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Show A TALE OF BLOODSHED, History of the County Seat l ights Leading Lead-ing L'p to the Tragedy. Since July, 1888, there has been turmoil in Stevens county, Kansas. The county seat contest between VVoodsdalo aud Uugotou culminated then in the massacre of Sheriff C roes aud his deputies by Sam Robinson and his gang of about twenty-S'iven men from Hugoton. There was an abatement of the killing then until June 23d last, when James Brcunan of Kichtield, Morton county, shot and killed Sam Wood of Woodsdale, the acknow ledged leader of the Woodsdale faction. fac-tion. This killing occurred In front of the little church iu liugotou, Judge Theodore Botkin having converted the church into a courtroom", where the June term of the Stevens couuty district court was being held. Breunan was arrested, aud, after two attempts to give him a trial on the charge of murder, he was taken back to the jail at Hutchinson to await the third aud last attempt at-tempt to secure a jury this mouth. S.nce Wood's death hostilities have ceased in Hugoton and have now apparently been transferred over the boundary lint intoSsiA ard county, which has been peaceful hereto, fore, though it has always been acknowledged acknowl-edged that Spriugtieid, the county seat of Seward, has been iu sympathy with Woods-dale Woods-dale and Arkalon, the prospective county seat, in sympathy with Hugoton. This feeling feel-ing of favoritism, which undoubtedly exists, ex-ists, has evidently risen to that point where it became uncontrollable, and the Spriugtieid pi ople have gone iu to help out the Woods-dale Woods-dale faction. This new killings increases " e number of men slaughtered in the couL.ies of Southwestern South-western Kansas to about twelve, not taking into account the famous Leoti-Coronado county seat tight in Wichita county. There has never been a feeling of security in Stevens county since the famous Hay Meadows massacre of 1888, though at times the public pulse has been serene aud bloodshed blood-shed seemed an impossibility. But hut headed are these men in Steven's, Seward and .Morton counties and in all of the counties surrounding that quarter. They never forgive for-give a wrong or forget an injury. The direct cause of the projected attack on Judge Thco. Bitkin is the iaci that ever siuce the feud begau his sympathies have been Kansas. Colorado. K Il Indian Territory. New 1 -AsEr-reauM Mexico, g 4 j$ Texas. 3 TnE LOCATION OF THE KI.OOnY finot NO. Toe previous murders occulted in Stevens county where the feud originated. The recent slaughter slaugh-ter was in 6ewar4 county, in which .Jiulge jlut-kin jlut-kin liv.'s, hie home being at Springfield. Arkalon. Arka-lon. where Botkin now i.-, Ih in Nea-ard county, alio :it twelve miles from : ;riiiL'lleni, to which it i.s the ne nest railway station. with Hugoton, though his home is al Spring. Held in Seward county, forty miles away. James Breunan, who killed Sam Wood, was kit counselor mtil friend and traveled about with him on his judicial journeys through the counties comprising the dislrict. At the first attempt to try llrennan in September hut at Huiroton .fnd'se Botkin re-fused re-fused to preside, for the reason, he said, that lirenntin hud been his friend. So uo trial was had nor sny attempt mado to secure a jury until Nov. 4, when Judge Wall of Wichita Wich-ita made the effort. Judge Botkin was in Hugoton when the last attempt to try Brennan was made and It Is remembered that w hen he drove out of town after the court had failed to get a jury, the sheriff ol Seward county went with hiia with a Winchester over his shoulder. But this was no strange site in that place. The sheriff of Sewnrd county had simply taken Brennnn'a place as Botkin's body guard. But the bocfj ;juard is dead now. |