Lawless and Fisher were not seriously
injured by Sheriff's posse week before last;
but were captured by citizens in Coryell
county last Saturday after a stubbon re-
sistance. In attempting to escape on the
road here both were killed.
Gov. Carney and Gen. Stone Kansas
railroad men, are here prospecting.
A heavy freshet here Saturday last.
Sheriff Franks, of Coryell, advertises
the personal effects of Lawless and
Fisher for sale, should no claimant ap-
pear within thirty days. The follow-
ing is the invoice rendered by a com-
mittee of citizens: 2 horses, 1 bridle,
1 stake rope, 2 saddles, 2 six-shooters
(Remington), 2 pair spurs, 1 watch,
broken, $10, (which was by consent of
party present, appropriated toward
burial expenses), 1 gold and silver fin-
ger ring, and 3 gray blankets.
In an affray at this place between Tay-
lor Hammock and John Ward, on Satur-
day last, the latter was shot and killed.
There are conflicting statements in regard
to the origin of the difficulty, which can
only be reconciled, if at al [sic] , by the judi-
cial investigation which the case will un-
dergo. Mr Ward, we understand, leaves
a wife and seven children. This is the
first man ever killed in our village, and
we trust the last. -- [Coryell county Fron-
tiersman, 23d.
The Executive has offered a reward of
$500 for the arrest of George I. Wilson,
who murdered Charles Haynes early in
August, in the county of Coryell.
Waco, Oct 16, 1873
No trains here since Tuesday night.
They are abandoned at Bremond until
freights and passengers are allowed to
stop there, which will be probably about
the first of November. Mails go via
Austin.
Wm Hargraves was arrested in Ells-
worth, Kansas, and brought here to-day,
charged with murdering W. Hall, nearly
a year ago, in Coryell county. They
start with him this evening for Gates-
ville. It will be a scratch if he ever
lives to see another sunrise, as there is
a crowd of Coryell men here who ex-
pected him.
One Coleman, living in Coryell
county, killed his wife on Thursday
night last, while they were on the way
home from a neighbors. He was ar-
rested a day or two afterwards and
lodged in jail at Gatesville. The Waco
Advance says a rumor prevailed there
on Monday that we was taken out of
jail and hanged.
The Waco Advance says that "a man
named Coleman, living on Cowhouse creek,
in Coryell county, attended a party in his
neighborhood last Thursday night, accom-
panied by his wife. On his way home he
shot his wife, inflicting a mortal wound,
from which she died the next day. Cole-
man was arrested and lodged in the Gates-
ville jail Saturday, and rumor here is
that he was taken out and dealt with on
the short shrift and sure cord order; but
this we think is doubltful, for we know the
people of Coryell are law-abiding people,
and we don't think they would take the
law into their own hands unless driven to
it by the fear that an offender would escape."
Information form a reliable source is to
the effect that two white men were
shot on the 17th inst. in Coryell county.
The parties doing the shooting, on their
returning home, discovered a white man
and a negro hanging to a tree on the
Leon river. The supposition is that
they were vacqueros, who had been
slaughtered by horse thieves.
FRIDAY morning of last week, our ener-
getic sheriff, W. R. Doran, arrested the
man Asa Langford, who stands indicted for
the murder of Hughes and Payne, in Cor-
yell county. At the time of arrest, Lang-
ford had with him the daughter of his vic-
tim, Hughes. The girl is a mere child,
only about fourteen years old, whom it is
said Langford has seduced. Wednesday
last, the sheriff and possee returned from
Gatesville, where they had safely delivered
their prisoners. We learn that great ex-
citement prevailed at Gatesville, and the
people are incensed to such an extent as to
make his changes for hanging uncommonly
promising. -- San Saba News.
For cool audacity, the following, from the
North Texas Enterprise, beats all cheekdom.
Wm. Clipper was pursuing a horse-thief in
hot haste, in Coryell county, when his horse
threw him against a tree and disabled him.
The thief coolly halted, took charge of
Clipper's horse, and quietly road away.
On the fourteenth inst.,
Asa Langford, Jr., and company, rode up to
the house of Mr. Powers and fired at him.
Powers returned the fire, the ball grazing
Langford's back, and another ball wound-
ing Langford's horse, which died. The
week before D. Baily rode to the house of
John Howard and shot him.
The Chief has Hamilton locals, from
which we extract the following: "The
lawsuit between the heirs of Sophia St.
Johns, plaintiffs, and Maddox, defendant,
for 12,000 acres of land in this county, near
the Twin Mountains, has been decided in
favor of plaintiffs...Mr. Harris, of Lang-
ford Cove, Coryell county, reports that he
helped to bury Asa Langford, Jr., who was
killed by some parties unknown, on the fif-
teenth instant, while on his return from
Gatesville, where he had been attending
court. Some ten or twelve holes were in
his body. Asa, for the last few years, has
led a wild and reckless life. He was in-
dicted for the murder of Payne and Hughes,
but, for a long time, eluded all attempts to
arrest, but was finally caught in San Saba,
where he was about to marry the daughter
of one of his victims (Hughes). He had at
the time a living wife in Langford Cove, to
whom he returned after his arrest and bail-
ment."
[Special to the Galveston News.]
Waco, March 23, 1875
Sheriff Raby, of Coryelle [sic] county, and
several others, charged with conspiring
together, and with resisting the Deputy
United States Marshal, preventing him
from executing a warrant in Coryelle [sic]
county, some days ago, were to-day placed
under bonds to appear next Monday.
Sheriff Raby's deputy, when ordered to
halt, declined, and being on horseback,
escaped.
Sheriff Rabey [sic] has many friends in this
city, where he lived and was engaged in
business for several years, and bears a
good reputation.
Deputy Marshal Allen left to-day for
Austin with one of the supposed counter-
feiters (Miller) who waived an examina-
tion here. Therefore his case will come
before the United States Court in Austin
on the 2d of June.
The other two who escaped from
Sheriff Ratey in Coryelle [sic] are still at
large.
--The gang of counterfeiters cap-
tured in Coryell county were taken to
Austin Tuesday, and turned over to
the United States Marshal. Two more
of the gang were captured in that city
Tuesday, with a large amount of money
in their possession, of the denomina-
tion of five dollar bills, on the Traders'
Bank, of Chicago.
SHERIFF RABY, of Coryell county,
charged with forcibly taking prisoners from
a United States Marshal, has been bound
over, to the June term of the Waco court,
under a bond of $1500.
The Journal gives us the follow-
ing list of the prisoners who es-
caped on last Monday morning
from jail.
Jeff Green, charged with rape,
from Coryell county.
Harwick, horse stealing, from
Coryell.
L. T. Minor, horse stealing, tried
and convicted.
Joseph Greenlee, assault with in-
tent to commit rape.
Frank Keys, theft of $50, tried
and convicted.
George Bell, horse stealing, tried
and convicted.
Joe Pope, theft of a pistol val-
ued at $20, tried and convicted.
Robert Cherry, selling mort-
gaged property, Caldwell county.
Bill Wilson, up in Coryell county, a
short time since, had stayed all night with
a friend, and the next morning as he was
riding along in the neighborhood of Lang-
ford's cove, going to Asa Langford's house,
Dock Polleck and Joe Patterson, so he tes-
tified, fired on him from the side of the
road, with Spencer rifles, one of the bullets
fired entering his right chest and passing
out near the spinal column. He put spurs
to his horse and ran from the scene of ac-
tion. His doctor thought him mortally
wounded.
The Belton Journal says: Mr. H.
Sasse, of Gatesville, has in his posses-
sion a rifle which was taken from Pete
McCartney, the noted counterfeiter,
when he was captured in Coryell
county some eighteen months ago. The
barrel is about twenty-six inches long,
and the bore at the muzzle is five-
eights of an inch. It carries an ounce
ball, conical in shape, and hollow at
the large end; and has percussion lock.
The examining trial in
the case of The State of Texas vs. Eli
Carr, Howell Carr and Carr Sprayberry,
who are accused of the murder of J.L.
Smith, was concluded last Tuesday
morning, and the accused remanded to
the Coryell county jail, without bail,
by the examining Justice, S. Lloyd,
Esq.
Thomas Bertrong v. The State Of Texas;
appeal from Coryell. Opinion by
White, J.
Upon an indictment for murder ap-
pellant was tried and convicted of
negligent homicide of one David Rog-
ers, and his punishment affixed at a
fine of five hundred dollars.
There is no statement of facts, and
the grounds of the motion for a new
trial are: First--That the court erred
in its rulings in refusing charges
asked concerning dying declarations;
and, Second--That the verdict of the
jury is contrary to the law and the evi-
dence.
Held, That is impossible to deter-
mine without a statement of facts
whether or not the court should have
instructed the jury with regard to dy-
ing declarations as requested by the
defendant, and that, in the absence of
the statement of facts, the charge of
the court will not be revised, if under
any statement of facts such charge
would have been correct. (Brauch v.
The State, Austin Term 1876; Brooks
v. State and Tully v. State, Galveston
term 1876.
In the absence of a statement of
facts, this court will not consider a
motion for a new trail based upon the
facts of the case. Judgment affirmed.
A deputy sheriff of Coryell county, ac-
companied by two citizens, arrived in the
city last night, clothed with authority to
convey Frank Weaver, confined in our
county Jail, on a charge of stealing Dr.
Beall's horses, to that county, where he is
under indictment for horse stealing. Al-
though there is scarcely a doubt as to
Weaver's guilt, as charged here, the evi-
dence against him is very meagre, so he has
been turned over to the authoriities of
Coryell county, to be tried there first. He
is a somewhat notorious character, having
figured quite conspicuouly in the crimi-
nal annals of this section. He is said to be
charged with murder in one of the eastern
counties of the state, with horse stealing
in Hunt and other counties, and suspicion
rests upon him as one of the state rob-
bers who operated several months ago be-
tween this city and Weatherford.
It will be remembered that Weaver was
confined in the cage from which the six
prisoners made their escape some time
since, but on account of his fine propor-
tions, being by far the largest man in the
cell, he could not make his exit through
the small aperture made therein. He is
really a fine specimen of physical man-
hood, but has a "bad eye." which is not
very well calculated to inspire a man who
should meet him alone at a sequestered spot
on the highway with any great degree of
confidence. It is hardly possible, though,
that the festive Weaver will travel alone
again soon, as he is now in a fair way to
devote a few year's service to the state, in
the penitentiary. His departure this morn-
ing attracted considerable attention. He
was mounted on a horse, securely hand-
cuffed, and his feet tied together under the
horse, which was tied with a rope to the
tail of a horse ridden by one of the guards
in front.
As Sam Bass and his gang are in the
section of the state mentioned below, it
may not be amiss to credit him with
this deed also, as described by
the Gatesville Sun, of the 1st instant. It
says:
On Tuesday night last, just at dark,
four men rode up to the store of a Mr.
Vaughn, who lives in Bosque county,
near the Coryell line, and told him they
wanted some oysters. He asked them
in, and when they entered they told
him they wanted his money. He opened
the safe, as he say, doubtless, that re-
sistance was useless, and they took
some twenty-five hundred dollars. Most
of this was money belonging to Bosque
county, and had been deposited by a
deputy sheriff a few days before. When
they got the money they started to
leave. He followed them to the door
when one of them turned and shot him
twice, one through the head and once
through the breast. He fell dead in-
stantly. The sound of the firing at-
tracted the attention of a young man,
whose name we have been unable to
learn, and seizing a pistol, he emptied
it at them as they mounted and rode
off. An old man who was near also
shot at them with a rifle. They shot
back as long as they were in range.
The next morning a party started in
pursuit, and after following the trail
two and one-half miles, the found a
horse lying dead, with two bullet holes
in him. The horse was branded M.V.
The neighborhood of Turnersville
in Coryell county, was the scene on
Sunday night last of one of the blood-
iest and most atrocious crimes ever
committed in that county. John
Steel, a farmer and stock raiser, and
his guest, Rufus Smith, were shot to
death in the doorway of the former's
house. Mrs. Smith, who was with
her husband, was also shot, the ball
entering her knee and inflicting a very
painful would. The circumstances
of this most frightful affair and of
another of similar character but less
terrible in results that preceeded it,
are, as we have been able to gather,
as follows: On Saturday night a
party of armed men rode up to the
house of High Steel, a brother of the
man who was killed, on the follow-
ing evening, and called to him to
come out. But, Steel seeing their
motives were sinister, refused to do
as commanded, whereupon they at-
tempted to force him out, but he,
being well armed and protected by
the walls of his house, opened fire
upon them, holding them at bay.
After getting one of their horses kill-
ed and sustaining other damage the
party, unable to accomplish their
purpose of killing him, rode away.
On the following evening a party
which is supposed to have been made
up of the same men, rode up to the
house of John Steel. Mr. Rufus
Smith, a man who, we understand,
has ever borne the character of a
peaceable, Unoffending citizen, and
whose home was in another part of
Coryell county, happened to be visit-
ing there at the time. The two men
were fired upon by the gang without
a moment's warning and both
instantly killed, while Mrs. Smith,
who was a witness to the
murder of her husband and friend,
was herself shot and wounded as
above stated. The Steel brothers
have resided in Coryell county a
number of years and have been re-
garded as honest men. It is said
that several times in the last few
years they have assisted in executing
by lynch violence, men who had
been guilty of horse and cattle steal-
ing. Whether this be true or not,
we are unable to say. The name of
John Steel was prominently before
the public a few months since, as the
man who charged Wm. Babb, a no-
ted charcter of that community,
with the murder of J. T. Vaughn.
The men who rode up to Steel's door
on that quiet Sabbath evening and
accomplished so fiendishly their pur-
pose of wholesale bloodshed, are at
present unknown, but the perpetra-
tors of such a crime could not cover
up all clues that would lead to their
detection and arrest, and we hope
sincerely that the guilty ones, who-
ever they are, may soon be known,
arrested and brought to punishment.
A sickly tale of murder, rivaling the
Hockley outrage, comes from Coryell
county, just thirty miles west of
Waco. On Sunday, December 8, Mr.
and Mrs. John Stull visited neighbors,
spent the day, and insisted upon Mr.
and Mrs. Smith returning home with
them to spend the night, which was
assented to. The night was spent in
social converse as neighbors might,
and at 9 o'clock Mr. and Mrs. Stull
with their guests retired to rest.
About 11 o'clock the sleepers were
aroused by inhaling the fumes of burn-
ing kerosene oil. Thinking the
house on fire, Stull and Smith steppped
out of the door, and immediately both
were riddled with bullets. Mrs.
Smith, seeing her husband fall, rushed
out and was also fired upon as soon as
she emereged from the door, the bullets
breaking some of her limbs and fear-
fully wounding her. Stull was pierced
by six balls, two or three in the face
and head, one in the abdomen and
two in the left leg. Mrs Stull saved
herself and little daughter by running
into an adjoining room and crawling
under a table. Stull was a Mason in
good standing. Smith was an honest,
respectable farmer, and both families
were highly esteemed. When the
murderers moved off the scene of
blood, they went whooping and howl-
ing like Comanches.
A dreadful and most cowardly assas-
sination has occurred in Coryell coun-
ty, seven miles from Gatesville. An
inoffensive man and good citizen, W.
F. Smith, and his little son, a deaf
mute, at night went some distance
from the house to stake a horse. They
were fired upon by unknown parties.
Smith and his son were both shot in
the abdomen and fatally wounded. A
man named Leeper has been arrested
on suspicion.
Waco, August 23.--Deputy sheriff Van
Hall and aids went to Riddle's rancho,
Coryell county, Wednesday night, to ar-
rest Sam Breeland, charged with killing
cattle. Langsford, from who Breeland
had borrowed a gun, accompanied Hall to
the rancho, and when Hall remained at
the door, went in and asked for his gun.
When it was handed him he pre-
sented it at Breeland and ordered
him to throw up his hands. Hall
stopped in and caught Breeland by
the arm, when three women, friends of
Breeland, appeared on the scene and com-
menced fighting the officers. Hall knocked
Breeland down with his pistol and was in
turn savagely beaten over the head with
sticks by the women. Hall turned to pro-
tect himself, when Breeland rose and ran
out of the door, followed by the officers,
who fired a number of shots at the fugi-
tive, but with no known effect, as he made
good his escape.
At a camp meeting near Hurst, Coryell
county, a party tried to arrest Holland
Jenkins, charged with stealing cattle.
Jenkins commenced firing into the party
and shot John Gruball in the foot, and an-
other young man through the hand and
was himself seriously wounded in the
thigh and had his horse killed. Further
trouble is anticipated. Good citizens are
trying to put a stop to stealing in Coryell
county.
A young man named Roberts was ar-
rested near Babville this week for stealing
a horse.
Jake Fletcher, and a man name John-
son, were arrested for stealing corn.
Crops are reported very backward in
Coryell on account of the drouth. Cattle
are suffering for water.
