Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1886-12-17
EQUALS THE DARK AGES.
James Howard a Bowie County Man,
Beats and Brands his Fourteen
Year Old Vile.
He Hangs Her Up by the Toes and lor
lures Her I'm She Coniesses-
The Fiend Lynchcd.
we WIN Protect our Mothers, wives
Daughters and sisters Under any
and ell circamstancesn
An AWFUL OUTRAGE


and all circumstances"
An AWFUL OUTRAGE.
special to the Gazette.
TExARKANA, TEN, Dec. l6. Last even.
ing this city was thrown into great OK
citsment aud Indignation, by the an.
nouneement that carpenter here by the
name OF James Howard had been guilty
Of practicing barbarity on his Girl wife,
that would put 20 blush the cruelty of
uncivilized ssyages. Last July this man
married little girl by the name OF Mary
Stella Miuchew, whose parents resided In
Cass county. They moved to this city
and lived very peaoeably together
until the first OF last month, when he got
an idea that his wife was too intimate
with young man by the name Of Archie,
who resides Ia Queen City. she dec AIRED
her innocense, but he would not believe
II, and said she had to acknowledge her
guilt. This he made her do (lhough she
says she acknowledged TO ialsebood to
keep him from killing her), by placing
her head between his knees and whipping
her numerically. Later on, he nailed
two strips up in his room, stripped her,
hung her up by her toes and dashed her
until the blood flowed from her wounds.
Not being satisfied with the punishment
inflicted, the scoundrel
GOT a BRANDING IRON
which stamps the letter "H /" This ne
heated red.hot, after which he took the
child and threw her upon the bed. lie
turned her cger and branded her with
the letter "Hn on the lower part
OF the thigh and then turned her over
again aud placed the Same brand in front,
Just below the stomach, making the
branding irpn cut deep into the flesh in
/ both places, from which the poor girl has
almost been suffering death, He kept
her from telling on him for some time by
threatening 10 kin her II she did so, but
yesterday evening the girl, accompanied
by her mother from Cass county, who had
arrived, appeared before Justice Cannon
and made complaint against the
brute, Tae examining trial WAS at once
proceeded with, and the following Is the
testimony dstse girl and her mother, who
had examined her Wounds
STELLA HOWARD,
Being duly sworn, deposed as follows;
oMy name is Mary Stella Howard. The
defendant, James Howard, was at the
house aud branded me in two different
! places. II was In the night--about No
vember /. 1t was In Texarkaua,
county OF Bowie, state OF Texas.
| He branded me with iron, and made the
letter ''llh Branded me on my person,
The iron was red hot. Che brand was
handed 10 County Attorney King That's
the,very iron / was branded with. (She
showed the court how it was used on her
| flesh 1t made an imprint OF the letter
'Hn on my person. My husband
1 branded me because | would not swear
that was "takenn with another man. /
wouldn'tdo II, because was innocent and
he branded me. He took me IN the
room aud told me TO turn over on the bed
aud lie still. lie then heated the iron red
hot and branded me. lie had no other
weapon that know OF. His sister, Anna
Hale, stood by and saw him brand me
did not make this complaint before be-
GAUGE he said he would hurt me II | did.
was fourteen years old the l6th Of last
July The brand hurt me a great deal.
He gave me something 10 make
me drunk. II was very painful. ! have
been well out three or four days. This
letter an Is on my person 10 two dit-
ferent places. 1t was such a brand as TO
dis6gure my person. He did make threats.
i He had the hatchet and said II | halloed
be would cut me. Yes, he had me tied
up. The Ratchet was there the time he
| AsA ma M hot tt hsa xuhinuaA ma
boih.n
CROSS ExAMfEATTON.
Howard not having any counsel, he
cross-questioned the witness himself, and
she said
/ aYou made me acknowledge everything
that aekno wledged No, you were not
dead drunk when you struck me down. |
can swear that you were not drunk when
You struck me. You laid me on the bed
would not have lain down there myself
70 be burned"
REDIRECT
! ole branded me on the hip IN one place.
! He held me on the bed while he branded
me. lie had the iron before he put me
on the bed. He heated II after be threw
me on the bed. He said he was going 20
get that out Of me some way, Al out the
man Archie, who lives Ia Queen City. He
asked me II knew what he was
going TO do with the iron.
said 70. He said ~ Is TO burn yeu
with, and Tonight IN brand you
didn't tell anybody abou. It because he
said he would Kill noe II did. was
afraid OF him because he had whipped me
before that. He whipped me here Ia this
town. He nailed two pieces Of plaak up
20 the corner OF tho house. He then tied
my feet up and left my head h,Dging
down, ana whipped me with my clothes
ali off He cut the blood out Of me,
and the scratches are on me yet He
whipped me twice--ance be put my head
between bis legs, md the next time he
tied me up. He whipped me for writing
N mamma. believe be would carry out
his threat. I'm as fraid Of hin az can
be.
Prisoner asked II he didn't offer 70 send
her home. She said, ''yes, you did, but
You wouldn't DO II
MRS MARGARET MINcaEW,
eta M "a l.nr NJ the nj ugifa tvaa HtUNru