A Murder at the Celebration
The Lebanon Celebration was a wonderful experience I enjoyed way back in the days of my high school youth. There was a parade, carnival rides, cotton candy, and other sweet goodies. My favorite snack was a foot-long crispy corndog dipped in mustard. O those were the days, no vegan or health food concerns just sugary laced, grease saturated, artery clogging goodness to top off the annual summertime event. In the earlier days of Smith County, the Lebanon Celebration was a much larger affair with all sorts of exotic entertainment. A.L. Curtis wowed the crowd at the Lebanon Reunion of 1903 with his high wire balancing act. The performer showed his great skill at maneuvering on the tight rope while suspended thirty feet in the air above the enthralled spectators. Old A.L. wowed them even more when he survived his thirty foot fall to the concrete below. Thankfully, Doctors Bower and Hislop were there to set both of A.L.’s broken legs before transporting the unlucky entertainer back to his home in Kansas City. Sadly, there were incidents of a criminal nature leading to worse physical results and such is the case involving Robert Jackson and Thompson
On October 1, 1900, 23-year-old Charley Thompson headed to Lebanon to participate in some celebratory activity, however before the stroke of midnight, Charley was a wanted fugitive. The day started innocently enough with one of the first things Charley doing after he arrived in town was scoping out the "racket businesses" that occupied
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the carnival midway. His casual observation helped him discover one promising-looking game booth that housed two gambling venues of Spindle Wheel and Chuck-A-Luck. Spindle Wheel was a game of chance where the participants bet on the number or color the needle would land on. (This gambling event may be the inspiration for the popular game show, Wheel of Fortune, hosted by Pat Sajak and letterturner Vanna White.) The funny-sounding Chuck-A-Luck game was also a pastime of chance centered on three dice encased in an hourglass-shaped container. Bets were placed on how many specific die numbers would be rolled or on the sequence of numbers that could be turned. Personal experience from participating in such carnival games make that old saying come true, you know the one, "A fool and his money are soon parted." (Can I get an Amen?)
So, the only winners that day were going to be the gaming entrepreneurs who were more than ready and able to extract money from the overeager and gullible local yokels who had dreams of hitting the jackpot. Back in the day, a carnival game operator was called a fakir, pronounced FAY-KEER, however, FAKER would be an appropriate mispronunciation since the word's definition is 'one who deals in sleight of hand deception.' The professional fakirs running the game booth were two brothers by the names of Frank and Robert Jackson. Both men had local connections as Frank was a resident of Beloit, Kansas while Robert had lived in the Kansas towns of Stockton and Downs, as well as Franklin, Nebraska, and was a current resident of Denver, Colorado. Consequently,
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the word on the street was the Jackson brothers knew how to run a successful carnival game. In other words, with the Jacksons at the helm, the house always won and raked in the pot. How did Charley do at the gambling booth? There is no report on how he did during the morning but later in the day, Charley would make a killing.
Later that evening on October 1st, a crowd had gathered at the gaming booth which was set up in front of the Lebanon Bank. Bets were eagerly wagered, and loud cheers were shouted with every spin of the wheel or roll of the dice. Now at this juncture, a shadowy figure snuck up to the back of the tent, and as Robert Jackson worked one of the gambling tables, the mysterious intruder sprang toward the unsuspecting fakir. In the assailant's hand was a blunt object, and it was brought it down upon Mr. Jackson's head with deadly force. Surprised onlookers stood in silent amazement as they watched the violent act take place.
One of the spectators was Deputy Marshall Rube Amis. The officer instinctively stretched out his arm to grab the fleeing assailant with one hand, while reaching for his pistol with the other. However, a blow to his arm from the same blunt object used against Mr. Jackson caused severe pain and numbness to shoot through the deputy's body. The attacker then fled from the scene as Deputy Amis's arm hung uselessly by his side. Unnamed bystanders chased the faceless attacker for a short distance before darkness allowed the assailant to vanish into the night.
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Self Defense or Just Plain Nonsense
J.A. Wright, editor of The Lebanon Times was on the verge of having an emotionally charged meltdown. If he could, he may have echoed those famous words from Popeye the Sailorman, "That's all I can stands, and I can't stands no more." The topic of his impassioned opinion in an editorial from July 24, 1913, was 'self-defense' and he typed out his view under the heading, Supposin' It Were You. Ol' J.A. does not beat around the bush and gets right to the point; it is his judgment Lebanon is the leader of murder in Smith County. He then repeated an old joke, "Good Morning. How are you this morning? Any body killed in Lebanon yet this morning." His reason to repeat the joke was not to gain a laugh but to intellectually slap people back into reality. He declared it is "foolish falderal" to use the term self-defense when looking at recent and past examples of deadly shootings in Lebanon and its nearby local surroundings. He closes by asking the pointed rhetorical questions, "Is it no concern of yours that your brother may be shot to death for a mere trifle? Or perhaps your husband, the father of little children? Oh! Shame, where is thy sting?" The three events shaping Mr. Wright's outspoken opinion were the shooting of James Amis, Ona Kemp, and James Crystal.
The first case took place in Lebanon on November 30, 1895, and is recorded in all of the newspapers in Smith County. The story goes that Mr. James Amis had some Saturday business to tend to and once taken care of, he was
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to board an 11:30 morning train to visit relatives in Kentucky. However, for whatever reasons, Amis decided to postpone his trip and stay in good old Kansas. As the afternoon wore on, Amis decided to 'wet his whistle' in a tavern at the south end of Lebanon operated by C.W. Humberd. Amis should have got on the train for Kentucky. While Amis was sitting there enjoying a shot or two of whiskey, the Gore clan sauntered in to help themselves to a few rounds of 'hop tea'. Now, some of the Gore family lived just across the Jewell County line near Esbon and others lived two miles southwest of Lebanon. That day the clan was made up of only four members: Fred, Ollie, Emmett, and Isaac or better known by his nickname of Ike. After both parties had one too many rounds, Amis and the Gores began to rehash an old sore subject. The catalyst for the disagreement originated at an Oak Creek community camp meeting. So, as their voices got louder and the threats got more heated, C.W. told them all to get out and take their "racket and row" somewhere else.
Witnesses said Amis was the first out the door with the Gores hot on his heels. Soon, all five men were standing in the streets of Lebanon. It is not clear who threw the first punch, but in short order, it was clear Amis was getting the worst end of the deal. It was reported all four of the Gore men had pistols they used as clubs to knock Amis to the ground. The Smith County Journal reported, "Amis was unarmed, but being a powerful man was defending himself the best he could." Even from his defensive position, it is said Amis was able to regain his footing and knock Ike
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Gore onto his butt. Then, in an effort to retreat to safety, Amis backed away from the Gore foursome to a distance of thirty feet.
Suddenly, 19-year-old Fred Gore raised his .38 caliber pistol and took aim at the unarmed Amis. CLICK, the bullet failed to fire. So, Fred took aim once again, CLICK, a second misfire. During this sequence of events, witnesses said 45-year-old Ike Gore was repeatedly screaming at his young nephew to "Shoot the son of a b !Shoot him. God d him!" While reading the account, I found myself yelling at my computer screen, "Run, Amis, run. Why aren't you trying to get away?" Well, there are logical answers for Amis's reaction or lack thereof. We categorized these actions as ‘flight, fight or freeze’. Fear may have paralyzed or frozen him. Physical injury may have made escape impossible to flee. Shock may have set in, causing him to freeze like a deer looking into the headlights of an oncoming car. Hopelessness may have overwhelmed Amis to the point he thought, "I can't whip all four of them so I might as well die like a man." Who knows what thoughts run through the mind of an individual who finds themselves in such dire circumstances? The Lebanon Times described what happened next as "Fred Gore took the gun down, turned the cylinder with his left hand, and again raising it and taking deliberate aim, fired a bullet directly through the heart of his victim." The massive amount of adrenaline pumping through Amis gave the wounded man the strength to remain standing as he faced his attackers. Then in an act of pure cowardice, Ike Gore
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Postscript on Dick Jackson
I shamelessly held you captive by withholding information about Richard aka, Dickey aka, Dick Jackson. I know it is about as annoying as a movie putting a continuation of the story after the closing credits, so I apologize and promise to do it again for a different story. Thank you for your forgiveness now and in advance.
Dick Jackson and Hattie Lammey started their lives together on March 2, 1901. Things looked very good for the couple. Dick was on the fast track to prosperity and Hattie was a young woman with a mother's heart. Everything seemed to be going great for them and their four young children. Then Henry happened. As in Henry Knott, Dick's halfbrother, through his mother’s side. (Oh and Dick's mother, Mrs. Knott was a sister to Ellen Jordan, so you know there was a ‘crazy gene’ in that family tree.) The trouble between the two had been growing for a year and even though they had agreed to farm together, something just did not feel right. Then a bombshell exploded on March 20, 1911. It was discovered that Henry and Hattie "had been unduly intimate."
The story goes Mr. Jackson and Mr. Knott were walking toward the barn located on the Jackson's place. After they got to the barn, an argument began and soon, both men's anger was out of control. At this point in the fracas, Henry is said to have reached into his pocket to pull out a knife. He was going to carve up his halfbrother real good. But the knife never got out of his pocket. Dick
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rushed toward Amis and struck Amis twice in the face with his fist. Even then, witnesses said Amis did not go down. However, after just a few more seconds, "Amis staggered and fell to the ground, made an effort to rise and fell back as the darkness of death closed about him." The fatally wounded Amis was carried to the nearby office of A.H. Gates, "where he breathed his last in a very few seconds after being laid on the floor."
Dr. J.B. Dykes who was the coroner and legal authority on the scene called for an immediate inquiry into the shooting. Only two witnesses were called and yet there was one gigantic, glaring discrepancy in their testimony that would have ramifications on the outcome of the case. The first witness was G.C. Beagles who firmly stated "I saw James Amis shot in the city of Lebanon. He was shot with a revolver in the hands of young Gore." He also clearly declared "The man Amis, who was shot, had no pistol or knife in his hands." The second witness, A.H. Gates reinforced much of Beagle's testimony but added "I think the man who was shot had a jack-knife in his hand. He raised his hand once while retreating." Shortly after his death, Amis was searched and a small pocketknife was found in his overcoat pocket, unopened and not in his lifeless hand. (Thinking you saw something does not make it a reality, but I digress.)
After the inquiry, Emmitt, Fred, and Ollie Gore were immediately arrested and hauled off to the Smith Centre jail by Constable J.A. Adams. The Lebanon Criterion reported Ike Gore had hightailed it back to his
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responded by pulling out his .38 caliber Smith and Wesson revolver and pumping two slugs into Henry's head. And just like that, the fight was over, proving you should never bring a knife to a gunfight. This is exactly what happened according to the lone witness, Dick Jackson.
After shooting Henry Knott, Dick headed off to Smith Center to surrender himself to Sheriff Jim Farris. Dick was placed in a jail cell and the legal process was set in motion. In a very abbreviated monologue, here is what happened in the case. The coroner’s inquest stated the obvious, the two bullets killed Mr. Knott. In the preliminary hearing, Dick Jackson was charged with first degree murder. At the district court trial, letters written by Hattie Jackson to Henry Knott were produced and when read "these created a great sensation." If the letters were not devastating enough to the prosecution's case, Henry Knott's full-blooded brother and even his mother testified Henry had it coming, and Mr. Jackson was justified in his actions. These two aspects of the trial produced a verdict of 'not guilty' for Dick Jackson. So, on March 29, 1911, only nine days after Henry's death, Dick Jackson was a free man. Dick would experience more freedom in the years to come. By September 1912, he would be free from his wife and children. May 1913 was going to be the beginning of Dick losing his freedom as a citizen after he and Bert Hall were caught bringing illegal booze into Smith County from Red Cloud, Nebraska. However, his case never went to trial. The reason: Dick Jackson took his own life just two days after his arrest by shooting himself in the head with a
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shotgun. Sadly, this freedom would leave him no recourse or chance for redemption in this life or the next.
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