St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1897-07-10
BLOODY TANGIPAHOA.
Sam G. Hyde Shot Down
From Ambush.
Special to The Times-Democrat.

ORCNt0A w = uS Al11sGo~DVuVNAos
Amite City, La, July Sam c. Hyde
lies q riddled and mutilated corpse at
his home seven miles north Of here.
He was foully assassinated this morn
ing between aud o'clock while on his
way to Amite, about one mile from his
home, by two or more men from ambush,
twenty-n:ne bucksh0t taking effect in
his body and dozen or more blowing
their way through his brain. When his
body was reached he lay upon his back
with his head to the north. his feet
pointing in the direction he was bound.
with his arms stretched toward the
east and west. A great pool of blood
and brains discolored the road upon
which he lay. In his left hand was
found his riding switch. In scab-
bord on his right side he carried q Al
calibre Colts revolver.
The road from Hyde's home to Amite
runs through open piny woods. One
can stand upon the hilltOps and see for
hundreds of yards around. Through
these woods winds piny W Gods branch.
Upon either side of its banks, with .
width of fiftv-One yards or more, grows
all kinds of thick-foliaged trees and UNI
derbrush. 1t was near where this branch
crosses the road that Mr.. Hyde met his
death. Nature could not have arranged .
more suitable place for the commission
Of the dastardly deed.
Completely sheltered from view in all
directions, twenty yards from the road,
BY the side of pine stump In the midst
OF dense underground, lay and waited
the two men for two it must have been
who committed the foul deed. They
had cut an aisle through the brush SO
that they could see any one coming
down the road, yet were not themselves
visible. Mr.. Hyde had passed the place
of hidins q few PAGES when four loads
of buckshOt from shOtguns were poured
into his head and body. The first two
were fired almost simultaneously, and
after an interval of couple of seconds
the other two came with the same rapid
succession. When Hyde fell, the horse
which he was riding ran on down the
road toward Amite and was caught by
an old negro who was at the time the
shots were fired about fifty yards in the
road ahead of Hyde driving an OK
wagon. The negro recognized the
horse as belonging to Mr.. Hyde. and
rot out of his wagon and led 1t back
down the road in the direction of the
shooting. On turning curve in the
road he saw man lying upon his back
about forty yards from him, which he
believed to be Mr.. Hyde. Fearing to
advance further, he tied the horse and
proceeded to Arc0la. where he an
nounced what he had heard and seen.
The old negro was In full view of
HYDE and the clump of bushes which
concealed the assassins within two
minutes before the guns fired. Other
passsrs were upon the scope . few
minutes later, but none of them saw
any one. Three hundred yards to the
east. near the side of the Illinois Cen.
trail Railroad. is J. w. WiklnsOn's lit
tie shanty. There were q number of
persons in the house ana on the gallery
when the gyms were fired, and singular
" enough one of them remarked after the
first two shots, "Sh0Ot him again."
Before the words had passed his lips
the last two shots were heard.
Hyde became . prominent and con-
spicious figure in TangipahOa Parish
after the killing Of DR.. A. II. Goss last
April year ago over politics. Since
then his name has figured in nearly
every killing in Tangipah0a. The most
prominent one was the killing Of w. b.
Davidson, his cousin. The part Hyde
played in bringing Dayidson's slayers
to Justice is probably the cause which
led up to his assassination. Hyde
had been warned dozens of times that
he would he killed, but this warning
made no difference in his movements,
though he has kept his house con-
stantly guarded.
The deceased leaves wife and three
children, the oldest bow of seventeen
years.
The funeral of Mr.. Hyde took place
Sunday afternoon, ut the town of Tangi.
rahoa, aud was one Of the largest ever
witnessed in that town. The princi=
pal oftense of the deceased appears to
have been that he was Over-zealOus in
assisting the officers of law in bringing
Offenders to Justice.