The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1893-01-18
TOM wHITMAN'S DEATH.
The Principal Witness Againsr Clyde Matt0z
MysteriOuslr Murdered.

MysteriousIy Murdered.
Clyde Mattox, who is now in Jail her
for murder. may yet escape the penalty @
the law. Over year ago he was tried II
the United States court here for the muir
der of John Mullins at Oklohoma City
found guilty and sentenced to be hanged
His attorneys after great efforts secures
for him a new trial and he is now IN jAi
here awaiting it. He was down town yes
terday with Deputy United States Mar
shsl Leon De Bost, whom be astonisheC
with the question, is Tom Whitman
dead?" Mr. De Bost had not heard OF j
then, but soon after did through Georg
Walker, who had received intelligence
to that effect Tom Whitman was The
principal witness against Mattox and he il
now dead
The following from yesterdays Okla
homa Gazette gives the particulars:
The stiff inanimate body of Tom c
| Whitman, CHASTITY spectacle in the light
| OF the breaking dawn was the hDri lb!t
| sight which greeted the eyes Of the resi-
! deuts in the vicinity OF Hudson and Wash
! ln9ton streets this morning. \ hasty in
( vestigarion revealed a dasCardly crime
! Tom Whitman had been assassinated il
/ cold blood, murdered by an unknown
/ hand. For what object, at whose iustiga-
| ton remains mystery.
| The body was found about seventy-fve
| feet south of the crossing at the iuter~ec-
! ton of Hudson and Washington and very
nearly In the center OF the road The
! body was lying on its right side with the
face and head resting in an indenIiou
/ in the earth which was filled
with muddy mass of blood and brains
I Tie 81.
grip of death in his right hand, from
which it was impossible TO remove IL.
/ The left hand presented the appearance of
| having been held as II TO protect the head
and was covered with "a mixture of blood
and dirt encrusted thereon, Whitman evil
IDENTIFY having crawlcd on his hands and
knees for some ten or fifteen feet, although
shot through the head
The weapon used, Judging from the
number OF wounds inflicted, must have
been "a shotgun charged with slugs, and
the murderer evidently stood some PAGES
from his victim, as his face showed no
powder marks or other signs, rs would
have been the case had the assassin fired
at short range.
The residents Of that vicinity are unani-
nous in their opinion that but one shot
wa, fired, and that the report re-
sembled that of a pistol more
than the heavy defamation of Il
shotgun; but, although several persons
heard the shot fired and commented on
the fact, not one made an effort TO investi-
gate, although the shot Was heard at 10
O'Clock last night and the body rested
where it fell until 8 o'clock this morning
when it was removed at the instruction OF
the coroner.
Nobody saw the killing occur nor did
anyone see or hear any quarrelling except
Mrs. Thompson who resides on the north
enst corner of Hudson and Noble str Gets.
MRS. THoMPsoN's STORY.
"About O'clock last night my husband
and myself were returning from an even
ing Call, when we approached our house |
saw two men quarrelllng III the street.
They had apparently been drinking and
were voluble and noisy AS drunken men
are.
One was making an effert to get the
other home, but he was obstinate and
would not 90. Could not tell whether
they were white or colOred, and III the
darkness their forms were so dim that [
could not describe them. After reaching
home, told my husband there was going
to De some trouble He pooh hooed at the
idea and we went TO bed After a short
time | heard n shot fired. but paid no at
tention to it aud went to sleep. Did not
know murder had been committed until
this morning.
The stories of the neighbors harmonized
with Mrs. Thompson's story, and are in
substance the same, except as to seeing
the parties quarrelllng.
Two negroes were arrested on suspicion
by Constable Jones this morning. Their
names are West Crutchtield, IA well-known
Character about town and light mulattO
youth, VIII Turner. They are safe be-
hind the bars at present pending the result
Of the cOroner's Investigation.
Circumstances point To Crutchfeld as
the guilty party. He called upon Whit
man OF his home near The ice factory early
yesterday evening and, representing to
Whitman that some one up town wanted
to see him. decoyed him from home ana
that was the lest seen of Whitman until
his body was found frozen still IN his own
blood this morning.
His restless conduct and nervous in
qulrIes for Whitman attached suspicion
10 him and be WAS arrested at 10 O'Clock
this morning. lie stoutiy maintains his
innocence and Insists that he WAS not with
Whitman at the time OF his death.
The corouer's inquest evolved little more
than the above narrative. The statements
OF the witnesses introduced were substau-
italy the same as those gwen by persons
interviewed this morning.
A little ripple OF excitement was stirred
up when the accused WAS placed on the
stand, his attorneys Sweet q Dean, in
structIng him 10 make no reply To the it,
terrogatIons of the prosecuting attorney
or the coroner's jury. SO fiery was Mr.
Dean that Prosecuting Attorney j. H.
W Gods ordered the sheriff to eject him
from the room, "A command which was not
Immediately complied with. the prescott
ing attorney retiring TO hold conference
with the sheriff, after which he ANNOUNCED
that Adjournment would take place until
some satisfactory result could be attained.