Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1888-02-01

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imaginary alfront, and on the other another
family, small in the matters of alliance and
collateral sympathies, doomed to destructi"'
by the larger, and the case is stated.
The scene of nearly all of the murders and
assassin ations OF the years named is the mar
row bottom of Tug river above and below
/ the mouth OF Pond creek, on the Kentucky
| side. Randall Mccoy, with his wife and
thirteen children, six years ago lived In a log
! hut near the mouth of Pond creek To-day
| his house is in ashes four of his sons and
one daughter lie in bloody graves, and him
self and family wander in the mountains,
homeless and well nigh penniless.
In 1881 a warrant was issued for the arrest
of johnson Hatfield, a son of Anderson, who
eluded the officials for several months
Talbot Mccoy was deputized to serve the
warrant Mccoy captured Hatfield and
started with him for Pike court house,
twenty miles distant McCoy's two brothers
acting as guards. A friend appraised the
Hatfelds of the arrest and the elder Hat
field, accompanied by his allies intercepted
the McCoys and rescued his son at the point
of their guns, and returned to West Virginia.
A year later, at an election in Kentucky,
Elias and Ellison Hatfield engaged in
quarrel with Talbot Mccoy over an alleged
debt, during which Mccoy stabbed Ellison
Hatfield in the back. Hatfield began pound
ing McCoy's head with stone. whereupon
McCoy's younger brother stabbed and shot
Hatfield, inficting fatal wounds. All the par
ties were arrested Thirty of Hatfield's friends
promptly assembled and compact was
made to release the prisoners, which
was done. They took the three McCoys
with Them. keeping them prisoners
two days and a night, pending the result of
Ellison Hatfield's injuries. They refused to
allow justice to give the McCoys hear
ing, saying they would take care Of both
trial and punishment. The McCoys-
father, mother, brothers and sisters-ap-
peared on the scene, begged for the lives of
the three boys but were told to leave or
they would be killed too. That night
Farmer and Talbot Mccoy were taken into
the timber and shot Randall was tied to
the dead bodies of his brothers and the party
started homa. Old Ance Hatfield said:
"Boys, dead men tell no tales, and stepping
near the boy discharged both barrels of his
shotgun into his head, bursting it open.
The bodies remained tied to the bushes for
hours, their friends fearing to remove them.
No concentrated effort was ever made to
capture the perpetrators of the crime
Anderson Hatfield, ST., styling himself
Devil Ance," purchased firearms in large
quantities and organized an absolute mon
archy, himself taking command.
Comparative quiet reigned for another
year, when in mistake for Randall Mccoy
and one of his sons John and Henry Scott
were waylaid and permanently crippled by
"A volley of the Hatfield Winchesters. Follow
ing this mistake came period of stock rails
ing" by the Hatfield gang.
About one year ago jeff Mccoy, cousin of
the murdered men, was waylaid and shot by
"Cap" Hatfield and Sim Wallace. The his
tory of this crime has more elements of hell
ish fendishness, if possible, than the first
the shots being fired while the victims aged
mother, groveling at their feet arms en-
twined about their legs shrieked for pity.
Spurnng her with their boots, the fatal shots
were fired. The old lady waded the stream
to where her son lay dead, and fell in
anguish upon his body. jeff McCoy's father
had some years previously been assassinated
by the Hatiields within few yards of where
his son fell. Perry A. Cline, uncle of jeff, |
an attorney, secured acquisitions for the ar
rest of the band At an election in August |
last, Louis Varney was beaten almost to
death by cap Hatfield. The Hatfelds |
took possession Of the polls and broke up the |
election.
The browning piece of deviltry was re-
served for the night Of Jan. l, 1888, when
thirteen of the Hatfield gang, headed by |
y uTneS vance,, suTEOuilueu Jue Edul MCIOy
homestead near the mouth of Pond creek,
burned the house with its contents, killed his
son and daughter, beat the mother over the
head with the butt of a gun till they thought
she was dead, and left the little children to
die in the cold on the mountain side among
the bushes, to which they had escaped in
their night clothes While the house was
burning the father and husband fired two
shots with telling effect Three newly
made graves are to be found in the Hat
field settlement, and number are known to
be wounded. After burying his dead Nc
Coy removed his family to Pike Court house
last week.
The story was obtained principally from
Mr. and Mrs. Mccoy, who show unmistak-
able evidence of the intensity of their suffer-
ings. and is fully corroborated by others.
No one knows why the tiendish malignity
should have been kept up But once has
Mccoy attempted to retaliate, and that but
l few years ago. Even now no feeling of re-
is manifest. He spoke like a man
who had been bent and almost broken by
,he weight Of his Affections and grief. II
used to be on very friendly terms with the
Hatfields before and after the war. We
never had any trouble till six years ago. 1
nope no more of rs will have to die rll be
Had when it is all over"
luz kllhuR Vi lawn on
hight of January became known the next
lay at the county court house. Measures
we're taken at once to capture or kill por-
ion of the Hatfield gang. Twenty or thirty
men, under Deputy Sheriff Trask Phillips,
,rossed the Tug near Pond creek in Poke
county, Kentucky. on January 9th. Within 80
ards OF the house Mrs. Vance hailed Phil
ps with
who are you and where are you goingF
"Who are you and where are you goingfT
Tas his rejoinder.
Il think they are after you, pap" shrieked
he woman, and moment later old Vance
rose from his concsalment, thirty or forty
ards behind her During the shooting
'hich followed Vance was killed On the
light of JAM Phillips and posse arrested
alentine Hatfield, three May horn brothers,
ON Chambers, Andrew Yancey. Selkirk (
icCoy and Moses Christian Others Of the
atfields were captured in Mcdowell county,
est Virginia, about the same time, and
nded in Pike Jail. On Jan. Q Sheriff Phillips q
nd posse captured old "Ance" and compan-
ms, all except Jim Dunphany, who was
lied by Jim Mccoy, uncle of Randall
For | am declined into the vale of S
,ars." she SAID little sadly, but in !
,ed don't much mind it since l can get i
AVIATION Oil for 90 cents"