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THE MOUNTAIN HUNT.AK OLD TRAGEDY BROUGHT TO HIND.Th* Ksdim of LUiUciut HeZatyn TrscW to HU Irtt tod 0*ptmnd—Ptrteli for B*df*I* lews ad Ghlidrta Aboast luc { mmkU—A Biritg Mm,tie night of the 10th of Febniary, 1877, there occnrred at Prog mountain, In Gilmer* county, Go., A tragedy which created ’a great sensation in Georgia, and was trtrrnly discussed by the press all orcr the country. Lieutenant McIntyre, a gal-land officer In the second United States infantry,.. had been aent to ' thenortheastern counties with a squid of troops to arrest some offendersagainst Iho revenue law*, who. had defied the efforts of special depnties to bring them within the reach of the courts. On tho night of the 10th an attack was made on the house where a family named.Jones resided-Their hotne was nestled amid the rocks and ravines of the wildest portion of that wild county. The approach Was beset by danger fn thetioic of perfect peace, bat when tlw inhabitants were aroused by what they deemed Wrongs at the hands of revenue officers, tho march was perilous to a degree that'tnlgjd make a veteran feel nervous. Lieutenant McIntyre followed the revenue detectives who were leading the way until they reached tho cabin bidden both by the shades of a black and fearful night and by its natural seclusion.About lliia house there occurred a brief but fierce fight, In which a number of mountaineers attacked the troop?. After sharp firing on both sides, the assailants fie land escaped under tho cover of nights They left blood marks behind them, and some of the gang are supposed to have been mortally wounded. Lieutenant McIntyre was shot down never to riso again. Tho mountaineers were pursued, but no satisfactory results wOre ever accomplished,The United States authorities took tho matter in hand and sent a company to keep order In the mountains and also to try and find means to catch and convict the guilty parlies. Governor Colquitt showed ^strong desire to do his duty in every way possible. JIa appointed Colonel Sam Williams to take evidence in relation to the difficulty and a full report of all the circuinstAccs was submitted and published. Rewind? were ottered by the state for the capture if 'Bjc^nturJtrcrj of Lieutenant McIntyre! Intense public feeling was , worked up on the case. Gradually', however, tbo matter lulled. Several arrests were made, hut ail of them .proved to lie worth very little. Tho Jones family went to North (’nndinn, where they seem to have hidden iq tho dark corners of liioiiuluiiiii as wild as those they left. The public seems to have almost forgotten tho affair.It created, however, a deep impression at Washington and has long lain heavy on the tnfnd Of the attorney -general. It has oil the wliilobccn thegeneral belief that Ayres June?, lire man who resided in the house near which McIntyre was killed, was tho man wh* slew him. 8ovcr»l ineffectual efforts were tintde to effect his capture. It ai'ccrlained that lie had returned Horn North Carolina and settled Frog mountain, within a few milesof his former home. A few months ago Tom Jonei, thA hi other of Ayrqs Jonce, was arrested in Tennessee and earried to Knoxville for trial on a charge of illicit distilling. While hewaj no held the United States ot-ffehri? hero suspected that he might know something of tho murder. Colonel Farrow, tliedisitlct-attornoy, went toKnoxvHleand succeeded in showing cau**e why he should bringpri oner beck to - Arinnta.-II© has been in Jail here ever since a full investigation of the affair. From this ioirit the case bus Iiecu thorouhgly worked up by Marshal ■ ilmons and Colonel Furrow. Last 'sday, BIr. J. A. Findley and Mr. J. B Gaston, special deputies, received from Marshal Fitscsimons a warrant for the arrest of Jones. Friday they started on their search for him. Going to Gainesville, they proceeded thence to !ali!onega on nurso back. From there the way was truly one of dilllcnity and danger. The deplies meant business, however, and ent ahead with a vim. They wore compelled to go fast, foiMf the object of their ’jit had been known tho whole county . right have been aroused in prejudice against them and the already dangerous project might have been mode doubly difficult, If not impossible of successful execution. Tliey were mounted on superb horacs and made rapid progress through a section liku tho mountain passes of Switzerland in its asjiect and wild dangers. 1’eoplo'livc miles opart and civilization lias sent few of its rays to «lis|ct the gloom that ignorance has cast over the face of the earth where it is m» forbidding. As they neared Frog mountain they impressed several men whom they met, and with this i«ss« moved swiftly on to execute their mission. When within six miles of where they knew Jones lived the road ended in the roughest of mountain paths and the hordes tin longer found a sure footing on the loose atones that bordered the precipices of this - forbidding region. Here iho deputies dismounted, and taking only two men with them as guides thev secured their horses and proceeded on their journey. It was now about dark, Bnnduy afternoon. The day added to the tearfulness of tho pluco. A steady sleet had been falling for hours aud the ground was slick as glass. Night came on early with gloom and danger in its train. It wua too late to get out of. tho surroundings, even if Lhe deputies liinl desired It, and they went as fust us possible. After tv rough and arduous journey of six miles and several falls in the uncertain path they stood, at 10 o’clock nt night, in front of the house of Ayres Jones, the man who bad defied any number of deputies to come and take him out of his mountain retreat. No time was to be loit. Both iastots and Findley rushed against the doorof the rude house and it gave in. Instantly Findley was at tho bedside of Jones with a pistol in his face. Tho that resistance was idle and sullenly he submitted to tho two deputies, who bound and handcuffed him. In hi bed lay a revolver end within reach was double-barreled shot gun. Had the surprise been less sudden there would have been a more thrilling scene. Jones was In the midst of his family, a wife and nine children. He took hi? capture with a coot ness that reached absolute indifference.lfthcwnylo the desperado's hotne difficult and dangerous doubly no was return to the horses. The officers took their prisoner a? fast as possible, securely hand ’ -1 i. They reached their horse?thing happened to prevent this tmnntnral fight. Tho brothers had not *|Vken aiuco the difficulty until they met in jail yesterday. Not long nno Tom Jones wrote to his brother that he had better look out, as the officers were after him, A few days ago Colonel Whit Amlcnsm intercepted a letter which Tbns Jones hod written to nnif friends in the mountains that ilioy had belter come down and re*coc him from his Imprisonment.Ayres Jorics Is as pare o jqweimen of a child of Datura os cad-bo imagined. He is literally untouched by modern cUilization. He does not know a letter. Ills children never raw but two negroes The most re-remarkable evidence of his backwoods habits was shown in the fact that ho had never seen a railroad -or a locomotive nutil his captors carried him to Gainesville. They reached there Wednesday afternoon, and he begged them to take him ont and let him look at the.engines. For half an hour ho secured delighted wlthvtUc movement of these curious machines. He was brought to Atl n-ta yesterday at 12:50 by Mr. Finley and Mr. Gaston.At :i o’clock in tho afternoon he was carried before Commissioner Smyth to answer the chargw of resisting an officer mud conspiracy, the only - crimes which he Is charged with under th« Uuited States law. Tho prisoner was the object of general curiosity. He is a -large, welt-formed man of forty, whose foe* shows the Indian blooff that flows-mixed with the Anglo-Saxon current In. his veins. His long straight black hair ia parted in the middle, and hisfacacovered with bristling, reddish beard. Mlts eye is peculiarly bright and jjjareing, and his motions Ira t her quick and nervous. He was dressed in true backwoods style. Jeans pants, thick green woollen ehlrt and heavy brogam made up • most of his outfit. He seemed perfectly at ease in the presence of the authorities. Ho was repre somcd byrf3artrc!I .t'NV'rlght, while ibe dl»-trict-aliorney appeared for the prosecution. The cose was nut ready on the part of the defense, antbthe coiutinsaioiier set It for 8ut-urtlny dt II o’clock, when the preliminary examination will occur. The prisoner was taken U jail yesterday afternoon. He denies all complicity in the killing of Lieutenant McIntyre. He nays he thinks it very wrongdently gifted with a good Intellect naturally, but hi* fiord life has, of course, greatly deformed ami marred it.Fcrhans this is the beginning of the so-lutionof a long mystery. The core In every respect is on* of tho most interesting we Lave ever known, but It is a sad instance of what untutored humanity may bo.The case goes before the United State? on the ground stated if tho prisoner is cum* milted. If the stale authorities wore to indict him for murder, it would be n matter of discretion whether (he circuit judge should waive lhe right of hia court and turn the prisoner over to the sluto officials. In case? where twocouita uave jurisdiction, the firstlwhich gets the prisoner has priority of right in proceeding? agaln*t Mm,Hoy:■eport re anioTtLlay for York;Cono-Mndd-cuffed . .. .and made him ride behind them. He rode first on one horse and then on the other. The men mode a distance of twenty miles from the place where Jones was captured by day-breuk. They wonted to get just ai for as possible oat of the wilds with their prisoner. When day came they were still deep In the woods and mountains. It waa evident that Jones expected rescue from some of his friends. He looked around frequently and seemed perfectly Indifferent as to his condition. As they brought him nearer and nearer to thick settlements his countenance showed that he was losing hope. In lhe conversations had with hi* captor* he told something of Iris ild lif« iu the mountains. He says ho xlscs enough Irish potatoes and rye to live on. Not a hundred yards from the house ho ho* a distillery, it is sold. and from this lie is accused of having taken ten and twdTe gallons. i is said to have strapped bis pan ochm his shoulders and marched anmud the country defying till efforts w arrest, -Never was be taken before, and be says he never was in a court-house In bis life.He has passed *11 his day* In the wilds of the mountains and says he kills bear within « mile of bis bomc. He lives on a small of ream known « Jack river, from which he caught 11 ah for. food. It appears thatLe and hia brother. Ton* Jones, had a difficulty some time ago, and to set Lie it he purposed that they should fight a dueL The ground was stepped off and all tho preliminaries were an-auged, but some-thetho el«dlt;fUHer Imi°5^ Thethem Si: Iho nart itlniM One 1 Mnilifidcnto lbMcvitlieh fort the j city, dent
Newspaper Details
Atlanta Daily Constitution
Atlanta, Georgia, US
Fri, Apr 04, 1879
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Andrew W.
USA 03 Mar 2025
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