Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-03-20
WEST-DAVIS TRIAL.
Result OF the Texans Trial at Fort Smith
Charged with Murder.
Popular Opinion Favored their Release-The
Jury Severely CrIticissd-Summary
OF the Gases.

Special to the Gazette.
FORT SMITH, ARK. March l9.-The
case of A. J West and Thomas Davis,
charged with the murder of James Cam
eron at Johnsonvllle, Chickasaw Nation,
in February, 1884, was closed Monday
and given to the jury and after remain
ing out until to-day they returned YER
dict convicting West of manslaughter,
but disagreeing as to Davis, standing
eleven for conviction and one for &C
quittaI.
The rcumstances surrounding the
case are very interesting; the more so as
the defendants are both young
men of excellent character,
Davis being a wealthy stock
raiser of Cooke county, Tex, and
West, q native of the same state. His
mother is living in Grayson county. The
evidence showed that in February, 1884,
Tom Davis, Bud Haggard and man
named Lowry followed some horse thieves
into the PottaWattamIe Nation and
brought them to bay in log house early
on Sunday morning. Here they fought
all day long and the officers were rein
forced by the citizens of the surrounding
country to the number of forty
or fifty, West being one of the num-
Der. The thieves finally surrendered,
The party proceeded to Johnsonville,
Chickasaw Nation, seven miles distant.
Here lived the father of Jim Cameron,
who was wanted in Grayson county,
Tex, fer stealing a horse from West 8
widowed mother and from other parties.
Early in the morning West and others
went to the old man s house, expecting
TO End lNnr Nnw lGrrhf IN
young man came out and was called
on to surrender, but darted back in
the house, and a moment later came
to the door with his gun, and fired
at some of the party, who returned
the fire, and he fell. His father then
rushed out and fired five shots at West,
and the latter fired one at him. after
which he retTeated.
Davis took his men to Texas, one of
them being Bill Underwood, who was
convicted on numerous charges and sent
up for ninety-nine years. Bill Epps was
another, and got twelve years, while the
third proved to be B. F. Spears, an es-
capped convict with fifteen years to serve,
and they are all now in the penltensiary.
The affair had about been forgotten
until last March, when West, who
now lives in the Chickasaw Nation,
WIGS dFEtslcu lOT luS uluFu6r. he cdui6
here and gave bond, was tried last term
and the jury hung. standing nine for
acquittal and three for manslaughter.
Davis was then indicted on the same
charge, and as soon as he learned of it
came in and surrendered. Both gave
bond. West was committed to jail this
evening, while Davis made new bond
for his appearance at the next term of
court.
The jury is being severely criticized for
its verdict, the general opinion being
that both should have been acquitted.
The records of the court here show that
Jim Cameron was sent to the peniten-
tiary in August, 1882. for stealing a
wagon, and at the time he was killed
there were two deputy marshals in the
neighborhood with writs for his arrest on
similar charges.
The father of Cameron was the main
prosecuting witness, and he stated that
West did not fire the shot that killed his
son. and he did not know who it was.
Davis claims to have been 200 yards from
where the killing occurred, and intro
duced one witness to substantiate his
statement.
Vests mother, who was here at the
trial, has already employed attorneys to
go to Washington and intercede for her
son. They will not ask for a new trial,
but an unconditional pardon.