July 27, 1871, proved to be a tragic day in the small Wayne County community of Lowndes. Lowndes is on Castor River near the Bollinger County line. Richard D. Cowan established the first settlement in the area in 1817, in the township that would bear his name. The village received a post office due to the efforts of Representative Lowndes H. Davis, and grateful residents named the town for him. After the Civil War, the town attracted several businesses, including a large sawmill under the proprietorship of Capt. John Whybark. The mill employed many local residents, including a large number employed as teamsters.
Capt. Whybark employed a man to herd the teamster’s cattle in a nearby pasture. However, on this particular evening one ox belonging to a teamster named George Huddleson escaped. The animal eluded the herdsman and entered a nearby cornfield belonging to William Epply, another teamster who lived close by. This was not the first time the ox eluded the herder and visited the corn field. After the initial instance, Epply had threatened to kill both the ox and Huddleson if it happened again. Huddleson had offered to make good the damage, but Epply indignantly refused.
Epply discovered the ox eating his corn, then went to the house where Huddleson lived with his father. He called out Huddleson and began to curse him about the ox breaking into his field. Huddleson yelled back and a quarrel ensued. As tempers rose, Epply drew a large knife and threatened to kill his co-worker. Huddleson ran into the house and returned with a loaded revolver.
In the meantime, Epply responded in kind, running to his home nearby and also retrieving a revolver. The two met and immediately began firing. Epply shot Huddleson twice in the left leg, fracturing the bone in two places, both above and below the knee. Huddleson’s second shot hit Epply in the body and he fell dead. Huddleson was immediately arrested and placed under guard. In the aftermath, Epply’s friends were so enraged that they threatened to lynch Huddleson, but eight guards and officers were able to prevent further violence.
Bystanders fetched Dr. Henry Flentze to treat Huddleson’s wounds. He carefully dressed the injuries but pronounced the wounds to be severe and doubted that Huddleson would recover. Local residents deplored the events, because both men were steady, hard-working men. Huddleson was single, but Epply tragically left a widow and three children.
The state quickly returned a murder charge against Huddleson. Court proceedings began on July 31 before Justices Fleutze and Lucas. Attorneys Robert Sullivan of Bollinger County and Captain Powers of Coldwater, Wayne County, appeared on behalf of the state. Huddleson’s defense attorneys were H. Barrett of Marble Hill and J. E. Willis of Greenville. Huddleson’s examination concluded on August 2, and resulted in his acquittal, with a verdict of “Justifiable Homicide” from the Court. By that time, the initial assessment that Huddleson would die of his wounds proved in error, and he was on the mend.
One newspaper account ended with an observation on the ox that caused the incident. “The bovine individual, on whose account one life was lost, and another rendered almost a burden, is quietly grazing on the canebrakes, awaiting the recovery of his heroic master. Whether or not he regrets the terrible act occasioned by his greediness is not known.”
