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Note: N515 Penn Thomas owned a large amount of property. It appears he may have been a store merchant. He died without a will.
Penn Thomas was shot and killed July 6, 1878. The following is an article printed in the Arkansas Gazette, July 9, 1878. "YOU'RE A LIAR" Which Remark Caused the Death of H.P. Thomas, Who Was Fatally Shot By "Bucksnort" Thomas, for Making the Above Assertion. About daylight Sunday morning Coroner Woolford was notified that a murder had been committed near Flynn's Mill, on the Little Rock and Sheridan Road. Mr. Woolford at once proceeded to the scene, and found that H. P. Thomas had been shot and killed by a man named Henry Thomas, better known as "Bucksnort" Thomas. He at once impaneled a jury, and held an inquest at Flynn's Mill, where the body had been conveyed, and the following evidence in substance was elicited. W. J. Smith. Live in Saline County: found the body of H. P. Thomas lying in the road; met Henry Thomas and others; said, "Henry Thomas, you have killed H. P. Thomas;" he replied, "I don't know whether I killed him or not, I am going back to see;" he was about one-half mile from the body and was coming towards it; the killing occurred on Saturday evening, July 6, about 6 o'clock, in Union township. J. T. Webb. Reside in Pulaski County; on the evening of July 6th myself and H. P. Thomas, deceased, were riding along about one-fourth of a mile from Flynn's Mill, on the Little Rock and Sheridan Road; we came up with or after Henry Thomas; we stopped and some conversation took place between deceased and Henry Thomas; the latter told H. P. Thomas that he had started out to kill his wife a squirrel; deceased asked him if his wife was sick; was answered in the affirmative; Henry Thomas was on foot and H. P. Thomas on his horse; Henry Thomas remarked that he (deceased) had been abusing his (Henry T.'s) son, and had also called his wife a liar; about this time deceased called Henry Thomas a liar; the latter then raised his weapon (a double-barreled shot-gun) and fired two shots in quick succession; H. P. Thomas started to ride off and offered no resistance; saw no arms about him; after the second shot was fired he come near falling off his horse; I pulled him on again; I was beside him when the first shot was fired; told him to try and stay on until we got home; he said, "I can not get home--he has killed me;" he then fell from his horse; I then got off my horse and saw that he was dying;..left for Flynn's which is about one-fourth of a mile from the place of shooting; saw Henry Thomas about one hundred yards from me while I was down looking at the body, loading his gun; think his face was in my direction; I was excited; I am the son-in-law of deceased; when we first met Henry Thomas, deceased asked to drink with us, which he did; appeared to be friendly; deceased had been drinking some in town; heard Henry Thomas say to deceased that John Thomas was a credit to the rest of his sons-in-law; deceased then called Henry a liar; the latter then stepped back a short distance and fired. J. C. Pinkerton: Reside in Pulaski County; between 6 and 7 o'clock, on the evening of July 6, John Webb called at my place, some two miles from where the killing took place, and asked me to come up to where H. P. Thomas was killed; went, and on the way fell in with three or four other persons - H. Chandler, John Thomas and Geo. Dreer; we met Henry Thomas between Ches. Smith's and Sam Cockman's; when we were within about twenty feet of him he dropped to his knees and cocked his gun, a double-barreled, and ordered a halt, I suppose, of the whole party; his son John, being one of the party, asked, "Pa, what is the matter?" and Henry Thomas answered, "Nothing;" John then said, "If there's nothing the matter let down the hammers;" the gun was pointing towards the party; he let down the hammers; some one remarked to him that he had killed Pen. Thomas; he replied, "Kill, hell kill a man with squirrel shot;" we then started on towards the body and he (Henry Thomas) asked to ride; I furnished him a mule, and he rode with us as far as Lapphard's field and went toward his home; never went to the body; heard him say he shot with intent to kill; he handed me the gun when he got on the mule; asked me to hold it; told me that he intended to give himself up, and expected to wear striped clothes the rest of his life. Several other witnesses were examined, but their evidence added nothing to the foregoing. Dr. E. G. Hale, who made the post mortem, testified that the femoral artery in the right hip was severed, which would cause death in three minutes. He also testified that the wad was found in the wound in the shoulder. The jury found that the deceased came to his death from wounds caused by the discharge of a gun in the hands of Henry Thomas. There is said to have been bad blood between the parties, growing out of family quarrels, a son of Henry Thomas in having married a daughter of deceased. The latest information is to the effect that Henry Thomas has not yet been arrested. The following is an article printed in The Arkansas Gazette November 2, 1879: "BUCKSNORT" THOMAS, the man who murdered a man named Thomas - but to whom he was only murderously related - in Union township, nearly two years ago, is still at large, and the chances of his capture are, by no means, encouraging to those who have respect for law and order. The murder was a very brutal one. "Bucksnort" meeting his victim, took a drink with him and then killed him with a shotgun. "Bucksnort" is a very dangerous man. He is fearlessly when aroused, and as unprincipled as fearless. Sheriff McCabe has one of his best deputies in Union township with instructions to watch particularly for "Bucksnort". But despite this, the murderer, it is said, slips in occasionally. He has several friends living in the neighborhood who would not "give him away", and even a great many who are not his friends, are afraid to speak of his visits when there is any danger of capture. The murderer would have been captured but for several "good citizens" who harbored him. Thee "good citizens" should be drawn to account for their lawlessness. Every man who commits a murder should be hung, and those who assist him to escape should be regarded as criminals.
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