The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-12-10
HUMAN BONES BRING
MEMORIES OF PAST
IN BLOODY SECTION
GruesOme Remains of Vic
tim Found in Shaft
Near Arcadia
BROUGHT TO CITY
FOR INVESTIGATION
Crushed Skull Indicated to Officers
That This Man Had Gone
the Way of Many
Others
Nv RICHARD f. LUssIER

An echo of the notorious Lewisburg
murders OF two years ago filled the ears
of Coroner Charles l.. Spain. Chief Dep
ulty Walter Metcalfe and Deputies Nc
Duff and Hartsield as they gazed upon
the bones of a murdered man discovered
yesterday morning in an old coal shalt
between Coalburg and Arcadia, scarcely
a quarter of a mile in the rear of the
home of the Jones boys. The gruesome
discovery was made by Superintendent
Haskins of the Coalburg mines, while
on a prospecting trip yesterday morn
ing
AS soon as the bones were discovered
on ledge near the entrance of an aban-
doned coal shaft the sheriff office in
Birmingham was communicated with and
Chief Deputy Walter Metcalfe, with Dep
ties McDuf and Hartsfield, went imme-
diately to the scene with Coroner Charles
l.. Spain. An official survey of the bones
which were scattered about revealed
skull. which had been fractured appar-
emily by a heavy blow. This tended to
confirm the suspicion in the coroner S
mind that here were the remains of an
other victim of the vengeance of the no.
torious clique of assassins. The bones
were gathered up and placed in box
and brought to Birmingham to be kept
In the sheriffs office awaiting the fur
ther investigations of Coroner Spain.
1t will be remembered that in the early
part of 1912 the assassinations in beat %,
in the Lewisburg district, shocked the
entire state. In the Investigations that
followed it was shown that reign of
terror had existed for years in that sec
ton and that men We're murdered wan
tonly on the whispered instructions of
the feud leaders. A condition of guerilla
warfare of the very worst type was ex-
posed.
The investigations disclosed the leaders
of the various Lewisburg gangs" to be
Teck Duncan, serving a life term in the
mines for murder, and reported last night
to be dying of pneumonia; the Jones
brothers, who were hanged in the court
yard of the jefferson county Jail, in ex-
piation of their parts of the crimes st
Lewisburg; Felix j. Elard. who was as
sassinated by TeclS Duncan, and Henry
Cole, deputy sheriff, who died in Jail
while awaiting trial for participation in
the death of Felix ]. Ellard. There were
several other minor characters in the feud,
all of whom are dead or are convicts in
the mines
Under the regime of lawlessness over
a score of men were murdered and the
bones discovered yesterday a few hun
dred yards in the rear of the home OF
the Jones brothers between Coalburg and
Arcadia, are thought to be the remains
of one of the many citizens who ''disap-
peared' in those hazardous times.
1t had been thought at the sheriff 5
office that memories of the Lewisburg
cases were forgot, but from time to time
incidents spring up Unexpectedly which
bring echoes of the bloody past in that
section A few weeks ago Burns Kittreil
a former member of the Jones gang, and
out on bond was killed at the mining
disaster at Acton mines: yesterday the
bones of an unknown victim of the feud
were discovered, and 1t is expected that
at various times incidents will arise tha
will set tongues a wagging on the bloody
doings of other days.