CHAPTER VII.
CRIMES MULTIPLY AND INCREASE IN MAGNITUDE.
Crime was wrong-doing is always progressive, and will increase and spread in its influences in proportion to the encouragement it receives. Whenever it becomes popular in any community to violate the law, it is not necessary to stop to discuss the question as to whether or not crimes will be committed in that community. It follows as a natural consequence. When White-capping became popular outrages were frequent. As stated elsewhere, the original purpose of White-capping was to administer punishment to a class of people who lived in adultery and kept disorderly houses in the community where they lived. This class of people sometimes becomes very obnoxious to the better element of society, which is always glad to get rid of them. We can thus see how easily they may have been influenced to sanction a scheme to get rid of this class of violators. This accounts for so many good citizens originally joining the White-caps. But having once joined how were they to break away form them and turn their influence against them? They knew not what it was till they got into it, and then to refuse to stand by it, meant the penalty of death would follow. Such as refused to join in the crimes that followed in the progress of White-capping could only remain neutral and keep their lips sealed. The better class did this; and as the crimes of the organization became more frequent and more heinous in their character, more and more withdrew their active influence, and White-capping by degrees drifted into the hands of toughs and those known to be vicious and lawless. When it reached this stage its promulgators began to study new work for it to do, and new fields to explore. They had entered into people’s houses masked and in disguise, whipped them and beat them with many stripes for the offence of adultery and similar misdemeanors, and had not been identified nor punished. Now these same would be moral reformers, reasoned to themselves in this wise: If we can enter a house and whip the inmates and not be detected nor punished in the courts for it, then why not enter in like manner for any other purpose and successfully defeat prosecutions? This method of reasoning was plausible; so they concluded that they could use the White-cap guise as a shield for any offense they felt disposed to commit. Therefore when one of the gang had a private difficulty with a neighbor or other party, he would summon his White-cap colleagues and report to them what he wanted. The result was, the supposed offender was overpowered by masked men and dragged from his home in the dead hours of night and severely beaten, at the instance of a coward who dared not meet him face to face. In this way private grievances were avenged by the White-caps. This part of the work was seen to be a success because undetected and they felt encouraged to take another step in the field of conquest. Such of them as had made up their mind to take a full degree in the catalogue of crimes, now organized special bands, consisting of the most desperate element of the White-caps, and went into stealing, robbing and murdering and in fact all sorts of crime. They generally selected as their victims pensioners, old widow women and old men who were generally known to keep money about their premises, and who were helpless to defend themselves. Many of the most outrageous robberies were in this way committed in Sevier County. Private houses were entered by force, and old and decrepid men and women were forced at the muzzle of a shot-gun or pistol to discover and deliver up to the cruel intruders all their money and other valuables. After thus pilfering a home and forcing from their unfortunate victims the earnings of a lifetime, these bandits would silently steal away, divide their ill-gotten gains, and return to their homes undetected and unknown to any one except themselves and their gang. Among those who have been the victims of this merciless gang of White-cap robbers, we have been furnished only a few names, among which are old man Andrew Henderson from whom they took about two thousand dollars in gold; Mr. John Burnett, a pensioner; a Mrs. McMahan form whom they forced about one thousand dollars. A widow lady by the name of Fox also lost what she had at the hands of one of these midnight mobs. In these robbing expeditions it is said only a small number, generally from four to six men were along. This was for two reasons: First, the fewer the number the more of the booty to each; secondly, the fewer the number the less the liability of detection. Besides a half dozen men were all that were necessary to over-awe and rob an old decrepit man, or a helpless woman. It didn’t take brave men to do such deeds as these, but base cowards. Jesse James and his noted band of outlaws were robbers, but it was done upon a high plane; it was a high order of robbery if you will allow the expression. They did it with such boldness and dispatch that one could not read of their daring adventures without some degree of admiration for their very bravery. They were never known to commit a robbery at night but rather chose broad daylight to display their skill at acquiring ill-gotten wealth. They never attacked an old defenseless man or a lone woman in daylight or dark and branded any man as a coward who would do so. So far from invading the home of an old defenseless man or woman in night time and after terrifying them with guns and threats, carry off their earnings, the James gang rather preferred to dash into the city of Omaha at high noon and rob a bank of its hundreds of thousands of dollars while the whole city looked on, or march into the fair grounds in Kansas City and carry off the gate money while a half million eyes gazed in wonder and astonishment, if not admiration at their reckless daring. While there may be something in the history of the James gang worthy of admiration, there is certainly nothing connected with White-capping but what is loathed and despised by every brave and honest man. It grew from bad to worse till in its latter days it degenerated into highway robbery and murder. Men were killed for opinion’s sake; prices were placed upon the heads of persons who were witness and happened to know something of White-cap depredations, and they were summarily put out of the way by the assassin’s bullet. Chief among these were William and Laura Whaley, whose tragic death is told in another place in this book, and for which Pleas Wynn and Catlett Tipton have been indicted as accessories before the fact. |