The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1899-05-02
aAYERS Of WITCHES
Details of the Startling Crime
in Indian Territory.
FOUR FULL-BL00D INDIANS
Who Quote the Bible as Their
Authorization.
FOUR FULL-BL00D INDIANS

VIVaI IN the Indian Territory 4 few daye
! ago. A number of full-blooded Choctaw
Indians put 10 death two aged Indian
| dOmen and a young Indian man. The
reason given as an excuse for the cruel
and unprovoked murder Of these three
persons was that they practiced witch
craft The Indians who did the killing
are all intelligent people. who speak the
English language readily and can read and
write. Som Hotema, the leader in the das-
tardly murder. is especially well educated,
being a graduate of Roanoke College, in
Virginia.
The names Of the Indians who were &C
cused Of having participated in the miser-
able murder of three inoffensive people are
Sam Tynahibbee. Sam Fry, Tobias VIII
liams. Som Hotema Moses Kannatubbes,
OSBORN Batiste, Jim Shelton, Ben Cole and
Allen Tynatubbee. The women whom they
killed were Mrs. Cole. a Choctaw Indian.
65 years of age, and Mrs. Greenwood. who
was about the same age, Amos Morris
the man. was quit young. The murdered
people lived near Cold Spring Church. and
were apparently harmless and innocent
of wrongdoing
A more social lot of men never appeared
in a courtroom than those Indians accused
Of henious crime. Even after the pre-
liminary trial before United States Com
missioner Hackett at Antlers. l. T., no
one could have discovered a shade Of dis
appointment, sorrow or remorse in the
faces of the four-Hotema, Tynatubbee,
Fry and Williams-who were held for muir
der and committed without bond to await
the action of the Federal Grand Jury.
which convenes next November. Those
who were discharged preserved the same
stoical indifference and air Of nonchaiance
as their less fortunate cOmrads in crime.
When Hotema the principle actor in the
fearful tragedy, was asked why he took
the lives Of the women and man, he re-
piled soemnly:
81 took my authority from the book of
all books the Bible. 1t says, Thou shalt
not suffer a witch to live"
The court was dumbfounded at this I'M
usual perversion of the Bible language. Ho-
tema was arrested Friday, the 14th inst,
and his confederates were taken into Gus
tody The following Sunday. Deputy United
States Marshals Jim Ennis and Duke Ev-
arrested the parties implicated in the muir
der and by this prompt action restored
quiet and dispelled the reign or terror that
prevailed in the neighborhood after the
murder of the three Choctaw Indians.
They had no easy time to bring in Tyna-
tubbee one of the men held for the Grand
Jury. The road from Grant to Tynatub-
bees house lies fourteen miles to the east
and is lonely and desolate. 1t leads
through the immense forest. almost i'm
possible for the eyes to penetrate the
thicket of brushwood.
Tynatubbee's house is situated in a field
of twenty acres on a CLEARING in the swamp
Just on the edge OF the uplands. The
house is small, containing not more than
two rooms. and lies about 80 yards from
set of bars. When the posse arrived
at the bars the Indian, his wife, child
and nephew were sitting in full view.
The riders hitched their horses and ap-
preached the house on foot, the object Of
their search gazing at them with vacant
eyes. Tynatubbee submitted to the arrest
without a murmur. asking permission,
however, to change his clothes before be-
the killing. it is claimed he was Influenced
by Tynatubbee TO commit the bloody deed
The latter IS a ful-blood Choctaw, 30
years of age. and tall, slender and wiry
as an athlete. For weeks he has been call
ing the people together a night n various
places, telling them that strange maiady
which mas afflicted the people in the neigh
borhood of Cold Spring was not caused By
the air they breathed. by the food they ate.
by the water they drank. or the ground on
which their houses stood, but by the evil
influences Of witches. Wild weird, ghast- !
" performances followed upon these re- 1
citals of woe on the part Of the old In (
dian. and sometimes the Indians remained /
together till daylight. invoking the wrath I
Of God on the heads Of the witches. The /
in these strange meetings
we're worked up to stat OF frenzy that 1
could easily lead TO murder.
The climax came on Thursday night, /
April u. In the course of his Wild incanta-
ions Tvnatubbee informed Hotema that /
here was no longer any doubt az 10 the
IDENTIFY Of the witches. a spirit ne said.
old him Their names. and informed him
lls5 that Hotema was the chosen instru-
nent or vengeance that should Re visited
rpon them.
The next morning Hotema. IN order 10
GRITTY himself for the murder. iu5i5ed
rely Of whiskey and after arming him self.
7ry and Williams Joined him IN his witch
aunt Mrs. Cole. tho aged woman. was
ne first 70 ~ murdered Hotema fired a
Dad OF buckshot into her AT close range.
.terally Kidding her body with tne deadly
barge. Next the men. bent on atroCious
murder. encountered Amos Morris They
old him that he stood accused of witch
raft IN thair councils. and bs5e him pre-
are 70 die. Morris begged hard tor his
se. but HE 7.edinss were IN vain He
all IN MS tracks with a Load - b8ckshot
caring ta-ouzh MS vitaIs Ms Grsa-
rood -ne last - he vctins % the beliEht-
q indian minds. Vas az w8rk IN q fed
nd she. to0 vas killed AZ the Others ha9
cen 4 lftle 14-yezr-ald Tu5iar useS rs
- 20 good advantage ara escaped from
he pursuit 70 Ffafeus ans his accou1,i-es
S;uce his Incarceration i1 D-.so1 T1-ens
ss been mid and 5oc5'e. rs voice Is soft
III pleasant II reads he Bls1e ard -
s-ratsfy sings ard orays ard has n't re
-irntes- conception = rs crime T5s take
stl7uaIsr and lzteslzertir on aE subjects
q .se are = E.-Ir-aft a-s religion B~
.alaaz t14t the Territory e. stfH FISH, q
-lsches. Es0 sh8l.d ~ ~; q death ard
rE,7ssses regret TIA; he has aot Els5
tore - theu.
E9se-na u-o.e and svn@3 gias fslzcE5-x
.zts-ze1f n AstIerz 5aZ Apr1 r.
This = fhe frzt oatsreak - the Esaf
lat has oc-arsd snsnz fha Cas-tsE r. 1
arr. ard thsf mar - Hatezls'H 5ret'-
su-e sa.1lH have ser TIRE r. = FACTOR
is IS 20 Say ere -@asf. starting 20 80