WOODSON COUNTY, KANSAS NEWSPAPER ARTICLES Senator Lamb's Son Hurt Yates Center Lad Perhaps Fatally Injured by a Hand Car Yates Center, Kan., May 7 - This morning during the heavy rain storm the 7-year-old son of Senator Lamb of this city was run down by a hand car on the Missouri Pacific road, crushing his skull, cutting off one ear and otherwise severely bruising him. The doctors raised the skull from the brain, but the little fellow is in a very critical condition. The storm was so blinding that he did not see the car in time to save himself, and the men on the car did not see him. (Kansas Semi-Weekly Capital, May 8, 1900, page 2) THIRD WRECK AT TORONTO Missouri Pacific in Bad Luck at the Woodson County Town Yates Center, Kan., Aug. 2 - The Missouri Pacific road sustained its third wreck since last Friday morning at Toronto. About 1 o'clock this morning the second section of a freight train No. 454, between El Dorado and Yates Center, ran into a freight train on the Santa Fe crossing at Toronto and wrecked the Missouri Pacific engine and three of the Santa Fe freight cars. The signal lamp at the gate was not burning and the Santa Fe crew, is reported, failed to signal the Missouri Pacific train. The engineer, Geo. A. Scott of El Dorado, and his fireman, escaped without serious injuries. The train was in charge of Conductor J. E. Atkeson of El Dorado. The wreck was cleared this morning. (Kansas Semi-Weekly Capital, August 3, 1897, Page 1) HAY BARD DESTROYED BY LIGHTNING Yates Center, Kan., July 20 - The hay barn belonging to Dumond Bros., living six miles south of Yates Center, was struck by lightning last night and burned, together with about 200 tonds of hay. A light insurance. (Kansas Semi-Weekly Capital, July 22, 1898, page 5) CLYDE MATTOX FREE A Mother's Influence Her Wonderful Struggle to Secure the Release The History of His Crime Washington, D. C., Jan. 15 - Mrs. S. W. Hatch, the mother of Clyde Mattox, left Washington today with the pardon of her son in her possession. This is the measure of mercy granted to a young man, the story of whose deeds reads like a romance. Mrs. Hatch's struggle for her son's pardon dates from his conviction in a court of justice in the early nineties. It is said here that the influence which secured the pardon came from Cyrus Leland, S. R. Peters, I. E. Lambert, J. W. Ady, Judge Williams and others. The story of young Mattox's career may be told as follows: has been tried for murder five times; been granted his freedom once and broke jail once. Mattox is one of the most notorious young criminals of the west. Going to Oklahoma in 1889 when that country was first opened, he had not been there long until he had shot a man. When a boy of 21 he left Texas, having already gained a reputation for being a handy man with a shooting iron. He rode a fleet horse in making the run into Oklahoma and was one of the first settlers in Oklahoma City. The frontier town was not an hour old before the adventurous Mattox had a fight and made a gun play that established for him a reputation among the natives for being a boy of unusual nerve. At that early stage of the existence of a lawless city, men of nerve were in demand. When the city government was organized he received the appointment as City Marshal. There were at that time two or three rival governments in Oklahoma City and each was of course presided over by a city marshal. One night came the inevitable clash between Mattox and a rival marshal. In the fight which ensued, Mattox was shot through a lung; the rival fell dead. Although it was claimed at that time that Mattox had murdered his rival, nothing was done to bring him punishment. Once at a later date when his wound had healed, he went on a spree and of course trouble resulted. An inoffensive old negro named John Mullin was shot and killed by the bold, bad Texas. For this, Mattox was arrested and brought to Wichita to be tried for both murders. Here was inaugurated a movement by the women of Wichita to secure Mattox's release, which has been unparalleled in criminal history. The boy's youth and feminine looks were strong points in his favor - so strong, indeed, that it was found necessary to transfer Mattox and to get him away from outside influences until he could have a fair trial. For this reason, he was brought to Topeka. Colonel Johnson, a prominent Oklahoma lawyer, defended him. He was found guilty and sentenced to be hung. Then began a series of postponements which was most remarkable. A day or two before his execution was to have taken place his sentence was commuted by President Harrison and still later, a new trial was granted him. The next two trials resulted in hung juries. He was then allowed bail and the case was practically abandoned. But the inherent traits of Mattox persisted in coming to the surface and he had not been free long when one day in Perry he shot at another man. His bond was cancelled and he was again put in the Wichita jail. In the spring of 1894, he was tied before Judge Williams found guilty and sentenced to be hung in June. A few days after being sentenced, he crawled through the iron window bar's of an upstairs room in the Wichita jail, and escaped. It was about 7 o'clock in the evening and two or three citizens saw him make the attempt, but he did it so cooly, that they thought he was an employee of the jail and paid no attention to it. A reward of $1,000 was offered and the charge was openly made that the Sedgwick county sheriff aided in his escape. The next afternoon a young fellow got on a Missouri Pacific train at El Dorado, bought a paper and was quietly reading a published account of his escape when the conductor's suspicions were aroused. The latter telegraphed ahead to the marshal of Yates Center and when the train arrived there Mattox was overpowered before he could draw a revolver to defend himself. After being returned to the Wichita jail, the sheriff asked him to demonstrate to the county commissioners the manner in which he made his escape through bars nine inches apart. He did it so nimbly and swiftly that by the merest accident his escape was prevented by a citizen. The deputy sheriff had not been able to get around on the outside before Mattox had landed. Mrs. S. W. Hatch, the mother of the daring young desperado, has made a reputation for making appeals and arousing sympathy that is without a precedent. This wonderful woman issued an appeal to the mothers of America that was a remarkable document. Its influence worked to such an extent that President Cleveland commuted Mattox's sentence to life imprisonment. She afterwards went east and enlisted the sympathy of Joe Jefferson the actor. He secured an audience between her and President Cleveland at Gray Gables. She appealed to Mr. Cleveland in his usual determined way, denied it. Mrs. Hatch is a wonderful woman in the respect that she never ceased working in the interest of her son. When Cleveland was in, in the name of a Texas widow she appealed to every Democrat of prominence for aid. When McKinley became President she found an excuse to enlist prominent Republicans in her cause. When the Leavenworth military prison was turned into a United States convict prison, Mattox was confined there, but about a year ago matters came to the ears of the warden which convinced him that the place was not safe enough to hold Mattox and he was transferred to the Kansas penitentiary. The Oklahoma people will not relish the news of Mattox pardon. Two or three of its citizens who were witnesses against Mattox were found dead from time to time with bullets in their heads. The murderers were never discovered and gossip had it while Mattox was in jail he had desperate and daring friends on the outside. The old citizens of Oklahoma City regard him as a perfect fiend and they have always said that if he was pardoned he would not be in civil life for a year until he would again get into trouble. It was frequently said that he had threatened to kill several of them if he ever regained his freedom. (Topeka Weekly Capital, January 18, 1898, page 3)