| Notes |
- 20250612Chicago-
The most recent best-seller by Dean King has several pages about one of those incidents-the 1899 killing of Humphrey “Doc” Ellis by Elias Hatfield.
The killing of Doc Ellis had some relevance to the feud story, in that the proximate cause for Elias Hatfield to be gunning for Doc Ellis was that Doc had enlisted the aid of the notorious bounty hunter, Dan Cunningham, and kidnapped Elias’s brother, Johnse, taking him “across the line” to stand trial in Kentucky for the New Year’s 1888 raid on the McCoy home.
Doc’s enmity toward Johnse arose most likely from their being competitors in the timber business, and had nothing to do with any connection between Doc Ellis and the McCoys.
Mr. King could have learned the details of the case by simply reading the case file; but that is a lot of work, as the case file is about four hundred pages. Here is my copy of the case file:
Mr. King could read two or more of the previous feud books in less time than it would take to read the case, and the cost of the feud books would be much less. King opted for the feud stories, as his note to the section on the Hatfield-Ellis case shows:
“10. Hatfield and Spence, 251-252, drawing on writings by and interviews of Cap’s son Coleman; Andrew Chafin interview transcript, 6; and Charlotte Sanders, “Feud Was Revived in 1899 After the Killing of ‘Doc’Ellis,: Williamson Daily News, based on the Bluefield Daily Telegraph of July 4, 1899. In both the Hatfield and Spence and Daily Telegraph versions, Elias Hatfield was boarding the train as a passenger, heading to Wharncliffe, according to the latter. Though Elias was Devil Anse’s son, the Daily Telegraph referred to him as Elias Hatfield Jr., presumably to differentiate him from Devil Anse’s brother Elias. In Hatfield and Spence (252), Coleman A. Hatfield said the gun was a “new Winchester.” In Sanders’s and Chafin’s accounts, it was a pistol. In Hatfield and Spence (251), the bullet ricocheted off Ellis’s gold cuff link.”King, Dean, “The Feud,” p. 401
...
King says that Elias Hatfield, like the imaginary call boy, Chafin, also worked for the N&W Railroad, as a railroad security officer. The case record tells us about a dozen times what Elias Hatfield was doing for a living at the time. He was running his saloon on the Kentucky side of Tug River, opposite the Gray railroad yard.
Q: How long have you known Elias Hatfield?
A: Three and one half months.
Q: Were you ever in his saloon frequently?
A: I was in his saloon probably twice before this occurred.
Q: Did you drink with him?
A: No, sir he did not.
Q: Did you drink?
A: Yes sir.
Every witness called by the defense was asked on cross-examination if he ever visited Elias’s saloon. Witnesses testified that Elias came across the river to Gray every day to pick up ice for his saloon.
Cross Examination by Attorney J.S. Marcum:-
Q: Did you see Hatfield around there before you head the shooting?
A: No, sir.
Q: Had you seen him around there frequently, around your place?
A: He was up there nearly every morning to get his ice.
Q: Do you know whether he came there that morning to get ice?
A: Yes, sir.
Q: How do you know it?
A: It came billed to him.
Q: That day?
A: Yes, sir.
Readers of Dean King’s feud yarn think that the saloon-keeper, Elias Hatfield, was a security officer for the N&W Railroad. The record shows that Elias owned Skinner’s saloon, just across the river in Kentucky, and that ice was shipped to him every day,billed to Elias Hatfield.And they are told that it is history!
Mr. King’s yarn continues with a description of the actual shooting of Doc Ellis. It is false in detail, as proven by the record.
King writes:
“Chafin saw Ellis rush onto the platform and raise a pistol, and he shouted, “Look out, ‘Lias!” The passenger with whom Elias was talking saw what was happening too and shoved Elias aside. Elias, dropping out of the way, pulled out his pistol and fired. Some witnesses would say that only one gun fired, but Chafin saw two flashes. Elias’s shot, taken in haste, was off the mark but not by much: the bullet struck Ellis’s wrist, broke it, ricocheted into his neck, severed his jugular vein, and exited through the top of his head. The wealthy timberman fell to the platform, dead before he hit.”
The story says that the fictitious call boy, Andy Chafin, said that Ellis had a pistol. The real call boy, Ed Guntner, said Ellis was aiming at Elias with a Winchester rifle when Elias shot him. He testified that he took the rifle into the depot and gave it to his boss. Here’s that man’s testimony about Ellis’s weapon:
Q: After the shot was [sic] where were you?
A: When the shooting took place?
Q: Yes, sir?
A: I was in the office, I had been out to the train and had turned back in the office to write out some tickets. I went out again and I saw some man lying on the second class car platform.
Q: Did you see a gun brought into your office?A: The Call Boy brought a gun into my office.
Q: What boy?
A: Edward Guntner.
Q: Gunther or Guntner?
A: Guntner.
Q: He brought a gun into your office?
A: Yes, sir.
Q: What kind of a gun was it?
A: It was a rifle; repeating rifle.
Q: Did you notice the caliber of it?
A: I cannot say what the gun used.
Q: What was done with it?
A: I asked him to let me see the gun, and he handed it to me, and I opened it.
Q: Then what?
A: I opened it and threw and empty shell out of the chamber.
Then King says that Elias shot Ellis with a pistol. Several witnesses testified in detail about the weapon Used by Elias. It was a .45-90 Winchester rifle, which was introduced into evidence in court, and examined by several witnesses, who identified it as the rifle used by Elias. Of course the Winchester used by Ellis was also introduced into the case, and was examined in the courtroom. But, in King’s tale, they both used pistols.
Then we see more of the minute detail which earns Mr. King so many plaudits from people who know nothing of the real history, when he writes that the bullet “exited through the top of his head.” That is a gory result, but it is entirely false. There was a doctor on the train, in the same car as Ellis, and he examined the body immediately after it was carried into the depot. The doctor testified that the bullet did NOT exit!
https://hatfield-mccoytruth.com/tag/doc-ellis/
20250612Chicago-
https://hatfield-mccoytruth.com/tag/doc-ellis/
The record shows that Elias owned Skinner’s saloon, just across the river in Kentucky, and that ice was shipped to him every day,billed to Elias Hatfield.
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- 1899
