Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1889-02-17
ALT BURNETT'S STORY
THE CHARLESTON DETECTIVES STRANGE
EXPERIENCE
Dan Cunningham Gave "Nsw York sur Reporter
Hint and Months AfterWard BE Ran Across
the S,ory-No-Nan's Land and
Its Peculiar People.
N,to York sun.

N,l0 York sun.
What I suppose was the most interest
ing experience of my life as a reporter in
volyed two journeys to widely separated
parts of the United States, and the making
of an inquiry unsucce:sfully in one place
only to have it Unexpectedly answered in
another.
In September, 1888, was sent by tie
Sun to the mountains along the Big Sandy
river to write thu story OF the Hatfield
Mccoy feud. On q certain Saturday, rs
was riding along in what The natives call a
hack on ny way 70 Plkeville, Pike county,
KY, curious specimen Of manhood was
overtaken, and he got into the hack. he
was tail, broed-shouldered, and had red
hsir, blue eyes, and a thin. ie1 moustache,
partly died black; but the most prominent
feature of 81 was his messi7e jaw. Oae
look convinced me that he could lick his
weight 10 wildcats, AMI that 1t would take
about ten pound cats TO make his
weight
After a while we got acquainted. He
was q mountain detective named Da1 Cup-
ningham, and YVES working on the case I
vas after. Naturally, made friends with
him, and be gave me some very valuable
POINTS in the story which 1 eventually
wrote for the Sun. The last time saw him
be said:
The fscts in this HNfsld-McCoy feud
are strange and interesting, and my en-
ployer, Mr.. ALI w. Barnett, Of Charleston,
w. Va, is going TO write book about it.
Bat strange as are the facts in this Gaze,
there is a story in our possession that Is far
aud away stranger. l. IS Of a people who
have shed moe blood than these have. and
who enjoy sn absolut immunity from pan
ishment-howeys the story IS altogether
ffereut. aud / must not tell you shy thing
more about IT,"
Ibid my besl TO get some idea Of VIVA:
the story was, but hs very substantial.
~ vss shus II worried NE 10, li5ile.
Here had g story Of men aod by tied
30 busbss ami shot o death, OF men etot
in the back from the brulh, Of a handsome
girl vino betrayed her own father and
brothers and then went with her Lover 20
hi, fathers cabin aud lived there with
him unlGwfully without exciting comment
let alone indignation, among the lovers
very large family or their neighbor. Be-
tides that, my story told OF a woman will
fully murdered by men as she begged for
her lie. Of father who j0ked about how
narrowly he had missed killing bis own
son. aud of a wifi who, out OF wifely de-
vo.ion, became toe mistress of her hus-
bands greatest enemy in order that she
might betray him into her husbapd's
hands. And yet this detective hsd story
which, be said, was "lar and away
stranger" What sort OF a story must
it be?
However, l couldn't get it, end 10 !
tried to forget it, with some success, de-
pending on Dams promise of advance
proof sheets when the book should be
written.
1 returned 60 New York and turned in
my story. It was good hit, sud I went
on with ny work about the city fer several
weeks. Then I was sent away again.
This time I was told to write the story Of
Of the Bald Knobbers in Southern Mis-
souri,. and then 80 10 No Mans Land and
write something about the history of its
people. It was long end interesting
Journey. The story Of the Knobbsra &C.
cupied two pages in the Sun 10 doing the
work forgot all about Dan Cunningham
and mis- story. Then l went 10 No Mans
Land, or, as it is sometimes called, the
Neutral Strip. As the readers OF ths Sun
know, it is the panhandle Of the Indian
Territory, as printed in ordinary maps.
Reaching Beaver City, the metropolis Of
the strip, began my Investigations. Here
YVES o territory 167x344 miles large. 1t
had az least 1000 inhabitants. BY curl
Gus oversights 10 legislation this whole
territory had been left beyond the iuris-
dictiOn Of every sort Of CouIt-Nauonel,
State ard Territorial liquor dealers paic
+ no license Zee 20 anybody. WniEy and
counterfeit coin were made without let or
hindrarce. No one owned a foot Of land.
There was absolutely 10 law, and yet
about al sorts Of business cave banking
were prosperous. Aud this sort thing had
been going 90 f,r over two years.
/ Naturally, being without Law, there had
been considerable Disorder There had
been violations of the rights of persons, Of
property, sud of the marital relations
Law-loving citizens had tried TO suppress
The disorder. Seine two or three dozen
men, chiefly horse thieves and criminals,
had been shot. For self-protect.on the cit
izars hsd also tried to orgsnizs a govern
ment founded on the repeating rifle. They
hsd elected legislator 20 got the journal
Of the proceedings Of this curious Legisla-
tnra.
Tee first thing I saw when 1 opened the
book Yves the lis of the men so chosen. I
raa my eye over the names Next TO the
last on the list was that OF Aft W Burnett
/ Tne name seemed familiar and / stopped
TO wonder where 1 heard t. l puzzled
over IL for half an hour, and then the red
hair and the blue eyes, aud the tnin aud
red moustache partly dyed black, ard tie
massive Jaw Of Detective Dan Cunningham
came up before my mind.
I had got the story which The detective
had said wss stranger than that of the
Hatfield-McCoy fsud.