The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1892-09-03

! rplidlN lubl IAN ldt HtdTu o. lillS. duO
| il is the theory that Hall took advantage
of the fact Of l1ylton having Bates un-
der arrest TO picl, a quarrel with him and
| KID him.
Another theory Is that Claib Jones
| another mountain dcsperadO. and
uylton were bitter enemies. They had
had a fight some time before in Hind
man. Ky, in which Hylton. while trying
| TO arrest Jones. was shot In the face.
Jones determined 20 have Hylton assas-
sinatcd, ana went 20 work with this end
i'm view. He found ready tool Ia Talt.
/ Hall. with whom he made friends for
! the occasion, they having previously been
bitter enemies The money found on
! Halls person when arrested IN Mem
| phis, amounting TO several hunlPed dol
| lars. was thought 20 have been the price
| paid him for the murder OF the police
! man.
CONVICTED or MURDER.
After stay Of several months in Mem-
| phis he was arrested by Detective fryHe
| and brought back 20 Wise Courthouse
1 where hc was brought TO trial III the
! early spring and convicted of murder IN
| the first degree. He was Immediately
| taken to Lynchburg after his sentence
! and lodged In jail for safe keeping. Tor
! il was feared that a mob would lynch
| him. or that his friends would rescue
|
| His counsel took an appeal 10 the St-
| prcme Court where the decision Of the
| lower court was affirmed. when Hall was
! taken back to Wise Courthouse and re-
sentenced TO hang on the I'd day OF sep
| tcmher. Instead Of returning nm 10
| Ivnohhurg the sheriff summoned a guard
| of fifty men from Big Stone Zap. norton
| and other towns in the county, VINO nave
! been on guard. heavily armed. up to the
| =. 8 80. .H.an
| 4 short time before the execution your
| CORRESPONDENT was accorded the privilege
| of an interview with the famous outlaw
! The iail i'm which he is confined IS
small. square. two-story, fiat-topped bClid-
! ing. constructed o. a tawn-COiOfcu sahu-
stone. A wooden addition has recently
| Doen placed in front TO serve the purpose
! of The residence of the jailcr and his
family. Entering the door leading into
! .he iail the first sight that struck the re-
norters eve was the cell of the famous
! Dock Tavlor. charged with the murder
ct Ira Mullins, the moonshiner. ana MS
family. on the right and the cell OF Ialt.
Hall on the left. Hall was reclining IN
! hammock barefootcd, and clad only IN
cotton undershirt and trousers. IN
stead Of il clean-shavep race. as ne
usually has. he wore a shaggy beard OF
some weeks growth and clOse-cut hair.
| When the reporter told him OF his Visit
| he consented nj once to an interview say
ING he wanted to set himself right before
the world. rs the reports had done hm
a great injustice.
sEEs QUEER BIRDS.
Give me an account Of your flight
from Norton, and your arrest In Mem
phis." sSid the reporter.
He detailed his fight to Memphis SUP
staniially as given above. However, he
related the following story, which SHOWS
the superstitions of the man: After
killing Hylton / fed to the woods and
travelled through the wilderness IN the
direction of Coeburu. ] concealed myself
for some time in the bushes. W mle
hiding there in the solitude Of the Woois
near Coeburn. brooding over the course
] should pursue to get away, was 'ir
rounded and oveTshadOwed by thousand
little birds, that screamed lncessantiy
and huttered about me and darted about
nv face and hands with their sharp bils'
irving to peck my eyes out 1t was with
great difficulty that ! fought them away
with a brush, for they seemed eager 10
do me bodily harm. The singing and
chirpng Of these birds rang in my ears
for several days. After ] fled to Mem
phis and took up my abode IN that city
The sounds seemed to haunt me, until a
| few dayS before my arrest. when | again
began to hear the birds as distinctly as
when they attacked me in the woods Of
Wise county | heard nothing more of
them. and had quite forgotten the queer
sound until quite recently. when they be-
gan again, and are now annoying me
daily"
The reporter told him it was only a su-
perstiton. but Hall thought 1t was pun
ishment for the great crime he had com
mitted
his CAPTURE.
"As to my capture in Memphis" he
continued, Il went there under the name
of Hill. and remained undiscovered for
six weeks. During that time ! worked
on the railroad. I had met Detective
Pryde. who knew me as a Mr.. Hill. but
did not know that i was TAFT Hall.
whom I knew he wanted. l saw him
every day and knew that he was look
ing for Talt. Hall. but thought that l
might be able to continue unrecognlZed.
AS | had been there so long. One night |
played poker until o'clock and oversight
Invself the next morning and did not get
up till about 9 o'clock. ] sent my little
girl across the street TO a saloon to get
some beer. The woman who Kept 1t
asked my daughter if she wanted II for
her papa, and the little girl replied that
she did.
''1he woman knew me as Hall, and 1t
| was not long after that 1 saw iTNNc
coming. and / knew what was up-that
he had found me out. | had my pistol
near and could have killed him before
h. reached the top Of the steps. but did
not think it was necessary, as l was sat
isfied that / would come clear for kill
ING Hylt0n. whom | shot in self-defcnse.
"Pryde told me that they wanted me in
Mississippi. but as soon as he had me fast
! found out that he was going 10 send
me to Virginia
HIS CRIMES EXAGGERATED.
"Nfr. Hall. the papers credit you with
having killed ninety-nine men. OF course
this is not correct Will you state just
how many you have killedw
After some hesitation he replied:
Not counting those | killed in the war
the number will probably reach five.
First. j killed Henry Maggart and was
acquitted on the ground of self-defense.
| killed Tripett Trust and Mohall in
Floyd county, Ky, between 1919 and
1885. and was tried and acquitted in all.
These men were killed in political quar-
rels The last one was Hylton | killed
him because | thought he was drawing
his pistol, and didn't want him to have
the drop on me-"
1t will be noticed that Hall says moth
ing of the killing of Saylor, whom it IS
generally thought he killed. This would
swell the number to an even half dozen.
TALT. HALL AND DIR. TAYLOR.