Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1895-01-22

the hotel. assured me that this Is
totally false. that there was no scuflle
or fight in the room and that the floor
or bed clothing had no blood on them.
Mr.. Kelley said:
81 was not at home on the night thtl
Boyd was taken our, but Mr.. EVey,
who owns the hotel building, was here
and so was my wife. have heard
them talk about It so much that know
all the circumstances as well as IL |
had been in the house at the time.
There were about ten or twelve men,
all masked In the crowd which took
him out Of bed. They came here and
/ got Mr. Evey up, who conducted
them to Boyd's room, He was told %
get UP and did So As he got out Of
bed he said: Boys. / hope you do not
intend TO hurt me- To this some one
answered, we will not II you tell us
| what we want to know In the room
l that night with Boyd was sleeping Rev.
| Mr.. d. N. Neil. Cumberland Presby-
terian minister. He also denies the
statement made by Boyd that there
was a fight in the room"
Have you seen Boyd since?'
mo He left on the a. M south
bound Rock Island train. lie was to
] have been called for this train and was
heard to remark as he retired that he
would not miss the train for $50"
l called at the First National bank
and found Mr.. Wade Atkins. lie was
not disposed to talk about the de-
plorable affair for publication, but eN-
pressed his regrets that the matter had
been given 50 much publicity. lie
humorously remarked, 81 con prove an
Hlibi. l was in Fort Worth the night
Boyd was so roughly treated" He
did not hesitate TO say that in his
opinion the mob was composed of
enemies OF Boyd. 81 think they went
after him for a purpose, and l believe
they accomplished IT," Mr.. Atkins is
one of the wealthlcst and most public
spirited men in Bowie. He spoke of the
murder OF Jack Stallings and charac-
terlzed 1t as one Of the most awful
crimes ever committed In Montague
county.
Mayor j. H. Mathews talked very
freely to me about Boyd and his treat
mcnt by the mob. He said:
ut is the sequel to poor Jack Stall
ings' murder. This crime Is nothing
In comparison 10 the way that boy was
taken out and butchered and his re-
mains left to decompose on the rocky
bluffs and be eaten by bu2gards and
wild animals, There are n great many
people here-some Of our best people.
and as good men as live in Texas
who believe Boyd had a hand in that
murder. The law has been very slow
and it has been over a year since the
] CRIME was tpininllleu hnu 30 IdI Hb
one implicated or charged with II has
been brought 10 Justice. To be sure.
one of them has been convicted in the
lower courts but the case was ap-
pealed and for some reason has hung
fire in the supreme court ever since.
This feeling against Boyd is bitter,
He was arrested but the charge against
him was nolle pressed and he went
away. There are others stalking about
town who are believed to have
knowledge Of this murder II not
actually participants in it. The friends
of Stalllngs naturally grew restless
under the delay of the law and chafed
when they saw Boyd and these other
men who are thought TO be guilty
J walking about town in almost open
defiance or the law. SO when Boyd
came back to Bowie, this may have
been expected II IL a deplorable affair,
and no one regrets IL more than ] do
Mayor Mathews, of course, could
say nothing about those who COM
posed the mob He was not disposed
} 10 say anything on that point
Rev. ID. N. NELL. the reverend gem
tleman who was Boyd's room mate,
denies that there was conflict be-
tween the leaders OF the mob and
their prisoner His story Is practically
the same as told by Mr. Kelley, the
proprietor OF the hotel
From source deemed entirely reli-
able / obtained the information
: that Boyd was taken out to a point
near the scene Of Sialiings murder,
3 or rather where his body was found,
and there strung up to the limb of a
tree. The man who was talking Ia
3 me about 1t would not tell me his name,
| and kept his identity entirely in the
background. He said: when It was
known that Boyd intended TO come
= through Bowie, on his return from
! Montague some of the friends of Stall
, ings got together and decided to make
him cough up all he knew about the
!, murder. They quietly gathered to-
I gether about II p. IN. and went to the
= Washington hotel, got Boyd out OF
a bed and carried him to Il point three
I quarters of mile out of town. Each
A man wore mask and could not have
t been Identified by any one. The worst
= scared man In town that night was
3 Mr. Evey. He did not know what
y was up and offered no resistance tC
Y the demands that he conduct the
1 masked men to the room occupied By
$ Boyd. One or two went In and woke
Boyd up and told him to dress him
self His clothing was searched anC
so also was his bed, but no weapon.
of any kind were found. when taker
out into the darkness he was badly
frightened and asked repeatedly wha
they were going to do with him. Wal
till we are ready for you to talk, wal
the only answer he was given. 'Yol
will be given time 10 sing your song.
when the spot previously selected ~
the place for the necktie party wa
reached, Boyd was told to tell all h'
knew of the murder OF Jack Stalllnga
and that II he did not tell he woulC
be hanged. He positively refused I,
say anything about the crime, and I
rope was put around his neck, and h
was thoroughly choked. The rope wa
then loosened and he made complete
confession, giving the names OF twi
Others now implicated In the crime
That was what was wanted and HI
A was told that he conld so. He wa
d not badly injured, and the report tha
n he was left on the ground more dea'
than alive is purely fictitious III
A made very lively steps In getting ava,
a and was very careful not to show vi
Il at the Rock Island depot until a fey
n moments before the south bound trail
"A pulled OUT
2 "If Boyd confessed why did the mo
x not nnish him2" ] asked.
ii THAT would not have done at al
81 His statement was made IN the pres
n ence OF many witnesses and then toe
N you see he is an important witnes
Y himself. Then again. the men in tn
i7 crowd are not murderers, or could the
III be induced TO tako mans life unde
~ any such circumstances. They di