The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-03-15
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Teach got three Wears. Brooks got par doned through his wife on tho lith of May or June. 1875. and [ got pardoned on the 1th day of July 1875
 Brooks and his wife got Peach par doned. Brooks wife, as I understand it. had Illicit relations with the son of the governor of Kentucky and through the influence of the son on his father Peach Was pardoned. My wife got Governor King to write Governor Leslis, then act ing governor of Kentucky. and through lis intereession l was pardoned. After Brooks was pardoned he stayed until Peach and 1 got out, Ns soon as got cut | started for or back to Paducah. Ky. and loft Brooks and Peach in Frank fort l left there on the ath day of July 1S75. and have never seen any of them since. Gp to tho tim> left Brookville l was in the habit of going out with a gang composed of--dIerc follow the namesl.
 make this confession of my own free will and without the expectation of any reward or through any fear, make it because this thing has been lying on my mind like dead weight and I concluded I would tell tho whole thing just as il occurred. My wife and I had con- yersation at one time in regard to the affair and we thought of going to the officers and telling all about it, but for some reason we did not do it This was When We were In IaducAh.
 Watts made the above statement with view to shielding himself as much as possible. He himself killed his father it was believed. and Mrs Brooks so tes- ufed
 The Watts trial aroused g great deal of interest and people nocked from far and near to see the famous bandit. When the trial was called. however. the sheriff appeared without his prisoner and in- formed the judge that he had been unable to induce Watts to leave his cell. and that Watts had said he would kill any person who attempted to take him into court
 The jail was an old fashioned stone one. and the doors leading Into the cells were only about two and one-half feet wide and fonr feet high, therefore person above four feet in height was obliged to stoep on entering or leaving There was an old-fashioned wooden bedstead in each cell and Watts had torn thls bedstead to pieces that morning and had taken off one of its legs. which was about three freet long and four inches square and of heavy hardwood. He was a powerful man and had declared his intention of massacreing any person at tempting to enter his cell. He defed the sheriff or any of his officers to enter.
 After the judge had listened to the sher- iff's report he summoned me to him.
 "Mr FurlonE.n he said you arrested this man in Illinois and brought him to BroolSvile Now I depuuze you to go to the jail and bring in Wess Watts, tha prisoner, to this bar as soon as possible
 found the prisoner standing in the center of his cell armed with hie big club l tried i'll. vain to induce Eim to accom- pang me to the cOurti oom. Finally 1 turned to the sherln
 "Hcw long will 1t take you to heat few gallons of water to a boil?" l asked in n low tone
 There was n quantity of boiling wnter on hand in tho kitchen. in wash boiler vas secured and about five gallons were put into if. The boiler of water was car- ,ied to the door of Watts' coll. A biz hurloN deputy sheriff named Clover smith was armed wit han axe handle and paeei at one aide of tho cell door. while stood at the other and. dnpir.; cp dipper full of the boiling water | tnrew the contents at Watts striking him Dn tho breast. TWO more dippers ful followed. and with yell Watts sprang for the door. Iie vas obliged 10 stopp to make his exi.. and as he did smith feled him uneon- seious with the axe handle. In a few minutes he was restored to consc ousness and remained perfectly tractable.
 Watts showed no further signs of ob- duraey from that moment until he was landed safely in the state prison at Al- legheny for n long term.
 It may be added that on the morning when l arrested Watts at Shawneetown l had no intention of arrcsting him, as the sheriff had retained the papers when he pretended to be taken i'll at St Louis. The terrible reputation of the man ren- dered him almost secure except against . lultitude. Curiosity to see the notorious bandit drew me to the shop and, seeing that Watts was unarmed. 1t occurred to me that more favorable opportunity to arrest him would never occur. Acting iipor this impulse I secured him
 Copyright. 1914, by International Press
 Bureal)
 Next week ' "A Dallas Murder Avenged"
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