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A Mountain VengeanceA Story About The Hatfields and The McCoys

Written by: Dalton Maynard Illustrated by: Malorie Maynard

Once upon a time, a feud started between two families. The Hatfield's of West Virginia and the McCoy's of Kentucky. I know what youre thinking; it sounds like a fairy tale, but the story Im about to tell is far from make-believe. We all know fairy tales have a happy ending, but the story of The Hatfields and The McCoys does not end happily ever after. Although this is a true story, what makes it sounds like a fairy tale is all the different versions of what happened. Just like a fairy tale, it depends on who you ask or what you read. Unless you were there, no one knows for sure what really happened between these two families.

Feud- a long fight between families

The First Death

From 1860 to 1865, our country was divided into the North (The Union) and the South (The Confederacy), which history calls The Civil War. During this time, Harmon McCoy was a Union soldier for the North. Harmon came home in 1865 with a bad leg and a bad cough. He had survived the war, but would end up being killed. Jim Vance, who was related to Anse Hatfield, was a Confederate supporter. When Harmon came home, he met Jim and they had an argument about Harmon rejoining the Union army. A few days later, a shot was fired at Harmon when he was at his well. This shot caused Harmon to go into hiding in a nearby cave; because of his bad leg, he knew he wasnt able to fight. Harmons wife Martha, and his friend Pete, would bring food to Harmon everyday. One night, a big snow covered the ground. The next morning, Pete took food to Harmon, and Harmon begged to come home. Pete told him to wait, but Harmon decided to follow Petes tracks in the snow. These were not Petes tracks. They belonged to Jim. Martha and Pete found Harmons body, on a log, where he had been shot. Pete and Martha made a sled out of tree bark and dragged his body home.

Civil War- a war between citizens of the same country.

The Hog Trial

Thirteen years after Harmon McCoy was killed, his younger brother Randall McCoy had his own trouble with a Hatfield. During this time, people raised hogs. In the spring, people turned the hogs loose in the hills to eat and get fat. In the fall, the people would gather the pigs up and slaughter them for food. Since everybodys hogs stayed in the hills, each person that owned hogs would mark their hog with a cut in the hogs ear, or both ears, so they would recognize them. It was the fall round up, and Randall had a sow and a litter of pigs to go missing. Randall and his sons looked for a week, and they were nowhere to be found. One day, Randalls son was riding past Floyd Hatfields farm when he saw his dads sow and pigs in a hog lot beside Floyds house. He knew they belonged to his dad because of the ear mark. He went back and told Randall what he saw. Randall saddled his horse and rode out to Floyds. When Randall got there, Floyd wouldnt give them back. Randall took a warrant for Floyd, and they went to court to decide who the sow belonged to.

Warrant-paper saying an officer can make an arrest.

Twelve men sat on the jury. There were six Hatfields and six McCoys. Someone asked Floyd, Why didnt you bring the sow to court? Floyd answered, My family ate it. After all the evidence was presented, the six Hatfields voted for Floyd. However, of the six McCoys, only five of them voted for Randall. The sixth McCoy, Selkrik McCoy, voted for Floyd because Selkrik was married to a Hatfield. This made Randall so mad. He told Selkrik that he was no longer a McCoy, and that he was more rotten than a Hatfield.

Jury- a group of people that listen in court and decide who should win.

The Second Death

Two weeks had passed since the hog trial. Sam McCoy, a nephew of Randall McCoy, ran into Bill Staton, a friend of the Hatfields. Bill had sworn in court that the hog belonged to Floyd. Sam told Bill that he was a liar, and they got into a fist fight. After the fight was broken up, Bill told Sam he would be ready for him the next time. A while later, Bill saw Sam and Paris McCoy in the hills hunting. Bill hid behind a tree, and shot Paris. Paris was hurt, but did not die. Sam grabbed Bills gun and threw it down. They got into another fist fight. Bill was choking Sam, and to free himself, Sam pulled out his pistol and shot Bill. Bill was killed. A few days later, Bills body was found by a hunter. Since people knew about the fight between Bill and Sam, Sam was arrested and sent to jail in Logan, West Virginia. This upset the McCoy family, and one hundred armed McCoys went to Logan to hear the trial. Since there wasnt any witnesses, and Sam claimed self defense, he was free to go home. Witnesses -people that see someone do something.

Dont Date My Daughter

In 1880, it was election time in Kentucky. During election times, many people would show up. It was not that they were so worried about voting, but to talk to people they hadnt seen in a long time. It was also a good excuse for the men to drink. The Hatfield's decided to come to Kentucky for this election. While in Kentucky, Johnse Hatfield, the son of Anse Hatfield, saw Roseanna McCoy. Roseanna was the daughter of Randall McCoy. Johnse and Roseanna began to talk. When Randall saw her, he became upset and told her she was to never speak to him. Roseanna did not listen to her father, and went home with Johnse because they were planning to be married the next day. When Anse heard about his sons plan to marry a McCoy; he would not allow it to happen. Randall would not let Roseanna come home, and she had to live with her Aunt Betty McCoy.

Election- the process of putting someone into office

Eye For An Eye

Two years later, it was election time again. The Hatfields decided to come to the Kentucky side to talk and drink. Three of Randalls sons, Randall Jr., Tolbert, and Phamer, got into a fight with Ellison Hatfield. Ellison was a brother to Anse Hatfield. The three brothers hurt Ellison badly during this fight. The three boys were arrested, and were going to be taken to Pikeville, Kentucky to be put in jail. On the way to jail, Anse and twenty other men took the boys away from the officers. They took the McCoys to a schoolhouse on the West Virginia side. Here they kept them as prisoners. The boys mother, Sally McCoy, begged Anse to give her sons back. Anse told her, If my brother lives, Ill turn them loose. Ellison Hatfield died three days later. Anse brought the three McCoy boys back to the Kentucky side, tied them to a Pawpaw tree, and shot them to death. Anse and the other men were found guilty of murder, but this didnt stop the feud.

Eye For An Eye- when someone does something to you and you get them back.

The fight between the Hatfields and McCoys lasted for several years, with no one really being a winner. In 1888, the Hatfields set fire to Randall McCoys house. During this time, two of Randalls kids, Calvin and Alifair, were killed trying to get to safety. The feud came to an end when Ellison Cotton-Top Mounts, son of Ellison Hatfield , was hanged for killing Alifair. Many books have been written, and even a movie made about these feuding families. The characters seem to stay the same, but the details of the events seem to change. I guess, you would have just had to have been there to know the real story.

Bibliography:

Hatfield, Dr. Coleman C. The Feuding Hatfields & McCoys. Woodland Press, 2012. Print

Jones, Virgil Carrington. The Hatfields & the McCoys. Mockingbird Books, 1994. Print

McCoy, Truda Williams. The McCoys: Their Story. Perseveration Council Press, 1976. Print

Dalton Maynard is 8 years old. He enjoys fishing, hunting, and gardening. He wants to be a farmer when he grows up. Being from Pike County, and part of the McCoy family tree, Dalton wanted to know more about the McCoys. Dalton researched several sources before writing this book.Malorie Maynard is 6 years old, and the little sister of Dalton. She enjoys drawing, dancing, and playing. She wants to be a fashion designer when she grows up. Malorie used the Paint program when creating the pictures for this book.