Kate’s Notes: Although this news clipping came from an Illinois paper the story concerns an event in Florida, so this transcript has been placed in the Florida files. Any additional information about this event or the John Gillilan mentioned below would be welcome.

From The Daily Republican, Decatur, Illinois
Saturday, March 7, 1896

REFUSED TO BE REGULATED
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Uses a Winchester and Succeeds in Killing and Wounding Nine Assailants.

PLANT CITY, Fla., March 7. -- Bowen Sykes lives in the Peru neighborhood, Hillsboro county. For some reasons he incurred the enmity of his neighbors. They warned him to leave under penalty of death. He refused. Fifteen of them masked broke into his house. He prepared for them and fired rapidly with his Winchester, bringing down John and Alnozo Barnes, John Gillilan and Denis [Driggors], all fatally wounded. The remainder of the crowd fled. Sykes continued to fire at them as long as they were in range. He succeeded in wounding six more. Sykes says he has done nothing to be regulated for and proposes to remain in the neighborhood if he has to kill every man in it.