PRISONERS OF PERRY

Sketches of Men Now In the Winchester Jail Awaiting Their Trial for Many Murders>

Talks With Both Factions and What They Have to Say About the Feuds That Have Disgraced the State

INTERESTING INTERVIEWS

Winchester, Ky., Sept. 10, 1890. Of the Perry County prisoners, twelve have been arrested for crimes said to have been committed as members of either the French or Eversole bands, who have shed so much blood during the past four years. Five belong to the French faction and seven to the Eversole side. All were lodged in the same room at the jail and they appear to get along together peaceably.

Since their arrest French and Eversole have been continually together, and they have been noticed in long conversations with each other. They are both known to be smooth citizens, and fairly well posted on the criminal laws of the state, and the conclusion is reached that they are laying their plans to shield each other as far as possible. In fact, French has been heard to say that he and Eversole have an understanding by which they expect to make the evidence against them very light.

The followers of the French faction now in jail at Winchester are: B.F. FRENCH, WILLIAM SMITH, JESSIE FIELDS, JOHN JONES, and JOE DAVIDSON, all of whom are charged with murder on several indictments. The Eversole party consists of GEORGE W. and JOHN C. EVERSOLE, WES WHITAKER, FRANK POLLY, GREEN MORRIS, JOB BOWLING, and ED COMBS. The four are charged with murder on several indictments, and the last three with malicious shooting. The other four prisoners are HENRY FUGATE, MORT WHITAKER, BRENTON BRASHEARS, and SHADE DUFF. HENRY FUGATE is the young boy who, with his brother ZACK FUGATE, waylaid Constable ALLEN in Perry County the latter part of last July, and shot him. Allen had BUCK FUGATE, another brother, under arrest and was conducting him to the Perry County jail when he was killed. All got away, but Buck and Henry have since been arrested, while Zack is still at large. Buck Fugate passed through Winchester yesterday on the way to the penitentiary at Frankfort. Henry Fugate, the one in jail charged with murder, is a beardless boy only seventeen years of age.

It has been reckoned that at least thirty men have been killed in the French-Eversole feud since its organization a little more than four years ago. Yet the indictments against those now under arrest are nearly all for the murder of JOHN McKNIGHT and ED CAMPBELL, both of whom were members of the Eversole faction, and met their death early in the action.

John C. Eversole claims that he had no hand in killing McKnight and Campbell, and says that both of the men were his friends. He asserts that JUDGE LILLY committed him without bail in order to vindicate himself from the charge of leniency in the discharge of his official duties. Eversole will make an immediate effort to be released on bail, as will a number of others.

The prisoners were accompanied to Winchester by JUDGE R. F. FIELDS, county judge of Perry and a brother of JESSE FIELDS, one of the prisoners. Judge Fields is confident that the feud that has so long kept the county in a state of anarchy is now at an end, and that Perry may now enjoy peace and prosperity.

"It is a fact", said he, "that there is not a church in Perry County and very few school houses but we do hope to do better in the near future. I guess it has been nearly two years since a sermon was preached in Hazard, or any other religious exercises were held, but when our new church is built we will invite some preacher to hold services". "The last grand jury did good work in Perry County, and found 381 indictments. This fact alone will go a long ways toward quieting the disturbing element in the county. There are lots of good citizens in Perry who long to see the law enforced and peace established, and I hope and believe that their wishes will now be realized".

By means of hard begging, your courier was admitted to the jail yesterday morning and had a few minutes conversation with French and the two Eversoles. Each of the men was perfectly willing to give his version of the feud from beginning to end, but they had hardly started to talk before the jailor peremptorily demanded that the reporter come out.

The alleged leaders of the Eversole faction are JUDGE GEORGE W. and JOHN C. EVERSOLE, brothers of JOSEPH EVERSOLE who was the original member of the family to have a difficulty with French. When Joe Eversole was shot down on the highway by unknown men, his two brothers, it is claimed, took up the fight just where he left off, and have kept it going vigorously ever since. Both are young men and possess more than ordinary intelligence. G.W. Eversole was county judge of Perry at the beginning and during the bloodiest period of the feud. His brother, John C. Eversole is about twenty-five year of age, and appears to be very well educated. He taught school for some time in his native county and for awhile was a drummer for a Cincinnati house. From him a partial statement was obtained, which is the substance as follows: In 1885 Joseph Eversole was a merchant and practicing lawyer in Hazard. B.F. FRENCH was also a lawyer living at the same town and occasionally clerked for Eversole. Some time in the year 1885, French bought Eversole's stock of goods and rented his store building for one year. At the expiration of that time, Eversole demanded his store-house, which was very reluctantly given up by French. Hard feelings were created on this account, which were aggravated when French started an opposition store. Finally an open rupture was brought about by a former clerk of French telling Eversole that his employer wanted him, the clerk, to shoot Eversole. The clerk made an affidavit to that effect, which is still in the possession of the Eversoles. A short time after this a man named SMITH also informed Eversole that French had offered him $500 to kill him, to which he made a written affidavit. Still another man told Eversole the same thing, and the Eversoles claim that they have the affidavits of all three of the men swearing to the fact that French offered to bribe each of them to murder his business opponent. A short time after this, SILAS GAYHEART, a friend of French was shot from ambush and instantly killed. This was the first man to meet his death since the feud began, but the Eversoles claim that they had nothing to do with his taking off. The French faction, however, held them responsible for it, and both factions began to collect and arm a number of men. The next outbreak was in September 1887. On that day, WILLIAM GAMBELL of Breathitt County came to Hazard and stopped at French's house. The Eversoles assert that GAMBELL was a worthless character, and was wanted in Breathitt County on a number of charges. A man named DEANE was also at French's house at the same time. The Sheriff held a warrant against Deane, and went to French's house to arrest him.

Gambell followed the officers to the jail, where he met Joe Eversole. Gambell began cursing Eversole, which resulted in a shooting contest. Gambell was killed, there being five bullet holes in his body. John Eversole and Ed Campbell were in a house near by when the shooting began, and seizing a Winchester apiece, both hurried to the scene. Neither, however, took any part in the fight, probably because Gambell was dead when they got there. All three men were arrested and were discharged on their examining trial. Gambell's death put it into the minds of the two factions to effect a compromise of their differences. Both sides agreed to lay down their arms, The Eversole faction to surrender to Judge Eversole, and French to the county judge of Leslie County. The Eversoles assert that they complied with the agreement, but claim to have shortly discovered that French's men were still armed. As a matter of precaution, they say, they again armed their men and held themselves in readiness for anything that might come up. On April 26, 1888, the Eversole faction was thrown into a consternation by the assassination of Joseph Eversole, who was shot from ambush while riding on the highway about four miles from Hazard. NICK COMBS, his brother-in-law who was with him, was also killed. The Eversoles say that both men were robbed while they lay in the road, and that between $250 and $300 was taken from the person of Joe Eversole. On the death bed of Joe Eversole, his two brothers took up the fight, which has continued at intervals ever since, with varying success to either party. During the struggle, nearly thirty men have met their death at the hands of one side or the other.

French has been quite sick since his arrival at Winchester, so much so that he has required the services of a physician. He was unable to talk much when seen by a reporter, and gave a very brief statement of his side of the story. He says he went to Hazard in 1874, and for awhile taught school. He studied law at the same time and soon began to practice. In a year or two he was elected county attorney, then he began selling goods. In 1886, he was attorney for some non-resident landowners. Joseph Eversole claimed that he owned the same land, and a lawsuit resulted in which Eversole was beaten. Eversole blamed French with his defeat and loss of the land. So great was his anger that he threatened to kill French, and the latter claims tried to hire someone to assassinate him. French heard of the threats and left the county. While he was gone, on June 7, 1886 SILAS GAYHEART was assassinated, and he believed it was done by, or at the instigation of the Eversoles. French says that the hard feelings were further aggravated in the beginning by a deal between French and Joe Eversole. French bought Eversole's store with the understanding that the latter would not start in opposition to him for one year. He claims that Eversole did start a store within ten months of this agreement. Without going into further details, French concluded that things went on from bad to worse until the two factions began killing each other.

A noticeable fact in connection with the prisoners is that all are young men. French, who is thirty-seven years of age, is the oldest one of the lot, and the youngest is FRANK POLLY, a member of the Eversole faction who is only sixteen years old. Although the youngest in the crowd, POLLY is by no means a youth when it comes to fighting. He has two charges of murder lodged against him now, and it is said that he was never known to lag behind when there was any devilment on hand. He claims to be "a bad man from the headwaters of Bitter's Creek", and he looks every inch of it.

The most hardened man of the lot is said to be JOE DAVIDSON, a large, raw-boned fellow thirty-two years old. He is charged with murder on three indictments, and it is said that sixty-four were pending against him for various offenses when the records of Perry County were burned a few months ago. Davidson is the man who shot a little girl through the brain on the streets of Hazard a year or two since. His only excuse for the brutal act was that he wanted to try his new pistol, and the girl was the first living object he saw. His own companions were so horrified at the terrible deed that they came near mobbing him on the spot.

The prisoners are enjoying a good joke at Joe Davidson's expense. Before his arrest he boasted that there were not enough soldiers in Perry County to take him. One night Capt. Gaither heard that Davidson was at his home a short distance from Hazard, and sent one of the guards named GAINES to arrest him. Arriving at the house, Gaines saw Davidson through a crack in the wall of the house and called on him to surrender. Davidson reached for his gun when Gaines kicked in the door and, at the muzzle of a pistol, forced him to throw up his hands. "I will surrender to the soldiers" said Davidson, "but no Sheriff can take me". Davidson's anger knew no bounds when he got outside and saw that he had been arrested by a stripling.

Note by M.B.: The article speaks for itself. 1) Nickolas Combs was the son of Alice "Alcie/Granny Dutch" Combs and her second husband Granville Combs. Nick was b. circa 1868. Granny Dutch Combs was md. 1st to Joseph Davidson. Joseph Davidson and Granny Dutch are my g.g.grandparents.