woodhite

WOOT HITE'S CORPSE
Special Dispatch to the Kansas City Journal

RICHMOND, MO., April 6. -Yesterday evening Coroner Richard Bobanon, acting on information obtained from a son of Mr. Jacobs, who lives on Dr. Mosby's farm, just east of town, went out to the old Harbison's farm, occupied by the Ford boys, and in a pasture east of the house.

FOUND THE BODY OF WOOT HITE, about three feet under the ground, covered with brush; then about two wagon loads of rock, then a lot of dirt. It was wrapped in an old blanket, and had no clothes on it but a shirt and a pair of drawers or overalls.

A slight wound was found on the right arm and a bullet wound on the right side of the forehead just above the eye. Besides this the left side of

HIS SKULL WAS CRUSHED as if by a blow from a rod of iron. The Jacobs boy got his information from a son of Mrs. Bolton, a sister of the Ford boys, who has been keeping house for them. The evidence of Mrs. Bolton and her two little boys was taken yesterday evening.

Mrs. Bolton testified that the killing occurred about the first of December, that Hite, who was known only to her as Robert Grimes, came there and had been there for two weeks when the tragedy occurred; that

THE FIGHT IN WHICH HE WAS KILLED occurred at breakfast time in the morning, Dick Liddil having arrived at the house between midnight and daylight of that morning, and had slept in a separate room from the one occupied by Hite and the boys. She said that she had prepared breakfast for the family, and they had nearly all eaten and gone out, including a hired man named Gibson, and later she had prepared breakfast for Hite and Liddil, and called them. Liddil dressed himself and came into the room prepared for breakfast; Hite came in dressed but desired to wash his face; he approached Liddil and offered to shake hands with him, but Dick declined.

THE QUARREL BEGAN

in one corner of the room. She said her back was turned and she does not know who shot Hite, but knows that nine shots were fired, one of which took effect in Liddil's leg, one in Hite's head, and the others in the ceiling and walls of the room. When Hite fell, the witness ran to him and raised his head, but turned sick and had to leave the room.

THE BODY

Was taken to an upper room and kept until night, when it was buried as described by the Ford boys.

The body was placed in a coffin, brought to Richmond and placed in the circuit court room, where it remains, the inquest having been adjourned to get further testimony. The inquest will be finished tomorrow, and the body buried.

The man Gibson, referred to as a hired hand; disappeared about the same time that Hite was killed, and is by many supposed to have gone the same way. A thorough investigation will be made.