the career of the two harpes4 in tennessee, southern illinois, and kentucky, particularly kentucky, at the close of the eighteenth century has rarely been equalled in the history of crime, either in peace or war. its beginning was so sudden, its motives wrapped in such mystery, its race so swift, and its circumstances so terrible and unbelievably brutal as to justify collins, the distinguished historian of kentucky, in referring to the brothers as “the most brutal monsters of the human race.”
at that time, 1798–99, kentucky had a pioneer population of about two hundred thousand, which was largely centered in the new trading and agricultural towns in the eastern part and in the rich bluegrass country. the remainder of the state, except along the water courses, was well nigh a wilderness. in the southern and western portions buffalo grazed, and bear were plentiful. east tennessee, where the scourge of crime began, was even more sparsely settled. this pioneer population was vigorous, rude, and accustomed even to indian atrocities. among the settlers were many who, as fugitives from justice, had deliberately sought seclusion from the eastern states because of criminal offenses. the ohio river was infested with inland pirates, and the early rivermen themselves were a rough and violent type. isolation led well-meaning pioneers to be generous and confiding to those whom they had
56
tested, but to a great degree might was right, and strangers looked askance at each other and were prepared for the worst.
yet such a rude and hardy people as these were gripped with horror at the atrocities of the harpes, at their often unmeaning and unprovoked murders. it is difficult in these days of well ordered government to realize the mysterious terror and excitement that began near knoxville in 1798 and swept through the wilderness to the borders of the mississippi, and across the ohio into illinois like some sudden, creeping fire that breaks out in underbrush, and grows steadily in intensity and rage until it sweeps forests before it. all this was, in a measure, realized in the breasts of human beings as the hideous crimes of the harpes increased.
aside from the wars and the recorded importances of political development, the episode of the harpes is the most astounding event in the early life of the middle west. it engaged the memory of men for forty years, and the pens of numerous historians, and writers of memoir have been occupied with it ever since. in the main the story has been well preserved, but in the details there has been the variation that grows with repetition. the most dignified historians have not disdained to seek the minute details attaching to the persons and actions of these two men from the moment they began their criminal career to the thrilling blood-chase in which the older brother was captured and killed, and the younger escaped into exile and to an even more dramatic and terrible death.
to this day the story of “the harpes” and “harpe’s head” is told about firesides in the cave-in-rock country, in southern and western kentucky and in eastern
57
tennessee. it has been perpetuated in folk ballads and written by scores of pens. [93]
it is the purpose here to bring together the many threads of the tale as they have been verified and corrected by original records sought from wisconsin to new orleans, and from knoxville to cave-in-rock and the mississippi river.
judge james hall, while living in illinois, wrote a brief account of one of the crimes committed by these outlaws, and in april, 1824, published it in the port folio of philadelphia. in his introductory remarks he comments: “neither avarice nor want nor any of the usual inducements to the commission of crime, seemed to govern their conduct. a savage thirst for blood—a deep-rooted enmity against human nature, could alone be discovered in their actions.... plunder was not their object; they took only what would have been freely given them, and no more than what was necessary to supply the immediate wants of nature; they destroyed without having suffered injury, and without the prospect of benefit.... mounted on fine horses they plunged into the forest, eluded pursuit by frequently changing their course, and appeared unexpectedly to perpetrate new horrors, at points distant from those where they were supposed to lurk.”
judge hall, up to that time, had done little more than describe one of their last crimes, yet the cincinnati literary gazette, may 28, 1825, came out with a statement admitting that there may have been two outlaws by the name of harpe, but added: “we have no hesitation in asserting that their history, as published in the port folio, is unworthy of belief.... the horrible details concerning these men ... such disgusting
58
sketches of human depravity and barbarism manifest either a vitiated taste or a total disregard of the morals of the community.”
as far as is now known, at least two papers published in the month following came to the defense of judge hall’s account. the illinois gazette, of shawneetown, among other things, declared: “the depravity and bloodshed which marked their existence ... are circumstances too strongly impressed upon the recollections of our early settlers to be contradicted at this date.”
the columbian, of henderson, kentucky, in a half column article devoted to the same subject, asserts: “the account published in the port folio is correct in every essential point.... however it may be regretted that such monsters as the harpes ever should have existed to disgrace humanity, yet it is an uncontrovertible fact.” [56]
in the august, 1825, issue of the port folio judge hall published an account of another murder committed by the harpes—the killing of thomas langford, who was among their first victims in kentucky. in the same number he devotes a few pages to a verification of the statements he published then and a few months previous. and before half had been told about the harpes, the cincinnati literary gazette was convinced of its error in doubting and disputing the veracity of judge hall. judge hall wrote several pages justifying the publication of the weird and wonderful facts of the career of the harpes. his arguments published in 1825 in his own defense hold good today and may be equally well applied to the story of the harpes here given, which, as far as is known, is the first attempt
59
to compile a complete history of these notorious outlaws:
“if it is intended to be objected, that these ‘horrid details,’ even if true, are not proper for publication—i reply, that whatever tends to develop the history or character of a people, is a legitimate subject of public discussion. history to be of any value must be true. it must disclose not only the truth but the whole truth. in vain would the historian seek this in the frail monuments vaguely preserved in the uncertain legend of tradition. he must resort to national records and to the testimony of writers contemporary with the events which he attempts to describe, and if the latter abstain from the narration of ‘disgusting sketches of human depravity and barbarism,’ history must be curtailed of her most fruitful source of incident, and men and nations stripped of their boldest peculiarity. it is perhaps forgotten that ‘depravity and barbarism’ constitute almost the sole basis of history, tragedy, and the epic song; that kings and courts are nothing without them; that they revel amid ‘the pomp, pride, and circumstance of glorious war;’ and stand forth in bold relief in every department of civil subordination. it is to be deplored that such is the fact; but while crime and folly continue to predominate in the affairs of men, they will be found to swell the pages of those who attempt to exhibit correct pictures of human nature.
“in describing the american backwoodsmen, a class of men peculiar to our country, i have thought it proper to introduce among other authentic anecdotes the story of the harpes. my object was to display as well the extraordinary sufferings to which the earliest emigrants to the western country were exposed, as the
60
courage with which they met and repelled those hardships.”
the harpes were believed to be brothers. they were natives of north carolina. micajah, known as big harpe, was born about 1768, and wiley, known as little harpe, was born about 1770. their father was said to have been a tory who fought under the british flag at king’s mountain and took part in a number of other battles against the colonists. before the close of the revolution and immediately thereafter many of the tories living in the south atlantic colonies fled toward the mississippi. those who still sympathized with the king of england and continued to live in the “old states” were, in most sections, ostracized by their neighbors. it was to this class that the parents of the harpes belonged; and it was, therefore, in an environment of hatred for and by neighbors that the two sons grew up.
about the year 1840 colonel g. w. sevier, son of governor john sevier, in an interview with lyman c. draper, the historian, stated that big harpe, when asked shortly before he was killed why he had committed so many crimes, answered that he had been badly treated and consequently had become disgusted with all mankind. [12g] the same statement is made by j. w. m. breazeale, another well-known early tennesseean, who had lived in knoxville the greater part of his life and had investigated the careers of the outlaws.
one writer attributes their acts of fiendish inhumanity to the fact that they believed every man’s life, whether good, indifferent or bad, was predestined and that the all wise had foreordained for them a hatred of humanity and a career of crime. [121] draper, in his “sketch of the harpes,” comments on the fact that “their tawny appearance and dark curly hair betrayed
61
a tinge of african blood coursing through their veins.”
criminologists may or may not agree as to the underlying cause of the great thirst for blood possessed by the harpes, but the fact that they were the most savage and terrible characters in this period of american history cannot be disputed.
about the year 1795 the two men, accompanied by susan roberts and betsey roberts, left north carolina for tennessee. susan claimed to be the legal wife of big harpe, whereas betsey merely posed as such. big harpe, however, claimed both women as his wives. the harpes cared as little for the laws of matrimony as for any other laws and the legality or illegality of anything they did was a matter of indifference to them.
the two men and their women roamed in central tennessee about two years. most of their time was spent with a few stray creek and cherokee indians who at the time were ostracized by their tribes and were committing atrocities against their own people as well as against the whites. the harpes joined the savages in their outrages, and not only encouraged them in their bloody deeds, but gave them many demonstrations showing to what extent barbarity could be practiced. asleep or awake they were armed with tomahawks and knives and never took a step from camp without a gun. they were always prepared to shed blood for the satisfaction of shedding it, or to resist arrest should any attempt be made to capture them. they lived like man-eating animals. the women as well as the men wore leather hunting shirts and moccasins made from the untanned skin of animals they killed. they never wore hats except in the coldest weather and then used the kind they “whanged” together with deer skin thongs. [121]
62
some time during 1797 the four left middle tennessee for the new settlement of knoxville. while wandering toward the eastern part of the state they met a young methodist preacher named william lambuth, who was traveling through the wilderness alone. they robbed him and among his belongings found a bible. in turning the leaves, looking for bank bills, big harpe discovered on the front page, written in plain letters the names “william lambuth” and “george washington.” pointing to the name of the general, harpe remarked: “that is a brave and good man, but a mighty rebel against the king.” the articles found in lambuth’s possession convinced the harpes that he was a preacher, whereupon they returned to him not only his bible but also the gun, the little money, and the horse they had taken. then abruptly turning from him and shouting, “we are the harpes,” they quickly disappeared. this is probably the only instance in the lives of the harpes, after the beginning of their murderous career, when they had anyone, old or young, in their power, and showed less than a fiendish barbarity. [121]
obeying the principle that birds of a feather flock together, the harpes, it seems, were attracted toward the new settlement of knoxville. in march, 1798, james weir, on his way from south carolina to kentucky, spent a few days in the town. writing of his short stay there he says:
“in the infant town of knox the houses are irregular and interspersed. it was county court day when i came. the town was confused with a promiscuous throng of every denomination. some talked, some sang, and mostly all did profanely swear. i stood aghast, my soul shrank back to hear the horrid oaths
63
and dreadful indignities offered to the supreme governor of the universe, who with one frown is able to shake them into non-existence. there was what i never did see before, viz., on sunday, dancing, singing, and playing of cards, etc.... it was said by a gentleman of the neighborhood that ‘the devil is grown so old that it renders him incapable of traveling and that he has taken up in knoxville and there hopes to spend the remaining part of his days in tranquility, as he believes he is among his friends,’ but as it is not a good principle to criticise the conduct of others, i shall decline it with this general reflection, that there are some men of good principles in all places, but often more bad ones to counterbalance them.” [109]
the harpes doubtless felt they could better gratify their thirst for blood in the vicinity of a settlement like knoxville than in a wide wilderness where subjects for their cruelty were too few. they found a small tract of cleared land on beaver creek, about eight miles west of knoxville. upon this they built a log cabin for themselves, and a pen for their horses, and, in order to conceal their motives, cultivated a few acres of ground. under this feint of honest occupation they experienced no difficulty in gaining the confidence of their neighbors. in fact, so easily had they made a favorable impression that within a few weeks after their arrival little harpe married sarah or sally rice, a daughter of john rice, a preacher living about four miles north of the harpe hut.
in the meantime the two brothers made trips to the seat of justice, for then, as now, the occasion and the desire “to go to town” to see “what’s going on” was a common one among the people who lived in the country. swapping horses was then, and still is to a great
64
extent, one of the features of a day at the small court house towns. so when, on one of their first trips to knoxville, the harpes brought with them a fine three-year-old mare and offered to run her in a race, no suspicion was aroused. the horse was apparently superior to any other in town that day and no owner could be induced to venture his quarter nag against her. a mr. aycoff, recognizing the mare as an unusually good one, bought her and became so attached to the animal that he kept her almost a quarter of a century. it is interesting to note that twenty years after he purchased her, a gentleman from georgia, visiting near knoxville, recognized her as the filly that had been stolen from him many years before. [12g]
the harpes rapidly increased the number of their trips to town, but it was soon noticed that with each succeeding visit their supply of pork and mutton increased. they sold this meat to john miller, one of the most respected merchants of knoxville, through whom the harpe hams soon became well known. but the reputation of the two brothers for drinking and gambling, and the disturbances they raised in the village were sufficient to arouse suspicion in the community. by this and other evidence john miller was convinced that the harpes were hog thieves, and suspected that their dishonesty and meanness had no limit. [12g]
soon after the arrival of the harpes in east tennessee a number of houses and stables near knoxville were set on fire and many of them burned to the ground. as no motive for such destruction of property could be discovered, the citizens attributed it to downright rascality. so strong had become suspicion against the harpes that when edward tiel, who lived a mile from knoxville, discovered that several of his best horses had
65
been stolen, he enlisted a number of neighbors and immediately proceeded to the home of the harpes. the investigators found that the cabin had been deserted recently, but noticed indications that horses had been tied to some near-by trees. tiel and his men took up the trail and followed it across clinch river into the cumberland mountains. there they captured the two harpes who were alone at the time. the stolen horses were recovered, but when the captors and their prisoners reached a point about five miles northeast of knoxville, the horse thieves made their escape. [21]
tiel and his men tried to effect their recapture but, failing in the attempt, returned to knoxville. that same night the two harpes appeared at hughes’ “rowdy groggery,” a few miles west of knoxville, where they had gone to exercise their brutality before leaving tennessee. hughes, his wife’s two brothers, named metcalfe, and a man named johnson, living in jefferson county, were present when the harpes, who knew the men, rushed in. johnson was last seen alive there. a few days later his body was discovered in the holstein river. it had been ripped open, filled with stones, and thrown into the water. notwithstanding this excess of caution the stones became loosened and the corpse rose to the surface. when the body was discovered hughes and the metcalfes came forth with a declaration that the harpes had committed the crime. suspicion fell upon the accusers and as the two harpes were nowhere to be found, the three men were arrested and put in jail. they were acquitted on trial, due to lack of evidence. the metcalfes immediately fled the country. a party of “regulators” followed hughes to his groggery, gave him a whipping, pulled down his house and drove him out of the country. [12g]
66
the killing of johnson, as far as is known, seems to have been the first of the murders committed by the harpes. up to this time they had apparently confined their operations to stealing hogs and horses, and setting fire to houses. they now began a career of ruthless murder which was so bold that it not only terrified the citizens of tennessee and kentucky, but also alarmed settlers in many other sections of the middle west.
the harpes evidently had arranged to meet their three women associates at some definite point if they should for any reason find it necessary to separate. shortly after the killing of johnson the five met in western virginia, near cumberland gap, and there, in december, 1798, they entered kentucky—the “dark and bloody ground,” to be made even darker by the deeds they were to commit during the next twelve months.
they traveled the wilderness road more or less closely, leaving it only when they felt their safety demanded a detour. their first victim in kentucky was a peddler named peyton, whom they encountered near the cumberland river in what is now knox county. they killed him and took his horse and some of his goods, but the details of this deed are not known. [21]
the outlaws continued along this trail toward crab orchard and stanford, in lincoln county, and overtook two marylanders named paca and bates. night came on and it was proposed that the party camp on the first suitable spot. this was agreed upon, but the harpes managed not to find a desirable place until it grew dark. suddenly, as if by accident, the brothers changed positions, big harpe getting behind bates and little harpe behind paca, the women walking about thirty feet in the rear. the harpes fired and the two unfortunate marylanders fell. bates died instantly. a
67
few minutes later paca, who was badly crippled and knocked speechless, attempted to rise. big harpe rushed up to the struggling man, “splitting open his head with a hatchet or tomahawk he carried in his belt.” the harpes, being in need of some clothing, appropriated only such garments as were immediately useful. they took, however, all the gold and silver and continental coin found in possession of their victims. [121]
the villains continued along the wilderness road and one night in december, 1798, arrived at a public house kept by john farris in what is now rockcastle county, not many miles from crab orchard. with them came stephen langford, of virginia, who was on his way to crab orchard to visit a kinsman and to consider making that locality his home. langford probably had not met the harpes until that morning. the story of what took place after they met was related about a quarter of a century later by judge james hall, who, in his day, ranked among the best living authors in america, and whose statements were then, and have been ever since, cited as high authority. his story of their encounter with langford was first published in august, 1825, in the port folio. after making some slight revisions in his “story of the harpes” he republished the sketch in 1828 in his letters from the west, from which book his account of the langford tragedy is here quoted:
“in the autumn of the year 1799, a young gentleman, named langford, of a respectable family in mecklenburgh county, virginia, set out from this state for kentucky, with the intention of passing through the wilderness, as it was then called, by the route generally known as boone’s trace. on reaching the vicinity of
68
the wilderness, a mountainous and uninhabited tract, which at that time separated the settled parts of kentucky from those of virginia, he stopped to breakfast at a public house near big rockcastle river. travelers of this description—any other indeed than hardy wood men—were unwilling to pass singly through this lonely region; and they generally waited on its confines for others, and traveled through in parties. mr. langford, either not dreading danger, or not choosing to delay, determined to proceed alone. while breakfast was preparing, the harpes and their women came up. their appearance denoted poverty, with but little regard to cleanliness; two very indifferent horses, with some bags swung across them, and a rifle gun or two, comprised nearly their whole equipage. squalid and miserable, they seemed objects of pity, rather than of fear, and their ferocious glances were attributed more to hunger than to guilty passion. they were entire strangers in that neighborhood, and, like mr. langford, were about to cross the wilderness. when breakfast was served, the landlord, as was customary at such places in those times, invited all the persons who were assembled in the common, perhaps the only room of his little inn, to sit down; but the harpes declined, alleging their want of money as the reason. langford, who was of a lively, generous disposition, on hearing this, invited them to partake of the meal at his expense; they accepted the invitation, and ate voraciously. when they had thus refreshed themselves, and were about to renew their journey, mr. langford called for the bill, and in the act of discharging it imprudently displayed a handful of silver. they then set out together.
“a few days after, some men who were conducting a drove of cattle to virginia, by the same road which
69
had been traveled by mr. langford and the harpes, had arrived within a few miles of big rockcastle river, when their cattle took fright, and, quitting the road, rushed down a hill into the woods. in collecting them, the drovers discovered the dead body of a man concealed behind a log, and covered with brush and leaves. it was now evident that the cattle had been alarmed by the smell of blood in the road, and, as the body exhibited marks of violence, it was at once suspected that a murder had been perpetrated but recently. the corpse was taken to the same house where the harpes had breakfasted, and recognized to be that of mr. langford, whose name was marked upon several parts of his dress. suspicion fell upon the harpes, who were pursued and apprehended near crab orchard. they were taken to stanford....”
the killing of the two marylanders and the peddler was not known until many weeks thereafter. the report of the murder of langford spread like wildfire. the kentucky gazette, january 2, 1799, in a characteristically brief paragraph gave sufficient details of the discovery of the body on december 14 to impress its readers with the seriousness of an act of barbarity that might be repeated by the harpes at any time. “we also learn,” says this paragraph, “that mr. ballenger is in pursuit of them, with a determined resolution never to quit the chase until he has secured them.”
captain joseph ballenger, the organizer and leader of the pursuing party, was a prominent merchant of stanford, lincoln county. he and his men trailed the harpes and their women to the neighborhood of what was then carpenter’s station, a settlement near the present town of hustonville and about eight miles southwest of stanford. there ballenger discovered
70
them sitting on a log, evidently confident that no one could detect their whereabouts. [12f] the pursuers rushed on them so suddenly that resistance or escape was impossible.5
the five prisoners were taken to stanford, placed in jail and, about ten days later, tried before the court of quarter sessions.
hall’s story of the frontier tragedy, based on personal accounts that had survived for a quarter of a century, has already been given. it is brief and is correct as far as it goes, but while hall was hearing it from the lips of men who had it from those concerned with the vengeance of the law, there lay in the custody of the records of the backwoods court of lincoln county, the grim details of that crime of base ingratitude and cruelty in solitude which so shook the wilderness. they had lain there forgotten more than a century when they were found and examined in 1918. yellowed with age, written with the goose-quill pen of that period in a penmanship characteristic of the pioneers, a jumble of half narrative, half legal style, much of which, however, is in use in courts today, these records of a terrible episode in history are eloquent with interest.
71
the piling up of item on item of court forms, of testimony laboriously written out and signed, of official jail accounts for the handling of the criminals, tells in its own way every detail of a crime committed in fancied obscurity yet which by a series of fortunate circumstances, was to blaze into a notoriety that set all the west on fire with fear and horror. one who holds these long-forgotten records in his hands and curiously searches them could, with patience and without the aid of imagination, build up the story of frontier life and the people who lived it. the story would show that the power of observation exercised by some of the pioneers was equal to any ascribed to a sherlock holmes. it would be a story of chance incidents woven into chains of circumstances that were to reveal crime with unerring certainty—a story of the capture of the criminals, of their life in jail, and of the destiny by which each of the three women involved was to have her only child born to her in that frontier jail, the branded fruit of awful parentage. the mute entries in pounds, shillings, and pence for every item, set down on these yellow pages without malice or comment, tell their part of the story as implacably and dispassionately as fate itself.6
these records show that all the harpes gave their name as “roberts,” except betsey harpe, the supplementary wife of big harpe, whose name is given as
72
“elizabeth walker.” five witnesses appeared against them, two of whom—john farris and his daughter-in-law, jane farris—lived in the house near rockcastle river where thomas langford, or lankford, was last seen alive. the fugitives were captured december 25, 1798. on january 4, 1799, they appeared before the three judges of the lincoln county court of quarter sessions, as it is so recorded, by willis green, the clerk, on the twenty-second page of the record book marked “september 1798–march 1802:”
“at a court called and held at lincoln courthouse on friday the 4th day of january 1799 for the examination of micajah roberts, wiley roberts, susanna roberts, sally roberts, and elizabeth walker for the murder of thomas langford.
“present hugh logan, william montgomery, and nathan huston, esquires, [the three judges who presided].
“the said [naming the five prisoners] were lead to the bar in custody of the sheriff and charged with feloniously and of their malice aforethought murdering and robbing a certain thomas langford on wednesday the 12th day of december 1798 on the road leading from kentucky to virginia through the wilderness, and denied the fact, sundry evidences were therefore examined and the prisoners heard in their defense.”
five witnesses appeared on behalf of the commonwealth. the statement of each is written on loose leaves and signed in the presence of thomas montgomery, the official notary, and all were therefore in a form to be turned over to a higher court should it become necessary to do so. the affidavit of captain ballenger, who lead the pursuing party, is here quoted in full:
73
“joseph ballenger of lawful age, and sworn, deposeth and saith that at about the 19th or 20th day of december 1798 he heard that a murder had been committed in the wilderness on the body of a certain thomas langford, as supposed; that he, at the request of james blain the attorney general of this commonwealth with others (including thomas welsh) went in pursuit of some persons suspected of being the murderers who had passed through lincoln county; that they went to the house of john blain in lincoln county where they heard that persons similar to those they were in pursuit of had left brush creek, a branch of green river, and passed over to the rolling fork of salt river; that they pursued them and overtook five persons, the same who this day on their examinations were called micajah roberts, wiley roberts, susanna roberts, sally roberts, and elizabeth walker; that after taking them into custody they proceeded to search them and found in their possession a pocket book with the name of thomas langford, a great coat, a grey coating cloth, a short coat—in the pocket of it were broken pieces of glass—a mixed colored long coat, a pair of breeches, a shaving glass, a whip, a pair of wrappers, and a horse, this day proved to be the property of thomas langford said to be the person murdered in the wilderness, and that they found also a free mason’s apron and many other things in their possession said to be the property of thomas langford. further saith not.”
david irby, in his sworn statement, explained that: “he and thomas langford set out from pittsylvania county in virginia for kentucky, they traveled five days journey together and sometimes one paid their traveling expense and sometimes the other, all of which
74
thomas langford marked down in his pocket book. before they crossed inglish’s ferry [ingle’s ferry in what is now montgomery country, virginia] they got a half bushel of oats which the deponent paid for and also their ferryage at inglish’s ferry in wythe county (virginia) the deponent purchased a cheese which thomas langford set down in his pocket book, he says that the pocket book now before the examining court is the said pocket book which thomas langford had when they traveled together in tennessee state. [the trail from virginia to cumberland gap extended into northeastern tennessee before reaching kentucky]. the deponent and thomas langford separated when they agreed to meet at frankfort in kentucky; the deponent heard in kentucky that the said thomas langford was murdered on his way to kentucky, he set out towards the place where the crime was committed and went to the place where the person who was killed was buried and he, the deponent, and john farris unburied and raised the decedent and found him to be thomas langford.”
what irby saw and heard he further declared convinced him that the murdered man was no other than his recent traveling companion.
john farris sr. swore that on tuesday night, december 12, 1798: “a man came to his house on the wilderness road who called himself thomas langford and who, after he had told him his name, he recollected to have been acquainted with in pittsylvania county, virginia, in the youth of thomas langford.”
he said his guest remained all night and started the next morning for the settlements. in the meantime, farris had: “an opportunity of viewing his clothing and actually did very curiously examine the outward
75
clothing of the said thomas langford.” a few days later he heard that “a man was killed on the wilderness road, and on inquiring into the circumstances he was induced to believe that the person murdered was thomas langford ... but not being fully satisfied that the person found dead was thomas langford, he went to the coroner of lincoln county, obtained from him an order—the said coroner having before that time held an inquest on the body—and in pursuance of the said order, in company with david irby and abraham anthony who buried the said thomas langford as he supposed, raised him and inspected him ... and that the whole visage of the person, by him and others raised, answered his idea of thomas langford, but he knew him more particularly by the loss of a tooth in the front part of his jaw.”
his daughter-in-law, jane farris, wife of william farris, also identified various things found in the possession of the outlaws as the property of the murdered man. she evidently observed the actions of the travelers closely, for she states: “thomas langford had on leggins at her house and as part of the list of one of them was torn susan roberts sewed it to the leggin with white thread.” she adds that the five prisoners and their victim came to the house together and “all appeared very cheerful with each other, langford seemed to be somewhat intoxicated, he had a small glass bottle which was filled with whiskey at their house which micajah roberts and wiley roberts paid for.” the six left the farris house together, but shortly before leaving “there was some misunderstanding between thomas langford and micajah and wiley roberts ... and mr. langford said to mrs. farris, in the presence of all, that he would not offend her for all
76
in his saddle bags which was worth five hundred pounds.”
the statement made by thomas welsh, who was in the pursuing party, is practically the same as captain ballenger’s. he, however, adds “there was none of the alteration in the great coat at the time of the finding ... and must have been made by the criminals since they were taken into custody, they having, for several days after they were taken in custody, the possession of the great coat.”
there is nothing in the records to indicate what was said by the prisoners when they were heard in their defense. the decision of the court was that the five prisoners “ought to be tried for the murder of the said thomas langford before the judges of the district court holden for the danville district at the next april term, and it is ordered that they be remanded to jail.”
thomas todd, the prosecuting attorney, in the requirement of the law, “acknowledged himself indebted” to the governor of the commonwealth “in the sum of ten thousand pounds current money” should he fail to appear before the judges on the first day of the april term of the danville district court then and there to prosecute the prisoners. the witnesses “acknowledged themselves severally indebted ... to the sum of five hundred pounds current money” should they fail to appear and give evidence on behalf of the commonwealth.7
77
on january 5 the five prisoners were taken by the sheriff and a guard of seven men to danville, there to await trial before the district court in april. the distance from stanford to danville is about ten miles. neither history nor tradition tells how this cavalcade made the trip over the trail, whether afoot, on horses, or in wagons, or by a combination of these means. the condition then reached by the women may have necessitated the use of a conveyance for them. this party of thirteen doubtless attracted much attention along the road, for five prisoners, of whom three were women, was a sight not often seen. the ten mile trip to danville made by the guards with the captured harpes along this historic highway, winding through an almost unbroken forest, readily lends itself to anyone’s fancy.8
evidently john biegler, “jailer of the district of danville,” to whom the prisoners were delivered and who had them in his custody several months, felt there was some likelihood of his charges escaping. his account against the state shows that on january 20, 1799,
78
he bought “two horse locks to chain the men’s feet to the ground, 12s. and 1 bolt, 3s.” it seems to have become necessary to fasten the front door more firmly, for, on february 13, he purchased “one lock for front jail door, 18s.” two weeks later he bought three pounds of nails for 6s. “for the use of the jail.” the expense items further show that four men, two at a time, were employed to guard the prisoners.
but with all these precautions, the two harpes escaped on march 16, leaving their three women and two new-born infants behind. there is nothing in the court records indicating how they escaped. the jailer’s expense account merely shows an item dated march 19: “mending the wall in jail where the prisoners escaped, 12s.” breazeale, forty years later, wrote—but cites no authority for his statement: “the jailer, soon after their escape, resigned his office, left the jail, bought a farm and settled himself in the country where he very shortly became wealthy—no one ever knew with certainty by what means, but the general suspicion was that he had acquired his wealth by receiving a large bribe from the harpes to permit them to escape.”
how they escaped was doubtless a subject of much conjecture and discussion. colonel daniel trabue in his autobiography says that the two men “took two guns from the guard at danville.” whether or not the guard or guards were present and resisted the prisoners when they took the two guns is not stated. judge james hall, continuing his brief account of the langford murder, quoted a few pages back, gives no details, but simply ends with the statement: “they were taken to stanford where they were examined and committed
79
by an enquiring court, sent to danville for safe keeping, and probably for trial. previous to the time of trial they made their escape.”
nor do the records contain any hint as to how the two men passed the time of their imprisonment. lyman c. draper, in his “sketch of the harpes,” says that shortly before his escape big harpe, contending it would answer the ends of justice as well, proposed to whip at fisticuffs the two best fighters in kentucky, provided he be set free if he succeeded in whipping the men, and should he fail he would abide by the decision of the court.
the trial of the three women was set for april 15. but during the hundred days they were immured in the log jail there was happening to them the immortal trial that comes to their sex under all conditions. yoked as they were irregularly, pursuing as they had the lives of the hunted and outcast, they had to bear, in the rigors of winter, in abandonment and in prison charged with murder, the burdens of motherhood—and to such fathers! these items from the jailer’s accounts of his expenditures on their behalf tell a story with which imagination is free to work:
“february 8, ¼ lb. hyson tea, 3s. 9d., 1 lb. sugar, 1s. 6d. for betsey walker she being brought to bed by a son the preceding night, 5s. 3d.—february 10, ¼ lb. ginger, 1s. 1d., 1 lb. sugar, 1s. 6d., for ditto, and paid cash to the wife and other assistance 21s. £1. 3s. 7d.”—total £1. 8s. 10d.
“march 7, ⅛ lb. tea, 1s. 10d., 1 lb. sugar, 1s. 6d., for the use of susanna harpe brought to bed by a daughter the preceding night, 3s. 4d. paid cash midwife for ditto, 18s.”—total £1. 1s. 4d.
80
“april 9, ¼ lb. tea, 3s. 9d., 1 lb. sugar, 1s. 6d., 1 quart whiskey, 1s. 6d. for the use of sally harp brought to bed the preceding night by a daughter.”—total 6s. 9d.
it will be noted that when the third child was born a week before the time set for trial—the second was about a month old and the other two months old.
such was the state of affairs when, on monday, april 15, 1799, the clerk turned to page 314 of the danville district court order book and there began his record of the trial of the three women indicted for the murder of thomas langford. the court was presided over by judge james g. hunter and by judge samuel mcdowell, who served in the absence of judge stephen ormsby. “susanna roberts, spinster of lincoln county was set to the bar in custody of the jailer,” so runs the record, and pleaded “not guilty;” but “for reasons appearing to the court” her trial was postponed until the third day of the term. “elizabeth walker” and “sally roberts” were not called on to appear personally that day before the judges, but their cases were postponed until the 18th.
on the 17th “susanna roberts” again appeared in court. a jury of twelve men was sworn, which, after hearing the same evidence given in stanford, presented in the form of written affidavits, declared her “guilty.”
on the 18th another jury was sworn and “elizabeth walker, spinster of lincoln county,” was tried on the same evidence presented against “susanna roberts,” but found “not guilty.” the court proceedings of that afternoon show that the judge “saith he will not further prosecute the said sally roberts (spinster of lincoln county) ... and therefore it is considered by the court that she be acquitted.”
81
thus, with the same evidence against each woman, one was found “guilty,” and one “not guilty” and one was “acquitted.”
on the 19th susanna, who had been found guilty, appealed for a new trial and it was granted. the attorney general, however, concluded not to prosecute her, and, at his suggestion, the clerk was ordered to record “certain of the reasons which moved him to enter into nolle prosequi in this case ... to-wit: upon considering the circumstances attending the case of susanna roberts and although she has been found guilty of the charge in the indictment contained by a verdict of her peers, yet as eliza walker has been tried on the same indictment, on which trial the said eliza was found not guilty and the same proof produced against her as was produced against the said susanna, and in consequence also of the court having granted a new trial and from the probability [of the evidence] which would be produced on the trial of the said susanna at the next term by the two other women, in the same indictment contained, who are acquitted and discharged, operating in favor of the prisoner, and also by the advice of the prosecutor and of the court, and also to save to the commonwealth the expenses which attend her long detention and further prosecution, i have been induced to direct the clerk to enter a nolle prosequi as to the said susanna roberts.”
