The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1894-05-12

Milan, Mo. May ia most atrocious
crime was committed last night near
Browning. Gus Weeks, his wife and
two children were murdered outright
and another of Meeks children, a girl
7-years-old, was so badly injured that
she may not recover. The circumstan-
ces leading up to the crime are as fol-
lows:
There are number of criminal
cases pending in Lynn and Sullivan
counties against William P. Taylor 3 nd
George Taylor, brothers, the former be-
ing banker of Browning, and the
latter farmer, The charges against
them are forgery. arson and larceny,
William P. Taylor, Gus Meeks and 9TH
ers were jointly indicted and Meeks
pleaded guilty at the last term and was
sentenced to the penitentiary. About a
month ago, he was pardoned by Cover
nor Stone in order to use him as a
witness against the Taylors, who were
in consequence, anxious to get rid of
him
1t is said that the Taylors had ar
ranged with Meeks to give the latter a
wagon and team to get out of the
country, SO that he might not be pres
ent when the case against the Taylors
was called for trial
From Meeks' mother it is learned
that yesterday he 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
children waited for Taylor until mid
night when two men, who Meeks said
were George and Bill Taylor, came to
their house in a wagon. Meeks and his
family got on the wagon and started
for Browning.
Details of the Crime.
The details of the crime, as near as
can be obtained, were told by the lit
tie 7-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 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. Mrs Meeks
Jumped out and she also was killed
The murderers then took stones and
beat the brains out of two of the chill
dren and left the other for dead The
murderers then loaded the whole fam
lily into the wagon and took them two
miles to the Taylor farm. where they
were buried under a straw stack
At 4:30 this morning, the eldest child
came to her senses, and made her way
to the residence OF Mr.. Carter, near
| by. The Garter family sent boy to
the Taylor farm, where ne found the
| bodies. The boy then saw George Tay-
lor and innocently told him of the muir
der as described by the almost dying
child. Taylor Immediately started for
Browning on horseback, got his broth
err William and both departed Their
departure from Browning was before
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
covered that bloody quilt around the
bodies was on fire, the evident purpose
being to cremate the bodies. The lit
tie girl recovered sufficiently to de-
scribe some of the parties, and upon
her evidence Sharon Mccullough of
Gault. and George Hewlett, of Lynn
county, have been arrested IS partici-
pants in the crime. A party of citizens
from Milan and Browning found at the
place of the murder the revolver and
q stone with which the murderers had
shot and killed the father and mother
and beaten the brains out of the two
children and left the other for dead.
Lyneaning Quite Probable.
At this writing the Taylors have not
been apprehended. but it is not thought
possible that they can escape. Great
excitement prevails in this part of the
county and if the murderers are fully
| identified the law will have to be very
strong to prevent summary punish
ment.
Later-A farmer has just come in
| from the northeast and says that the
Taylors have left their horses and that
not less than 500 men are after them