Williams news., 1916-08-31
tsss. = .f- THE WILLIAMS NEWS

| laughter when the animals led them to their own houses.
 AS I have stated, was busy upon my own investigations in the mean while. While the hounds were follow ing still other tracks and affording sport for all the male population of Overton, was on my way to Pales- tine, division and headquarters of the International & Great Northern railroad, some forty miles south of Overton. Here I found the colored porter, light and rather good-looking mulatto. He wore what were called "sideburns," and a mustache of which he was very proud. He had stated that he would be able to pick out the men whom he had seen board the train at Overton, providing they were wear ing the same clothing as on the night of the tragedy. I was anxious to bring him back as soon as possible. l be- | lieved the guilty men to be in Over ton. but was afraid that the hounds 1 would be liable to indicate some poor unfortunate, but innocent person, who would be more than likely to be sub- | jected by the mob to violent treatment. Before proceeding to Palestine I had telegraphed to one of my men, Mike McCabe by name, to meet me there, which he duly did. took the porter, whose name was Davis, to a colored barber shop in Palestine, where I had Davis whiskers shaved of, as well as his mustache. The porter protested vigorously, but finally persuaded him into the chair. I afterward had Davis don the suit of common field hand. and a soft hat of the kind usually | worn by the field hands in that sec tion. After Davis had been shaved and dressed in his new clothes his own mother would not have recognized him.
 I then placed the porter in the | charge of McCabe, who was unknown in that part of the country, with the | following instructions: He was to take the first train on the following morn ing as far as the water tank above men, toned, near Overton. There Davis and he were to leave the train, and they were to walk into the village and go around it, looking carefully at every person who came near them. In the event of Davis being able to recognize one or both of the masked men he was to inform McCabe quietly, and Nc Cabe was to report to me at once. | I proceeded to Overton from Pales- tine on train that left on the preced- ing night and waited for develop ments.
 A short time after McCabe and Davis arrived they were passing a blacksmith shop when Davis suddenly recognized John Price as one of the bandits. John Price, who was inside the shop, had an apron on and was shoeing a horse at the time. It was then near noon, and the bloodhounds, with the mob following them, were seen coming down the hill into the town, evidently having had enough of the pursuit, which, after Knight and Price had been indicated by the ani- mals, had become an aimless wander ing hither and thither. AS the mob drew near Davis recognized Knight among the front rank of the crowd, be- hind the hounds. He told McCabe and my operative promptly informed me. I then instructed McCabe to send Davis back to Palestine and instruct
 
 Powers, the wounded brakeman, had | been conveyed to the railroad hospital at Fort Worth, Texas, where he was supposed to be lingering between life and death from the wounds he had re- ceived., and had been informed that Powers likewise could identify the two bandits. As Davis had already identi- fled Price and Knight, and his identifi- cation was corroborated by strong cir cumstantial evidence, among which | was that the bloodhounds, I resolved to put the two men under arrest and take them to Fort Worth, so that Pow CTS might have an opportunity of see | ing them. I therefore telegraphed from Overton to Major Joseph Mer- ron, general superintendent of the h. ternational & Great Northern Rail- road, at Palestine, in a cipher code which we employed, requesting him to send a special engine with a coach to Overton that night, and to arrive | about Il o'clock, by which time the great majority of the inhabitants would be in bed. I also requested that he would send my man McCabe to me aboard this special train. Major Merron wired back to me that he would comply with my request, and that, if desired it, he would come himself and bring another man with him. I asked whom he intended to bring, and he replied that he would bring Chris Rogers, who at that time was city marshal of Palestine. Rogers had held this position for a number of years and was a terror to the eyil- doers of the community, having killed no fewer than seven or eight men during his term of office.
 I wired to Major Merron that should be glad to have him bring MT. Rogers along with him, and requested | him further to instruct his engineer