The Strong-Amy feud; the Strong-Callahan feud.--Conditions during the eighties; official correspondence between Circuit Court Judge and the Governor.--The murder mills keep grinding.--The beginning of the Hargis-Cockrell-Marcum-Callahan vendetta.--Political contest cases create bad blood.--Hargis assumes office as county judge.--Callahan the sheriff of the county.--Trouble between Marcum and Judge Hargis.--The Cockrell brothers.--Murder of Ben Hargis by Tom Cockrell; killing of John Hargis.--The clans arm.--Dr. Cox assassinated at night while on a professional call.--Marcum informed that he was marked for assassination.--Laying plots for his death.--Mose Feltner, Marcum's friend in the enemy's camp.--Marcum gives out a dramatic statement of the many attempts made upon his life.--Murder of Jim Cockrell in broad daylight from the court house.--Escape of murderers.--Judge Hargis and Sheriff Callahan make no effort for their apprehension.--Marcum again warned of his coming assassination.--Murder of Marcum.--Escape of assassins.--The county judge and sheriff spectators of the murder.--Tragic incidents of the assassination.--Reign of terror at Jackson.--Schools and churches closed.--Public pressure forces investigation.--Troops place Jackson under martial law.--Capt. Ewen tells the story of Marcum's assassination and identifies the murderers.--Ewen threatened with death.--Burning of his home while troops are at Jackson.--Indictment of Judge Hargis, Sheriff Callahan, Curtis Jett, and Tom White for the murders of Jim Cockrell, Dr. Cox and Marcum.--Change of venue to other courts.--Determined prosecution.--Conviction of White and Jett for life.--Description of Jett.--Manufacture of fake alibis.--Confession of a witness convicted of swearing falsely for the defense.--Accuses high officials of Breathitt of intimidation.--Release of the convicted perjurer because of his confession.--Hargis and Callahan escape conviction.--Semblance of order finally restored in the county.--Murder of Judge Hargis by his son, Beach Hargis.--Details of the fratricide.--Caustic dissenting opinion of one of the judges of the Court of Appeals.--Conviction of Beach Hargis for life.--His release from prison.--Assassination of Ed. Callahan, the last of the feud leaders.--Details of the assassination.--Conviction of his assassins.--Comments. PREFACE The feudal wars of Kentucky have, in the past, found considerable publicity through newspapers. Unfortunately, many newspaper reporters dealing with this subject were either deprived of an opportunity to make a thorough investigation of the facts, or permitted their imagination to supply what they had failed to obtain. At any rate, the result was distortion of the truth and exaggeration. Exaggeration is not needed to make Kentucky's feudal wars of thrilling, intensely gripping interest to every reader.