THE QUADRUPLE MURDER.
AN AUTHENTIC ACCOUNT OF
THE FAMOUS
Meeks Family murder
THE TRIAL AND CONVICTION
OF THE
TAYLOR BROTHERS.
CO P. Y. R. I. G. H. T. E. D.
Any persons infringing on this copyright will be prosecuted.
Prº LNTED BY
THE GOOD WAY PUBLISHING Co.,
CHILLICOTHE, MO.



–3–
PREFACE AND INTRODUCTORY.
In view of the universal interest manifested in the
killing of the Mecks family near Browning, Mo., on
May 11, 1894; one of the most atrocious crimes ever
recorded in the annals of the history of any nation, we
present for the consideration of the public the follow-
ing complete and detailed history of the murder, and
the apprehension, trial and conviction of its alleged per-
petrators. In this work we will not give our opinion of
the case, but will set fourth the facts as shown in the
evidence produced at the trial together with a biograph-
ical sketch of the famous Taylor Bros. who have just
been convicted of this dastardly deed, and the judge,
jurors and attorneys in the case.
The work embraces every item of interest connected
with this world-famous case, and contains within itself
a record of the crime, unequaled by any work yet pro-
duced. With this brief outline, we refer the reader to
the book it-self.

THE QUADRUPLE MURDER.
“Please ma'am, wont you go and get my little sis-
ters. They are out yonder in the meadow under the
straw-stack.”
Such were the words that greeted the ears of Mrs.
Sallie Carter, who was visiting her son four and one-
half miles south-east of Browning, Mo., on the memo-
rable morning of the 11th day of May, 1894.
Mrs. Carter was preparing the morning work when
interrupted by this pitiful appeal for her assistance, and
turning she beheld, standing in the dim morning light,
a little girl, some seven or eight years old, whose face
was covered with dirt, straw, and blood and whose ap-
pearance in general was pitiful to behold. In one hand
she carried a small cap while in the other was a little
red hood, the properties of her dead sisters who were
at that time lying under the straw-pile out in the mead-
OW.
Doubting some-what, the sanity of the child (for
across her head was a great gash from which the blood
was flowing)Mrs. Carter sent her little nephew, Jimmie,
who was present, to ascertain if possible the cause of
the childs condition, and see if there was really any one
under the straw stack.
Instead of going to the straw-stack as told, the boy
went to where George Taylor was harrowing in a field,
(George harrowed early that morning)Taylor was at work

–5–
near the meadow where the famous straw-stack was lo-
eated and perhaps that was the reason the boy went to
him first, and it is also probable that he was supersti-
tious about going where he expected to find the dead
bodies of a whole family of people.
Anyway he went to Taylor first and repeated to
him the little girls story, and asked him to go with him
and see if it was true. The testimony at this point as-
serts that Taylor did not go to the stack with the boy,
but instead went direct to his home which was some
hundred yards distant, taking the boy with him, and
leaving him to hold the horses while he went into his
house and changed his clothes.
When he came out he saddled a horse and rode post
haste to Browning where his brother, Wm. P. Taylor,
was cashier in a bank.
Nothing is known concerning the conversation held
between the two brothers, but that same morning they
both rode out of town, armed to the teeth, and rode to
where their father was at work in the timber, some miles
from Browning. Leaving their horses there they took
to the brush afoot, and were not seen, or at least reCOg-
nized, until captured some weeks later at the muzzle of a
shot gun by Jerry C. South in the back woods of Arkan-
sas.
When Mrs. Carter sent Jimmie to the meadow she
watched him and asserts in her testimony neither the
boy nor Taylor went near the straw-pile.
George Taylor in his testimony for himself says that
he went to the straw-stack, kicked the straw back, and
recognized the face of Gus Meeks, then kicked the straw
in place again and went to Browning for an officer.
The reader can accept whichever of the two stories

–6–
seems the most probable, all we have is the testimony.
The crime of which the Taylor Bros. are convicted
is one of the most brutal and bloody of which we have
any record in this state, in fact it has no paralell in this
part of the country. While the community is almost
unanimous in advocating the verdict of the jury, there
are some who are equally as adamant in proclaiming
them innocent.
Regardless of the fact that they have been convict-
ed of this heinous crime, they have many friends who
have stood by them like brothers, and who have done
and are doing all in their power for them, doubtless be-
lieving them innocent. If they are guilty they deserve
their fate; if innocent they have stood their persecutions
like men. -
It is a fact that the public has been prejudiced
against the defendants since they first fled at the discov-
ery of the crime, but the mere possibility of a person or
persons, being guilty of murders so terrible and bloody,
is enough to prejudice the people, and in such cases
many a person has paid the penalty of crime who were
innocent and who, public sentiment would not allow jus-
tice.
In such cases sentiment is murderous and hence we
say full and free justice should be given every defendant
on trial for his Hife or liberty.
In this case, however, twelve honest and merciful
men, citizens of Carroll county, have found Wm. P.
Taylor and George E. Taylor guilty of the terrible crime
of quadruple murder, for which capital punishment is
not enough severe.
–7–
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE TAYLOR BROTHERS.
Wm. Price Taylor is 33 years old and is the young-
est of the defendants in the case. He is a man of un-
commonly good education, having graduated in the best
institutions after going through the common schools of
Linn county.
He was born and raised near Browning, Mo., where
his family still reside. He selongs to a good old-time
family, who in the past have been above reproach. He
was a politician, in a small way, and has been a member
of the State Legislature, representing Sullivan county.
He studied and practiced law in Linn county for a num-
ber of years, and is said to be good at the profession.
At the time of his ſlight he was cashier in the Brown-
ing Bank, and had his law office in the rear of the build-
ing, where he was doing a good business.
As a citizen and business man he was a success.
He was charged a few years ago, with implication in
a cattle stealing scrape, the results of which are not


–8–
known as his trial was pending at the time of the Meeks.
murder. He has a wife and family.
GEORGE EDWARD TA YLOR,
George Edward Taylor is the oldest of the defend-
ants. He was born and raised near Browning, Mo., in
Linn county. He was raised on the farm and has never
done anything in the way of a business except farming
and stock raising,
He has been married four years and has a wife and
two children. Until the Meeks murder he has always
been regarded as a good citizen, and has scores of friends
in and around the neighborhood where he lived.
His implication in the terrible crime of which he has
been convicted, was indeed a great surprise to the com-
munity where he was known.
This is all of interest that can be said concerning
the former lives of the Taylor boys. As they were plain
every day citizens with nothing of a sensational charac-



–9–
ter in their biography that would be of interest to the
public. They are at present in the Carroll county jail
awaiting the action of the Supreme court.
Judge Rucker, the trial judge, is a resident of
Keytesville, Chariton county, and was for six successive
years prosecuting attorney of that county. Though
young in years he is old in experience and stands to-day
among the oldest jurists of the state.
His fearless discharge of duty while prosecutor pav-
ed the way to the position he now holds. His name has
often been mentioned in connection with congress and
his friends are liable to call on him to gird himself for
the fray at any time. His character is all that any man
could wish, his integrity unquestioned, his ability, patri-
otism, and devotion to duty everywhere attested, and
his standing among his fellow-men the very best.
He is regarded as one of the coming men of Missou-
ri, and one which the state will be proud of.
- JURORS.
The jurors in the case were as follows:–E. J. Cal-
loway, a farmer; F. B. Creason, farmer; P. N. Hough-
ton, farmer; John M. Edge, ex-constable; G. W. Shand,
carpenter; G. F. Morris, farmer; G. W. Craig, farmer
and foreman of the jury; W. H. Craugn, clerk in bank
at Hale, Mo.; George Freeman, carpenter; B, C, Dula-
ney, merchant; J. S. Helne, stone mason and R. G.
Evans, farmer.
ATTORNEYS.
The attorneys for the state were: Prosecuting attor-
ney Bresneham, Major A. W. Mullins, Less Holliday,
Jas. L. Minnis, E. B. Fields, and prosecuting attorneys
Pierce and Miller of Sullivan and Carroll counties.
–10–
Bresmehan, the principal one, is from Linn county,
and ranks high as a prosecutor. He is a gentleman of
pleasing appearance and dignified bearing, has many
friends and few if any enemies.
Mr. Holliday is mayor of Carrollton and one of the
leading lawyers of that bar.
Major Mullins is from Linneus and one of North
Missouri's most able lawyers.
James L. Minnus of Carrollton, E. B. Fields of
Browning and Pierce and Miller are all above the aver-
age in their profession.
The attorneys for the defense were: Col. J. B. Hale,
D. M. Wilson, Virgil Conkling, Ralph Lozier, James F.
Graham, and ex-senator Stevens.
Col. Hale is the oldest member of the local bar and
ranks high as a criminal lawyer. He is said to have
successfully defended twenty alleged murderers before
the Taylor case.
D. M. Wilson of Milan is the principal lawyer for
the defense. He stands high in his profession all over
North Missouri.
Lawyers Conkling, Lozier and Graham are good ones
and have handled the case almost as vehemently as if it
were themselves on trial for their life. Ex-Senator Ste-
vens is from Linneus and has a good reputation as a civ-
il and crimiual lawyer.
Col. A. W. Meyers another attorney was sick dur-
ing the trial and was represented by attorney Brinkley,
who did his part well.
With this brief but authentic sketch of the princi-
pals in the case we will now give the testimony as it was
taken from the stenographer's pen, and which precludes
the necessity of a further history of the subject, as the



–11–
testimony of more than 100 witnesses covers every item
of interest connected with the case, and which the read-
er will find is no loss of time to peruse.
TESTIMONY OF DIR, WAN WYE.
I live at Browning; have lived there about fifteen
years; practiced medicine; was on the farm of George
Taylor on the morning of May 11th, 1894; when I first
went, I saw three bodies; was there before the bodies
were taken out; they were about a quarter west of the
house of George Taylor in a straw-stack; they had taken
most of the straw off before I got there; they were in a
kind of a hole; there was Gus Meeks, his wife, and a
child about four years old; examined the wounds in Gus
Meeks body; it was a pistol shot near the region of the
heart, sufficient to prove fatal in my judgment; did not
see any other wounds on the body; had known Gus
Meeks three or four years; had only seen him at Brown
ing; this was in Linn county state of Missouri.
I think Gus Meeks was shot in the heart; some-
where in the region of the heart; do not know that it
would prove fatal, but judge that it would, did not probe
the wound, but think it was sufficient to cause death.
TESTIMONY OF L. C. LANT Z.
I reside in Browning, have lived there about four
years, and in that neighborhood nearly all my life. I
was at out at the straw stack on the 11th, day of June,
1894 and saw some dead bodies about four in number, a
man and woman and two children. I recognized the
man as Gus Meeks, I never examined them particularly
but I could see they were wounded, I saw where there
was a hole in the baby's head and a gash cut in the wo.
man and little girl. The bodies were on the north-east
—12–
side of the straw pile and Meeks head was in a westerly
direction and the woman in an easterly direction, little
southeast, Meek's head lay a little north of west. One
of the children was laying by the side of Gus Meeks, and
the other was underneath. They were all right close to-
gether sorter piled up in a hole. I don't know that I
could state how long or deep the hole was, not very deep
not very long not long enough to bury a man in. There
was some straw and dirt piled over them. Yes, sir, as I
was going down I made some examination as I was going
along the road to the straw-stack. Mr. Faler and I were
together and as we got there to the top of Jenkin's hill
one and three-fourths miles from Browning we discover-
ed some signs or tracks and such stuff there in the road
and some blood in the road, we got out and made an ex-
amination and it looked like there had been some one
drug up the hill and we went on down we found a re-
volver up against a hickory tree, that was about all I
saw. That hickory tree is about tweenty-five feet from
the road. Right there the road turns south-east. The
hickory tree is on the right side of the road. There was
two places in the road where there was blood, this Jen-
kin's hill is located in Linn county, Mo. When we got
to the straw stack there was some fifty or sixty people
there, about 11 o'clock. The bodies had been uncover-
ed when we got there, I wasn't in Browning the day the
bodies were brought there. I heard of it about 9 o'clock
or near that time. My farm is about one and one-
half miles from town.
TESTIMONY OF R. T. L. CURTIS.
I reside six and one-half mailes north-east of Brown-
ing and resided there in May, 1894, and on the morning



–13–
of the 11th of May I went out to the straw-stack and
found or saw some dead bodies there, there was a crowd
there about the time we got there; they were covered
partly and we removed the dirt and straw and found the
bodies of a man, woman and child. I can't tell just
the wounds that were on them as I never examined them
very closely; the bodies were dirty and bloody, there
was dirt mixed with the straw, the bodies were conceal-
ed; there were several of us there and we had to look a
while before we could locate them; there was quite a lit-
tle dirt and straw over them; the woman's head was lay-
ing nearly east and west, head to the west; mans head
was to the west, laying a little to the north-west, and
the child laying across him. I did not stay until the
other child was taken out; there was a sort of a hole dug.
I wasn't acquainted with Mrs. Meeks, I had seen her; at
the time I did not recognize Gus and never had seen him
with his mustache off. After they washed him I knew
him. We made an examination as we went back; there
were four of us in a spring wagon Bill Patterson, Har-
vey Wilson, Ike Guinn and myself. Bill Patterson
said–CDefendant's counsels objected to what he said.
Objection sustained). We stopped there at the hill and
the other three got out and made an examination, on
the west side found a revolver and saw tracks that show-
ed there had been a struggle. I didn't get out of the
wagon, I held the team while the others examined; the
pistol was found on the west side of the road. Cross-
examination by Mr. Conkling.
TESTIMONY OF MB. WILSON.
I lived in Browning in May, 1894 and do yet and
was out at Geo. Taylor's farm the day of this occurrence
–14–
and saw some dead bodies, a man, woman and little
girl; I didn't examine them closely; I recognized Gus
Meeks they were in the straw stack concealed with straw
over them; some dirt was mixed in with the straw; I
stayed until part of the straw was removed that was be-
tween 9 and 10 o'clock. I made an examination as I
came back along the road and saw some blood near Jen-
kin's hill; as we were going back some of the crowd re-
marked that they had seen some blood, we stopped and
got out and it looked as if some one had fallen out of
the wagon; could see his knee prints, and we found a
pistol on the west side of the road about 30 or 40 feet
from the road, and saw some blood there in the road;
there was a hickory tree there; we saw where some body
had been dragged up the hill from the hickory tree, and
we saw some tracks that seemed to be a woman's track,
that is northeast of the hickory tree; we noticed some
wagon tracks in the road, that was in the County of
Linn and State of Missouri, about two miles from
Browning in a southeastern direction.
I live one mile southeast of Browning, and lived there
in May, 1894, and about 600 yards from Jenkins hill in
a northwest direction, my house is northwest of the hill;
I remember the time of the killing of the Meek's family
quite well; on the morning of May 11, between mid-
night and daylight, I heard five shots fired in a rapid
succession. They were fired in a southeast direction, in
the direction of Jenkins hill; I cannot fix the hour.
I have lived in Browning for about eight years, and
am acquainted with the defendants, and saw them on
the tenth day of May, 1894; I saw George just after I
lit the lamp in the store; he was near the store against a


–15–
post; it was just about dark; that's the last time I saw
him.
I noticed nothing unusual about his appearance; he
was clothed like he always was; he was often at Brown-
ing; that was his P. O. and trading point; it was about
dark; I generally light my lamps about the time it is
getting dark; it was just about dusk.
TESTIMONY OF C. G. CUTHBERTH.
I lived at Browning; have been there eight years; I
am in the grocery business, and know Geo. Taylor; I re-
member seeing him May 10, 94, quite late in the even-
ing between sundown and dusk; he was there at my place
of business coming across the crossing, he was going
east, then went north; that was the direction toward
Wm. Taylor's.
Cross-examination by Mr. Conkling.
Don't know what he was up there for he was going
in that direction; I don't know anything about how he
came to town or what he did; I saw him between sun
down and dusk,
TESTIMONY OF W. H., JONES.
I live at Browning; have lived there sixteen or sev-
enteen years and know the defendants. I live about
ninety feet from Wm. Taylor right north; I saw Geo.
Taylor in Browning May 10th, '94 at Wm. Taylor's lot,
about 8 o'clock going out of the lot in a wagon; I saw
Wm. Taylor too, he opened the gate and George drove
out; I saw Wm. bring out some quilts and put on the
steps and then he put them in the wagon; George drove
south; he was in a lumber wagon farm wagon; had the
bed and sideboards on; had a pretty good bay team;
don't know whose wagon it was; I saw Wm. P. Taylor
the next morning about 5 o'clock; I went over after some
water; the well is right near the window and Will was
washing and brushing off his pants. You go out the
gate from Wm. Taylors then turn south then go east; go
nearly a quarter east before you turn north; Linn street
lies between Linn and Sullivan counties; you cross the
rail road going to the Milan road; that road runs north
after the turn the railroad runs north and they intersect
about one-fourth of a mile north of the town; the Milan
road turns north from there right at the end of the cor-
poration at Stone's corner.
TESTIMONY OF JOHN L. RUSSEL.
I resided in Browning May 1894, right across the
street little north of Wm. P. Taylor's; I saw George May
10th, '94 at Browning about 8 o'clock near about dark,
wasn’t right dark; he was driving out of Wm. Taylors
going south toward Line Street, which runs east and
West.
The road from Milan to Browning intersects Line
street on the north side about one-fourth of a mile. You
have to cross the railroad going the Milan road; Stone's
corner is about a quarter of a quarter from the railroad.
TESTIMONY OF WALTER GOOCH.
I live southeast of Browning about four and a quar-
ter miles, and about a quarter of a mile from George
Taylor; I saw George on May 10, 94; caught up with
him on the road; he was going north in a wagon; Al-
bert, his brother, was with him; It was a farm wagon,
two horses, had on bed and sideboards, and a bay team;
don't know whose team it was; I followed him about
two and a half miles; I stopped and he went on: I stopp-
ed at my uncle's, about two miles from town; Albert
had gotten out south of Jenkin's hill, between a quarter












–17–
and a half mile south of the school house; it was about
3 or 4 o'clock in the afternoon; George told Albert when
he got out to be sure and do what he told him to; tha
was south of the Jenkin’s school house. -
TESTIMONY OF MRS. MARTHA. J. MEEKS.
I am the mother of Gus Meeks and live at Milan,
have lived there about two years and am acquainted
with the defendants; the first time that I saw Bill was
when Gus' little girl was born and saw him after that at
Milan; I saw him after Gus came home from Jefferson
City, it was long about the 7th of April; Gus came in on
Monday and the Sunday week Bill and George were
there; it was after church when they came, may be 9 or
10 o'clock; George came first; he wanted Gus to go out
where Bill was but he refused to go; George said Bill
had to stay and take care of the horses; then George
went out to hunt for Bill but said he couldn't find him,
and he came in again and went out to find Bill again
when Gus refused to go out until the last time, when
Bill came and they all talked; there are three rooms in
the house; they were in the front room, I was in the
south room and Gus' wife in the room on the west; I
heard Gus tell Bill that nothing less than $1,000 would
put him back in the situation he was in and told him Băl
was the cause of his being in his condition, and I
couldn't hear what reply Bill made; he was wanting Gus
to keep from testifying against him in the cattle case;
that was all I could hear; they were talking some time:
I don't know that there was any more said about that;
they left about 11 o'clock the first visit, I have seen Bill
pass the house several times; he would pass by and look
in and then go on; there is a sidewalk along there; the
—18–
next time I saw George after that was when he came
and took Gus away; Gus went down to Cora on Tues-
day before; they took him away on Thursday; I never
heard either of the defendants speak of meeting Gus at
Cora; on the night of the murder between 11 and 12.
o'clock I seen Geo. Taylor; me, Gus and his wife and
three children were in the house, and a little boy; I had
laid down with my clothes on, so had Gus and his wife,
and the children had been put to bed; George came in
and asked Gus if they were ready; I never heard the con-
versation between George and Mrs. Meeks; he come in
and Gus asked him where Bill was going to stop the wag-
on; George said that the wagon must keep going and not
stop, and went on toward the Catholic church, turned
there and went south, and George and Gus took their
clothing and went north with it toward the church; then
Gus came back and got his wife and children; they took
their clothes with them; George and Gus took them out;
Gus came back to the house again; George said it
wouldn't do to stop the team; I saw George Taylor that
night; I am acquainted with him; I next saw my son,
daughter and two grand children in the court house yard
at Milan; Gus received a letter that day; he put it in a
paper and said something to me but I didn't hear just
what he said; never paid any attention to it at the time;
I cannot read writing; I gave the letter to Mr. Pierce,
or my daughter gave it to him; it was about 1 o'clock.
when he got the letter on the day of the murder, or the
day they took them away.
I saw no one but George and Gus; I couldn't see
the team, but I could hear it plain; I suppose the team
was Bill's, I don't know; I went to the porch; they all
went away with Gus and George; I begged Gus not to


–19–
go, he stooped down and kissed me; I told him it was a
trap; he says mother if you don't hear from me by
Thursday. (Here counsel for defendant objected. Ob-
jection sustained.) The wagon went south for I could
hear it; I was in the door and could hear; Geo. had on
dark clothes whether they were blue or black can't say;
he wore a kind of light hat; he had on dark clothes; I
could see him very good; I did not want Gus to leave
with them; Geo. went out first Gus and his wife went to-
gether, Gus carried one of the children, his wife one and
the other one walked; I don't know that Gus went to
bed that night; he laid down with his clothes on I think;
he was expecting this visit.
TESTIMONY OF M. S. BURDETT.
I reside in Browning, have lived there about five
years; I know the defendant, Wm. P. Taylor; had a con-
versation with him in referance to Gus Meeks testifying
against him, Monday or Tuesday before the Meeks
murder; I asked him what about Gus Meeks coming back,
and he said he knew what the damned – came
back for, and he would get what he came for; this con-
versation occurred in a blacksmith shop east of Taylor's
bank.
TESTIMONY OF L. B. PHILLIPS.
I reside about four miles west of Browning; am ac-
quainted with the defendant, Wm. P. Taylor; had a
conversation with Mr. Taylor in reference to Gus Meeks
and his tostifying against him; I think this was on Mon-
day before the murder, about May 6, 1894; that evening
Wm. P. Taylor went out with me pretty near to my
house; 1 said to him, “Bill, what are you going to do
with Meeks; he has come back?” He kinder smiled and
–20–
said, “We will have to get him out of the way.” That
is about all the conversation that we had; I asked him
how he was going to get him out of the way; he said he
did not know how he would get him out of the way, but
he wou'd get him out of the way if he had to kill him to
get him out of the way.
TESTIMONY OF BELITHA M'CULLOM.
I resided, in the month of May, 1894, in the town
of Browning; I left there last fall a year ago; when I
left Browning my two little girls were with me; since
- that I have been living at my father's; my wife is dead;
during the month of May, 1894, my wife was sick with
a cancer; we lived at the time on the west side of the
railroad track, on what is called Line street, or the
county line; my residence was just about forty feet from
the railroad track; I know the defendants, Wm. P. and
George E. Taylor; have been acquainted with them
about seven years; Wm. P. Taylor and me lived about
150 rods apart in the town of Browning; Wm. P. Taylor
lived on the west side of the railroad track, and I on the
east side; I saw both of them on the 10th day of May,
1894, in the town of Browning; the first time I saw
George Taylor on that day was about 5 o'clock in the
evening; he was at the bank where Wm. P. Taylor
stayed; I next saw him about 8 o'clock that evening; he
was somewhere near half way between my house and the
railroad track; I was sitting on the sidewalk; the walk
runs east and west; I had been dressing the cancer on
my wife's breast and had turned a little sick and had
gone out on the walk to get a little fresh air; I saw
George Taylor going east on the county line; he was in a
wagon, driving a pair of horses; he was in a lumber

- –21–
wagon; never paid much attention to the wagon bed, but
I think he had sideboards on; it was something between
fifteen and twenty feet from where I was sitting that
George Taylor passed; we did not speak as he passed; I
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heard the wagon after it turned north; the Browning and
Milan road runs north from the corner; it crosses the


































–22–
railroad track about a quarter north of that; the railroad
track runs northeast; I saw Wm. Taylor coming from
the west on the sidewalk that runs past my place; he
came up the walk to the railroad, then turned north;
that was about five minutes after George Taylor had
passed in his wagon; I do not remember whether he
carried anything with him or not; this was about 8
o'olock.
TESTIMONY OF MERS, SALLY CARTER.
I reside at Browning at present; my husband's name
is John Carter; have been living at Browning for twelve
or fourteen years; we lived on the farm about four and
one-half miles from Browning before we went to town;
Geo. Taylor's farm is south east from our farm; there is
a partition fence between us, the farms adjoin; our boy,
Frank Carter, was living on the farm last year, a nephew
of John Carter; I was there May 10th and 11th. I went
down there the evening of the 10th; my husband was at
Linneus at work at that time; who else was there? why
there was Frank's wife and little Jimmie Carter and the
baby; Jimmie is Frank's half brother; he is ten years
old; we got up between four and five on the morning of
the 11th; had breakfast between four and five; young
Frank and his wife both left that morning; nobody there
but Jimmie, myself and the baby, which is about six
months old; there was a little girl come to our house that
morning between five and six o'clock; she was coming
across the lot when I first seen her; Jimmie was standing
at the window; I suppose he saw her too; I had a little
talk with her; what she told me was what caused me to
send Jimmie where she said; I sent Jimmie out in
George Taylor's field; it is about ten steps from the gate


–23–
tº the partition fence and the straw pile is in the field; I
think in a north east direction; I went out to the straw
pile after there had been several people there; the
straw pile was high enough to hide a person about two
feet, I guess; the little girl had straw all over her
and she was bloody, her hands and face were covered
with dirt, blood and straw all mixed; she had a sort of
cap in one hand and a red hood in the other; said it was
her sister's; she looked like she had been in a pitched
battle; I didn't know the child then but I do now; she is
here to-day and her name is Nellie Meeks; Dr. Kinney
came to see her; she was as wet as water; when she came
you could wring water out of her clothes; I noticed a
place or gash on the top of her head; I stepped to the
door when I sent Jimmie out into the field and he went
in the direction where the child told us; I didn't see him
when he first went to the straw stack; my attention was
called to the child; I went out to the barn gate and I saw
Jimmie and this gentlemen in the field going towards
the house; he was harrowing; Jimmie was walking be-
hind this man, about seventy-five yards from the straw
pile, going due east and then bore a little to the south
to the barn lot; I watched them until they got out of my
sight; then I went round and stooped down and saw
them at the barn lot and called Jimmie and he come; it
is about a quarter of a mile from our house to George
Taylors, south-east from our place; there is meadow on
the outside of the cornfield he was harrowing in; they
didn't stop at all, just kept going until they got to the
barn lot; I saw nobody else in the field; I went back to
the house and got the little girl and baby and come out
to the fence and called Jimmie and he came as soon as
he could; I recognized the man at the time, as I said
–24–
once I never wanted to tell who it was unless I had to; I
recognized him as George Taylor; I had washed a little
of the dirt off the little girl's face but not much; when
Jimmie come back him and the little girl went over to
the straw pile together; they were over there but a short
time; then they came back to me; I sent Jimmie to John
Gooch's and he came back and his half brother with him;
when I went to the straw pile I saw the dead bodies, a
man, woman and two children; there was a sorter of a
hole dug and they were in that; don't know how deep
that hole was; the persons were all dead; I never saw
George Taylor any more after he went to the house; Jim
didn't stay over to George Taylor's very long; the harrow
passed south of that; he never did any more harrowing
after that; never stopped; Frank's wife when she come
home went over to Mr. Harvey's, that was the nearest
place; I sent for her husband by Jimmie; John Gooch
was the first of the neighbors to get there and his wife
and half brother and little girl, I remember there was a
a rain the day before, I went down to the farm in a bug-
by myself, there are trees in the front of our yard but
by going to the north door you can see right in George
Taylor's. - -
TESTIMONY OF JIMMIE CARTER.
I live west of Browning; I was at my brother
Frank's on a visit on May 11th; I remember the little
girl coming to our house; I went out to the field where
the little girl said; saw a man harrowing; there was a
straw pile in the field; I had a talk with the man; I told
him there was a little girl come to Aunt Sallies and said
her sister was dead down at the straw pile and asked
him to come and help find her, and he said: he says wait












–25–
and let someone else find her; he went on to the house;
we went up to the barn lot; I sat down at the wagon and
there was a shovel and a spade there with mud all over
it, near the wagon; he took the harrow and team to the
barn, left the team to the harrow; we never went back
into the field; he asked me if the little girl said anything
about her pa and ma; I said yes she said they were in a
hole; that was all that was said between us; I went back
to Aunt Sallie's house and me and Nellie Meeks went
down to the straw pile together; I couldn't see anything
for awhile and I raised up some straw and saw a woman's
face; then we went back to the house; I went down to
Mr. Gooch's.
TESTIMONY OF D. B. GOOCH.
I reside four and one-half miles south-east of
Browning in Linn county, Missouri, and am a tax col-
lector; have been tax collector two years; was living on
my farm in May 4, 1894; on the morning of the 11th day
of May, 1894, I was at home early in the morning; I left
my farm and went to my brother's; while there I re-
ceived information that there were some dead bodies in
a straw stack; I then went to Frank Carter's house, which
was about 150 yards from the straw stack; that was
about 7 o'clock in the morning; I stayed there and wait-
ed till the Browning crowd came, then we all went back
to the stack; that was between 9:30 and 10 o'clock; I
discovered, when I arrived at the straw stack, first the
body of a man, two children and a woman; they were
buried in a hole, lying east and west, the woman's head
to the east and the man's to the west, and the children
between them; when I first arrived at the straw stack
they were all concealed from view with the exception of

the mother; her face and part of her breast were not con-
cealed; the bodies were hidden by straw and dirt; I re-
mained there until the stuff was removed, I presume there
would be about two feet of straw and chaff over the face
of Gus Meeks; the dirt was next to his face; we removed
the straw with a pitchfork, and we pushed the dirt away
with our hands; could not tell who it was before I re-
moved the straw; after I removed the straw I could not
distinguish the features of the man; I could first tell who
the man was after we had removed most of the dirt and
chaff; when the straw, dirt and chaff were taken off I
don’t know who all were present; Luster Smith, myself,
Tom Millin and Frank Carter; the straw stack was about
two or two and a half feet thick; the bodies were in a
hole about one foot deep; the hole looked to have been
made with a spade or shovel; made an examination of
the ground in and around the straw stack and discovered
wagon and harrow tracks both; the wagon track came
northeast to south west to the stack, turned a right curve
and came back and retraced the tracks of the wagon out-
side of the cord rows in a southeasterly direction to Geº.
Taylor's yard; discovered where the wagon had been
stopped; saw clay mud there; I suppose about a bushel;
there were about four piles of it; it looked like it had
been cleaned from the wagon wheels; this clay and mud
was in his yard between his barn and house; did not trace
the tracks of the wagon any further, the wagon entered
the field of George Taylor about a quarter north of his
house; it was first driven over the meadow and then the
corn rows; the rows ran east and west, and the wagon
came diagonally west three or four rows to the straw
stack; from the edge of the meadow to the corn rows to
where the wagon entered the field it is about 250 yards;

–27–
the wagon left the public road when it entered the field;
I saw the barrowing first when I was at Frank Carter's
house, and could see where it passed through the meadow,
and after I discovered the bodies I traced it to George
Taylor's house, then through the meadow and to the corn
rows, through to the stack; the first through of the har-
row followed over the wagon tracks to the stack, turned
north and came back to the edge of the harrow, then it
went on the north side of it back, turned north and back
to the stack, it followed the wagon tracks; the ground
was too wet to harrow that morning; it had rained about
Wednesday night before the murder; this was Friday
morning.
TESTIMONY OF J. W. GIBSON.
I reside two and a half miles south of Browning and
am acquainted with George E. Taylor; have lived in this
vicinity 26 years, I am 26 years old; I was born right
close to where I now reside; on the day of the 11th of
May I was on George Taylor's farm the most of the day;
I arrived there about 9 or 10 in the morning; there were
a great many people there when I came; where the straw
pile was the field was about 12 or 15 acres; that was in
corn; there was about 10 acres of meadow east of the
corn; I viewed the ground there where a wagon had come
into the farm; after I had hitched my horse I went di-
rectly to the straw stack and then I tracked the wagon
back; I went with the crowd to where it came into the
field, and it came in at the northeast corner of the mead-
ow land, just north of a hedge fence but before it got
there it side tracked north of where it came intº the
meadow; it then went in a southeasterly direction to the
straw stack; when the wagon passed down where the corn

was planted it did not go directly west; the corn that had
been planted was supposed to be about east and west; it
angled across the corn rows, perhaps four or seven rows,
till it got to the straw stack; the straw stack was not
very high, and it seems that the wagon had run over the
edge of the straw, up on to the edge of it like; the straw
pile would not exceed three feet deep at any part of the
straw stack; when the wagon ran by the straw pile in
that way I followed it to see where it went to get out of
the field; it turned to the north, then east and got back
into the same track that it came in in; it took the track
until it got back to the meadow; they then turned in a
southeasterly direction till they got down into a kind of
a draw and then it turned east and went up between the
house and barn; George Taylor's house is close to the
road, and the barn is west of south; saw where the wag-
on stopped and the clay had been cleaned off; expect this
was 30 steps from the house; George Taylor's house and
Frank Carter's house are about a quarter of a mile apart;
Carter's house is a little bit north of west of Taylor's
house; noticed the harrowing that was done; after I had
tracked the wagon up to the barn, then, followed the
harrow tracks; they had started to hitch to the harrow
within a few feet of where the wagon was tracked; they
had harrowed over the wagon tracks; followed the wagon
tracks all the way out to the straw stack, and when they
got to the straw stack they turned to the north the same
as the wagon had turned, followed the tracks right around
and back to the meadow and then turned around at the
edge of the meadow and went back over the wagon tracks
again; the plowed ground on the 11th day of May, 1894,
was damp; I remember that the corn was not up; in
crossing diagonally over the corn rows, the wagon was

–29–
going south of west. Noticed the amount of clay that
had been cleaned off the wagon; there was considerable
of it; could see distinctly where it was standing; the
wagon track was undoubtedly a lumber or road wagon;
a two-horse wagon; when I reached the straw stack there
had been several come in and uncovered the bodies; the
bodies were still in the hole when I got there; I helped
to get them out; there was a quilt over them and I raised
it up and saw the bodies; the hole was about one foot
deep; looked like it had been dug with a spade or shovel;
it was about three or four feet, perhaps a little larger;
noticed where the heads of these people were, Gus Meek's
head was lying to the west, the lady's head was lying to
the east, and the little girl was lying across her father's
breast, with her head down; after Gus's brother came he
said there ought to be another baby, we commenced
looking then and we found the baby almost in the bottom
of the hole.
TESTIMONY OF HON. JERRY SOUTII.
I reside in Mountain Grove, Dexter county, Ark. ;
have lived in that state about seven years; before that I
resided in Frankfort, Kentucky; I am a member of the
state legistature and have been for three terms; I know
the defendants; first saw them on June 20 or 21 a year
ago in Marion county, Ark., which is an adjoining county
to where I live; I saw them at Buffalo City, Ark., a
steamboat landing; I took dinner that day with Mr. Yale
Hass, and they were at the table when I got there, and
they left the table before I did. I never saw them any
more that day; that was on Monday or Tuesday, and then
I saw them on Saturday at the same place; I made in-
quiry as to who they were; I had no knowledge when I
first saw them who they were; that night as I
went back home I concluded they were the Taylor broth-
ers; I went to the newspaper offices to get the back Mis-
souri newspapers to get a discription of the Taylor boys;
I had gotten their pictures and the Friday night before
I started, the sheriff of my county handed me two pic-
tures that he had received from Mr. Barton, sheriff of
Linn county, with the discription of them and Barton's
name signed to it; I went the next day to a Masonic
lodge for the installation of public officers and the Dem-
ocratic State convention. I went to Buffalo City and
saw them at the store of E. L. Hays on the south side
of White river. I was to go to Little Rock by steamboat.
I saw them about 100 yards from where the boat landed;
up to that time we had not spoken to each other; the de-
fendants told me they had made a boat, that it was down
on the river. The next thing I did was to consult Mr.
Hays and to try to get a gun from him to effect their
capture. He at first refused. I afterwards got a gun
from Mr. Tonstil, a double barrel shot-gun. They were
about seventy yards from the store when I arrested them;
they were going towards the hotel. I called them to
halt, and they immediately turned round and Bill put
his hand in his pocket, front pocket, and I told him to
take it out and he did so. I presented the gun, a doub-
le-barrel shotgun, with both barrels cocked; I told them
not to attempt to draw any weapons, and to keep their
hands out of their pockets. They first started to come
to me and I told them to stop. I asked them if they had
any weapons. Bill said he had a pistol; George said he
had none. They were willing to give up their weapons.
I called Mr. Cravens and he took Bill's pistol away from
him; that was what they had; we found two other pistols


-
at the house; one was a 45 calibre Colt, 10 inch barrel,
and one Colt 7 or 8 inch, and the other a Smith & Wesson,
double action. I took them to a little house there and
kept guard over them, and next morning started for Lit-
tle Rock, down the river. I asked them what their
names were; Bili said his name was Price and George's
name Edwards. They objected very seriously to being
arrested and said it would cost me something before I
got through with them; but I wasn't afraid of a suit.
Up to that time I didn't know their real names, that is,
they hadn't disclosed it to me. They said they wanted
to talk to me, and I told them presently, and I sent a
man after some irons to iron them. I then during that
conversation showed them the pictures, but covered the
names up with my hands. They said, who is it you are
looking for and for what crime are they wanted? I told
them a very serious one. I showed them the pictures
and said you are the men; I thought you were. Im-
mediately after that they told me their names. George
said nothing; Bill did most of the talking. Bill said I
had heard these things were out but hadn't seen one be-
fore; and he says, you are right, we are the Taylor boys
and are willing to go back home, we are tired of this life
of being hunted down. I took them to Little Rock and
then brought them to St. Louis by rail. They told me
they intended to separate, not to be seen together, that
they would be recognized so easily. I came along from
St. Louis. I believe they got off at Macon City; I went
on to Brookfield. I was at Little Rock two or three
days to a Democratic State Convention. We had several
conversations together; we had some conversation on the
train.
TESTIMONY OF FRED ALEXANDER. -
I live in Linn county, in the northern part; I live
one mile south of the farm of George E. Taylor; was at
the farm of George Taylor on the 11th day of May, 1894;
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arrived there in the forenoon; there was quite a crowd
when I reached there; went to the straw pile where the
dead people were; they were uncovered when I reached












–33–
there; went to see what direction the wagon came from;
looked around some; followed the wagon across the straw
to the plowed ground to about half way across the mead-
ow; ibe track was going in a southeasterly direction from
the stack; after it reached the meadow it took a south-
easterly direction toward the Taylor barn; followed the
track to see where it came into the field; it came into the
field northeast to where the straw pile was; that was
about a half a quarter from the dwelling house of George
Taylor; noticed the track before it passed through the
fence, for a short distence; there was no fence where it
came in; the fence was not entirely gone, there were
broken rails around; from the fence down to the straw
pile was east; noticed where the wagon came, corn had
been planted; from there to the straw stack it ran almost
direction of the corn rows, if not quite; don'tremember
just how many corn rows it ran across; when it reached
the straw pile the wagon tracks were tolerably close to
the straw; the straw pile was a little straw stack; where
I saw the dead people the wagon turned to the right or
to the north in a circle and went out to the east again
till it reached the meadow; something near the same
track, then going to the straw stack it bore to the mead-
ow; cannot say whether it kept with the other wagon
track or not; noticed harrowing there; noticed where a
harrow had run as far as I went in the meadow and com-
ing from the way the wagon had went; the horrow to all
appearances seemed to follow the wagon tracks to the
stack and turned in a circle, and back again to the
meadow, it then turffed to the north and west to the
straw stack and passed; it went north of the first harrow-
ing and wagon tracks, and went back to the straw stack;
from the straw stack it went on past the straw stack

–34–
west; I followen it for about fifty yards from the straw
stack and looked across south and saw where a harrow
track had been made across from the west, and I followed
that to the meadow; this track went to the wagon track
on the meadow; did not follow it further; when this track
reached the meadow it went straight onto the meadow; I
followed it on the meadow not over fifty yards; it was
traveling in an easterly direction or nearly so when it
first struck the meadow, until it struck the wagon tracks
and then it took a southerly direction; I suppose about
twelve rows of corn were left at the straw stack between
the north and south sides; from the straw stack west the
harrowing followed the corn rows as far as I followed it.
I reached the farm tolerably early in the morning, might
say there were 50 or 100 people there when I got there;
the plowed ground at my place early that morning was
very wet; it did not look like it would be in a good con-
dition to harrow. At the east end of the meadow there
was no harrowing done.
TESTIMONY OF LUSTER SMITH.
I live at Browning, Linn county; have lived there for
ten or eleven years; went down to the farm of George
Taylor on the 11th day of May, 1894; reached there
about 10:30; the dead people were not all uncovered
when I got there; Gus Meeks was not uncovered; should
judge there was something like 18 inches of straw over
him and something like five or seven inches of dirt and
chaff over his face and breast; the straw was piled on top
of that; his head was turned to the west, that of his wife
to the east; don't know just about the children; I could
only see one child; the child was placed between them
or along close to the mothers side; at that time Mr.

35
Meek's face was exposed; Gus Meek's head was about
the length of his body from Mrs. Meek's head; they were
in the pile when I left don't know what kind of a place
they were in; Gus Meek's head was uncovered by pitch-
ing the straw off with a pitch fork and the dirt and chaff
were ranked off with our hands; Mr. Gooch, Tom Mull-
ins, Frank carter and myself helped to remove the straw
from the body of Gus Meek's; Gus Meeks had not been
seen before we removed the dirt and chaff; I knew Gus
Meeks at this time; recognized him when we took the
dirt and chaff off his face; his face was turned to the side;
his wife's face was turned pretty near straight up; do
not remember how the children's faces were; saw only
one baby, but did not notice it much; I started down
from Browning to go to the farm about 10 o'clock; heard
of the murder just a few minutes before I started; was
in the butcher bueiness at the time; Mr. J. A. Wilson,
Ike Guin and J. T. Fleming were in the buggy with me
when I went down.
TESTIMONY OF J. L. HARRIS.
I live near Browning, Charlton county, and am
working on a farm; on May 10th, 1894, the day of the
Meeks murder 1 was living in Linn county on Yellow
Creek, near North Salem; on the night of the murder I
staid at the house of Dave Gibson; he is the father-in-law
of the defendant, George E. Taylor; I had been at Dave
Gibson's house since 8 or 9 o'clock that night; had come
from home over there that day; I come over to work for
George Taylor; I was at his house the day before the
murder; I arrived at his house along late in the evening;
did not see George Taylor; from there I went to
Mr. Arnolds that evening, and remained there over half

–36–
an hour, and from there I went to George Taylors again;
left George Taylors between eight and nine o'clock that
evening, and went to Dave Gibsons; a distance of about
half a quarter in a southernly direction, on the east side
of the road; I went there to stay all night; the next day
I hauled wood part of the day; I retired just as soon as
I got there, and got up about sun up; that would be
about six o'clock I suppose; after I got up I went over
to George Taylors barn; I was to work for him the next
day; found George Taylor at the barn; he was currying
the horses and cleaning the mud off their legs; he was
cleaning the mud off by washing with water which he
had in a bucket; the horses were pretty muddy, the mud
reached to the body and he was washing from the body
down; after I got through with the chores, I went to
breakfast at George Taylor's house; George Taylor, his
wife and Dave Gibson ate breakfast with me; after
breakfast we harnessed all of our teams and went to the
timber; we harnessed up Jim Taylor's horses; that was
the team George was cleaning in the morning; Bill Gib-
son helped me to hitch up, when I hitched to the wagon
it was muddy; George Taylor cleaned the wheels that
moaning; he cleaned them off with a spade; there was a
right smart of mud that he cleaned off with a spade; it
was clay mud; when I hitched to the wagon that morning
the tongue of the wagon extended to the east of the corn
field; when I hitched up I went to Mr. Taylors and went
to the timber, that is about three-fourths of a mile east
from George Taylors; we hitched to Mr. Jim Taylors
wagon when we started; don't know who used the wagon
the night before unless George used it; went down to
Jim Taylor's in company with Bill Gibson; when I got
down to Jim Taylor's I found Jim Taylor, Albert and

–37–
Charlie; we took the wagon bed off there to haul wood;
they turned the team out in the pasture, and put Albert's
team to the wagon; did not notice anything in the wagon
bed; saw blood on the wagon on the coupling pole; this
was just about half way between the coupling of the
wagon and the hind axle; the blood was wet; there was
only just a little; the wagon bed that we took off was the
one that we brought with it; just a common lumber wag-
on; there were side boards on the wagon when we took it
off; they laid the side boards in the barn; we set the
wagon bed over in the barn yard; I first noticed the
blood on the coupling pole of the wagon when I took the
bed off; after the bed of the wagon was taken off I showed
it to Mr. Taylor and he wiped it off with a bunch of hay;
we went from there to the timber; there were three wag-
ons to haul wood there; Albert Taylor was driving one,
Dave Gibson one and Bill Gibson one; Dave Gibson was
using his own; he got it from George Taylor I think;
when I hitched up at George Taylor's where the mud was
cleaned off, Dave Gibson's wagon was there; in taking
the wagon out of his barn, he went out east of the lot to
the road and turned south to Taylor's and then turned
east again to get there; I went through George's farm and
Mr. Taylor's and went out at the same gate that Dave did
where his wagon entered the road, then turned south;
Dave turned south; George Taylor and Bill Taylor came
to the woods where we were hauling wood that morning
on horse back; it was probably about 10 o'clock; when
they got there they got off their horses and went off;
they just turned their horses loose there in the crowd and
went off througe the timber; did not work very long in
the woods after that; took the wood that I had on the
wagon to Jim Taylor's; we unhitched there and left the

–38–
team in the barn; I think we then unloaded the wagon
and went down about the barn; I staid there about balf
an hour, I guess; don't know whether we were doing
anything or not but talking; Mr. Taylor and Albert were
with me; we staid at Jim Taylors house about half an
hour I guess, and then I went to my brothers; we quit
hauling wood for that day; I examined the wagon bed.
that was taken off that morning, and found some blood
on it, coal oil on the inside; did not find but little blood
on the wagon bed; I learned that somebody had been
killed in the forenoon; was at Mr. Jim Taylor's barn;
Dave Gibson's little boy, Drury, told me; Mr. Taylor was
present, and Albert I think was there; after I left Jim
Taylor's and went to my brothers I was not down where
the dead bodies were in the straw stack.
TESTIMOMY OF THOMAS MULLINS.
I reside in Browning, have lived there about seven
years, I was out to the straw stack on the 11th of May,
1894, and saw ssme dead bodies; all the bodies were
covered up or concealed except the woman's face; they
were covered with straw and chaff; I removed part of it;
I recognized Gus Meeks, a little while afterward; there
was some 18 to 36 inches of straw; I didn't notice how
they removed the chair from his eyes; there might have
been a little dirt, I couldn't say positively; we removed
the straw with a fork, except this chaff and dirt; I was
very well acquainted with Gus Meeks.
TESTIMONY OF ED BARTON.
I live in Linn county; have been sheriff of that
county for the last four years; I know the defendants; I
was here during the former trial of this case and under-

º
stood that George Taylor said that he was the man that
was doing the harrowing; I was not in Linneus the night
of the murder; was on my road home whens I heard it,
and went straight to Mr. James Taylor's house; got there
about 10 o'clock; was looking for the defendants; I kept
looking for them until they were captured in Arkansas;
don't remember when I was at James C. Taylor's again–
about ten days after the murder; George Westgate and
Doc Kelly went with me. At the time I examined the
wagon bed Ed Maybee was with me, ten or twelve days
after the murder; looked at the wagon bed and found
it stained on one side, took it to be blood; just a small
spot; there were two burned places and it was charred
over; the places were 10 or 12 inches long, 6 or 8 wide
that were charred; Mr. Maybee was with me; never saw
the sideboards; never saw any coal oil.
TESTIMONY OF MIR. MAYBE E.
I reside at Loclede, have lived there about twenty
years; was at James C. Taylor's place of residence in
May, 1894; we looked at the wagon bed; the back half of
the wagon bed was burned or charred, the bottom and
portion of the of the right side; the back half of the box
was nearly charred; then there was a spot on the left
hand side of the box; we supposed it was blood; that is
my judgment; I wouldn't be positive; a spot about as big
as the end of your thumb; it was two or three inches be-
low the top of the one on the outside; I never saw the
side boards; I am a traveling salesman for a wholesale
drug house; have been in the drug and hardware business
for the last several years.
TESTIMONY OF JOHN J. coſ NETT. -
I reside at Linneus, Mo ; was at James C. Taylor's

–40–
about three times during the month of May, 1894, and
had occasion to examine the wagon bed and sideboards;
went over the next morning; was there the evening of
the 11th; this was my second trip; this was eight or ten
days after the first. No one was with me when I went
into the barn; wagon box was in the barn and the side-
boards over the haymouth; found stains on the bottom
of the wagon and on the sides of the box, and under-
neath the bed on the under side if the bottom there was
a drop; scraped that off with my knife; and the side-
boards were stained; the stain extended clear across the
sideboards and to the bottom of the bed; they had been
rubbed over with oil, which extended them more than it
would otherwise. I first saw the blood underneath the
box; the box was turned up and I scraped a little drop
of blood off, it appeared to be coal oil that it was rubbed
with; the sideboards looked about the same; in my judg-
ment it was blood that I scraped off; examined the box
after that and found those stains were that it was burnt
out or charred, all except the spot underneath; don't
think the bottom of tdat wagon bed was ever painted; if
it was painted it was a long time before.
TESTIMONY OF B. F. PIERCE.
I have seen the letter before; got it from Mrs.
Meeks with some other papers; went to the house to get
it. Am familiar with the writing of Wm. Taylor, and
this is his writing. Have had it in my passession ever
Slnce.
TESTIMONY OF JUDGE R. M. TUNNELL.
I am probate judge; am familiar with Wm. Taylor's
writing and this letter is Wm. Taylor's handwriting.

–41–
TESTIMONY OF T. M. SAYERS.
I am county surveyor; am acquainted with Wm.
Taylor's writing; that letter is his handwriting.
TESTIMONY OF W. H. PATTERSON.
I am in business in Browning; am familiar with
Wm. Taylor's writing. This letter was written by Wm.
Taylor.
TESTIMONY OF M. L. GIBSON.
I am post master at Browning; know Bill Taylor's
writing. That letter is bill Taylor's writing.
LETTER INTRODUCED.
The letter was introduced as evidence as follows:
“Be ready at 10 o'clock; everything is right.”
Letter submitted to jury.
TESTIMONY OF MILTON JENNINGS.
I was at Ed Fowler's on the night of May 10th, '94;
am acquainted with Wm. P. Taylor; saw him pass Mr.
Fowler's that night about 9 o'clock; was shutting the
gate when he passed; Taylor was in a wagon with anoth-
er gentleman whom I did not recognize. They were on
the road that runs from Milan to Browning.
TESTIMONY OF JOHN HOAK.
I lived four miles north of Browning on May, 10,
1894; on that night about 10 o'clock I saw Wm. P.
Taylor going north on the Milan road with another man;
they were driving in a trot.
On cross-examination he testified: I had been out
fishing with Clarence Whittaker, and we were returning;
I first told my mother about seeing Bill Taylor, but don't
know who else I told.

—42–
TESTIMONY OF D. C. PIERCE.
I am acquainted with both defendants; a short time
after Gus Meeks was pardoned out of the penitentiary I
had a conversation with George Taylor and told him they
would make it pretty warm for Bill at the next trial; he
asked me why and I told him; he said: “We will put him
out of the way.” I told George they could not do that
and he said: “Frank Leonard and him is all right and
Frank Leodard will attend to that.”
TESTIMONY OF ALF DILLINGER,
I am justice of the peace in Sullivan county; had a
conversation with Bill Taylor nbout him and Abner Page
and Gus Meeks stealing cattle; Bill inquired if I had seen
Abner page; and he remarked that he was going to kill
the damn – – – – , he didn't say when he was going
to kill them.
On cross-examination Mr. Dillinger testified: I be-
lieve Bill Taylor also inquired for Nellie Brumbaugh;
I do not consider the reputation of John Hope for truth
and veracity as good.
TESTIMONY OF JAMES E. MERRITT.
I know the defendants; had several conversations
with Bill Taylor; asked him what he was going to do if
Gus Meeks was pardoned out; he said that they (Taylors)
would have to get rid of him; would get him out of the
way; Bill told me that he would shoot the damn – –
On cross examination Mr. Merritt testified: I was
subpoenaed by both sides, and when the defendant sub-
poenaed me I remarked, they (defense) will get somebody

–43–
they don't wani; was in the lodge room when Bill said
he would shoot Gus Meeks; befere that time I and Bill
Taylor had been intimate friends.
TESTIMONY OF DR. C. I. STEPHENS.
I live at Linneus, Linn county have been a practic-
ing physician for several years, examined the wagon body
at Linneus a few weeks ago at the request of James Tay-
lor's son; he brought the wagon;l was requested to examine
it to see if I could see any signs of blood on it; examined
with a glass of about five hundred power; discovered no
signs of blood; examined the sides and bottom but
found the outside was evidently new material; the bed
boards were originally green, and the name of the wagon
was on either side, in a circular form; the boards were
pretty well worn out, but I could see that the founda.
tion of these names was originally white; examined the
inside of the bed, and could see with the naked eye that
the paint had been originally red; on the inside I found
no signs at the time I examined it; examined the coup-
ling pole, and found n traces whatever; the coupling
pole had been painted red; this examination was about
two or three weeks ago; don't know what wagon it was,
only what I have been told.
TESTIMONY OF PETER MCDONAL.D.
I reside in Browning; am marshal there now; I
have lived in Browning about twenty-two or twenty-
three years; am acquainted with defendants; saw the de-
fendants on the evening of May 10th, 1894; saw them in
town and at home at Bill Taylor's house; went over to
Bill Taylor's house to see a pair of horses that George
had; he said they were his father's; they were bays;
that was about 6 or 6:30 in the evening; the team was

–44–
at Bill Taylor's barn eating corn when I was there saw
the defendant Wm. P. Taylor on the morning of May
11th, at the east side of his farm, he was standing with
his face to the east with one hand on the fence; he then
went to his house to the door on the south side; about
the time he pulled the screen door open I went into the
barn; when I first saw him he was standing right at the
fence with one hand right upon the fence, facing the
east, and turned and went back west to the house; the
fence was in an alley; this was about 5 o'clock in the
morning.
RE-DIRECT EXAMINATION BY E. B. FIELDS, ESQ.
That wasn't the last time I saw him; the next time
I saw him he was on his horse; George Taylor was with
him, about six or seven o'clock; I was at the south end
of the Crawley and Gable corner; that was before the
murder of the Meeks family was discovered; I suppose
it was not known until about 9 o'clock; they were travel-
ing when I saw them, in a walk; they were going along
in front of my house, and it looked like when they made
a turn and went west they walked along the faster.
TESTIMONY OF DAVID BEACHAM.
I reside at Browning; have lived there for 20 years;
know the defendants; saw them on the morning of May
11th, 1894; was on Mr. Meyer's place east of town,
about half a quarter east of town; saw George first; he
was coming into town; he was traveling on horse back;
he was traveling at a pretty good gait; I next saw them
probably in 25 minutes both going away from town east;
they were traveling in a good long gallop; that was be-
tween 7 and 8 o'clock in the morning.
–45–
TESTIMONY OF J. D. JESSE.
I reside three miles northeast of the town of Brown-
ing; am a minister of the gospel; of the church of
Christ; commonly known as the Christian church; know
the defendants; saw them on the morning of May 11th,
1894, about 100 yards east of the town of Browning;
they were traveling on horse back in a sweeping trot;
that was near the hour of 8 o'clock.
TESTIMONY OF J. W. FREEMAN.
I went from my home in Brunswick to Linn county
to look after the Taylors in the month of May, 1894;
left Brunswick the Tuesday following the murder and got
into Browning about 9 o'clock; drove from Sumner to
Linneus and from there to Browning and got there about
9 o'clock; got a team the next morning and drove to
George Taylor's farm with Jimmie Flemming; I went
down to George Taylor's house and from there to the old
man's house; returned about 1 o'clock to Browning; on
my way down, about 150 yards north of George Taylor's
house on the left hand side of the road going south, we
met a man on horseback, and Mr. Flemming called my
attention to him, and we drove on down the road; we
stopped about 150 yards above George Taylor's house
and I got out of the buggy and went back into a small
woodland pasture, on the left hand side of the road, and
I proceeded to go down through this pasture to the far
end, directly through the center of the pasture; did not
discover anything; on my return I took a diagonal cut
through the pasture and came out on the southwest cor-
ner of the pasture; when about seventy-five yards of the
fence 1 discovered a black object a little to the left;
thought it was a man; on going up to it. I discovered that





–46–
It was a burnt piece; it looked as though it was a piece
of a man’s pants, a clasp from a pocket-book, a burnt
feather bed and other articles; I took these to town with
me; this was from 60 to 70 yards of the road; that was
about 200 yards from the dwelling house of George Tay-
lor, across the road to the east and north; anywhere
from 7 to 10 feet had been burned off; the scraps that
remained unburned I gathered up and took back to
town with me; (paper handed witness) (scraps shown to
jury) that was about all the scraps that I saw there; I
tried to gather up all the feathers that were not burned;
suppose there was a hat full lying around there; gather-
ed up these things about 10 o'clock in the morning, on
Wednesday morning.
TESTIMONY OF MERS, MARTHA. J. MEEKS.
Gus Meeks and his wife were living with me at time
they were taken away and had been since he returned
from Jefferson City; I knew a pair of pants he had but
he did not wear them, he took them in his trunk I think;
those are the pants or piece of them, they look like them
(here witness was handed a piece of cloth) I recognized
them by the stripes; I never noticed the buckle on them;
they were a pretty fine pair of pants; Letha Page will know
them; I couldn't swear that that was his pocket book; it
looks like it; his wife never had any; they had a feath-
er bed that they took away with them with striped tick-
ing: he had a picture with a frame of about 100 differ-
ent kinds of wood, a very fine piece and it was covered
with glass; it was a picture of a lady that Gus used to go
with when he was a boy.
TESTIMONY OF MP, EDWARD BARTON.
I have a slight acquaintance with a detective by the

–47–
name of Freeman and I saw him in Linn county in the
month of May; I understood he was a resident of Bruns-
wick; he said he was looking for the defendants; I saw
him several times; he was round there two or three
weeks; he was with me several times looking for them
I did not request him or invite him to go; he was at
George Taylor's house the night of the murder and Mr.
Dave Gibson, Geo.'s father-in-law, was there also; there
was the rifle that Mr. Freeman took from the house and
a pistol; there was quite a number looking at it and he
told me I had better take charge of it: I told him I had
no authority; he never took them away, I took them and
put them back in the house; I presume I kept him from
taking them when I told him he wasn't to take them he
made the remark that I was too easy on the people: I told
him I wasn't there to molest any private property but
looking for the defendants; he said there in substance
that if Mr. Gibson was choked up a little he could tell
wherethe Taylor boys were; there was a number of persons
there but only two came with me; he was not a member
of my posse; nor an officer under me.
TESTIMONY OF CLARENCE WHITTAKER.
I am 24 years old and live about four miles north
of Browning; I am acquainted with Johny Hoke that
used to live there; I was at home on the night of May
10th the night of the murder; I was not away from
home that evening; that was the night before I heard of
the killing; I never saw Johny Hoke the night before;
he was at our house that day; he came about 3 o'clock
and left about 5; we had not gone fishing that night; It
had been about a week since we had been; our house is
about one-half a quarter from the road.

–48–
TESTAMONY OF MRS TISHA. WHIT TAKER.
I am step-mother to Clarence Whittaker; my hus-
band's name is Alfred Whittaker; we live in Sullivan
county, and did May 10th 1894; about three and one-
half miles from Browning; Clarence was at home the
night of the murder; he never left the place that day;
Johny Hoke came in about 3 o'clock and stayed an hour
or so; he went to bed about 9 o'clock that night, before
the rest of us; it had been a week or so since he had
gone fishing with Johny Hoke; that was the 10th day of
May 1894; the day after the murder;.
TESTIMONY OF MER, BALLINGER.
I am official stenographer of the Carroll circuit
court and took the testimony in the trial of this case at
the March term, 1895, among which was the restimony
of Johny Hoke; I have his testimony here.
He testified in the last case that he told the Whitta-
ker boy that night on the road that it was Bill Taylor
who passed them in a wagon; that he and Clarence
Whittaker were coming from fishing.
The witness then proceeded to read all the testimo-
ny of Johny Hoke taken at the last term.
V. M. Conkling then offered in evidence the Ladies
Almanac for 1894, published by the Chattanooga Medi-
cine Company, showing the calendar for the month of
May 1894, to show what time the moon set on that
night; the moon set on the night of the 10th of May,
1894, at four minutes after mid-night in the morning.
R. F. Lozier then offered in evidence the World
Almanac, published by the New York World, in 1894;
on page 40, it appears that in the month of May there
was a new moon on the 5th of May; that the moon

–49–
quartered between the 12th of May, and did not full un-
til the 19th of the month; It was also offered in evidence
from page 49 of the same book that upon May 11th,
1894, in the latitude of Missouri, that twilight began at
3:05 and that upon the evening before twilight ended at
S:47. -
Deposition of Mrs. Ed. Fowler, on behalf of the
state, read by Ralph F. Lozier:
My name is Rebecca Fowler; am 32 years of age;
live in Linn county, state of Missouri; during the
month of May, 1894, I was living at the farm of Mr.
McBees on the Browning and Milan road; know Milt
Jennings; have known him over three years; he resided
there on the 11th day of May, and stayed at my house
that night; after the killing of Gus Meeks and family at
the supper table on the 11th of May my husband spoke
of hearing a wagon going up the road north, and Jen-
nings said he did not hear any, and he went to sleep as
soon as he went to bed; he went to bed just after dark;
he was in the house between dusk and dark, and he went
to bed just after supper, and we had supper about 8
o'clock.
TESTIMONY OF Miss ALPHA VAN WYE.
I live at Brookfield, in Linn county, Missouri; in
the month of May, 1894, I lived in Browning; was in
Browning on the night of the 10th of May, 1894; in the
evening of that day I went to my aunts house; her name
was Mrs. McCullom, her husband's name is Belitha Mc-
Cullom; I was living at the time on Main street; I lived
on the north side of the street, west of the Peoples' Ex
change Bank on the same street, I lived on the north
side of the street and the Peoples' Exchange Bank was

–50–
on the south side of the street; my aunt lived in the
east part of town; the east side of the railroad, and on
Line street; my mother went with me to my aunt's tha
night; we started between 9 and 10 o'clock that night;
when we started we were to go by Mrs. Christ's house,
but they were not at home; and we went on to my aunt's;
in going from our house to Mrs. McCullom's we had to
pass in front of the Peoples' Exchange Bank; we saw
Wm. P. Taylor in front of the Peoples' Exchange Bank;
that was between 9 and 10 o'clock, he spoke to me and
we passed on; at the time he was standing in the door;
on the outside of the door of the bank; that was the
bank where he was employed at the time; we got to the
house of my aunt about 10 o'clock I guess; we stayed
that night at my aunt's; my mother stayed too; we
went there because she was sick with a cancer and we
went there to sit up with her; she has since died.
DEPOSITION OF EDA. OGLE,
I reside in Wheeling, Mo.; am 79 years of age; re-
sided at Mrs. McHolland's at Browning May 10, 1894,
and saw Mrs. VanWye there; she came about 10 o'clock
at night; she stayed until 4 o'clock the next morning;
she came to dress her sister's cancer; am sure she was
here before 10 o'clock, for Mrs. McHolland looked at
the clock and said it was 10 o'clock and Mrs. VanWye
was there then; Mrs. VanWye and her daughter were
there, my husband and Mr. McHolland's family; my
husband is now dead. The reason that they were so
much later that night in getting there made Mrs. Mc-
Holland angry; that is why I remember it.
TESTIMONY OF DB. H. F. C.R.A.I.G.
I live in North Salem, Linn county; have lived

–51–
there about four years; am a surgeon and know James
L. Harris; have known him since I came to Missouri; he
lived in the neighborhood of North Salem or was around
there; I think his reputation for truth and veracity is
not good: have heard it discussed, and it is not good.
TESTIMONY OF JOSIE BAILEY.
I am 12 years old and live about three and one-
half miles of Browning; think we live about a mile north
of Geo. Taylors; I was at home May 10th, 1894 in the
evening; saw Geo. Taylor that evening, he was going
north towards home in a lumber wagon long about 8 or
9 o'clock nearer nine than eight: he was in the middle
of the road and I was just over the fence a little piece
away; it was a bright mounlight night. I was by my-
self; was on my way aftea the cows to bring them up;
they were in a pasture north of our house; the road runs
north and that was on the east side of the road; the road
runs right by the house; there are some trees between
the yard and road; maple thees not very thick, though;
my mother and sister were there that evening; my sister
is older than I; my sister started out to the gate with me
but she went back to get her buckets to milk in; I was
going to drive the cows up; she was on the road; she is
here; my mother was in the house; hadn't seen George
Taylor before that time that day; had been to school tha
day; school let out at 4 o'clock, it is about a mile from
our house to Geo. Toylor's.
ALBERT TAYLOR TESTIFIED AS FOLLOWS.
I an a brother of the defendants and 24 years old and
live south-east of Browning and live at my father's house.
I was at Geo.'s house on the 10th of May, 1894; Geo.
went to Browning that afternoon to take some wagon

—52–
wheels to get them fixed; he was using my father's big
wagon and has slde boards on; were using his wagon to
keep the wheels from rubbing the other wheels had the
side-boards on; he left home that afternoon about 2.
o'clock; we started with 4 wheels but 1 of them did not
need fixing and we left it. He couldn't use his own
wagon for he didn't have but one wheel, and one of the
horses was heavy with foal and he used my father's; I
started with him and went between two and three miles;
I was on my way to see Jesse Hanley about buying
some shoats from me and I met him near Jinkins Hill at
a gate fixing up a gate and I got out there;
I got out in forty feet of him; my brother Geo.
did not tell me after I had gotten out to go and do what
I told you or don't forget to do what I told you; I stayed
there until after the children came from school and then
went back home; I left home after supper about 7 o'clock
that evening and went to widow White's and then came
by Mr. Creel's; while we were talking on the road Mr.
Hanley and I, Mrs. Sallie Carter was the first person
came along; she was in a single buggy by herself; I was
about a half an hour at Mrs. White's about the same
time at Mrs. Creel's and I went from there to brother
Geo.'s to see if he had gotten any mail for us; when I
got there he was leading the team in the lot and we un-
hitched them and turned them out; the wagon and team
was north and a little east of the barn; the wagon tongue
was pointed north-west; there was another wagon there
but it had no wheels on it, there was no more. I went
from there back home; I got there about 25 minutes after
nine, we live about 4 mile from Geo.'s farm streight
through or à round the road.

–53–
RE-DIRECT EXAMINATION.
Aiter I left Jesse Hanley up in the road I went streight
home, I ate supper that evening before I went to Mrs.
White's or Creel's; I saw my father's team the next
morning that Geo. had; the team looked like it always
did; I didn't notice any indication that they had been
driven from there or Browning to Milan and back to
Geo.'s house; they were turned out; I was working my
own team; I used my team to that wagon that day and
saw no indications whatever of any blood on any part of
the wagon; the reason I did not use the team was be-
cause one of them kicked and wasn't safe; when I got
home from the timber I heard of the finding of some
dead bodies in the straw stack; the first I heard of my
brother being accused was when Dave Gibson told me
about it while I was going to the stack; I heard of my
father's wagon being used to haul the dead bodies over
at the straw stack after which I made an examination of
the wagon, looked all over it and found no such indica-
tions; I left the stack about sun-down, between sun-down
and dark, waitad 'till next morning to examine it; I also
made examination of coupleing pole but found no signs
of blood stains; the wagon had been painted several
years ago a dark red color; the wear and tear of it had
rubbed it off more or less, of course; I was with Wm.
Harris that morning, he went over on that very wagon
to the timber with me; we both rode on the coupling pole
and we saw no indications of blood stains on it; I never
heard Jim Harris make any remark about blood stains
being on that wagon. There were tracks of horses in
the field there where the straw stack was; my father's
horses was not shod. The pony that I rode never had a
shoe on him. .

–54–
TESTIMONY OF MIRS, DAVID GIBSON.
I am the mothor-in-law of Geo. Taylor; he married
my daughter; my daughter lives with me now; we live on
Geo.'s place; on May 10th, 1894, we lived on Geo.
Taylor's place; don't just know exactly how far it is
from Geo.'s house; about 120 yards south, on the east
side of the road; Geo. Taylor's house is on the west side
of the road; I remember of being over to Geo. Taylor's
house on May 10th, 1894, on Thursday afternoon; Geo.
was at home at that time; Geo. went to his father's in
the afternoon sometime; don't know when he came back;
he went to Browning that evening, he went in his father's
wagon; he went to Browning to take his wagon wheels to
the wagon shop to get them fixed; he went about 3 o'clock
in the evening; Albert Taylor went with him;
he had the wagon wheels in the wagon; after he left
I staid there at Geo.'s until about 4 o’clock in the
evening and then I went down to my house; my daugh-
terwent with me; we staid until after I got supper; Geo.
Taylor's wife was with me at the time after supper
we went back up to Geo.'s house, and I staid
at my daughter's house all night; my daughter was feel-
ing badly at the time, was the reason that I went home
with her; she was in a delicate condition and
I concluded to stay all night; we went to bed just as
soon as we got there, which was about eight o'clock
or a little after; George had not got back from Browning
at that time; he got back about 9 o'clock; I was up stairs.
when he came back; I heard him open the door; was up.
during the night; slept in the north room up stairs; came
down at 9 o'clock; I heard George come home; and went
down to see how my daughter was feeling; I heard them
talking and I came down stairs; saw George when I came

–55–
down; I then went up stairs again; came down again
about midnight; heard my daughter's little baby crying;
came down stairs and stepped into the room, went back
into the room, an told her to give me the baby; we pass-
ed some words between us; we were talking about the
baby; at that time he was lying over behind his wife in
the bed; I took the baby up stairs with me; staid the rest
of the night up stairs in bed; got up the next morning
about daylight; it was just getting daylight; went down
stairs, and went into the room where George Taylor was;
saw him at that time; he was in the bed in his room;
passed some words with him at the time; I then went
down to my house; ms husband's wagon was at his own
house that night,
My husband was not down stairs that night; had no
opportunity to see George Taylor; my husband's
wagon the next morning was down at our house;
the wagon had been used the day before for
hauling water; we had no well; there was a barrel of
water in it that morning; I was in Browning the next
day; have seen Mr. Breshnehan before; have seen him at
Linneus; court was in session at the time I was there.
TESTIMONY OF KATIE BAILY.
I live four miles southeast of Browning; was living
there in May, 1894; remember where I was on the even-
ing of Thursday May 10, 194; was at home; my home was
one mile south of George Taylor's house; about 9 o'clock
that night I was crossing the road going east into the
milk lot; saw a wagon and team at that time; did not
recognize the man, at the time, that was in the wagon;
seen the team go north that same evening to Browning;
George Taylor and his brother Albert were in the wagon

–56–
when I saw it, that was between 2 and 3 o'clock; did not
pay much attention to the wagon, but noticed the team;
it was Mr. Jim Taylor's team; had seen it lots of times
before; the moon was shining at the time; did not notice
to see who was in the wagon.
TESTIMONY OF MBS. GEO, TAYLOR.
I am the wife of the defendant, Geo. E. Taylor; I
live in Lian couffty, about five miles from Browning,
southeast; I was at home on the day of May 10, 1894,
excepting a little while in the afternoon; my husband
went to Browning; he went to take his wagon wheels to
get them fixed at the wagon shop; he took his father's
wagon because he had no other wagon but the one with
the wheels off; he took his father's team because his team
was not fit to work; he started to Browning about 3
o'clock; his brother Albert went with him; after he left I
went to my mother's and staid there about an hour or two;
came home a little after sundown, after supper; my
mother came up home with me and she staid at my
house all night; I was sick and my mother came home
with me on that account; I was feeling badly that even-
ing; my husbamd got home that night from Browning
about 9 o'clock; after he came home he went
to bed with me; he was there all night; my mother was
down stairs shortly after my husband came home; she
came down again about 12 o'clock; she came down to
get my little girl; I have another child older than this
One. -
I saw my husband at 9 o'clock; he staid there all
night, I saw him the next morning until he went off;
he went north on horseback; he rode a horse that he had
there of his brother William's; he was keeping it; I got

–57–
up the next morning about 5 o'clock; I got up after my
mother did; did not see my husband when he saddled
his horse; I saw him when he started off towards Brown-
Ing.
TESTIMONY OF CHARLES TAYLOR.
I am a brother of the defendants; I am 17 years
of age; I live 4 miles southeast of Browning; on the
10th day of May, 1894, I was living with my father,
Jas, C. Taylor; lived about half a mile from Geo. E.
Taylors on that day; on may 10th, 1894, I was at home
part of the day; on the morning of May 11th, 1894, we
went to the woods; I went with my father, Jim Harris,
my brother Albert and Bill Gibson; don't know what
time we started to the timber; we were going there to
pile up wood; the timber is about two miles from my
father's house; I was at home when my father's wagon
was brought home that morning; Will Gibson brought it;
Jim Harris came with him; when they arrived there my
father's team was turned out; one of the horses was
dangerous about kicking, the bay horse the horse with
the star in its forehead; they exhibited no signs of driv-
ing long the night before; they exhibited no signs of
weariness or fatigue; we returned from the timber about
11 o'clock; when we arrived home my mother told me
about the trouble just as soon as she could; we then went
to the straw pile on George's farm; we arrived there be-
tween 11 and 12 o'clock; found these dead bodies there;
there was a crowd of about 50 or 75 persons; don't know
how long I remained there, then went home; went home
to examine the wagon bed; wished to make an examina-
of the wagon bed because there was talk about them be-
ing hauled in my father's wagon; they accused my

brothers of it; made an examination of the wagon bed
about 3 o'clock; examined it all over, inside and out;
found no evidences of blood stains; the wagon bed had
been painted on the edges when it was made; the paint
was nearly all rubbed off; the wagon had been in use
four or five years; the wagon bed on the inside had been
painted; made an examination of all of it at that time;
made another examination probably a week after; ex-
amined the coupling pole, discovered no evidence of
blood stains on the coupling pole; examined the outside
of the wagon bed, discovered no evidences of blood; ex-
amined the side boards a day or two afterwards, discov-
ered no blood stains or spots at all; this wagon when I
made the examination was in front of the barn; while {
was over there at the straw stack, discovered the wagon
tracks; discovered the trachs of the horses there, and
noticed a horse track with a shoe on; it was on the left
foot of the off horse, the front foot; there were no
shoes on the other feet; my father's team was not
shod, had no shoes on at all; I examined the wagon
tracks at George's barn; the tracks at the straw stack ran
right down through a lane and through his orchard; the
tracks at the barn yard went on past and into the public
road, and turned south; did not make a measurement o
the wagon tires; saw some one who made a measurement;
it was about one and one-eighth inches.
TESTIMONY OF REV. GIBSON.
Geo. Taylor is my brother-in-law; on May 11th,
1894, I was working for John Gibson on his farm until
10 o'clock, that is about 2 miles from Geo. Taylor's,
west; I received information there that morning that the
Meeks family had been murdered and their bodies bur-

–59–
ied in the straw stack; went over about noon and found 40
or 50 people there; I heard there that they accused
George and Will Taylor of doing the crime, and that
they had hauled the bodies there in James Taylor's wag-
on; after I heard that I went over to James Taylor's and
saw a wagon in the barn yard; I made an examination
of the bed to see if there was any blood on it and I found
no signs whatever; the inside of the box had been paint-
ed red one time, and it had been used several years, and
in places it was rubbed off leaving little spots on it some
8 or 10 inches maybe a foot square; I don't think the
bottom was ever painted, there was no sign of it; I made
an examination of the outside, but I didn't see the side
boards; made another examination 2 or 3 weeks after-
wards in Mr. Taylor's barn yard and found it had been
burnt on the right hand side facing the front of the wag-
on; saw no signs of any blood at all; at the straw pile I
noticed some horse tracks; the horse tracks were in the
meadow between the wagon tracks, and one front foot
had a shoe on; made some measurement of those wagon
tracks and found them about 1 inch; traced these tracks
to the barn yard; I didn’t track them to the road; the
mud there is a clay mud; it is a clay ridge along there.
The tracks didn,t extend any west of the straw
stack, but they extended north to the fence; the horse
tracks were in the meadow, saw none in the ploughed
ground.
The harrow made a circle there near the stack but
it was harrowed clear to the fence; it went in about
forty yards of it and then turned south to the straw
pile.
It come about 75 yards east of the straw pile to
the meadow. Then went north to the others, then west

—60–
again to the straw pile, turned there and went back
east and back toward the house.
TESTIMONY OF WIM. GIBSON.
I lived May 11th, 1894, of a mile south and +
east of George Taylor's; was at work that morning; went
to work harrowing corn; received information that morn-
ing of the killing of the Meeks family, and I unhitched
the team and went over to Frank Carter's; reckon it was
about 8 o'clock, found several neighbors there; it is
about 150 yards from the straw pile; we didn't go over
to the pile until the Browning folks came; was there
when they uncovered the bodies; Gus Meeks' head was
lying a little northwest; saw some horse tracks there not
on the ploughed ground; did in the meadow. The tracks
were right between the wagon tracks; the right hand
horse had one front shoe on; they charged the Taylor
boys with doing the killing, thought they were the ones
and that the bodies were hauled in Mr. Jas. Taylor's
wagon; left the straw pile about noon and went home;
never went to Jas. Taylor's until Monday early before
breakfast; saw the wagon there, the running gear was in
the lot, the bed in the shed; never noticed the running
gear but did the bed; was looking for blood; had heard
there were parties that had seen blood on it, and wanted
to satisfy myself about it; the wagon had been used
several years; didn't notice any signs of blood at all; it
had been painted a reddish color; it had worn off in
places and left spots; didn't discover any indications of
blood; think if there had been any I would have seen it,
I looked carefully; noticed round on the sides, never
noticed underneath the bed; never discovered any evi-
dence of blood on the outside of the wagon bed; there

–61–
was a splotch on the side boards, but it looked as if it
had been paint off some machinery there, corn planter or
something like that; that was along in the middle of the
side boards; looked at the side boards and inside of the
wagon bed; never saw any blood at all; never saw the
wagon after that; there was a good many measuring those
wagon tracks down in the field and they run from 14 to
1, inches; it didn't make a square track; traced the
tracks to the straw pile and from the straw pile back to
the road; we couldn't tell what direction they went then,
it entered the road right east of George Taylor's
barn; couldn't tell which way they went.
TESTIMONY OF MERS. JAS. TAYLOR.
I am the wife of James C. Taylor and the mother of
Wm. P. and Geo. E. Taylor; am 55 years of age; have
lived a good portion of my life in Missouri, the most of
the time in Linn county, part of the time in Sullivan
county; have lived in Linn county about 26 years; we
have been living out there on a farm; William is my old-
est son and George is next to the oldest; William for the
last several years has been in Browning in business;
George lived with us on the farm until he married, since
then he has been living on the farm that adjoins next to
ours; was at home the day after the murder the 11th day
of May, 1894, on Friday; first heard of the murder in
the forenoon some time, maby about 10 o'clock, I don’t
know, before dinner anyway; at that time I never heard
who they accused of the crime; heard that afternoon when
the boys came back from the straw pile that they were
accusing my boys of the crime; and that day I heard that
it was charged that the bodies were hauled in our wagon;
that was the same wagon that George had driven to

–62–
Browning the evening before; he took the wagon from
our house, didn't go to Browning with him; made an ex-
amination because they were accusing them of the crime
and I wanted to see whether there was any blood on it;
examined the wagon carefully; looked inside and outside
and all over it; was looking for signs of blood and I
looked all over it; saw no indications of blood, none
whatever never saw any upon any part of the wagon;
never at any time made an examination of the coupling
pole; have never paid any attention to the side boards at
any time; examined the wagon bed good and there was
nothing on it.
About 4 o’clock one of the most severe rain and
wind storms that we have had this season occured and
Judge Rucker ordered a recess until the storm was over.
Later in the afternoon the jury was brought into court
and Judge Rucker adjourned court until 8 o'clock the
following morning.
TESTIMONY OF wyſ. M'CLANNAHAN.
I heard of the Meeks murder on the morning of
May 11th, 1894; I went down to the Taylor farm and
saw the straw stack; went after dinner about 1 o'clock;
remained on the ground nearly all evening; examined
the harrowing and wagon tracks on the northeast of the
stack; the harrowing left the plowed ground and went
out a little south and went over the wagon tracks and
went out a little south of where the wagon came in; I
would judge it would be 30 feet.
Where the harrowing left the plowed ground to go
back to George Taylor's barn and house it was where it
came out through the south and passed south of the
straw pile, went to the meadow and from there to George

–63–
Taylor's; harrowing seemed to be over the wagon tracks;
the first round the harrow struck the wagon tracks at the
east end of the the corn field, went down to the straw
pile and back, and then another round to nearly the west
end of the field; it had gone one round as far down as
the straw stack and back again to the meadow; one
round that went to the west side of the corn field, or
close to it; the straw stack was not very far from the west
side, but I don't know whether the harrow went to the
west side or not; it passed south of the straw pile though;
when it got to the meadow it went on down to the barn;
where the harrow went away from the corn field it was
Some 30 feet from the wagon tracks, south of them;
where the harrow had made a circle it was north of where
the harrow left the field.
The harrow seemed to follow the wagon tracks on
fhe northeast; it came in and went out somewhere near
the wagon track; did not measure the distance.
TESTIMONY OF JAS. C. TAYLOR.
I now live four miles southwest from Browning; I
have lived there 26 years, with the exception of four
years; have lived in this state all my life with this ex-
ception; I am the father of the defendants, Wm. P. and
George E. Taylor; my oldest son is Willie, my next
oldest is George Taylor, the defendant; I have five child-
ren living; my son Willie lives at Browning; he has lived
there eight or ten years; my son George lives west of me
about half a mile or a littie over on a farm adjoining my
own; George has been living there not quite a year; he
has been married about three years, I guess; I have been
a farmer all my life; I was at my farm on the tenth day
of May, 1894; George came to my house that afternoon;

–64–
he asked to borrow my wagon; he did not ask to borrow
my team; I told him he had just as well take the team
along too; the team was hitched up at the barn, and my
son Albert drove it over to his house; don’t know what
George did in the mean time; he went towards home;
George took my wagon because he wanted to take the
wheels of his own wagon to the shop to be repaired; I
was at home the next morning when my team was
brought home; I would not say who was driving them,
but I think Bill Gibson drove them; think I had a good
opportunity to see the team that morning; I was there
when they were unhitched; helped to unhitch them my-
self; the team looked all right at that time; they were in
good condition; they gave no evidence of having been
driven over a long muddy road the night before; from
Browning to Milan I think they call it 14 miles by rail;
it is somewhere in the vicinity of 12 or 14 miles; from
Browning to George Taylor's farm it is about four and
one half miles; there was no indications in the team of
having been driven from 26 to 30 miles that night; the
roads the night before were right smartly slippery; as
well as I can remember it quit raining Thursday a little
before noon; between 10 and 11 o'clock; that was about
the only rain that we had that spring; it had been mighty
dry before this; I went down to the timber that morning;
before going to the timber Jim Harris was present up to
that time; think me and Jim Harris took the wagon bed
off the wagon; Jim Harris did not call my attention to
the blood on the coupling pole; he said nothing to me at
the time about there being blood on it; he did not take a
wisp of straw or nay to take anything off the wagon; he
went down into the timber that morning to pile up wood;
when we took the wagon to the timber Albert's team was

–65–
hitched to the wagon; one of my horses was a little
dangerous about kicking if you touched him; in loading
in long poles one would have to catch hold of one end
and one of the other; I don't know just what time we
got back from the woods; sometime betwixt 11 and 12
o'clock. I first heard of the discoveries of the dead
bodies when I got home; did not hear of the accusation
against my sons until along in the afternoon; heard ac-
cusations against my wagon on that afternoon; after
hearing of these things I made an examination of my
wagon; the wagon, when I examined it, was sitting in
the lot; think I put the bed on myself and pulled it
around in front of the door; the bed was taken off when
we started to the timber; we brought the wagon back,
and I put the bed ou, examined the inside of the wagon
bed, saw no indications of blood of any kind on the wag-
on bed; looked all along on the coupling pole, running
gear, wheels and all over, and saw no indications of
blood anywhere there; examined the side boards a few
days afterwards, saw no signs of blood on them at all;
the side boards were scraped up right smartly; the sides
of the bed had been painted, and I suppose the bot-
tom had; the color of paint was originally dark red; it
was nearly all off; on one side of the bed it was more off
than on the other; I don't know how the wagon bed was
burned; we had a fire up close to the house in the hen
yard, boiling down some brine; think it was on Thursday
as near as I can remember, the Thursday after the
murder was discovered. Tuesday morning Albert set
the wagon bed off right close to where we had the fire.
TESTIMONY OF WILLIE GIBSON.
I was living at my father's house on the night of

–66–
May 10th, 1894, about 100 yards from George Taylor's;
I went to George Taylor's early the next morning; I saw
George Taylor at his house the day before that; I helped
him do the feeding the next morning; saw George Tayl-
or's horses at his house about three o'clock; never saw
them the next morning in the barn; saw nothing wrong
with the horses at all; they looked to me just like they
always did; saw them just about sun up the next morn-
ing; saw George Taylor at that time, he was feeding the
horses; we curried the horses that morning, I curried
one horse and he the other; before we curried them they
had some manure on their hips, and their legs were a
little muddy; after we curried them we harnessed the
horses, we did not do anything more to them then; we
then went to the house and ate breakfast; after breakfast
we bridled the horses and hooked them to the wagon and
drºve them over to Mr. Jas. Taylor's; after they were
hitched up they acted like they always did; there was
nothing about them to indicate usage that day or the
night before; saw nothing unusual about George Taylor
that morning; he acted and looked just about the same
way he always did; I drove the horses over to Mr.
Taylor's; did not see anything about the horses that indi-
cated that they had been washed; Jim Harris was in the
stable the morning we were at George's, did not do any-
thing in particular.
I heard George Taylor come home that night; the
north window was up where I was sleeping and I heard
the noise of the wagon when it came down the road; that
was about 9 o'clock; the road passed right down by the
house; the public road that he came down was about 15
or 20 feel from where I was sleeping; did not see him
any more until the next morning after sunrise; when I

–67–
saw the wagon the next morning it pointed to the north-
west; there was no other wagon there that morning; my
father's wagon was down at his house; saw it when I
went down that night; there was a barrel of water in it;
the water was hauled that evening, my father hauled it;
he also hauled a load of hay that evening; hauled the
water afterwards, and the water was left in the wagon;
noticed the harrowing that was done in the field that
morning; the harrow came in at the east side, and came
to the straw pile and across to the west side; saw the
wagon tracks there; the harrow had followed the corn
rows; the harrow had started from the east side; that
was east from the straw pile; it was just about due east
from the north end of the stack; the harrow turned
around there at the house and drove off to the field, and
then drove in there at the east side and ran across to the
north dide of the straw pile and went on west to the
fence and then south and then back east and then turned,
went across the east corner and then back to the straw
pile, turned around and went to the house; after the
wagon left the corn field there I followed its tracks; the
tracks left the field there and went over by the house
and entered the road and turned south; it went out to
the field by the house; there was a gate where it went
out; after this wagon went out it went through the gate
and into the road and entered the public road; it went
north of the place where the mud was cleaned off; it was
some little distance. I made an examination of the
wagon and the wagon bed; made an examination Friday
afternoon; examined the wagon bed all over, and all
parts of the wagon; made no discovery as to any blood
stains; examined the coupling pole and found nothing to
indicate any signs of blood whatever; this was the day

–68–
following the murder; first heard of a murder being
committed when I got over to Mr. James Taylor's; went
over to the straw pile and then came back and examined
the wagon; heard the people talking that George and
Will Taylor had hauled the bodies in James Taylor's
wagon, and I know that such a deed could not be done
without there being blood stains on the wagon.
TESTIMONY OF MERS. CARTER
Defendant, by their counsel, Mr. Conkling, read in
evidence the testimony of Mrs. Carter before the coron-
er's inquest, which was as follows:
I saw a man harrowing 200 yards from the straw
pile; do not know who done the harrowing.
(Signed) SALLIE A. CARTER,
It was agreed that the statement was sworn to.
TESTIMONY OF DR, VAN wy E.
I am the same witness that was called by the state
in this trial and am the same Dr. Van Wye that testified
in the trial of this case at the March term; don't know
that I am any relation to Mrs. Mattie Van Wye, may be
some to her husband, but don't know what that is; was
at the house of Mas. Van Wye some time before the
grand jury met; don't know the date; probably I was
there on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday after she testi-
fied before the special grand jury; was at her house and
had a conversation with Mrs. Van Wye that time; we
went into a room alone; think I also had a conversation
with her and her daughter on the same occasion and at
the same place; I did not state there to Mrs. Van Wye
or her daughter or in their presence that if she testified
in behalf of the Taylor boys that the prosecuting attorney
would blacken her character and prosecute her before

–69–
she left the court room and send them to jail; neither
did I say to her or either of them on that occasion or at
any other time that if they would leave the country they
could have any amount of money they asked for; nor I
did not say to either of them that no one would believe
Bely the McCullins on oath except in the Taylor case;
and did not tell either of them that I had seen their
statement before the grand jury. -
TESTIMONY OF MERS. MATTIE VAN WYE.
I have been sick since I have been here and under
the care of a physician; I live at Brookfield and am a
married woman; my husband lives in Brookfield; we
lived in Browning May 11th, 1894; on the evening of
May 10th, 1894, at the time I was living over a restaur-
ant in Browning on the north side of Main street; Mrs.
McCullum is my sister and lived across the railroad in
Browning about a quarter of a mile from me; I went to
my sister's that eqening; she was sick and I went to
dress her cancer; she has since died; it was between 9
and ten o'clock when we got there, my daughter, Alpha,
was with me; the clock struck 10 after we got there; we
went east of our place until we come to a sidewalk or
crossing on main street then turned east there and went
past Mr. Taylor's bank or the People's Exchang Bank,
and as we passed there we saw Mr. Taylor just coming
out of the bank, Mr. Wm. Taylor; it was a little before
ten o'clock; my daughter spoke to him, I did not; after
leaving there we went to my sister's and got there a little
before ten: there was no one at Mrs. Mccullums except
he and his wife and two children, my father and mother;
my mother's name is Eda Ogle; my father died in Decem-
ber last; it was just about 10 minutes before 10 o'clock

–70–
when we got there, and we stayed until four or five the
next morning, when we went home; I testified before the
special grand jury at Brookfield and they didn't ask me
any questions only what related to this case; Mr. Bresh-
nehan was there, I couldn't tell when that was, about
the first of March; after that I was living at Brookfield;
1 am slightly acquainted with Dr. Wah Wye and he was
at my house and went into a room with me, and also he
took me and my daughter both in the room. He stated
in the presence of us both that if we testified in behalf of
the Taylor boys that the prosecuting attorney would
blacken our character and prosecute us before we left
the court room and send us to jail; and he told us that
if we would leave the country we might have any amount
of money we want d or might ask for; and he told us.
that Blythe McCullum would swear to anything and that
he could be gotten to swear that you were not at his
house that night; and he said in that same conversation
that nobody would believe Blythe McCullum except in
the Taylor case; and he told us that he had seen our
statement before the grand jury.
TESTIMONY OF PETER M’DonALD.
I have been on the witness stand before and live in
Browning; have lived there about 22 years; am marshal
of the town there but was a teamster and am acquainted
with the road from Milan to Browning; it is about 12
miles by wagon route and 114 by rail; some call it 12
and some 14; there are quite a number of hills between
Milan and Browning.
TESTIMONY OF GEO. TAYLOR.
I am one of the defendants in this case and live 4,
miles southeast of Browning on the farm, have lived in

that neighborhood all my life. I was raised on the farm
and have done nothing else; have been married 4 years
this fall and have two ehildren. I was at home part of
the evening on May 10, 1894; that afternyon I went over
to my fathers to get some cabbage plants; he lives a half
a mile from me; it had commenced raining that evening
and rained until 9 or 10 in the morning. I went over
there to get his wagon to take some wheels to town that
needed new tires and he told me to take his team and
I wouldn't have to go back home, and I did so, or at
least my brother Albert drove it over home and I went
to Browning. I went over and looked at a pasture north
of my fathers and then went back home; guess I got
back home about half past two o'clock; then took my
wheeels on the wagon and took them to town; the wagon
and wheels were my own; that was the only wagon I had;
got to Browning about four o'clock; the wheels were
taken out at John Christ' shop; the bank was just about
closed; had no other business there that day unless it
was to get the mail; the wheels were taken to my brother
and sa far as I know they are still there; I havent seen
them since; went up to Bill Taylor's and put my team in
his barn and ate my supper there and went down town
that afternoon and met several people; had nothing es-
pecial to do that evening; went back to my brothers
about sundown; after I got my supper we talked awhile;
it was between sundown and dark when I started, nearer
dark; I should judge it was about 8 o'clock, between
half past seven and eight I am positive; that evening as
I left there was a large horse blanket thrown in the wag-
on; don't know whether he threw it in or I did, rather
think he did; went south after I left the house, about a
block then east a half a mile, then w nt south 1 miles
–72–
or 2 miles, then east of a mile, then in a south-
easterly direction towards home; that is the only road
that I know of to Browning that a person can travel; I
have no recollection of meeting any one; got home about
9 o'clock and put my team in the barn; I come in just
east of the barn; have a 40 and an 80 there and the road
runs between them; the road is east of the 80 between
the two; the house is inside, the barn is south of the
gate and the gate comes in east of the barn, probably
100 yards from the road, the barn is 100 yards from the
house; went in the gate east of the barn; was going west
when I went into the gate; went west after I got inside
until I got pretty near the lot; we stoped at a regular
place there and the tongue was pointed a little northwest;
put the team in the barn and went to bed; went to bed
with my wife; my brother Albert, was there that night,
he came over to see if I had gotten a letter; he went back
east from there towards my father's; my father-in-law
and mother-in-law was at my house that night; I never
saw him, but I saw her a few minutes after I went into
the house; the next morning I saw them both; they got
up before I did and passed through the room and I think
I spoke to them both; they went down to their own place
that morning; I hadn't gotten up when they passed
through the room; I got up immediately after that; done
up my work milking and feeding and the chores; Little
Billie Gibson came to the barn, he was working there for
me; had been all summer; his father and Jim Harris were
with him; they all got there about the same time; we
had breakfast about three-fourths of an hour after we
got up; Jim Harris ate breakfast there; they went back
to the barn and Billie hooked up my father's wagon and
took it home; Harris wasn't working for me; after they















left I hooked up my team and put them to the harrow
and went to the west field; had harrowed the east field
before that; this corn had been planted some 6 or 8 days;
that is, the part I was harrowing had been; it had been
planted at different times; that portion I was harrowing
was planted last; I planted some north of the stack be-
fore that time; this ground was broken up; this was the
first breaking I did that spring; it had rained but this
LITTLE NELLIE MEEKS, THE ONLY survivor of THE
MEEKS FAMILY.
was on a rise and there was a draw on the north and on
the south; it was very good harrowing, maybe a little
heavy but very good; think you could see the corn in a
few places; commenced harrowing about 6:30 that morn-
ing, the sun had been up sometime; I went to the barn
lot, the harrow was north of the barn lot and there was
a path that runs down by the lot fence; commenced har-
rowing east of the straw stack, struck the corn field
northwest of my barn, just east of the straw stack about


–74–
150 yards; it was probably a little north; nearly east, op-
posite the north side of the straw stack; went from the
field to the west side then turned south about 40 yards
and then back east of the meadow; hadn't quite got back
to the meadow when a little boy came up to me; I was
about 25 or 30 yards away; didn't know the boy; suppose
it is the same one that testified on the stand; don't know
him; he told me there was a little girl come to the house
and said her sisters were in the straw stack; I told him 1
guessed that couldn't be, or something like that, I don't
remember the words; he said her mother andfather were
on the road, in that same conversation; stopped a few
minutes when he came up and went east and then drove
to where I began harrowing, had just made a round; I
drove them to the straw stack; went west right into the
straw stack; then kicked up a bunch of straw and saw a
man's face, I took it to be Gus Meeks; that's who I
thought it was; I then drove back to the barn, unhooked
my team or gave it to a boy to unhook; as I drove back
I was going southeast; about the same place where I had
entered that ploughed ground; I drove southeast; the
little boy went with me as far as the barn; I got my
horse after we got there, and went to town; I told Billie
Gibson to unhook the team; I went to Browning to get
an officer to see what was the best to be done; I thought
it was Gus Meeks' face; went to get an officer and find
out what I could; went to see Bill Taylor at Browning
and I saw him; never talked with anybody else; we had
a consultation as to what was best to be done; we got on
horses and left town; we concluded it was a put up job
on us; we were afraid to stay; that was why we left; we
were afraid of being mobbed; we knew it would cause a
good deal of excitement; I knew we had lots of enemies

in that country and we thought we had better go, and we
left; I stayed in town, or we did, 20 or 30 minutes and
went east and south; we saw our father, Dave Gibson
and Uncle Jack Harris was there too; they were out in
the timber; we left our horses there with the fellows and
left; we went southeast from where they were working;
we afterwards surrendered to Jerry South in Arkansas;
he came back as far as St. Louis; we stayed the first
night at Mr. Hays' and we stayed in a little office there;
two men stayed with us, Capt. Cravens and Jerry South
stayed in a room with us; we went io Batesville by boat
the next morning and then went to Little Rock by rail;
we were not put under any restraint while we were on
the boat at all; Jerry South was up on top just like any
other passenger, and around it; we remained at Batesville
until the next morning, slept at a hotel; don't remember,
think Jerry and Mr. Cravens slept in the same room;
went around the town some after we had gotten supper;
got there about 9 o'clock; next went to Little Rock by
rail; we were there two or three days and were under no
restraint while there; we stayed at Beach hotel; we were
not guarded; the first evening Mr. South was round the
hotel and that night he went out and stayed part of ſhe
night, don't know where; we were not guarded in his
absence; there was a convention of some sort going on
there; suppose the convention had adjourned; we attend-
ed one night and think it adjourned; we were under no
restraint whatever; we came back to Missouri without a
requisition; we were willing to come back to Missouri,
we game back by way of St. Louis, where we were met
by Sheriff Barton and Mr. Pierce are all I remember;
there were one or two others there possibly; we came to
Macon City by Hannibal; there was not a word said be-

tween Mr. South and I or my brother about this case; if
he had a conversation with Bill I don't knowit; we talked
nothing about the case; had no conversation whatever
about the case; we came on to Macon City and went to
St. Joe; the reason why we didn't go to Linn county was
because the sheriff got word there was a mob forming
down there at Brookfield and Milan and Browning; we
stayed in Macon City until midnight that night; we got
there about dark that evening; we then went south from
Macon City, I don't know how far; we didn't go by
Kansas City; we got our breakfast at Lexington Junction
and from there we went to St. Joe; we got to St. Joe
just before noon I think; we remained at St. Joe until
December 10th then we were brought back to Linneus
and from Linneus to here where we have been in jail
ever since.
TESTIMONY OF DAVID CHANEY.
I live at Browning; have lived there about 3 years;
I know James Harris; have been acquainted with him
about 5 years; have lived about the neighborhood of
Purdin about 23 years; I knew Jim Harris during that
time; know his general reputation for truth and veracity;
it is bad.
Have lived in the settlement for 22 or 23 years;
have lived in the neighborhood of Purdin 13 years; work
by the day's work for a living; don't know that me and
Jim Harris were any more intimate than anybody else;
have been at his house frequently but not so often as he
has been to mine; we were always friends. -
TESTIMONY OF JOHN EATON. º
I reside at Purdin, have lived there about 5 years;
know Jim Harris, have known him between two and
–77–
three years; he has been living in that vicinity all the
time; do not know his general reputation in the neighbor-
hood for truth and veracity.
DE POSITION OF A. G. CRAVENS.
V. M. Conkling offered in evidence the deposition of
A. G. Cravens, taken in the office of S. W. Woods, in
Arkansas, on the 16th day of July, 1894, as follows:
My name is A. G. Cravens, reside in Marion county,
Arkansas, am 55 years of age, am slightly acquainted
with the defendants; met them in Buffalo City in 1894:
am acquainted with Jerry C. South; have been acquainted
with him 5 or 6 years; I was present and assisted in the
arrest of the defendants; I was pilot on the steamer,
Myrtle, and was at Buffalo City at the time of the ar-
rest of the defendants; Jerry C. South came on the boat
and took me aside and asked me if there were two
strangers in the city or about the boat; I told him there
was, and south took a card from his pocket with a print-
ed reward of $2,100 on it; also had a picture of two men;
South said, “Let’s arrest them for what there is in it.”
I replied, “Alright, I will go into it and we will make
the arrest.” South said, “Let's go to the store.” We
went to the store and talked with them; awhile after I
went down to the boat and South came down and called
me out and said, “Let’s go and make the arrest.” We
went to the store together, and got a double barreled
shot gun and the two Taylors got up and walked off to-
wards the hotel; when they had gone 30 steps we fol-
lowed them, and Mr. South called them to halt and they
immediately stopped and went back towards us; South
was on one side of the road when they came up and I
was on the other; South told them to consider themselves.



–78–
under arrest; I asked Wm. Taylor if he had any arms;
he said that he had a pistol; he dropped his hand down
to his side; he made an effort to get the weapon, and I
took the pistol; when we arrested the defendants South
did not draw the gun on them nor any other time; South
did not ask them at any time to throw up their hands;
he did not run aften the defendants; when they were ar-
rested we walked back to the store; after the conversa-
tion in the store we went back to the hotel and had sup-
per and came on back to the boat; we started to Bates-
ville with them on the steamer Myrtle; while we were
goidg to Batesville there was no watch kept over them
at all.
TESTIMONY OF WIM. P. TAYLOR.
Q, Mr. Taylor, are you one of the defendants in
this case? Yes sir. -
Q. What is your name? Wm. P. Taylor.
Q. Where did you live prior to this time? I lived
in Browning. -
Q. How old are you? I am 33 years of age.
Q. What hod been your occupation during the past
few years? For the last ten years I have been practicing
law, part of the time in a bank; I also trade around some
on the outside; do a little bit of farming.
Q. Are you a married man? Yes sir, I have a wife
and three children.
Q. Where were you on the 10th of May, 1894? I
was there in Browning.
Q. You can state whether or not your brother Geo.
Taylor came to Browning that day? He did along in the
evening, probably 4 o'clock.
Q. What, if anything, did he bring with him? He

–79–
brought up some wagon wheels in his wagon to the shop,
which was near the bank door.
Q. State if you know whose wagon and team he
was using.
Q. What was done with the wagon wheels and
team? The wheels were taken out and left in the shop;
I rolled part of them in; then we drove the team up to
my place and put them in the stable; that was in the
neighborhood of 4 o'clock.
Q. After you put the team up, what did you do?
Went back to town, I think.
Q. About what time did you close your bank?
About 4 o'clock usually; think they had about closed the
bank as we stepped out.
Q. How long did you stay at the house before you
went back to town? Not very long; just long enough to
unhitch the team and tie them in the barn.
Q. Then what did you do? Went back down to
the bank; I was kinder loafing around town; George
wanted to go back to see about something, and give some
instructions about the wheels, but the shop was closed.
Q. Was there many people around town that even-
ing? Well, not a great many, just the usual crowd. -
Q. State whether or not you and George were on
the street until you went home? Yes sir, we were in the
office together; I did not go on the street very often my-
self, I usually stayed about the office pretty close.
Q. Do you remember whether you and George were
together most of the evening? We were together all the
time he was at the office, but when he was in town he
was alone part of the time.
Q. State whether George Taylor took supper at
your house that evening. He did,
–80–
Q. About what time? Well, it was nearly night;
I don’t know the hour.
Q. What did you do after supper? After supper
we talked a few minutes and he took his team and start-
ed home.
Q. There has been something said here about some
quilts being thrown into the wagon as he left the prem-
ises that evening. Yes sir, it was one quilt and a horse
blanket. I did it myself.
Q. For what purpose? For him to take them home;
they belong either to him or my father.
Q. How did they happen to be at your house? In
passing back and forth they would bring things and for-
get them.
Q. What did George do then? He got in his wag-
on and drove towards home.
Q. What did you do after George left? I went
into the house and stayed a little while and from there
down town to the bank. -
Q. Were your bank and law office together? Yes
sir.
Q. State to the jury how long you remained at the
bank and office? I don't know just what time I got
there, but when I left for home it was pretty late; it
might have been ten o'clock, I guess.
Q. When you left the bank building, state if you
met anybody? I met Mrs. Van Wye and her daughter;
they were going east.
Q. Did you speak to them? I barely spoke and
passed on; that was all.
Q. Where did you spend the balance of the night?
At home in bed. -
Q. Some gentlemen testified about seeing you early








–81–
in the morning on the back end of your lot? Quite like-
ly he saw me; I had to go through my lot to the barn;
the barn sets on the north end of the lot.
Q. State whether you kept any cows or horses
about your place. I kept a cow and a horse.
Q. What did you do that morning before breakfast?
I tended to the milking and fed my horse that morning.
Q. About what time was it in the morning when
you did the work? Just as soon as I got up; I would
suppose it was between 5 and 6 o'clock. I can only
guess at it now-
Q. What did you do after the work was over? I
ate breakfast. -
Q. Was that before or after you did this work? I
ate breakfast afterwards.
Q. Some gentlemen testified about your going to
your well that morning and saw you washing in the
kitchen. I expect he saw me, as that is where I usually
washed in the morning.
Q. Do you remember of seeing anyone that morn-
ing? I don't say that I do; the house extends over the
well; there was a window over the well, and he had to stop
right under it to get the water.
Q. Do you suppose you was washing that morning?
Yes sir, I was.
Q. Were you down town that morning before
breakfast? Yes sir, I was.
Q. About what time was that? I don't know;
I would say six or seven o'clock.
Q. Was it before breakfast or after? It was be-
fore breakfast.
Q. What did you go for? I went to one of the
stores to get some soda.
–82–
Q. Do you know what store it was’ Yes sir, it
was a store run by Mr. Moore, I believe. -
Q. After eating breakfast, state to the jury what
you did? I propably stayed around the house for a lit-
tle while ond then went to my office. I don’t remember
doing any work after breakfast at all.
Q: What time did you open the bank in the morn-
ing? The usual hour was about 8 o'clock.
Q. State whether you saw George Taylor that
morning? Yes, I did.
Q. State whether or not George Taylor made a re-
port to you of a discovery down on his farm? Yes sir,
he did. -
Q. State whether you find he had a conversation
about it? Yes sir.
Q. State also what conclusion you came to as to
what you should do? We concluded to get our horses
and stay out of sight.
Q: Why did you come to that conclusion? We
were afraid there would be great excitement about the
matter and we would be charged with the matter, and
there would probably be foul play.
Q. What did you do then? We saddled up our
horses, or rather mine, and rode off.
Q. Where did you go to? We went from town
down to the timber where my father and the boys were
at work. -
Q. How did you know they were in the woods?
George had informed me that they had gone to the tim-
ber to pile up wood.
Q. What did you do with the horses? We left
them with our father. -



–83–
hotel.
Q. Did you have much talk with your father? No
sir, but few words, -
Q. Did you inform your father of what you had
heard? No sir, we did not.
Q. Did you give him any information as to what
you were doing that for? (Objected to by prosecution.
Objection sustained.)
Q. About how long do you think you stayed there?
Well, it was a very short time; I wouldn't suppose that
we were there as long as 5 minutes.
Q. State what you did with your horses? We left
them there in his care and then we disappeared in the
woods.
Q. Did you not afterwards meet Mr. South in
Arkansas'? We did.
Q. State whether or not you surrendered to Mr.
South? Yes sir, we first met him at Buffalo City; the
first time we met him was some time before we surrend-
ered to him. We were introduced to him at the hotel.
Q. By what name? By the name of Price.
Q. Your brother by what name? By the name of
Edwards.
Q. You were introduced to him and had some con-
versation with him? Yes sir, a few words that day.
Q. When did you next see him? He next came
back there on Saturday evening.
Q. Was that the evening you surrendered to him?
Yes, he came there in the middle of the evening; we
were up at Mr. Johnson's store; up a little from the
Q. Did anything occur between you and him there?
Yes sir, he came out to the well at the house and he
beckoned to us to come over, with his hand; we were
–84–
sitting on the front porch of the store that faced the east;
we walked over to the house where he was at, and began
to talk.
Q. Was that before the arrest? That was before
the arrest-
Q State whether you informed him who you were?
We did.
Q. Told him you were the Taylor brothers? He first
said, “I thought I knew you boys,” but he says, “I guess
I am mistaken,” then he showed us our photographs;
they were only small pictures on a card, with a descrip-
tion and something about the reward. -
Q. You say you made arrangements there to sur-
render to him? Yes sir, we made the arrangements that
evening, and he was to divide the reward with us; that
was the understanding between us and Jerry South.
Q. State what occured at the time the arrest was
made? We talked there awhile and he went down to the
store, east of the house; he went down there, and after
awhile we went down; we had another talk there at the
store; then he went down to the boat, and got this captain
to witness the arrest; we started back to the house and
as we were going back the arrest was made; he followed
us, held a loaded gun in his hand, and we walked back
to the store.
Q. State where you spent the night? We slept
that night in the office. It was fitted up with cots, for
beds.
Q. Who staid with you? South and Cravens.
Q. State where you spent the next day? We went
to Batesville on the steamer. We remained there for one
night. It was getting dark when we arrived at Bates-
ville; we put up at a hotel and stayed there that night,


–85–
and the next morning we took the train for Little Rock.
Q. What time did you get to little Rock? Near
In OOI).
Q. Where did you stay at Little Rock? We put
up at Gleason's hotel until Wednesday night.
Q. State whether there was any convention in ses-
sion in the city? There was a Democratic State Con-
vention. Mr. South was a delegate from Baxter county.
Q. State whether or not when you were at Little
Rock you were guarded? None whatever; we put up at
the hotel just as the other guests would; we came and
went as often as we pleased.
Q. State whether or not Mr. South was absent from
the house? He was absent every night while we were
there.
Q. About how late would he stay out? Sometimes
between midnight and morning, he would come in; he
would often tell us where he had been.
Q. During the time he was absent at night, state if
there was a guard around you? There was no guard
ºthere.
Q. You left Little Rock when? Wednesday night;
it was about dark when we left there; we took the Iron
Mountain train to St. Louis,
Q. From Little Rock where did you go? To St.
Louis. We rode in the coaches as other passengers
would; we were both in one coach and Mr. South was in
another.
Q. After you got to the city, where did you stop?
We were met at the depot by Sheriff Barton and went
from there to the police station.
Q. How long did you stay there? We were there
about two or three hours.
–86–
Q. Did you arrive there that morning? Yes sir.
Q. Where did you go from police headquarters?
We went back to the train, and took the train to Linne-
us, going by way of Hannibal. -
Q. Who all was on the train? Ben Pierce, and I
think there was a young Winters, Mr. Isaac Gwinn, was
there too.
Q. In whose charge were you after you left St.
Louis and before you arrived at Macon City? I hardly
know; I suppose that would be surrendered by Mr. Bar-
ton at St. Louis, but I don't know which one claimed
uS. -
Q. Mr. South has testified here as to the conversa-
tion between you and him on that train; state what oc-
cured between you and him on that train. There was
no such conversation as he claimed there was; Mr. South
did tell me what Mr. Pierce had said they were going to
prove on us; he told us what he was going to do.
Q. What reply, if any, did you make to him? I
never made any reply at all; I listened to all I could get
and said nothing; I never made any statement to Mr.
South or any part of one, or to any one else, only that I
was not guilty.
Q. When you got to Macon City what occurred?
We were taken off the train at Macon City by Sheriff
Barton.
Q. Did you know why you were not taken to
Browning? Yes sir; mobs were reported as coming
from Milan to Browning through Browning; two tele-
grams that we knew of had been received by the Sheriff.
Q. How long did you remain in Macon City? We
staid there until Sunday; all that night; I think it was
that day.

Q. Then what did you do? Went South to Mober-
ly and then to Centralia; we went west to Lexington
Junction and from there to St. Joseph.
Q. How long did you stay in St. Joseph.” Until
the 10th day of December last; we was taken to Linneus
and from there here.
Q State to the jury whether you knew Gus Meeks?
Yes sir, I did.
Q. About how long had you known him? I had
known Gus about two or three years.
Q. State if you knew he had been to the peniten-
tiary? Yes sir, he had been there twice according to his
own story.
Q. State whether or not he had been pardoned
out? That was my understanding. -
Q. State if you had any letters from Gus Meeks
shortly before this murder? Yes, I did. (Letter hand-
ed witness.)
Q. Look at this letter and see if you received this
letter. I received that letter; it is Meeks' handwriting;
it was received from him. (Letter read by Col. J. B.
Hale.)
MILAN, Mo., May 7th, 1894.
W.M. P. TAYLOR:
I will be in Cora tomorrow; come up on the freight
without fail; I want to see you.
- Yours as ever, G.
Q. State whether or not you did anything in re-
sponse to this letter? Yes sir; I went to Cora the next
day as requested in the letter. -
Q. Who did you see there? I saw Gus Meeks.
Q. Anybody else? Yes, I saw a good many people
around about Cora there. I went first to a store; one of


–88–
the men in the store took me to his house to see Gus,
Q. State in connection with that whether you knew
that Gus Meeks had been pardoned out of the penitenti-
ary to be used against you as a witness? That was the
COIn mon rumor.
Q. Go ahead and state whether you saw Gus Meeks
and what occured between you and him, I went up on
the freight train that passed through Browning at 9
o'clock; I suppose it might have been 10 o'clock when I
saw him; we talked from that time until noon.
Q. What arrangements or talk, if any, was made
between you and him in regard to him leaving the
country? He told me that day that he had to leave the
country; he said that he had committed a crime in Ohio,
and they had found where he was, and was hunting him
out, and that he would have to leave the country; he
wanted me to let him have some money to get out of the
country with; he had an insurance policy for, I think,
$400; his house had been burned up; he wanted me to
take up as much of the policy as I wanted of it, collect
it, pay myself and send him the balance; he told me
that day that he had made arrangements to get out of
the country.
Q. Go on and state, what, if anything, you agreed
to do for him that day? I agreed to give him $50 and
he was to sign me the insurance policy, and I was to
take that up and collect it if I could, and pay him the
balance.
Q. State if that was an insurance policy with which
you had something to do? I had given him the appli-
cation; the application had come from a Chicago under-
writer; I had given him an application; and he had got
his insurance that way.

–89–
Q. State whether or not you paid him any money
that day? I did not.
Q. Was there any further understanding there at
that time? No sir; he was talking about the reports that
were going around about Milan about the sum that he
was to receive; he told me that he had told it himself,
that I was to give him $1,000 to leave the country.
Q. You came back when? I came back to Brown-
ing that evening.
Q. State to the jury whether or not you heard any-
thing more from Gus Meeeks between that and the 10th.”
Yes I did; it was on the next day, I think it was, that I
received a letter to meet him at Cora again.
Q. Do you know anything about the letter? No
sir, that letter is lost; I have had my folks search for it;
it was left there in my office with other letters, but this
one could not be found.
Q. State the purport of that letter. It was almost
the same as the other one, and requested me to come to
Cora the next morning; come up on the 10 o'clock
freight; the freight got to Cora about 10 o'clock.
Q. Did the letter state anything more than for
you to meet him? No sir, that was all; that is the sub-
stance of all of it; I cannot remember anything else.
(Letter handed witness.)
Q. Look at that now and see who wrote it? I
wrote that note.
Q. State to the jury whether or not this note was
written in response to the letter you received? Yes
sir, it was; merely a reply telling him I would be there.
Q. State, Mr. Taylor, whether or not you have
ever seen Gus Meeks since that time? No sir, I have
not.
Q. Have you seen any of his family? No sir, ex-
cepting the little girl; I suppose it was his little girl, as
they said so; I don't know.
CROSS-EXAMINATION.
Q. You say this letter was received at Milan on
the afternoon of May 10th, 1894? In the afternoon I
reckon.
Q. What time did the train pass Browning at that
time? A little after noon; perhaps in the neighborhood
of one o'clock.
Q. It is an hour's run from Browning to Milanº
No it is not that long, probably a half an hour; it is a
half mile from the depot to the post office at Milan, and
it possibly took an hour to get the letter there; it is 12
miles to Browning by rail and 14 miles by wagon road.
Q. It is 114 miles by rail isn't it? It is the talk
that it is 12 miles by rail and 14 miles by land.
Q. This letter appears not to have been addressed
to anybody? No sir.
Q. No name is signed to it? No sir.
It is written “be ready at 10 o'clock, everything is
right,” that's the wording of it? Yes sir, that is correct.
Q. Not addressed or signed by any one? No sir.
Q. Is that your handwriting? Yes sir, I wrote
the letter.
Q. On the letter head of the Peoples' Exchange
Bank? Yes sir.
Q. So it didn't start up there until the afternoon of
May 10th.” I suppose not.
Q. What train came down from the north and east
that passed Cora at 10 o'clock? None unless it is an
extra.









–91–
Q. You say that on the evening of May 10th you
were at your home in Browning and George Taylor took
supper with you? Yes sir.
Q. Who else was there? My family.
Q. Consisting of your wife and three children?
Yes sir?
Q. And you ate your supper about sundown?
Long there; I am guessing at the time; I don't know
exactly.
Q. And you and your brother George talked a
while then? Yes sir. -
Q. Then he hitched and started off? I helped him
hitch.
Q. And you put these covers in the wagon bed
that are mentioned here? Yes sir.
* ºx- * º: º: * * º: *
Q. About this letter? Yes sir, we had that talk;
I don't know whether the sheriff was by or not, I would
not say whether he was or was not.
Q. You say there was some talk at Milan about
you paying Gus Meeks $1,000 to leave the country? I
never talked to Gus Meeks at Milan.
Q. Was there such talk at Milan that you was to
give him $1,000? Gus Meeks told me there was.
Q. That was the talk at Milan? Yes sir.
Q. How long was that before this letter was writ-
ten? That was the day I met him at Cora, May 8th.
Q. You claim you received a letter on the 9th?
Yes sir.
Q. What time did it get to Browning? It came
down on the evening after the train went north in the
neighborhood of 3 o'clock; the letter reached me in the
neighborhood of 4 o'clock. -

–92–
Q. This letter that was signed with three crosses
would have gotten to Milan the next afternoon? Yes
sir.
When you and Gus met at Cora you say you left the
station at the same time? Yes sir.
Q. Did he get on the train? That is my impres-
sion; I saw him going towards it and I never saw him
after it left. I suppose he did.
Q. How did you go home? Went a foot.
Q. How many miles is it from Cora to Browning?
About 6 miles down the railroad track.
Defendants by their council here offered in evidence
the deposition of Mr. and Mrs. Gleason of Little Rock,
Ark., for the purpose of contradicting Jerry South.
Which deposition the state objected to for the reason
that they were wholly immaterial. Which objections
the court sustained.
W.M. P. TAYLOR RECALLED.
I heard the testimony of Alf Dillinger in regard to
some threats I made; I remember the day I saw him at
Cora; there was a good many people around and I was
not talking to him any more than anybody else; and I
made no such threats as he related.
I did ride out with Lee Phillips to Browning and I
had a conversation with him about a trip to Oklahoma
and I know 1 never told him I would kill Gus Meeks or
any other man; and I am quite sure I never told Mr Jas.
Merrick in the lodge room that I was going to kill or
shoot Gus Meeks nor did I ever make any such threats
to any man; I don't think I ever had a conversation with
Mr. Burdette in my life.

TESTAMONY OF MATTEILAS MARTIN.
I Live about 4 mile east of Browning; and I live on
the public road leading from Browning to George Tay-
lor's residence; I know the defendant George Taylor; I
was at home in the evening of May 10; was in Browning
that after noon and saw him there; I left Browning be-
tween the hours of 7 and 8 o'clock, before sundown, and
got home before sundown, and was out in the northwest
corner of my yard from that time on until it was dark,
when I went in. I usually went to bed about 9 o'clock;
could see the public road from there easily; I never saw
George Taylor pass that evening; and if he had I think
I would have seen him, 1ſ he had passed while I was out
there.
After I had eaten my supper I went out in the yard;
that was before sundown; and I stayed out there about
an hour and went into the house. I never looked at the
clock.
TESTIMONY OF GEORGE ROSS.
I reside in Linn County, Mo., a little over of a
mile from George Taylor's, northwest of him; my house
is on the west side of the road: I have a barn which is
on the east side; I can see plainly the public road lead-
ing from Browning to George Taylor's from my house; I
met George Taylor that afternoon of May 10, going to
Browning; I was coming from Browning; I was at home
between sundown and dark; I didn't go to bed until half
past 10 or 11 o'clock; my wife was sick; I was sitting on
the poarch all the time nearly until I went to bed; I was
in the house just a few minutes; I saw Herman Alexan-
der pass and two of the Gooch boys, but I didn't see
George Taylor pass that night while I was there.
–94–
TESTIMONY OF BIYTHE M'CULLUM.
I am acquainted with Mrs. Van Wye and her
daughter Alpha; I am a brother-in-law of hers; on the
evening of May 10, 1894, she and her daughter might
have been there, but they didn't stay all night; it must
have been about sundown if they were there at all; I
was in the house all the time, except for a little while I
was out.
My wife was sick with a cancer at that time; but my
sister-in-law and her daughter didn't come over every
evening to dress it until about two weeks before she
died; and then she came nearly every evening, or every
other evening, to dress her cancer; I couldn't say
whether they were at our house the fifth of May, or the
seventh, or the thirteenth; I don't remember what time
they left on the evening of the thirteenth—don't remem-
ber anything about it; Mrs. Ogle was living with me,
and the old gentleman, too; she is about 77 years of age;
she was living at Marcelipe the last I heard of her; I
don't know where she was living at the time her deposi-
tion was taken, for I don't know when that was; I swear
that Mrs. Van Wye and her daughter didn't stay all
night there the night of May 10, 1894.
The fact that we heard of the murder the next
morning impressed it on my mind, and Mrs. George Ross
was there that night; she is in town now.
TESTIMONY OF EDWARD PULLIAM.
I live in Browning, and lived there in May, 1894; I
was in the restaurant business at that time; I occupied
the lower part of the building and Mrs. Van Wye and
family occupied the upper part. I saw Mrs. Mattie Van
Wye and daughter Alpha leaving there for Mrs. Mc-


–95–
Cullum's between 7 and 8 o'clock; it was directly after
supper, and they returned between 8 and 9 o'clock; I
was out in the front of the restaurant on some style
blocks and she came along and I says to her, I thought
wou were going to stay all night, she said, we were, but
Mrs. Ross was there and they said they thought they had
better come home; Mr. B. H. Schooler was there with
me and the ladies, and we talked until 10 or 11 o'clock.
It was between 7 and 8 o'clock when they left, and be-
tweeen S and 9 when they returned.
TESTIMONY OF B. H. SCHOOLER.
I was out in front of Mr. Pulliam's store on May 10,
1894; I got there about 25 minutes after eight o'clock; I
live in Sullivan county and know Mrs. Van Wye; I saw
them walking from the east coming towards us; asked
Mrs. Van Wye how Mrs McCullum was; she said she was
poorly, and they stopped and talked maybe 1 hours, I
don't know how long; then I think they went up stairs;
Mr. Pulliam told them he thought they were going to
stay all night; they said they were but another lady was
there and they didn't have to stay.
TESTIMOMY OF MERS. W. D. MCPHETRIDGE.
I now live in LaBelle, Mo.; in October and Novem-
ber, 1894, I lived in Brookfield; I am acquainted with
Miss Alpha Van Wye; she was in my employ in Brook-
field in October and November; she worked for me four
weeks; while she was working for me she stated to me
that she did not know anything about the Taylor case;
she went home from my house after a few dsys the first
week; she returned to my house; when she returned she
stated that she had had a conversation with Mr. Meyers;
–96–
she stated to me that Mr. Meyers said that Mr. Taylor
had requested him to see me and my mother and see if
we knew anything about the case, and if they did know
they would not loose anything by it, she then stated to
me that she did not know a Lord's thing in the world
about the case; in two or three days after that she told
me that she remembered at night that she had seen him
at the bank when she was passing; she said that he came
to her in the night two or three days after Col. Meyers
went to see her; she stated to me that she either saw him
in the window or in the door.
TESTIMONY OF MER. GEORGE GOOCH.
I reside in Linn county, in the south part; I live
about a mile from George Taylor's house; am a son of
W. T. Gooch; I live about three quarters of a mile from
Mr. Jim Bailey's; on the evening of May 10, 1894, I
was at Mr. Tully's; I went up there about half past
three, Walter Gooch went with me; I went in a buggy:
I saw George Taylor that evening; I caught up with him
about a quarter of a mile north of his house; I left Mr.
Tully's about 6 o'clock, to the best of my knowledge;
from there I came down home, past Mr. Arnold's and
past Mr. Jim Baileys'; I stopped a little while at Mr.
Arnold's; I know Katie and Josie Bailey; I passed Mr.
Jim Baileys' about sundown; I saw Katie and Josie
Bailey; they had just got through milking; they had
just gone out of the milk lot and started to the house
with the milk; the milk lot was east of the house about
50 yards; the milk lot was on the north side of the
road; Walter Gooch was with me, from there we came
on down home; I was about 20 feet from the corner; I
live about 3 or 4 miles from Mr. Jim Baileys'; the girls


–97–
were carrying the milk in buckets; they had just gone
out of the milk lot, and started to the house with the
milk.
TESTIMONY OF WALTER GOOOH.
On the evening of May 10, 1894, I went over to Mr.
Tully's; George Gooch, a cousin of mine went with me;
I saw George Taylor that evening; I went up the road
behind him that evening; I returned from Mr. Tully's
that evening about dark, I saw Geo. Taylor between
three and four o'clock; he was going north; I left Mr.
Tully's between an hour and a half of sundown; from
there I went home; on the road I stopped at Mr. Ar-
nold's; that is about one and a half miles from Mr.
Tully's, southeast; I passed Mr. Jim Bailey's that even-
ing; he lives southeast from Arnold; I am acquainted
with Katie and Josie Bailey; I saw them that evening;
they had been milking and had gone out into the road;
that was about sundown on that evening, nobody was
with them but their mother; the milk lot is east from
Bailey's residence, on the north side of the road; from
there we went home; I went to my uncle's that night.
TESTIMONY OF MISS MAUDE ARNOLD.
I reside about three quarters of a mile from George
Taylor's place; my home is about a quarter of a mile
from Jim Bailey's place; he lives southeast from our
house; remember the evening before the Meeks family
were murdered where I was; was at Mr. Jim Bailey's;
was out that evening about sundown; saw Mr. Jim Bail-
ey go down home; he went down towards his home about
sundown; just after Mr. Jim Bailey, Mr. Herman Alex-
ander passed in a wagon; after that I did not see any
one pass; saw Walter and George Gooch that evening

going to town; was at Mr. Bailey's before supper time
on that evening; went home about 5 o'clock; Herman
Alexander went down in his wagon after supper time;
was up that night until about 10 o'clock or after; our
house is 30 or 40 feet from the road, expect; after Her-
man Alexander went down the road in his wagon, I did
not hear any other.
TESTIMONY OF E. L. JONES.
I reside in Purdin and have lived there two years,
prior to that I lived on a farm about 3 miles northeast
of Purdin; I am acquainted with Dave Chaney and have
known him four or five years; I am acquainted with his
general reputation in the community in which he lives
for truth and veracity and it is bad.
TESTIMONY OF MB, REEDY.
I live at Purdin and am acquainted with Dave
Chaney's reputation for truth and veracity in the com-
munity in which he resides and it is not very good,
TESTIMONY OF S. H. LENHART.
I reside about 7 miles east of Browning; have lived
there about 34 years; I am a fartner; I know Dr. Craig,
of North Salem; and I think I am acquainted with his
general reputation for truth and veracity in the communi-
ty in which he lives; I have known him 3 or 4 years; his
reputation is not very good.
He is a doctor; has lived at North Salem three or
four years, except about 6 months he went to Oklahoma;
he has a wife there; I live about 3 miles from him; I
never had him as physician; I have heard his reputation
privately discussed for truth and veracity; I mean by
that it was private talk no court or any thing like that;
I don't know as I could name any particular time or oc-

–99–
casion; nor I don't know just now whether I can name
an individual; I have called it in question myself and
have told others; I have told a few persons and gave
them my reasons for so doing; I don't think his reputa-
tion started from that at all; Mr. Minor I heard talk of
it; Kerr McCollum and Mr. Cooper; the question was up
between Mr. McCollum and I; there may have been oth-
ers present I don't remember of seeing any one else; I
had occasion to discuss it for I told them my reason
where he had betrayed my confidence, I don’t think I
have said more about his reputation than anybody else;
there is no bad feeliug between us; I haven't had no
church trouble with him; there was no church trouble or
about church affairs that he was connected with; we
never had any trouble at all; I heard his reputation
questioned for truth and veracity before I made these
statements; his general reputation discussed before now;
I can't name anybody in particular before that.
TESTIMONY OF JOHN HUBLER.
I reside in Morris township, Sullivan county, Mo
I am acquainted with Dr. Craig from North Salem; have
been for about four years; and I am acquainted with his
general reputation for truth and veracity in the com-
munity in which he lives and it is not good.
TESTIMONY OF GARNETT ATKINS.
I live at Green City, Sullivan Co.; I moved there in
January 1894, from Browning; I am a son of Hiram At-
kins and have known Mrs. Dave Gibson 23 or 4 years; I
had a conversation with her at George Taylor's house
and sho stated in that conversation that this murder was
a sad affair and that they had George implicated in it;
and she stated that the night of the murder she sat up
—100–
waiting for him until ten o'clock and he didn't come and
she went to bed and that she let him in between four
and five o'clock the next morning; she said she did not
know whether he was guilty or not; she said she was
awake defore he came in that morning and it was after
four o'clock not yet five; she said she let him in; that
was at George Taylor's on 21st day of May, 1894.
TESTIMONY or E. L. HAys.
I reside in Buffalo City, Ark, on the bank of White
river on the south side of the right bank; have been
there about 4 years; have various lines of business,
mercantile mining and farming; have been a resident of
the state about 8 years; have known Jerry C. South al-
most since I have been in the state; the store is about
2000 yards from the dwelling house; have seen the two
defendants since I came to town as they were going to
and from the jail and recognize them as the same persons;
they came to my place in the latter part of June; don't
remember whether I introduced them to Mr. South or
not; Mr. South was there several days after they came
there; Mr. South came there and took dinner that day;
the Taylor boys were at dinner or at the table when we
got there and they left before Mr. South did; Mr. South
was there only a short time that day; don't know that he
and the defendants spoke that day; Mr. South came
back the following Saturday; he got there long about 2
o'clock; he was coming in the store when I first saw him;
he came across the river in the ferry which is owned by
me; I guess my clerk brought him across that day, I
don't know; he came to the store, went up to the house,
went up with me, and the Taylors had gone over to the
other store, Mr. Johnson's; we stayed up to the house

to
some little time, I don't know how long; the defendants
were over at this other store at that time; while South
was there I didn't see them come to our house; they
went on by to the store, I returned to the store with Mr.
South, and the defendants were in there; George I think
was the one bought a pair of shoes; Mr. South went
down to the boat about that time; the boat is called the
Myrtle; Capt. Albert Cravens was running it at that
time, was the pilot; the store was perhaps 75 yards from
the river; Mr. South came back after going down there
don't think he went anywhere from the store; yes sir he
spoke to me of the identification of these men and show-
ed me the pictures and afterwards showed them to my
wife and children; there weerecards printed on them, just
ordinary cards, giving their names and description; after
he came back we went up to the house and waited for
them to come back and he then went down to the boat
to see Capt. Cravens as I understood and they came in
the store and purchased a pair of shoes, that is George
Taylor did, and started back towards the hotel; and then
Mr. South came back and ran in the store and got our
gun and went on after them, got them out and told them
to halt and come back; they had gone about 75 yards
and he went about half way to meet them probably 25
or 30 yards from the store; he went after them in some-
what of a hurry; the store fronted northeast; Mr. South
went on the opposite side of the road; Mr. Cravens was
a little farther along than the rest of the people round
there; I was on the platform in front of the store; Mr.
Cravens was perhaps 15 feet ahead of the rest; Mr.
South told the defendents to hold up and come back,
that he wanted to talk to them; he had Greener's shot
gun, a pretty good gun and he rested it on his arm in good


—102–
using position. He told them to hold up and come
back and they came back; he asked them then if they
had any weapons and Bill said he had a pistol and went
to put his hand in his pocket after it and South told him
to take his hand out of his pocket and asked Mr. Crav-
ens to search him and take the pistol away from him,
which was done; the other one said he didn't have any
weapons but Mr. South told Cravens to be on the safe
side and search him and they found a rather large knife
in his pocket.
After that Bill Taylor said he would like to speak
to Mr. South and South gave his shot gun to Mr. Crav-
ens and he and Mr. South then went around to the side
and had some conversation; they had some conversation
and then went to supper; I heard the oldest one ask him
what ground he had to arrest them that he was running
a risk; South said he wasn't afraid of that and showed
the oldest one the pictures and the other then went up
and looked at the pictures aud he wanted to know if this
picture looked like them that he thought it looked about
ten years older; I wasn’t trying to hear what was said
just heard them saying that, that was about all that I
heard; the two defendants talked with Mr. South
probably 10 minutes; that night Mr. South and Cravens
guarded them; I was in there once or twice myself, they
had two pistols in the house wrapped up in some cloth-
ing or bundles of some kind. South never called the
two Taylor boys over from the store to my house to my
knowledge; they never did to my knowledge go out un-
der a shade tree with Mr. South I don’t think there was
any opportunity for a conversation between the two
defendants and Mr. South never came to my store that
afternoon and had a conversation together.

–103–
TESTIMONY OF N. J. WINTERS.
I live in the city of Milan; have lived there about
25 years; last year I was Deputy County Clerk; the year
before that I held the same position; two years before
that I held the same position; I occupied the same
position for eight years; I was Sheriff and County Clerk
there also; I know D. H. Schooler; I have known him a
number of years; he lived here in Milan 5 or 6 years, I
am acquainted with his general reputation for truth and
veracity in this community; I have heard it questioned;
it is not very good.
TESTIMONY OF JESSIE BAILEY.
I am acquainted with George and Walter Gooch; I
know them; I did not see them going north on the road
by our house on the evening of Thursday, May 10th,
1895; I do not remember for certain; I was at school
and I don't think I saw them, I did not see them go
south in the evening; they did not go past our house I
am certain while I was milking; they did not pass by me
going south that evening at any time when I was having
any thing to do with the cows or the milk buckets; there :
is a gate in front of our yard; that is on the west side of
the road; after you get over on the east side of the road
where we did the milking there is no gate over there;
there is no gate on that side, but there is a gate a half
of a half a quarter north; it was just west of that we did
the milking; it was hot at the gate; I cannot tell you
how far it was from the house, it was over a half of a
quarter.
TESTIMONY OF MISS KATIE （3 AILEY.
I am acquainted with George and Walter Gooch;
recollect of seeing them go down past our house that
—104–
evening on the night of the killing, towards Browning;
I did not see them going south that evening; when me
and Josie were going out to milk or while we were out
there, or while we were coming back, or when we had
anything to do with the cows or milking, George and
Walter Gooch did not pass down the road; if they did I
did not see them; there is no gate in front of our house;
there is a place for one, but there is no gate there; in-
mediately on the east side of the read to where we did the
milking, there is no gate of any kind, nor never has been;
it is a half of a half of a quarter due north of the house be-
fore there is a gate.
MRS GEO. TAYLOR RECALLED.
I was present at my house on or about the 21st day
of May, 1894, at the time Garrett Adkins and the de-
tective and the United States marshal came to the house;
Garrett Adkins and my father came into the house at
that time; I was present during the conversation that
occurred between Garrett Adkins and my mother, Mrs.
Gibson; there were very few words said; there was not a
word said about my husband; my mother did not say a
word to Mr. Adkins or in his presence or hearing on that
occasion about what time my husband, George Taylor,
came home on the night of May 10th, 1895; there was
not a word said about it; he never said a word about it.
At 2 o'clock the judge adjourned court until morn-
ing, giving the attorneys time to prepare their instrue-
tions. Five hours will be given to each side to argue
the case. Owing to M. D. Wilson and James F. Graham
being sick only four attorneys made speeches for the

—105–
defense, Col. Hale, Virgil Conkling, R. F. Lozier and
Ex-Senator Stephens.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE STATE.
STATE of Missou RI
VS.
GEORGE AND WM. P. TAYLOR.
The court instructs the jury that if they believe and
find from the evidence in this cause beyond a reasonable
doubt that the county of Linn and state of Missouri the
defendants, Wm. P. and George E. Taylor, or either of
them, and the other present, aiding, abetting and con-
senting thereto, did on or about the 10th day of May,
1894, feloniously, wilfully, deliberately, premeditately
and of malice aforethought, killed and murdered one
Gus Meeks in the manner and form charged in the in-
dictment, you should find the defendants guilty of mur-
der in the first degree and so state in your verdict.
The jury are the sole judges of the credibility of the
witnesses and of the weight and value to be given to
their testimony. In determining such credibility, weight
and value the jury may take into consideration the char-
acter of the witness, their manner on the witness stand,
their interest, if any, in the result, their relation to or
feeling for or against the defendants or deceased, the
probability or improbability of their statements, as well
as all the facts and circumstances given in evidence in
this case, and in this connection you are instructed that
if you shall believe from the evidence that any witness
or witnesses have wilfully testified falsely to any material
fact in this cause you are at liberty to disregard the
whole or any part of such witness or witnesses' testi-
mony.


—106–
The court instructs the jury that under the laws of
this state the defendants and Della Taylor, the wife of
defendant Geo. E. Taylor, who have testified in this
cause, are competant witnesses to do so, but the fact
that the two defendants are on trial and that Della
Taylor is the wife of the defendant Geo. E. Taylor, may
be taken into consideration by the jury, as well as their
interests in the result of the trial, in determining what
weight, if any, should be given to their testimony.
The court instructs the jury that by the term “reas-
onable doubt,” as used in the instructions in this case,
is meant a substantial doubt arising from the insufficien-
cy of the evidence, and not a mere possibility of the de-
fendants’ innocence.
The court instructs the jury that flight raises the
presumption of guilt, and if in this case the jury believe
and find from the evidence that the defendants, after the
homicide of Gus Meeks, alleged in the indictment, and
after defendants knew that other persons had knowledge
thereof, fled from the state of Missouri and went into
the state of Arkansas and were there introducing them-
selves to strangers under the assumed names of Price
and Edwards, and that this was done to avoid being
identified and also to escape arrest and trial for the mur-
der of said Meeks, then the jury may take said facts into
consideration in determining the guilt or innocence of
the defendants. -
The court instructs the jury that if they find the de-
fendants guilty, their verdict shall be in the following
form:
We, the jury, find the defendants, William P. and
George E. Taylor, guilty of murder in the first degree,

–107–
in manner and form as charged in the indictment.
(Signed)
Foreman.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR DEFENSE.
The indictment in this case is a mere formal charge
or accusation against defendants, and of itself is no evi-
dence whatever of their guilt; and no juror should per-
mit himself to be in any degree, or any extent, influ-
enced by it.
The court instructs the jury that they are the sole
judges as to the weight of evidence and the creditability
of the witnesses, and if they believe that any witness has
wilfully sworn falsely to any material matter in contro-
versy, then the jūry are at liberty to disregard or reject
the whole or any part of the testimony of such witness.
In determining the credit of any witness and the weight
to be attached to his or her testimony the jury should,
in connection with all other facts and circumstances
proven, take into consideration the conduct and appear-
ance of such witness on the stand, the interest of such
witness in the result of the trial, the motives actuating
such witness in testifying, the probability of the state-
ment of such witness and his or her inclination to speak
truthfully or otherwise as to matters within his or her
knowledge.
It is the duty of the court to instruct the jury as to
the law arising in this case, and it is the duty of the jury
to respect the instructions of the court as to the law of
the case, and to find the defendants guilty or not guilty
according to the law as delivered by the court, and ac-
cording to the evidence as they receive it from the wit-
ness under the direction of the court. The jury have no

–108–
right to permit any consideration of public policy or
over-anxiety to enforce the law to influence them in the
fair consideration and decision of the case, otherwise
than strictly in accordance with the evidence in the
*Ca Se.
If the whole evidence in this case leaves the minds
of the jury is such a condition that they are neither mor-
ally certain of the defendants' innocence nor morally
certain of their guilt, then a reasonable doubt exists and
the jury must give the defendants the benefit of such
doubt and acquit them.
Under the law of this state each of the defendants
is a competent witness to testify in his own behalf and
in behalf of his co-defendant, and their evidence cannot
be disregarded because they are the defendants and stand
charged with the commission of a crime. The law pre-
sumes the defendants to be innocent of the crime charged
and as they are all competent witnesses under the law,
you should therefore, fairly and impartially weigh and
consider their testimony, together with all other testi-
mony in the case.
The court instructs the jury that the defendants in
this case are charged with the murder of Gus Meeks
only, and in determining their guilt or innocence the
jury must not take into consideration the killing of any
other member of his family. -
If, after fully and deliberately weighing and con-
sidering all the evidence before them in this case, the
jury entertain any reasonable doubt of the defendants:
guilt they must give them the benefit of such doubt and
acquit them. A juror is understood to entertain a reas-
onable doubt, when he has not an abiding conviction of
-

—109–
mind founded on the evidence to a moral certainty that
the defendants are guilty as charged.
Flight, unexplained, raises a presumption of guilt;
but flight which is accounted for from motives other than
those avoiding arrest and trial raises no such presumption.
Although therefore the jury may believe from the evi-
dence that after the discovery of the death of Gus Meeks.
the defendants fled from their home; yet if the jury
further believe from the evidence that the defendants
fled, not to avoid arrest and trial, but to save their lives
from mob violence, then the mere fact of their flight
cannot be considered by the jury in determining the
question of the defendants' guilt or innocence of the of
fence charged.
Under the laws of this state the defendants are pre-
sumed to be innocent of the crime charged against them,
and so strong is that presumption that it clings to them,
surrounds, shields and protects them, throughout the en-
tire trial of this case and until such presumption is over-
come by evidence which proves their guilt beyond a
reasonable doubt. Such evidence in order to warrant a
conviction must be clear, satisfactory and abiding, fully
satisfying the mind and conscience of each and every
juror. It is not sufficient in a criminal case to justify a
verdict of guilty, that there may be strong suspicion, or
even strong probabilities, of guilt, but the law requires
proof by legal and creditable evidence of such a nature
that, when it is all considered, it produces a clean, un-
doubting and entirely satisfactory conviction of the de-
fendants guilt. The burden of proof is upon the state
to make out and establish by the evidence beyond a reas-
onable doubt and to the satisfaction of the jury every
fact and circumstance necessary to prove their guilt; and

–110–
unless their guilt is so established the jury must find
them not guilty.
The court instructs the jury that evidence of alleged
declarations, confessions or conversations, of either of
either of the defendants should be received by the jury
with great caution, taking into consideration the liability
of witnesses to forget or misunderstand what was really
said, or their liability to misquote the language used;
also the possible failure of defendants to have expressed
their own meaning, or failure of the witness to have un-
derstood the meaning intended to be conveyed; coupled
with the weakness of human memory and the probability
of the witness intentionally changing or altering the ex-
pression used.
The prosecution in this case seeks a conviction upon
circumstantial evidence alone. The court, therefore, in-
structs the jury that they cannot convict the defendants
unless the state has proven their guilt from the evidence
beyond a reasonable doubt, by fac's and circumstances,
all of which are consistent with each other, and their
guilt, and absolutely inconsistent with any reasonable
theory of their innocence. It is not sufficient that the
circumstances proven may co-incide with, or account for,
and render probable the guilt of defendants; but these
circumftances must also exclude to a moral certatnty
every other theory of their guilt.
The law requires the prosecution to prove the de-
fendants' guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, but it does
not require the defendants to prove an alibi beyond a
reasonable doubt. Although the evidence of an alibi
falls short of the weight of moral certainty as to the ex-
istence of the alibi, yet, if it leaves in the minds of the
jury such donbt or uncertainty; that, if taken by itself

–111–
they could not find for the alibi or against the alibi; then
the jury must carry such doubt into the case of the pros-
ecution and array it there as an element of the reason-
able doubt beyond which the prosecution must establish
guilt. The defendants are entitled as much to the bene-
fit of such doubt as to any other doubt raised by the
evidence; and if its weight alone, or added to that of
any other, be sufficient to raise a reasonable doubt as to
the defendants' guilt, then the jury must acquit them.
—112–
ATTORNEYS SPEECHES.
The crowd in the court room filled every nook and
corner. People stood up on chairs and benches, the
ladies were in the majority and they nearly took posses- -
sion of the court house, and several invaded the Judge's
stand and from this point of vantage surveyed the scene.
The only clerk not disturbed by the crowd was Circuit
Clerk Higginbottom; his desk is surrounded by a high
railing and there is plenty of room for two; the ladies
only wanted an invitation to invade this territory and if
they bad they would have been welcome, but Mr. Higgin-
bottom is a bashful bachelor and he could not ask them
to share his lot neither at that time or the future.
Sheriff Standley is also a bachelor, but he was sand-
wiched between two of the fair sex and could not move.
At 8:20 the prisoners were brought into court, accom-
panied by their families, all of whom took seats near the
jury. At S:30 Judge Rucker pushing his way into court
at once begun business. He gave the attorneys their in-
structions and asked that they be read to the jury. At-
torney Breshnehan read the instructions for the state and
Attorney Lozier for the defense. After stating that
each side had seven hours, the argument began.











–113–
SPEECH OF T. M. B.R.E.S.H.NEHAN.
May it please the court and gentlemen of the jury:
Something over a week ago this morning I spoke to you
for the first time in my life; I was then a stranger to
you; since that time each and every day and hour we
have been in the presence of each other trying the facts
and the evidence as detailed by the witnesses in this
most terrible tragedy until I now feel that I am acquaint-
ed with you. I feel that I know you and that you know
me. I have learned your names; I would know you here
and hereafter if I should meet you in years to
come, on the other side of the continent; I will never
forget your faces, Gentlemen of the jury you have
listened to the evidence here with a perseverance I might
say in a manner that indicates and shows that you are
seeking the truth. That you are endeavoring to ascer-
tain, if possible, the facts in this case and hear both sides
of it; you have listened now some 12 hours to argument
of counsel on both sides in this case. Gentlemen of the
jury, it occurs to me that everything has been said that
could be said, that every point has been covered by the
argument of councel for the state. But I am directed
by my people of Linn county, commissioned to come be-
fore you and tell you again the story that has been told
you by the witnesses of what occurred on May 10th,
1894, prior to and subsequent connected with this case.
Counsel for the defense have said that it is the duty of
the prosecuting officer to come before you with clean
hands; that the office he occupied and the oath he has
taken compels him on his oath of office and on his con-
science before his God to protect the innocent as well as
prosecute the guilty. That was told you in the eloquent

—114–
language of a man that lives in Carrollton. Gentlemen
of the jury, since I first took the oath of office nearly five
years ago, I have always felt it incumbent on me to bear
in mind that obligation I owe to the public not only to
prosecute crime but to stand between the innocent and
their accusers and keep injury from being done them.
My friend Mr. Lozier says that is the highest duty of a
prosecuting officer and that the prosecuting attorney who
does not do that is not fit for the office. I endorse what
he says; but how can we reconcile that with the state-
ment made by Col. Hale? He says that is nonsense and
Conkling says that is nonsense; that I was a lawyer here
in the case just as anybody else; the gentlemen for the
defense have different ideas on that point. Gentlemen,
I say my friend Lozier told you the fact; what he said
was true. Mr. Conkling and Col. Hale told you that
they never prosecuted criminals charged with crime; they
tell you they would not accept a fee to prosecute a man
for crime; I do not know gentlemen of the jury but that
it is just as honorable for a man to accept a fee for as-
sisting the prosecution, as accepting a fee for trying to
do away with vice and crime and bring the criminals to
justice, equalls as honorable as it is for these men to ac-
cept a fee to prevent justice from being done. It seems
to me that it is equally as honorable. But gentlemen
there are other questions between these attorneys. There
are other matters in which they differ, Col. Hale tells
you, and gentlemen if there is a man in Carroll county
that knows the emotions that fell from the breast of hu-
man-kind, that is Col. Hale; he tells you he does not
blame the good people of Linn and Sullivan counties in
rising up in all their might and wanting to wipe out the
perpretrators of this terrible tragedy; he tells you that

–115–
they are good men and true; he tells you he believes the
same feeling would exist anywhere. Oh, how different
are these words, true as they are, from those of other
distinguished counsel in the case who vilify and attempt
to abuse the good people of our counties because they
were outraged by this terrible crime. But enough of
that, gentlemen of the jury; you know the feelings that
go through a community when such crimes are com-
mitted. Gentlemen of the jury, I told you in my open-
ing statement of this case that at the close of the evi-
dence I would come before you, and unless the state had
made out a case as strong as I then presented it I would
not ask for a conviction at your hands. I say to you
that I have done more than that; the state of Missouri
has brought before you facts and circumstances that
prove the guilt of these defendants as sure as the sun
rose this morning. There can be no question. Gentle-
men of the jury, let us see for a moment. Let us see
some of the testimony in this case. I know you are
tired of listening to arguments; you were kept here last
nikht until after 11 o'clock; we had to stay here to hear
the argument of counsel, and you are tired now and
want to go to your room and deliberate on your verdict;
I will not detain you long; I will try and relieve you from
this terrible bore. I want to place before you a few
facts and only a few and I will close. In the first place
it has been the testimony here of witnesses uncontra-
dicted that Bill Taylor had a motive for destroying Gus
Meeks; the only man shown to have a motive for getting
away with him. You know what the motive was; it has
been testified too here by witnesses on the stand that
Gus Meeks was a witness against him at Linneus and
Milan. A witness against him. Then it was to the in-

–116–
terest of the defendant, Bill Taylor, to get him out of
the way. He had that motive. Mr. Evans I ask you
now, did he not tell Alf Dillinger, did he not tell'ſames
Merritt, did he not tell Lee Philips, and did he not tell
the blacksmith Burdette, did he not, using vile and pro-
fane language, tell these men that we will kill him or
get him out of the way? Did he not tell them that?
They swear to you that they did. I know it is true, Bill
Taylor said he did not. But will you gentlemen, he who
is here charged with this crime, and swearing for his life,
will you take his evidence and throw aside the testimony
of these four good men from Linn and Sullivan counties;
these disinterested parties and former friends of these
defendants? Can you believe him? - No, gentlemen,
you can't; we have the testimony of another gentlemen,
Dave Pierce, that George Taylor said to him, “We will
get him out of the way.” Dave Pierce stands here un-
contradicted. So now I have shown you the motive and
the threats. These men were friends that stood by him;
but shocked and outraged by the enormity of this terri-
ble tragedy and crime the story is finally told in court of
justice. These threats are told here by parties to whom
they were told. There can be no question that he made
these threats. There can be no question but that the
terrible motive that prompted him to do that was greater
than that which prompts the thief to enter in the still of
night and steal from underneath your pillow; I say to
you he who commits a crime like that does not do it for
gain. The motive that prompts the thief is to accumul-
ate of this worlds goods with which to get the present
necessities of life to satisfy the feeling of hunger and
want, something of that kind, or to gratify an avara-
cious passion, but the feeling that prompted Bill Taylor

—117–
to take the life of Gus Meeks was stronger and more
potent than any motive that ever nerved the arme of a
midnight thief, robber or highwayman. More potent,
gentlemen of the jury, than any other power on earth;
to wipe out the liberty is worse than taking the life;
death is preferable to the restraint of one's liberty. We
have the motive, all that; we hove the threat, what else
have we? I mean we have the actual face, we have the
motive and the threats, and we have the actual killing
so plain it occurs to me that it is impossible to come to
any ather conclusion. Let us see; Mrs. Meeks tells you
that some time, a couple of weeks or such a matter, prior
to this murder Bill and George came to this little cabin
in Milan; George came in first, afterwards, when he could
not succeed in getting Gus to leave the house, William
came in. She swears to you, that old lady does, she
tells you, here without a motive on earth, those who are
near ann dear to her heart, the flesh of her flesh, the
blood of her blood, all gone to the great beyond; no mo-
tive in this, none whatever; she tells you here, that old
lady now looking almost from the very windows of eterm-
ity, she tells you that they were at her house in Milan;
that they left there way about the middle of the night;
that negotiations were being made for the payment of
$1,000, a team of horses and a wagon; she tells you that
was talked of there. Gentlemen, that is uncontradicted
by any living witness; it must be true; these men were
there; those men negotiated with Gus Meeks about two
weeks before this awful night to take him away. Oh,
gentlemen of the jury, let us see what was that crime?
The court instructs the jury that foloniously means wick-
edly, and against the admonition of the law; the term
wilfully means not accidentally; the term malice afore
–118–
thought means that condition of mind which prompts a
person to take the life of another without just cause or
provocation and shows a heart devoid of social duty and
fatally bent upon mischief. When they were there two
weeks before this awful night what did they intend to
do, what were they then planning? I do not think it
was to get Gus Meeks to leave the country; they held
that out to him as their object; that they would pay him
to leave the country to avoid being a witness against
Bill; they felt and knew he who would receive money to
leave to avoid being a witness could not be trusted, or
would be hunted down and brought back as a witness in
the Milan court. No, gentlemen, I tell you that plan
was concocted then and there. They were there, gentle-
men of the jury; there is no one who says they were not
there; Mrs. Meeks tells you they were there; take it for
granted then of course they were there; what else have
we got? I leave now the time they were there two
weeks before the 11th of May. On the morning of the
11th, there appeared in the door yard of Mrs. Carter
that little child there covered with dirt, with chaff, and
with straw and blood; that little infant comes there and
satisfies that good woman, she relates her story to her
the best she knows how, that her little sisters were in the
straw stack; Mrs. Carter then takes this little child in
her arms, kind woman that she is, she sends this little
boy, Jimmie Carter, 10 years of age, down there to a
man harrowing in the field, to see if it was true that this
little girl's sisters were lying in the straw stack. I
think I can see Mrs. Carter sitting there on that fence
now watching her little boy as he travels down through
the field to see George Taylor harrowing. How intently
does she watch his footsteps as they go from her; she


–119–
sees him go up to George Taylor harrowing in the field;
she thinks now will they go to the straw stack? But no,
her mind is riveted on that child and what was about to
be transrcted; they go right on, not to the straw stack
she tells you, she is sitting there in the fence watching
them with a heart full of anxiety and care for the child;
she watches them and is not mistaken. They go on, then
start up the corn field from the meadow, turn there and
go to the house. Major Mullins read to you Jimmie
Carter's testimony last night; Jimmie tells when he went
to George Taylor southeast of the straw stack on the line
of the hºrrowing, he tells George Taylor a little girl had
come to his house and said that her two little sisteas
were in the straw stack; let's go and get them out. That
little boy knows just what occured there. “No, I be-
lieve we will let somebody else get them out; come and
go to the house.” I can't imagine the feeling in George
Taylor's mind at that moment. When they got over in-
to the meadow and beyond the ploughed ground without
turning around there, Mrs. Carter says they did not turn
and Jimmie says they did not turn, they go straight
ahead; straight on to the meadow, then George asks:
“What did the little girl say about her p and ma?"
“She said they were up yon der in the road.” Jimmie
says that's what he told George Taylor; that he remem-
bered what took place there, there can be no question.
“What did she say about her pa and ma?' Who knew
that her pa and ma were hid? George Taylor knew it.
Teey go to the house; he saddles his horse and rides
away to Browning. There he sees Bil"; a consultation is
hurriedly had between them; another horse is saddled;
they are on their way then. On their way, Mr. Morris,
as soon as George can get Bill word and he can saddle

—120–
his horse. Who do they want to see and tell about it?
Who has charged them with the crime; who has pointed
a finger towards them? No one has done so; but yes,
some more powerful, more omnipresent, more potent than
a physical being is there pointing its long and bony
finger at them; it was their own guilty conscience, if
conscience they had; it was their own guilty knowledge
I will call it for he who commits a crime like this had a
conscience that was scared and utterly deprived of
feeling. Their own guilty knowledge told them, your
crime is discovered, go now, a thousand eyes are
on you, a thousand eyes have seen that crime, is what
the guilty mind would say; they fled, they fled. Gentle-
men listen: these men left the town of Browning, went
down to their father's place where their father and broth-
er and father-in-law were working in the timber; they
knew what was in there; they went down there, and it is
the testimony of the defense, and they will not be heard
contradicting it, it was the testimohy of Wm. P. Taylor,
and the testimony of the defendants here, that they
never told there what had occurred. God in Heaven,
Gentlemen, should such a crime be known to you, and
you were leaving the country, would you tell your fath-
er, when you left him, and tell him you must leave,
would you tell your brothers or your brothers-in law, or
your father-in-law; would you say a word to them? They
tell you they didn't tell their relatives what they were
leaving for. They did not say we have discovered some
dead people in our stack and the people are after us and
we must go; why, they would have said that had they
been innocent of the crime. Why, anybody on earth
would have said it: Mr. Helm, if you had believed that
somebody was trying to put up a scheme on you, leaving

—121–
your father's house, where your brothers-in law and
father-in-law were, leaving the country for miles away,
wouldn't you have told them that some one has put some
dead bodies in my cellar and there is a conspiracy against
me; of course you would have said some one is trying to
ruin me, if you were going to leave at all, and if you were
innocent of the crime. -
When they left Browning, who was on their track?
Who knew of this? Who said Bill and George Taylor
committed this crime? Who accused them of it? They
fled at once; they left the country without telling those
who were near and dear to them why they fled or any-
thing of that kind; was that all? The people gather in
from the neighborhood around; the neighbors all came;
they examined the straw stack and examined the wagon
and harrow tracks. You have heard so much of that
that you cannot fail to understand; you know you must
understand as well as I do that these tracks came in and
crossed here some four or five rows of corn; they wheeled
then and made a loop round in that direction and came
back. You know it because it is the testimony here un-
contradicted that the harrow started in the same place
the wagon did; it followed down there and made the
same loop, left unharrowed the space of ground that the
wagon left when it turned back. Went back turned and
went round; that was the testimony; those good farmers
up there know that's the way it was harrowed; they tell
you when they went round on the south side they went
straight up the rows off on the meadow and on by the
house. That's the testimony of the witnesses for the
state. It is the testimony of three or four witnesses for
the defendants. Gentlemen what else. These men tell
you that they followed the wagon tracks from the straw

—122–
stack up to George Taylor's yard. The very identical
tracks there, the mud was cleaned off of the wheels a
bushel or more of clay; they tell you that just where the
wagon was cleaned, don't they say to you Mr. Caesar,
that just where the wagon was cleaned, where the whe ls
were scraped off, that those tracks lead where, lead
directly to the straw stack of Geo. Taylor. Gentlemen,
I ask you as officers of this court under your oath and as
men of common sense what wagon was at the straw
stack then. The witnesses say it was the very wagon
taken here where the mud was cleaned off; then it is a
fact that that was the wagon that hauled those dead
bodies to the straw stack, and you gettlemen on your
oaths before your God now answer what wagon took
those bodies there. There can be but one answer, that
wagon that was taken there where the mud was cleaned
off. Whose wagon was that then? The defense itself
tells you that was George Taylor's wagon, that's the
wagon George sent down to old man Taylor's to haul
wood. What do the witnesses say? They say that is
the very wagon that came from the straw stack. That's
the testimony. That's the wagon that must have hauled
those dead bodies there; it did come from the straw stack,
gentlemen, just where George had taken it; that's not
the way George would have come from Browning through
the field down by the straw stack if he were coming from
town his usual way; that wagon came from the straw
stack; all the witnesses tell you it came where the mud
had been cleaned off; he deposited those dead bodies
there and you can't believe anything else; how was the
harrowingthen; further than I say to you that this is the
controlling fact in this case it must be so. He was har-
rowing that field just where the wagon track comes in

—123–
following diagonslly across the rows, not harrowing with
the row, not harrowing as a farmer would do but harrow-
ing the wagon tracks; for what purpose? To do away
with the evidence of any wagon tracks. I am sometimes
annoyed and troubled when it becomes my duty to pros-
ecute some unfortunate fellow and often wish I had
stuck to the farm and left the law to somebody else; that
there have been more contentment; but that is neither
here nor there. Where did these harrow tracks go; fol-
fowing the wagon tracks diagonally across the rows; that
is not contradicted. What else, gentlemen? You know
a farmer wouldn't harrow that way if he wore harrowing
to harrow his ground. Why was it done? To harrow
out the wagon tracks. What does George tell you? He
tells you he did not see the wagon tracks. Is that not
so Mr. Hawkins, didn't he state that when harrowing
there he did not see the wagon tracks, in his corn field,
in his own ploughed ground. Goes there to the very
spot where the wagon tracks are, with his harrow, and
says he didn't see the wagon trackc. He knew nothing
about it himself yet he will start in there and follow
those wagon tracks and not see them, in his own field
and at a wet time. I believe I have heard some or you
were farmers; all of you are men of common sense. You
are man that know if some one should drive through
your field with a wagon, diagonally across your road,
and you come along and see it you would want to know
why that wagon was there. Harrow down those wagon
tracks and not see them there? It's a physical impossi.
bility. Of course he saw them there. Ah, he put them
there. From the facts, gentlemen of the jury, we say
unto you that that was the wagon that George Taylor
drove, that carried the dead bodies to the straw stack;

—124–
t must have been; it's a physical fact; absolutely incon.
sistent with everything else; it must have been; you
can't avoid it. Both was true then; that wagon must
have been to Milan. Why? Must have been at
Milan becausa the Meeks family were at Milan that night.
They were there they were taken away that night, then
the wagon that hauled them off to the straw stack was
George Ttylor's wagon which the evidence has shown
you was tracked to where it was hitched to the next
morning, where the mud was cleaned off the wheels;
couldn't have been any other, an impossibility for it to
have been any other. Then that wagon must have been
at Milan. So far as this case is concerned it don’t make
any difference whether we trace it further or not; we have
got the wagon George Taylor drove, Jim Taylor's wag-
on, driven to the straw stack and from the straw stack
up to where the mud was cleaned off; then that's the
wagon that took those dead bodies there. That's all wº
need to show in this case. But to go on. That's all
the state would have to establish. That wagon
driven by George Taylor was the wagon that hauled the
dead bodies. Not required to go any further, Mr.
Freeman I ask you how would he have gotten them in
that wagon if he hadn't gone after them; we take them
up to the hill where the scuffle arose. I haven't time
to go over that. Go on to Milan, who sees them there?
Mrs. Meeks sees them there between 11 and 12 o'clock; she
tells you that Gus received a letter about 2 o'clock of that
day. She tells you that Gus received a letter telling
him something that afternoon. She tells you that Gus
didn't retire that night; that about 10 o'clock the child-
ren were laid down with their clothes on, about 10
o'clock Gus laid down he and his wife with their clothes

–125–
on and that they had tied up all their earthly possessions
in two or three bundles, consisting of a feather bed and
a few things, leaving most of them behind for grand-ma
Meeks; they were all sitting up there; why was all this;
you have seen that note and read it. They were sitting
up there until 10 o'clock in response to that letter. “Be
ready at 10 o'clock everything is right.” Gus Meeks.
“be ready at 10 o'clock everything is right.” Geo. and
Bill Taylor had been there before and Bill says they met
at Cora. Here is the letter to Gus Meeks, “be ready at
10 o'clock everything is right.” Three crosses at the
bottom. I suppose, W. P. Taylor. Who wrote that
letter? We have shown you who wrote that letter.
They wanted him to be ready at 10 o'clock; that was re-
ceived at Milan, May 10th, 2 p. m., have you seen it
gentlemen, have you seen that part of the envelope re-
ceived at 2 p. m., when was 10 o'clock coming? That
night was when it was coming; the first 10 o'clock came
8 hours after the letter was received. 8 hours after that
letter was received, “be ready at 10 o'clock everything
is right.” What did they do up there at old lady Meeks
that night? What did they do? Grandma tells you
what they did; they sat up waiting until 10 o'clock;
when did Gus Meeks understand that 10 o'clock to come,
that night. Gentlemen that indicates to you without a
condition that Gus Meeks understood that this 10 o'clock
meant 10 o'clock on Tuesday night and that he was go-
ing to leave the country because he was ready to go.
Now gentlemen so far as the other witnesses to the trip
to Milan are concerned I don't care whether they are cor-
rect or not. We have shown you that they were at Milan
and that they carried the dead bodies down there, and it
is not incumbent on the state to trace them step by step

—126–
from Browning to Milan; but they went to Milan and
they must have gone from Browning and if they did
some one may have seen them. Milton Jennings saw
them and Jonny Hoke saw them I wouldn't ask you to
convict these defendants on these men's testimony un-
supported; we didn't have to see them all, but if they
were at Milan and they must have been and then some
one must have seen them on the road. They were there
because they couldn't have gotten the bodies into that
wagon that hauled them if they hadn't been there; and I
say their story is true; that's why Blythe McCollum saw
Bill going. They tell you that the people up there are
so incensed against them that they would swear to any-
thing against them. Did it occur to you that the peo-
ple of that community would swear to a falsehood in
order to convict these people. Gentlemen they are true
men, Gentlemen, God forbid that the state or any
officer in charge of the state in this prosecution should
kneel himself to such a character of testimony; we have
Blythe McCollum here because he was the only man who
on that wagon bed. Bill Gibson, their witness, testified
that he saw spots on the bottom of the bed but it was
paint. Jim Taylor and Charlie Taylor say there was no
paint on it; Bill Gibson says there was paint splotches
on the bed; Le wasn't looking for blood, he said it was
paint; Bill said there was some spots on one side knock-
ed off of some farm machinery. He excused himself
that way. Dr. Stephenson said that he examined the
bed and it had a new bottom in it. Mr. Taylor tells you
the wagon bed was burned. Dr. Stephenson says the
wagon wasn't burned at all. It wasn't the same wagon
that was shown if it was burnt; Taylor says it was burnt
and charred, the wagon George drove; Dr. Stephenson

—127–
said it had a new bottom; they went on to swear there
was no blood on it; of course there wasn't because there
was a new bottom in it. They then talked to you about
newly discovered evidence. The state of Missouri and
every county there in and every officer thereof try a good
many cases of this kind and have a good many things
to do besides looking after one case like this. Is it a
wonder I ask you Mr. Freeman, that we should find
some evidence throwing some light on it; but they the
defendants are silent as a tomb about the newly dis-
covered evidence of Josie and Katie Bailey. What is
the testimony here. That the Taylor's and Bailey's are
good friends; that they remembered seeing George that
night immediately after this murder, that they talked to
James Taylor and his folks frequently; that he visited
there; and that they did know of that then if they knew
of it now; and these defendants with their friends mak-
ing the desperate ſight that they are now making with
their only defense and alibi, their neighbors and their
neighbors daughter whom they are on friendly terms
with, whom they are on visiting terms with, who come
and see them after the murder and talked about, they
trying to find some living witnesses that saw George
Taylor on that fatal night; their own neighbors and their
neighbors' daughters are not here when it is the only de
fense we have; talk to me of newly discovered evidence
in the face of such facts as these. When their own
neighbors and their neighbors dailings, their intimate
friends and acquaintances, and an alibi the only
defense they have. Newly discovered evidence; the
only defense they have; their own friends and neighbors
and neighbors daughters who saw them there that night
say not a word until the case comes up the second time

—128–
for trial, Can you believe it. It carries with it its own
condemnation. You know Jim Taylor and his folks
would have known all about it before if it were true;
they were good friends. What is this testimony? That
night about 9 o'clock or little before with a star in the
horses head, Josie remembered the star in the forehead
at night; she remembered and could see that night that
one was a little darker than the other; and Katie Bailey,
a near friend and neighbor comes in here now after hold-
ing this for some months although she was there; she
says I didn't know it was George Taylor; I was about 40
feet at the time or 40 yards I believe it was from them;
saw the star in the forehead and that one was darker
than the other but she did not notice the driver? If
you would believe the testimony of these people that he
knew all about this on the 12th day of May, they knew
all about it and were visiting the Taylors and the Taylor's
visiting them and they talked about it and come in now
and swear to those facts when before it was the only de-
fense they had, I say if you believe it now I do not
understand the effect of the testimony. Gentlemen what
else have we, You remember these witnesses telling
you of the wagons that passed on that road about nine -
o'clock and then no more passed. Next we came to the
Van Wye's, she and her daughter tell you about seeing
Bill Taylor in the bank; Miss Van Wye said that she and
her mother remembered it immediately afterwards and
talked about it in their own family, remembered it dis-
tinctly from that time up until the time they swore here
in court. What is the evidence?
You have here Mr. Schooler and Mr. Pullian, you
have heard their evidence discussed, and I want to say
a word right here; they made no point on Mr. Pullian

129–
but they undertook to impeach Mr. Schooler; they
brought Mr. Winters, a nice gentleman from that county,
and he tells you that Mr. Schooler was city marshal
there for a while and got into some little shooting scrape
trying to arrest a man and after that he heard it ques-
tioned and he had to go to jail. An officer is not al-
lowed to shoot a man in case of felony and if they act
hastily they will be punished; they had a law suit and
since that time he had heard his reputation questioned.
Did you ever hear of a law suit in which there was some
15 or 20 witnesses but what there were charges of false
swearing? My friend Conkling says that a man being
elected to a city office is degraded and contaminated by
it; he says he was degraded by it and don't think he will
ever get over it. I am not here to say whether Mr.
Conkling will ever get over it or not. I make no charges.
He says it is very degrading; he has been in it and he
ought to know; I expect he does.
We pass on from the Schooler and Pullian testimony;
I am satisfied you know those men were telling you
plain and unvarnished facts that these ladies were not
there at the hour they said. You saw Mrs. McPhetridge
on the witness stand; you saw Mr. Conkling when the
witnesses come in there; he would look at every witness
from head to foot, look cross-eyed, undertook to brow-
beat them, looked villanous and all that sort of things.
He has a right to do it. I don't complain. Don't make
any difference with me; I don't think it did with the jury.
But Mrs. McPhetridge tells you what? That when Alpha
Van Wye worked for her that she said she didn't know
a thing on earth about the Taylors. Now wasn't that
what she said, she tells you that when she went home
that it was a good thing she did, that she had received a

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letter from Bill Taylor requesting her to go and see Col.
Myers, a lawyer, and if they knew anything that would
do him any good that she shouldn't lose anything by it.
That's what Alpha told Mrs. McPhetridge, but she says
I don't know a thing in Lord's world; but Col. Myers
says she must think about it; that she shouldn't lose any-
thing by it; you know what that meant; so she studied
and studied to think; that was in October and she comes
down one day to Mrs. McPhetridge and said, I changed
my mind last night. I remember what Bill wanted me
about. Here she swore on this stand that she knew it
all the time; the facts came back to her; she saw him
standing in the bank, saw Bill Taylor, that's all. In the
line of the defense what have we? Jim Taylor and
Charley say there was no paint, didn't know whether it
Was on the inside or outside at the door.
Ah, gentlemen, Col. Myers had been working; he
had been talking to that girl; shouldn't lose anything by
it. You know, gentlemen, Mrs. McPhetridge told you
the truth. You know Alpha Van Wye and her mother's
testimony here; I say nothing about it; take it as it
stands; take it, will you take it, or, will you take the
lestimony of her mother who also had seen Col. Myers,
who was also talked to by the Colonel; take their testi-
mony and weigh it; don't you know, gentlemen, that
Mrs. McPhetridge told you the plain unvarnished truth?
The defense don't attack her. Where was George Taylor
that night? Mrs. Dave Gibson says George was at home;
that he came home that night about 9 o'clock and got up
about 4 the next morning; she swore to that in the court
room. Gentlemen, what is the testimony? You sa"
Garnett Adkins here. You talked with him and heard
him talk. You know what he said. She told him in

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the presence of Dave Gibson, who was at that time sit-
ting here in the court house when he swore it Dave heard
that talk, the father-in-law of George Taylor and the
husband of Mrs. Gibson heard him swear that. Garnett
Atkins says Dave was there, Mrs. Gibson was there and
George's wife was there and George's wife was there and
Mr. Shelby was there. You say, where is Mr. Shelby;
why isn't he here? If a prosecuting attorney had a
thousand brains and a thousand eyes, it would be im-
possible for him to know all the facts and bearings in a
case of this kind. Many of the witnesses were never
brought into the court room; we have no means to know
what every witness will testify too until he comes in
court. I ask you, gentlemen, and I ask you Mr. Conk-
ling, when Garnett Atkins said that Mrs. Gibson said
that she sat up and waited until 10 o'clock for George
Taylor to come home and he didn't come and she got up
the next morning and let him in, in the presence of Dave
Gibson; I ask you sir, where was Dave Gibson, the
fatherinlaw of the defendant at the bar? Sood there
and heard the conversation according to Garhett Atkins.
Gentlemen, I ask you why was he not here to give his
testimony. He stayed there and heard this talk and
knows something of these facts. You know just how
that matter stands, you know that Garnett Atkins told
the truth; Mrs. Dave Gibson here swearing for her son-
in-law. I have no harsh words to saw against her, not a
thing on earth. I wouldn't say it. I say to you it is
commendable in a relative, in a father or brother or
brother in-law, wife or mother-in-law and near and dear
friends and relatives, I say it is commendable in them to
come and stand by their relatives, I say it is commend-
able in them to come and stand by their relatives while

—132–
there is life and hope, and I would not say, taking into
consideration the weakness of mankind, the emotions of
sympathy, love and relationship, I would not say an un-
kind word against them for coming into court and telling
untruths in order to save their relatives, their husbands,
their son-in-laws, their father-in-law or their brother,
their wives or husbands. But the court gives you an
instruction on that question. The court instructs the
jury that under the law of this state the defendants and
Ella Taylor, wife of George E. Taylor, who have testi-
fied in this case are competant witnesses so to do, but
the fact that they are the two defendants and one of them
is the husband of Ella Taylor may be taken into consid-
eration by the jury in determining what weight, if any,
shall be given to their testimony. You therefore take
into consideration the fact that they are the defendants
and that Ella Taylor is the wife of George Taylor and
the interest she or they all have in the result of this case
and determine what weight, if any, shall be given to
their testimony. -
The jury are the sole judges of the credibility of the
witnesses, under the instructions of the court. Their re-
lation to the defendant, George Taylor, his mother-in-
law, his father in law and his brother-in-law; his father-
in-law don't testify; the mother-in-law does; take into
consideration the relationships. Did she tell the truth or
did Garnett Atkins, the man who came down there on a
matter of business, running a livery stable in Green City;
who told it? You know Garnett Atkins, told the truth.
That Mrs Gibson did Say On that day of May that
George was gone and they waited until i0 o'clock for
him to come and he didn't come until 4 or 5 o'clock the
next morning and that she let him in; that's what she

–133–
told Garnett Atkins, and, gentlemen of the jury, that's
when she told the truth; they did set up waiting for
George to come home that night. Now, gentlemen, how
about this blood on the wagon bed? Bill Gibson says it
leoked like paint, but the Taylors say the bottom had
never been painted; it must have been blood then; they
examined it after that and it was burnt out; Mr. Barton
says the last time he went there it was burnt out. Why
was that? They were burning out that stain; I don't
know who did it but they did it. What did Mr. Martin
tell you? You know what Jim Harris told you; they
tried to impeach him. Dave Chaney and Dr. Craig came
down here, the Doctor is way down here in Oklahoma;
he comes in and says that Jim Harris' reputation for
truth and veracity is not good; we put witnesses on the
stand to show you that the Doctor's reputation for truth,
veracity and morals is not good. Can you impeach a
man by such a witness as that? These witnesses tell
you that Dave Chaney's reputation is not good, too.
They can't take your good reputation from you by some
other fellows who swears it is bad, when you can have
good men to swear that his own reputation is not good.
So that Jim Harris is sustained by the facts and by the
witnesses, Jim Harris told you there was mud off of
the wheels by the side of the wagon. Ae tells you there
was blood on the coupling pole. Mr. Martin and Mr.
Ross tells you they stayed out by the road that George
had to pass, until about 10 o'clock, from sundown, and
no team passed along there. Had to pass there.
Of course he didn't pass there. Now, gentlemen of the
jury, the facts show that somebody come and took
the family from Milan. Bill's story would indicate
that the family wasn’t going to leave Milan until Friday

morning at 10 o'clock; that they went the day before and
were expecting him to pay him $50 on Friday. You
know that cannot be true. It is shown that somebody
took them from Milan, who had an interest in taking
Gus from Milanº Bill Taylor, and Bill Taylor alone;
they, the defendants between them had that interest.
They took them from Milan with the team on Thursday
night; according to Bill's story he hadn't paid him the
money; was going to pay him at Cora on Friday. Who
said it was reported that he was to have a big reward for
leaving Milanº Bill Taylor said so. He said he had
heard it. That's the testimony you heard on that ques-
tion. Col. Hale told you too that the person who burned
that clothing had something to do with the murder of
these people. I don't believe that; I don't believe the
people that burned that clothing dipped their hands in
the murder. I don't know how that was, and I am not
trying to find out. I say the Col. said that the persons
who burned that clothing, those pants and those rem-
anants here which were identified had something to do
with the murder. Where were those pieces found? One
a little way over in the timber in old man Taylor's past-
ure, just a little ways from where George lived, in old
man Taylor's woods. When did they do that? Some-
body came there, put those dead bodies in the straw
stack and drove through Georges yard, went round there
and took the feather bed and other things out in the
woods and burned them. I don't suppose they were
burned that night. If it had been anybody else but the
Taylors they would have left the bed clothes down there.
I ask you if they didn't kill these people why did they
want to wipe out these pants, these bed quilts and so on.
They didn't care what became of them. Col. Hale says
after they put the bodies in the straw stack, drove up to
George's yard and over to old man Taylor's woods and
had a bon fire. No, that would be the act of a mad man;
no asylum would be large enough for a man that would
commit an act of that kind. No, gentlemen, I say after
they had driven up there, after they had doposited those
dead and mangled bodies in the pit made for them, cov-
ered with straw, chaff and dirt, covered them where they
thought they would rest for awhile at least, drove on to
the house, took off those bloody clothes, either took them
to the house or out in the woods and burned them. I
don't know whether they were burned before the flight
or after the flight of George and Bill Taylor. Their
friends applied the torch. If they did I am not here to
blame them. If they did set fire to them trying to wipe
out the evidence of this terrible tragedy, it is not my
place at this time to say about it; I do not want to
speak harshly of them for doing what they could for a
brother, husband or brother-in-law. Those broken frag-
ments speak volumes here; those remnants were poor
Gus Meeks' pants, that he was going to get a trunk to
put them in when he got to George Taylor's. My God,
they put him in a trunk, not his pants; put him in his
grave, buried him there. There is a child there as in-
nocent and pure as the driven snow; there is a child who
never did a wrong only in her childish innocence, was
saved by omnipresent power; it must have been. Ah, it
must have been the workings of the Creator. Whatever
working it was, by some unseen hand, by some provi-
dential interfeeence, it must have been that saved that
child, raised her from the shadow of death, raised her
from the living tomb of dirt and chaff and straw and
brought her forth living and sound. And gentlemen it


–136–
was the same divine power that led her little feet, with
her hands and face all blood; it was the same hand that
guided her footsteps away from the home of the assass-
ins who had taken the life of her father, her mother and
her two sisters, and led her into the loving arms of her
protector and left her to tell the story, to tell the awful
story of the awful, brutal assassination; left her to tellit;
it was the same omnipresent power that raised her from
the dead, that prevented the eradication of these bloody
spots on the wagon bed. The Colonel tells you that he
who would send away that bloody wagon with Jim Har-
ris would be a fool. My God, men, there was too much
for one man to do. He had dipped his hands to the el-
bow in human gore; he had hauled them to the straw
stack and come back and cleaned the wagon wheels off;
he had left those wagon tracks on the ploughed ground;
they must be gotten away with as soon as possible; he
couldn't do all at once; he sends that wagon to the best
place it could have boen sent, to his father's, That day
the same guiding power that prevents the criminals from
erasing the foot prints that show his guilt. I say to you.
that if a criminal that could commit a crime like this
could eradicate every foot print that led to his guilt, if
that could be done, then the very nature of things would
be wrong. I say that guiding power, that guiding hand
of omnipotence said that such foul and brutal crime shall
not escape, must not go unpunished. So the blood was
left on the wagon. These tell-tale marks. Gentlemen,
my time is growing short; I must leave you soon; they
talk to me of circumstantial evidence; say we are trying
to convict these men on circumstantial evidence. On
circumstantial evidence! I will tell you what part of it
is circumstantial, gentlemen. No one saw that awful

–137–
blow struck on the head of Nellie Meeks; no one saw the
brains of her little sisters dashed out on the ground but
they who were there; no one heard the pistol shot or saw
the fire fly from it and saw Gus Meeks and his wife reel
over to their death in agonizing misery. That's the only
part that no one saw. They didn't see the brutal act
done, but my God, men of Carroll county, men of honor,
I say to you they saw everything else that could be seen
but that. They saw them at Milan and on the road to
Milan; they tracked their wagon to the straw stack; they
tracked it from there to where the mud was cleaned off;
they tracked it to there where Jim Harris hauled it off;
they see the bloody prints. What else do they want?
They show you that George left there as soon as Jimmie
Carter come and told him what he wanted; that he didn't
go back to see who it was; they show you it was impos-
sible to tell who it was at first; they show you that their
faces and heads were covered not only with straw and
chaff but dirt and they had to scrape it off with their
hands before they could tell who it was; and yet George
Taylor says he come and kicked up the straw and saw it
was Gus Meeks; Mr. Shanks that is physically impossible.
He couldn't have done it in the first place and in the
second place he didn't go there; the very harrow tracks
deny this story; you can't influence or bribe a harrow
track by Col. Myers and by a letter that Bill Taylor–
(Here the remark was objected to as being improper.
Gbjection sustained.)
Gentlemen, I say to you that I am talking of the
cold facts in the case; they can't do away with these
wagon tracks and these harrow tracks; they can't deny
the fact that Gus' face was covered with chaff and dirt
and straw which had to be taken off. No. Gentlemen

—138–
I would rather have such facts as these backed up by
their presence in Milan that night and their threats and
declarations than any kind of testimony I ever saw.
Have you ever heard, did you ever know of a murder of
this kind being committed which could be proven by eye
witnesses. Imagine, if you can, a little child sleeping,
carried in her father's arms to a wagon, carried in that
wagon to Jenkins hill, her mother and father ruthlessly
shot and stabbed, her own brain knocked out and taken
to that living tomb and covered up with dirt and chaff
and straw by the would be murderers, knocked senseless
there on Jenkins hill, a mere babe raised from the bed
to go on that fatal trip, and then tell me that she could
tell anything about this murder. They want her as a
witness. Tell me that an infant waked up at 12 o'clock
at night carried in the arms of her father, laid on her
feather bed and at 2 o'clock strike her an assassins' blow
on her little head, then ask me to put that child on the
stand to tell who it was. You will not ask it. It is
unreasonable to expect it. What could the child tell?
She only knew when her consciousness came in the morn-
ing, when the sun peeped down upon her through the
straws when God in Heaven raised those evelids, she
knew that she was buried there and there was her
sisters.
You gentlemen of the jury, men of Carroll county,
those murderers thought when they put those bodies
there, they thought the secret was there. Who would
know they put them there? The best place was their
own field; they could burn the straw stack when they
pleased, cremate the bodies and all would be over. They
could do as they pleased in their own field. It was the
only place to put them; they thought the secret was safe

–139–
but that unerring hand willed it should not by so. I
think I see them now; I think I see them digging that
living tomb, putting the bodies there; I think I can see
and hear their muttered curses that they are dead and
can never swear against me any more. My God there is
the motive. I see it all. I see them there on Jenkins
hill; I hear that shot. I ask you gentlemen if that did
not occur there. I am not here pleading for your sym-
pathy; I am here telling you the facts as they occurred,
and nothing else. They must have occurred there. You
are about nnw to take this case. I know that Col. Hale
nor any other power on earth can keep 12 good men from
facing their duty. I have a duty to perform, his honor
on the bench has a duty to perform, we all have our
duties to perform under our oaths; you and I are here as
officers of this court. Mr. Helm, Mr. Delaney you are
here under your oaths sworn to do your duty regardless
of the consequences. You are only a part of the ma-
chinery; I am a part. I stand here on my oath and be-
fore my God and say to you that I believe these men are
guilty. Gentlemen of the jury I know they are guilty.
I could not believe it so if I had seen it. The facts can-
not be denied. You are here, 12 good men and true;
you have left your homes; you come and set as the jury
in this case; some of you have come and left your brides
of perhaps only a few months or a few years; you are
taken away from them to set in judgment between the
people and these defendants. On your verdict depends
the safely of the community; I say on your verdict, I
say on the petit jurors, who have the manhood not to be
driven from doing their duty by the thoughts of some
day you will have to lay down and die; you are only part
of the machinery to do your duty. Pass your verdict in.
–140–
Let it be that which you know is right; let the conse-
quences be what they may ; you and I didn't make this
law; we had nothing to do with it; it is made for us by
our legislators and we are bound to obey it. The court
instructs you that a reasonable doubt means a substantial
doubt and not a mere possibility of innocence.
Gentlemen I say to you that any doubt that could
exist now is a mere dream, a dream of a dream; could
be nothing else. It is as postive Mr. Seizier as could be;
positive as to everything except the lick being struck,
and if there had been eye witnesses to that they no doubt
would havo pleaded self defense. Gentlemen of the jury
do your duty under oath to the people of Carroll county,
and to the people of the State of Missouri; do your duty
to your own family and to your own children. Mr.
Evans you left your wife and children at home; left them
there in the tender mercies of your neighbors and your
God; may God protect your little ones and shield them
from the assassin's blow and may you be delivered to
your family well and find them that way. May it not
be your fate to find that the assassin had been at your
home. God forbid that that should be the fate of any
one of you or of my hearers now.
The Colonel told about a man who ran with a gun.
If you would see a man running with a gun and find a
man dead that would be good circumstantial evidence.
That is not a hundredth part of the case we have
here We showed you that not only the defendants run
but that they went to Arkansas. We showed they were
captured by Jerry South. You saw Jerry South and
heard; you heard that big Kentuckian with a heart as
big as an ox and a mind the equal of any man in this
case. I will not attempt to pass an eulogy on Jerry


141
South; you saw him testify; he is borne out by Capt.
Cravens and E. L. Hays; you saw his conduct on the
stand. Bill did tell him that he took them to Milan and
they paid him $1000 to leave and somebody else killed
him for that money. Away with the thought that Jerry
South from Arkansas, a man living in Marion county
and reared in Kentucky, has come here for the pitful
reward of $600; you know that it is absurd that he
should take the stand and attempt to swear away the life
of a man for $600; that is out of the question; you saw
Jerry South and you know he was telling the truth; Bill
says it was fixed up between them beforehand. Hays
said they had no talk under the shade tree nor in the
store; that it was 3 o'clock when South came there; went
to the house with him and then went to the boat and
then made the arrest. Bill denied this; will you believe
him or believe South, Cravens and Hays. Gentlemen I
ask you to do your duty, do it well; do that which your
own conscience would dictate and we will be satisfied.
You will read the instructions given in this case; read
them carefully for both the state and the defense; Col.
Hale committed the defendants into your hands for their
safety and deliverance. Gentlemen I now commit into
your hands, the court commits into your hands the safety
of the people we commit into your hands your honor
and your integrity to say whether such crimes proven
shall go unpunished. Gentlemen I have simply told you
what I think is the truth; take it and do by it as you
will, and when you go home to that wife and family of
yours let it be that, though sad, you had to do it, there
was nothing else to do; that you had to say they were
guilty. I simply said what I had to say under my oath.
The courts say I must say it, I ask you to do your duty,

–142–
let the consequences be what they may; I am done; the
grand jury did its duty; the prosecuting attorney wrote
out the indictment; he did his duty; the court gives the
instructions. Can you believe so and so. The court
took a step; you are another step; you are not the last
step. Men of Carroll county, I say to you there are
millions listening for your verdict, let it be what it may:
they are listening now for the verdict that comes from
your hands all over this land. They know that the hour
of noon is here. They already know for the hand of the
operator is on the wire that you are about to be taken
to your room; they are watching for your verdict I al
most see my people in Linn county listening for the
verdict; listening to see what you are going to do;
listening to see what your verdict will be, whether a con-
viction or acquittal. You gentlemen do right; do right
under your oaths to the commonwealth and to the de-
fendants and the State is satisfied.
CONVICTED.
About 2:30 o'clock August 2nd a quiet tip went
around the circle and in a few minutes Judge Rucker
was seen going slowly towards the court house, the
attorneys in the case were seen gathering in groups, and
then they slowly moved to the court house. In a few
minutes the crowd caught the tip and a wild rush ensued.
Four men tried to get up the steps where there was only
room for one. As soon as Judge Rucker opened the
door, the jurv was observed sitting in their seats all ex-
cept George Freeman, who was walking the floor. He
immediately took his seat; only a glance at the jury was
needed to know that a verdict had been found. They

–143 –
were all pale and seemed to realize the responsibility
that rested upon them. Judge Rucker had hard work
to quiet the crowd that was in the room and it took
several deputies to clear the center aisle of the court
room. In a few minutes Deputy Sheriff Allen Henry
came in the court room throwing his arms in a wildly
excited manner saying, “clear the aisle.” Just behind
him came George Taylor, all the color gone from his
cheeks, Bill Taylor following, looking very pale; other
duputies brought up the rear. As soon as the defendants
were seated, the court asked the jury if they had agreed
on a verdict. Mr. Craig, the foreman, answered “we
have.” “Call the jury Mr. Clerk,” said the court and
as the Clerk Higginbottom called the names of each
juror, a clear answer was given. The court then in-
structed the foreman to hand the verdict to the clerk.
Foreman Craig is a venerable old man and he walked to
the clerk's desk holding in his hand the paper that would
sentence two men to the scaffold. His hand shook as he
handed up the paper. Circuit Clerk Higginbottom then
in a clear, loud voice read the verdict:
“We, the jury, find the defendants, William P. and
George E. Taylor, guilty of murder in the first degree,
in the manner and form charged in the indictment.
[Signed B. W. CRAIG,
- Foreman.
Attorney Conkling for the defense then asked that
the jury be polled and this was done, each one for him-
self stating that the verdict was his. The wives of the
defendants were at the jail when the verdict was given
out, but the news was carried to them. Mrs. Wm.
Taylor fainted and it was sometime before she could be
brought to. The defendants sat in court and heard the

–144–
verdict as they have listened to the evidence. A scarce.
ly perceptible shadow passed over their face. These
men show remarkable nerve and as one man remarked,
“I believe they could walk to the gallows without a
change of countenance.”
As soon as the verdict was announced the crowd in
the court room broke into a cheer and it was with very
much difficulty supressed by the court and the deputy
sheriff. The court then entered an order discharging
the jury. At this the crowd rushed from the court room
thinking that the sheriff would take the prisoners back
to the jail and a large crowd filled the space between the
court room and the jail. They stayed there for two
hours waiting for the prisoners. The sheriff cleared the
court room when court adjourned and the attorneys for
the defense and their clients held a consultation lasting
for two hours. During this time Sheriff Stanley made a
search of the jail but made a water haul. The prisoners
were returned to jail about 4 o'clock. -
The jury reached a verdict on the first ballot and
that at the end of one and one-half hour talk. B. C.
Dulaney of Hale had many funny stories to tell of his
experience on the jury. George Freeman another of the
jury, told about the great time he had while on the jury.
The jury was a good representative body of men and
they certainly represent Carroll county.
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