COMING UP TONIGHT

ON KENTUCKY LIFE

A TASTE OF KENTUCKY'S

BOURBON HISTORY

WITH A FIFTH GENERATION

DISTILLER IN MARION COUNTY

WE'LL PAY TRIBUTE TO

THE LATE MINNIE BLACK

THE "GOURD LADY" FROM

EAST BERNSTADT, KENTUCKY

AND REVISIT ONE OF THE

MOST NOTORIOUS EVENTS

IN THE HISTORY OF KENTUCKY

THE FAMED HATFIELD-McCOY FEUD

GOOD EVENING AND WELCOME

TO KENTUCKY LIFE

I'M BYRON CRAWFORD, YOUR HOST

WELL, IF YOU HAVE A TASTE

FOR THINGS TRULY KENTUCKY

THEN YOU'VE COME

TO THE RIGHT PLACE

WITH US TONIGHT, YOU'LL

TRAVEL BACK IN TIME

TO WHEN A LEGEND WAS BORN

THE FAMED FEUD BETWEEN THE

HATFIELDS AND THE McCOYS

IT'S A LEGACY

THAT FOREVER CHANGED THE WAY

MOUNTAIN PEOPLE ARE VIEWED

BUT AS YOU'LL SEE

IT'S A STORY THAT ENDURES

BOTH AS ROMANTIC MYTH

AND DOCUMENTED FACT

FIRST WE'RE GOING TO SAMPLE A

LEGEND OF A DIFFERENT KIND

THE FINE QUALITIES OF

KENTUCKY BOURBON WHISKEY

MAKE IT A SOUGHT AFTER PRODUCT

BY CONNOISSEURS

FROM NEAR AND FAR

THE SAMUELS' FAMILY HAS BEEN

IN THE WHISKEY BUSINESS

FOR FIVE GENERATIONS

AND SINCE 1953, IT'S

TURNED OUT MAKER'S MARK

AT THE QUAINT DISTILLERY

IN MARION COUNTY AT LORETTO

IN THIS PROFILE, WE LEARN

A LITTLE FAMILY HISTORY

ALONG WITH THE STORY OF THE RISE

OF THE KENTUCKY BOURBON INDUSTRY

KENTUCKY IS FAMOUS FOR

ITS BLUEGRASS FIELDS

AND THOROUGHBRED HORSES

AT ONE TIME, MOST PEOPLE

WOULD HAVE MENTIONED

KENTUCKY BOURBON WHISKEY

IN THE SAME BREATH

BUT TIMES HAVE CHANGED

AMERICANS STILL DRINK

BUT THEY DRINK ONLY HALF

AS MUCH BOURBON TODAY

AS THEY DID 20 YEARS AGO

STILL, ALL IS NOT BLEAK

IN BOURBON COUNTRY

WAREHOUSES FULL OF AGING BOURBON

STILL DOT THE COUNTRYSIDE

AND A GROWING EXPORT TRADE TO

EUROPE, ASIA AND AUSTRALIA

HAS STIMULATED NEW OPTIMISM

AS THE REST OF THE

WORLD DISCOVERS

THIS UNIQUELY

AMERICAN SPIRIT

WHEN EASTERNERS FIRST STARTED

SETTLING HERE, IN 1774

KENTUCKY WAS PART OF VIRGINIA

PROBABLY THE FIRST WHISKEY

WAS MADE WITHIN A YEAR OR

TWO OF THE FIRST SETTLEMENT

IN 1780, THE VIRGINIA

LEGISLATURE

DIVIDED KENTUCKY

INTO THREE COUNTIES

BY 1786, THERE WERE SEVEN

INCLUDING BOURBON COUNTY

NAMED FOR THE

FRENCH ROYAL FAMILY

IN GRATITUDE FOR IT'S HELP

DURING THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR

THE MOST IMPORTANT SETTLEMENT

IN BOURBON COUNTY

WAS LIMESTONE

WHICH LATER BECAME MAYSVILLE

FOR MANY YEARS, THIS WAS

THE REGION'S MAIN PORT

ON THE OHIO RIVER

FROM WHICH WHISKEY AND OTHER

GOODS WERE FLOATED DOWNRIVER

TO NEW ORLEANS FOR SALE

ANY WHISKEY SHIPPED FROM

THE PORT OF LIMESTONE

WAS LIABLE TO BE CONSIDERED

A PRODUCT OF BOURBON COUNTY

REGARDLESS OF WHERE IT WAS MADE

EVEN AFTER LIMESTONE BECAME

PART OF MASON COUNTY

AND LATER WHEN OTHER

COUNTIES WERE FORMED

MANY STILL CALLED THE

REGION, "OLD BOURBON"

AS THE DEMAND FOR "OLD

BOURBON" WHISKEY GREW

OTHER DISTILLERS HERE

AND IN ADJACENT STATES

BEGAN TO USE THE NAME

PIONEER DISTILLERS

WERE MAINLY FARMERS

THEY DISTILLED THEIR OWN GRAIN

AND MAYBE SOME FOR

THEIR NEIGHBORS

MAKING WHISKEY IN A

STILL LIKE THIS ONE

WAS AS COMMON AS MAKING

SAUSAGE OR BAKING BREAD

THIS INDUSTRY EVOLVED SLOWLY

AND IT'S PRETTY HARD TO

PUT YOUR FINGER ON WHEN

IT STARTED

OR REALLY WHEN IT STARTED

TO LOOK LIKE AN INDUSTRY

AND MUCH LESS LIKE A

DIVISION OF AGRICULTURE

UH, I GUESS REALLY, IT

WAS THE EARLY 1840s

WHEN WISE KENTUCKY FARMERS

WHO KNEW HOW TO MAKE WHISKEY

DECIDED THAT THEY NEEDED

TO FLIP THE PROCESS AROUND

AND INSTEAD OF HAVING

FARMERS WITH EXCESS

GRAIN DRIVE THE PROCESS

HAVE CUSTOMERS LOOKING

FOR GOOD RED WHISKEY

DRIVE THE PROCESS

AND HAVE THE FARMERS

THE AGRICULTURAL

DIMENSION RESPOND TO IT

SO IT WAS MY GREAT

GREAT GRANDFATHER

WHICH WOULD MAKE ME THE FIFTH

IN THE LINE OF "COMMERCIAL"

DISTILLERS

BUT IN FACT IT WAS MY GREAT

GREAT GRANDFATHER'S GRANDFATHER

ROBERT SAMUELS

WHO MUSTERED OUT OF THE

UH, PENNSYLVANIA MILITIA

IN THE SPRING OF 1780

AS A DISTILLER FOR

WASHINGTON'S ARMY

AND CAME TO KENTUCKY

UH, WITH A LAND GRANT

WITH A CORN WRIT

WHICH WAS THE FIRST FORM OF

HOMESTEADING IN THE COUNTRY

AND SET UP UH, A SMALL FARM

AND PROVIDED DISTILLING SERVICES

FOR NEIGHBORING FARMERS

WHO GREW TOO MUCH GRAIN TO

FEED IT ALL TO THE CATTLE

SO THAT WAS, THAT WAS THE

BEGINNING OF THE INDUSTRY

I THINK, AS A COTTAGE INDUSTRY

BUT IT WAS REALLY UH,

IN THE EARLY 1840s

THAT YOU STARTED TO SEE THE

COMMERCIAL DISTILLERIES DEVELOP

THEN YOU COME TO THE

OLD T.W. SAMUELS PLANT

THE SAMUELS FAMILY BUILT

THEIR FIRST DISTILLERY

ON OR NEAR THIS SITE IN 1844

THE DISTILLERY CLOSED YEARS AGO

AND THE WAREHOUSES WERE SOLD TO

HEAVEN HILL AND MAKER'S MARK

AND THAT'S WHERE THE SAMUELS

FAMILY MAKES WHISKEY TODAY

AT MAKER'S MARK IN MARION COUNTY

BUT THE DEEDSVILLE PLANT

AND ITS OWNER BILL SAMUELS'

GREAT GREAT GRANDFATHER

ARE REMEMBERED FOR

THEIR UNIQUE ROLE

IN THE HISTORY OF THE

AMERICAN CIVIL WAR

HE WAS A LARGE MAN

HE WAS ABOUT SIX SIX

UH, IN, IN THOSE DAYS

WAS QUITE LARGE

UH, HE HAD AN... HE HAD AN OLDER

BROTHER, DR. REUBEN SAMUELS

WHO MARRIED JESSE AND

FRANK JAMES' MOTHER

AND RAISED THEM

DID A WONDERFUL JOB

AND UH, AS A RESULT

ENDED UP IN SOMEWHAT OF

A CARETAKER... ROLE

WITH QUANTRELL'S ARMY

AS THEY CAME TO KENTUCKY

TO AVOID THE DEMISE OF THE

LATTER PERIOD OF THE WAR

THEY CAME DIRECTLY

TO NELSON COUNTY

WHERE MY GREAT GREAT

GRANDFATHER WAS HIGH SHERIFF

SO UH, THEY GOT WHAT

THEY WERE LOOKING FOR

A PARDON WAS WORKED

OUT IN JULY 25th

AND IT ENDED UP BEING

THE FINAL SURRENDER

OF AN ARMED CONFEDERATE BAND

OF THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR

AND IT HAPPENED RIGHT

AT A DISTILLERY

OUR OLD FAMILY DISTILLERY

IN NELSON COUNTY, KENTUCKY

DID NOT HAPPEN AT

APPOMATTOX COURTHOUSE

AS GENERAL LEE THOUGHT

BUT IT WAS BACK HERE

SOME 90 DAYS LATER

THIS PLACE WAS FOUNDED

AS A DISTILLERY FARM

BY THE BURKES FAMILY

WHO WERE UH, WERE FROM SCOTLAND

THEY CAME OVER ABOUT 1800

A LAND GRANT UH, FROM VIRGINIA

AND UH, THEY STARTED MAKING

WHISKEY IN A SPORADIC WAY

AS MANY OF US DID

THIS, THIS WAS UH, FAIRLY

TYPICAL DISTILLERY

200 BUSHEL SIZE

WHICH IS WHAT WE OPERATE TODAY

SO UH, IN A, IN A SENSE YOU'RE

ABLE TO SEE THE DISTILLERY

AS IT WOULD HAVE LOOKED

IN THE 1870s, 1880s

BECAUSE THE PHYSICAL INTEGRITY

OF THE PLACE IS INTACT

OR WE USE IT TO OPERATE

IT AT THE SAME CAPACITY

IT WAS DESIGNED TO BE

OPERATED 120 YEARS AGO

UH, BUT THE BURKES FAMILY,

THEY STARTED AND THEY STOPPED

THEY WERE FIRST SUCCESSFUL

AND THEN NEXT GENERATION

WASN'T SO SUCCESSFUL

AND THEN THERE WAS

A CHOLERA EPIDEMIC

THEN WE HAD UH, PROHIBITION

AND THAT, THAT KNOCKED

US ALL A LOOP

DAD BOUGHT IT IN

1953 AND STARTED

STARTED THE MOVE TOWARD

MAKING HIS STYLE OF WHISKEY

AND IT'S IDEALLY SUITED

IT FOR THAT GREAT WATER

SMALL SIZE

ISOLATED

UH, AND WHEN IT LOOKED LIKE

THE COMPANY WAS GOING

TO WORK AS A COMPANY

STARTED THE UH, THE RESTORATION

OF THE OLD 19th CENTURY PLANT

WHICH IS, WHICH HAS BEEN A

LOT OF FUN AND GOOD THERAPY

I THINK MAKING A GREAT WHISKEY

MAKING A DISTINCTIVE WHISKEY

IS NOT ANY DIFFERENT THAN

THAN, THAN UH, THAN DOING

ANYTHING ELSE THAT'S DISTINCTIVE

NUMBER ONE YOU HAVE... YOU HAVE

TO HAVE THE SELF-CONFIDENCE TO

TO FREE ALL THE

TRADITION BOUND BURDENS

AND YOU NEED TO WANT

TO DO IT REAL BAD

AND I THINK THAT'S WHAT REALLY

DISTINGUISHED MY FATHER

UH, FINANCIALLY HE DIDN'T

NEED TO DO ANY OF THIS STUFF

IT WAS, IT WAS AN

INCREDIBLE BURDEN

AND IT WAS AN AWESOME RISK

AND, AND IT WORKED

AND I REALLY DO BELIEVE THAT

BEFORE MY FATHER WENT OFF

TO THAT GREAT DISTILLERY

IN THE SKY

HE WANTED TO BE ABLE

TO GO WITH HIS HEAD UP

AND THAT MEANT CREATE

A BETTER WHISKEY

THAN ANYBODY IN THE

FAMILY HAD EVER DONE

SIGNIFICANTLY BETTER

AND I THINK HE'S DONE IT

BOURBON WHISKEY WAS RECOGNIZED

AS A DISTINCTLY AMERICAN PRODUCT

BY THE UNITED STATES

CONGRESS IN 1964

TO BE CALLED "BOURBON WHISKEY"

IT MUST BE MADE FROM A

MASH CONTAINING 51 % CORN

AND LESSER AMOUNTS OF

WHEAT, RYE AND BARLEY

ALONG WITH SOME YEAST

AND LIMESTONE WATER

BILL SAMUELS, SR.

ARRIVED AT HIS SPECIAL MIX

OF GRAINS BY BAKING BREAD

SEEMS HE DIDN'T WANT

TO WAIT SIX YEARS

FOR THE BOURBON TO AGE

SO HE TRIED OUT DIFFERENT

COMBINATIONS IN THE KITCHEN

RATHER THAN THE DISTILLERY

NOW KENTUCKY LIFE PAYS

TRIBUTE TO A SPECIAL LADY

FROM EAST BERNSTADT, KENTUCKY

WHO WAS KNOWN FAR AND

WIDE AS "THE GOURD LADY"

FROM THE GOURDS WHICH

CHANGED WITH EVERY SEASON

MINNIE BLACK SUMMONED UP

CREATURES, MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS

EVEN PEOPLE

INCLUDING A NUMBER

OF SELF PORTRAITS

A VETERAN OF THE TONIGHT SHOW

AND DAVID LETTERMAN

AS WELL AS KET

HERE NOW, IS THE

LATE MINNIE BLACK

I'VE BEEN CARVING GOURDS

AROUND 25 YEARS OR MAYBE MORE

I DON'T KNOW

I BEGAN TO... I

RAISED THE GOURDS

AND I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT

I WAS RAISING THEM FOR

AND I... 'CAUSE I JUST

LOVED TO WATCH THEM GROW

AND UH, MY GRANDCHILDREN LIKED

TO PLAY WITH THEM, YOU KNOW

AND THEY'D PLAY WITH THEM

AND THEN I BEGAN TO SEE

STRANGE THINGS IN GOURDS

THEY... THEY MADE SO MANY

DIFFERENT SHAPES AND SIZES

AND UH, THE VARIETIES UNTIL

IT REMINDS YOU OF SOME...

KIND OF A CREATURE,

MAYBE OR A BIRD

AND SO THAT WAY I GOT STARTED

I MADE THIS ONE FIRST

AND THAT DON'T... IT

LOOKS SOMETHING LIKE ME

IT RESEMBLES ME A LITTLE BIT

ALTHOUGH I THOUGHT I

LOOKED BETTER THAN THAT

AND I DIDN'T USE... THE

HAIR THAT I HAD CUT OFF

THE CURL... THE END...

MY HAIR YOU KNOW

I'D SAVE IT

AND I'D PUT THE LIGHTER

GRAY ON THE FIRST ONE

AND THEN DOWN THAT WAY YOU

NOTICE THEY'RE STILL DARKER

WELL, NOW... THEN I

MADE THIS ONE NEXT

AND THEN THAT ONE

SO I'LL TELL YOU

AND SHOW YOU HOW

THIS, THESE ARE MOLDED

ON A LITTLE GOURD

SEE THIS IS A LITTLE GOURD

AND I DID THIS WITH

A LITTLE TROWEL

IT'S JUST LIKE UH, A PAINTER'S

YOU KNOW, PALETTE LIKE

AND I, AND WHERE I

MOLDED THE NOSE

I'D TAKE MY FINGER, YOU KNOW

AND I... NOW THAT'S HARD TO DO

I HAVE A BOOK ON UH,

PREHISTORIC ANIMALS

AND THIS IS ONE

IT'S CALLED A "STEGOSAURUS"

SEE, I LIKE THIS DUDE

BECAUSE I DID TRY

PRETTY, PRETTY HARD

TO MAKE HIM EXACTLY

LIKE THE PICTURE

THIS IS ALL GOURD

YOU SEE NOW, LISTEN

HERE'S A GOURD

THIS ONE AND THIS ONE

THIS ONE HERE IS FROM

HERE DOWN TO...

YOU SEE, THERE'S WHERE

IT GREW ON THE VINE

WELL, THIS IS PIECES OF GOURDS

THEY'RE CHEWED OUT

WITH A LITTLE UTILITY KNIFE

AND HERE'S WHERE I USED MY

SCULPTURE MOLD, YOU SEE

I DUG OUT A LITTLE RIDGE IN

THERE AND STUCK THEM...

AND PUT THE SCULPTURE

MOLD ON EACH SIDE

AND THAT HARDENED

AND SEE HERE, I PUT...

WHERE YOU PUT THE EYES

I MADE HIS... AND EVEN HIT'S

GOT EYELASHES, YOU SEE

AND SOME I HAVE TEETH IN

BUT THIS ONE DON'T HAVE TEETH

AND THEN I USE UH, THE, THE

GOURD SEED FOR TOENAILS

I MADE ALL THESE

INSTRUMENTS MYSELF

I RAISED THE GOURDS

IN THE GARDEN

AND THEN MADE THEM

INTO THE INSTRUMENT

NOW THIS IS THE

INSTRUMENT I MOSTLY PLAY

IN OUR ENTERTAINMENTS

IT'S CALLED THE "TRIPLE DRUM"

NOW THIS IS MY LITTLE VIOLIN

OR SOME CALL IT A FIDDLE

COURSE THE OLD, THAT'S CALLED

THE OLD TIME WAY, YOU KNOW

FIDDLE

AND UH, THIS BOW

THE BOW IS MADE FROM HOR- THE,

THE HAIR OUT OF A HORSE'S TAIL

AND UH, COURSE YOU SEE HERE

I JUST MADE THIS UP TO

MAKE IT FUNNY LOOKING

(Playing violin)

IT'S NOT IN VERY GOOD TUNE

AND YOU KNOW WHEN I STARTED

RAISING GOURDS IS...

THEY'S SOME PEOPLE RAISES

THEM REAL LARGE

THEY CALL THE "NIGERIAN GIANT"

WELL, I WAS WANTING TO RAISE

ONE OF THOSE GOURDS SO BAD

THE IDEA CAME TO ME

TO DRAW MY PICTURE HERE

WITH THE GOURD, SEE

AND THIS IS WOODBURNING

THAT UH, OUTLINE IS WOODBURNING

AND THERE'S THE YEAR THAT

I, THAT I MADE THIS, SEE

AND HERE IS WHAT I SAID, THIS

LITTLE VERSE THAT I SAID

I SAID, "LET IT BE SAID

"AS I LIE IN MY CASKET

"SHE RAISED A GOURD

LARGE AS A BUSHEL BASKET"

AND HERE THEN, IS

THE YEAR I WAS BORN

AND THE DATE

AND ON THIS SIDE

I'M LEAVING THIS

FOR SOMEBODY ELSE TO DO

MINNIE WAS IN HER EARLY 90s

WHEN SHE MADE HER NETWORK

TELEVISION APPEARANCES

AND YOU CAN STILL

VIEW HER WORK TODAY

IN EAST BERNSTADT IN LAUREL

COUNTY AT MINNIE'S GOURD MUSEUM

A FORMER COUNTRY STORE

MORE THAN A HUNDRED YEARS AGO

EVENTS TOOK PLACE IN PIKE COUNTY

AND MINGO COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA

THAT WOULD LIVE FOREVER

IN THE PUBLIC IMAGINATION

TWO LOCAL FAMILIES BECAME

EMBROILED IN A FEUD

THAT ONCE TAKEN UP BY THE MEDIA

TOOK ON A LIFE OF ITS OWN

THAT WENT FAR BEYOND

THE ACTUAL EVENTS

THAT HAPPENED AT THE

CLOSE OF THE 19th CENTURY

THE NAMES ARE AS COLORFUL

AS THE EVENTS TRAGIC

WILLIAM ANDERSON

"DEVIL ANSE" HATFIELD

AND RANDOLPH "OLD RANNELL" McCOY

SOON TOURISTS EAGER TO

CONNECT WITH THE PAST

WILL BE ABLE TO LEARN ABOUT

THE FAMED HATFIELD-McCOY FEUD

WITH THE HELP OF A TOUR

DESIGNED BY OFFICIALS

IN PIKE AND MINGO COUNTIES

IT'S A CHAPTER IN THE HISTORY

OF THE STATE AND THE NATION

THAT CONTINUES TO FASCINATE US

THOUGH MANY BEAR THE

SCARS OF ITS LEGACY

IN THE LAST HALF OF

THE 19th CENTURY

THE TUG FORK OF THE

BIG SANDY RIVER

WHICH INCLUDED PARTS OF

KENTUCKY AND WEST VIRGINIA

LAY UNTOUCHED

HERE PEOPLE LIVED MUCH

LIKE THEIR ANCESTORS

HAD FOR GENERATIONS

THE ECONOMY AND DAILY

LIVES OF THESE PEOPLE

WERE ISOLATED FROM THE

FORCES OF MARKET CAPITALISM

THAT HAD BEEN TRANSFORMING

THE REST OF THE NATION

SINCE THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION

THIS WAS AND STILL IS THE HOME

OF THE HATFIELDS AND THE McCOYS

THEY WERE SUBSISTENCE FARMERS

WHO HAD LIVED PEACEFULLY

TOGETHER FOR MORE THAN 100 YEARS

BUT THEIR NAMES LIVE

IN AMERICAN FOLKLORE

UNDER THE STEREOTYPE OF

WARRING, LAWLESS MOUNTAINEERS

BASICALLY THE HARM THAT

WAS DONE, MOST OF ALL

WAS THE FACT THAT

WE WERE LABELED

UH, AND I MIGHT

EVEN SAY THAT UH

THAT THE GENERAL CONSENSUS WAS

THAT PEOPLE FROM

EASTERN KENTUCKY

WERE WORTHLESS AND

UH, NO-GOOD PEOPLE

UH, WOULDN'T WORK, LAZY

AND THAT KIND OF THING

THAT, THAT WAS THE

STEREOTYPE THAT HAS HARMED

NOT ONLY EASTERN KENTUCKY

IT HAS HARMED THE ENTIRE STATE

THE FEUD DIED OUT AROUND 1897

BUT LIVED ON IN CHEAP

NOVELS AND SILENT FILMS

BY ONE COUNT, MORE THAN

300 NICKELODEON FEATURES

ABOUT MOONSHINING AND FEUDING

WERE MADE BETWEEN 1910 AND 1916

THE STORY OF THE HATFIELD-McCOY

FEUD REMAINS ENDURINGLY POPULAR

IT'S PEPPERED WITH

ROMANCE, DANGER AND DEATH

ALL ELEMENTS FASCINATING ENOUGH

TO DRAW FEUD ENTHUSIASTS

TO PIKE COUNTY, KENTUCKY

AND MINGO COUNTY,

WEST VIRGINIA EVERY YEAR

IN RESPONSE, THE LEGEND

HAS INSPIRED OFFICIALS

OF BOTH STATES

TO CREATE A GUIDED TOUR

FOR THE CURIOUS WHO SEEK OUT THE

SITES WHERE BLOOD WAS SPILLED

DURING THE YEARS OF THE

FAMED HATFIELD-McCOY FEUD

Johnson:

DEVIL ANSE HATFIELD WAS ONE OF

THE MAIN CHARACTERS, OF COURSE

AND UH, RANDOLPH McCOY

THEY WERE THE TWO WHO

MORE ROMANTICIZED

THAN ANYONE ELSE AS THE

PERPETUATORS OF UH, THE UH, FEUD

AND OF COURSE ROSEANNA

AND JOHNSE

WERE UH, WERE VERY

FAVORITE UH, CHARACTERS

UH, THERE WAS ELLISON HATFIELD

OF COURSE ASA HARMON McCOY WAS

UH, WAS THE FIRST ONE KILLED

UH, FATALITY IN THAT

UH, AND UH, FRANK PHILLIPS

WAS UH, IN CHARGE OF

THE SOME OF THE POSSES

LEGALLY AND NON-LEGALLY

AS IT TURNED OUT

IN THE PUBLIC IMAGINATION

THE FEUD LASTED

HUNDREDS OF YEARS

HUNDREDS WERE KILLED

UNTRUE

BY MOST SCHOLARLY ACCOUNTS

IT LASTED BUT 12 YEARS

AND ONLY 12 PEOPLE DIED

AS A DIRECT RESULT

IT ALL STARTED, IT'S SAID

WITH THE DEATH OF HARMON McCOY

AT THE CLOSE OF THE CIVIL WAR

HE FOUGHT FOR THE UNION

AND MOST HATFIELDS

AND McCOYS ALIKE

SYMPATHIZED WITH THE REBELS

DETAILS OF HIS DEATH VARY

BUT APPARENTLY HE WAS FOUND DEAD

FOLLOWING WORDS WITH

THE LOCAL REBEL LEAD

13 YEARS LATER, A DISPUTE

AROSE OVER OWNERSHIP OF PIGS

BETWEEN RANNELL McCOY

AND FLOYD HATFIELD

A COUSIN OF HATFIELD

PATRIARCH, DEVIL ANSE

CONTRARY TO HOTHEADED

HILLBILLY STEREOTYPES

THE MATTER WAS DECIDED IN COURT

NOT WITH A RIFLE

BUT TESTIMONY IN THE TRIAL

DECIDED IN FAVOR

OF THE HATFIELDS

LEFT SOME McCOYS SEETHING

BILL STATEN WHO TESTIFIED FOR

THE HATFIELDS WOUND UP DEAD

AND HIS KILLERS ACQUITTED

ON GROUNDS OF SELF DEFENSE

THE HOG TRIAL MADE A SENSATION

AND UH, THAT ACCENTUATED THE

FLAVOR OF THE, OF THE FEUD

UH, SHORTLY AFTER THAT CAME

UH, BILL STATEN'S MURDER

UH, AND THEN AFTER THAT ROSEANNA

RAN AWAY WITH JOHNSE HATFIELD

ROMANCE ENTERS THE PICTURE

WHEN THE GOOD LOOKING SON

OF DEVIL ANSE HATFIELD

AND THE DEMURE DAUGHTER

OF RANNELL McCOY

FELL HEAD OVER HEELS IN

LOVE ON ELECTION DAY 1880

DEVIL ANSE WOULDN'T CONSENT

TO A MARRIAGE TO A McCOY

ANOTHER ELECTION DAY

BROUGHT MORE TROUBLE

DETAILS VARY

BUT WHEN THE SUN SET THAT DAY

ELLISON HATFIELD,

BROTHER OF DEVIL ANSE

HAD BEEN STABBED AND

SHOT AND LAY NEAR DEATH

HIS ACCUSED ASSAILANTS

WERE ARRESTED

ON THEIR WAY TO

JAIL IN PIKEVILLE

A POSSE LED BY

DEVIL ANSE HATFIELD

CAPTURED THE MEN

AND TOOK THEM TO A REMOTE

CABIN IN WEST VIRGINIA

HATFIELD TERRITORY

DEVIL ANSE'S SENTENCE

IF HIS BROTHER LIVED,

THE McCOYS WOULD LIVE

BUT ELLISON HATFIELD DID

NOT SURVIVE HIS INJURIES

AND WHAT FOLLOWED

WAS THE MOST FAMOUS AND

BLOODY ACTION OF THE FEUD

ANSE AND ABOUT 20 OTHERS

TOOK THE McCOY BOYS BACK

ACROSS THE RIVER TO KENTUCKY

TIED THEM TO SOME PAWPAW BUSHES

AND SHOT THEM IN COLD BLOOD.

INDICTMENTS WERE ISSUED

BUT NO ONE WAS ARRESTED

FIVE YEARS WENT BY

OLD RANNELL McCOY

DIDN'T TAKE UP ARMS

BUT SOUGHT JUSTICE

THROUGH LEGAL CHANNELS

HE REPEATEDLY PETITIONED

FOR THE KILLERS ARRESTS

THEN PERRY CLINE A DISTANT McCOY

RELATIVE AND PIKEVILLE LAWYER

PERSUADED THE GOVERNOR OF

KENTUCKY TO OFFER REWARDS

FOR DEVIL ANSE AND THE

OTHERS IN WEST VIRGINIA

CLINE HAD HIS OWN AX TO GRIND

YEARS BEFORE, HE HAD LOST

A DISPUTE WITH DEVIL ANSE

OVER A VALUABLE PIECE

OF PROPERTY

PERRY CLINE DECIDED THAT HE WAS

GOING TO GO TO THE GOVERNOR

AND ASK THE GOVERNOR IF HE WOULD

UH, ESCALATE THE WHOLE UH THING

IN ORDER TO QUIET IT

TO BRING IT ALL OUT AND, AND

TO TELL IT TO THE PAPERS

TO UH, GET EVERYBODY

EXCITED ABOUT IT

SO THAT WE COULD GET SOME ACTION

GET SOME UH, APPROPRIATE

MILITIA ACTION

AND FINALLY THEN TO

COME IN AND QUIET IT

THE STATE OF KENTUCKY BEGAN

EXTRADITION PROCEEDINGS

AND INDEED THE FEUD HEATED UP

PRIVATE DETECTIVES LIKE FRANK

PHILLIPS WENT INTO THE MOUNTAINS

DEVIL ANSE'S UNCLE WAS

KILLED IN WEST VIRGINIA

IN RETALIATION, THE

STATE OF WEST VIRGINIA

OFFERED REWARDS FOR

THE McCOY INVADERS

BUT THE HATFIELDS HAD

PLANNED THEIR OWN REVENGE

OLD RANNELL McCOY'S HOME

WAS BURNED TO THE GROUND

HIS WIFE WAS BEATEN

NEARLY TO DEATH

AND HIS DAUGHTER ALAFARE

SLAIN BRUTALLY IN THE SNOW

THIS CREATED A

NATIONAL SENSATION

RUMORS FLEW THAT WHOLE

COMMUNITIES WERE HARMED

BOTH STATES ANNOUNCED

PLANS TO SEND IN TROOPS

BUT WHEN EMISSARIES

RETURNED WITH THE NEWS

THAT ONLY A FEW FAMILIES

WERE INVOLVED

AND THE VALLEY WAS QUIET

THE PLANS WERE DROPPED

THE VIOLENCE MAY HAVE ENDED

BUT NEWSPAPER COVERAGE AND LEGAL

BATTLES HAD JUST HEATED UP

WEST VIRGINIA CLAIMED

KENTUCKY HAD IGNORED PROPER

EXTRADITION PROCEEDINGS

THE CASE CONTINUED

FOR SEVERAL MONTHS

AND WENT ALL THE WAY TO

THE U.S. SUPREME COURT

WEST VIRGINIA LOST

AND MURDER TRIALS ENSUED

IN SEPTEMBER 1889 EIGHT

HATFIELD SUPPORTERS WERE

SENTENCED TO LIFE IN PRISON

ELLISON MOUNTS CONVICTED

OF THE MURDER OF OLD RANNELL

McCOY'S DAUGHTER ALAFARE

WAS HANGED IN FEBRUARY 1890

WOULD DEVIL ANSE RIDE INTO

PIKEVILLE THIRSTY FOR REVENGE?

DESPITE RUMORS THERE WERE

NO FURTHER INCIDENTS

AFTER 12 YEARS AND 12 DEATHS

THE FEUD WAS FINALLY OVER

Johnson:

WE CAN'T LOOK AT ONE

ASPECT OF THE FEUD

WITHOUT LOOKING AT THE

OTHER ASPECT OF THE FEUD

THERE'S, THERE IS THE

LEGEND SIDE OF THE FEUD

WHICH IS A BEAUTIFUL STORY

AND CAN ENCOMPASS A

WONDERFUL LOVE STORY

UH, BUT THERE'S ALSO THE

LEGAL SIDE OF THE FEUD

AND UH, AND THAT'S KIND

OF A NICE STORY TOO

MAYBE NOT AS BEAUTIFUL BUT,

BUT IT'S UH, IT'S LOGICAL

THE PRESS PLAYED UP THE TRAGIC

ROMANCE OF ROSEANNA McCOY

AND JOHNSE HATFIELD

AS A ROMEO AND JULIET AFFAIR

ROSEANNA'S LIFE WAS A SAD ONE

AS SHE REFUSED JOHNSE'S REPEATED

REQUEST FOR HER HAND IN MARRIAGE

SHE LEFT HER HOME AND WENT

TO LIVE WITH AN AUNT

BUT SHE'S SAID TO HAVE

REMAINED TRUE TO HER LOVE

WHEN SHE HEARD THAT

HER BROTHERS, McCOYS

PLANNED TO AMBUSH JOHNSE

ARREST HIM FOR MOONSHINING

AND TAKE HIM TO JAIL

SHE RACED TO THE HATFIELD

HOME ON HORSEBACK

BY THE LIGHT OF THE

MOON TO WARN HIM

ROSEANNA BORE JOHNSE A

CHILD, SARAH ELIZABETH

THE LIFE OF THE INFANT

WAS CLAIMED, HOWEVER

WITHIN A FEW MONTHS OF BIRTH

DURING AN OUTBREAK OF MEASLES

HISTORIANS TODAY ARE EXAMINING

THE CAUSES OF THE FEUD

WHAT WAS HAPPENING

IN THE MOUNTAINS

HISTORIAN ALTINA WALLER

SPENT TEN YEARS WITH THE

HATFIELDS AND McCOYS

POURING OVER OLD COURT DOCUMENTS

AND HER BOOK FEUD IS CONSIDERED

THE REAL STORY BY MANY

CONTRARY TO POPULAR BELIEF

THE FEUD WASN'T SIMPLY AN

ESCALATION OF NORMAL BEHAVIOR

PEOPLE WERE SHOCKED

AND FRIGHTENED

MANY DIDN'T KNOW THEY

LIVED IN A PLACE

WHERE SUCH THINGS COULD HAPPEN

PRIMARILY THEY DID

BRING IT TO AN END

AND THEY HAVE INTERMARRIED MANY,

MANY TIMES SINCE THAT TIME

UH, THE POLITICAL STRUGGLES

ACTUALLY DID NOT, UH

INTERFERE WITH THE PROCESSES OF

OF THE PEOPLE WHO

WERE OUT IN THE COUNTY

UH, THEY WENT TO COURT

AND THEY GOT THINGS DONE

AND THEY WENT HOME AND WENT TO

BED THE SAME WAY THEY DID BEFORE

UH, AND THEIR NEIGHBORS WERE AS

FRIENDLY AS THEY WERE BEFORE

SO IT, IT DIDN'T

TAKE LONG REALLY

FOR IT TO ACTUALLY QUIET

UH, AND IN THIS DAY

YOU, YOU JUST REALLY DON'T HEAR

TOO MUCH ABOUT IT AT ALL

ALTHOUGH MANY PEOPLE OF THE

EASTERN KENTUCKY, VIRGINIA

AND WEST VIRGINIA MOUNTAINS

BLAME THE FEUD AND ITS

SENSATIONAL COVERAGE

FOR NEGATIVE STEREOTYPES

MANY ALSO RECOGNIZE ITS

VALUE IN PROMOTING TOURISM

TO ONE OF THE MOST

BEAUTIFUL PLACES ON EARTH

AND WHILE LEGEND MAY NEVER BE

FULLY SEPARATED FROM FACT

THIS UNIQUE PIECE

OF AMERICAN HISTORY

CAN SERVE AS A GATEWAY

TO THE MOUNTAINS

AND THE FASCINATING EVENTS

THAT TOOK PLACE LONG AGO

Johnson:

I THINK IT IS IMPORTANT TO

DOCUMENT UH, ALL OF THESE THINGS

BECAUSE WE ARE ACCUSED OF SO

MANY DIFFERENT THINGS FROM THIS

UH, IF IT INDEED HAD A LOT TO

DO WITH UH, ROSEANNA AND JOHNSE

THAT NEEDS TO BE DOCUMENTED

IT NEEDS TO BE FIRM AND SURE

BECAUSE WE'RE GOING TO BUILD A

TOURISM INDUSTRY ON THAT PACKAGE

AND WE'RE TRYING NOW TO DO THAT

THOUGH THE FEUD IS

MOST OFTEN CITED

AS THE SOURCE FOR

"HILLBILLY" STEREOTYPES

WHICH EMERGED IN BOOKS AND

MOVIES ABOUT THE REGION

OTHERS CREDIT TENNESSEE

WRITER MARY MURFREE

IN HER SHORT STORIES

PUBLISHED IN THE 1880s

SHE ESTABLISHED FICTIONAL

STOCK CHARACTERS

SUCH AS THE "DAISY MAE"

MOUNTAIN GIRL

THE "GRANNY" FIGURE AND

THE DOMINEERING PATRIARCH

WELL, OUR JOURNEY TONIGHT HAS

TAKEN US INTO KENTUCKY'S PAST

FROM THE FIRST SETTLERS WHO

TURNED THEIR CORN INTO WHISKEY

AND BEGAN A TRADITION

THAT CONTINUES TO DEFINE WHAT

IT MEANS TO BE A KENTUCKIAN

TRUE INDIVIDUALS LIKE MINNIE

BLACK WHO LIVED HER 97 YEARS

TO THE TUNE OF HER OWN DRUMMER

CREATING NEW OBJECTS

FROM NATURE'S OWN ART

THAT SHE GREW IN HER BACKYARD

AND THE TRAGIC DEATHS

AMONG TWO PROUD FAMILIES

THE HATFIELDS AND McCOYS

THEIR STORY CAPTIVATES US

BECAUSE OF ITS VIOLENCE

BUT FOR ILL OR FOR GOOD

THEIR HISTORY IS A PART OF

THE HISTORY OF ALL OF US

WHO CALL OURSELVES KENTUCKIANS

THAT'S OUR SHOW FOR THIS EVENING

YOU'LL WANT TO MAKE A NOTE

TO JOIN ME NEXT WEEK

WHEN WE VISIT A PAGE IN THE

KENTUCKY LIFE SONGBOOK

WE'LL MEET CRAIG PIERPONT

OF EDMONTON

WHO BLENDS HIS LOVE OF

MUSIC AND WOODWORKING

INTO THE PROFESSION OF

MAKING MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS

WE'LL CATCH A RISING STAR

GREG TURE, WHO HAS TAKEN

THE WORLD OF OPERA BY STORM

MEET A LOUISVILLE

BAND, UNION TREE

WHO IS MAKING A LEAP OF FAITH

IN THE RECORDING INDUSTRY

AND SAMPLE KENTUCKY'S

TRADITIONAL FOLK MUSIC

AT THE KENTUCKY STATE FAIR

I HOPE TO SEE YOU THEN

GOOD NIGHT

IF YOU'D LIKE MORE INFORMATION

ON ANY OF OUR STORIES TONIGHT

OR WANT TO HEAR MORE

ABOUT NEXT WEEK'S SHOW

CALL OUR VIEWER LINK LINE AT:

[TDD: 1-800-395-5388]

OR WRITE TO US AT:

[Closed captioning

by the KET Caption Center]

[was made possible by a grant]

[from the Honorable Order

of Kentucky Colonels]

[and in part by a grant from

The Lexington Lions Club]

[and a gift from the

Lloyd E. Rigler-Lawrence E.

Deutsch Foundation]