The leader. [volume] (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1895-1905, 1900-05-02
HOWELL'S STATEMENT.
In an Interview with The Leader t,. m.
clined to go Into Fun Statement of
How lie Escaped.

reporter of The LEADER interview.
ed T. j. Howell, the notorious horse
thief. in the county Jail last week and
asked him to give such statement of
facts about the recent Jail breakingas he
was willing for the public to know. and
that he would stand by. He was evil
IDENTIFY not in frame of mind to make
clean breast" of everything. and
spoke guardedly in reply to nearly
every question. He had copy of THE
LEADER in his cell containing the in.
terview with Mrs. Wilkinson, which he
SAID he had read carefully and found
wide OF the truth. Below we give his
answers to various questions in his
own words:
Mrs. Wilkinson fell on the truth in
one or two places. Here where she
says the clock struck II a little while
before we left and it had commenced
raining again. This part is true.
There is only a few lines of truth in
the statement.
mo, it is not true about pushing
down the picket
There is nothing true about the
saws. They came in and searched the
Jail They even took off my socks. If
there had been any tools in here they
would have got them. Dr. Applewhite
and Mr.. Campbell can testify that it
was not true.
They searched me before they
searched the cells. DR.. Applewhite
knows it is not true about the saws.
1T was impossible to saw the bars in
the day time. 1t looks strange to me
that If they had been plastered that
way they would have staid up. If the
bars here had been plastered they were
too thick to have staid Very howery
tale, you know.
"The unfortunate Coot Stewart has
been lied on good deal about this
thing. Stewart was not called that
night.
Mrs Wilkinson spoke the truth
when she said Anglin went out first
and Rutland was left lying in the jail
Il could not tell you much about my
movements after | left 1t would
take too much space. | do not know
where have been. did not have any
weapons. If | had had a gun, they
would not have got me alive. | had
no weapon, They lied, if they said |
had.
''There is no truth in the statement
about my saying | would meet Mrs.
Wilkinson and take her along with me,
| had as much as | could do to take
care of myself.
II saw no bills of reward or paper
while was gone.
81 have not been to my brothers
house. | went down into that neigh
borhood, but did not make myself
known. | found out they were after
me and | changed my course. | want
ed to get to my brothers to get my
mare and Winchester and $3.50 In
money he was keeping for me and then
was going to leave the State, but |
found they had me headed off and gave
it up. Yes, had hard time of it; it
seemed like everybody was watching
for me, and it was hard matter to get
enough to eat. | first went up little
distance in Copiah, near Beauregard
from here, but didn't stay there long.
$50 far as that part of the story
about the saws is concerned, there is
no truth in it from beginning to end |
am bad enough without being mis-
represented. | am not going to make
statement and place all the blame on
anybody else, but am going to bear
only one fifth part of the blame for |
am only one man in five. | will tell
the whole truth about it when | am
placed on the stand.
II am an Alabamian by birth and
was raised there. | came to Arkansas
when young man and after that went
to Louisiana and stayed ten years. |
worked in sugar house machinery. |
have been in this State since last Nov
ember. | am 81 years of age. | lived
on the Morgan line in Terrebonne par
ish
81 use morphine, but | didn't get
chance. don't get it here. have to
do without.
Howell has since made a statement
to Sheriff Applewhite, but that official
deems it best not to make it public for
the present.