The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1893-10-28
Clothed in White He breaches
Before He Dies.
A REMARKABLE MOUNTAIN SCENE.
The Murderer Met His Fate with
No Show of Fear.

Livery sort OF Conveyance ana on Foot
In Mud md In Rnin-Many TravelledrAl
Night, aud When They All Reached
Wise Court House Such n Gathering OF
GA and Young Lnw.abidIne and Law.
dcfyins Folk Had Never Beea Seen There
The Murdersr's Sermon and Desth-Elis
Long Career or Crime In the Mountalns.
NORTON. Va. Oct. 27.-A northeast wind
drove black clouds over Pound Gap this morn-
ing. whore Doc" Taylor ambushed and
| murdered the Mullins family last year. and
the rain came splashing over forest OF bright
autumn leaves to Wise Court House. where the
doctor prea cher spoke his own funeral sermon
on the gallows.
Although the clouds hung low and tho rain
fell and the mud was deep. the mountaineers,
men. women. aud children. from patriarchs to
mere toddlers. ploughed through to see this
great hangin'" Many started at noon yes
tcrday-mountain Kentuckians from over
Black Mountain, Virginia mountaineers
from the Pound. from Wild Dickinson
and buchanan. Crackers Neck and
Thunderstorm Knob. farmers from Big Stone
Gap. and farmers from Powells Valley. Some
came partly by train. some on horses. more on
mules with saddle or sheepskin. every man
with bis wife or sweetheart behind him.
Many women brought babies In arms. Fami.
lies crowded OK carts and covered wagons. but
the great majority waded In the mud and
against the wind and rain.
All were dressed as for a holiday The
women wore checked bonnets and many coll
ored homespun. the men jeans and slouched
hats and high boots. sometimes with colored
tops spangled with crescents and stars.
Livery other man had revolver swung on
one hip and flask OF moonshine on the other.
Some slept BY the wayside
Those who reached town overlooked the
houses into porchss and doorways. and by day
break tho crowd was here. Before II o'clock che
lumber wagons and OK teams had to stop on
either side Of the town. unable to get through.
Four thousand mountaineers were massed
about the Court House yard and In
the one street OF the town. 1t was
q Christmas shooting match. u noun
tain preaching. and County Court
day all In one. Everybody was there. noun
tain doctor. preacher. lawyer. Judge. noun.
tain magistrate. farmer moonshlner. feuds-
man. and the assassin who can be hired to
murder anybody for a mule or 3S-calibre
rifle. They jammed the street and square.
One big mountaineer sold apples from one
end Of his wagon. his oxen chewing fodder
from the other. From . platform . country
editor called out for subscribers and took
their names aud money on the spot Every.
body sooner or later got to ono place In which
all tai ed politics and drank moonshine from
hand barrels or bottles oorked with sassafras
In turn they pushed each other about and
Sometimes seSiiIed as the joke would 60 too
far. Once half idiots fist shot out and .
thrown aSsess the
in the mud and rolled under a wagons wheels.
Two more drew revolvers. but not shot was
sat the women in their striped bonnets and
bright dresses. In one corner stood noun.
file and pretty face. A young mountaineer
staggered e ~ ~ o,a
"Hullo." she said with IN indulgent smile.
Why. Try. you are fun as boss"
~, That was the spirit I, eyderywhere except r.
bonnet and blue cotton dress was saying good.
by to the condemned men al the morning.
around the front fence Of the jail. where guards
with rides stopped them.
him for pass to tho yard scribbled on any;
thing. With stronger claim they buttonholed
sm @ tbe roash sea tho o1a h s
crowd surged In front OF the old Court House.
where; at one OF the upper windows. Taylor
Ths only S9lo, about H him from head to foot
an hour and half he read and preached with
guards, nearest him to take Of their hats.
Iney ulu not be0lu W uuueTbtduu, anu n0
reached out and took the hat on one him.
sell. The rest uncovered and sang two hymns
vi have confessed my pact mespness to
like all other sinners, and ask you before
ills sSoa sotsa
The crowd grew noisy and Taylor added
~: an sSi.s to a PLACE I s where there here no:
VULGAR Oatl9 L hear lero. Some of
TAYLOR preached for All an hour 'p and twenty five
the yard OF ali who held no passes. The crowd
dsepened at the fence; every window was
boys sat ' astrde The comb q every roof. or
clImted trees on the surrounding SURF bills:
iailer's, root almost ever the boy: The crowd
soms led sySs t hint
falling they gaped through the big cracks.
a4S on s d r Is Sst
The crowd jostied and talked. and was noisy
taylor took off his glasses The white cap.
white at Taylors request was drawn over the
head. The excited sheriff then saw that he
to rs{ hs nodsa ssa
no knocked the first support out Taylor fell to
he %s s and Ss T ssfsa eSa
Another instant and his white figure shot
r Tse r s5 i the !, hart dress her
hour later Tayior's comm was carried up
the street by six men with tho dispensing
crowd behind them. At his own request he
will not be buried for three days. On the third
day, he will rise again. he says. His white
clothes. he said. were emblems OF the fine
linen he was soon to put on above, He leaves
one son and three daughters, all married.
TAYLoR's STRANGE CAREER.
Taylor was one of the fcw remaining des-
perAte men who have made the moi ntaln
country along tho border line between KEN
lucky and Virginia famous for Its deadly fouda
and reckless disregard for human life Until
within the last three years no railroads had
generated this country, which Ia SO thickiy
studded WIN nigh mountains that In SSysra!
to he found In whole counties are small
= cock pits" containing not more than
sJdo of the boundary line between Virginia and
kentucky extends this mountainous Territory,
which has been the home OF outlaws and des-
peradoes since tho beginning OF tho century.
J iere II lie that such families ms tho Tolliyers.