The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1894-05-16

MILAN, Mo, May IA most afro
oious crime was committed last night
near Browning. Gus Meeks his wife
lend two children were murdered out
right and another of the Meeks chill
dren, a girl -even years old, was so bad
" injured that she may not recover. The
circumstances leading up 10 the crime
are about as follows:
There are number of criminal cases
pending in Lynn and Sullivan county
against William II. Taylor and George
Taylor brothers, the former being
banker of Browning and the latter n
farmer. The charges against them are
forgery, arson and larceny. William P.
Taylor, Gus Meeks and others were
Jointly indicted and Meeks pleaded guilty
at the last term ard was sent TO the
penitentiary. About a month ago he
was pardoned by Governor Stone to use
him as a witness against the Taylors,
who were in consequence. anxious TO be
rid of him. 1t is said the TaylOrs had
arranged with MeelIs TO give the latter
a wagon and team 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's mother it is learned
that yesterday her son received a letter
from the Taylors at Browning telling
him TO be ready at 10 o'clock last night
To go away; that Gus Meeks and chill
dren waited for Taylor until midnight,
when two men. whom Mee5s said We're
George and Bill Taylor, came to their
home in a 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 seven-year-old girl. 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 Linn county. a short
distance east of Browning, they were
met by two men who were lying i'm wait.
Gus Meeks was first shot and Mrs.
AIeeks jumped. She was also killed: the
murderers took stones and beat the
brains out of the two children and left
the other for dead.
The murderers then, it is supposed.
loaded the whole family into the wagon
and hauled them nearly two miles 10 the
Taylor farm, where they were buried un-
a
morning the eldest child came TO her
senses and made her way To the resi-
dence Of a Mrs Carter near by. The
Carter family then sent a boy 10 the
Taylor farm where he found the muir
dered family as stated by the Meeks
girl The Carter boy then saw George
Taylor and innOcently told him of the
murder as described by the almost dying
child. George Taylor Immediately start
ed from Browning on horseback, got
his brother William md both departed
on horseback. Their departure from
browning was before the knowledge of
the murder had reached there. The peo-
ple of the neighbOrhOOd placed guards
around the strawstack where the dead
bodies were found. Upon investigation
It was discovered that a bloody quilt
around the bodies was on fire. the evil
dent purpose being to cremate the bodies.
The little girl recovered sufficiently 10
describe some or the parties and upon
her evidence one Sharon Mccullough of
Gould and George Hewlett have been
arrested as participants in the crime. A
party Of citizens from Browning found
a. the place Of the murder the revolver
and stone with which the murderers had
shot and killed the father and mother
and beat out the brains of the two chill
dren and left the other for dead. The
child says that they struck. beat and
kicked her into insensibility and thought
her dead. At this writing the Taylors
have not been arrested, but it is not
thought possible they can escape. Great
excitement prevails and IL the murderers
are fully identified the law will have to
be very strong to prevent summary pun
ishment.
BROWNING, Mo-, May ia hunt for
the Taylor brothers, who so brutally
murdered the Meeks family, is not re-
laxed. IL is now more a game Of hide
and seek than a hot chase. The fugi-
tives have not gone fifteen miles since
they left Browning Friday morning.
Since their escape from the house of f.
A. Leonard, a brOther-in-law, the Taylors
have not been seen. The TavlOrs have
friends who make decoy tracks and do
everything they can to help them to
escape. A horse George Taylor rode was
found two miles from Leonards and
Sheriff BOrton thinks the murderers are
close by, and that their capture is
question OF a few hours. Sheriff Winters
from Trenton passed through here just
after dark with three blOOdhounds The
coroner's jury decided that the Meeks
family came TO their death al the hands
Of George r. and A. p Taylor
1t is now evident that the Taylors at
first only intended to kill Meeks himself.
The grave at the old straw stack In
Taylor's field was prepared for only one
person, but Mrs. Weeks, in fear that
something would happen to her hus-
band, insisted on going along with her
three children. The eldest. a girl Of
seven years, is the only survivor Of the
tragedy The eighteen-mOnths-oi ba BY
was shot through the Ioweh temple, evil
dently while in fits mothers arms.
The surviving girl, bright and inter-
as'ing child, tells the following story:
They first shot papa and he fell out OF
. =" wagon. They shot mamma and then
'ed llttle sister with a stone They
ted me and then struck me on the
.t5j with a stone, and then / went TO
sleep did not know anything more
until the men threw US all into the hole.
They first kicked us TO see IL we were
all dead. Then one or them said: Yes,
they are all dead One of the men said
something about burning the straw pile,