Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1888-02-18
THE HATFIELDS SAFE.
fRR NINE HAfFIILps LODGED IN LOUIS.
WILLIE JAIL.


LOUISVILLE, KY, February 1.-THE
nine West Virginians known % the HAT.
fields" arrived here last night.
The Deputy United States AArshal and
the jailer Of Pile county were their only
guards during the iournsy.
They will appear before Judge Barr, Of
the United States District Court, Monday,
when the habeas corpus application Of the
Governor Of West Virginia viii b fEither
hard.
Valentine Hatfield, The I'D man" Of
the gang, after stating that they had been
well treated while in the Pike county jail,
gave the following account Of the oslebn-
Ted feud;
"Ths whole trouble, 50 Gar as I know,
began about six or eight years ago. bad
Ave brothers, Ellison, Eliza Anderson,
Smith and Patterson. Ellison was the
first one killed. Three Of tho Mccoy boys
shot and cut him on Blackberry creek, on
the Kentucky side, and he died the next
day. The trouble, believe, was started
by one Of the Mccoy boys attempting to
arrest Anderson Hatfeld's son, johnson,
about eight years ago. There Was q row
then, but do not remember exactly what
Il was.
AFTER Ellison Hatfield wss killed, Tai.
bert, Richard and Farmer Mccoy, ali
young men, were killed BY . crowd sup
posed TO have come from West Virginia.
The killing was done on The bridge between
Blackberry and Mates creeks.
The next Pike county grand Jury In
dic.ed lot Of people In West Virginia.
No one was arrested, however, and after
that JEFF Mccoy, who 10 Bill Daniels
brother-iu-law, heard DAnisls and Tom
Wallace abusing the Hatfelds and quar-
rel ensued. Mccoy attempted to arrest
Wallace and fight took place. This re-
suited In Captain Hatfield arresting Nc
Coy, and when Mccoy tried 10 get away
he Was killed by the men who were guard
ing him. II was said that Captain Hat
field and Tom Wallace killed him.
'Some time after this o squad Of men
went 10 Randolph MoCoy's house and
killed one Of his sons and daughter and
beat up his old woman. This was charged
TO the Hatfields, but never knew any
thing about IL till some time after the mur.
ders were committed. Shortly after this Q
company Of Pike county men was formed
to follow the Hatfelds and kill them.
They came into West Virginia and found
Jim Vance and Captain Hatfield on q
bridge near Thacker's Creek. They shot
Vance to death and wounded Captain Hat.
field. After that the Kentuckisps came
in and captured rs while We were ct work
on our farms. None Of rs resisted and no
injury was done us, but II there was any
authority for con6ning Us in jail never
heard Of it."
County Attorney J. Lee Ferguson, Of
Pike, was questioned concerning the claim
of the prisoners that they were innocent.
He laughed at the idea, sud I'D that
while the worst of the Hatfield crowd bad
not been captured, the men who are now
in the Louisville Jail are undoubtedly
part Of the gang. He declared that the
prisoners had not been unlaWfully i'm
prisoned, hat, after having crossed tho
border line between West Virginia and
Kentucky, had been legally arrested and
taken TO jail by tho proper officers. Ho
did not deny that the Wet Virginians had
been forcibly taken from their homes, but
held that the Kentuckians were justified
by the dangers threatening them in taking
the matter into their hands, when the
West Virginia authorities refused 10 assist
in restraining and Furnishing the outlaws,
who had only to cross . narrow stream to
commit the most strocious crimes and
then croes back again to secure safety
from the law.