The morning call., 1894-05-12
KNEW TOO MUCH.
Why the Meeks Family
Was Killed.
BUTCHERY MOST BRUTAL.
Shot Down the Father and
Mother.
BUTcHERY MOST BRUTAL.
BEAT TWO CHILDREN TO DEATH.
Another, Left for Dead, Revived and
Told the Story of the
Tragedy.

MILAN. No.. May ia most atrocious
crime was committed last night near
Browning, Gus Meeks, his wife and two
children were murdered outright and an
other OF Meeks' children, a girl seven
may not recover.
The circumstances leading up to the
crime are as follows: There are num-
ber of criminal cases pending in Lynn
and Sullivan counties against William Z.
Taylor and George Taylor. brothers, the
former being banker of Browning and
the latter a farmer. The charges against
them are forgery. arson and larceny. Will
liam P. Taylor. Gus Meeks and others
were jointly indicted, and Meeks pleaded
guilty at the last term and was sentenced
to the peniten tiary. About month ago
he was pardoned by Governor Stone in
order that he might be used as witness
against the Taylors, who were in conse-
quence anxious to get rid of him.
1t is said that the Taylors had arranged
with Meeks to give the latter wagon and
Try to get out of the county, so that he
might not be present when the case
against the Taylors was called for trial.
From Meeks' mother it is learned that
yesterday he received word from the Tay-
lors at Browning telling him to be ready
at 10 o'clock last night to go away. and
that Gus Meeks and his children waited
for Taylor until midnight. when two men.
whom Mrs. Meeks said were George and
Bill Taylor, came to their house in a
wagon. Meeks and his family got into
the wagon and started for Browning.
-. H. 3 . hnn
can be obtained, were related by the little
seven-year-old girl, who was suffering
greatly as she recited the story. 1t ap-
pears that when the Meeks family and the
persons accompanying them reached
puint near the Jenkins schoolhouse, in
Lynn County, a short distance east OF
Browning, they were met by two other
men who we're lying in wait. Gus Meeks
was first shot. Mrs. Meeks jumped out of
the wagon and she also was killed. The
murderers then took stones and beat the
brains out of two of the children and left
| the other for dead.
The murderers loaded the whole family
into the wagon and took them two miles
to the Taylor farm, where they were buried
under strawstack.
At 4:30 o'clock this morning the eldest
child came to her senses and made her way
to the residence of a Mr.. Carter, near by.
The Carter family sent boy to the Taylor
farm, where be found the bodies. The boy
then saw George Taylor and innocently
told him of the murder as described by the
almest dying child. Taylor Immediately
started for Browning on horseback, got
his brother William and both departed.
Their departure from Browning was be-
fore the knowledge of the murder had
reached here. The people of the neigh
borhood placed guards around the straw
stack where the dead bodies were found.
and upon investigation it was discovered
that bloody quilt around the bodies was
on fire. the evident purpose being to Gre
mate the bodies.
The little girl recovered sufficiently to
describe some Of the parties, and upon her
evidence Sharon Mccullough Of Gaultand
George Hewlett of Lynn County have
been arrested as participants in the crime
A party of citizens from Milan and Brown
ing found at the place of the murder the
revolver and stone with which the mur-
derers had shot and killed the father and
m ther and beaten the brains out of the
two children and left the other for dead.
AT this writing the Taylors have not
been apprehended. but it is not thought
possible that they can escape. Great ex-
element prevails in this part of the county.
and If the murderers are fully identified
the law will have to be very strong TO pre-
vent summary punishment.
a farmer has just come from the north
east and says that the Taylors have left
their horses and that not less than 500
men are after them.