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Record
Of George W. Drake,
The Mountain
Detective
Deputy
United States Marshal Brought
15
Desperate Murderers To Justice
The Courier-Journal
- February 1897
Detective
George Washington Drake, whose exploits in capturing Jacob Neace
and Dan Farler, the slayers of Deputy United States Marshal William
A. Byrd two weeks ago, is one of the most remarkable man-catchers
in Kentucky; if not in America.
He was born in Lee County, Kentucky, on August 31, 1861. When
he was two years old his parents removed to Wolfe County, where
he has ever since made his home. His education was obtained in
the common schools of Wolfe County. He married at the age of
19, and two years later he was a candidate for constable of the
Campton district. The opposing candidate was William A. Byrd,
the man recently killed. They had been schoolmates and were great
friends, but both of them wanted to be the Democratic nominee
for constable, and Drake won the prize by a small majority. He
served two years as constable. He was then appointed deputy sheriff
by Sheriff Stephen M. Tutt. He served in that capacity four years,
making many arrests of minor criminals, collecting taxes, attending
court, and performing the other duties that fall to a deputy
sheriff. He was then appointed jailer of Wolfe County to succeed
Jonathan Creach, who resigned. He was elected jailer at the regular
election for a term of four years. He then made the race for
sheriff, was elected, and served two years, his time expiring
in 1894. He was with the Lexington and Eastern Railroad as private
detective when elected sheriff, and he held that position for
some time after being sworn in to his new office.
Before Drake went on the Lexington and Eastern it was dangerous
for respectable people to ride on its passenger trains. The mountaineers
would frequently board the trains drunk, flourish their pistols,
and, in many instances, shoot every window out of the cars. It
was frequently the case that the conductor could not collect
fare, and the railroad company was at a loss of how to protect
their patrons. After they employed Drake they had no trouble.
He was always heavily armed, and understanding the natures of
the mountaineers, he could pacify them when all others failed.
As a result the Lexington and Eastern Railroad is now as safe
to travel on as any road in Kentucky, and thousands of excursionists,
who annually visit the natural wonders along its line, are never
molested by the natives.
While working for the railroad Drake was also deputy United States
marshal. He resigned his place with the government and with the
railroad in November 1895 and took a position at the Phoenix
Hotel as night watchman and private detective. He remained with
the Phoenix for about six months when he resigned and became
a private detective, working on his own responsibility.
Drakes Story Of His Career
In a conversation with the Courier-Journal correspondent, Drake
told the following story of the murderers he had sought and their
crimes:
"While I was jailer of Wolfe County I arrested several notorious
murderers. The first was William Kiser, who murdered Tom Cundiff
in Lee County. He left immediately after the killing, and I located
him after six months at the home of his brother-in-law in Missouri,
where I had no difficulty in capturing him. He got a long term
in the penitentiary.
"I next captured James and Green Morris, brothers, who had
killed John Hignite in Perry County. I located them at the coal
mines in and around Jellico, Tennessee. I took a man with me
and we went to the different mines. I found James Morris boarding
at a hotel in Jellico and arrested him in the lobby. At the depot
a number of miners congregated just before my train was due and
swore I had to give up the prisoner. The leader drew a large
revolver and told me to take the handcuffs off Morris. I tried
to quiet them, but failed. I took the prisoner by the arm and
pulled him in front of me, and drawing my revolver as quickly
as possible, I told the miners they could get Morris, but when
they got him he would be dead. Morris who knew me begged the
men to stop and not have any trouble. He told them I would do
what I said, and at his request they allowed us to board the
train. At the next station my assistant boarded the train with
Green Morris, whom he had arrested without trouble. They were
both sent to the penitentiary for their crime.
A Sensational Assassination
"Shortly after this, one of the most sensational assassinations
that ever occurred in Eastern Kentucky took place in Powell County
on the Lexington Railroad near Clay City. John Rose, a prominent
citizen, about 50 years old, had killed his son-in-law, Doc Hall,
in a terrible battle with pistols. It was alleged that Hall's
brother had sworn to kill Rose. One morning while Rose was walking
down the railroad to catch a train at Clay City two men rose
up in a cut and began shooting at him. The first shot struck
him in the abdomen bringing him to his knees. He had two revolvers
in his saddlepockets, and he soon had one in each hand and, although
mortally wounded, began blazing away at his assailants, who ran.
Rose died a few hours later. I was employed to discover the murderers.
I went to Stanton, the home of Rose, where I learned that Goodloe
Combs of Jackson, Breathitt County had been seen there for several
days before the murder, in company with three strange men, presumably
from Breathitt. The description of one man fitted that of Jesse
Barnett, and I found Jesse sitting at the fence in front of the
courthouse at Jackson. I told him I had a warrant for his arrest
and took hold of his arm, but he pulled away, drew a big pistol,
and commenced shooting at me as he ran. He failed to hit me with
either of the three shots he fired, and I missed him with the
two I fired. I caught him in the river bottom, and two of the
chambers of his pistol were still loaded. I had learned that
James Combs and Charles Wall had left Jackson with Goodloe Combs,
and I suspected them of being parties to the killing. At any
rate I told Barnett that Wall had been captured and had confessed
to the part he took in the killing, and it was not long until
Barnett told me how Goodloe Combs had agreed to pay him, Charlie
Wall, and James Combs $500 each for murdering Rose. I locked
Barnett up and soon captured Wall. I told him that Barnett had
confessed and he soon made a clean breast of the whole matter.
James Combs was next captured and like the others he made a full
confession. Goodloe Combs left the county as soon as he heard
I had captured Barnett.
"When the three murderers were arraigned for the examining
trial in the Stanton courthouse they all confessed, and a mob,
headed by Stephen Rose, son of the murdered man, started to lynch
them on the spot in broad daylight and without wearing any masks.
I appealed to Rose to let the law take its course and told him
there was no doubt about them being convicted, and that if they
were lynched then it would be impossible to bring Combs, who
was the most guilty man, to justice. Rose saw the force of my
argument, and he allowed the men to be taken to the Mt. Sterling
(Montgomery County) jail for safekeeping. On their final trial
they were all three sent to the penitentiary for life. After
they had been incarcerated in the Kentucky State Penitentiary,
Goodloe returned and surrendered to the authorities, believing
that convicts could not testify in court. His mistake cost him
dearly, for the three men he hired to kill Rose were brought
out of the penitentiary and testified against him, and he also
received a life sentence. James Combs has since died and the
other three are still confined within the penitentiary walls.
It was alleged that Hall's brother hired Goodloe Combs to kill
Rose, and he sublet the job.
Strange Experience In Wisconsin
"My next trip to capture a murderer terminated badly for
the man who did the killing, as he, too, got a life sentence.
The murderer was Thomas Baker, who killed William Patton in Powell
County. He escaped, and I located him in Bryan, Wisconsin, and
I captured him without trouble. A few months after that I went
back to the same town for Grant Bowman, who was charged with
the murder of John Thacker in Lee County. In company with a Wisconsin
sheriff I went to the home of Bowman's employer. The sheriff
watched the back door while I went in at the front. Bowman was
upstairs, and as I reached the head of the steps he jumped out
of the window in his night clothes, although the weather was
bitter cold. The sheriff failed to catch him, and when I came
down we decided to wait near the house in the hope that he would
come back to get his clothes. We had been waiting but a few minutes
when we heard a shot 300 yards away. We ran in the direction
of the sound, and just as we approached the rear of a house we
saw a man coming out with a lantern in one hand and a Winchester
in the other. We asked him what was the matter, and he said he
thought he had shot a bear. He said bears had been after his
pigs, and he fired at what he thought was a bear a few minutes
before. We made a search of the barnyard and found not a bear,
but Bowman lying on the ground in a great agony. He had been
shot through and through with a .38 caliber bullet from the gun
of George Irish, the farmer, who thought he had killed a bear.
Irish was nearly beside himself over his mistake, and when Bowman
died, a few hours later, I was afraid the man would go crazy.
He surrendered to the authorities and was honorably acquitted,
as it was clearly a case of accident.
One Of Drake's Close Calls
"I captured no more murderers until I was elected sheriff.
The first man was Wick Talent, who killed John Lucas, a section
hand, on the Lexington and Eastern Railroad. He escaped to Texas,
where I captured him near Wichita Falls, without trouble. He
got a life sentence.
"The next man I went after gave me an experience I shall
never forget. His name was Mose Barnett. He had murdered a man
in Lewis County and had received a life sentence. He escaped
after having served 15 years, and I located him at the home of
a relative at the levee near Mt. Sterling. Joe Johnson accompanied
me, and we arrived at the house at 10:00 p.m. We looked through
the window and saw Barnett and two other men sitting before the
fire. Johnson went to the back door to prevent an escape through
it, and I went in at the front with a .45 caliber pistol in my
hand. Barnett sprang to his feet the instant I opened the door
and tried to draw his pistol. I jumped at him and threw my left
arm around him and tried to throw him to the floor, but he was
a very strong man, and before I could carry out my plans he got
his pistol against my abdomen and fired. I thought I had received
my death wound, and I tried to shoot him in the head, but he
grabbed my pistol and the bullet only plowed a furrow in his
scalp. We then had a fight for life. I caught his pistol, and
he still kept hold on mine, so that neither of us could shoot.
I rushed him backward against the fireplace, and he knocked a
lamp from the mantel, which set the floor on fire. I finally
threw him on a bed and was trying to hold him there when Johnson
rushed in. He told me not to shoot him anymore. I replied that
I had not shot him enough; that he had shot me and probably killed
me. Johnson tried to shoot him, but his pistol snapped. The two
men were trying to pull me off, but Johnson knocked them down
with his revolver and then struck Barnett across the head, rendering
him unconscious. We took two revolvers from him and then I looked
to see how badly hurt I was. I had on a heavy overcoat and the
bullet had gone through that, my overcoat, vest, and the waistband
of my trousers and had penetrated about half-an-inch into the
flesh. When I raised up my shirt the bullet dropped out on the
floor. It was badly battered by its contact with the heavy clothing,
and I was severely bruised and powder-burned. Barnett was returned
to the penitentiary and I spent about a week in St. Joseph's
Hospital at Lexington, recovering from my wound. The pistol Barnett
used on me was a .38 caliber.
Fired On From Ambush
"As deputy United States marshal I arrested Isaac Sloan,
the murderer of Deputy Russell Wireman, who was killed in Knott
County during Cleveland's first administration, while after moonshiners.
Thomas McMillian, who is now a deputy marshal, and three or four
other guards went with me. We captured Sloan near his old home
in Knott County without trouble. We thought we would catch some
moonshiners in Leslie County, and we did arrest five of them.
The guards started with them, and I stopped to summon some witnesses.
After this I was riding fast to overtake my party, when I was
fired on three times from ambush with a Winchester. The first
shot clipped a piece out of my hat. I saw the man behind a tree
shooting at me, and I fired twice with my revolver, but missed
him. My party quickly came to my rescue, but we failed to catch
the would-be assassin, who proved to be one James Bailey. Marshal
Byrd had a warrant for him in his pocket for shooting at me when
he was killed by Neace. Sloan was tried in the United States
Court at Louisville and received a life sentence in the penitentiary.
"Since I resigned my position as deputy marshal I captured
John M. Sebastian in Magoffin County, who murdered a man named
Scrippling at Waco, Texas, and escaped to his old home in Kentucky.
I had several guards with me, including the late Deputy Marshal
Byrd, when I went to make the arrest. We arrived at the house
at midnight, or rather within 200 yards of it, when we were fired
upon from ambush. We fired back, but Sebastian and his friends
made it so hot for us that we retreated. I was slightly wounded
in the knee during the battle. Two weeks later I found Sebastian
at the home of his father-in-law, Brown. I had several guards
with me. I went in the house and found Sebastian in the loft
with three men, all heavily armed. At first they refused to surrender,
but I persuaded them to let Sebastian submit to arrest. He was
sent back to Texas, where he got a five-year sentence."
Counting Neace and Farler, Drake has captured 15 desperate murderers,
besides many other criminals of lesser note.
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