The Wichita daily eagle., 1894-02-20
HE MAY NOT HANG
TWO THEORIES OFFERED ON TRANS
FER OF MATTOX TO LANSING.
One Prominent Lawyer Says He Was
Sent There on Tip From Wash.
ington That the Sentence Will
be Commuted-A Three.
Fingered-Jack Story.

With iron bands around his ankles and
nickle plated handouts connecting his
wrists, palefaced Clyde Mattox was es-
corted down the stone steps Of the county
Jail Sunday morning.
Deputy DeBost was on one side of him,
Deputy Walker on the other while Deputy
Spencer trailed behind, and three pairs of
eagle eyes were kept on the willy prisoner
He was put in cab, driven to the depot
and there the train was taken for the
Lansing penitentiary.
he didn't like it. He objected to the
proceeding In fact he stated it was treat
Ing him manifestly unfair for the govern
ment TO keep throwing him around from
pillar to post as it has done while he has
been its guest.
And then the idea of giving
him no warning or notice; that
IN his opinion was the crowning outrage
committed against him by the minions of
Uncle Sam. The officers simply went to
the Jail. told him to get ready at once for
transfer and that was all there was to it.
Two men tell two stories, or rather give
two Interpretations of the transfer
One man said to reporter for the Eagle
yesterday after first cautiously looking
around him, did you know that there
has been conspiracy formed to rescue
Clyde Mattox from the officers of the law?
Well, there is. Clyde has friends in the
territory and they are desperate ones. l
know what | am talking about and there
are men in this town who know what l
know. Do you think for moment
that the United States marshaIs
would come here SO hurridly
to transfer Mattox to the penitentiary if
there was nothing unusual in the wind
The fact is that a well known United
States marshal in the territory discovered
plot at Perry last Wednesday for gang of
Clyde's friends to concentrate in Wichita
and on given day and rescue the prisoner.
Not only that but | venture to say right
here that far the past two weeks an agent
OF the gang has been in town laying the
plans for the liberation. You have no idea
how many friends that young fellow has
or the evtent to which they would go or
he hazards they would encounter to
save his neck. There is no hope for his
escaping the rope except by rescue
This | say with a knowledge of what
L am talking about. His mother
is making desperate effort to get COM
mutation of sentence from the president,
but there are other women who are equally
energetic in offsetting her heroic endeav-
ors in behalf of her son. These women are
neither Kansans nor OklahomaEs They
live down on the coast Of Old Virginia,
and they have the presidents ear through
some of the Virginia delegation in con-
gress. Mrs. Hatch may be ignorant of the
existence of such women, but they exist,
nevertheless, and are at work
Mrs. Hatch is soliciting the favor of the
president in deep mourning; the other
women are seeking to have the sentence
in deep mourning Also"
Who are they?
"They are the sisters of Three Fingered |
Tack, who was fatally shot at Wharton, a
ew days after the opening of the Chero-
lee strip and who died after being brought |
% Winfield for medical treatment"
What did Clyde have to do with the |
leath of three fingered Jack?
He is the man that killed him without |
1oubt. This is not generally known, but |
t is a fact nevertheless. There is man |
living in Wichita now who saw the shoot |
ng; in fact the deed was committed in his |
,lace where he was doing business at |
" harton short time after the opening" |
Are you quite sure about these state
nents?
Il have seen letters from three fingered |
Jack's sisters and they seem to know all |
about il. They are SD confident that
clyde is the man tha killed their brother
hat one of them expresses a desire to be
present at the execution"
Theory No 2 is that the sentence is now
practically commuted to imprisonment for
or life, and that in anticipation of such
n order from the president the prisoner
las been removed to the Kansas peniten-
iary to avoid any trouble that might
rise.
A well known lawyer holds this opinion.
Did you ever hear of such proceeding
'efore?" said he. "If the government in-
ends to carry out the sentence why didn't
hey transfer him to the Topeka Jail, which
5 just as safe from a raid as the state
Mark my words, MattoX
vill not be hung. Two days before the
Sd of March the president will issue an
rider committing the sentence of MattoX
nd directing that he shall be confined in
he state penitentiary OF Kansas for life
lie will be there already and the possibility
his being rescued if taken there later
'ill be obyiated. tell you he is in the
Kansas penitentiary to stay for life"
THAT PUGILISrIC KID.