Statement by Mr. Chief Justice FULLER.
Alexander Allen was indicted at the November term, 1892, of the circuit court for the western district of Arkansas for the murder of Phillip Henson in the Cherokee Nation, on May 14, 1892, and, at the February term, 1893, of that court was tried upon the indictment, found guilty of the crime charged, and, after the overruling of a motion for new trial, was sentenced to death. A writ of error was then allowed to this court.
The evidence tended to show that Allen was a colored boy, of about 14 years of age at the time of the homicide, working on the farm of Albert Marks in the Cherokee Nation, some three or four miles from Coffeyville, Kan., where Marks lived. That on Thursday, May 12, 1892, he was sent to look for some horses belonging to one Morgan, and was accompanied by another colored boy, James Marks, who was then 12 years old. That these boys met Phillip Henson, the deceased, a white boy, 18 years of age, with whom were George Erne, aged 14, and Willie Erne, aged 13, also white; and some words ensued between Henson and Allen. In respect of this the Erne boys testified to nothing of particular moment, but the acused and James Marks testified to great bitterness in the language used by Henson, including threats and oaths. On Saturday, May 14th, Henson and the two Erne boys had left the Erne house, and were going through a wheat field towards a lake, in an easterly direction, carrying in their hands willow sticks with the bark peeled off, with which to kill frogs to use as bait in fishing; and when about half way across the field they saw on the eastern side of the fence which separated it from the land of Albert Marks, Allen and Harvey Marks, a brother of James, then 11 years of age. An altercation ensued, in which Allen shot Henson with a pistol, from which wound he died in a few minutes. According to the evidence of the Erne boys, Allen took the pistol out of his hip pocket, removed the scabbard, handed it to Harvey Marks, and climbed through the wire fence from the east side to the west side, struck Henson with his left hand, and then with the pistol in his right hand shot Henson twice, and shot George Erne through the arm. Allen and Harvey Marks testified that Henson and his two comrades came through the fence on the west side into Marks' ground, and Henson struck Allen over the head with a stick; that Henson and Allen closed in and wrestled, and Henson threw Allen and had him down, and George Erne then struck Allen on the arm with a stick; that Allen, while lying on the ground with Henson on him, drew the pistol from his pocket, and shot Henson, who, after he was shot, ran towards the fence, about 40 steps off, and climbed through it back into the wheat field. His dead body was found lying in the field about 30 or 35 steps from the fence. The face seemed bruised, as if he had been struck in the mouth. Evidence was given that the tracks of the three boys were plain and distinct the next day in the soft ground, going in a northeasterly direction in the field towards the lake, and that the wheat was trampled down, and there was blood on the ground at the distance of 38 steps from the fence. That from this point to the fence there was a single track made by shod feet coming over the fence westward, while the other three tracks were made by bare feet; and that Henson and the two Erne boys were barefooted on that occasion, while Allen had on either boots or shoes. That there was short grass on the east side of the fence, and, although there were tracks around there, it was difficult to discover anything. There was also evidence that Allen, after the shooting, ran back to the house, obtained his satchel, went to Coffeyville in a cart, and thence on foot to Edna, Kan.; that Clifford, the United States marshal for the district of Kansas, and one Knotts, found him at Edna, about half-past 2 that day; that he fied, and they pursued and caught him; that Knotts returned with him to Coffeyville, and on the way asked him if he knew that he had killed that boy, and he said no, that he knew he shot him, but not that he killed him, and then stated that there was a man shot in Oswego, and that nothing was done with him, and, being asked what he shot the boy for, he replied he was afraid they would hurt him with their sticks; that they did not strike him with sticks, but he was afraid they would; that they had had trouble a few days before. It further appeared that he told Clifford he 'didn't propose to be beaten with clubs;' that the deceased struck him over the arm; and that Clifford examined his person on the 16th, and found a bruise on his left arm.