The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1899-06-27
80 Who Aided in Numbering the HUMPHREYS
Y" on the Witness Stand.
,vopE TO THE OTHER MEMBERS OF PARTY
s,,v BECAUSE of Personal Spite-Grewsome Testimony
of Polk Weeks, Who Tied the Ropes

Ranger SeTVlce Sdlu 10 nlln' sparks,
you ought to be ashamed to keep any
thing back. Remember that we have only
short while to live and both of us may |
go before we know it," In three days
after that time Sparks was dead.
There were nearly sixty witnesses, more
than three fourths OF whom answered to
their names.
The witnesses were sworn and put under
the rule.
Polk Weeks, one of the defendants, was
the first witness for the State. Each wit
ness was warned that any statement he
might make would be used in evidence
against him and not for him. Weeks
said he lived in this county and came here
last winter; is "a years old; widower
with three children; lives across Cedar
creek in Transcedar; knew all the de-
PENDANTS; was not acquainted with Jim
Humphries; about three weeks before the
death of the HUMPHREYS, Joe Wilkinson
came to his house and spoke to him and
Johns and wanted to get UP mob. Will
kinson said the judges and officers had
| told him IL he would get mob they would
see him through; Wilkinson set the night
! for the mob to meet; 1t was Tuesday
night; they agreed to make out like they
were hunting for Patterson. The mob
went to the corner of Jim HUMPHREYS
field. Iohn Wilkinson then swore each
man not to give away the secrets OF the
mob, saying he would kill any man who
told; the mob circled around and finally
got hack close to HUMPHREYS house; Ar
thur Greenhaw and Joe WilliinFon held
the horses; they left him and Johns to
guard the house; they got HUMPHREYS out
and went out with him: he and Arthur
Greenhaw told Mrs HUMPHREYS they were
officers; they took Jim HUMPHREYS along
the road and went to George Ilmphries' ;
he and Greenhaw guarded the house to
keep the women from giving the alarm
When he and Greenhaw got to where jim
HUMPHREYS was, Joe Wilkinson and Bill
Brooks were tying the rope around jim
HUMPHREYS neck; then they asked him
where Patterson was; the other two Hum.
phries were there; Wilkinson accused tn,
Humphries of stealing his hogs; the Hum.
phries denied it; he charged the Hum
phries with harboring Patterson and the,
! denied that. The mob went down the roa(
, and found tree and again the GROVE
tried to find out where Patterson was
The HUMPHREYS said they might be hun,
but that they did not know where Patter
son was.
The HUMPHREYS were then mounted OF
separate horses with the ropes arount
o their necks; Weeks climbed the tree
hitched the rope to the limb and the horse
We're run from under them; one of then
slipped and his feet were on the ground
Weeks went up the tree again and tied tn
4 rope shorter; one of the hands came loose
: they tied that up they let the Humphrie
. hang there till they died. The mob the
. mounted horses and rode home the mo
n waited to see that the men were dead be
~ fore they started for home He name
the ten defendants and w. A. Mahan a
constituting the crowd. John Wilklnso
, was the man who drove the horses froI
q uder the HUMPHREYS. He described som
N of the horses ridden by members OF tn
a mob. Every man in the crowd was arme
n |
: had half pint of whisky and Joe Wilkin
n son had half gallon in jug. The crow
o drank some OF 1t.
m On cross examination witness describe
his movements of the last few months wit
ia great particularly. Wilkinson said tn
"a HUMPHREYS were running the county an
"A harboring men to kill other men. Tn
all o,o L.. ~
"A morning. Johns, went home with hil
n and he and Johns went home with th
:. Wilkinsons. He and Johns got home abol
"A daybreak.
= He had first made the confession Frida
night to Mr.. Green at the county jai
A was not scared when he made it; noboo
A. told him they would get pardon for hi
"a as the price of his testimony. He COZ
as fessed because he thought that 1t was Il
as best thing he could do He had told Judt
10 Fauld and Mr.. Wood that he had made Il
g statement through fear and that he hi
Nv bean promised pardon. and he was tel
Of ing lie because he was thinking OF turl
ing back. He had told Judge Faux al
oil Mr.. Wood that he did not know Arth
"a Greenhaw and It was lie. He had TT
a met Sam Hall the night OF the hangin
,t Had known Bill Brooks for some tin
or Met John Gaddis, Bob stephens and Wa
IA ter Wilkinson tor the nrst time that nlgl
H. All the men told him their names. II
never been indicted for any crime.
r. is not expecting any reward and is on
a. mercy OF the court
n On redirect examination the witns
Of detailed the conversation with Faulk a
II. Wood In Faulk's office. they told
m he was fool for making any statemt
,t- and that If he would get up and state Il
he was forced into II that they could
lid use il against MIN. The reason he own
zee up was that others were giving up and
err thought the best way out of 1t was
emit Kim to throw himself on the mercy OF
he court and plead guilty. The officers
warned him that the confession would
ere used against MIN.
ed On re-cross the witness said that
III Starr lawyer. told him the others W
the giving 1t away. Mr.. Green said Je
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