The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1903-11-06
ICING MARSHAL AT
The SEAT OF A FEUD
reathitt County Has One,
With Never a "Notch in
His Gun"
ELoNGs TO CHURCH, TOO
bseph NewIand Is His Name, and He
Is Marshal at Jackson-Never Was
Shot At and Never Even
Killed His Man.
ELoNGs TO CHURCH, TOO

frccepted the position of town marshal
s. d,f the feud town Of Jackson, in which
~ rfi the last rev years several town
III tlnar5hals have been shot to death, and
II an which one man resigned because he
bought the hazard was out of all pro-
j. ,tportion to the remuneration, has the
tFlstinction of being the only man in the
iNnountains who cared to take upon him
teif the dangerous duties of town
synarshal in a town which had been
'civlthout pcac officers since Jim"
srockrell was r. dered in open daylight
1tf Wo years ago.
ii Although a native Of the mountains,
iblaving been born In Tennessee Il
ifeared in Virginia. Newland never
a Killed his man, and was never shot
fat in the open or from ambush, He is
iste1nperate in his habits and is u mem
= 'pber of the church.
a Although NeNgland believes he can
tlmaintain order in Jackson afte" the
Estate troops are withdrawn, his opin-
hon is not shared by the majority Of
lothe citizens, and many believe that IN
EIaccepting the position which the des-
peradoes have long kept vacant by in
j|1timidation NeWland simply put himself
Cup AS a target for the assassins, and
t6WiH sooner or later meet the fate of
l"Jim' Cockrell and others.
During the past five years five men
have been sworn In as town marshal of
lJackson. or these four were killed.
Henry Hurst, after maintaining order
I during one term of office, declined to
accept the office for another term, and
by doing so, it is believed, saved his
|! life, as threats against him had been
made, and there is hardly a doubt but
that he would have been killed If he
had continued in office.
Hurst'S term of office began when
Jerre Cardwell had, in 1896, resigned tc
take up the less arduous duties of de-
tective on the Lexington and Eastern
railroad. This was during the reign
of Jerre South, Il brother-in-law of
Judge James Hargis, who was the ter
ror of Jackson until he WAS killed in
1897.
John Centers, noted as a man of
nerve and as q dead shot, undertook
the duties after Hurst's term expired,
and soon after he was sworn in he
determined to stamp out the blind
tigers, which had long run unmolested
In jackson, and Which were then and
are now responsible in a great measure
for many murders which are COM
United In Jackson. AS a natural re-
suit of MS attempt at reforming the
feud town Centers was shot through
the heart. l.. l.. Patrick, who did the
shooting, made n Clear case of self
defense in circuit court and was ac-
Quilted.
G.. G. Runyon was the next town
" IL AAkoh h'hitA ~ sNSNplllIS lllG .lIdCt VI
yon Incurred the undying enmity of
Albert Allen, Il deputy of Centers, who
was n candidate for the place., and a.
vendetta was declared between them.
The two men met on the street one
night and both drew their revolvers
and began shooting. Allen fell desper-
ately wounded by the third shot from
Runyon's forty FIVE but not until he
had shot Runyon through the breast.
As Allen fell, his revolver dropped
from his hand, and Runyon, %stagger-
Ing forward with blood gushing from
his breast, seized the smoking weapon
and fired the two remaining bullets
which it contained into the heart of
his dying enemy.
Turning from the body of Allen, Run
yon started to his home. but when he had
gone less than a hundred yards from the
scene of the duel he fell dead.
George Patrick, who was next appointed
town marshal, allowed the lawless ele-
ment plenty of rope" and escaped death
at the hands OF the desperadoes.
The town was at the worst possible
stage of lawlessness when Jim" Cockrell.
q young man who was of a good family,
was college bred. and was absolutely
fearless, undertook to keep order In Jack
son by exercising impartially the duties
OF town marshal.
The Hargis-Cardwell feud was smolder-
Ing at this time. and although Cockrell
made arrests on both sides, he was align
\ ed with the Cardwell faction-at least, In
the eyes of the Hargis faction, and the
feeling against him grew more bitter
when, In Il blind tiger fight, his younger
brother, Tom, killed Ben Hargis, a broth
er Of Judge James Hargis.
DIR. -. II. Cox, the guardian of the
CookTeil boys. who were heirs to noun.
tain lands in Breathitt, assisted Tom
Cockrell to secure a change of Venue to
Wolfe county. where the Hargis brothers
declined to prosecute yONDg COclEroJ ha
cause. 1t Is understood, Ben Hargis. who
lived several days after the shooting, had
made an ante-mortem statement that
Cockrell had killed him in u fair fight. and
Cockren was acquitted.
NotSlong after Tom CockrelI's acouitta,
DR.. Cox was shot to death by a surad az
assassins as he passed the stable in the
rear of the Hargis Bros store, one night
on his way to pay a professional call.
After the killing of DR.. Cox friends of
Jim Cockrell Informed him that he was
marked and would be the next victim.
and after much persuasion Cockren de-
cided to leave Jackson forever.
Cockrcll had an engagement with a
young lady upon the afternoon set for
his departure, and as he had business to
attend to before he left, the girl sug-
gested that she had best him
through the streets, as the assassins, who
were known to be lying in wait for him,
: would be less likely to shoot at him when
ne was Walking With q woman.
Cockrell agreed that it would be best for
him not to go uptown alone, and tele-
phoned the young lady that he would call
at her home at 3 o'clock, and that they
would then so uptown.
On his way to the home of the girl
Cockrell had either to pass the residence
of some Of his avowed enemies or to. pass
near the court house. and believing that
the assassin would be more likely to shoot
from the court house in daylight than
from a residence, he chose the latter
route. AS he passed the court house and
turned down the street leading to the
house of the girl with whom he had the
engagement a rifle shot rang out, and be-
tieving that it cane from the Hargis-
store, he ran down the middle of the
street that runs in front OF the court
house. AS he passed under the porch of
CardEelIs store a steel ball bored a hole
entirely through 4 post seven Inches in
diameter and struck the door of the build-
ing Cockreil then realized that he had
taken the wrong street and exposed him
y self to the fire which came from the win
tdows Of the court house. but it was too