Argosy, Vol. 1 (1882) — page 27: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

18 | THE ARGOSY. belonged to the Eversoles. It is prob- ‘able that Fulton French and Joe Ever- sole spent one hundred and fifty thou- sand dollars, most of which was paid out by French, who had to hire his hghting men. Kentucky has been a State of ven- dettas. The first of importance was the Hill and Evans feud, which, beginning in 1829, continued for more than twenty vears. The leaders were practising physicians, and became’ enemies through a dispute over slaves. The clans were as ferocious as Apaches, and peace did not come until twenty seven graves had been filled by the blood- thirsty combatants. The Strong-Amy feud, in Breathitt County, was the first to break out after the war, and it lasted for thirty five years, the deaths averaging one a year. Once a conflict by moonlight in an open field resulted in five killed and half a dozen wounded. The Howard-Turner feud in Harlan County ran for ten or twelve years, dur- ing which thirty men were killed and a great deal of property destroyed by fire. Wilson Howard, one of the leaders, made the mistake of killing a man who did not belong to either faction. He was hanged for the crime and the feud stopped. The history of the Martin-Tolliver feud of Rowan County is unique. Craig Tolliver was one of the most desperate wretches that ever lived, and for years he held Morehead and Rowan counties in such terror that the people hardly dared to call their souls their own. The state of affairs became so unbearable that Governor J. Proctor Knott put forth every energy to end it. After spending more than a hundred thou- sand dollars he gave it up. Boone Logan, at that time, was a young lawyer of Morehead, and ex- pressed his indignation to the Gov- ernor, who shook his head. “Tt’s no use; the only thing to do 1s to let the people keep shooting until all are killed; then we shall have peace.” “ I don’t see the need of waiting until then,” remarked the young lawyer. “ Would you like to take the con- tract?” “Tam willing.” “Go ahead.” There was genuine Kentucky grit in Boone Logan. He mortgaged his home and bought a thousand dollars’ worth of rifles and ammunition, armed a hun- dred of the most determined men in Rowan County, and opened proceed- ings. The first step was to swear out war- rants for the arrest of Tolliver and his men, who opened fire on the posse that attempted to serve the papers. Logan showed the instincts of a soldier by secreting his men around the hotel in which the Tollivers had taken refuge, and posted others along the road that they were likely to take when they leit the house. The fire quickly became so hot that Tolliver and his men ran out and tried to escape, only to be caught in a cross- fire, which killed Craig and several others, beside wounding a number. The remainder fled the country, and the vendetta was extinguished. I have deemed it proper to introduce this summary of the most notable feuds in Kentucky, in order that my readers may appreciate the perilous situation in which I had voluntarily placed my- self, for I had entered the very heart of lawlessness, and have told enough to show that in doing so [ virtually took my life in my hands. It is a mistake to think the leaders of these feuds are men of low standing and no culture. The Whites are de- scended from the same family that pro- duced John White, once speaker of the House of Representatives, and are closely related to John D. White of Clay County, who has served two terms in Congress. Many of the young men and women of the mountains are fairly well edu- cated. They are found in the Laurel Academy at London, ae Titskcosy teu eco