Colson & Smith, St. Louis Globe Democrat, July 3, 1895

Details of the Trigg (Ky.) Tragedy.

Special Dispatch to the Globe-Democrat.

HOPKINSVILLE, KY., July 2.—Additional details have been received here of the tragedy enacted in Trigg County Saturday evening, which resulted in the killing of three persons at the time and the mortal wounding of John Rhodes, who died yesterday.

Colston and the woman, whose name was Maud Smith, were not killed by Frank Jameson, the farmer, near whose house they met their death, as first reported, but by a party of armed men, led by two of Rhodes’ brothers, who had been on Colston’s track ever since the difficulty began earlier in the day. The bitter feeling that led to the tragedy grew out of threats of revenge that Colston, who had lately been released from serving a seven-year term in the Penitentiary for horse-stealing, had made against the men he believed had helped to send him to jail, Hammond and Rhodes being among the number. He had notified several other men of his intention to kill them. There are fears that other tragedies may follow those of Saturday, which have engendered much bad blood among the adherents of the Colston and Rhodes factions, which are composed of many determined persons residing in Western Trigg, between the rivers.