CATES, Amos - (from The Fayetteville Daily, Monday] A shocking accident occurred between 5 and 6 o’clock p.m. Saturday near West Fork which resulted in the instant death of Amos Cates and his horse and the serious injury of J.C. Custer. They had been to West Fork and were on their way home. When about a mile from the town a dead tree, 18 inches in diameter, that had been burned partly in two near the ground, was blown down and fell across the road, striking Cates squarely on the head, crushing him and his horse to the ground and killing both instantly. Custer was knocked from his horse, his arm was broken and he was bruised in other ways. His horse was slightly injured. He was unconscious for a time and remained lying on the ground. When he had partially recovered he walked home in an addled condition and a physician was summoned to dress his wounds. He did not know that Cates was dead or what had become of him. A search was instituted and the unfortunate man was found lying under the weight of a large tree, his body, as well as that of his horse, being terribly crushed. His saddle was broken into many pieces and it is not probable that he ever realized what was befalling him. Custer was riding on the upper side of the road, the side on which the tree stood, and he regards it as a miracle that he escaped with his life for they were riding side by side. His horse was skittish and it may be that the animal jumped forward when he heard the crack as the tree started to fall. The tree had no limbs on the part which struck Cates and it is said he would have escaped death had he been a foot either way from where he was. Amos Cates was a son of Henry Cates and was born and reared in the Moffit neighborhood. He was quiet, unassuming man and a law-abiding citizen. He leaves a wife and several small children who were dependent upon his labor for a living. His body was interred in the Phillips graveyard today. [The Springdale News 11/17/1911]