Newspaper: Young Williams Shot by Sheriff's Posse, Father Escapes; Webster Par., Louisiana
Submitted by: Lora Peppers <lpeppers@ouachita.lib.la.us>
Date: Aug. 2000


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The Ouachita Telegraph

Friday, July 6, 1877 Page 2, Column 5

MURDERER KILLED

We learned last evening from Mr. Henry Loop, driver of the Minden stage, of the killing of a young man by 
the name of Williams in Webster parish.  It seems that several days ago the sheriff of Webster, Mr. Collins, 
received a dispatch from the authorities at Delhi, La., giving a description of an old man about sixty years of 
age and his son, named Williams, charged with committing murder in that vicinity, and also a description of
 the horses they were riding, and requested him to be on the lookout for them.  On Sunday Williams and his 
son came through Minden and were recognized by the telegraph repairer by the description of their horses,
 who notified the Sheriff.  That officer immediately summoned a posse and started in pursuit of them, and after 
riding about six miles west of Minden they came up on the two horses tied near the road-side but could discover
 no one, until they began to approach close to where the animals were hitched, when the father and son, who 
had concealed themselves behind some stumps, opened fire on them. So sudden and unexpected was the attack
that some of the horses of the sheriff’s posse became unmanageable for a few seconds.  However, the fire was 
returned and young Williams, about 20 years of age, was killed.  By this time the ammunition of the pursuing 
party was well nigh exhausted, and after the killing of his son old man Williams stepped into the middle of the 
road and opened fire with a six shooter and forced his pursuers to fall back to a house about a half a mile distant, 
where they went to replenish their stock of ammunition.  While they were gone, the father approached the dead 
body of his son, laid him out on the roadside, wiped away blood which was ebbing from his wounds, crossed his 
hands over his breast, and taking his pistols from off him, kissed him an affectionate adieu.  All this occurred in
about half an hour.  A posse of sixty men were at once summoned and started in pursuit of old man Williams,
 but up to midnight Sunday they had heard of him. – Shreveport Times.