The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1894-10-18
ARE OUT CUNNING.
FRENCH-EvERSoLE FEUD START
ED AGAIN IN KENTUCKY.
More Than Thirty Deaths Have Al
ready Been Caused Because of
the Little Unpleasantness, ami
More Are to Come.

Big Stone Gap, Va, Oct. 1.-THE
French-Eversole feud has started afresh
in Perry county, KY. Bob May, an
eX-member of the Kentucky legislature.
and one of the principals on the Ever
sole side, is here from Hazard. the seat
OF the county and of the war. Judge
Combs, the leader, is dead. The leader
OF the French faction, whose name was
hrazer, Fulton French and two others
OF ms faction, have been arrested for
ms murder and more trouble will fol-
low. Judge Combs was 20 wears old
and lived in Hazard. Early on Sunday
I morning two weeks ago he stepped
across the street where young Cush
tVersole and TWO others were talking.
A rife cracked from the cornfield lust
over the fence and the bullet struck
the old man in his breast and he fell.
Cush EverSole wheeled and saw a man
with blackened face spring up and
dash through the corn-field. He saws
the man was Joe Adkins. At the same
time some other Trenches began firing
and shouting from another direction 10
divert attention from Adkins. Young
Cush, with several others, ran across a
little spur and hid themselves in a
ravine. Other men with blackened
faces soon appeared, who, the Ever
soles said, were Adkins, Frazer and
Jesse Field. AS they climbed over a
bank, VIII Martin, a boy in the Ever
sole crowd, fired and killed Frazer. The
other TWO men escaped, but were cap
tured later with Fulton French in
Breathiti county Adkins is said to
have escaped. but French and Field
are held. They are trying to get the
county judge 20 come to the Breathiti
line and try them as they are afraid
to go to Hazard. Only last night they
received am anonymous letter saying
they would be shot the moment they
put foot across the county line. Judge
Coombs died in a few hours He had
never taken part in the feud, though ne
was a man of wealth and in sympathy
with the Eversoles and has always
tried to get the Frenchs to trial. 1t
was his influence that was feared. Ad-
kins is a noted desperate. More than
thirty men have been killed in this feud
in the last half a. dozen years. 1t be-
gan with the killing of the Confederate
Gambrills, a strong BreathiJi county
family, by the Union Eversoles, during
the war.
Soon the Gambrills killed the Eversole
leader and desultory fighting went on
after the war until 1864. Then Fulton
French came from Virginia to Hazard
and taught school and read law with
Joe Eversole, the leader of the Ever
sole faction. The Eversoles were the
richest and strongest family in the
country and they always had a store
in Hazard, which was the Republican
headquarters.
French rented this store from Joe
Eversole for a year and opened with
his clerk, Bob May. French and May
disagreed and May opened just across
the street and made his store the
Democratic headquarters of the town.
When French's year was up, Eversole
sent him word that he must move out.
French refused for some reason, and
on the lease expiring Eversole drove
into the town and moved French into
the street. That started the war. The
Gambrills took sides with the Frenchs
against their foes, May and Eversole.
Sheriffs, mayors and judges have been
with the Eversoles. French is said to
have hired many of his fighters.
Trouble is feared in the immediate
future as the men on both sides are out
cunning for their enemies.