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CItltilt!hito hold. _ ____ly, CABPESTKR’S CARKEB. I ~he While the nativesnearly avoided these yj ^ men, a few had laments and ability which | ,:lu ; gave them positions of inline ce. To this ’ w ht- daw belonged Carpenter, who insisted • h, m‘ I and was the prime mover in the lynching w of the McCoy boys. One afternoon :n the ■ ^ spring of 1886, he arrived at the little vil-lt; ras i laate of Warfield, from the direction of|T •° Loni» Coart House, lie crossed into West*10 Virginia, and located nt the Month of Mate where he solicited aod obtained era-ployment. Carpenter was a mon ol mug-lt; nifitv-nt pbydqne, and entered heartily u. ve ! into nil the sport3 ol tin monntain lade j M• 1 Cap Hatfield waa the only one cf his com- tu B»* peiitor* who coo id bring down a f«ja»nel1 T, “• from a higher tree, or w*h a ^ 116 quicker shot than the handsome stranger, i ^ m To these elements of popularity, Carpenter fj, *u J added others which seemed little less than w “e | miraculous to the people who surrounded ftc ld» him. He became a leader in every game tL1 and merry making. A party of young hf l-e 1 men clustered about him aud tr.ei» • 5,8 wild freaks Of diaipation in the succeed- *w| ,.t* ing winter and spring, were the subject ol ^ general comment. Carpenter taught school, ^ d' and added to his ir.llutnce, but not *ve» V i to his nearest friends did he ever breathe j ^ ,he | a word as to hie past life or his motive tor ^ k* seeking a home iu the wilderness. Once a 1 ri ! drunken companion attempted to que*';:on 3Cf! him before a crowd. Carpenter at first-°; warded oil his questions, and then a blow Z trorn the butt oi his pistol quieted L11 hia tormentor, and ie!t him fCtf ,,e red for life. Sach was this man, when j ly Edison Hatfield was killed by the Me-'* Coys aud his slayers were taken prisoners.\k They were kept on West Virginia soil lor li' a lew days, and one night were placedf*' under guard, with Carpenter in command, *oi a land started mr Tike county jail. When i Iti 3 | Tug river was crowed, Carpenter called a , *blt; *• ; halt, and proposed tlmt all three men be dn id I shot then and there. V«A 1 The older members of the party insisted j tin r’ that their origin*! design should be carried lig u out, but thcv were out numbered. The cri r» | hot hlood of Carpenter's followers was I tw heated to the boiling point, by the death ) *p' [y of their kinsman, and the artful desperado ! dr.had little trouble io leading them ho toSon to the slaughter. He carried the Vi : day. The men were tied together, led to I Vo11 a little hush, and a dczeu shots fired into inj } j them. With bin own hand Carpenter blew j on lb ! out the biaina of the youngest McCoy, as d« lc he lay on the ground, dying irom a dozen tllt; ?|j wounds. * Ifft xwlK*ecCAKPENTKB’3 FLIGHT. LjjThe outrage awakened the vengeance c • | ‘()1 the whole McCoy family, aod their wrath faij was primarily directed at Carpenter. fln Many of the relatives of the men he bad , wslain lived on the West Virginia side of the Toe; hundred* cf others were in strife- ft|} ing distance in Kentucky. It was death th to remain, and to within p. month after ^ the murder of his three defenseless prison-1 {Q ers. Carpenter ded, and bis face has never [ie since been eeen on the banka or the little (lt, monntain stream. Whether he reaped or tQ whether he fell victim ta the vengeance o' | ,h some McCoy will probubly u«*v*r h.- ,h, known.. .. x- tip ,
Newspaper Details
Wheeling Sunday Register
Wheeling, West Virginia, US
Sun, Jun 30, 1889
Page 8
Full Page
Clipped by
West V.
WV, USA 13 Jun 2023
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