The Southern herald., 1916-08-04

ever saw or used, but after Brooks
used it to shoot my father ! never
shot out of it or looked into the
muzzIe Of it but what I saw blood,
or thought / saw blood in it. Other
persons saw blood in the muzzle Of
the gun after shooting it. l showed
it to them without giving them any
other information. There was an un-
derstanding and mutual agreement be-
tween us that we were never to say
anything about the killing OF James
Watts. We pushed the boat off that
evening, after my father had been
killed and thrown into the river, and
went on down stream, following our
usual avocation of stealing, ETC.; and
we did not stop permanently until we
got to Paducah, Ky. At Paducah all
the males in our party were arrested
on the Illinois side by Marshal Geary
of Paducah, Frank Farland, Wood
Morrow and Bill Green, on a charge
of general larceny committed at
Buddsville, Ky. We were tried, con-
victed and sent to the penitentiary
at Frankfort, Ky. I got three years,
oliver Brooks got two years and nine
months, Pete Alston got one year and
six months and Charlie Peach got
three years. Brooks got pardoned
through his wife on the 14th of May
or June, 1875, and got pardoned on
the 7th 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 Gov
ernor Leslis, then acting governor of
Kentucky, and through his interces-
sion l was pardoned. After Brooks
was pardoned he stayed until Peach
and got out. AS soon as l got out
started for or back to Paducah, KY,
i and left Brooks and Peach in Frank
fort. left there on the 7th day of
July, 1875, and have never seen any
of them since. Up to the time l left
Brookville l was in the habit of going
out with a gang composed d
(Here follow the names)
IT make this confession of my own
free will and without the expectation
of any reward or through any fear. l
make 1t because this thing has been
lying on my mind like a lead weight
and I concluded would tell the whole
thing Just as it occurred. My wife
and had a conversation 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 Paducah."
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 testified.
The Watts trial aroused a great deal
of interest and people fiocked from
far and near to see the famous ban
dit. When the trial was called, how
ever, the sheriff appeared without his
prisoner and informed 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 at
tempted to take him into court.
The jail was an old-fashioued stone
one, and the doors leading into the
cells were only about two and one
half feet wide and four seet high,
therefore a person above four feet in
height was Obliged to stoop on enter.
ing or leaving. There was an old.
fashioned wooden bedstead Ia each
cell and Watts had torn his bedstead
to pieces that morning and had taken
of one of its legs, which was about
three feet long and four inches
square and of heavy hardwood. He
was a powerful man and had declared
his intention of killing any person
attempting to enter his cell. He
defed the sheriff or any of his officers
to enter.
After the judge had listened to the
sheriffs report he summoned me tc
him.
"Mr. Frlong," he said, you arrest
ed this man in Illinois and brought
him to Brookville. Now deputizs