Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1891-04-21
DIDN'T COME OFF.
The Septuple Execution in the
Indian Territory.
BRIBERY OF THE GUARDS.
A Successful Break for Liberty With Little Re-
sistance From the Officers.
Three Who Had Already Been Psrdoned,
Kecaptured; the Others at Large
With the Unexecuted Sentence
Hanging Over Them.
BRIBERY OF THE GUARDS.
Special TO the Gazette.

EUEAULA I T, April 2O.-Those who gath
ered,at Newaka courthouse, ffty-eight miles
west of here, this morning to witness the
execution of seven negro murderers and one
negro thief were disappointed. Three of the
condemned. Prince Hawkins, Lake Andy
and JEFF Brown were pardoned by the chief
on Friday last. Yesterday all the others,
by the aid OF their friends, escaped from
their guards, 4 few shots being exchanged
by the light horSrmen and he friends OF
the condemned Your correspondent, with
representatives OF other journals, left the
scene at : o'clock this morning, at which
time there WIS no prospect OF a recapture,
as the men were being well taken care OF
BY their friends and the water courses are
much swelled from recent rams.
Those who escaped We're Ross Riley,
Perry Johnson, Cudge Barnett, Caesar
james, murderers. and Douglass Brown,
larceny. Under the laws of the Creeks,
the penalty for the first otfense Of stealing
IS fifty lashes, second offense 100 and the
third is death. Douglass Brown had been
convicted for the third time
All Of them were convicted and sentenced
to death about three weeks ago, since
which time theT have been chained and
guarded by light horsemen, there being 10
jails III this Nation. The light horsemen
had been summoned from Deep Fork and
Tulsatown to assist in the execution, but
was effected when there We're but two
guards present. The murders these men
committed were OF the most brutal Charac
ter, and occurred in October, 1889, the vic
Tins being Robert Reed and Wiley Walls,
who We're at the time acting rs light horse
men.
The Indians are much dissatisfied with
the turn OF affairs, and more trouble will
yet grow out of it.
ANOTHER REPORT
ST.. Louis, Mo, April pa Post Dis
patch special from Eufaula, !. T. says:
News has Just been received here that the
execution Of Ross Riley, JEFF Brown,
Douglass Brown, Cudge Barnett, Perry
johnson, Lake Andy and Prince Hawkins
in the western portion of the Newaka dis
trict, Creek Nation, which was SET for to-
day. has been frustrated by the escape of
the prisoners.
The Indians mode of dealing with pris-
OnerS Is different from whites and admits
OF more croOkenneSS and bribery. There
are no prisons IN the Creek Nation. but
when prisoner is under arrest awaiting
trial or execution he is guarded and moved
from place to place over the district until
his time comes.
There was quite body of light horsemen
guarding these men and Friday evening,
about ) O'Clock, they went out to the stable
and all but one negro guard the only negro
look after the horses Taking advantage
of the opportunity purposely given them,
one of the prisoners made break for lib
erty, and while the guards were attempting
to CAPTURE him. the balance OF them es-
capped. They We're all
TNSHACKELED AND UNISCUMBERED
in their flight. and only one of the guards
shot at them as they left.
Three Of them, jeff Brown, Prince Haw-
kins and Perry johnson, We're recaptured,
but they are the three that it was supposed
would be pardoned by the chief. They were
taken before the district Judge yesterday,
aud there it was found that pardOns awaited
them. Those at large are still under SEN
tence of death.
NEW FEATURES OF THE CASE.
Special to the Gazette.
PAIRS, Ten, April 20-The account from
Eufala, l. T., of the crime for which the
seven negroes were TO be shot at Wewaka
to-day. does not give all the features of the
case. Bob Reed, who was Mexican, and
Creek only Dv marriage, and Wiley Walls,
alias SOrelip Wiley, We're members of the
Cochalustee or Black Tiger gang, as were
Tower and Greenleaf, who We're with the
two former when the Burners were killed.
The Creek officers, as stated from Eufala,
got these four worthless TO hunt the Brun-
ers down on the Jonathan Wild plan-out-
laws to catch outlaws. They could enter
and pass through the Bruner settlement
. without causing alarm, and were thus able
to get in sight OF the Burners, but only to
kill them. The negroes say that these men,
Reed & Co, were not possessed of any
legal warrant. and did not really make any
attempt to take the Burners, but having
She drop used it for death and not capture.
The negroes. after catching and killing
Reed and Walls at EdgletOWn. twenty
miles west of the church where they had
killed the Burners, kept up hot hunt for
Tower and Greenleaf as well as for Black
Tiger and made it SO uncomfortably warm
that they changed their lairs from the
Greek TO the Chickasaw side OF the Cana
dian, where they would only have deputy
maTShals to watch.
\ WE'LL PLANNED SCHEME.
Special to the Gazette.
PARIS, TEX, April 20.-In regard to the
condemned men in the Creek Nation it is
strongly believed that the escape, the re-
capture of the three and their pardon was a
well planned scheme 10 avoid the conflict
between the Creeks and negroes over the
execution. Such conflict would have been
disastrous as both bloods are equally
matched in the Creek tribe.
EXHIBITION CARS.