Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1888-03-02
CONFESSION.
Incidents Of the lYnching--Hs En-
tered the Treasurer's Office With
No Thought Of Murder.
His Detection Due to Poker Playing.
He Lost and Resorted to the Buried
Money to Pay His Debts.
His Only Begretthat He Did Not XIII Par
ker when He Found He was Spotted.
The MuHderer's Funeral.
FoRsYrHK,s FUNERAL.

Special to the Gazette.
BEcKvILLK, TEX, March 1.-As the
particulars Of the hanging Of Tom For
sythe at Carthage yesterday came in the
terrible details show both the murder
and death of the murderer to have been
surrounded with scenes almost I'M
psralleled in the annals of crime. With
his arms pinioned behind him, young For
sythe was led to the foot Of 8 ladder
placed against the tree wherein he WAS
to hang, by unmasked men, friends and
neighbors, who with sorrowful faces
meted out justice. One Of the two sons
of the murdered treasurer adjusted
the rope around the doomed boys
neck. Nearly all the details Of the
hanging were known to the lynched boys
friends, who are reported to have said,
as death was deserved and must inevi-
tEbly come the 500 ner the end was
reached the better. Clssped in each
others arms the loving mother and sister
OF the doomed son and brother prayed
vita streaming eyes and means OF
anguish to the God of mercy for their
loved one, while he with stoical non
chslance climbed the ladder, received )
drink Of water from the hand Of the son
Of his victim and leaped into eternity.
Those who saw the lesp say it
seemed as If the neck vas
stretched the dlsIsnes 81 4 loot.
- taafh Came rapidly and then the body WAS
cut down, taken into the late treasurer's
office and laid In the blood of his victim.
1t wss then taken to an hotel and pre-
pared for burial by the same men who
had just seen justice meted out to him,
whose body they as gently and carefully
prepared for the grave as though he had
died 3 peaceful death at home. BE was
buried in the afternoon. Business houses
closed and every one attended the funeral.
The case has been worked up by United
States Deputy Marshal Howell Parker of
Longview, assisted by Detective II. Mil
Ter and the local authorities.
F0RsYTHE's CONFESSION.
Special to the Gazette.
LoNGYIEw, Tx March 1.-The fol-
lowing is the confession of Tom Forsythe,
the murderer of D. C. Hill, treasurer of
Pamela county, at Carthage, Feb. 10. He
said the wsy he killed old psn Hill WAS
as follows: At noon on Friday, he went
into Hills office to get 500 bill changed.
Hill went to the safe to get the change,
threw of the combination, and as he
leaned forward to unlock the inner door
OF the ssfe with key he always wore
attached TO his vest by string, he picked
up the axe and struck the blow that
hoored Hill, striking another blow after
he had fallen. He then opened the safe
and crsmmed some Of the money into his
pocket. Hill began to struggle and then,
with his penknife, which the day before
he had honed to razor-like sharpness,he
cut the old mans throat, catching him by
his long gray beard, and thus
HOLDING THE HEAD BACK.
He then secured his booty, looked eau
tiouslY out, saw the coast clear and left,
LOCKING the door behind him. he then
went to an old blacksmith shop, kicked
some Of the boards aside, threw the
money in and covered it up. A man
passed Just at the time and he thought
the clinkins sound Of the falling money
must have been heard. He watched that
man all the afternoon, but he at last be-
came convinced his fears were ground
less. He went out to see his
girl, came back about II
p. m, returned the horse he had
hired at 5 livery stable, got the money
and hid it where 1t WAS found. He had
no thought of killing old man Hill until he
went to get the $50 bill changed, for Hill
WAS good FIJI nd of his. He had merely
sharpened his knife the daY before
BECAUSE IT WAS DULL,
Saturday afternoon Eugene Wyley WAS
arrested on suspicion and Tom Forsythe
was sent to get some witnesses whom
Wylie said were 1t Beckyille,
who could prove en- abb for
him. When the boy got to
Grigsby's camp he hired a messenger for
81 so to go on after the witnesses and sat
down to 8 poker game in which he lost
S11S. After he returned to Carthage he
made up his mind he would use no more
of the money, but would marry his girl
and go TO Georgia, but when he got up
here and got broke in Longview he went
back to Carthage. He had to use the
money. Had it not been for that poker,
would never have trapped him for he
never intended to use any more
Continued on fourth page.