THE MITCHELL-TRUITT FEUD

In the late 1860s, a pioneer family, the Truitts, were in trouble after one of their horses had died near Comanche Peak, Texas. They were isolated and starving.  As luck would have it, a kindly man, Cooney Mitchell, and his family took them in and saved their lives.

           THE KINDLY MITCHELLS BECAME THE TRUITT’S PROTECTORS

 The Mitchell’s provided Perminter Truitt and his family food and shelter. When Truitt decided to remain in the area, Mitchell permitted them to settle in Mitchell Bend and loaned them money to purchase a 50-acre parcel of his land. The Mitchell family assisted the Truitts in building their cabin and smokehouse. They arranged for them to work off payment of the land. Cooney even purchased a suit and bible so that one of Truitt’s sons, Jim, could become a preacher.

       THE TRUITTS TURN ON THE MITCHELLS

There is an old saying that goes, “A good deed never goes unpunished” and in this case, nothing could be closer to the truth. After everything the Mitchell’s had done to help the Truitts, they turned on them like dogs. Once the Truitts had become established, they became cocky and dismissed all the good will the Mitchells had shown them. They became resentful when Cooney reminded them how he had saved their lives, as they wanted to forget their humble beginnings in Texas. The Truitts then started a vicious dispute in 1874 over property that adjoined their lands. The quarrel ended up in court with the Truitts winning the case.

         A VIOLENT CONFLICT BREAKS OUT BETWEEN THE TWO FAMILIES

On the ride back from court, a violent conflict broke out between the Mitchell and Truitt boys. Truitt’s teenage son Issac fired a shot during the argument at Bill Mitchell. The Mitchell boys quickly returned the fire. When the smoke had cleared two of the Truitt brothers were dead and one was wounded.

          BASED ON TRUITT TESTIMONY, COONEY MITCHELL IS HUNG

Cooney was not armed during the confrontation. One of the Truitt ‘s sons, Reverend James, testified against the older Mitchell and dramatically enhanced Cooney’s role in the shooting. Bill Mitchell, who had been involved in the killings, assumed a jury would believe the Reverend over them, believing him to be a man of the bible. Not taking a chance he fled to the Texas-New Mexico border and lived under aliases.

Cooney expected to be fairly treated by his peers. However, once he heard the Reverend lying about what had transpired, he realized Bill was right. The juror bought every word the Reverend spoke in court. This resulted in 79-year-old Cooney Mitchell being convicted as an accomplice and sentenced to be hung. Days before his execution his nineteen-year-old son Jeff tried to speak to his father in jail and was shot dead by a jail guard.

His October 1, 1875, hanging was the only legal public execution in the history of Hood County, Texas.

                      COONEY PROMISES HIS DEATH WILL BE AVENGED

Before he died, Mitchell swore his son Bill would avenge his death. The Truitts were so terrified of Bill Mitchell killing them that they dispersed across the state and broke off contact with each other.

                  BILL MITCHELL MAKES GOOD TO AVENGE HIS FATHER

Bill returned nine years later and found James Truitt. He had since given up being a reverend and became a newspaper man. Bill walked into Truitt’s home and shot him once in the head, finally avenging his father’s death.

                    THE LAW FINALLY CATCHES UP WITH BILL MITCHELL

Twenty years later, the law picked up Bill’s trail. He was sentenced to life imprisonment for the 1874 murders of the two Truitt brothers as well as the more recent murder of Jim Truitt. After two years at the State penitentiary, he escaped. He spent the rest of his life moving around under numerous aliases before dying in 1928 of natural causes.