The southern argus., 1892-01-14
STEVENS COUNTY WAR.
a Bold Plot to Assassinate Judge
BOtkin.
The SherIff's Posse Waylaid-Sherld Dunn
OF Seward County, Assassinated-
Troops Ordered to the
Scene.

ARKALoN, Kan, Jan. 6..-The border
var has again broken out and one
more life has been sacrificed to the
feud which has SO long been the curse
If this part of the state.
Sheriff Dunn has been shot down and
lis six deputies have been in battle
With band Of forty men, who were
Wing in ambush for the purpose of as
rassinating Judge Theodosius Botkin
u he went from his home at this place
i Springfield to hold court
Some days ago the Judge received in
formation that he was TO be killed,
,yhen he went to Springfield to open
coprt. BY band Of "a d Woods friends,
bit be paid little attention to the warn
inc and made his arrangements to 60
there and do his duty. Two days ago
he was again warned that his life
would pay the forfeit if he presumed to
90 to Springfield, and then he demanded
that the man who brought the warn
ing should be brought before him.
This was done and q long con
sultation was held between the
Judge, his friends, the county
officers and the informant. The result
Of this consultation was that it was de-
cided to send posse to the front to see
IL the men in ambush cou, be arrested
and brought to justice.
At about o'clock yesterday morn.
ing the sheriff and posse started to-
wards Springfield, and when they got
to the canyon between here and that
city they made arrangements to lie in
wait for the would-be assassins.
They had been there but a short
while when body of armed men from
Hugoton and Springfield arrived at the
mouth of the canyon and at once made
an attack upon the officers. At the
frst fire Sheriff Dunn fell severely
wounded and then his body was
ridled with bullets. The other
men at once saw that the
odds we're too great for them and made
their way over the rocks to places Of
safety. Two Of them reached Spring
field and thence sent word to Judge
Botkin warning him of the intention OF
the mob to 60 to his house and murder
him if he did not make his appearance
at Springfield. This word was brought
by woman who walked the three
miles in order to carry the message.
The judge at once telegraphed the
facts in the case to the governor and
asked for troops to protect him and ar
rest the violators of the law, as the
sheriff was killed and there was no
one in the county who could make the
arrests.
HISTORY OF THE FEUD
Since July, 1888, there has been turmoil in
Stevens county. The county seat contest be-
tween WOodsdale and Hugoton eliminated then
in the massacre of Sheriff Cross and his depu-
ties by Sam Robinson and his gang Of twenty
seven men from Hugoton. There was an abate-
nent of the killing then until June % last when
James Brennan, OF Rchfield, Morton county,
shot and killed Sam Wood, Of Woodsdale, the
acknOw lodged leader OF the WoOdSdale faction
1t occurred in front Of the little church in
Hugoton, Judge Theodosus Botkin having con
verted the church into court room, where the
June term Of the Stevens county district court
was being held. Brennan was arrested and
after two attempts to give him trial on the
charge OF murder he was taken back to the jail
at Hutchinson to await the third and last at
tempt to secure q jury this month.
Since Woods death hostilities have ceased
In Hugoton and now apparently have been
transferred over the boundary line into Seward
county, which has been peaceful heretofore
though 1t has always been acknowledged thai
Springfield, the county seat Of Seward has
been in sympathy with Woodsdale and Arlxalon
the prospective county seat in sympathy
with Hugoton This feeling Of favorit
ism, which unquestionably exists, has evidently
risen to that point where it became uncontroll
able and the Springfield people have gone
help out the Woodsdale faction.
This new killing increases the number of me1
slaughtered in the counties Of southwestern
IN NJ ft4ni mat nl. iYnfp
the famous Leoti-CoronaGO county seat fight in
Wichita county.
There has never been feeling OF security in
Stevens county since the famous Hay Meadows
massacre Of 1883 though at times tho public
pulse has been serene and hloodShed seemed an
impoSSihility But hot-headed are these men In
Stevens, Seward and Morton counties and in all
Of the counties surrounding that quarter. They
never forget wrong or forgive an injury.
The direct cause of the projected attack on
Judge Theodore Rotkin is the fact that ever
since the feud began his sympathies have been
with Hugoton, though his home is at Spring
field, Seward county, forty miles away James
Brennan, who killed Sam Wood, was his coun-
selor and friend and travelled about with him on
his judicial journeys through the counties COM
priSing the district.
AT the first attempt to try Brennan in Sep
TENDER last at Hugoton Judge Botkin refused
70 preside for the reason he said, that Brennan
any attempt made to secure a jury until No
vember 4, when Judge Wall, OF Wichita, made
The effort.
Judge Botkin was in Hugoton when last sSe
attempt to try Brennan was made and ii is re-
membered that when he drove out OF town
after the court had failed to get o jury, the
sheriff OF Seward county went with him with
Winchester over his shoulder. But this was
10 strange sight in that place The sheriff OF
SEWARD county had simply taken Brennan's
place as Botkin's body guard. But the body
guard is dead now, the dispatches say.
TROOPS ORDERED OUT.
TOPEKA, Kan, Jan. 6-At about 4
o'clock yesterday afternoon Adjutant-
General Roberts received q telegram
from Gov. Humphrey at Independence
'rdering him to dispatch q company OF
troops at once ID the scene Of the
troubles in Seward county and be
ready to call out a larger force should
more help be wanted The governor
told Gen. Roberts to act judiciously but
decisively.
Queen Of Roumanla Dying.
I0Nnnr Tax sc rancrfnd that