Daily Republican., 1886-03-08

died here on WashtnRton's Birthday
from wound inflicted By an assassin's
bullet. Il seems an odd thing TO send
such common, every day bit OF news
all the way 70 New York, and II it were
not for the fact that / happened 70 be
on thespot at the time OF the death this
assassination would pass like hundreds
and hundreds OF similar ones without Q
word OF comment by any newspaper.
There are only n Thousand people --men.
women and children-in all OF this
country. yet the murders and sssassiDa
tiors during the year outnumber the
births two TO one.
To anybody " no has ever lived In this
section OF the country, or who has ever
Travelled through Harlan, Bell, Kuott
or Fletcher Counties, the statement is
zoo common to excite comment. But
no one ever travels through these noun
tains-for there are not any rail ways to
travel by-and no newspaper cor res
pondents ever writes from Harlan
County, so the murders and feuds and
assassinations and brawls are not made
public. There are courts here, OF course,
and judges and juries, as there are in
civilized communities, but where every
jury men Is related TO the murderer on
trial, and where the judge has his own
life TO take care Of In lawless commu-
nifty, the idea Of convicting . prisoDe or
never occurs to those In court. Tits by
merest chance that found myself up
here In the mountains, two days travel
from any railway, and 800 miles from
the date Of my last letter to you.
Colonel Rogers was q brave, kind.
hearted man Of splendid physique,
well connected and about thirty i've
years old. His duties consisted in
travelling trough the Eastern District
OF Kentucky and breaking up Illicit
stills. Sometimes he took O heavily
armed posse with him, but generally
he did not. On the night of November
Ia last, while he was washing his
hands In the little hotel here, the bar.
rel of a Winchester rifle was pushed
through the window when his back
was turned and he was shot. The
heavy ball struck him in the small OF
the back and ranged upward, Through
the lungs," the local doctor SAID. The
wound was very much like that Gar.
field received, and for three months the
wounded man lay, unable to move,
growing weaker and weaker, until his
death. 1t was impossi ole to move him
over the rough roads through the foress
to the comforts of civilization.
John Howard, who lives on q stony
farm, had been arrested by Rogers
few months before and taken to Louis
willie, where he was tried for moonship-
ing-making Illicit whisky. He was
acquitted, and swore after that he would
kill Rodgers. 80, when he heard that
the fearless marshal had returned TO
the mountains, Howard took down his
gun and, according 70 the testimony,
left home saying: Il am going out to
kill Rogers, D. him." When he re-
turned he remarked coolly: i've shot
him and l guess I've killed him
Howard was arrested, examined and
released on %, 900 bail, aud is now liv-
ing out 1t his home in the mountains.
70 the outcome of the trial, and his
friends refuse to treat the matter seri-
ously and laugh At the mere suggestion
of con viction for murder. Old tradi-
lions are not TO be lightly outraged.
There are two factions In the county
that have been at war over q family
qusrrel ever since any one can remem-
Der. Every body belongs 10 the Howard
faction except the people who espouse
the cause of the Turner faction. That
Is what makes 1t 90 difficult for q new
arrival coming here to interfere. II he
joins the Howard crowd the Turner'S
will kill him II he casts his lot with
Turner the adberents of Howard will
try n shot at him, and II he aims to be
strictly neutral both sides will consider
him fair game and the chances are he
will follow the dead Rogers. So when
you, away off In comfortable New
York, ask why somebody doesn't inter
fere you can see how interference some
times leads TO unple asant oonseQ uences.
1t 10 difficult to make outsiders un-l
derstand how this state Of affairs can
exist and 1t is hard to write the simple
facts without appearing 10 exaggerate.
Perhaps statistics may help me little.
They do not keep any regular criminal
records here, 30 the few figures l can
gather will have 10 do. The next term
of the Harlan circuit Court lasts just
SIX days. There are twenty eight
murder cases on the docket. That
leaves four CAGES for each day and eight
on Saturday. The population Of theI
county lie between nine hundred and
one Thousand. Say three hundred of
these are men. Then nearly one-tenth
OF the adult male population are
charged with murder. The hand Ut
every tenth man you meet Is stained
with blood.
Yet with murders and assassinations
OF common occurrence, l have never
been more Hospitality received than
here. The people Go not mean TO act
uskindly. al d their lawlessness 10 only
the result of their ways of living. The
stranger here no attends strictly to his
own business 10 as safe al he would be-
In Broad way, except, OF course. from a
stray bullet or miss shot. But the
moment he attempts 10 Interfere, IL IL
time to move. You can come up here
and stop week at any of the log cabins
Of tue best people, live ON milk, corn
pom fried bacon. game and poultry,
and not household IN Harlan County
will accept a penny in payment. Yet
attempt TO find the location Of q still, or
give the least reason for suspicion, and
your chances for life are not worth talk
ing about. The people are uneducated,
hate the government that wants 10 COL
leet taxes ON their whisky, and settle
their disputes without the interference
of the law.
A case In point occurred on my way
here the other da,. Brack Herndon
came into the d 1cJor's office with the
fissby par. of his left arm shot away.
The Sheriff-they have Sheriffs here
asked who did the shooting and offered
to arrest him. The young fellow shook
his head, told the Sheriff to mind his
own business, and said with grim sim
plicity: 81 guess I'll be able to tend
to this little case myself" Some day
the man that did the shooting will die
with his boots on
The administration Of justice does
not offer Inducements TO try the courts
again. The young fellow who drove
me over the mountains had inst come