The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-10-04
FEUD LEADER DEAD
WAS CENTER OF TRAGIC POSTAL
 INVESTIGATION.
Because Large Cheek Was Taken, Hat field Lost Reason And Murdered Wife-Died Recently, fin
 Prison.

Washington, D. C., Oct. 3-The re- cent death of Harrison Hatfield, the aged member of the family of famous feudtsts of that name. in the peniten- tiary at Moundsville, West Virginia, recalls one of the most interesting and tragic cases with which the i'm spectors of the Post Office Depart ment have ever had experience. The narrative of his loss of $2.S54 and re- covery of part of 1t and the con- sequence of the original loss and par tial recovery reads like fiction, al- though stern fact.
 Hatfield lived near Horsepen in the mountains of West Virginia. He had deposited $2,S54 in the Guyan Valley Bank at Logan. West Virginia. Un- able to write, he asked Alexander H. Trent, postmaster at Horsepen, to draw a check for the amount and direct the bank to forward the money by registered mail.
 Hatfield called repeatedly for the registered letter, but when it arrived. on April 24, 1907, he was not present at the post office. He had called about half an hour before the arr rival of the mail. but having been accompanied by an intoxicated friend who required assistance to keep him on his mule, Hatfield could not wait for the mail. When he left the post office he requested the postmaster to take the letter, when 1t came, to his home for safe-keeping, fearing that 1t would not be properly protected from fire if left in the post office. The postmaster assured him that the letter would be placed in a fireproof safe in the post office and receive ample protection. ~.
 About 3 o'clock on the morning fol- lowing, the building in which the post office was located was burned, the contents of the safe alone having been saved. These were found to consist of stamps and money belonging to the post office. to Trent individually and to outside persons. The letter ad- dressed to Hatfield, however, could not be found. The postmaster said that 1t had been placed with the ordinary mail in the post office. On April 26th post office inspector was notified of the burning of the post office and the loss of the letter. Another inspec- tor was detailed to accompany him through the mountains to Horsepen on horseback
 One of the inspectors had for in- vestigation at this time a case based upon a complaint that Trent had secured a Typewriter from a concern in Chicago by fraudulent representa- tions and when the postmaster's house was searched the machine was found. After making excuses. Trent finally admitted the truth of the charges. He was arrested and transported on mule to Williamson. West Virginia. where he plead guilty to the charge Of having used the malls to defraud. and was later released on bonds Sub sequently, Alexander H. Trent and his father, F. Marian Trent, were inlict- ed on the charge of having stolen the registered Hatfield letter. Alexander H. Trent confessed.s Propositions were soon made looking to the refunding of the money, with the result that Trent produced from jar hidden under his barn the sum of $1.280. which with $500 paid by his sureties was secured by the inspector. On April 1, 1908. while still serving sem tence for the fraudulent use of the mails. Trent escaped from jail and Is now a fugitive from justice.
 Harrison Hatfield, the owner of the stolen letter. became temporarily in- sane from worry over his loss and subsequent elation at the recovery of part of the money and poisoned his wife, an Indian. He was convicted of murder and sentenced to life im- prisonment in the penitentiary at Moundsville, where he died not long ago.
 Harrison Hatfield was one of the old family of Hatfields so prominent a few years ago in connection with the Mccoy Hatfield feud. virtually a civil war along the West Virginia and Kentucky border, that disrupted sev- eral counties for years and attained a place in national history. Hatfield. xA LInN a leader in this and in one of their raids through Kentucky had one of his eyes shot out. All the original members of this family possessed large areas of land. from which they have realized considerable money.