The Big Stone post. (Big Stone Gap, Va.) 1890-1892, 1892-03-11
JOHN WRIGHT.
a.rsE NOTED EAsrGRN KENTUCKY DE

Z
MISUNDERSTANDING TO bea Mule Thief
4 Gets Into the Murderer's Conffdenc.
At the close Of the civil war The noun
tain portion Of Eastern kentucky, Vir-
ginia and West Virginia, on account OF Its
remotcness from railroads and almost IN
accessibility to the outside world, became
the hiding place for parties who had COM
mitted criminal offences in various places,
and had it not becn that such. men as the
subject of this sketch existed in this sec
ton of country, these criminals and law
less people would have continued their
vocatiolnnmolested.
When the citizen lost horse Or any
property of value he did not delay III Civ
! ing tic particulars to john Wright whose
Hog house near the Pound Gap was always
open and ready to receive his TRENDS.
When he started for the horscthief it was
generally o settled conclusion thai John
would return with the horse, though h's,
t iourneys would sometimes be for long
periods in other states, and it has been
said that he has left few OF the horse
borrowers where be tound them, i'll rather
| q disabled condition, but this was oniy
done in extreme cases and when it vas ab
solutely necessary.
! Several years ago q murder was COM
mitt.d in Central, kentucky. The muir
dcred man was shot one night while in his
store and the store was burned over his
body. The merchan, vas witness
against mar whose brother did the deed
| to keep MIN from tcstisying in court. The
murderer escaped and it was several years
before any clue could bc obtained is to
his whereabouts, although detectives were
stimulated to search for him by TIE liberal
reward that was offered.
| The case was finally mentioned to John
" right by two detectives, and John be-
gan operations with that determination
that marked all his efforts. The two de-
tectives were to he his assistants arj ne
was to do the planning. He first learned
that the nurderers father had mcvsd
from Kentucky to the wild country on Elk
River in West Virginia, and he naturally
supposed that his son WAS ir the same VI
entity. The three started tt hun. tor MIN
in o count ry oufulniliar to either. u region
where the original forests were utd'sSprb-
ed, and the roads were paths through the
dense ahukets OF ivy, laures and black
lacks, across streams that rushed like tor
rents down the mountain sides, country
suitable for the aiding place ofctimihals,
md Wild beasts. john, WAC went ahead, in
Produced himself to the old man to be
man ilceing from parties after him tor
stealing the mule he :sas riding and &sked
the old man to show him where to hide in
safe place until his pnrsucrs should get
out of the country The old l..an received
the ten dollar gold piece John gaze !iim
and hid his mule out in the bushes and
directed John to an old fiddler stack un-
dcr q shelving cliff not far distant. 1t
was not long before the two detectives
onme M and asked the old man if he had
seen Il man pass there OH mule he had
stolen from them, they said THAT they had
tracked him in that country, but had lost
his trail in the branches and rocky paths.
The old man stated that he had not seen
any such person or mule pass there.
They then turned and went back to the
place they had agreed to meet John within
three days.
John spent the night in the fodder stack
fighting rats and coOns that came out OF
the mountain cliffs to get the corn, and
once or twice thought he heard whole
den OF rattle snakes in the fodder stack
with him. When daylight came he heard
the old man coming toward him calling
hogs. He had q basket OF corn under
which he had Johns breakfast. He TOLD
John all about what the detectives said
and John seemed greatly excited and be- |
seeched the old man not to hetray him,and
rive him FIVE dollars, saying it was the last
dollar he had in tile world, and wanted the
old man to hide him until he could go west.
John unfolded all OF his pretended trou-
hles to,thc old man who finally said he felt
snrrv for him, and that he had son that
had rottcn into trouble and would prOha-
hly go Vest with him. The old man prom
;se3 TO consult his son during the day and
have him meet John that night so they
could arrange to 60 West together. John
nrotended that he was afraid to meet the
youug man, that he might betray him. but
inaI,y acreeded to leave the matter in the
hands of the old man and trust him fully.
The old man made the arrlnGements and
after dark went to John 'stodder stack ana
told him to follow, tinal!y, after going
through laurel thickets and over preclp,-
tious cliffs, they cameto low marshy spot
between the steep ridges here tue Old man
fold John to wait near big sweet gum
rec until he could go and get his son.
While he was gone John became nervous
and thought they might have found him
on1. and he was being led i'll a death trap,
40 he moved away from the tree and bid in
!. thicket, Presently, although John says
Il seemed many hours to HIM, he heard
whistle near the tree. He approached
and met the two men. The young man was
tall, we'll developed man with heavy
beard and long hair, roughly dressed ana
armed with big pistols and a gun. lie
shook hands with John and they swore
80 no friends to each othec. They went
I RI tho cave where the Young man was
holding the fort and tonadit quite good
hiding place. The entrance waa~ small
hut after entering it hroadened out IN
large, dry rooms, and had = smai' opening
at the top through which the smoke
escan.d. He had made quite breast
work near the entrance OF staacttes and
stalagmitcs, and was SO we'll supported
WITH firearms aud provisions it would
have taken officers quite while to have
captured him by force. 49,,
He told John that he had committed
crime ,s.down South" and would so West
with him. and ex planned how he got money
bv making shoes out of leather the old
man brought him, and that he would
sei, them and bring him provisions, etc.
/ John soon gained his confidence ana they
tolked freely. Neither slept any the hrst
| '.-F r'.l ,,,c,.;oions of the other, and