Van Buren Press Van Buren, Arkansas- Crawford County September 20 1890 THE STEVENS MURDER Fort Smith Call: Esq. Harrower, of Webb City, Franklin County, was in the city Monday. He resides near the scene of last Friday's murder. On Friday evening last, the evening of the murder, John Washington, a colored boy from the vicinity of the killing came to the city and told Mr. Anderson of Anderson & Wright, that Esq. Stevens had been killed by "Seeb" Smith, and that it grew out of Smith having heard that Stevens was getting up a crowd to hickory-whip him (Smith). The story of the killing as related is briefly this: On Friday morning last as Esq. Stevens was seated in the front room of Smith's house about four miles from Webb City, and "Seeb" and his half brother, on the portico, Esq. Stevens was shot by "Seeb" and died instantly. The wound was large enough to admit of a man's hand, and the buckshot from the shot gun tore its way through his heart and right lung, making a ghastly wound. The half brother gave the alarm and "Seeb" Smith's premises were surrounded by a posse and he was captured and taken to jail at Ozark. The half brother was the only eye witness outside the murderer. He states that the only words he heard uttered by Stevens were, "You don't think I would have anything to do with anything of that kind?" when "Seeb" replied, "Get out of my house G- d-you!" when he immediately fired. The half brother is held by Esq. Harrower as a witness. The country is very much excited over the cold blooded murder, for such they deem it, and the mob law is feared. "Seeb" Smith does not bear a very good reputation in the neighborhood. The half brother had only arrived in the country two or three days before the killing. Fran Alverson Warren