The Savannah morning news., 1903-07-07

ago was deliberately planned and ex-
ecuted by the mountaineers with the
| fun knowledge and connivance OF men
whom IL is almost impossible to believe
to be capable of participating in such
a crime To the mountain feudist
death is the only due of the man who
has incurred his ill-wll1. Judge Mar
cum incurred the ill-will of one fac
ton as soon as he accepted a retainer
In a lawsuit from the member OF an
other faction.
In the philosophy of the mountai1eer
the death of Marcum would mean the
removal of a man who meant harm TO
the clan and whose murder would re-
strain others from taking up the work
of the murdered man. There is no
thought in the mind Of the murderer
and his conspirators when planning
such an enterprise as the assassina-
ton of Marcum and Goebel that he or
they will be brought to condign pun
ishment by the courts. For so many
years they have evaded the processes OF
the courts in their communities, or, be-
ing captured, have been enabled to be
acquitted, that they have little or no
fear of the law. In point of fact, IL is
customary for the conspirators of an
assassin carefully to plan his defense
before the crime is committed. This
was done with such care and elaborate
detail a few years ago by the French
faction in the French Eversole war
fare that it has been adopted as a mod
ell since, and is also used to exemplify
the methods of the feudists.
The French Eversole feud kept
Breathitt county in a ferment for
years and cost directly and indirectly
more than a hundred lives. In 1895
the French faction, under the leader
ship of B. F. French. a lawyer of
wealth and ability, perceived that its
interests demanded the removal of
County Judge Combes, an old and
highly respected citizen. A nephew of
Judge Combes had in the strange and
unaccountable mutations of factional
fealty come over to the French follow
ing, and in the drawing Of lots to de-
termine who should assassinate old
man Combes the duty fell to the nep-
hew. 1t was decided by the conspira-
tors that the easiest and surest way
of shielding the ASSASSIN was to es-
tablish and alibi for him. Accordingly,
they organized a moot court, which
met at the home of one Of the French
faction few mile from Jackson. First
and last so or more men participated
in the proceedings of this mock trib-
unal of justice which was I'm contin-
uous session for more than two weeks.
The moot court went through all the
formalities of trying young Combes,
the man selected to commit the as
sassination, even having lawyers to
prosecute and defend him, and at the
conclusion of the closely contested
mock trial the jury declared that the
defense had established and unim-
peachable abili. Thereupon the wretch
was instructed to proceed with all pos
sible dispatch to the bloody work as
signed to him.
He lay in wait all night in the yard
Of Judge COmbes, his uncle, and when
the old man emerged from his house,
soon after daylight. the nephew shot
him through the heart wit rife charg-
ed with smokeless powder. 1t so
happened that the assassination was
witnessed by two Mortified women
who knew young Combes well, and
upon their testimony he was convicted
and hanged. The line of defense plan
ned and so successfully followed at
the moot court trial was pursued by
him when brought to actual trial, but
the state took q change OF venue to q