[Kurt Stapleton & Denise Newman.FTW]
Johnston was killed during the Civil War
he saw his son George Cantrell one time as he passed by the family inPike County KY.
he was a Private
10th Regiment,Kentucky Confederate Army Co K.
[Kurt Stapleton & Denise Newman.FTW]
Wilson Mullins was one of the victims of the "Pound Gap Massacre".
Ira Mullins born February 8, 1857 in Kentucky, the son of
John and Martha Mullins of Pike County. Ira was a small time
merchant, but moonshiner by trade. He married Louranza "Lou
Ann" (Estep), May 10,1879 in Letcher County. Sometime
previous Ira Mullins' trade of moonshining had led him into
a skirmish with revenue agents. During this battle he had
been severely shot, an injury which resulted in his being
paralyzed, unable to walk or to even feed himself. One of
the revenue agents causing Mullins to experience a lot of
trouble was none other than Dr. Marshall Benton Taylor.
One night someone fired into Ira's bedroom window. Mullins
barely escaped injury as the bullet lodged in his bedclothes,
setting his bed on fire. Ira took the shot into his bed as
a warning. Assuming the culprit of the deed was Dr. Taylor,
Ira took steps to remedy the problem. Rumors carried over
the mountains that since he was unable to carry out the deed
of ending his troubles on his own, Ira was offering gunmen
$300.00Doc learned of the threat and claimed he couldn't have shot
into Ira's house because he was doctoring that night in
Kentucky. Ellen Alley confirmed her daughter was expecting
and Taylor himself had been their guest for about a month.On May 14, 1892, that one of the most horrible crimes of the
area occurred. It was between 9 and 10 o'clock in the morning
when Ira began a trip to his home at Pound, Virginia. Heading
a heading a group of eight people, he left the home of his
brother-in-law, Wilsom Mullins, who lived at the mouth of Cane
Creek Branch, in Kentucky.Wilson's eleven year old daughter Mindy started out on this
trip, but was taken to her grandmother, Patsy (Potter) Mullins'
house. She cried to go with them and Wilson stopped at a
store, buying a can of peaches to soothe her. He opened the
peaches and let her eat them and drink the juice. Wilson told
Mindy to be a good girl and that they would be back soon.
Mindy remained with her grandmother and this was the last time
she saw her father alive.Now seven in number, they were making their way home to Pound,
Virginia and would cross the mountain by way of Pound Gap.
The gap, originally called "Sounding Gap", is a high pass at
the head of Elkhorn Creek, near where the present day town of
Jenkins, Kentucky is now located. Travel over these steep
rough roads was slow and laborous, but they had made good time.
Though they had stopped two or three times during their trip,
it was just after noon when the party neared the crest of the
mountain.Wilson, who was a son of Marshall "Big Foot" Mullins and
had married Ira's sister, led the procession riding on
horseback. John Chappel, a handyman for Ira, was driving the
wagon, and Ira's wife, Louranza (Estep) Mullins, sat beside
Chappel on the wagon seat. Ira Mullins was partly sitting
up on a pallet in the back of the wagon on top of a load of
hay. Two young boys, Ira's fourteen year old son, John
Harrison Mullins, and Greenberry Harris, the son of Jemima
Harris were walking just behind the wagon. Wilson's wife,
Jane Mullins, rode on horseback, beside or just behind the
boys. Hidden and unseen underneath the hay was a wagonload
of 'wildcat liquor'.It was about one o'clock in the afternoon the Mullins family
neared the site that is today known as "Killing Rock", about
one fourth to one half mile from the top of the mountain.
Near the right side of the road there were two rocks about
four or five feet in height. Between these rocks was a
separation of several feet, which formed a natural opening.
A wall had been built up between the two large rocks to about
the height of a man's waist. Branches from pine, maple and
chestnut trees, had been cut and placed to cover the opening.
The weather was warm and the leaves had begun to wilt, giving
the appearance they had been there for several days.
Concealed behind the rocks and branches were the assassins
who opened fire on the Mullins family as they came into range.
When the shooting commenced, from the right side and above the
road, Wilson was riding beside the wagon. A thunderous roar of
gunfire exploded from behind the rocks. In a matter of
seconds, bullets penetrated the horses, the wagon and it's
passengers. The air was filled with black powder smoke from
the guns; the ground became covered with blood. Even the
team of horses pulling the wagon were struck by the gunfire
and fell to the ground dead.Ira Mullins instantly suffered eight shots to his body, two
wounds in his chin, one in the temple of his head, one in
his shoulder, one in his wrist, one in his side, one in his
bowels, one in the thighs and legs. The shot to his side
passed through his body. Louranza Mullins was struck by
several shots about her breast and knees.Ira Mullins' fifteen year old son, John Harrison Mullins,
was walking with Greenberry Harris just behind the wagon saw
one of the horses go down. Wilson sought cover and was
about fifteen feet up the road when he staggered and fell
to the road, shot dead in his tracks. Jane saw one of the
team horses go down, turned to see her husband start to run,
then fall. She was either thrown or got off her horse on her
own and her horse ran off toward Virginia.
Wilson lay under a tree and Jane ran to him, she turned him over
on his side, trying to ease his pain.Louranza managed to climb out of the wagon and scrambled under
it as the lead rained down on them. Mortally wounded,
Louranza yelled for Jane to come to her. Amid the melee of
gunfire, Jane hurried as quickly as possible to her aid. She
helped Louranza to sitting position, her back up against the
wagon. She managed to utter her last words, "They have killed
me." Terribly frightened, Jane tried to see if any of the
others were still alive. The air was heavy, filled with black
powder smoke from the blazing guns. During a slight cessation
of gun fire she looked toward the rocks where the shooting was
coming from. As the smoke cleared, she saw three men standing
twenty to twenty five steps from the wagon. They were
concealed behind the rocks, wearing veils that covered their
faces. She could see them from the waist up and the lower part
of their faces were visible. She screamed, "Boys, for the
Lord's sake, don't shoot any more, you have killed them all
now. Let me stay here with them till someone finds us."The men called out to her three or four times cursing and
threatening her. Jane thought she heard three voices yell
and took the first voice to be Calvin Fleming's. She thought
one of the voices she heard was might have been Doc Taylor. One of
the men, possibly Henan Fleming, asked that her life be
spared, then another of the killers yelled, "God Damn you,
take to the road and leave or we will kill you, too."
Taking them at their word, left the scene of the murders as
the killers had advised. She made her way back to Elkhorn,
in Kentucky, arriving about four o'clock. John Harrison Mullins,
the only other person to live through the melee, had escaped in
a different direction and came into Pound, Virginia about 2
o'clock. Jane and John Harrison Mullins, were the only two
able to escape the massacre. Harrison located Jemima Harris
and George Francisco, telling them of the events on the
mountain. Jemima immediately started to the place where the
shooting had occurred, and on the way passed the house of
Floyd Branham. She stopped at the Branham house and asked
Floyd's wife, Elizabeth, go with her.When Jemima Harris and Elizabeth Branham arrived, the site
they came upon was dreadful. There were numerous bullet
holes in the wagon; both the horses pulling it had been and
killed. They lay bleeding in the road, still hitched. Ira
Mullins was still atop his pallet in the wagon plainly
showing shots to his face and temple. Jemima discovered her son,
Greenberry, lying in the wagon, shot twice in the head.
The body of John Chappel was also in the wagon, his body showing
evidence of six shots. Wilson Mullins was lying on his face in
the road about fifteen steps from the wagon.
Louranza Mullins was found about five feet from the wagon, lying
flat on her back. Her legs were either broken or crushed and
doubled back under her, with her apron thrown up over her head.
In a pocket attached to string belt and worn under her dress and
in a little handbag, she had carried about $1,000.00 in cash.
They discovered the belt of the money pocket had been cut and
her handbag was gone. It was later disclosed that the killers
had hidden all the money except $100.00. Each of them took
$25.00 to buy themselves a new suit of clothes.
The purse was found cut to pieces, but the lost bag of money
was never recovered.Robert Mullins lived about three miles from Pound Gap and
arrived at the scene about an hour and a half after the
killings. Jemima Harris and Elizabeth Branham had already
been there. John Vint Bentley, who lived in Kentucky, was
also at the scene that same afternoon. They examined the
body of Ira Mullins and saw the additional gun shots to his
shoulder, wrist, side, bowels and legs. The wounds were large
and looked like Winchester or pistol wounds, but they could
not tell the size.They searched the area where the assassins had taken shelter
to shoot. The brush placed in front of the rocks was wilted
and looked like it might have been cut a week. There was a
little path leading off from there to the road, but they saw
no tracks. They discovered six cartridge shells under a small
heap if pine knots and all were of the same 45 X 75 calibre.
The cartridges were found at the place where the parties were
said to have stood while doing the shooting. They looked like
they had been laid down and covered with a few leaves.
Bentley and Mullins knew of two guns of that calibre, one
belonged to Henry Adams, who lived about four miles away, and
the other to James Potter. They also found several small
pieces of green veil, along with an old army haversack.
Jane would later say she was not "point blank certain" that it
was Doc Taylor she saw, but thought it was. She had stayed
overnight with him about seven years earlier and had heard him
talk. She also felt she could swear positively to a person
with his face covered down to his mouth and she could see him
from the waist up. She was able to recognize Taylor mostly
by his looks. But for a time she kept silent on what she had
seen. She was advised by a magistrate of the law to keep
her mouth shut until she could be protected by the officers
of the law.Mat and Sarah Blevins were neighbors and friends of the
Mullins family. They lived about two miles away and heard of
the killings the same day they happened. The next day they
went to visit Jane and offer their condolences. The bodies
of the slain had been taken to Wilson and Jane's house where
they were washed and dressed for burial. Some of the bodies
had been placed on the front porch, since there wasn't enough
room for five coffins in the house. A large fire was built in
the yard and kept burning to keep the flies away.It was thought that the Fleming brothers may have initially let
the information out. But eventually the evidence came together
and the stories spread. Suspicion that had to this time been
random, was now centered around Doc Taylor and the Flemings as
the prime suspects.Area residents began to talk, if only in whispers, about the
crime. Doors that before were never locked were now shut and
bolted. They began to ponder the fact that after the slayings
Doc Taylor and the Fleming brothers no longer traveled alone,
but in a group. They also noticed these men were now heavily
armed.
46. Ira Mullins
Ira Mullins & The Pound Gap Massacre
Ira Mullins was born February 8, 1857 in Kentucky, the son of John andMartha Mullins of Pike County. Ira was a small time merchant, butmoonshiner by trade. He married Louranza "Lou Ann" (Estep), May 10, 1879in Letcher County. Sometime previous Ira Mullins' trade of moonshininghad led him into a skirmish with revenue agents. During this battle hewas severely shot, an injury which resulted in his being paralyzed,unable to walk or to even feed himself. One of the revenue agents causingMullins to experience extreme discomfort was none other than Dr. MarshallBenton Taylor.One night someone fired into Ira's bedroom window. Mullins barely escapedinjury as the bullet lodged in his bedclothes, setting his bed on fire.Ira took the shot into his bed as a warning and assuming the culprit ofthe deed was Dr. Taylor, he took steps to remedy the problem. Rumorscarried over the mountains that since he was unable to carry out the deedof ending his troubles on his own, Ira was offering gunmen $300.00 to doit for him. Doc learned of the threat and claimed he couldn't have shotinto Ira's house because he was doctoring that night in Kentucky. EllenAlley confirmed her daughter was expecting and Taylor himself had beentheir guest for about a month.
It was on May 14, 1892, that one of the most horrible crimes of the areaoccurred. It was between nine and 10 o'clock in the morning when Irabegan a trip to his home at Pound, Virginia. Heading a group of eightpeople, he left the home of his brother-in-law, Wilson Mullins, who livedat the mouth of Cane Creek Branch, in Kentucky. Wilson's eleven year olddaughter Mindy started out on this trip, but was taken to hergrandmother, Patsy (Potter) Mullins' house. She cried to go with them andWilson stopped at a store, buying a can of peaches to soothe her. Heopened the peaches and let her eat them and drink the juice. Wilson toldMindy to be a good girl and that they would be back soon. Mindy remainedwith her grandmother and this was the last time she saw her father alive.
Now seven in number, they were making their way home to Pound, Virginiaand would cross the mountain by way of Pound Gap. The gap, originallycalled "Sounding Gap," is a high pass at the head of Elkhorn Creek, nearwhere the present day town of Jenkins, Kentucky is now located. Travelover these steep rough roads was slow and laborious, but they had madegood time. Though they had stopped two or three times during their trip,it was just after noon when the party neared the crest of the mountain.
Wilson, who was a son of Marshall "Big Foot" Mullins and had marriedIra's sister, led the procession riding on horseback. John Chappel, ahandyman for Ira, was driving the wagon, and Ira's wife, Louranza (Estep)Mullins, sat beside Chappel on the wagon seat. Ira Mullins was partlysitting up on a pallet in the back of the wagon on top of a load of hay.Two young boys, Ira's fourteen-year-old son, John Harrison Mullins, andGreenberry Harris, the son of Jemima Harris were walking just behind thewagon. Wilson's wife, Jane Mullins, rode on horseback, beside or justbehind the boys. Hidden and unseen underneath the hay was a wagon-load of`wildcat liquor'.
It was about one o'clock in the afternoon the Mullins family neared thesite that is today known as "Killing Rock," about one fourth to one halfmile from the top of the mountain. Near the right side of the road therewere two rocks about four or five feet in height. Between these rocks wasa separation of several feet, which formed a natural opening. A wall hadbeen built up between the two large rocks to about the height of a man'swaist. Branches from pine, maple and chestnut trees, had been cut andplaced to cover the opening. The weather was warm and the leaves hadbegun to wilt, giving the appearance they had been there for severaldays. Concealed behind the rocks and branches were the assassins whoopened fire on the Mullins family as they came into range. When theshooting commenced, from the right side and above the road, Wilson wasriding beside the wagon. A thunderous roar of gunfire exploded frombehind the rocks. In a matter of seconds, bullets penetrated the horses,the wagon and its passengers. The air was filled with black powder smokefrom the guns; the ground became covered with blood. Even the team ofhorses pulling the wagon were struck by the gunfire and fell to theground dead.
Ira Mullins instantly suffered eight shots to his body, two wounds in hischin, one in his head at the temple, one in his shoulder, one in hiswrist, one in his side, one in his bowels, one in the thighs and legs.The shot to his side passed through his body. Louranza Mullins was struckby several shots about her breast and knees. Ira Mullins' fifteen yearold son, John Harrison Mullins, was walking with Greenberry Harris justbehind the wagon saw one of the horses go down. Wilson sought cover andwas about fifteen feet up the road when he staggered and fell to theroad, shot dead in his tracks. Jane saw one of the team horses go down,turned to see her husband start to run, then fall. She was either thrownor got off her horse on her own but her horse ran off toward Virginia.Wilson lay under a tree and Jane ran to him, she turned him over on hisside, trying to ease his pain.
Louranza managed to climb out of the wagon and scrambled under it as thelead rained down on them. Mortally wounded, Louranza yelled for Jane tocome to her and amid the melee of gunfire, Jane hurried as quickly aspossible to her aid. She helped Louranza to sitting position, her back upagainst the wagon.
Louranza managed to utter her last words, "They have killed me."
Terribly frightened, Jane tried to see if any of the others were stillalive. The air was heavy, filled with black powder smoke from the blazingguns. During a slight cessation of gun fire she looked toward the rockswhere the shooting was coming from and as the smoke cleared, she sawthree men standing twenty to twenty-five steps from the wagon. They wereconcealed behind the rocks, wearing veils that covered their faces. Shecould see them from the waist up and the lower part of their faces werevisible.
She screamed, "Boys, for the Lord's sake, don't shoot anymore, you havekilled them all now. Let me stay here with them till someone finds us."
The men called out to her three or four times cursing and threateningher. Jane thought she heard three voices yell and took the first voice tobe Calvin Fleming's. She thought one of the voices she heard might havebeen Doc Taylor.
One of the men, possibly Henan Fleming, asked that her life be spared,then another of the killers yelled, "God Damn you, take to the road andleave or we will kill you, too."
Taking them at their word, Jane left the scene of the murders as thekillers had advised. She made her way back to Elkhorn, in Kentucky,arriving about four o'clock. John Harrison Mullins, the only other personto live through the melee, had escaped in a different direction and cameinto Pound, Virginia about two o'clock. Jane and John Harrison Mullins,were the only two able to escape the massacre. Harrison located JemimaHarris and George Francisco, telling them of the events on the mountain.Jemima immediately started to the place where the shooting had occurred,and on the way passed the house of Floyd Branham. She stopped at theBranham house and asked Floyd's wife, Elizabeth, go with her.
When Jemima Harris and Elizabeth Branham arrived, the site they came uponwas dreadful. There were numerous bullet holes in the wagon; both thehorses pulling it had been killed. They lay bleeding in the road, stillhitched. Ira Mullins was still atop his pallet in the wagon plainlyshowing shots to his face and temple. Jemima discovered her son,Greenberry, lying in the wagon, shot twice in the head. The body of JohnChappel was also in the wagon, his body showing evidence of six shots.Wilson Mullins was lying on his face in the road about fifteen steps fromthe wagon.
Louranza Mullins was found about five feet from the wagon, lying flat onher back. Her legs were either broken or crushed and doubled back underher, with her apron thrown up over her head. In a pocket attached tostring belt and worn under her dress and in a little handbag, she hadcarried about $1,000.00 in cash. They discovered the belt of the moneypocket had been cut and her handbag was gone. It was later disclosed thatthe killers had hidden all the money except $100.00. Each of them took$25.00 to buy themselves a new suit of clothes. The purse was found cutto pieces, but the lost bag of money was never recovered.
Robert Mullins lived about three miles from Pound Gap and arrived at thescene about an hour and a half after the killings. Jemima Harris andElizabeth Branham had already been there. John Vint Bentley, who lived inKentucky, was also at the scene that same afternoon. They examined thebody of Ira Mullins and saw the additional gun shots to his shoulder,wrist, side, bowels and legs. The wounds were large and looked likeWinchester or pistol wounds, but they could not tell the size.