The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1896-05-26

II IGidllNt VI DOln Ine t1dlUGlQS and
McCoys was a candidate for office. and
the leaders of the two factions again
came together to work for his election.
During the day Illicit whiskey was
freely given to the men of both fac
tions, and in the afternoon they were
feeling very belligerent. and only a
little incident was needed to start a
fight.
This came when Talbot Mccoy met
Elias Hatfield, known as Bad 'Lias. -
and demanded $1.75 that had been Dor
rowed from him. Hatfield denied the
debt and Mccoy Immediately threw
him down and began to pound him In
the midst of this operation Deacon ELL
son Hatfield, carrying a large pocket
knife, and Elias. his brother, carrying
a pistol, appeared. and several of the
Mccoy faction gathered around Farm
er Mccoy carrying pistol
The constable pretended to arrest
Talbot Mccoy, but the generally peace
full Deacon Hatfield, now fired with
corn whiskey. dared the other to fight
man of his size. and Talbot drew out
knife like that held by the deacon.
The two closed and fought for a long
time. After cutting Mccoy once Hat
fields knife closed on his hands and he
threw IL away and only used his fists,
while Mccoy used his knife. with ter
rible effect and little Budd Mccoy, only
years old, stood in the crowd and
used another knife on Hatfield when
ever he had chance.
In spite of this, however, Hatfield
threw Mccoy to the ground and seized
a large, jagged stone He was holding
this, and was about to strike Talbot
when Farmer Mccoy shot him and
knocked him over. Farmer Mccoy inn
mediately dropped his pistol and fed
up the road. Elias Hatfield shot at him
five times, and then, with Constable
Iaffia1H
overlook him and arrested him, with
Talbot and young Randolph Mccoy,
who was accused of having cut Ellison
Hatfield, though it afterward was
proved that he was mistaken for his
brother Budd.
Ellison Hatfield died the following
"wednesday. He had been cut q times
besides being shot. The three McCoys
were taken to the house of John Hat
field Monday night by the officers, but
in the morning about 20 Hatfields gath
cred and took them away from the Off
GERS, drove them along to a secluded
cabin, tortured them in many ways
and waited to see if Ellison Hatfield
would die.
SLAUGHTER THE PRISONERS.
When his death came Wednesday a
swift messenger took the news to the
Hatfield party and they notified their
prisoners of the fate that was in store.
of Talbot Mccoy had no effect on their
captors while the men of the Mccoy
family did nothing to help them. That
night they were taken to the Kentucky
side. tied upright and the two men
were shot, while the boy was left there
to moan
1t occurred to the party afterward,
however, that the boy knew them all,
and one was sent back to kill him. A
man, supposed to be Alexander Mes
ser, returned to the boy and fired two
barrels of buckshot into his head. The
coroners jury next day, under Coroner
Joseph Hatfield, brought in a verdict
that the men had come to their death
at the hands of persons unknown"
and the bodies were delivered to the
McCoys, who had them decently buried.
They made no attempt, however, to
take vengeance.
The Hatfields seemed now possessed
of determination to kill old Randolph,
the head of the Mccoy family. They
made an ambush for him in June, 1884,
when he was known to be attending
court, and only a mistake as to the
identity of the man prevented their
success. Two witnesses at the trial
happened to be dressed precisely the
same as Randolph and Calvin Mccoy,
and to bear very much the same APP
pearance. In the dusk they were the
recipients of the bullets from the Hat
field rifles and were MANNED for life.
Soon after this a Hatfield raid was
betrayed to the McCoys, and they es-
capped. The wife and mother-in-law of
a Bill Daniels, one of the Hatfield fac
ton, were suspected of betraying the
secret. Consequently, one night Cap
tain Hatfield and Tom Wallace went to
Daniels house, cowed him by covering
with a loaded shotgun. and brutally
beat both women, breaking ribs and
other bones, so that one died and the
other suffered the rest of her life.
AS a result of this another Mccoy
was killed. this time jeff, brother of
Mrs. Daniels. He was enticed into an
ambush by bad Anse' Hatfield, who
agreed to help him catch Tom Wallace.
He was taken prisoner, and was being
led along by mounted man when he
saw a chance to escape. He ran across
the fields, crossed the Tug river and
was escaping on the hillside when one
of the several shots fired after him
killed him.
THE LAST RAID.
The governors of the two states now
became mixed in the affair. Governor
Buckner of Kentucky offered large re-
wards for the Hatfields chiefly con-
cerned and asked for a requisition from
the governor of West Virginia. Cover
nor Wilson, however. refused to grant
Ii for a long time. and il was not until
the close of 1887 that the real work of
suppressing the feud was begun. In
that year, however, noted character,
one Frank Phillips, a deputy sheriff.
took the matter in hand, revived the
spirits of some of the McCoys and
their friends, and began raiding West
Virginia.
Phillips had supposed that requisi-
ton was coming from the governor of
West Virginia, but he did not walt for
AZ. no hnaxrN rdS
that had been offered for the Hatfield
leaders. His first raid was made Dec.
g. 1887, i'm company with some of the
McCoys and be brought to Virginia
one Tom Chambers The second raid
was made Dec. 20. and Selkirk Mccoy
and jeff Christian, two of the Mccoy
faction, were taken from Mcdowell
county West Virginia. to the Pike