THE WHITELY CASE

Interview on May 12, 1943

Whitely and George--were brothers-in-law and tough. They went over into Bell County or somewhere down there and stole about sixty head of cattle from the Polocks or some such sort of people. The fellows came up here after the cattle and each had an old squirrel rifle.

Sam Terry was sheriff and Mr. Williams was a deputy. This Whitely was only twenty-one and lived over near Twin Mountains somewhere. This must have been in the early eighties [1880's] while Terry was sheriff. Terry told Mr. Williams he had better go along with them or there might be trouble.

They went out late of a Sunday evening and it was raining. Before they got there they met Old Man Crockett Hendricks, and Mr. Williams told him he had better come along. He grunted, no, that if he went there would be a fight. But he did come along with the fellows. Mr. Williams told them all to wait while he went to the front door.

He had another officer with him, can’t call his name, whom he sent to the back door, and told him to stop them if they came out. At the front door there was a log for a step and it was leaning and on account of the rain it was slippery. A red dog lay close by.

He had on his yellow slicker, and trying to avoid stepping on the dog, his foot slipped and he fell right into the front door. Doors in those days just had latches and it flew open. The man and his wife raised up in bed. "I am an officer," he said, giving his name, and that he had a warrant for him.

He sent the other man to saddle Whitely’s horse. He was much perturbed when the other fellows came up, and especially Old Crockett Hendricks.

Usually they crossed the Leon River at the Meridian Crossing (near the Durham place), but the river was up so much that he started on around to cross on Uncle Jack Durham’s toll bridge. You can still see the piers of this old bridge. That detour would cause them to have to go by Old Hosea Underwood’s house, and he was a great leader of the gang, and associated with Hendricks as one of the headmen.

This made Whitely say that they were going to hang him, and so he thought they were going this round about way. Mr. Williams assured him that the river was banks full and that they had to go that way. Mr. Williams had a six shooter and rifle, and assured Whitely that if they made any show against him he would let him have the pistol and would say by him. When they got to town they put him in jail, and he made bond.

The grand jury met and indicted Whitely and again he had to go out after him. On the way out he met Hendricks and Old Hamp McCain and two or three more men. He had Rufe Rice (my old neighbor up the street, son of James M. Rice, and the first white child born in this county, a quiet old man as I knew him, a former trail driver and rancher out in Fisher County.)

He sent Rice to meet Hendricks and McCain and those fellows and to tell them straight out that there were not going to tolerate any interference whatever. Mr. Rice did this and Mr. Williams and Whitely rushed on, and Mr. Rice never caught up with them before they got to town.

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