The Dead To The Living

Lewis Y. Johnson

Jackson, Kentucky, February 7th.

Beech Hargis, the murderer of his father, Judge James Hargis, attempted suicide in the Breathitt County jail last night by swallowing morphine, which he had procured before he entered the Hargis store, for the express purpose, as it is now generally believed, of putting an end forever to the constantly recurring efforts of his father to discipline him for his misconduct. That his effort was not successful is due to the thought of his mother, who, torn between her love for a husband murdered and a son threatened by a fallows, has elected to cling to the living and to seek no vengeance for the dead.

Fearing that Beech might do something desperate, Mrs. Hargis sent W. H. Blanton, an attorney, to the jail to ask F. R. Little, the jailer, to watch over him closely and see that he did not end his life and not to permit him to see any person, no matter who they were, so that no poison might by any means be taken to him.

The jailer, carrying out the request, went in to see the young man, whom he found sober, and noting a peculiar look in his eyes, decided to send for Dr. W. P. Hogg, Judge Hargis' son-in-law, who found that Beech had taken morphine. He was promptly made to take an emetic, and as the amount of the poison he has swallowed was not large, his life was not endangered and he soon recovered from the effects.

Wife And Mother

The conduct of Mrs. Hargis since the tragedy has been a source of astonishment, even to those residents of Jackson who have seen her bear up through the years of turmoil and terror that have passed. Yesterday's blow was one that might well have crushed the spirit of any woman and left her prostrate, yet, after the first outburst of grief, the wife and mother steeled herself to withstand the emotion that swept her and turned to meet the demands of the hour. She forgot neither her husband nor her son. Telegrams were dispatched to her brothers, Floyd and John Day, who were in Cincinnati on business; other messages to relatives were prepared and forwarded; and her husband's wish as to his coffin was respected, and the casket ordered by a telegram from Mrs. Hargis.

Thoughts Turn Back To Son

These done, her thoughts bounded back to her only son, and though she knew he lay a drunken wild man in the Breathitt jail, she began to prepare clean bed clothing to be sent to him. She summoned a lawyer to look after him, and sent the message that probably saved his life.

"I will spend every cent I have and sell the house over my head to prosecute the man the kills my Jim," Mrs. Hargis said during the height of the troubles in Breathitt County, when every man of both factions carried his life in his hands. Now that Jim is dead, she is willing to spend every cent he accumulated during his stormy career to free the man that killed him. Today Mrs. Hargis has seen none but the closest of her relatives.

The body of Judge James Hargis lies in the front room of his home in the great mahogany casket he selected himself. Clad in a plain black suit of clothes, he seems apparently asleep, while hundreds have called to offer their sympathy and take a last look at the central figure of the stormiest days of "Bloody Breathitt." With Mrs. Hargis are her mother and his mother, "Granny" Day and "Granny" Hargis, both nearing the completion of four-score years of life. Mrs. Hargis has seen four of her sons, three of them Hargises and one a Sewell, come to a violent end, bearing up bravely under her trials. "Granny" Day, who lived with Judge Hargis, remarked when she heard of the killing, "Well, I prepared Beech's meal a few days ago. I reckon I will never get him another one."

Funeral Today

The funeral arrangements have all been made and today boys carried about the streets of Jackson and delivered to the little groups of men who stood about on the street corners discussing the tragedy, the following announcement fresh from the press of the Jackson Democrat;

Funeral Notice

"The funeral of Judge James Hargis will take place

at the family burial ground 12 o'clock, Saturday,

February 8th. Services conducted by the Rev. A. C. Cooper.

Burial at the Hargis burying ground.

"Pallbearers: James Brophy, W. S. Jett, A. F. Lyon,

C. J. Sewell, Sam Jett, Jr., and O. H. Pollard, Jackson,

Kentucky.

"Honorary Pallbearers: G. W. Sewell, W. M. Russell,

J. J. C. Bach, William Day, Floyd Day, and William Gambill."

Standing just across the street from the Hargis store, the old Hargis homestead may be seen nestling down among the hills on the 350 acres of level ground forming the Hargis farm. As the bird flies the distance is short, but because of the windings of the Kentucky River at Jackson the funeral procession will have a journey of fully four miles, and, with no carriages available, it will be necessary to adopt several means of transportation. The casket will first be taken across the river to the Lexington and Eastern Railroad station, where it will be placed on a pushcar and hauled down the track for probably a quarter of a miles to the narrow-gauge tracks of the private road of the Kentucky Lumber and Veneer Company, which has offered to furnish an engine and flatcars to convey the body and mourners the greater part of the distance to the Hargis homestead.

Uncle Cal Will Preach Funeral Sermon

Knowing that his end might come suddenly, Judge Hargis had often discussed his funeral with his family, and had invariably said he wanted his funeral sermon preached by "Uncle Cal" Cooper, a mountain minister of the Baptist faith, who always was the guest of Judge Hargis on his visits to Jackson. The Rev. Mr. Cooper was a member of Gen. Pickett's command in the Southern Army during the war, and, living as he did in a country where Confederate sympathizers were few, he probably was more closely drawn to the Hargis family; who likewise espoused the cause of the South during the war. Mr. Cooper lives in Magoffin County, seven miles from Salyersville, and a telephone message was sent from Jackson with instructions to have a messenger ride after Mr. Cooper at once; and it is confidently expected that, in spite of his age, Mr. Cooper will make the long and arduous journey over the mountain in time to conduct the services.

Beech Named For Preacher

Mr. Cooper is said to be a typical mountain minister, possibly a little short on theology, but long on faith, and earnestly striving to spread the light of Christianity. He is said to be an orator of no little ability, and the residents of Jackson are expecting him to make an effort tomorrow worthy of the occasion. By a curious coincidence Beech Hargis was named in honor of Mr. Cooper, his full name being Beauchamp Cooper Hargis. He was called Beauchamp in honor of the noted Lexington temperance advocate, Mrs. Beauchamp, whom his father always greatly admired.

No Inquest, Coroner Unknown

No inquest over the body of Judge Hargis was held or will be held. No one in Jackson appears to know the name of the coroner of Breathitt County, or to have thought it necessary to notify him. The nearest that could be learned as to his identity was the statement of James Brophy, chief clerk in the Hargis establishment, that he believed the coroner's name was Turner, and that he lived somewhere over near Owsley County.

An Unnecessary Office

Judge T. P. Cardwell, Jr., police judge of Jackson, was asked why no inquest would be held, and said: "It is not customary to hold an inquest here when it is known how a man came to his death; if a man were found dead or there were any mystery attaching to the case, the coroner would investigate, but when all the facts are public property, there is no use of an inquest. No one seems to think much of the coroner's office here, and I really don't know who holds the place now." Inquiry among the citizens on the streets elicited the same information. The subject was evidently one that had never been brought up before. It seemed to occasion surprise that anyone should think an inquest even a necessary formality.

Murderer Arraigned

Beech Hargis, thoroughly sober and apparently dejected, was taken from jail this morning, and brought before County Judge S. S. Taulbee, who fixed Monday next as the date of his examining trial. Judge Taulbee ordered the jailer to keep the prisoner closely confined and to allow no one to see him, and this request has been faithfully carried out.

This morning his mother sent word to Jailer Little, asking that her son be handcuffed and led over to the Hargis residence to look upon the features of his father for the last time. This request was denied, it is said, by instructions from Judge Taulbee, who left Jackson immediately after adjourning court and went to another part of the county on business, remaining away until late in the afternoon. It is thought probably that the request may be acceded tomorrow morning, and that Beech will be taken home before the funeral starts.

Plea Of Self-Defense

Already it is evident that a plea of self-defense will be advanced in an effort to free young Hargis. He made his first statement and the only one so far since the tragedy to the jailer. He told Mr. Little that he was sitting in the front part of the store, when his father approached and seizing him by the neck, began to choke him. He said he attempted to rise and that his father, who was a much larger and more powerful man than he, forced him to his knees and continued to strangle him; and that then he drew his weapon and began to shoot.

This statement does not tally with the accounts of any of the witnesses, all of whom tell practically the same story. James Brophy said that he did not know Beech was in the store until after he heard the first shot, and that before he could reach the pair Beech had emptied his weapon.

Sought To Disarm Son

"I was selling Dan Taulbee a pair of shoes," said Brophy, "and had gone into the other side of the store, leaving Judge Hargis charring with some customers. When I heard the first shot I ran in to find the two men standing close together behind a counter. Judge Hargis had hold of Beech's right arm, evidently trying to turn aside the pistol. He must have grasped his arm above the elbow, for is he had caught the boy's wrist he could easily have saved himself. As I got there he called me to take the pistol and sank down. I took the revolver and rushed Beech to the front door, where I saw the marshal and called him to make the arrest.

"I then returned to the Judge, who told me he was killed, and pointed out the wound that hurst the worst. While one went for Dr. Kash, others of us went upstairs and brought down a cot, on which we laid him. The doctor saw in an instant that nothing was to be done and we picked up the cot and carried it back to the house. He lived but a few moments after we got him home, and I should say not more than 15 minutes after he was shot. One bullet struck him in the right forearm, I expect the first one, and three entered his body; one up near the stomach and two in the abdomen, while the other bullet went through his trousers, glancing off his leg. One of them must have cut an artery, for I have seen other men shot through the abdomen and they generally lived for some time.

"I believe the judge bled to death. The cot on which we laid him we dripping bloody by the time we got him out of the store, and the blood seemed to gush from one of the wounds."

Beech entered his father's store with Sanford Brown and Corp. L. A. Hayward, of the United States Army, who is detailed at Jackson on recruiting duty, and with whom young Hargis had been for some time prior to the shooting. Brown said that he left Beech upon entering the store and was in the rear end rolling a cigarette when the shooting began. "I heard no loud words or anything to indicate that Beech and his father were quarreling," said Brown, "and consequently took little notice of what was going on. When the first shot was fired I got out of range in short order and saw nothing more of the killing."

Nursed A Grievance

That Beech was nursing a grievance against his father and inflamed by liquor had gone to assert his independence is believed by both friends and enemies of Jim Hargis. For years Beech has been a constant source of trouble to his father, who, to us the expression of a member of the anti-Hargis faction, "certainly tried to do right by that boy."

The most serious trouble between the two, and the probable cause of yesterday's tragedy, occurred a week ago, when Beech, on a spree, drew a pistol at home and badly frightened his mother.

Judge Hargis, coming in, knocked the boy down and, it is said, loosened several of his teeth and cut his face badly. The judge, it is reported, gave Beech a terrible thrashing and punished him so severely that Mrs. Hargis went out to call for some men to separate the father and son, when Judge Hargis made up his mind that Beech had enough and quit.

Beech is said to have frankly told on the streets of Jackson how his face came to be bruised and to have said he didn't allow any man, even his father, to beat him that way again.

Family Will Not Prosecute

"If Beech Hargis is vigorously prosecuted it is probably that the officers of the law will have to conduct the case on their own initiative and without assistance from the family of the murdered man. How close the ties of blood bind in the mountains is hard for an outsider to understand. The clan spirit is unconquerable, and no matter what a man may do, when attacked his blood relations rally to his support. Men in Jackson have no doubt that when the case comes to trial Beech Hargis, having succeeded his father as the head of the family, will find behind him his mother, his sister, and his mother's family, the Days. On the other hand they believe that though Alex Hargis went into the Hargis store yesterday for the first time in three months, he and his brother, Elbert, will try to see Beech punished by law. This they believe, in spite of the fact that Alex Hargis declared yesterday that his hands were washed of the affair and the law might take its course without help or hindrance from him.

One of the last acts of Jim Hargis' life was to call L. T. Hovermale, editor of the Jackson Democrat, into his store and give him the order to print a large number of shipping tags, with the words, "Hargis Brothers" replaced by his name, "James Hargis."

Alex Hargis went to his brother's side when he learned that he had been shot, but it is said that he has not been to the house where the body lies.

Trial Judge In Doubt

The examining trial may be held by Magistrate H. F. Davis, as it is said that Judge Taulbee will decline to sit because of the fact that he was a known political enemy of Hargis, and that his action might be criticized. Should he decline to preside at the trial the duty would fall to Judge Cardwell, who flatly declared that he would vacate the bench. The case would then come before Squire Davis, who is the nearest magistrate.

Estate Worth $75,000

How much of an estate Hargis left is a matter of conjecture. His clerk, James Brophy, who probabaly knows as much about his cheif's bsuiness as any man, said today that he believed that after paying off all indebtedness the estate would be worth $75,000.

"Judge Hargis' affairs are pretty much involved," said Brophy. "He was compelled to borrow money in Winchester to buy out his brother, Alex, and he had many other affairs that kept his capital well spread out. No one can say now what he is worth, but I do not beliece there will be less then $75,000 when the state is ouwnd up."