Show LIFE IN KENTUCKY Tin Notorious Vcutloltu Hi fleetly < riPmi rouiity The Ftd of the Ktlwnvilscft nul IVoivfllw iKnrssrnu Ky ult This conn ly jrcfen 1 has long boon iioirtl for the deeds dOlt in its liordors r in i one of the j j i oldest counties in lie stain hivinj been l Ion nod bH ore the beginning of 1 the pro1 I Mint cnntnry If I 1 one lixd lie j genius for imrnitive jwcsscd by the Wizard of I I the j North the G Icon County vendetta t I in which the Juhvard and Joell md the Wallace und Lisle factions are and j i j were participants I would afford material i out of which as interesting a story as the i Legend of Monlrose might be written j I George A Edwards is a grandson of j John Edwards who resided in the ex1 trenie southern border of the county lie I the grandfather was a very ignorant man hut full of energy and unceasing industry in-dustry He was an extensive farmer and tobacco freighter Every year he navigated navi-gated one or more flatboats freighted with that staple to New Orleans footing it back with the proceeds upon his person There are vast fields of wornout territory in the vicinity of his home upon which he and his negroes cultivated immense crops of tobacco One day he cut his i throat from ear t ear and his administrator adminis-trator took possession of several bushels I of gold and silver coin which he had accumulated ac-cumulated His grandson is about thirty five years of age tall and slender with a sinewy frame and a countenance that would be called handsome but for the sinister glitter in the steel gray eyes He I I is a man of dauntless courage who would i i dare look on that Which might appall the devil His courage is constitutional and his judgment in danger and in action is as calm as when in safe repose lode Dowell and his brother Tom are sons of the late Thomas Dowel of fet calfe county e The father was a reckless whiskydrinking stocktrading horse racing cockfighting cardplaying daredevil dare-devil who had had a hundred fights and was never vanquished in one He had sold mules in New Orleans dealt in dry goods in Philadelphia and speculated inlands in-lands in the far West He was a born trader and swapper At a glance he could ten me weight ot a cow a lion a sheep a bulk of tobacco or bin of wheat Like many speculators he had a contempt for money and was rich one day and poor the next His sons inherited his combativeness com-bativeness and are firstclass players in I a free fight Allied with the Dowells are I the Mike Rodgers two of the Owenses 1 two of the Pendletons and their well wishers are numbered by scores The I most potent supporter of Edwards is his ILyearold motherless boy who carries a I shot gun and has buckled around his waist an ordinary navy pistol which so I short is his stature comes down to his knees Before George Edwards was twenty year of age he became involved in t I difficulty with Portcrfield Yates himself I a mighty man of valor and married to a cousin of Edwards Yates was a giant j j I in fcizo and strength and would have j I torn Edwards limb from limb if that worthy had not placed him hors de com I lint with three bullets in his breast Yates i recovered from bin wounds after being I confined to his led for months ISdwardp was a participant in numerous numer-ous combatsseveral years afterward and finally killed Alexander Martin a very I despcrate man He was indicted in the I Green Circuit Court and by change of i venue the prosecution was transferred to Adair County lie was defended by old I Frank AVblford who conducted it with 1 great skill There were several mistrials I 1 the major portion of two different juries being conviction but finally the elo I quence of the HOd Warhorse prevailed I and Edwards went forth a free man Before 1 Be-fore his acquittal he had an altercation with Dode Dowel which resulted in the I latter plunging a knife into the throat of Edwards and partly severing the windpipe I wind-pipe I was a most serious wound and came near closing the t career of Edwards I The difficulty occurred in 1879 and since that time there has been constant war between tme tween the parties with perhaps a score of i encounters in which firearms were used I About two years ago Edwards had some I j property stolen lie swore out a search i warrant against the Owenses who were 1 friends of the Dowells The accused fortified themselves after first mustering I their whole force and Edwards with the constable and one or two others made an I attack at night The constable and one I of his aids were killedioutright and it is said one ot the Owens met a like fate I He has never been seen since in that vicinity though his friends say he is in I Indiana but it is generally thought his I body was secretly buried somewhere in I the woods Some time after the killing of the i officer Edwards was quietly at home and one afternoon hearing the rattle of a j cowbell in his cornfield he starte to drive out what bethought was cattle and repair his fences His son accompanied him and suggested that they had better take arms along which they did The corn was in roasting ear and the stalks very tall They had not gone far until they were convinced that the bell was J0 attached to a cow They proceeded i cautiously and in a 1 few moments saw I Mike Rogers and several others lying by I the Hide of the trunk of a fallen tree in the edge of the field shaking the bell I Edwards is I capital shot and at I once opened fire He or the boy shattered Rodgers jaw at the first discharge and after the exchanged forty I or fifty fihots the Dowels retreated Shortly afterward Eclwanl purchased a Winchester rifle and a pair of pistols at a cost of 200 He also bought a sml of render it dim i greets clothing in order to rCuler i cult to see him traveling through the woods i The combatants perambulated he countrv every day seeking each other Edwards sent them word that he 1 and his bov would meet them in an open field ind Hit it out at a hundred yards j There is i no doubt hut that be was in iearnest Ill proposition was declined 1 and but his He was waylaid time i ld again cunning saved his bacon on every occa won lis I house was surrounded repeat edlv at night but he had fortified the windows and the walls being of brick ho i drove the invaders oIL with w11directed fI shots Finally he Fold his crop and rcnt ed his place loanoilior man and moved to his fathers twenty t miles oil r For ail a-il months therewas comparative peace but 1 one of the t Dowells sued him for debt I Ed l which put an end to the armistice wards moved back to his home and prepared for battle Dowel gave him notice pared fo1 batle to jake dcposiiouR tt Lieton Edwards Oil hand with his son lroinPtlY It Sffi prompty 01 the teeth Si of both rHJl to vrt crt thl enemv sdrd loettec 1 t bltk ws from 1hit miiithis shop ZO yards fU where the depositions were to place 1 1 fire on him lie be taken and opened fre Il rom returned the shots and ssoundeml Dowen retuned in the shoulder I was a splendid fatal would have proved did shot aiitl had not nearly all of Dowels body hpel Tlie seven njen in the concealed Tlme were seCll0en 1 te shop and Edwards retreated ton har I i a field where a crop of wheat was nearly ready for the sickle The Dowels surrounded sur-rounded the field at a safe distance de daring they would starve him out Edwards j Ed-wards escaped through the wheat on his i hands and knees and the Dowells cannonaded I can-nonaded the barn for hours after he was far awav The last battle of the campaign was I fought here the first day of the recent i term of the Circuit Court when Edwards i shot Mike Rodgers on the street full i i particulars of which have recently been published The worst feature in the late affair Edwards i sending Rodgers word I a short time before the shooting that he i would not disturb him f but Edwards I answers by saying that he was not bound j to keep faith with a man who had put on a cowball to entice him to a place where he might bu assassinated Edwards is at I large on bail but the war is not over nor is i it likely to he until some one is killed |