A list of witnesses to be summoned in the case of the Choctaw
Nation vs. John T. Pitchlynn, charged with the murder of
Littleton Henderson Love.
| Witness in behalf of Prosecution | Witnesses for the Defense |
| B. S. Love | Johnston Push-ma-ta-ha |
| Eveline Love | John Hopper |
| Trisa Humphreys | Geo. W. Allen |
| Elizabeth Love (widow) of L. H. Love | Fidelia McCoy |
| Elsie Gains | Tennessee Watkins |
| Susan Burney | |
| Wm. S. Burks (M.D.) | |
| L. R. G. Love | |
| Ben Ma-tubby | |
| Implah-tubby |
Miss Susan Burney
After being duly sworn, deposeth and says:
I never saw anything. I was not near the house when it happened.
Question: Was you at the home of J. T. Pitchlynn on the
6th day Dec. last?
Answer: Yes, sir. John said the fight took place between
George Allen and Henderson Love and he thought it
was his place to part them and he ran out and he parted them and
H. Love fell on the gallery and Hence Love asked
who struck him. He told him he did not strike, but he had parted
them & Hence drew his pistol and struck him in the
face and snapped the pistol in his breast, then he stabbed Hence.
That is what he told me.
Qus: Is the prisoner at the bar the identical man that told you
this?
Ans: Yes, sir.
Qus: Where did he tell you this?
Ans: At Mr. Harris' on the 7th of Dec.
Cross Examination
Question: Did you see any bruises on the prisoner's face?
Ans: Yes, sir. I saw bruises on his nose.
Mrs. Eveline Love
After being duely sworn, deposeth and says:
Qus: Do you know the prisoner there?
Ans: Yes.
Qus: What is his name?
Ans: John Pitchlynn.
Qus: Is he the same man that told you that he stabbed H. Love
three times?
Ans: Yes, sir.
Qus: What did he say that was the cause that he stabbed him for?
Ans: Because Henderson stuck on the nose with a pistol.
Qus: Where was that he told you that?
Ans: Right down before Tom Pitchlynn's house in a [irssy
naton ?].
Qus: How far do you suppose it was from the house?
Ans: About a hundred yards.
Qus: Do you know whether Tom Pitchlynn's place is in the
Dist or not?
Ans: I do not know.
Qus: Do you know in what month it was done?
Ans: I do not.
Qus: Did John Pitchlynn tell you that he and H. Love
the day after his meeting?
Ans: Yes, sir.
Mrs. Eveline Love Further Questioned:
You say that you did not see John Pitchlynn cut Henderson,
did you?
Ans: I did not.
Qus: Was John's nose anyways injured?
Ans: It was bloody.
Miss Elsie Gaines
After being duely sworn, deposeth and makes answers as follows:
Qus: Was you at the house of Mr. Thomas J. Pitchlynn on
the 6th of Dec. last?
Ans: Yes, sir.
Qus: Did you see a fight that took place between L. H. Love
and J. T. Pitchlynn?
Ans: I did not see them fight.
Ous: Did you hear a very unusual [WORD UN-READABLE] like
a fight?
Ans: I did not hear it.
Cross Examine
Qus: Did you see a fight between Henderson Love and G.
W. Allen?
Ans: Yes, sir.
Qus: How far was you from G. W. Allen and Hence Love
when they were fighting?
Ans: About six steps. I saw when Mr. Love knocked Mr.
Allen down while they was fighting. I went up and caught Mr.
Love's arm and told him to quit, he said he was not going
to hurt him, but just beat him enough. Then John went there
with a knife in his hand. That is all that I saw. I went away.
Qus: What John was that had the knife in his hand?
Ans: John Pitchlynn.
Qus: What sort of knife was it that John had in his hand?
Ans: A pocket knife.
Qus: How many places was H. Love cut or stabbed and where
abouts?
Ans: Three places, on his neck, one on his shoulders, and one
on his back.
Mrs. Louisa Colbert
After being duely sworn, deposeth and says:
Me and Elizabeth was standing in the door, George Allen
came up and took hold of my [2 WORDS UN-READABLE] and said
whatever I had to say, to say it now. Elizabeth asked Henderson
why make he could not make George Allen behave? Henderson
got up and asked George Allen, why make he could not behave
himself? Then Henderson and George Allen got to
fighting and I saw John come out of the other room and
open his knife and make at Hence, but I did not see him
strike him. That is all that I saw.
Qus: Where was it this fight took place?
Ans: At Mr. Pitchlynn's.
Qus: Was it in the Chickasaw District?
Ans: I think it was.
Qus: Is the prisoner at the bar the man you saw make at H.
Love with a knife?
Ans: Yes, sir.
Qus: When did the fight take place?
Ans: I do not know the day of the month.
Mr. Hopper's Statement:
I hereby certify that on the 6th of December/55, I saw the combat
between J. Pitchlynn and Mr. Love. I saw John
when he shoved them apart. He shoved Mr. Love out of the
door and Mr. Allen back towards the house. Mr. Love
asked who stuck him and John said I only pushed you. Then
Mr. Love jumped up onto the [rassy?], collered him,
drew his pistol, punched him in the face, and about that time
John stabbed him.
G. W. Allen's Statement:
He said he and Louisa was standing at the door talking and Hence Love came up behind him and struck him and jerked him down by the hair/ He said that was all he knew about it as he was down and did not see the rest.
Mrs. Watkins' Statement:
I saw John when he went out of the room to part Hence Love and G. W. Allen and I saw Hence strike him. That is all I know.
I was at the house of Thomas J. Pitchlynn on the morning
of the sixth of December A.D. 1855. After having eat my breakfast,
I was a harnessing my horses to my carriage in front of the said
Pitchlynn's house, being at that time about thirty-five
yards distance. I heard an alarm of a fight at the house and upon
looking in the direction of the house, I saw L. H. Love
and G. W. Allen engaged in a fight upon the gallery. After
a few moments, the combatants were separated. Then immediately
I saw parties holding L. H. Love and man by the name of
Stewart, and just about that time I saw Mr. John Pitchlynn
come out of one of the rooms and him and L. H. Love have
a few blows and they were pulled apart by the bystanders and in
so doing L. H. Love was thrown off the gallery. He immediately
got the gallery again and disappeared from my sight and returned
immediately and made towards John Pitchlynn, who got off
the gallery and made off around the house on the right hand side
from where I stood and disappeared from where I stood.
L. H. Love pursued him a short distance and stopped, and when I went to where L. H. Love was, there was a wound discovered in his shoulder and one on the left side of his neck, which was bleeding profusely. I saw no weapons used by either of the combatants during the affray.
L. R. G. Love
After being duely sworn, deposeth and says:
On the 6th of Dec. last, I was at a gathering at Thos Pitchlynn's
and in the morning there was a fuss took place between George
Allen and Hence Love and by some means or other John
Pitchlynn got engaged in the fuss. By some means or other
Hence Love got pushed of the gallery and he turned round
to the gallery again and John Pitchlynn was standing on
the edge of the gallery. Henderson Love said who was that
struck at me and from that he got up on the gallery into the crowd
and when I saw him the next time, he was cut on the neck. He went
back into the crowd and when he came out the crowd again, he had
a pistol. Then he jerked the pistol and had it in the attitude
of shooting and some person took it away from him. By this time
John Pitchlynn had got the end of the gallery on the ground
when the pistol was taken away from Henderson Love. He
pursued on after John Pitchlynn. When Henderson Love
got to the end of the gallery by means or other, he fell and rolled
over, back upwards, and John Pitchlynn made a blow at him
with a knife and struck him some where in the back.
Qus: Who made the last blow?
Ans: John Pitchlynn.
Qus: What did he strike him with?
Ans: With a knife.
Qus: Did you see the knife?
Ans: I saw the glimpse of a knife.
Qus: Is the prisoner before the bar the John Pitchlynn
that you saw stike Henderson Love with a knife?
Ans: Yes, he is the man.
Qus: Was the cutting done within the limits of the Chickasaw District?
Ans: Yes, it was in the Chickasaw District.
Cross Examine:
Qus: Was John and Henderson on friendly terms?
Ans: I do not know.
Qus: Were you at the gathering that night?
Ans: I was.
Qus: Was there any fuss between them that night?
Ans: I never saw any.
Qus: Were you present when a fuss took place between George
Allen and Henderson?
Ans: I was off some 15 steps from where it took place.
Qus: What was that fuss?
Ans: They were striking on an other.
Qus: Was it in the house or outside?
Ans: Out side.
Qus: Was the fuss between Henderson Love and George
Allen - was the same one that you said John Pitchlynn
engaged in?
Ans: It was not.
Qus: Did the fuss between John Pitchlynn and Henderson
Love take place near the place where the fuss between George
Allen and Henderson Love took?
Ans: Yes.
Qus: How near?
Ans: 5 or 6 steps.
Qus: What was the nature of the fuss between Henderson Love
& John Pitchlynn?
Ans: It was a fight.
Johnson Push-ma-ta-haw
After being duely sworn, deposeth and says:
Dec 4th in the evening I came to Thos Pitchlynn's. On
that night there was a dance. I was with them all night until
day. In the morning we sat down to breakfast, I and Henderson,
that is dead, sat down to breakfast together. George Allen
was a little intoxicated, was shouting with Louisa Humphreys
at the door. When I got from eating, I left Henderson still
at the table talking and laughing and in good humor. When I got
up, I went to side of the door and stood. While standing, George
Allen stood close by me. When Henderson got through
eating, he came up to George Allen and said can't you quit
or behave yourself and then they got from me about six steps.
He then caught him by the hair and jerked him down and kicked
him twice. Then the people parted them and they both got up. While
as they were fairly up, John came out of the room and asked
them why are you fighting and then pushed them apart. When pushed
them, George Allen stood on the floor still and Henderson
fell off the shed on to the ground. About that time my hat, which
I had hung up when I went to breakfast, the wind had it down on
the porch. I went to pick it up. When I got my hat, I looked round
and saw John on the porch and Hence Love moved near
me and pulled out a pistol. Did not cock the pistol but stepped
up on the porch and John stood still looking at him. He
went right strait up to John and punched him in the face
with the pistol. Then John hauled out his knife and stabbed
him rite on the neck. After this, Henderson raised up his
pistol to strike John and a negro woman ran in the way
and his pistol striking the negro woman on the shoulder, the pistol
fell on the floor. After the pistol fell, the negro woman reached
to take the pistol but Hence got the pistol first. Then
they led John Pitchlynn by to the end of the porch on the
ground. Henderson being back -- letting go he then approached
John with his pistol cocked from where he ran at John,
it was about eight steps. While John, standing looking,
he jabed John in the side with the pistol. I thought John
Pitchlynn was dead, but the pistol did not fire. John
Pitchlynn stepped back about one step. Henderson
Love stumbled and fell and John made a blow with
his knife at Henderson. The knife went in a little below
the shoulder blade. Then led John off and Henderson
also. This is what I stood and saw.
Qus: Was you not employed by Thomas & John Pitchlynn
to defend John?
Ans: I received a letter from them on that subject.
Qus: What was the contents of this letter?
Ans: It did not contain much but required me to assist John
Pitchlynn about what he is charged with.
Qus: What was your answer?
Ans: I told him I would assist him.
Qus: Was George Allen all the drunk man there?
Ans: No.
Qus: Was you drinking?
Ans: I was not.
Qus: Is Thomas Pitchlynn's house in Chickasaw District
or in Push-Ma-Ta-Haw?
Ans: It is in Push-Ma-Ta-Haw.
Qus: Was there many people there that morning?
Ans: Yes, there was a great many.
Qus: What was the people gathered there for?
Ans: A dancein afair.
1st Some time last Dec I think, I was called to Mr. L. H. Love.
He was suffering from a wound in his neck.
I was informed that he received the wound some week or two previous.
The wound was nearly healed externally and I thought it was doing
well towards recovery. My opinion was asked when I thought it
would be safe to remove him home. I said it was impossible to
say when, but advised the friends to keep him where he was.
A week after, he was thought well enough to be moved.
I saw him again the evening that he died. He was bearly alive
when I arrived. I made no examination of his case, as he was evidently
dying.
__________
NOTE: Marie King Garland, in her book, Chickasaw Loves and Allied Families, states that the dance and all night party, was a wedding party. Who's wedding, she did not state. However, other record sources revel that the party was in celebration of the marriage of the defendant, John Thomas Pitchlynn to Elizabeth "Bettie" Harris which occurred on 5 DEC 1855. Additionally, it may be assumed that John T. Pitchlynn was acquitted of the killing as lived until 8 JAN 1873, when he died of an illness. (He married twice more.)
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