The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1903-10-09

between the Ohio river and the south
ern boundary and TO the southwest
ward of a spur of the Cumberland
mountains that reaches up from the
southeast and, having performed the
useful purpose of dividing Breathitt
county from Wolfe and Magofin coun-
ties on the north, continues through
Lee and EstilI counties on the west.
It is the real thing IN mountain coun
try, and its population, somewhere
about 1900, is well scattered. Jackson,
it's capital OF court house town. was
until the railroad pierced the country.
as isolated as any of the remote hill
towns. like Manchester, Clay county,
not far away.
The people are very like al the hill
people of Kentucky, hospitabIe TO the
stranger, if he is not a revenue officer:
COntented to live ithou schools, if
they must be depended upon 10 provide
them; not worried because the women
wear One-piece frOcks and ~sUnbOnnets
and rub snuff into their gums, like
their mothers before them; willing to
be Interested in the outside world. but
not anxious TO get into it; with a native
standard of morality that is not lust
that of the blue grass lands below the
foothills. and Sc strong III their likes
and dislikes that the men Will fight
to the death for a friend or pursue
a foe with a relentleSSness that will
not wear out.
The casual visitor who should drop
into jackson or any of the other small
er settlements of the county would
live there for months before he would
lose the impression that it was only a
peaceful village, with Il railway con-
nectiOn direct to Frankfort or Louis
Vile bringing the two places within a
days ride of the mountain town.
If the visitor wants to know about
Jacksons reputation as the capital of
the Hargis-SewaII COckrelI feud. he
will be surprised to find that the people
are not only not averse to discussing
1t, but actually willing, if not anxious,
to go into all details of the conten-
ton that is described as having begun
when William SewaIl of jackson mar
ried Virginia Britton Of Virginia in
1852.
OF this marriage there We're two
sons, ThOma j.. and William, and two
daughters, one of whom was married
to Hiram Jet. Curtis Jet was a child
of this marriage.
When William SewaII died, his widow
was welded to John S. HargiS. There /
was a big family of Hargises: Henry |
A, James, John G., Benjamin and Ell
bert; and if there were any daughters
they are not talked about. The moth
er of these sons was the grandmother
OF the Curtis Jett who is now in state |
prison.
The interests of the SewaII brothers
and the Hargis brothers, sons Of the
mother, became identical for the
bitter purposes that presently arrayed
the family against another family.
According to the local accounts, the
troubles between the Hargis and Cock
rell families began between boys.
Thomas J. Sewall and Buck Coombs
played together. They quarreled. |
Sewall shot Coombs. He was not killed,
his shooting did the business.
A latent spirit of dislike, possibly
tinged with jealousy and rivalry for
leadership in mountain society, burst
into flame. Coombs was the nephew of
Tom COckrelI. COckrell loudly pro-
claimed lat the injury to his family
must be atoned by the blood OF the
Hargises.
That was many years ago. and in the
of the intervening years the
effort to make the menace good, and
the determination of the other side TO
be even with the CockreIls, have led
to some slaughter. The score shows
greater activity by the Hargises, but
the COckren shooting has been the
more accurate and fatal.
1t as not a constant, open fight. On
surface Breathitt county vas not
q turbulent region. From time
to time, sometimes by accident and
again by design, not frequently from
security of ambush, Il Cockrell
would STAY a Hargis OF a Hargis a
.ockreIl.
The record, as made up At Jackson
recently, showed the account to stand
rs follows:
THE SEWALL-HARGIS SCORE
Buck Coombs, wounded by T. j.
SewalI.
Judge Cardwell, wounded by T. j..
Thomas Dunbar, killed by T. J..
Jerry South. wounded by William
Fillmore Brown, wounded by William
Henry Barnett. killed By Ebert
Sally Hayes. killed by John G.. Hargis
Charles Everette, wounded by Ben
samuel Lentzford. wounded by Ben
Tom CockrelI. wounded by Ben
Hargis.
Henry Smith, shot by County Judge
DR. Cox. killed.
John Cockrell, killed by Curtis Jctt.
James Is. Marcum. killed by Curtis
Jett and Thomas White.
Willis GaboIrd, killed by JEFF Staple
Granville PrIter. killed by GeorEe