Scott County ArArchives History - Books .....The Scott County War, 1874-1879, Chapter 7 1922
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Book Title: History Of Scott County

CHAPTER VII. 
The Scott County War, 1874-1879

  The people were forgetting the horrors of the great war with its train of
evils and were settling back into their peaceful occupations, when the county
began to take on the appearance of a lawless community. For a period of about
five years, commencing in 1874, a condition of affairs bordering on anarchy
prevailed. Murders were frequent, and the perpetrators went unpunished; property
was insecure, and there was no relief; and the citizens were for a time helpless
before the lawless elements.

  The first instance of this state of affairs was the killing of a negro on
Lewis Prairie in 1874. Suspicion attached itself to certain persons of the
neighborhood, but they were never apprehended. In May, 1874, Jacob Jones was
killed at Waldron. During the winter of 1874-75, C. Malone was clandestinely
shot, and former sheriff, Nathan A. Floyd, was charged with being the guilty
party. He was indicted, tried and acquitted. Malone had formerly acted with
Floyd as a Republican, but now a rift had appeared between them. On March 11,
1875, J. H. Nichols, a negro who resided near Waldron, was killed in the road
about a half mile south of that town. Two other negroes, David and Henry Carroll
were arrested, charged with this crime. They were tried and acquitted.

  The series of murders and defeated justice aroused the county, and public
sentiment demanded that this lawlessness be brought to an end. Instead of this,
later in March of the same year another negro was shot and no arrests made. The
sheriff, F. C. ("Buck") Gaines, seemed to be unable to cope with the situation.

  The whole trouble apparently had its base in a feud between two factions, viz:
the Gilbreaths, Bates and Malones on one side and N. A. Floyd and his followers
on the other. In the spring of 1875, Peter K. Beam, a friend of the former
faction, notified Floyd that he (Floyd) was to be assassinated and claimed that
he had been offered a large sum of money to kill him but had refused. He was
then requested to testify as to this matter before the grand jury, but refused
on the ground that he would be killed if he did so. He was killed in his field
soon thereafter.

  Floyd's life was again threatened, as was also that of McClure, his partner.
Soon after a man named Russell was killed. A short time before, he had stated
that an effort had been made to induce him to kill Floyd. A few days after this
statement had been made, a man approached him on the street near the courthouse
and invited him to go into the courthouse to play a game of cards. He accepted
and when he entered the building, he was incontinently shot. There were several
persons present at the time, but no evidence could be obtained to fix the guilt
of the crime. The citizens were either aligned with one or the other of the
factions, or were else afraid to reveal a knowledge of the facts. Floyd then
left the county, going to Missouri. He had been engaged in the mercantile
business since retiring from political office, and after leaving, he hired two
men named Martin and Hill to prepare his effects for shipment. While engaged in
this duty, they were both shot. Meanwhile court convened, and Judge Joyner held
the session surrounded by an armed mob.

  The citizenry demanded that steps be taken to restore law and order in the
county. The sheriff appealed to the governor for aid, and the adjutant general
of the State, Gen. Carroll D. Wood, was sent to the county. Order was apparently
restored and the trouble settled.

  The disorder again broke out in June, 1867, when the residence of Judge Frank
Fuller was shot into by two men, and Judge Fuller wounded. In August, two men on
the Floyd side were murdered. The sheriff again asked the governor for aid, and
Gen. Robert C. Newton was dispatched to Waldron. He set about organizing the
militia, and by the last of August, 1876, he placed a company of fifty men under
Col. Hooper on duty, and the reign of terror ceased temporarily.

  Early in the summer of 1877, J. L. ("Shabe") Davenport shot at Judge Fuller,
but a bystander knocked the pistol upward and no one was killed. The August term
of court was approaching, and Judge John H. Rodgers was warned not to attempt to
convene court. But he persisted and held the session. J. D. McCabe was the
prosecuting attorney at the time. Great excitement prevailed all over the
county. The sheriff was panicky, and begged the governor to send state troops to
his aid. Drs. Caruthers and Bell, T. G. Bates and the sheriff fled the count}'
for safety. The sheriff continued his weak and persistent pleas to the governor
for help. He finally came back to Parks where he established his headquarters.
Meanwhile, the county had been divided into two militia districts, known as the
northern district and the southern district. The militia of the north had been
organized into a company of one hundred men under Col. J. W. Sorrels. His
assistants were Capt. H. W. Dixon and Capt. J. M. Williams. These companies were
ready for duty in August, 1877.

  The southern militia was organized under Col. Joshua M. Smith. His assistants
were Captains A. Lunsford, William Mankin and W. R. Cox. The company consisted
of seventy-five men, raised in Mountain Township and vicinity. At this juncture
General Pomeroy, new State adjutant general, took up his residence at Waldron.
He ordered the militia under Col. Smith to Waldron to protect the spring session
of circuit court (1878). This term of court adjourned without accomplishing much
toward reestablishing peace and quiet in the county.

  The already tense excitement of the people was further intensified by the
murder, on Feb. 6,1878, of J. L. Davenport, better known as "Shabe" Davenport.
He was shot at Waldron, apparently from an upstairs window. He and his family
were well known and prominent in the north part, of the county, and his murder
caused a frenzy of anger to sweep over this part of the county. The citizens
resolved to take affairs into their own hands. They had waited vainly for an
orderly process of the courts to establish peace and quiet, but had been
disappointed. About a hundred of them formed a mob to go to Waldron to set the
affairs of the county in order. They met at Lookout Gap, north of Hon, and from
this rendezvous they started for Waldron, but found the Poteau River unfavorable
and were forced to turn back to their homes. This was a fortunate occurrance for
all concerned, for the citizens of Waldron had been informed of the intended
attack and had fortified the town strongly in a manner to make it impregnable.
The sheriff also employed the militia at that place to this end. Much bloodshed
would inevitably have resulted had the march of the citizen mob not been halted.

  The action of the citizenry of the north in forming this mob served to
emphasize the gravity of the situation and the necessity for a thorough
investigation of the causes of the disorder, and punishment of those responsible
for it. The governor thereupon ordered a company of Franklin County militia,
under Col. J. P. Falconer, into Scott County to assure the orderly operation of
the courts. The militia of the county was so completely aligned with one or the
other of the two factions that it could not be so employed.

  Attorneys H. F. Thomason and Walker were retained by the State to assist the
prosecuting attorney to thoroughly probe the causes of the existing disorder.
Their fee was $3,000.00. Eleven prisoners, including the county clerk and other
leading citizens, were to stand trial. The sheriff, Gaines, was also ordered to
be arrested, and William Chitwood made the arrest. The trials were held before
Justice Blevins at Old Cedar Grove. The court was guarded by the assembled
militiamen. After a heated trial, amidst tense feelings, all the prisoners were
acquitted, and returned to their homes.

  The lawlessness then gradually came to an end. Some of the leaders fled the
country, some had been killed and others were ready to become again law-abiding
citizens.

  The fundamental cause of the disorder was the deep-seated desire of the people
to rid themselves of an alien government, which had been fastened upon them
during the early days of Reconstruction. Carpetbag government was distasteful
and the people did not feel free until it had been overthrown. The anarchic
state of affairs gave the county much unfavorable advertisement and left the
treasury depleted. The county has only recently recovered from its blighting
effects.


Additional Comments:

HISTORY of Scott County Arkansas
By Henry Grady McCutchen

Printed in Arkansas
U. S. A.

Copyright, 1922, by H. G. McCutchen


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