The Morning Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Okla.) 1919-1927, 1922-06-11
TIDWELL HOPING
HE'LL MAKE GOOD
Realizes That Best Part
Of His Life Has Been
Spent in Vain
BUT STILL HAS HOPE
SAYS Hc'Il Show Those Who
Believe in Him That lie
Is All Right, He Says

der Will OUT Be- so nearly u iuIuc-
tion uf divine writ that tho world
has l1uG since come go believe th1'
Driurs ui noon VIII haunt them boo
lto until They VIII eventually con.
fess tuD truth. aud IL reports u'
true 1t has l1id hnre another hcuoua
CfI. hut ull TOO late go benefit Che
i.rlIIn fun which human law iu-
eHlhIr tIhr. from DOL victims
ThH time 10 was diving woman,
the wife Of him who committed the
Crimr who gives To tho world the
statement that stern justice went
wrong almost a quarter Of CouturA
ago Mrs Josie Gregory, the wife
Of Bob Warner. who from her dc1tu-
he'd declared that Chnrucr TidWoll
though he had served over - years
did not take the life of James Brown.
but that her own husband ired the
fatal shot which swept into cutoruliy
BrOwn's liie.
Crime Aroused Feeling.
ThCre wac never IA murder COM
mittcd I'm the old Cherokee nation
which more thoroughly aroused local
Public feeling at the time than did
this murder. James Brown with mis-
family resided on farm near the
present site OF Rabbit Trap schoOl-
house and on Saturday afternoon
IN June. 1899, he was killed from
ambush AZ he pluwed out tho end of
n corn row. The weapon used was
a 3S caliber gun. and ho was shot
about % yards from tho fence.
Plowing alongside him was ono Of
HIS small boys just large enough to
do his first plowing. Gossip WAS
rife as to who would dare commit
such a dastardly deed, bat at the
same time gossip was also rife as
to- domestic infcllCity in the Brown
>. l.N titr.,
for the crime.
Within "A few days the finger of
suspicion pointed to Charner Tidwcll,
a nl,.o boy, born on August "a. 1852.
and who had been employed by
Brown on the farm and had lived In
the Brown home while 80 employed.
After some days Tidwell surrendered
tot Posseman Hensley who In turn
delivered him to Deputy Marshal Joe
Payne who lodged him In tho Mus
kogee Jail. Tho wife of Brown was
also arrested as an accessory to the
cr1me.
Circumstances Against Youth.
little by little "A web of Circum-
stance was woven around him and
he was held by the United States
Commissioner on n charge OF murder
ard was later indicted Jointly with
Mrs. Brown, by the federal grand
jury and convicted In Atuskogee on
December 81. 1893. Tho prcsidns
Judge was Judge John II, Thomas.
who sentenced Tdwell TO lifdJim
pnsonment In tho Atlanta peniten.
tlery. where he served time until
some time In March of this year
when an unconditional pardon was
signed by President Harding Mrs
Brown, Jointly indicted with Tidwell
was tried In January. 1909. and ac-
Quilted by the jury.
tuhe evidence was purely clrCum-
stantlal, but in the hands OF ]. War.
ren Reed, one of the southwest
ineteoric criminal lawyers. who as.
Sisted in the prosecution, the chair
of circumstances was so strongly in,
terwoven that the defense was un
able to break II down 1t was showr
at the trial that Tidwell had rlddeI
II mule on this day and mule tracks
corresponding were found near thl
scene of the murder. a bouuuet q
flowers was found near the ambusl
scene, which II was claimed wa
worn by Tldwell on this day. he ha,
borrowed a Winchester rifle a few
days before the killing from a neigh
hor. which he returned on the yer
evening OF the murder with the re
mark that he had gotten througI
with IL, and other evidence was in
troducod which tended to show tina
no was present when the murdo
was committed and knew all abou
IL Tidwell's defense was an alb
he claimed that he was not presor
and introduced testimony shown
that he could not have been at IN
scene OF the killing nor fired tn
fatal shot.
% Warner Never Suspected.
AT the time OF the killing su.
pieion did not point to Warner. wh
with his family, resided In the con
munity near whore Brown lived. n
lived in Adair county for man
years after this murder was con
rnitted and finally moved u the o
country about Bartlcsville where i
dropped dead eight or ten years agl
His widow moved back to this COR
munity and later married a man b
the namo of Gregory and thoy, ser
arated afterwards, She died of Il
berculosis at her home on Peavin
May 22, after a long Illness. Du
ipg her Illness she made statement
tendlng TO ahsolve Tidwcll frol
guilt. She would say. Bob YVarnt
KILLED Jim Brown but Charner Tid
Well had TO suffer for H." "Charu,
Tldwell never killed Jim Brown. 30
warner aid that' Bob Warner
N II for tho killing of Jii
Brown IT was too bad for Charm,
y
for crime which someone else con
mltted,' etc. But she never ascribo
any motive FOR Warner doiuf, M
deed, and never gave any oNpIauatl0
Tor her statements but lust flun
them out as she talked, according I
persons who attended her In her la,
Illness and heard hcr talk. With
few days after making these stat,
Ipen's she realized that She was gt
ins 10 die. and she made the stat,
ments various times.
Years after the conviction OF Tit
vel when the iusurreCtion occurro
at me state prison at McAlester
Nh.ch the late judge John ]
IhumHs was killed, IL is stated IN,
ne was ar the penitentiary at tn;
une securing d statement from n SC
of Brown, an inmate, as to infl,
ahees used when he testified yea
before In the trial of Tidweil &
the prosecution, II was believed u
4uo Influences were used to procu
Certain testimony which largely 1
fluenced the jury In returning a v.
diet of guilty In the case. II
stated that Judge Thomas, who tpi
him, had come to the conciusi
= .l,I.