The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1906-03-05
KENTUCKY FEUO|ST
AWAITS TRIAL
FOR DEEDS
BAND OF ASSASsiNS is MAKING
FITTING RETRiBuTioN FOR
OFFENSES.
IN BLOOD OF HUSBAND
Mrs. Marcum Dipped Her I4andker
chief and Sworn Vengeance Be-
fore Heaven on Heads OF
Murderers.

Louisville KY Marca when
Mrs. Abrelia Mareum Went 10 the
court house in JACKSON, Ky, at noon
on May 1, 1903, and on her knees be.
side her murdered husband dipped her
handkerchief in his blood and swore
vengeance Before Heaven. the fortunes
of the Harg clan, then at the full
began 10 ebb.
Today two Of its members, the men
accused of shooting j. b. Marcum
down, are in he penitentiary for life,
while the powerful leaders Il the clan
Judge James Hargis and former Sheriff
Ed Callahan. with their allies, Fulton
French, John Abner and John Smith
are in jail at Jackson under indictment
fer completely in the murder.
Feudlst Fears the law
For the fir, time in the history Of
Kentucky a feud clan Is making fit,
ting retribution for its crimes. The
feudist does not mind being killed
but he has a dreaa Of getting eatanglej
in the law,
The story OF the Hargis CockreIi
! feud $ one Cf the most tragic of all
the Kentucky mountains have afford. |
ed. 1t Is laid In Breahitt County, a
sparsely settled mountain district in |
which there have been as many as |
fifty murders In a year and where the |
office Of coroner remained vacant be
cause there was no enc in the county
who cared torisk making al inquiry
into the deaths.
The Hargi. es ran the store at Jack
son, were In the lumber business, were
wealthy, supreme In politIeA bad inor,
Il flowers than any other men an,
were lords Of Breathitt
In February, 1909, Jim Cockrell and
Ben Hargis met In Bailey's blind tige
in Jackson. They began talking poll
tics. quarreed, drew Their pistols and
Cockrell killed Hargis
The feud was In
Killing of coekreli.
In March, 1902. DR. ID. -. Cox, guar,
dian of the Cuckreli boys, was called
from home on the pretext that a pa
tient wanted him. In the center OF
Jackson he was shot to death
In July. 1902, CockreI was standing
in front of Cardwells store right |
across from the court house. Suddenly |
a shot was heard from the court house |
and Ccckrell fell MORALLY wounded.
Nothing was done in Breathitt coun-
ty TO bring the assassns to justice,
and the state was not sun GENTLY inter.
ested It might never have been
awakened had It not been for the muir
der OF Marcum. who prophe led his
death and said weeks before IL hap
.pened that he knew he was a marked |
man"
Marcum Exposes Assassin,
Marcum published this with an All.
davit from Moss Feitner. who swore
that the Hargiseg had sought to hire /
him TO help kill Marcum. whose Of
Tense was in being attorney for the
COckrells. FeiIner pretended to &C.
cept the employment He warned Mar
cum and kept HIM informed of the
plots
Time and again armed men lay |
i'm hiding around Marcum's house wait.
ing an opportunity to shoot him. He
never ventured outdoors unless he
was accompanied by scmc of the fe
male members Of his family. or had
his baby In his arms.
When Marcum told this story the
people of the stale didnOt take it ser.
iously. But Marcum was Wind Gated
at a terrible cost On May 3 1903. h.
ventured 10 the court hoass al Jack
son. when be was shot to death from
behind. the a sassins being within the
court house and concealins themsei
YES there
Curtis Jett. nephew q Judge Hargs
and Tom White Young fighting men Of
the Hargis faction were arrested for
the murder Of Marcum. Il was proven
conclusively that they shot him %
death. Both were sentenced 90 the
peni entiary for life
Then the days Of reir button for thc
Hargises were at hand. The Cock
rell murder was taken MP Jeu and
White were indicted for hat On con
victiOn Jet va sentenced e. hang and s
White 10 life Imprisonment Jet ,
promptly elected 10 serve his sentence p
for the murder Of Marcum. 50 his neck D
Is safe within the penitentiary walls. il
Mrs. MarCum had 6leI snit against q
the Hargises. FL Callahan and the d
allies for 100000 for The murder Of
her hul band The suit vas tried IN
and a jury awarded Mrs
Msrcum 5000 large sum in fhe
mountains. Iu
Hsreis Clan IN jail IL
Last November the Hargi Uses suffer h
"A political humiliation In Breathitf Il
jim Harg.s vas defeated for county {.