The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1899-06-12
MURDER OF HUMPHREYS.
A Report to tn, Governor by the Assistant
Attorney General.
BELIEVES CRIMINALS WILL BE PUNISHED
Many witnesses Know of the Facts
hut as Yet Some Are Afraid
20 Tell Them.

report to the governor on the situation a
in Henderson county, insofar, as 1t CON X
Germs matters connected with the recent !,
lynching OF Humphries and his sons. q
! Hon. Joseph d, Sayers, Governor, Execu- :
| tive ONCE.
Attorney Generals Office, State OF
| Texas, Austin, June 10.--Dear Sir. ! have
| Just returned from Henderson county, .
where | have heen assisting In the inves. .
tgation OF the HUMPHREYS lynching, and
deem It proper to make you a oriot re-
port. not OF the facts. however, but oil the
general situation.
First OF all. | wish TO state that the
local authorities there and district ami
county attorney are dillgent and faithful
In their efforts to unfold this horrple
crime. Since 1t was committed they nave
worked day and night and when | lett
there Yesterday they were still in the
Trauscodar country picking up taet mere
and another there. As you know, re-
quested the assistance of Sherins CapeIi
OF Dallas Bell OF Hill, Allen OF navarro
Sweat OF Ellis and Keller OF Kaufman
as we'll as a couple OF Rangers. III iaSt,
these officers and many others had already
rendered their services. These onloels /
were not put in the field because Sherln
Richardson was inefficient, but because
the lob was simply too big for any one I
sherif and his deputies. When said OIL |
GERS went into Henderson county the news |
papers had some sensational article 10 'iie
effect that they were called there because |
of the fact that some effort might be
made by the friends of the prisoners In
iail. there being ten at that time to rescue
them. or by the outraged public. who
would make an effort to take the PRISON
ers from the sherin and deal Win tneln
summarily. The report was not true. anu
does Henderson county an injustice. ineTe
is not the slightest danger, in my opinion
of such an effort and besides, the goou
- citizens of that county say they are
NJ ready and willing 10 take their guns ana
\ defend the jail. In other warus' they az
~ agree and seemed to be determined 10 sec
~ to 1t that mob violence in that county
" win no longer be tolerated The opinion
y. there is that whoever committed THIS nor
rible murder should he tried ana con
. victed according to the rules OF law our
v purpose In the investigation from the
'ni start was to locate the guilty parties anu
u wa shall be very careful to see that no
NJ innocent man suffers but on tne o'ne'
sr hand we are Just as determined 10 see
y that the guilty parties are properly pun
~ ished ,,,. ,,or.
in company with the local authorities for
9o, the Transcedar country, where we na NAV
nd a thorough investigation OF the lay OF inc
all land and the general SITUATION anu ~ tn,
10, lion of the people living In that country
he This country is located west OF Ceuai
as creek and east OF the Trinity river
Ay seems to be rather isolated IN lts ,oca'
W. finn being from twenty hve TO tntrtI
her miles from the county site W. -,
Or through that portion of Cedar potlon,
ef- which nv the way Is a terrible swami
ing two or three miles wide. Just on the Yves
les aide OF this swamp the Humphries llven,
we stopped at the first house, the nome
will OF Jim Humphries, the ola man ms w., mit'
file etill stays there in tho day time, put
'ch afraid 10 stay there at night. Jim Huin
our phrIes had bought little place ana i ma
es. Il partially paid for. The house that me
avs lived In was a very humble cottage, nav
,.ra inc me room and small shed room u
'vie IA startod another room to his hous'
. hut had no, completed II at the time
~, was murdered ] believe they only ma
~ one bedstead, and the rest OF inc DC,
u consisted Of pallets laid around on u
soor The little children were scattere
y around on the floor sleeping, inc doo
vide omen. when the mob came inste'
Mt az calling Mr. Humphries out to see we,
We fhey rushed right in loaded with Whlsl
and cursing and cavorting having WI
ny cbesters shotguns and PISTOLS VIM
Mrs. uumnhrios and the children becan
excited and began to get up. they ours
her In the vilest words that could be us
sec- and made her lie down, scared them un
they were afraid TO speak. Humphr'
IRIS nrotested against being carried away, 50
ing he knew nothing Of 1870, whom tn
pretended to be hunting; that --- W
not there and invited them to search
m mt honse. Not satisfied with this. they to
,elis the old man away, leaving one OF TN
oday n mupiU' NOV had completed their horril
nmo- deed
:, went after John Humphres, who also h
~ A little cabin about half mic from
and a,tber's and four little children III
hoice repeated at this place ana also a, Geo !,
=, ths Hi,mphries' about the same conduct ?
at the first place After which tney 70
the three men together and carried n
vered out in the woods about three huhol
Bible yards and hung them 81 10 tne s yerv /,
trohs n the widows The day before LETT IN
de- they had gathered In and worked out
ana crop of one and the morning leit u
sstab- vara going in with their hoes 10 WORK
liver- anothor crop / mention the poverty
rk OF these people merely to show the a"
more state ~ sffairs there and to show
3 the c,eo, necnseity for the state taking ACT
; de- n the matter Some OF the people
m ago arc arrested for this crime are IN splen
sduca- financial circumstance and am lhiorl
great that some wealthy people near by are
on, is snn,n, Oh tho assistance that they NJ
,lleges M course there can he no excuse Tor
,joierre ard there was none IN this c
at the There was not even a reasonaple exc
G con- THE two Humphries boys had been ehai
lie col ,ttb stealing hogs from one ai the
,ity Of now in Jail. but the county attorney,
,,,s s vol as members Of the 81
dress ,,,ry ,ybo found the bill stated 10 me
'lstian he testimony was very n,easer and
several Ire HumphrIes could not have been
week vitted. The mob pretended that they
en- ar hunting the man who Killed Rhodes.
Every also contended that tho Humphrles pc
already r,ore herboring There was
q here IittIe excuse for them 10 believe this
e uni csuse Humphries denied - ana -
been searched for time after time IN
Ie lite country since he had been alleged 70
committed the murder and had never
seen there. Again, II viii be renei M
cd. ,bat 80 was not even distantiy re-
At,or IA anv member of the Humphries "a
80 and had no business relations win TN. the
re 10 or course. the friends ana reiauVe
ling in the mob arc in sympathy with them.
mt for there are a great many people in
=, ,ho Transcedar country who are anxlou
Oh mo sec the guilty parties arrested and
ssassi y,eted When we got there they
ogie afraid 10 talk About the hrsi man
sapa who knew anything met me " me
: NE enoe of one Of his neiehbors VINO wa
i''ano sIsting also in the investigation.
- If. asked him II he knew anything apoa
hS nlb -. ,nstrder EuDpOSlng tina