Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1892-11-02
FEUD AND VENDETTA.
FAMILY WARS THAT HAVE con-
T,NuEp FOR GENERATIONS

=
TsNuEp FOR GENERATIONS
c..atcts 1. Ksnsseky which involves
wA,,. cs..sie.-They Ars k.SsAly Dy-
- OFT before Civiiiz.sssa's AAv..e&
Ree.rss q $500 Families.
Relics Of antiquity are always highly
prized. and it is doubtless for that rear
soa that we cherish an interest IN the
few family tends that Hrger on IN clvl-
Iizasions track as reminders Of the bar
barism of our distant forefathsrs. Ihey
are unique now and worthy OF the
newspaper readers especial attention.
because Of their rarity. though there
was time when they Were so common
that except where the station OF the par
ticipanis was high. as In the case OF the
Marrnion- Douglas row. or where there
was some friil of romance attached, as
in the Montague-Capulet quarrel. the
gossiping cironiciers OF the day MADE
no more mention Of them than news
papers nowadays does OF plain muir
der. That time was III the good days OF
old when knights were bold, and baron
differed from a bandit only in the ex-
tent of his stealings from the people. 50
far as they have existed in the United
States they have been most prevalent IN
the mountains of Kentucky.
The lurid glory of the Kentucky fend
has departed. The last echoes of the
old auarrels ara dying away Ill the
haunts of the survivors, and new orfer
of things has come III eastern kentucky.
so long scourged by these bloody and
brutal yendettas. The crack OF the
Winchester is still heard, and fights con-
tinue more numerous than prayer meet
inys. There may be occasional out
breaks for years to come, but the day OF
the full grown feud has vanished.
The unsympathetic law and the un-
congenial touch of civilization. with IFS
railroads. and its land syndicates, and its
town builders have dispelled the old
conditions that nurtured the feud The
old leaders are dead or in prison. or
living in peace. Craig Tolliver Is dead
Boone Logan and the Youngs are prac
ticing law. Andy johnson is a capital
list. The yellow Checkers have become
land spectators or gone west. Wis
Jennings and the Hattields are III the
penitentiary. Joe Eversole has been
killed A saw log dispatched Jerry Lit
tie. General Sowders is quiet cifi
zen, and his old enemy. Avis Turner. !
slain.
Ten years ago Governor Knott treated
the feuds,nen Of Rowan county as bel
ligerent nations. and invited the leaders
down to Louisville to make treaty Of
peace under his benign auspices. To-
day the most powerful leader in any
mountain quarrel is held to answer BE-
fore the Clark county circuit court for
his crimes, like any other ordinary law
breaker. The contrast represents the
changed attitude of the people toward
the fend.
There have been almost innu1nerable
feuds in Kentucky. but those which last
ed longest. involved the greatest mum
Der of people and claimed most victims
becoming remarkable as anomalous out
breaks of crime for this period Of civi
lization. were eight in number. They
We're the Turner-Sizem feud, in Knott
county; the Strong and the Little feuds.
in Breathitt county; the Martin-Tolliver
war, i'll Rowan county; the Turner-Sow
ders feud, in Bell county: the Turner
Howard quarrel, III Hardin county; the
Hatfield Mccoy feud on the West Nir-
ginia border, in Pike county, and the
10 IN,
There was no foolishness about any oil
these affairs They were not the simple
primitive forays of Bitter Creek terrors
They were regular wars involving alto
gether many hundreds of men, and with
a death roll counting well up into the
hundreds. They terrorized entire conn
ties. put stop to all business but that
of killing, drove scores of people per
manently from their homes, held the
civil power at bay and required frequent
calls upon the military strength OF the
state i'll order that courts might be held
at all. They have cost the state several
hundred thousands of dollars, and have
Tut an almost ineffaceable blot upon its
reputation.
When the awless spirit in the Ken
lucky mountains had its beginning and
how would bc difficult to say. Thou
sands Of square miles of mountain re-
slon; with no settlements larger than
mere hainrje: with the nearest railroad
sometimes more than hundred miles
away: with almost no communication
with the outside world, and with pop
ulation shut in by rugged mountains to
its own devices. offered favorable soil
for the termination Of petty quarrels,
which soon grew into ugly feuds. Large
family connections are the rule in the
mountains. where the BOYS and girls
marry in their teens, and when feuds-
man called his clan to battle they started
np, like the men of Rhoderick Dhu, from
avery bnsh and stump, There We're no
ares of business to distract attention
from the quarrels. Most of the people
ire farmers. who need to work but little
pu their hiliy patches to raise the little
mat they require, leaving them abun-
,ant leisure for the serious business of
lighting.
Feuds probably existed before the war,
out we have heard little Of them if they
lid. The familiarity with scenes of
)loodshed which many thousand noun
aineers acquired while serving against
he rebellion-for the section was over
whelmipgly Union in sentiment-doubt-
less had much TO do with the subsequent
'uller development of the feud into
something unique in its line. They made
GOOD soldiers, but they didn't know when
o quit fighting. From sire to son the
,assion for tumult and bloodshed has
oeen transmitted, and some of the most
dangerous outlaws in the mountains
nave been boys under twenty, while
most of the leaders in the greatest Of the
ENDS have been under thirty years Of
'sesst' Louis Globe-Democrat'
Kidnapping in Australia.