The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1894-05-17
A FAMILY MURDERED.
TERRIBLE CRIME OF DESPERATE
NEBRASKA CRIMINALS.
Wanted a Witness Out Of the Way so
They Killed Him and Then Disposed
ct Ills Wife and Children Who
Witnessed the Deed

MILAN, Mo, May II A most afro.
! rlpus crlWe was committed last night
near browning Gus Meeks, his wife
and two children, were murdered out
hight aud another of the Meeks chill
! drnn, girl years old was sp badly
| injured that she may not recover.
Tho circumstances leading UP to the
| crime were about rs follows: There
are uumhero' criminal Cases pend
| ing in Lynn and sullivan counties
against William II. Taylor and Geo.
Taylor, brothers, tho former being n
banker nj Browning and the latter q
farmer. The charges against them
are forgery, arson and larceny. vii.
liam II. Taylor, Gus Meeks and
others were jointly indicted and
Meeks pleaded guilty at the last
term and was sent to Che penitentiary.
About month ago he was pardOned
by Governor Stone in order to use him
as witness against the TaylOrs who
were. in consequence, anxious to be
rid of him.
1t Is said the TaylOrs had arranged
with Meeks to give the latter wa
gon and team to get out of the county
30 that he might not be present when
the case against the Taylors was call
ed for trial. From Meeks' mother it
is learned that yesterday her son re.
ceived letter from the Iaylors at
Browning telling him to be ready at
10 o'clock last night to go away; that
Gus Meeks and children waited for
Taylor until midnight when two men
whom Mseks said were George and
Bill Taylor came to their home in
wagon. Meeks and his family got
into the wagon and started for
Browning.
The details of the crime as near as
can be obtained were told by the little
7-year-old gill, who was suffering
greatly as she recited the story. 1t
appears that when the Meeks family
and the persons accompanying them
reached a point near the Jenkins
schOol house, in Lynn county, a short
distance east of Browning, they were
met by two other men who were lying
in wait. Gus Meeks was first shot and
Mrs. Meeks jumped. She also was
killed. The muIderers then took
stones and beat the brains out of the
two children and left the others for
dead.
The murderers, then it is supposed,
loaded the whole family into the wag-
on and hauled them nearly two miles
to the Taylor farm where they were
buried under o straw stack. A bout
4:3O o'clock this morning, the eldest
child came to her senses and made
her way to the residence of Mr..
Carter near by. The Carter family
sent boy to the Taylor farm where
he found the murdered family as
stated by the Meeks girl
The Carter boy then saw George
lay lOr and told him of the muruer as
described by the almost dying child
George Taylor started for Browning
on horseback, got his brother and
both departed or horseback. Their
departure from Browning was before
the knowledge of the murder had
reached the people.
The people of the neighborhood
placed guards around the stack where
the dead bodies were found. Upon
investigation it was discovered that q
bloody quilt around the bodies was on
fire, the evident purpose being to Gre
mate the bodies. The little girl re-
| covered sufficiently to describe come
of the parties and upon her evidence
one Sharon McCulloch of Gould, and
George Hewlett of Lynn county have
been arrested as participants in the
crime. A party of citizens from
Milan and Browning found at the
the place of murder the revolver and
stone which the murderers had used
to Kill Meeks and beat out the brains
OF the children, The child says that
they struck, beat and kicked her into
insensibility ard thought her dead.
At this writing the Taylors have not
been arrested, but it is not thought
possible they can escape Great ex-
element prevails, and if the murder
ere are fully identified the law will
have to he very strong to prevent sum-
mary punishment