The Breckenridge news. (Cloverport, Ky.) 1876-1955, 1893-07-19

shore. Then the Hatfeds kneeled dowr
and deliberately began firing with Their
Winchesters at his head. The fugitiv,
was permitted to reach the opposite bank
Just as he thought himself safe, Anse
cried, "Now" The next moment the flu
gitive dropped back into the river with
three Winchester balls in his head, The
Hatfelds had been playing with him
They could have killed him the first fire
but there was more fun in waiting. This
is one of the stories much enjoyed TO this
day in Hatfield circles. Then some Hat
field sympathizers were captured and
taken to the Pike county Ky Jail. This
made the Hatfelds fright mad" and in
cited that faction to sort of revenge that
Mortified the people Of both states. On
the New Years night following there
were at Randolph McCoy's home besides
himself and wife their son, Calvin and
Rosa AIMS seven-year-old boy, Melvin,
and Allaphare, Addie and Fanny Mccoy,
Old Rand'l's daughters. About midnight
the inmates were reused by a
GANG OF HATFIELDs.
Old Randi made no reply to the Hat
fields order to surrender. The door was
first shot full OF holes, then five men Of
the Hatfield gang used log as a battering
ram and tore the door from its hinges
Miss Allaphare, hearing Cap Hatfeld's
voice, and remembering that they had
been sweethearts once, sprang TO the door
in her night clothes to appeal TO him. As
the girl appeared, Cap, from behind a
tree ten yards distant, raised his rifle to
fire. "You wouldn't shoot me, Cap"
observed the girl calmly, but without at
tempting to retreat. Then Ellison Mounts
shot the girl down while she continued
to plead for her mother and sisters. In
the meantime the house has been fred
in several places, and the women told to
run out and try to escape to the woods.
Mrs. Mccoy was shot ten feet from the
house. As she was supposed to be dead
she was not shot again. An effort was
made to have the perpetrators of this out
rage extradited. 1t failed, and a proba-
bly, illegal posse crossed the border in
search OF them. They killed old Uncle
Jim Vance; captured Wall Hatfield and
Doc and Sam Mayhorn; killed Andy Var
ney and Bill Dempsey, and finally cap
tured Ellison Mounts.
THE EXECUTION OF ELLISON MOUNTS.
The prisoners were taken into Kentucky
and lodged in the Pike county Jail. All
went to the penitentiary for long terms
except Ellison Mounts. He was convicted
of the murder of the Mccoy girl. Feb
Is. 1890, was the date fixed for the exc
cution. The Hatfields swore that Mounts
should never hang. One hundred of the
Mccoy faction assembled and escorted
the prisoner to small valley surrounded
by mountain peaks near the scene OF his
crime. A desperate fight was expected,
and, with cooked rifle in the hands of his
Ellison Mounts was swung
off. Bad Anse explained that the pro-
posed rescue failed because the boys were
kinder tired of killing McCoys, "and il ]
could just shoot that - Phillip and Ole
Randi, I'd go to the gallows just as peert
as ever went to dinner" he observed.
A year ago Frank Philip was shot at a
dozen times by the Hatfelds while he
was on West Virginia soil in one of his
daring attempts to arrest members of the
gang single-handed. The last victim of
the fued was Cap Hatfield. The circum-
stances surrounding his death have never
been made clear. He was shot during
last Christmas week, near Tug river.
Anse says it was the result OF quarrel
with some OF his friends over game of
cards, but others assert that the murder
was indirectly due to the terrible noun
tain fued.