Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1863-03-27
The COIunabus CEEeniUekY) Tragedy -
Terrible Risaf with a Maniac.

! Correspondence of the Cincinnati Gazette
/ COLUMBUS, KY. Msrch TO- Before this
reaches you I suppose you will have had differ
ent accounts Of tho tragedy here, but as was
an eyewitness 20 the greater portion OF 1t, send
YOU version of my own experience and what
! I saw of IT, At tho Columbus house, yesterday
morning, between 4 and 5 o'clock, was swak-
ened from my sleep by the door opening from
one of tho rooaas into the hall where I was
obliged to sleep, as the rooms had been al taken
previous 20 nv arrival as the house. a man
advanced to my bedside and placed his hand
upon me, but, expecting mischief was pre-
pared for him, aud presented revolver to his
face snd told him, in signihcant way, that " If
he moved I would blow his brains out" He
strsightened himself back and l drew myself
back toward the head of the bed and got
up, still keeping nay revolver upon him.
stepped back a few steps and knocked ct the
landlords door and called him, supposing, up 20
| that time, be was drunk end intended to rob
me- The landlord soon made his spPesreHes
and stepped a htle to the front OF ne
at my left. The man, who, during al
this time stood apparently with clenched fists,
/ and drawn up to his full height, spTang toward
US, and we lodged into bis room, where the
i landlady aud two children were sleeping. The
curtains being drawn, l could not distinguish
! one from the other, in the scuffis which then
ensusd between the landlord and the stranger,
and passed out of an opposite door to another
! hsll then through 3 passage which led to
| third hall, when l opened the room Of 8 friend
by the name Of Tslman, and told him 10 get up,
/ as the landlord was having fight, and that l
wanted g light On hearing the screams of
woman, who cried murder, at the top of her
| voice. ran back to assist, when I met two men
in the second hall, IN front Of the landlords
room. Here 1 got better view Of the mystic
rious person who wss SO bent on mischief By
the aid of dim light, burning in the hall.
He was a tall, sthletc, laTge-boned man, so
nervous IN ms step that readily knew him to
be my foe, and on seeing me again. In very ex-
cited, strange speech, he said, " Here he is,
and spraug toward me- again, with q weapon in
his hand, which faneied long knife
I retrseed my steps as fast as possible, and
as got into the hall from the narrow passage
that led to the hall which had Just LEFT, turned
and gave him shot, when he groaned out,
"Oh,' and 1 knew / had hit him.
In turning to 60 ahead again I slipped, and
the fellow being under such hesdWsy, passed
by me and [ gave him the second shot when
quite nesr, me before rising to my feet, after
which / fred the third Just as he was going
down stairs ct the end Of the baH
/ then passed into TaIman's room and imme-
diately l heard TIVE pistol shots out in the hal
Hearing this and the continuous groans aud
screams Of the wounded who had come in CON
tact with this fend, went back again and
passed into the hall where had slept.
While dressing myself heard the guard be-
low, who soon made their appearance up stairs,
and found the man near the head of the stairs
with large sized pocket-knife in his hand, who
stood in defiance Of them al.
He stood like giant armed, and frothed at
the mouth ike a madman, as he was.
BE met their steel and pressed the whole
guard back TO the ether end Of the hsil, where
be was shot three time and a bayonet run
through him and broken off, aud still he fought
them. He bad wounded two of the guard with
his knife when another bayonet pinDed him to
the floor, which soon put an end 10 this terrible
man.
On investigation it was found that the land
lord and landlady, Mr. and Mrs. Casey were
both very severely cut mp, and are in a very
dangerous condition. Mrs. Casey was cut in
about forty places. Besides those, who were
the most dangerously wounded were Dr. Resse
Kendall. surgeon Of the ID Illinois cavalry,
wounded IN the abdomen, and lieutenant Of
the SD Indiana shot twice in the back by a re-
volver-ons shot taking effect, it is thought, IN
the lungs. Mrs SimOns, formerly landlady of
the house, received slight wound while st-
tempting TO enter the room of Mrs. Casey.
Three or four rooms were entered by the as
sassin or asssssins, ard some were stabbed in
bed
On account Of the exoitament aud number
leaving the hotel that morning, the number and
names Of the wounded could not &c obtained,
but there were at least dozen who felt the as
sRssin's steel.
Two ladies made their escape by junping
from their windows, which, perhaps, hastened
toe guards to the rescue Of the houss. A jury
was called to hear testimony, and to decide the
case, and rendered verdict Of insanity But
there is great suspicion that more than one was |
engaged Ia the feudish work, which scans
quite certain if we credit the report of one man,
who says he saw 3 man, with 2 knife in his |
hand pass down she back stairs; as the man
who pursued me ran down the front stairs
The whole work was done in about five min
utes, which, seems not very credible to
have been done by one man n so short time. /
The man the guards killed was named Jepths |
T. Rogers, and lived in Dresden, Weakley |
county, Tennessee. He was slaveowner, and /
was here hunting niggers" There has been |
talk here about the cause Of his inssnty- but if
he is brother of Ham," as the Bible declares /
Jepths 10 be, wouldn't tire keeping of his |
nephews in bondage be 4 sufficient cause
There are great number Of seessh looking 1
men hsre, and are coming in daily. Many Of /
them are drinking loafsrs, of the roughest cast,
and infest all the doggeries of the town This, |
together with the mud, which is knee-deep any |
where, makes Colambus very dissgseeable /
place for nervous people A. j WHITE.