Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1888-02-10
Seven MEN TO DIE.
Seven Indian Territory Murderers
Sentenced to be Hanged at Fort
Smith, Ark, Friday, April u.
Five OF the Condemned Men Negroes
and the Other Two Indians-AH but
Two Indifferent to Their Fate.
History OF the Grimes for Which the Death
Penalty is to be Paid-Ons q wife
Murderer, One q Rape FIend.
Special to the Gazette.

FORT SMITH, ARK, Feb. 9.-To-dAy
Judge j. c. Parker Of the United States
Court for the Western district of Ar
kansas passed the sentence of death upon
seven men who had been convicted in
this court for crimes committed in the
Indian Territory. The names Of the I'M
fortunStes are: William Alexander,
George Moss, JEFF Hilderprand, Dick
Switzerland, Emanuel Peterson, Jackson
Crow and Owen D. Hill. Five Of them are
negroes and two are Indians. When the
sentence was passed Owen protested his
innocence and Crows. Both made state
ments to the effect that injustice had
been done them bY the witnesses who tes-
titled against them. The others made no
remarks and manifested the utmost IN
difference to the dreadful sentence upon
them.
IowENs d. HILL
is q negro wife murderer, his crime being
one Of the most revolving instances Of
human brutality ever recorded. He re-
sided with his wife near Gibson station,
Cherokee nation, and they did not get
along well together, so she left him and
went to live with her mother 8 short
distance from their home. On the night
of June %, 1887, Owens appeared at the
house with shotgun, and after beating
his mother-in-lSv on the head with the
weapon until ne thought she was dead,
threw his gun down and sprang at his
wife with razor. She ran out of the
house, but he caught her in the yard ana
cut her throat almost severing her head
from the body. He WAS arrested in Kan
sas City last August.
WILLIAM ALEXANDER
Is negro, end was convicted on Septem-
Der 10 Of committing s nameless crime
on his step-daughter, Ella Whitfield, aged
thirteen years. The little girl was In the
ffefative met her at q safe distance from
that condemned him to the gal
lows. If the sentence of the
court is carried out Alexander will be The
| first man ever hung here for such an Of
tense, and is the second enc ever con
victedss His predecessor was Mat Music,
VINO was conVictedEsnd sentenced in 1884,
and had made great preparations to meet
his doom, but Just before the fatal day
arrived was granted an unconditional
pardon by President Arthur.
GEOkGE MOS6
is also negro, and was convicted on
September II of participating in most
diabolical murder, snd is the last of the
four who committed the deed. On the
26th OF November last, Moss, Sandy
Smith, Factor Jones and Dick Butler coz
spired to steal beef on the range. They
entered into en- agreement that II any
person caught them in the act they would
murder whoever it mlghtbe. They proceed
ed to Red river bottom, in the Choctaw
nation, and shot steer belonging to
prominent farmer named George TAFT,
who appeared on the scene Just after the
shot was fred, and Was killed By Moss,
whose horse got away from him during
the shooting and he went home on foot.
The finding of the horse and the dead
body OF Taft led to the arrest Of all four
OF the conspirators. Moss and Smith were
turned over 10 q deputy marshal, who
brought them here for trial, but Jones
and Butler being citizens of the Terri
tory, this court had no jurisdic ion, and
the inturiated citizens, knowing that they
would probably neVerlbe punished in their
own courts, took them to the very spot
where Taft was murdered, and after hear
ing their conf ssions shot them to death
and left the bodies in the woods, same
IS they did that Of their victim. Sandy
Smith died in jail just before the case
came up for trial, leaving Moss alone to
pay the penalty by due course of law.
JEFF HILDERBRAND
is hslf-bree Cherokee Indian, son of
Judge Stephen Hilderbrend, prominent
citizen of Webbers Falls, Cherokee ne
lion. JEFF has been in jail here since the
14th Of December, 1885, but was not
placed on rial until the l:tter part of
August last, thsjury conVicting him on
the I'd of September. JEFF murdered al
negro named John Ridgeway On May 8.
1884. The evidence in the case was all
circumstsntisl, sgd the defense endeSv-
ored to prove an alibi, but failed. Il is
supposed Ridgeway was killed because
he was witness sgainst Hilcerhrand
and his brother in an assault case. A
vigorous effort will be made to obtain s
pardon or commutation Of sentence.
DICK SUTHERLAND
is also citizen OF the Cherokee nation,
but shows his Indian blood
very little, and would readily pass
for q white man. The murder for
which he was to-day sentenced to die wss
committed on the 25lh of August, 1885,
near Fors Gibson, 1. T., his victim being
sn old German named Jake Burris. The
murdered man was S tenant on the farm
of Soulherland, and dispute arose over
s load OF corn Burris had hauled out CT
the field without consulting his land
lord. Switzerland abused Burris on the
evening before the murder and ordered
him to keep out OF the Aeld. Next morn
ing Switzerland took his gun and went
to the field to see If Burris was there,
and on finding him gathering corn, fired
the fatal shots for which he is to pay 3
dreadful penalty unless his friends can
save his neck through executive elena
ency.
EMANUEL PATTERSON
Is o negro, and was convicted
on the 20th Of LAST month iof
the murder OF Deputy United
States Marshal Willard K, Ayers onsthe
llth OF August, 1850, near Cherokee
Town, Chickesaw nation, Ayers had
writ for Patterson, charging him with
larceny, and went to his house st a late
hour In the night 70 serve Is. While the