The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1888-10-17
THB HATFIELD GANG.
Awful Confession Of one Of its
Members now in Prison.
THE MOST TERRIBLE CRIME
In Connection, with the Feud is Re-
lated by one ofthe Participants.
Heavy Rewards offered.
Their Mountain Den.

uay publishes letteT from nlT. NhhFlef
S. Howell, who has been at the scene o.
Hattield.NIcCoy vendetta on the borders
ofWest Virginia aud Kentucky. While
at Catlettsburg he secured the COMES
sion Of one OF the West Virginia gang
who is now in prison there. 1t is q
thrilling recital OF bloody deeds, and
makes some startling developments.
Following are some extracts from Mr..
Howell's letter:
Within thirty days after they had
burned the cabin home OF old Randall
Mccoy, shot his son and his daughter,
and almost killed his aged wife last Jan.
uary, "Cap" aud Johns" Hatfield were
in the far West and rs fearful OF detec-
tives in Washington Territory as they
were in the brush Of Pond creek.
A YOUTHFUL CAIN.
They, with old "Jim" Vance, had been
the prominent figures in that, nights
massacres and, fearing the vengeance
not only Of the Mccoy connections, but
that OF their own neighbOrs aud friends,
they fled. Within u day or two another
OF the gang left his fathers house, for
the first time, to escape the officers and
ut the same time to get out ol sight and
sound of the scenes and talk OF that
midnight of horror Scarcely nineteen
years OF age, Charley Gillespie had been
allured by the representations OF Gap"
HatEied OF the ''funh incidental to Ken.
tucky raid and Ind promised cap" to
go with him il opportunity offered. He
went aud found that, instead OF enjoy
in a night OF fun and devilmcnt, ht
had been an ACCESSORY in the view oi
the law in two murders and n case o
house burning under the most revolving
All OF these things
struck him with all OF their horror and.
busily gathering together y EUw things,
he lost himself, as he thought, in u
sparsely settled county in Old Virginia.
He went to work and for months he was
and unharmed, when one
day early in September, two Of AlfBur-
nctt's detectives ,camc upon him and
him before he could think
OF resistance. Waving the iormality OF
4 reQuisition for him, they lurried him
to Charleston, where he was kept in
Captain Burnetts house for several
days. He refused TO talk to tho detect
ives, or even to Captain Burnett himself,
but Mrs. Burnett talked kindly to him,
and, in u burst OF confidence, lie told
her his story.
"0n the first day OF last January I was
at home, when Cap Hatfield came
along and said: Charley, we are going
over into Kentucky tonight to have
some fun. Get Il horse and meet us
and 20 along We'll, did not know
what wNs up, but told Cap l would
be ON hand, after little trouble got a
horse and was at the rendezvous, where
found Cap Johns Ellis 'B1b' and
Elicit Hatfield, old Jim Vance, Ellison
Mounts, and man who goes by the
name OF both Mitchell and Chambers,
whom | know by the name of Guerilla
'jim' Vance was in command OF the
party, and it was agreed at the start, be.
fore the real object OF the trip was dis
closed, that all should yield to every
thing he said and'to do all that he might
order us to do. It has been claimed that
the whole Hatfield neighborhood was
with us that night. This is not true.
There were just nine Of us, and the nine
| have mentioned.
TIE PLAN OF ATTACK.
ARRIVING ut convenient distance
from the Mccoy house was first made
acquainted with the real object OF our
trip. Vance told us that II old Randall
Mccoy and his son Cal were out OF the
road, every material witness against the
men who had taken part in the murder
OF the three Mccoy boys would be re-
and there could be no conviction
OF any OF them, even ii they might at
some time be arrested for it. All had
become tired Of lodging the officers of
the law, and wished To be able to sleep
at home beside better bed fellows than
rifles, and to occasionally
take Off their boots when they went to
bed. This was the reason that old
jim Vance gave us, and Cap and
Johns Hatfield agreed with him.
"Well, we determined il the family
would not come out when We should
warn them to, to shoot through the
windows and door OF the house from
the ends and sides with our Winchesters,
volley volley, until all inside would
be dead or disabled. The only reply
the McCoys made TO our demand 10
come out was to bar and barricado the
doors and prepare to fight us till the
last. We shot through the windows and
doors, and our shooting was responded
to by old RAMP and CAL the former
with double-barreled shot gun and the
other with Winchester. We had to
be very careful, as both were good shots.
ONLY STOOD on GUARD.
81 must tell you right here that I was
not one OF those who were doing the
shooting. Me and one Of tho other
Hatiields was put out along the road TO
act us guards, to see that no one cane
up, or that no one got past us. We
never went near the house until the
house was burning, and all was on their
way back to Hatteld's house. When
they came UP Ellison Mounts said to me:
well, we Killed the boy and girl, and l
ulu bOIE4 VI lls VIZ nave luuue u Duu
Job Of It, We didn't get the man We
wanted at all (meaning old Ran'lO. II
we had got him it would have been all
right, and our work would not have
been lost. There will be trouble over
this asked him about the fight as We
went along home, and he told me how
Chambers had crawledupon the roof to
get at those inside and 10 fire the
house, when 'Ran'p Mccoy heard
him, and, firing at him through the
shingles, shot his hand of behind
the knuckles. He said Chambers got
down, tied his hurt hand, aud, taking
his Winchester, began shooting again.
1t took some time to get the McCoys
out, but finally the door opened and
tCal.' ran out at the top OF his speed
toward a corn crib, Several banged away
at him, but none OF the shots took effect,
and ono or two more shots were fired,
when he was seen To Jump up and fall
forward. We went 10 him and found
him dead, with q big hole in the back Of
his head, The girl came out OF one Of
the two dwelling houses and wanted to
get into the one where the family was,
as some OF the men told her TO go back,
Int she knew them and nnmad them