The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-10-11
WAS FLEEING FROM
ASSASSINATION.
j. L. Napier Was Warned to Leave
Jackson, in Breathitt County.

had already attempted to kill him, j.
L. Napier, of Clayhole, Breathitt coun-
~, passed through Louisville last night
on his way to Oklahoma, with his wife
and little girl. He will go into exile
there because he knew too much about
the assassination of DR.. Cox in jack
son about a year ago. Before he left
the state, Napier made a sensational
statement in which he accused one of
the leaders of faction in Breathitt
county of asking him to kill DR. Cox,
saying, HE is in my way and must
be removed. Get a good man to kill
DR.. Cox
Napier was afraid to testify to the
story he told and asked that it be
kept out of the papers, saying that
mention of names with the story would
bring on him the. vengeance of the
men who had already tried to have
him killed, and that ever as far as
Oklahoma the influence of the leaders
might be felt.
Napier also told of how B. J. Even,
the main witness in the case against
Tom White and Curt Jet, had been
chased out of Campton, the county
seat OF Wolfe county, and compelled
TO walk twenty-five miles through the
woods to Torrent, KY, where he took
| INC lldIil IOI LG&lllSIOIl. he lOltl VI
| how man had been sent out from
| Jackson to Campton with the express
purpose of killing Even, but that a
| warning had come in time and Even
had saved himself by hurriedly leav-
! ing the town. He was compelled to go
| to Torrent through the woods with a
mountain guide, as he was afraid to
| go along the road.
Napier is a man of about six feet
and is about fifty-five years of age.
He wears a heavy beard and mus
| tache. He is over the average man in
| Intelligence and is well educated. He
| told his remarkable story by piece
meal, reluctantly, as the dread of
| Breathitt still hung over him even in
Louisville. He came in yesterday aft
| ernoon on the Louisville and Nash
willie, at the First street station, and
| went at once in the bus to the Tenth
street station, where he took a train
| to Oklahoma. His story was about as
| follows:
Il have not lived in Breathitt all
my life, but l was born and reared
| there. l went West when l was young
| and knocked around out there for
several years. l was at one time with
the Pinkertons as a detective, but the
last three years 1 have lived in Clay
| hole, about ten miles from Jackson,
| Where l had a store in which | sold
all sorts of things. 1 was also post
| master. 1 was a good friend of one
of the leaders up there and got in
with the crowd so thick that they
thought was one of them and would
do anything.
The men with whom I was run
ming had it in for DIR. Cox on ac-
count of the contest over an election,
and one day two of them said to me
| We want you to get a good man and
get rid of DIR. Cox. He is in the way
and must die l was not ready to do
that and L said to them that l had
been in feuds before and that the
best way was to stop the killing but
they said no, that he must be put out
of the way.
They did not say they wanted me
to fire the shot; all they wanted me
| to do was to arrange the details and
get the man who would do it. They
| sand they would back me with money
| l refused, and since then l have been
a marked man. L did not think OF
them trying to kill me, as they We're
still my friends, and all went well
| for a while. DR.. Cox was shot and
killed, then followed the Marcum as
sassination, and Cockrill was also kill
ed. while Ben Hargis was the first
| one to go.
Last Wednesday I was in the store
sorting mail, when a man came into
the store and lounged around there
for half an hour. I was busy opening
the mail and when 1 came to the
registered letters he drew a As Colt
and told me to hand over that mail.
AS he said that he fired and ran. The
bullet did not come close to me, but
it was aimed at me. There were a lot
of people in the store at the time,
| and they all ran as soon as they saw
the big gun"
Il went into Jackson the next day
and asked for warrant. 1 went be-
fore Judge Hargis and swore to an
affidavit, but he did not issue the war
rant.
1.-THE day after I was told by my
friends that they had learned it would
be unhealthy for me in Breathitt so
1 sold out my business and left ]
| took the train for Lexington, and will
| soon be out of the state. They would
have gotten me had 1 stayed, and
they may get me yet, even down there.
A man can be hired to go that far and
| kill me. The man who tried to shoot
me claimed that he was not trying to
kill me, but wanted to rob the mails,
but he went free as air
ION the train with me this morning
was B. j. Even, who was the main
witness in the Marcrum case. He has
been at Campton, in Waite county for
several weeks. He thought he was
safe, but the other day, some men we
| had watching for just such a thing,
found that a man was on his way to
! Campton to kill Even. He had been
sent with that purpose. l know his
name, but 1 do not care to give it, We
warned Even, and he left at once. He
was afraid to follow the roads or go
on horseback, so he walked across the
mountains last night to Torrent, TWEEN
| ty-two miles away, where he took the
L. and N. to-day He stayed in Lex
| ihgton, where he is safe. His family
are in Jackson. If he had not gotten
out of Cdmpton he would certainly
have been killed.
There is no law in Breathitt War
rants cannot be secured unless the man
who wants the warrant is on the right
side. There are seven magistrates in
the county, and six of them do not
know the seventh, as he lives in the
fa Of the cOiIf1fV I 5oy,'f