McNairy County independent. (Selmer, McNairy County, Tenn.) 1902-1969, 1916-06-02

Teen years VINO nau TOUR noCcneS on
bis rife to his credit, each notch
meaning a dead Mccoy.
Riding along the Kentucky side of
the Tug river one day, in sort of
open bottom, where there was a
meadow of perhaps fifty acres sur
rounded by hills on all sides but the
east, where the river was, saw big
platform standing in the lonesome
spot, and there was a cross-piece of
heavy oak timber at the top-a gal
lows big enough to hang twenty men
at one time. | heard afterward that
that had been erected by the McCoYs,
for use in case the Hatfields could be
caught. Devil Anse, who used to own
valuable lands at that spot, could see
it from the West Virginia side, but it
was like the promised land just out of
reach for him, while Jordan rolled
between"
Once | had a pension claim for one
of the Mccoy widows to look up, and
Devil Anse had to be seen and his
testimony taken, as he had been a
witness to the wedding. started on
the trail at Logan courthouse, up
Fountain creek, which | followed for
fourteen miles before finding the
noted feudist. As l rode up the
creek, where numerous splash-dams
had been constructed to aid in rafting
the timber down out of the hills, |
inquired at frequent intervals as to
how far it was to the house of Devil
Anse Hatfield. Everybody would then
ask me who was, and what was my
business. Finally, big white house,
the finest in all that region, nearly at
the head of the creek, was reached,
and | went in. A kind-faced old lady,
who said she was Mrs. Hatfield, invit-
ed me in to the fire, as it was in the
late fall, and said Anse was out hunt
ing the in mountains but would be in
soon. sat down by the fire, and a
young couple, just married (the
youngest daughter Of Devil Anse and
her young mountaineer husband) we're
spooning, and kept on with their love-
making, just as though nobody were
present. Around the wall were
numerous photographs of Devil Anse,
showing him with rifle in each hand,
pistols peeping from each pocket, and
a big bowie knife in his teeth and a
butcher knife at his belt. Pm sorter
ashamed of Anse, the way they've got
him pictured there" the old lady said;
the picture man said the pictures
would sell that-a-way. and he has sold
several of them at quarter apiece"
| promptly bought one at the price.
Soon | saw a stoop-shouldered old
man coming down the mountain side
with light step, and Devil Anse was
introduced to me. Another noun
taineer suddenly appeared in the hall
and motioned him to one side. He
was armed, and looked at me suspi-
ciously, but a whispered word from
the old feudist sent him away salts
fed. He was there to protect Hat
field, | suppose.
/ looked at the noted West Vir-
ginia feudist with much interest.
Sixty-fve years old, eyes keen and
bright, beard and bair, both long and
flowing, without a silver thread! And
handsome! | was much struck by the
strong resemblance between him and
the pictures Of the poet Tennyson,
and told him so. He had never heard
of Tennyson, but | told him the man
was one of the greatest Of writer's,
We soon sat down to regular noun
tain dinner, in which boiled pig bacS-
bones and ribs played large part
Anse bent over his plate, with a big
piece of meat in his hands, and re-
moved the flesh with great deal Of
speed and no little noise, utterly dis.
daining the knife and fork laid at his
plate. meanwhile. he talked, without
any prompting from me, of the great
feud in which he had taken such 9
leading part. "Hit started. as you
might say, from jist nothin'; a little
ole shoat, not worth over two dollars
was stole by sombody; then somebody
had sombody arrested about it; ther
that fellow that had him arrested was
shot, and so hit went; first one side
and then the other lost a man. Hi
weren't intended that woman shoult
be killed, and hit weren't done by my
orders. | reckin that broke hit up
and hit was about time. too, reckin.'
} He spoke with his eyes shut tightly
and it looked as though remorse wa