The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1908-02-07
Hargis Murder Draqus BreatbM County to Scene

his son. Beacher." was the Iow-voiced
word of the messenger.
The. man of the cabin turned silently,
10 take the good news 70 his wife. The
Paul Revere of the mountains clucked
10 his horse, and rode on, carrying the
news that peace had come 70 a-troubFed
1 country.
Blamed for Twenty Murders.
For at Jim" Hargis' door twenty
coid-blooded murders have been laid.
Judge OF the court OF Breathitt county.
! Kentucky, the head of a party of as
sassins, the political boss Of his section
of the state. the richest man in his
locality, ne was massaiIabIe by the law
Il seemed Iustice alone that reached him
| through a drunken son, because money
10 carry on his dissipation had been
refused.
BeacheF HargIs, murderer of his
rather, mas lived fcr twenty years in an
/ atmosphere OF blood and bribery, and
! Siaughter. a mans life seemed 10 him
OIL no more consequence tnan a beast s.,
| ana If he were 10 talk ned tell YOU
! that the laws done run out on udd.
! anyhow"
/ No one could appreciate the condition s
! WEicn existed at Jackson during the
| twenty years OF jim Hargis' reign. un-
less one had personal experience 4
! Mite. mean. SlOvenly town, il is built
upon a sandhIu, half clrcled by the
/ kentucky river. At the top Of tie hill
is the court house. a two-story build
ing of brick and a. open hallway runs
| through the lower Poor
Sheathed His House With Iron.
Just across from the court house is
Judge Jim Hargis' country store. head
RI
an emporium and a fort In the rear
OF the store is the Hargis home. iron
| sheathed, they say, SCARED by the hun
4 dTeds of bullets that have been tired in
20 il during the years of the feud. Half
/ a dozen other buildings are scattered
about the principal street of the town,
but the court house and the Hargis
l store. twin CitaGeis OF the most ruthless
| gang that ever dominated a Kentucky
/ county, rise above them all
/ Juoge James HaTGis had rather q
/ fascinating personality. Big, strong.
/ lndOmitaDLe, he fought as his torefath-
! cTs, IN ambush and in darkness. He
1 only made this concession 70 the spirit
/ or the present day, that he denied his
/ responsibility for the score OF murders
/ that have been charged TO him
! When the fact is realized that in
/ single year there were thirty murders IN
/ 6reathitt county alone, a small, thinly
populated, isolated mountain county;
! and that at least twenty OF these muir
! ders were charEeable, directly or other
| wise. to the Hargis clan; and that in
pOpulCr estimation Judge Jim Hargts
had issued the order for every one, the
manner in which he ruled may be real
[ lied.
He was an absolete in his power es is
| the Gar IN Russia. As long as his men
merely shot down men in the dOOrways.
the outer world knew little Of it.
Answer to Widows Prayer.
Years ago the prayer of a grief
stricken woman that heaven would
bring to justice the man acquitted Of
her husbands murder, had its echo
I yesterday. when former Judge Hargis
1 was deliberately shot by his only son.
! Hargis had been tried Tor many muir
I ders, and acquitted OF each. In 1yU5 ne
I was accused of the NarCum murder,
/ and set free The hearJ-Droken widow
] of the IN Tdcred man SObBtd out her
/ prayer for vengeance apparently little
/ knowing the CHASTITY channels through
/ which iu would be wrought.
/ Six years ago the little county OF
! BTeathltt, Kentucky, was as peaceful
as most mountain regions OF the state
! The people had had their misunder-
] standings. and had even fought chem
out, but the element Of tragedy played
no part in these little encounters Gntti,
! 1901, when "a political machine was
4 formed with James Hargis, the man
murdered by his son. as its moving
I spirit.
There were four brothers in the Har-
Eis Iamlly-James. Alexander, Ebert,
and Benjamin They conducted a store,
and were widely known throughout the
community Their influence was strong,
. and, 20 "A certain extent, they were "a
power In the community 80 when
James Hargis appeared as the Demo
cratic candidate for county judge and
found that he was strongly opposed by
Tom and James COCEril. there was bad
blood This feeling Increased when the
/ election of Hargis as judge. and Ed
J Callahan one of his chief Neutenants,
as sheriff vas questioned on charges
OF fraud The community Immediately
divided itself into two factions, and
/ what resulted IN the celebrated and
bloody Hargis-Cockriu feud was
! launched.
James B. Narcum. a weH-known
( lawyer OF that section, represented the
! contestants in the charges against HaT-
! Eis and Callahan and from the time
he took up the opposition tight Mar
cum according 10 testimony later
given in the various murder trials, was
[ d marked man.
Fargis Blood Spilled First.
The first tragedy came when one Of
the Hargis brothers was killed in
I fight, growing out of the political feud,
by Jerry CardweH Shortly afIerward
! Tom CocErlll, C&rdWelI nephew, met
I Benjamin Hargis IN a saloon and d
I quarrel ensUed between them Cock
/ riU killed EIargis after he had been
| wounded by the latter. Young CockTiL
| realizing that the community was get
: ting 10 be unsafe for peaceful citizens
/ took himself of to Mexico, only recently
/ returning 10 MS home, the feud having
/ pretty well died out.
/ The death of the two Hargis brothers
/ at the hands of the COckrill element
/ drew the lines e7 en- more JauJ, and the
! lives of those on both sides We're IN
/ danger of being snuned out at the
/ earliest and most convenient moment,
Il -. -L----l 90 :