Charge, attempted criminal assault on a married White woman Charge, making an indecent proposal to a White woman
Saturday night a mob took George Scott, colored, from the jail in Russellville and hung him to a tree in the suburbs. The mob was composed of about forty persons most of whom were boys, and but few were disguised. The jailor did not recognize any one in the party, but as the wires leading to Adairville were cut, it is supposed that the mob came from that section. Scott’s crime was an attempted assault upon a Mrs. Scroggins, who lives near Adairville.
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Logan County, Adairville, Russellville, Springfield
Scott, Russellville Herald-Ledger, July 1, 1898
HANGED BY A MOB. Geo. Scott Answers for his Crime to Judge Lynch Approached and Threatened Mrs. Scroggins—Had Planned to Assault and Kill Her. AN ACCOUNT BY AN EVANSVILLE PAPER Russellville was again the scene of a lynching Saturday night. The affair was very quiet. Scarcely anybody in town besides the jailer knew about until the next morning. The victim was a colored boy about 19 years of age named George Scott who had been in jail about three weeks charged with attempting or planning an assault upon Mrs. Will Scroggins near Adairville. Jailer Price was aroused by the trample of horses about one o’clock in the night. He proceeded hurriedly to dress, but before he could put on his clothes the mob which had ridden up at a brisk gait had come to a halt, a part of the men had dismounted and were in the yard calling and knocking loudly at the door. The road was full of men and horses for thirty yards, apparently fifty or sixty men. “Who are you and what do you want!” called Mr. Price out of the upstairs window. “We want the negro who tried to assault Mrs. Scroggins,” was the reply, “and we intend to have him if we have to tear the jail down.” “Wait until I put my clothes on,” and Mr. Price took in his head. “Break in the door, burst it open, he’s up there telephoning all over town for help,” came the cries from the street. “Don’t break it; I’ll open it,” said Mr. Price. As soon as the door was opened the hall rapidly filled up with men armed with double barreled shot guns. They demanded the keys and said they wanted them without delay. Not giving him time to dress the negro was hurried into the hall. “Cross your hands behind,” said one of the mob. The boy looked about in a dazed manner, scared out of his wits and not seeming to understand. The order was repeated the third time. Then he quietly obeyed turning his face to the wall. His hands were bound and he was lead [sic] to the gate where a spring wagon was waiting. “Jump in, we are going to take you riding.” The negro obeyed without uttering a word, and the procession moved off. A quarter of an hour later three pistol shots were head in the distance. As soon as it was light Mr Price went to the livery stable and finding Mr. Withers there, they got in a buggy and drove out the Nashville pike. The body of the negro was found hanging on the tree on which Dink and Arch Procter were hanged about a year and a half ago. It is a small cedar about a mile from the court house. The body was hanging to a small limb, the feet barely off the ground. A plank had been torn from the fence nearly and used as a prop to sustain the limb. There were three bullet holes over his heart and the undergarments, the only clothes he had on were soaked with blood. An effort was made to notify the coroner by telephone, but it was found that the mob had cut the wire. Judge Clark then ordered the body cut down and it was placed in the court house at 8 o’clock. At 10 o’clock, he held an inquest, but nothing leading to the identification of any member of the mob was found out. There was very little excitement over the affair when it became known though the town. Some surprise was expressed that the mob had waited three weeks instead of coming as soon as the negro was put in jail. The details of the crime for which Geo. Scott paid the extreme penalty were published in this paper two weeks ago. He was a farm hand working for Mr. Scroggins. He did not make attack on Mrs. Scroggins, but approached and spoke to her in a threatening manner when her husband was away from home and greatly frightened her. Inquiry revealed the fact that he had tried to get a small colored boy who attends Mrs. Scroggins’ children to act as [illegible] while he attacked her. The boy said Scott had often told him he was going to attack Mrs. Scroggins and kill her and kill the children. A rediculous [sic] account of the lynching was printed in the Evanville Courier accompanied by a two column cut picturing the storming the jail. A mob of cowboys wearing sombreros, carrying guns, pistols, axes, clubs, picks and robes were making a fierce attack upon Mr. Price’s outer defences [sic]. Without the text the picture would have been taken for Roosevelt’s Rough Riders storming Morro Castle. The cut was accompanied by the following account not a single statement of which is true. One hundred masked men stormed the jail here. Sunday morning, and scaring [illegible] Strog, a negro, took him [illegible] from the city and lynched [illegible]. The enraged men placed the rope around the negro’s neck and dragged him over the rough pike for a mile. He was almost dead when hung. About a week ago Strog attempted to criminally assault a white woman living near Russellville. He failed and officers chased him to the woods, where he was arrested. The negro was placed in jail here and his preliminary hearing was set for Saturday, but was postponed because of the absence of a witness for the state. The people grew tired of the delay of the state in bringing the negro to trial and decided to take the law into their own hands. All day Saturday crowds of excited men crowded about the jail and court house. They were only waiting for nightfall to carry into execution their threats. Offieers [sic] were powerless to disperse the mobs. About 3 o’clock this morning the jailor was awakened by a loud noise on the outside. Going to the door he was met by six masked men who had revolvers in their hands. He was given to understand that the mob in the street was large enough to tear down the jail if necessary to get Strog. The jailor refused to give up the keys were taken from. The desperate men unlocked the jail and rushing into the cell of the negro quickly brought him out into the corridor. He did not speak a word. The negro was bound hand and foot. A rope was placed around his neck and he was dragged to his death. The mob marched to the “Hangman’s bottom,” a mile east of Russellville, where the negro was hung to a limb on the “Procter tree.” Strog made no confession of his crime. The coroner cut down the body this afternoon and his verdict was that the negro came to his [illegible] from the hands of men unknown to him. “Hangman’s bottom is so known because of the number of lynchings that have taken place there. In February 1897, Dink, George and Art Procter, charged with the murder of Eugene Carter, were taken from the jail and hung to the tree which has since then became known as the Procter tree. Strog was 25 years old and [illegible]. He did not hear a good reputation. There are a great many negroes in Russellville and they are greatly excited over the lynching of Strog. They threaten to make trouble, but the authorities say they are prepared to quel [sic] any disturbance. Russellville is the county [illegible] of Morgan county, Ky., and situated on the O & N. [illegible]. It is ninety miles south of Owensboro and has a population of 2,000.
Coffey, Nashville Tennessean, October 27, 1901
GUARD KILLED Robert Coffee Assassinated Near Empire Mines. STRIKERS FIRED ON MINERS Coffey Started in Pursuit and Was Shot From Ambus. SEVEN MEN UNDER ARREST Five of Them Are Union Miners and Striker — Excitement Over the Affair. Special Dispatch to The American. HOPKINSVILLE, Ky., Oct. 26.—One of the most dastardly crimes in all the history of mining troubles in this section of the State was the assassination of Robert Coffey, chief of the guards on duty at the Empire mines, in the northern portion of this county, who was shot from ambush and instantly killed by unknown parties while in the discharge of his duties at an early hour this morning. Matters had quieted down so much at the Empire mines that the lawless outbreak of this morning was a surprise to every one, while the foul murder of Mr. Coffey has sent a thrill of indignation throughout the entire community. EVIDENCE AT THE INQUEST The particulars of the awful crime, as brought out at the Coroner’s inquest, are to the effect that at half-past [illegible] o’clock this morning the miners had gathered to go to work, when they saw on the summit of the hall half a mile off a party of people, numbering about 200. These men were recognized as unionists, who had been threatening for some time to visit Empire, where they were not wanted. There was only one guard with the miners, John Fields, who held his place after the shooting commenced. As these unionists advanced on the miners they opened fire, and bullets fell all around. The miners concealed themselves as best they could, and Fields would have been shot had he not dropped to the ground and hid in the bushes near. Other guards were attracted to the scene by the firing, and on their arrival they prepared to join in the fight, but the assailants had fled down the hill. COFFEY KILLED. Robert Coffey, one of the mine’s guards, and Deputy Sheriff Charles Garner promptly organized a pursuing party and gave the would-be murderers chase, and while the woods in the vicinity of the mines were being searched, Mr. Coffey, who was on horseback, became separated from the other officers. Some time later his dead body was found, and it first became known that he had been assassinated. The unknown assassin had shot him in the back, and when the startling discovery was made the body was lying in the woods one mile from the company’s store and half a mile from the tipple. The dastardly scoundrel who killed him had fired from cover and without warning. The body had fallen from the horse and was lying in a pool of blood. SIX MEN CAUGHT. Six men who are believed to have been implicated in the outbreak have been captured. All are strikers and members of the union. Each one was armed. William Goldworthy, Jim Will Anderson and George Phillips are the names three of them gave. Goldworthy violently resisted arrest, and it was only with difficulty that he was finally overpowered. He made a desperate attempt to kill Deputy Sheriff Barnes, and would have succeeded but for the vigilant of the guards. A 44-calibre pistol and belt of cartridges were taken from him. INTENSE EXCITEMENT. Nothing in years has created more intense excitement all over this county. Mr. Coffey had spent most of his life around this city, where his family resides and where he ran a livery stable until recently. He was formerly on the police force here, and afterward a special agent for the Louisville & Nashville Railroad. He was well known in Nashville, and served a term as Mayor or Guthrie. He also operated a detective agency. His remains will be brought here for burial. Another Account. Special Dispatch to The American EARLINGTON, Ky., Oct. 26.—As a result of the mining trouble in this section Robert H. Coffey, Deputy Sheriff of Christian County, and guard at the Empire mine, was killed this morning near that point. He had pursued men who early in the morning fired on a guard near the mine. He seems to have been following men in a buggy and to have halted them and dismounted from his horse, when he was shot through the thigh with a soft-nosed bullet that lore away a great part of his leg. The shot probably came from a man hidden in the woods, where tracks were found; a hat was also picked up there. The woods were searched and seven men were arrested—Will Goldsworthy, Ed. Goldsworthy, Jim Will Anderson, George Phillips, Deckard, all union agitators, and two other unknown men were captured and taken to Hopkinsville. Will Goldsworthy was armed. While under arrest he seized a pistol and tried to shoot Deputy Sheriff Charles Barnes. Coffey’s remains were sent to Hopkinsville, where his wife and two small children live. He leaves other children. He was a brave officer and was formerly a Louisville & Nashville detective. The killing may lead to a termination of the state of anarchy here, as the feeling is intense. W. T. Rutland, manager of the Empire mines, which are owned in Nashville, says they will abandon the mines rather than unionize them.
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Bumpus (Bumpass), The Courier Journal, August 31, 1904
Stone, Courier Journal, November 28, 1896
Feeling At Mayfield Has Not Abated Against Stone--Little Doubt of His Guilt. Mayfield Ky., Nov. 27.--(Special)-- The feeling here against Jim Stone, held for the outrage Monday night on Mrs. J. M. R. Green, one of the most highly respected women in the city, is still very strong, and if the negro is brought back here there will surely be a hanging. The story told by Stone to Pr--- effect that Mrs. Green says he is not the man who outraged her is wholly without foundation. The Courier-Journal correspondent has just had a conversation with C. H. McNutt, Chief of Police here, and he says “Mrs. Green has never made any such statement. There was no light in the room when the deed was committed, and she can not positively identify him as her assailant, but the circumstantial evidence is so strong and he has contradicted himself so often as to his whereabouts on the nihgt [sic] of the assault that few here doubt his guilt. Although he lives three miles from town, he was seen only a short time before the crime was committed by at least six persons. He has served a term in the prison for forgery and is known and recognized as a thoroughly depraved negro. The citizens here are not anxious to hang him merely as an example, as reported, but because they believe that he committed the deed with which he is chaged [sic]. If he is brought back here there is little doubt he will be summarily dealt with.
West and Dever, Crawford Avalanche, January 9, 1896
Meet Death By Fire MAN AND WOMAN BURNED ALIVE IN KENTUCKY. -------- Mrs. T. J. West Cremated and W. A Deveres [sic] Bullet-Ridden-Prayer of a Little Child Has No Effect on the Band of Brutal Outlaws. -------- Mob’s Awful Deed. In Marion County, Ky., the other night a mob of about fifty men surrounded the house of Mrs. T. J. West and called for W. A. Deveres [sic]. Mrs. West came to the door and asked what was wanted. The mob fired on her and she ran back. The men continued to fire, and as Deveres [sic] did not make his appearance they applied the torch to the house. The blackened and disfigured corpses of the victims were found in the ruins of the woman’s home the next day. The tragedy was one of the most brutal ever enacted. Despite the pleadings for her father’s life of a half-clad, frightened child, and the prayers and tears of the ill and helpless woman, the mob went through with its work with cold-blooded, cruel deliberation, and only left when certain that both man and woman were dead. Several months ago Deveres [sic], a middle-aged widower, and Thomas West, a prosperous farmer, began a quarrel which continued throughout the fall until West instituted divorce proceedings and declared Deveres [sic] must die. The men met in Lebanon. West snapped his revolver, which missed fire, and Deveres [sic] killed him on the spot. On the plea of self-defense the murderer secured bail and scandalized the neighborhood by taking his two daughters and moving into West’s house. The relatives of the murdered husband swore vengeance, and Saturday night it came. Close to 10 o’clock a band of men rode up to the West homestead and demanded admittance. “Tom West is dead. Now it’s your turn,” the spokesman called, and Deveres [sic] awoke to find the house surrounded. Mrs. West rushed to a darkened window and began a wild appeal for mercy. A dozen bullets answered her cries, and the demand for immediate surrender was repeated. A hurried consultation was held inside the house, and then, white and terror-stricken, the little girl of Deveres [sic] was thrust out to plead with the mob. Clad in her nightrobe, barefooted and unprotected, she bravely walked out into the moonlight and sobbed out a prayer for her white-haired father’s life. “Get out. You’re liable to get shot yourself,” a ruffian said, and thoroughly panic-stricken the child fled to the cabin of a negro neighbor. Mrs. West then appeared at the door and made a last appeal for mercy. It was unavailing, and in another moment the house was fired. The shrieks of the imprisoned wretches failed to move their torturers, who, after the flames reached the living-room, could see the man and woman in the agony of death by fire. Just before the roof fell the woman was seen to reel across the room and plunge headlong into the fireplace among the burning coals, and there she died. Wild with pain, Deveres [sic], at the last moment, made a dash for liberty, but a score of bullets stopped him half a dozen steps from the door. In the morning the little girl led her negro protector to the scene, and there the bodies, scorched beyond recognition, were found.
West and Dever, Newton (KS) Daily Republican, December 31, 1895
To The End of the Law Governor Bradley Will Do All in His Power to Punish the Guilty. Cincinnati, O., Dec. 31.--The Commercial Gazette’s special from Frankfort, Ky., says: Governor Bradley feels that the law has been greatly outraged and the state disgraced by the brutal murder of William Deveres [sic] and Mrs. T. J. West at the hands of a mob near Lebanon yesterday. The governor dropped work on his message, with which he was busy, and acquainted himself with all of the facts obtainable. He is in communication with the local authorities. In his inaugural address the governor condemns lynching very vigorously. He will offer a reward of $500, the limit of the law, for the arrest and conviction of the unknown members of the mob, Governor Bradley tonight gave out the following to the press: “I regard the work of the mob at Lebanon as the most outrageous and barbarous crime ever committed in Kentucky. I shall spare neither labor nor force to bring its perepetrators [sic] to the punishment which they so richly deserve. I believe that the good people of Marion county and of the state at large both look with the same horror on this crime and will not be slow to give me their unflinching support.”
West and Dever, Louisville Courier Journal, January 6, 1896
Prompted by Revenge Theory of the Double Assassination in Marion County. ------------- Even this Belief Affords No Clew To the Murderers. ------------- WEST A DANGEROUS MAN Lebanon, Ky., Jan. 6.--(Special.)--At the end of a week the identity of the murderers of Mrs. Patty West and W. A. Dever is as profound a mystery as ever, nothing having occurred that so much as indicates the direction the guilty persons came or went. This at least could have been accomplished on last Sunday, but it seems that in the excitement no one attempted anything of the kind and as a result a very important clew [sic] was lost on the start. The West home was situated on Burdett’s Creek, a small tributary of Cartwright Creek, and about one mile from the latter. The house was a double log affair, one portion of which was weatherboarded. A rock chimney in the middle furnished a fireplace for either room. A meat and buggy house stood a few feet away, both of which were burned together with the dwelling. The rock chimney stands as a monument to the awful night’s work. The farm is a reasonably good one and will probably be sold at no distant day. The immediate neighborhood of the double crime the past twenty years has been in a lawless state. About the first or beginning of this bad state of affairs was the robbery of two brothers named Burdett. They were honest, upright citizens and lived on the little creek. By hard work a sum of several thousand dollars had been laid by. One night a band of robbers got the last dollar of it. Nothing was ever heard of the robbers after getting the money. There was a lull for awhile and then a system of thieving began which has extended down to a few months ago. Sheep, hogs, corn, orchard grass seed, in fact, everything that came in the way was stolen. Occasionally farmers’ meat-houses were broken into and their provisions hauled away. All efforts on the part of the good people along Cartwright’s creek to apprehend the thieves proved futile. In fact many were afraid to take decisive action lest their barns and stock would be sacrificed by the midnight gang. There is no better section of country nor more substantial citizens than live along Cartwright’s creek, but the indignities they have suffered at the hands of a band of thieves can hardly be imagined but who compose the band will doubtless never be known. T. J. West had the reputation of being a dangerous man, and it is a well known fact that the neighbors were generally afraid of him. When drinking it was a word and then a blow, and the blow usually came first. When sober he was clever and accommodating, and his actions in paying his debts proved him to be honest. At home he often displayed his violent temper. At the examining trial of Dever for killing West it was proved that West on one occasion kicked his wife in the side, causing her to give premature birth. Two or three years ago while in this city the mule he was driving irritated him until he drew his pistol and shot the animal. During the last summer a horse with which he was plowing refused to cross a ditch. West took the animal to the woods and split its head with an ax. William Dever moved from Knoxville, Tenn., a year ago. West treated him kindly, and the men soon became fast friends. Dever’s wife died shortly after their coming, and soon after her death the second death, that of a boy, occurred. After the killing of West by Dever, Susie, the eldest daughter of Dever, who had been ill for several months with consumption, rapidly grew worse, and on Thursday night before the awful crime died. At the funeral a friend took Dever to one side and told him never to go back to the West woman’s house. Dever remarked that he was not afraid of West’s friends, and would never leave on that account. This was on Friday afternoon, and on Saturday morning, in company with his surviving daughter, he moved his effects to Mrs. West’s house. Robert Parrott had qualified as administrator of the estate of T. J. West, and employed Charles Hill, living in this city, to care for the stock and make preparations for the sale. Mr. Hill left the place a day or two before the murderers came. There is no doubt among the people here that Dever was murdered as an act of revenge for the killing of West, and the horrible fate of Mrs. West was due to the belief that she also was implicated. Yet this seems to furnish no clew. All are anxious for swift punishment to be meted out to the assassins.
West and Dever, Louisville Courier Journal, December 30, 1895
Shocking Assassination. Horrible Crime of a Marion County Mob. ------ WOMAN BURNED TO DEATH. ------ Her Paramour Shot Down As He Fled. ------ DONE AT MIDNIGHT. ------ Mrs. T. J. West and William Dever the Victims. ----- THEIR MURDERERS UNKNOWN. ----- Three Weeks Ago Dever Killed the Woman’s Husband. ----- HER INFIDELITY THE CAUSE ----- Lebanon, Ky., Dec. 29.--(Special.)--One of the most shocking and outrageous crimes ever committed in Kentucky was perpetrated near Lebanon shortly after midnight last night when a handful of men forced Mrs. T. J. West and William Dever to pay with their lives the penalty for their sins. Mrs. West was burned to death in her house and Dever was shot down in an effort to escape the mob. They had been living in open adultery, and Dever had been warned to leave the country, but had refused to do so. Dever was fearfully burned, as he did not leave the house until his hair, eyebrows and whiskers had been burned off. Three weeks ago Dever shot and killed Thomas J. West, Mrs. West’s husband, who had filed suit against her for divorce on the ground of her intimacy with Dever. West tried to kill Dever, but Dever was too quick and sent a ball through West’s heart, killing him instantly. He was tried and acquitted, his plea being self-defense. It was common talk that Dever and Mrs. West had been too intimate, and as soon as he was acquitted he took up his residence at the West house, which is situated on Cartwright creek, about four miles from Lebanon. Mrs. West had three grown daughters, but when he, with his fourteen-year-old daughter Alma, moved into the West house they left and have not since seen their mother. About ten minutes after 12 o’clock Saturday night the mob appeared at the West house, and, knocking at the door, demanded that Dever come out. Dever’s child answered the knock and opened the door. One of the men pulled her out and told her to run for her life if she did not want to be killed. They then called for Dever to come out, but he replied that he would not do so. The door was suddenly slammed and locked. Several shots were fired by the mob into the building and through the windows. Seeing that Dever would not come out, one of the mob set fire to the house, which is a small log structure, and the entire house was soon in flames. Suddenly the door was thrown open, and, with a pistol in his hand, Dever made a dash through the mob for the brush near by. Shots were fired after him, and he fell behind a stack of hay with several bullets in his body. Finding that he was dead, the mob returned to the house, where Mrs. West’s body was found in the old-fashioned fire-place burned to a crisp. The woman had evidently attempted to crawl up the chimney, as her finger tips were torn, being about the only surface parts of her body that resembled flesh. Almost frantic with fear, the little girl ran to the woods and was found early this morning by a neighbor, Mr. Thompson. She was almost bereft of reason, and it was a long while before she could tell anything of the horrible affair. All she knew was that a mob had visited the house and had set fire to it. Mr. Thompson and others went to the spot, and, placing the bodies together away from the smoldering ruins, came into Lebanon and told of the horrible affair. The child could give no description of the men who composed the mob, but it is expected that she will be able to do so when she becomes somewhat composed. She is in terrible condition, and it is not improbable that her mind is permanently shattered. This horrible affair created the greatest sensation Marion county has ever known and hundred of persons to-day went out to Cartwright creek. The remains of Mrs. West and Dever were brought into the city this afternoon and placed in Creel’s undertaking establishment, where they were viewed by large crowds. Justice Nooe held an inquest over the bodies, but was unable to develop anything beyond the fact that Dever had been shot four times. The only witness before the jury was Dever’s daughter Alma, and she was in such a condition that almost nothing could be gleaned from her. She said there were only six men in the mob, and that she had never seen any of them before. The Justice announced no verdict in the case and to-morrow will resume his investigation, determined to run to earth the perpetrators of the most outrageous crime that ever blackened Marion county’s history. The authorities are thoroughly aroused over the affair, and no expense will be spared in getting at the murderers. Up to a month ago the Wests and Dever stood well in the community, and were regarded as worthy people. West was a farmer in fairly good circumstances. He was a man of domestic habits and seldom left his farm where he lived with his wife and seven children, three of whom are grown girls. He was about fifty years old. His wife was about forty years old and was far from good looking. Dever was a widower, and came to Marion county from Knoxville, Tenn.. about a year ago. He was about fifty years old and, aside from occasional indulgences in liquor, was looked upon as a rather steady man. His daughter Alma was a frequent visitor at the West home, and an infatuation resulted between Mrs. West and Dever. It attracted no attention at first, but about a month ago West accused his wife of infidelity and finally left her and filed suit for divorce, naming Dever as co-respondent. West took to drinking and it became generally known that he and Dever were armed for each other. On the morning of December 6 last they met for the first time since the divorce suit was filed and he left his home, boarding at a neighbor’s. The morning West was killed, Dever was at Beaver Green’s on Cartwright creek, and on starting to leave the house West came around the corner and snapped his pistol twice at Dever. Dever was taken completely by surprise, but he finally managed to draw his pistol and fired one shot, killing West almost instantly. Dever surrendered and at the examining trial was acquitted. One of the witnesses at the examining trial testified that Mrs. West told her that Dever offered to buy poison if she would give it to her husband. The trial was no sooner ended than Dever moved into the West house with his daughter and all his effects. At the same time all of Mrs. West’s children left and took up their abode with neighbors, declaring they would countenance no such open profligacy. Mrs. West was pleaded with by her children, but she was deaf to their entreaties. Then threats were made, but the woman appeared to be helpless in her infatuation.
West and Dever, Maysville Public Ledger, December 30, 1895
Burned Alive. A Mob Wreaks Vengeance on a Faithless Woman. ---------------- They Attack the House in Which She and Her Paramour Resided. -------------- Failing to Get the Couple Out They Fire the Dwelling--The Man, Attempting to Escape, is Shot to Death--The Woman Perishes in the Flames. Lebanon, Ky., Dec. 30.--A mob inflicted horrible vengeance on a faithless woman and her paramour Saturday night when they burned Mrs. T. J. West alive and killed W. A. Dever, her paramour, at Mrs. West’s house on Cartwright’s creek on the Springfield pike, three miles north of this city. The mob is said to have numbered about seventy-five and it was about twelve o’clock when they appeared at Mrs. West’s house. Mrs. West, Dever and his little daughter were the only persons in the house, and when the mob called to Dever to come out Mrs. West and the little one responded, but Dever remained inside. Just as Mrs. West reached the door several shots were fired at her and she ran back, but the child remained on the outside. The mob then fired several shots into the house, none of which took effect, and after several attempts to get Dever to come out the mob fired the building. Intense heat finally forced Dever to run out, and with pistol in hand, he started to a cornfield, a few steps from the house, where he took shelter behind a corn shock and was shot to death. Mrs. West perished in the burning house, and Sunday morning her remains were found in the chimney where she had taken refuge. Her legs and the upper portion of the body were almost entirely burned off. The little girl gave the alarm Sunday morning, but meager information can be gained from her. W. A Dever [sic] is the man who shot and killed T. J. West, husband of the burned woman, December 7, at Beaver Green, on Cartwright’s creek. Dever had a preliminary hearing and was released on the ground of self defense. The killing is thought to have been caused by intimacy on the part of Dever and West’s wife. After Dever was released he was charged with living with the woman as his wife. It is said that Dever had been warned that he would be killed if he did not leave. He is from Knoxville and leaves a widow and several children. Mrs. West also leaves a large family, but none were at the house at the time of the horrible tragedy. West and his wife had been living apart for some time, and the woman had instituted divorce proceedings. She had been induced to withdraw the suit, however, and West was on his way to see about the matter when he met Dever. He snapped a pistol twice at Dever, after accusing him of adultery with Mrs. West, when Dever drew his gun, and despite West’s ples [sic] for mercy he shot and killed him and ran away, but returned when the coroner’s jury brought in a verdict of justifiable homicide. He is said to have then renewed his relations with Mrs. West. This incited the neighbors to fury.