Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1886-07-23
A DANGEROUS CITIZEN.
More Than Thirty Men On the List
Of Miller, The killer"
How an Inhabitant of Jlmtown, Indian
Territory, Dea's With His Foes-An
Old man With a Bloody Record
History OF His Career.
Fort smith lArkAL Letter l

Fort Smith tArk.) Letter.l
hundreds of men from all classes, and
from ali portions of the Indian Territory.
are to be seen here at all times in attend
ance on the Federal Court, either as de-
fendants, witnesses or jurors, and fre-
quentiy one meets some very remarkable
characters. During the present term Cap
tain John Miller, of Jimtown, Chickasaw
Nation, has Leon here in the conspicuous
role OF defendant in a murder case, though
he has been released on the ground that
this court has no jurisdiction in the case.
He has credited to his account the lives of
thirty men, that being the number he is
said to have killed during his life, and he
does not deny the charge.
Captain Miller was born in Choctaw
County, Mississippi, in 1916, and is now
seventy years of age, though no one would
take him for more than fifty. Few men
have led more adventurous life than he.
According to his own statement, the first
man he ever killed was named Jones, and
the killing took place at Columbus, Miss.
lie was tried for the crime and came clear.
This was when he was quite young.
In lS4s, at New Orleans, Miller and two
Maley brothers, Henry and John, killed
the three Turk brothers. Miller was
member Ct Jenkins company, in the fill
clustering expedition to Cuba, when Lopez
was guillotined and Captain John j. Quit
ungton and fifty-t mer were shot. The
difficulty with the Turk brothers occurred
just after his return from Cuba. He was
tried at New Orleans for the Turk killing
and again came clear.
In 1919, i'll a difficulty near Shreveport,
La, he killed three men--Murphy, Mysick
and one Carroll. He was tried at Shreve-
port and acquitted on the ground OF self
defense. He cut the next two no;ches on
his gun at Lickskillet, La, in 1859, when
he and Alexander Rudes followed two
horse|thieves from Texas, and Miller
killed them bo:h in fight they made
while resisting arrest.
In 1866, while en- route from Chickasaw
Nation to Mexico, he,with six companions,
was canped near Spivey's Ferry, on Red
river, when a general row took place not
far from his camp between five white men
and crowd of negroes. Miller and his
men appeared on the scene after the five
whites were wounded, and opened fire on
the negroes, killing twelve of them. For
this he was tried before General Reynolds
at Austin, Tex, and released.
In 1866 he killed man named TAYLOR at
Gatesville, Tex, with a knife. TAYLOR
struck him in the head with a rock. He
was also tried for this murder and came
clear.
In lS1 he pursued three horse. thieves
from the Indian Territory into Texas, and
all three of them were killed. For this he
stood trial at Cranberry, and was turned
loose.
In 1879 he killed, or was charged with
killing, Mathew Fletcher on his (Miller's)
own farm near Jimtown. For this he was
arrested and lodged in the United States
jail at this place, where he remained eight
months, and in 1880 was tried and acquit-
ted. This, he says, was the hardest trial
he ever had during all his experience.
He has killed three other men in the In
dian country, whose names he declined to
mention, for the reason, he says, that they
now have grown-up children in that coan-
try, and be doesn't care to have the matter
resurrec.ed.
The killing for which he was brought
here this last time occurred in his own
house, in January last, where ho killed
prominent young Choctaw, named Israel
Fulsom. This killing, he claims, was an
accident; that Fulsom was drunk and
drew pistol for the purpose OF killing
him; that in trying TO wrench the pistol
out of Fulsom's hands it was discharged,
the bullet entering Fulsom's side, killing
him. No one saw the killing except Miller's
wife.
Miller served throughout the Mexican
" n (eapsaira u II (s1a~4,.s,
JEFF Davis regiment, and participated in
the battles Orizaba, Monterey and the
City Of Mexico. At the close of the war
he returned to the Choctaw Nation, living
on the outskirts of civilization, engaged to
some extent in fighting the Indians.
During the war between the States he
was a Captain in General b. H. Cooper's
command (same Cooper mentioned above
as being Captain in the Mexican war).
during which time he took hand in the
battles of Wilson's Creek, Elk Hon.
Prairie Grove, Gibson, Cabin Creek and
numerous small skIrmishes, being most of
the time in command of scouts, and saw
much rough service.
In fact, his company was recognized as
Independent" going where and when
they pleased. He was quite notorious as
q raider, and was constantly on the go.
At the close of the war he surrendered
with Cooper at Fort Wichita, Chickasaw
Nation, but had made such a record dur
ing the war that for long time time after
tho surrender he remained on the scout,
living in Mexico for quite a while.
Among the first men who enlisted in
Milier's company after the breaking out Of
the war was VIC. Quantrell, ,alias Charley
Hart, but he only remained with Miller
about three months, when he went to Mis-
souri, and built him an everlasting name,
as is well known to everybody old enough
to remember anything al out the war.
Miller says if he killed any one during
the war they don't count in his list of
thirty.
During all his adventurous life he was
never wounded but once, and that was at
Weatherford, Tex, in 1872, when he was
shot in the knee Ly man named Denton.
Miller's mother was one-eighth Choc-
taw and his father an IIishman, and his
right in the nation comes from his moth
er. He has a wife and three children, and
is very well fixed, having a large farm
near Jimtown, well stocked with horses.
mules, cattle and hogs.