JOHN GREEN Arizona Republican Newspaper October 30, 1895 Kyrene Plain--In the latter part of the month of December, 1891, a horseman riding along the road near the base of the Maricopa Mountains, about eight miles in a southwesterly direction from Tempe, came across the body of a dead man lying about fifty yards from the highway, but partially concealed from view by brush and a tall sahuaro. The horseman rode into Tempe and notified the coroner, who immediately impaneled a jury and proceeded to the scene. The body had been dead several days but cold weather had prevented decomposiiton. The body was lying on the ground face downward in the remains of a fire. The nether limbs were partially eaten by coyotes. The attending physician examined the remains and found in a bullet hole, which ranged from the back of the head, upward and forward coming out of the right eye, the cause of death. Investigation of the gound in the vicinity showed footprints leading away form the scene, also the hoof marks of a mule. The man had been murdered and the dastardly assasin had crawled up on him from the rear while he was bending over the fire cooking a rabbit on a stick. When the fatal shot was fired the man fell forward into the fire, which badly burned one side of his face. The murderer then led the mule toward Phoenix on foot, as the footrpints indicated. The trail was lost and never recovered. From papers on the corpse it was learned that his name was John Green and that he had relatives living in Pennsylvania. A few days after the finding of the body it was learned that the dead person had left Gila Bend in the company of another man, ostensibly on a prospecting tour. The motive of the killing was ascribed to robbery. The murderer, however, was not apprehended and the tragedy appeared destined to remain unsolved so far as the identification of the assassin was concerned. The name of the murdered man was John Green. He had lived in the upper Gila Valley, having a fine farm across the river from Pima. He was about 28 years of age and had a wife and three young children. While of fair character, he had some bad associates, one of them being Lyman Follett, one of the Wham robbers, or at least, one of the defendants in the most noted trial that proved the ignoble and pitable end of one of the most dastardly and greatest crimes of the decade. In November of 1891, Follett and Green left the Gila Valley on what they announced would be a lengthy trip. About a month therafter Follett returned. He simply said that Green had "skipped" and had given him power of attorney to dispose of his property. The power of attorney was acknowledged as correct, it being acknowledged before George Passey, notary public at Mesa. Accordingly the ranch was sold by Follett to I.E. Solomon, the young wife signing the deed under representations from Follett and his friends that all was right. Follett pocketed the cash and disappeared. Letters were recived by his associates from Liverpool England and several notes from Johannesburg, South Africa. It is largely through Follett himself that it was learned that he slew John Green. They had left Pima on a "little deal in horses." On the journey Green was told by his companion that a body had been dug up on the Green ranch and that Green had been charged wit h the murder. There would appear to hve been something in the threat of exposure for on the strength of it, Follet secured the power of attorney. Then Follet killed his victim. The chain of evidence is complete and Lyman Follett will swing if ever brought back to Arizona. Mrs. Green, the young wife, a daughter of E. Holliday of Graham, is now employed as a domestic in Solomonville, thus supporting her three children. The farm beyond Pima is now regarded as one of the best in the vicinity and is worth with its water right at least $4000. Two brothers named Hunt about a year ago puchased 120 acres of it from Mr. Solomon. Another act of the tragedy lately took the boards. C.E. Holiday, a brother of the widow, was a close friend of Green. He has for several years ocucpied himself largely with working up the details of the plot and gathering the links of the chain of evidence around Follett. But Holliday is dead. He was shot and killed near Pima, August 29, one of the Hunt brothers, being the slayer. At the court session, a number of the men who had been especially interested in the capacity of defendents in the Wham robbery took the stand to tell that holliday had repeatedly threatened Hunt's life and Hunt swore the deed was in self defense. USGenWeb Project NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the internet, data may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages may not be reproduced in any format for profit, nor for commercial presentation by any other organization. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain express written permission from the author, or the submitter and from the listed USGenWeb Project archivist. submitted by burns@asu.edu