Tazewell Republican. [volume] (Tazewell, Va.) 1892-1919, 1912-03-21
CARROLL COUNTY
FEUDISTS SLAY FIVE
desperate Allen Clan XIII Judge, Sheriff,
COmmOnWealth'S Attorney, a Juror and
Woman Witness.

Inc Tragedy at Hlilsville, county seat
OF Carroll county, on last Thursday.
which resulted in the deaths of Judge
L. l.. Massie, Commonwealth Attor-
ney w. M. Foster and Sheriff L. F..
Webb, was enacted in a courtroom pat
termed after the old style courthouse of
Virginia, the interior fixtures of which
were not elaborate but sufficient. judge
Massie convened court on Monday. the
llth, for the regular March term of his
court, and found among the cases to be
tried that of the Commonwealth vs..
Floyd Allen, which had been continued
from time to time for nearly a year.
The case was set for hearing on Tues
day, the 18th, and beginning that day
continued through Wednesday with a
verdict from the jury of one year in the
penitentiary Thursday morning, finally
terminating in the distressing shooting
affray.
Floyd Allen was on trial for releasing
two prisoners, Sidney and Wesley Ed
wards, his nephews, who had been ar
rested by Deputy Sheriff Samuels for
disturbing a religious meeting in a
school house in Carroll county. Allen
met the officer in the road with the pris
oners recently, and stepping up, dis
armed the deputy, broke the handouts
from the young mems arms and told the
officer to go on his way and keep hands
off his people. Later, however, the
Edwards boys appeared for trial and
were acquitted. This was during the
month Of April, 1911.
When the grand jury convened, cow
ed by the desperate reputation of the
Allen clan, no one was willing to testify
against him, and Floyd Allen went be-
fore the grand jury and gave the evil
dence against himself which resulted in
the jury finding a true bill against him.
DE stated that he was willing to pay
for any infringement of the law of
which he might be guilty, but that he
did not propose to serve a term in pris-
on If convicted.
The jury was secured without anv
great amount of trouble, and Common
wealth's Attorney Foster prosecuted
the case with all the legal vigor with
which he was possessed. The prisoner
was defended by Judge Bowlen and At
torney W. S. Upton. Judge Massie's
rulings in the case were fair and Impair
tial hut with firmness which showed
he proposed to break up lawlessness so
far as lay within his judicial power.
The jury being unable to agree on a
verdict on Wednesday was held over till
Thursday morning. Court opened
promptly at 8 o'clock Thursday MORN
ing, and forty-fiye minutes later the
jury filed back into the room, and in re-
sponse to whether they had agreed upon
verdict, the foreman replied in the af-
firmative. The clerk then announced
lone year in the penitentiary." Judge
Massie then ordered Sheriff Webb to
take the prisoner into custody. This
officer promptly and fearlessly proceed
ed to carry out the order of the court.
As he approached Allen, the convicted
man arose from his seat and addressing
the court said: "I won't go to iail. I"
AS he spoke he reached under his coat
and drew from holster his pistol. Act
ing simultaneously with him were mem
bers of his family and friends. Before
anyone in the courtroom could note the
movement there was a fusilade of shots
which rang out and officers of the court
fell victims of the assassins bullets.
Just what lives had been sacrificed or
how many were wounded could not be
told until the smoke of the revolvers
had cleared away. There followed a
lively exit from the courtroom. Allen
and his confederates backed from the
building keeping up a continual fire as
they did so. Officers of the court who
had escaped the shots fired IN return,
and following the clan into the open,
kept exchanged number of shots with
the retreating desperadoes. While the
battle was only of short duration, it
was sufficiently long to wreak an awful
vengeance upon lives which were worth
something to community.
August Fowler, one of the jurors who
returned the verdict of guilty against
Floyd Allen, was so seriously wounded
that he died on Saturday. Miss Bette
Ayers, young lady of eighteen sum-
mers. who had been summoned as a
witness against Allen, was shot in the
hip, and she too has since died.
The Allen gang acted in concerted
action, and the manner in which the he
NOUS crime was perpetrated evidences
that it was well laid plot, each man
having been assigned a certain victim.
1t is generally believed that Sidney AL
len fired the shots which killed Judge
Massie- The responsive fire from sur
viving officers of the court were not
without results, several of the Allen
gang having been shot, including Floyd
Allen, the prisoner at the bar. Salts
fied with their dastardly deeds those of
the Allen clan yuh0 uora ohIa xoo,,.4ol