Leonard Calvert Brock is my full name. I was born in Coffee County, Ala., July 13, 1860. My father’s name is Joseph E. Brock, and he was born near Raleigh, N. C. He is a physician by profession. He moved from there to Georgia, and then to Alabama. My mother’s name was Sallie F. Harrell, and she was born in Georgia. My parents were married in Georgia before coming to Alabama. I have one brother, whose name is John Brock. He was born in 1863, and now lives on a farm in Coffee County, Ala. I have a married sister, who was born in 1852, Rebecca Katherine Brock. She married William Russell, and lives in Coffee County. The post-office address of all the above named parties is Elba, Ala.
I was never married. Was raised on a farm, and my schooling was limited. I went to school to a good teacher about eight months. Remained on a farm in Coffee County, Ala., until 1886, when I went to Texas, on account of a cutting scrape, the particulars of which are as follows: I had a negro working for me whose name was Louis Chapman. We had some hot words about a business matter, and I stabbed him very severely. I was also accused of killing a negro in Coffee County about the same time, and on account of these troubles I left home. I am innocent of the murder of the negro.
I went to Texas via the Southern Pacific route, and stopped at San Antonio, where I went to work for one Robert Daniels. Daniels was engaged in buying horses and driving them to northern Texas. I went to Dallas from San Antonio, and worked awhile in a lumber yard. I also worked a month for a man named Brown. Then I went to Sherman and stayed a few days, but was unable to get work. I went from there to Gainesville, and from there to the Indian Territory, where I worked for a man named John Pair.
I then went back to Cook County, Texas, in the southwest part of the county. There I first saw Rube Burrow, in company with a man whom he called “Bill.” This was in the spring of 1886. Burrow employed me to help get up cattle. We went down into Young County, and from there to Wise County. I did not visit Burrow’s house at any time. We drove some cattle to Fort Worth and sold them. He sold about thirty or forty head. Then he quit the cattle business and discharged me.
I then went to Texarkana and worked at a saw mill for a few days. I then went to Shreveport and got work at a sawmill about one hundred miles below Shreveport. I went from there to New Orleans, and from there to Mobile, and worked a few days in a livery stable for a man named Metzger. I went from there, in the fall of 1887, to Pensacola, and got work driving a team. From there I went to Milton, and drove a team for a man named Collins for some time, and went from there to Florida and remained there, working part of the time. I was at several stations on the Pensacola and Atlantic Road.
In the latter part of 1887 I went from there to Texas. First I stopped at Sherman, and worked there for a few days. I stayed there until February, 1888. There I got a letter from Burrow. He addressed me as Lewis Waldrip. I was then going by that name. He said he was in trouble, but did not say what it was, and asked me to come to him. The letter was written from Vernon. I replied to the letter, addressing it to James Cash, and told him I was undecided whether to come or not. I received another letter from him, also from Vernon, Ala.
About the first of March, 1888, I went to Alabama. I went via Memphis, and got off the train at Sulligent, and went to old man Burrow’s by way of Vernon. I found Burrow at Cash’s house. He then told me that detectives were searching for him, and told me about his arrest and escape at Montgomery. He stated they had gotten off the train at Montgomery and started up the street, when policemen attempted to arrest them. He escaped, after shooting one of them, but his brother was captured. He was pursued by a party and surrounded in a negro cabin, where he had gone to get some coffee. He ran out of the house to the timber and escaped unhurt, although fired upon. He sat down in the bushes, and although he had no cartridges he pretended to be loading his pistol, and they were afraid to attack him. He went from there back to Lamar County, Ala.
L. C. BROCK, alias JOE JACKSON.
After I arrived in Lamar County, in March, 1888, we stayed there about a week, and then went south to Monroe County, crossing the Georgia Pacific Road at Columbus, Miss. We went into Columbus, Miss.; from there to Artesia, Miss., and thence to Meridian. We took a boat on the Tombigbee River and went to Coffeeville, Ala., and then walked to Baldwin County, Ala. We worked in Dunnaway’s log camp there, and it was here we met John Barnes. I drove a log team for Dunnaway, and Burrow sawed logs with Barnes. We remained there three weeks. Dunnaway then moved his teams to a point on the L. & N. Road, near Perdido Station. I carried a team there for him, and he then discharged me and Burrow, and we sawed logs at another camp for a few days. We then left, and crossed the Alabama River near Fort Claiborne. We crossed the Tombigbee River at the station where the railroad crosses the river. Workmen were engaged in painting the bridge, and asked us not to cross on the bridge, and we went down and crossed at the ferry. We then went north until we got into Mississippi, and went via Buckatunna to Ellisville. Then we went to Forrest, Miss. We bought our horses in Smith County, Miss. I traded my horse at Dixon, Miss., giving $15 to boot. The horse cost $90. Burrow paid $85 for his horse. From Dixon we went to Oxford, via Houston, Miss. We went through Oxford on horseback. We went on to Berryhill’s, Rube Burrow’s brother-in-law, arriving there about eleven o’clock A. M. Berryhill was absent, but returned that evening. We remained there two days. Left there in the afternoon, and went east to Okolona. Went thence to Cotton Gin, Miss., and from there to Vernon, Ala., stopping at Cash’s house. We got to Lamar County in the middle of May. Cash kept my horse and Burrow took his to his father’s. We remained there, being most of the time near Cash’s house, until the early part of August, when Reuben Burrow, having learned that his brother Jim, who was in the penitentiary at Little Rock, Ark., for safe keeping, would be taken to Texarkana about the fifth of September for trial, determined to go to his rescue. We talked the matter over, and resolved to rescue him from the guards, even if we had to kill them to do so. I do not recollect what date it was, but we saddled our horses, one at John Burrow’s and one at Jim Cash’s, on a dark night in the early part of August, and started on the Arkansas trip. We crossed the Tombigbee River at Cotton Gin, Miss., and came through Okolona, Miss., through Oxford, Miss., through Sardis, Miss., and took a westerly course to Helena, Ark., where we crossed the Mississippi River. Went from Helena to Pine Bluff, crossing the White River at St. Charles. Crossed the Arkansas River nine miles south of Pine Bluff; then went to Malvern; then to Donaldson, fifteen miles south of Malvern, where we expected to get Jim Burrow from the train. Then we passed Arkadelphia, remaining there one night, and went down to Curtis, fifteen miles south of Arkadelphia. There we searched two trains for Jim Burrow, but failed to find him. We then came back through Arkadelphia to Donaldson. There we searched two or three trains. Then we went up to Malvern, and boarded two or three trains there. While at Curtis, Ark., we learned that there was a train which would not stop at that place, but would stop at Arkadelphia, and Rube said he would go back to Arkadelphia. We made the trip, riding hard, but not in time to get on the train. Just as we rode into the town the train pulled out.