Holmes County Republican. [volume] (Millersburg, Holmes County, Ohio) 1856-1865, 1858-11-18
LETTERS FROM THEPE0PLEI..

LEIIERS. RS.FRUM IHEiPEUPLE.
Astosry Asts ~ q die underground R.ilroad.o =
TsMs 4Eatw Of NJ u Tribune. .sov 81 ,i's. IL
Sin: Take from History its long array
OF names, Of dates, and Of places, and il
would be So shotn IF Interest as 10 read
ike some fabulous legend. While the his
torian laboriously searches out, and care
fully sets up in their appropriate places,
these finger posts in the career Of iipdiyid-
uals and naiIohs, it falls to me rf,ea rs carefully
10 CONCEAL Them from dissertation, While
he may imm6ralizs names that are real, 1
am compelled To- glorify those only which
are fictitious. - The dictates Of humane ne.
eesshy force me into. false position. But
upon the great esspirotHng question Of fact
We occupy com,1S092 com,i1S9 ground. His pfsc;sion
may be greater, But his facts Cannot BE-
stronger: He deals with the dead past !;
I chronicle the living, breathing present.
If my story then, be lacking ID everything
deemed essential TO- legitimate history. d.
not cast Il aside as unworthy Of belief.
Be generous, too, in your estimate Of its
:i,eagreness, knowing the constraint under
which tits written. But the facts as stated,
not only without establishment but in
soire cases prutred of Incidents, someiilpes
romantic, sometimes shocking, Test their
siilguIarity might lead to dangerous iden;
r6caiionS are literally true. 81 n9''i- ~
Some months ngo, il matters not how
many, there, was living sulnewbn ir
i ginia a negro woman some
age, named Katy. She had
aecording to the religious code q =
BY ceremony which pledged. III -
each other .sduring their lives, =
avoidabiy separated" Katy "
Gus woman, and SO long as her husband
lived, was faithful to her marriage yq
notwithstanding thst sore temptations
violate it, held out BY her master, were u
ny Times set before her. These tempt
tions Increased in flerceness rs time roIle\
on, until resistance, implicated her unhapy
py husband; He was goaded to madne1f
by the tauhls, n d jibes, and threats Of
l.centious master. But resistance see
hopeless Punishment he knew would
low, yet be did resist, and forbid his
ardly owner,i touch lnswife. The VI
struck his poor chatteI with a club, al
the ehatte Instantly felled .lIim to Il
earth. Preventing the rape Of his wifl
according TO the plantation decalogue, was
''insoience," b It the most awful retfibuion
must follow this energetic assertion Of III
manhood. He was taken in font Of friis
own cabin, there hi hands and feet were
tied to four stakes driven into the ground
for the purpose, and his naked body ex-
posed To the LASH Fast and heavy the
bloedy thongs descended with remnrseIess
energy upon his qhivering back. His Gifa
and two children, shrieking with horros
the spectacle of husband and fathes
tured thus barbarou>ly at bis own a.,
fled weeping from the cabin. But the
plantation despot drove them back, and
compelled them to remain within hearing.
There they listened to the wild slirieks of
an awful agony they were powerless 10
mitigate, until nature gave way. The
strong man was crushed. Shrieks gave
way to groaus-his body ceased TO quiver
its upper half was nothing but a mass
of bleeding rawness, cut into awful slashes,
and most horrible to look at His hands
and feet were loosened, but he made no
sigu-theA poor creature had been beaten
insensibe. He was flung, like dead dog,
into his little eabin-no bed, no couch, Oh
ly dirt floor TO lie on. There without
physician. medicine, or nurse, he was left
alone with his wife. But Nursing, or medi-
cine, or physician availed nothing now
He died before daybrak1 literally whipped
to DEATH Though this was years and
years ago, yet Katy even now weeps like
a child when repeating the details of this
fiendish outrage. The poor lacerated bo-
dy was taken out and buried like a dog.
Nothing was said on the plantation or in
the neighborhond about this internal deed
-iione but blacks had witnessed il, and
they dare not demonstrate If the neigh
boring planters heard ofiit, they prudenily
made no inquiry. Negroes were insolent,
and must be punished, and like accident
might possibly occur with them, when
they should need thesame forbearance they
now p,acticed.. ihia t9.f-.o .'aa si "'''
This murder left Katy widow with two
children, both girls, of Ten and twelve years
old 1t also raised up in her determined
resolution to break away and be free, and
hereupon the latent energy Of her nature
came into powerful action. She knew that
money was indispensable, so she worked,
and toiled between tasks that her vrtuous
resistance caused her master to increase in
severity, and by Irafficing with the negroes
around she accumulated a small sum. But
it look twenty years TO do Sol! During
this long night Of darkness she had no hu-
man sympathy but her own unshaken de-
termination to be fre> Meanwhile her,
two girls, grow erge enough to be profit
aUIe as breeder bad been married to fe-
low Slaves on the same plantation. Each
had now three children. Katy saw with
grief these new impediments to liberty
springing up around her, but without the
power TO lsbvent It. She felt that she.
could easily provide for her own safety in
flight, but was resolved to leave neither
child ror granJchiId in bondage. She saw
Too, that these cumbrances were increas
ing in number, that ler master was beconl-
ing embarrassed in his finances, and that
some Of them must be sold to relieve him,
It. might be her own offspring who would
be thus taken. While they were united
was therefore the time for them to fy.-l
The flight agreed upon. preparation was
made, and a night selected. They knew
lIthat dogs might be put on their tail. To