtney mounted his horse and taklni
his trusty Winchester rode over to tn
Widows humble home. Pitts was Their
ahead of him and Crow was at the hous
of Mr.. Carson, a short distance away and Il
plain view of Mrs. Thurman's. Tn
widow seeing Courtney coming with
gun left Pitts In her house and started u
to Carson's. Courtney rode up to he
house and fred shot into 1t, after whlc
he rode on up to Carson's, an
after throwing his gun down 0
the crowd in the yard turne
and rode of a short di.
lance. but soon started back agar
when three of the men present ran roun
the house, while Mr.. and Mrs. Carso
aud Crow went into the house. Cub roo
nm near the end of the house, stopped hi
horse and held his gun IN readiness I
shoot. Crow secured shotgun an
going out of the back door came roun
the house and shot Cub twice, the shc
, taking effect in his back, killing him. .
this point at the trial hung the late
Crow, VINO cldlllletl tudt touAehNJ buAHN
in his saddle aud faced him as ne cam
, round the house, bringing his gun I
bear on him, and that lie fred the hr'
shot before he got his gun IN position
which caused the horse 10 whirl and COZ
sequently the next shot took effect IN Cue
back. The government claimed that whe
Crow shot Courtney the latter was rldin
off. and proved this fact to the satisia'
) ton OF the jury, hence the verdict
guilty. Grow claims that the TWO WI
ilesses who testified 10 the goyernmel
! theory did so through the influence
Courtney's father, on whose farm one
them has been living for some time pas
! and that they swore falsely. Their test
mony was borne out, however, by u
range Of the shot, some OF which stru,
' Courtney's horse and some lodged N u
back part Of his saddle. Every effort w
made to obtain a new trial, but to !
avail. Then the pardoning. power "
? appealed to, with the result above state
: rtrpnCK UORT0N.