Pioneers of Marion County by Wm. M. Donnel, 1872

Part II, Chapter XIV

Red Rock Township Continued - Stealing on Indian Credit -
A Search Warrant - Mock Trial of a Horse Thief - Lynching Horse Thieves

We have spoken of the thieving propensity of the Indians; but truth will not permit us to say that they were the only class of people given to this vice during the early settlement of the country. We are informed that much of it was done by the whites on Indian credit. In those days the settlers along the river permitted their hogs to run at large, much as they do now, each owner depending upon a certain ear mark whereby to distinguish his own from his neighbor’s swine. But these marks did not always prove the ownership of the animal, particularly after it had “fallen among thieves.” All that was needed to destroy this evidence was to cut off the ears, or even the head, and secrete them. Not unfrequently these ears were found in possession of the Indians, undoubtedly furnished them by the real thieves in order to direct suspicion from themselves and fix it upon the “reds.” Or, as the latter were in the habit of buying their meat of the whites, they would sometimes thus come into possession of a dressed hog, minus the ears; and, on being asked about it, any answer they might give was no certain proof, pro or con. Thus it was a difficult matter either to prove the property or convict the thief.

At one time two brothers named Bell, living in the neighborhood of Red Rock village, were strongly suspected of being the perpetrators of numerous thefts of live stock and other kinds of property. Yet, thus far, no proof sufficient to convict them could be found, and they were permitted to go unmolested by law.

Among such articles as disappeared so mysteriously as to lead to the belief that they had been stolen, were two or three fat hogs belonging to ‘Squire Russell, that he had in a pen, near his house, intending them for his own use. Of course the ‘Squire was justly enraged at being thus robbed of such valuable property, and determined to make an immediate effort to recover it. To this end he issued a search warrant, put it in the hands of the constable, and then, in company with another person, making a party of three, went to help serve it.

To the Bells they went; but no signs of the pork, alive or dead, could be found around the premises; so it was determined to search the inside of the cabin, though much against the protestations of the occupants. Still nothing of the article was visible till, at the suggestion of the anxious ‘Squire, a pile of corn in a corner of the room was pulled down, disclosing the hairless, headless, and disemboweled corpses of three hogs. Of course the ‘Squire was sure they were his; but in the absence of all proof marks, he could not identify them sufficiently to take lawful possession of them. It was necessary to find the heads and ears first, and, though the prospect of doing so must have been rather slender, the party proceeded to make a thorough examination of the grounds within a reasonable distance from the house. Presently their attention was attracked by a number of crows, a short distance in the grove, that appeared to be discussing some subject of peculiar interest to themselves, flying up and down and caw-caw-cawing in an excited manner. Thither the searchers went, hoping to find the heads to be the subjects of this crow demonstration, but in this they were disappointed. Instead of the heads they found the hide of an ox, the marks of which proved it to have been once worn by an animal belonging to a Mr. Flanders, and that had been mysteriously missing for some time.

After some further search all hope of finding the heads was abandoned, and the ‘Squire was compelled to leave his pork where he found it. The ox hide was taken to town and hung upon a shed at the ‘Squire’s, till it could be claimed by the owner. But that night it disappeared again, and was never more found.

An occasional instance of horse-stealing also occurred, the country then being so thinly settled as to render the chances of escape much better than in older and more populated districts. But, once captured, the thief had a fair chance of being subjected to punishment under the rulings of Judge Lynch.

On one occasion an individual who was suspected of being engaged in this business, was captured and conveyed to ‘Squire Russell’s for trial. The trial was to come off at night, and it was known to all parties, except the prisoner, that it would be a sham, merely intended to frighten him and run him out of the country.

So, when the case was called, a Mr. martin appeared for the prosecution and John Cameron for the defense. But, during the progress of the trial, Cameron assumed to have little hope of clearing his client, and privately advised him to get away if he possibly could. But the prospect of doing so seemed extremely hazardous, for several of the spectators were armed with rifles, and appeared to be watching the prisoner closely. His counsel, however, kindly interfered in his behalf, and he was permitted, on some pretense, to leave the court room for a few minutes, attended by Cameron himself and several of the guard. No sooner were they out than Cameron whispered to him to run for his life and never be seen in the country again. The poor fellow, whether guilty or innocent, took his lawyer’s advice, and, without stopping to say good bye to any one, made off toward the brush with all the speed that the darkness would admit of. And to hasten him, several shots were fired after him, accompanied by the yells of the guard apparently in hot pursuit.

Agreeable to the advice of his lawyer, he was never more seen in the country. A day or two after, and Indian exhibited a wallet he had found in the timber, that proved to have belonged to the fugitive. It contained a letter addressed to him by some enamored damsel who was, perhaps, blissfully ignorant of his character and calling. Unfortunately for a more romantic conclusion of this story, the letter was lost, and both its contents and the name of the writer have been forgotten.

Another of these rascals did not fare quite so well. He was captured by Ray Alfrey, on the stolen horse, taken to town, tried, severely whipped and driven from the country. And another instance was that of a fellow named Sutton, who, after being tried, convicted and whipped, had the audacity to return and steal another horse. He was taken a second time and lynched; but even this failed to cure him. He stole yet another horse and was making off with it when overtaken and shot dead.

Mention has been made of the Williams family, who were early settlers in the neighborhood of Red Rock village, and were frequenters of the place, “hale friends well met” with those who were fond of liquor and the diversions common to a semi-desperado sort of life. Particularly was this the case with mat, whose fisticuff duel with “Old Blank” is related in another place. We close this chapter with another little incident in which Mat took an active part.

A man named Henry Lott, living near town, lost a bell, which was afterwards found by the elder Williams. Whether truly or not, some of the younger Williamses were informed that Lott had accused their father of stealing the bell. This enraged the boys desperately, and they immediately resolved to have revenge. Being well fired up with bad whisky, Mat and John made a night raid upon Red Rock and the surrounding country in search of Lott, determined to give him a summary “cleaning out.” One of the actors in the drama stated that they did not wait for a quiet admittance into any house, but kicked upon every door they came to.

At length they found the object of their search in bed at Colonel Alley’s; and, without waiting for parley or explanation, they pulled him out of bed and out of the house, where they subjected him to some rough treatment for a short time, Lott all the time pleading not guilty, and offering to go with them to town and satisfy them as to the truth of his plea.

R. R. Watts, a justice of the peace, who happened to be Lott’s bed fellow at the time, being unable to command the peace, determined to secure the arrest of the Williamses, went to Knoxville next day, where he obtained a warrant and sent the sheriff to arrest them. At the June session of the District Court, 1846, John and Mat were brought up for trial on a charge of assault. In John’s case the evidence against him did not prove sufficient, and he was discharged, and Mat was remanded for trial before Landon J. Burch, justice of the peace, where he was found guilty and fined.

Transcribed by Mary E. Boyer, 12/06, reformatted by Al Hibbard 12 Oct 2013.