Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1903-09-01
He DARES TO ACT
JOSEPH NEWLAND BRAVES THE
FEuDlsTs OF BREATHlTT
COUNTY, Ky.
He Has Never Killed His Man and Has
Not Single Notch in His Gun-He
is Church Member, Too, But He is
Marshal of jackson.

Joseph Newland of Breathitt county
Kentucky, who recently accepted the
position of town marshal Of the fued
town of Jackson, in which in the last
few years several town marshals have
been shot to death, and in which one
man resigned because he thought the
hazard all out of proportion to the re-
Enumeration, has the distinction of be-
ing the only man in the mountains who
cared to take upon himself the danger
GUS duties OF town marshal in a town
which has been without peace officers
since Jim" Cockrell was murdered in
open daylight two years ago.
Although native of the mountains
having been born in Tennessee, and
reared in Virginia. Newland never
killed" his man and was never shot
at in the open OF from ambush. He is
temperate in his habits and is a mem
Der Of the church.
Although Newland believes he can
maintain order at Jackson, his opinion
Is not shared by the majority of the
citizens, and many belive that in ac-
ceptlngt the position which the despe-
radoes have long kept vacant by intim-
ldatlon NeWland simply put himself UP
as a target for the assassins and will.
sooner or later meet the fate of Jim"
Cockrell and others.
During the past five, years five men
nave been sworn in as town marshal
OF jackson. OF these four were kill
ed. Henry Hurst after maintaining or
der 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 doubt but
that he would have been killed if he
had continued in office.
Hurst's term of Office began when
Jerre Caldwell had, in 1896, resigned
to take up the less arduous duties of
detective on the Lexington and East
ern railroad. This was during the
reign" of Jerro Smith, brother-in-
law OF Judge James Hargis, who was
the terror of Jackson until he was kill
ed in 1897.
John Centers, noted as man of
nerve and as dead shot, undertook
the duties after Hurst's term expired
and soon after he was sworn i'm he de-
termined to stamp out the blind tigers
which had long been unmol ested in
jackson, and which were then and
are now responsible in great mea-
sure for many murders which are COM
mitted in Jackson. AS a natural re-
suit of his attempt at reforming the
feud town Centers was shot through
the heart. L, L. Patrick who did the
shooting, made "clear case of self
defense" in circuit court and was ac-
quilted.
G. G. Runyon was the next town
marshal. In accepting the plade Run
yon incurred the undying enm,ity of
Albert Allen, deputy of Centers,
who was candidate for the place, and
vendetta was declared between
them.
The two men met on the street one
night and both drew their reWolvers
and began shooting. Allen fell ,desper-
ately wounded by the third sh ut 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, sa:agger-
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,
Runyon started to his home, buNs when
he had gone less than 100 yards
from the scene of the duel he fell
dead
George Patrick, who was next APP
pointed town marshal, allowed the
al nj Of ,, =
escaped death at the hands of the
desperadoes.
The town was at the worst possible
stage of lawlessness when "Jim''
Cockrell, a young man who wsls of a
good family, was college bred, and was
absolutely fearless. undertook ito keep
order in Jackson by exercising i'm.
partially the duties of town lslarshal.
The Hargis- Cardwell feud was smol.
dering at this time, and although Cock
rell made arrests on both sides, he
was aligned with the Cardwell, faction
at least in the eyes of the Hargis
faction, and the feeling against him
grew more bitter when, in blind tiger
fight, his younger brother, Tom, killed
Ben Hargis, a brother of Judge James
Hargis.
DR.. D. B. Cox, the guardian of the
Cockrell boys, who were heirs ito noun
tain lands in Breathitt, assisted Tom
Cockrell TO secure change of venue
to Wolfe county, where the, Hargis
brothers declined to prosecute young
Cockrell, because. it is understood, Ben
Hargis, who lived several days after
the shooting, had made an ante-mor.
TEN statement that Coclrell had killed
him in fair fight, and Co ekrell was
acquitted.
Not long after Tom Cockr.lTs acauit.
tai, DR.. Cox was shot to death by a
squad Of assassins as he passed the
stable in the rear of Harigis Bros
store, one night on his WHY to pay a
professional call
After the killing of DIR. Cox friends
OF Jim" Cockrell informfAd him that
n q nd Il .l-. L,