Murder of Henry Jones and His Mother.

Affidavit of Nathaniel Case.

Territory of Utah,

Cedar County, ss.

Nathaniel Case, being sworn says: That he has resided in the Territory of Utah since the year 1850. Lived with Bishop Hancock, (Charles Hancock,) in the town of Payson, at the time Henry Jones and his mother were murdered, about the 13th of April, 1858. The night prior to the murder a secret council meeting was held in the upper chamber of Bishop Hancock's house; saw Charles Hancock, George W. Hancock, Daniel Rawson, James Bracken, George Patten and Price Nelson go into that meeting that night. Meetings had been held pretty regularly for three weeks before the last one at the same place. i was not in any of the meetings; I boarded at the Bishop's. About eight o'clock in the evening of the murder the company gathered at Bishop Hancock's; the same persons I have named above were in the company. They said they were going to guard a corral, where Henry Jones was going to come that night and steal horses; they had guns.

I had a good Minie rifle, and Bishop Hancock wanted to borrow it; I refused to lend it to him. The above persons all went away together; I don't know what time they got back. Next morning I heard that Henry Jones and his mother had been killed. I went down to the dug-out where they lived when the sun was about an hour high. The old woman was lying on the ground in the dug-out on a little straw in the clothes in which she was killed; she had a bullet hole through her head, entering near the center of the forehead. In about fifteen or twenty minutes Henry Jones was brought there and laid by herside; they then threw some old bed-clothes over them, and an old feather bed, and then pulled the dug-out on top of them. The dug-out was built on level ground—a hole about twelve feet square dug to the depth of five feed, a ridge pole running form the centre, back, three feet above the level of the ground; small poles are then laid up close together, running from the sides up on the ridge pole, so that the direct won't fall through. The dirt taken out of the hole is thrown back to the poles of a rood, and steps cut down into the end like cellar steps for entrance. There are a great many such houses occupied by poor people in the country who are not able to build houses, and who never will while they stay here.

The next Sunday after the murder, in a church meeting in Payson, Charles Hancock, the Bishop said; as to the killing of Jones and his mother, he cared nothing about it, and it would have been done in daylight of circumstances would have permitted it. This was said from the stand; there were one hundred and fifty or two hundred persons present. He have no reason for killing them. And further saith not.

NATHANIEL CASE

Sworn to and signed before me this 9th day of April 1859.

JOHN CRADLEBAUGH,

Judge, &c.

AFFIDAVIT OF ANDREW S. MOORE.

TERRITORY OF UTAH,

2d. Judicial District,

Provo City. ss.

Andrew J. Moore being duly sworn, says as follows: I lie in Pondtown, in Utah Co.; I had lived there only a few days, and sometimes in the night in the month of April, 1858, I cannot recollect the day of the month, there was an alarm raised in the night between 12 and 2 o'clock. Heard the alarm to raise the Fort; I jumped up and run out without dressing. I saw nothing and went back into the house to dress myself. I thought at the time it was a break of the Indians. After dressing I went out again and Henry Jones had just come in, and I went to where the people had gathered, and the persons, two or three men, strangers to me, were just taking Henry Jones out of the fort. I did not go outside of the fort, which is now called Pondtown, until the next morning, and then I saw Henry Jones lying dead in the middle of the road about eighty rods west from the forest. The sun was then about an hour high. About ten or fifteen minutes after the persons left the fort with Henry Jones, I heard the report of a gun. I think I heard four reports inside of two minutes. The reports were in the direction that Jones was found, and appeared to have been fired about where the dead body was found. I saw three bullet holes in the body of Jones, two of them were in his side and one of them in his head. The report was that the persons who took Jones out of the fort came from the town of Payson, which is about three miles in a westerly direction from Pondtown. I was not acquainted in Payson; I had gone from Provo to live at Pondtown shortly before that. I do not know anything about the mother of Henry Jones and I do not know anything about the burial of Jones; I never heard of any inquest being held at the body of Jones.

(Signed.) ANDREW J. MOORE.

Sworn and subscribed to me, this 29th day of March, 1859.

JOHN CRADLEBAUGH,

Judge, &c.

AFFIDAVIT OF THOMAS HOLLINGSHEAD.

TERRITORY OF UTAH,

Utah County, ss:

Thomas Hollingshead being duly sworn, saying: I reside in Pondtown, Utah County; was in Pondtown the time Henry Jones was murdered. in the night, between midnight and daylight, a year ago in the coming April, we were alarmed; we supposed the Indians had made an attack upon the outposts of the town. We, that is, affiant and his son, and others jumped up and ran out; directly we heard the cry of murder; when we got out into the yard the man came up and said they were after him to kill him; said, where shall I go where shall I hide from them? About this time his pursuers came up. He then ran there, and made a bolt into a house of Mr. Lycurgus Wilson, jumping over a bed where a woman was lying, on the floor, and tried to secrete himself in the House. Wilson brought him out of the house; the leading man of the pursurers said "lay hold of that man!"—said to be a constable from Payson; they called him George. I have since seen him; it is George W. Hancock; he told them to disarm Jones, Jones had a pistol and knife but did not offer to use them. He was disarmed—there was no charge in the pistol.

I noticed the blood running from his arm; he said they had shot him in the pursuit. The ball went through his arm below the below; one or two persons came up with George; I never heard who they were, it was kept dark—nothing said about it.

Some one spoke and wanted to know what they were going to do with the man. George said, I know what I am going to do with him. Some one said this horse stealing has got to be stopped. They passed out in the direction of Payson. Payson is distant two miles.

We went into the house and I was talking the matter over with me son; in about fifteen minutes after we went in we heard the report of fire-arms, three or four shots in succession—appeared to be pistol shots from the report; at which time we went to the door. About five or ten minutes after, some one came up and said they had shot the man. I went over and found him lying in the road; two balls had taken effect in his body and one in his head. The persons who had him in custody had fled. The body was taken away in the morning. Report says that the mother of Jones at Payson while sitting in her own house at the time these persons were pursuing Jones.

THOMAS HOLLINGSHEAD

Sworn and signed before me, this 29th day of March, 1859.

JOHN CRADLEBAUGH.

Judge, &c.

AFFIDAVIT OF ABNER M. HOLLINGSHEAD

TERRITORY OF UTAH,

Utah County, s.s.:

Abner M. Hollingshead being sworn says: I lived at Pondtown at the time Jones was murdered. heard unusual noise in the night; went out of my house, stepped back and dressed. Noise approached. A person entered the fort, starting that he was pursued and asked for a hiding place. Mr. Leycurgus Wilson asked him what was the matter. The man gave no satisfactory answer. Two men suddenly came running up shouting, arrest that man; suppose one of them to be George W. Hancock, judging from his voice; don't know who the other man was. The two men took the other out towards Payson, the same way he came in. Afterwards heard that the man was Henry Jones. Ten minutes after the two men left, heard the report of fire-arms in the direction they went, heard four shots, three shots in quick succession, the fourth shot a minute later. Heard Hancock was an officer at Payson; saw a dead body next morning about eighty rods from the fort; the body was taken to Payson. No inquest was held at Pondtown; no person called to give evidence. Body was lying in the road in the direction from which I heard the shots. Saw blood lying in the road. Occurred in spring. I am a farmer. At that time but part of the crop was in. And further deponent saith not.

(Signed) ABNER M. HOLLINGSHEAD

Subscribed and sworn to, before me, this 29th day of March, 1859.

JOHN CRADLEBAUGH,

Judge, &c.

AFFIDAVIT OF AMOS B. MOOR.

TERRITORY OF UTAH,

Second Judicial District,

City of Provo. ss:

Amos B. Moor being duly sworn, says as follows: I live at Pondtown, Utah county. One night in the mouth of April, 1858—can't recollect the day, an alarm was raised in the fort, and I was awakened by the guard. When I got up and went out into the fort, some men can't tell how many, nor who they were, had just taken a man out of the fort; heard afterwards that his name was Henry Jones. After standing there ten or fifteen minutes I heard the report of a gun or pistol in a westerly direction, on the road at Payson. I judged the distance to be seventy-five or one hundred rods from the fort. I heard four shots in pretty quick succession.

In about half an hour after I heard the shots I went out in company with some other persons, don't recollect their names—to see what was the shooting about. I saw a man lying crossways in the middle of the road; he was dead; it was Henry Jones; I was told that was his name.

I don't know that any inquest was held on his body; I heard afterwards that a man named Hatch took the body to Payson. I don't know anything about Henry Jones' mother, nor about the burial of Jones. I had just a short time before that moved to Pondtown from Provo.

I heard that the men who took Jones from Pondtown had come from Payson; this was a report only, I knew nothing of it of my own knowledge.

I went out again at daylight and saw Jones again; I saw two bullet holes, one in his left side and one in his head. I did not go close to the body. I understood that Mr. Hatch, Jones' step-father, so report said, came when the sun was about an hour and a half high, and took the body to Payson.

(Signed) AMOS B. MOOR.

Sworn to and subscribed before me, this 29th day of March 1859.

JOHN CRADLEBAUGH,

Judge, &c.