The Washington times., 1922-10-08

Edwards was sentenced to serve
| twenty seven years, his release being
| scheduled for 1899; Friel Allen was
| given eighteen years, to be released
in 1880, and Sidney Edwards drew
| a sentence of fifteen years, which
| means he will be released in 1927 II
| not sooner pardoned.
Sidna and Floyd Allen had a
brother, Jasper, who, although he
| did not participate in the Hillsville
horror-he explained that he was
sick and couldn't get to go to the
courthouse that morning''-lost his
| life because of it. Several years
after all the Aliens had either been
electrocuted or imprisoned. Jasper
was caught in a storm in the noun
tains and dropped into noun
! taineer's cabin to seek shelter.
After dining with the mountaincer
Jasper began to drink and became
surly. The Hillsville horror was
| brought up by the two men and dis.
cussed with some heat. Jasper in.
| sisting that his brothers did exactly
right in killing the Judge, common
wealth attorney, sheriff and a wom-
insisting that they were dirty
| revolver and leveled it at the noun
! taineer. but before. he could press
| the trigger his host shot him dead.
Passing OF Aliens.
Jasper's death marked the passing
of the ALLEN Gang" band of des.
perate men and boys who held hu-
man life Cheaply; who went out of
their way to flaunt the law. and
openly manifested their contempt
for all forms Of regulation or gov.
ernment. In short. the Allen
Gang" was known as a banditti that
makes Jesse James and his crowd
look like a bunch of Sunday school
pupils" 80"
Contempt for the law and refusal
to be in any wise RESTRICTED in doing
their own will at all times. under all
! circumstances, irrespective of whose
property or lives were involved, char
acterized the members Of the family
for almost 100 years-dating back to
the time Jerry Allen. a grizZled old
Scotchman, settled in the Carroll
county hill country and began to ride
roughshod over all the other noun
| taineers.
AS a result of their bringing up
by "Old Jerry" as he was called,
| found themselves many times in
the tolls of the law they defied.
In the winter of 1912 Friel Allen
and Sidney Edwards, then mere
striplings. but chips off the old
block" went to Primitive Baptist
Church service one Sunday night
while the minister was preaching.
They marched themselves to the
| pulpit. seized the minister by the
nape of the neck and hurled him out
Of the pulpit. They announced to
! the congregation that the services
were at an end and that the minister
''is too damned mean to be preach
ing to anybody"
The congregation resented this in
| terruption of the services, but the
! members of the church were in fear
of the Aliens. After many weeks,
however. the sheriff got up nerve
enough to penetrate the hill country
| and arrest the two boys on a charge
OF disturbing religious worship" On
I the way from the remote mountain
section where they lived to the jail
at Hillsville, the sheriff. who was
riding in a buggy with the boys, en-.
countered Floyd Allen, uncle of the
lads.
Floyd flew into a rage at seeing
his nephews handCuffed together
Leaping from his horse, Floyd seized
the sheriff and gave him a fearful
beating. He then shot the hand.
cuffs apart with a bullet from his
revolver and whipped up the horse
attached to the buggy and made 1t
run away. Meanwhile the sheriff
scampered over the hills.
Several months elapsed and final.
ly a grand jury was impaneled and
indicted Floyd for releasing the
prisoners and beating the sheriff.
He was tried in March. 1912. The
jury returned it's verdict on the
morning of March IA. Judge Mas
sic, slight. frail, one.armed man,
had been warned that a verdict Of
guilty would mean trouble on the
part OF the Aliens and was asked
to allow the court officials Ito arm
themselves. Judge Massie not only
spurned the suggestion, but he round.
ly rebuked those who made the sug.
gestion.
When the verdict Of guilty was
announced, Judge Massie ordered
Floyd to stand up, and the court
said: II am sorry you have made
it necessary for ihe to sentence you
to serve one year in the State pSni-
tentiary in Richmond"
II ANITA goin'! l ANITA goinu
You can't put Allen blood in Jail.
1t never has been done and It
never will be DONE" screamed
Floyd, as he whipped out his re.
volver and shot Commonwealth At.
torney Foster dead. This was the
signal for IA barrage fire from all
the members of the Allen Gang"
who had stationed themselves at
advantageous points around the
courtroom, with each man picking
his victim.
AS Foster reeled to the floor,
Judge Massie fell dead across the
bench with a bullet through his
heart. and an instant later Sheriff
Webb, sprawled dead over the hot
stove in the courtroom. Mrs. Ayers.
relative Of the baseball pitcher
Doc" Ayers, died from a bullet
which she received in the breast