The Ebensburg Alleghanian. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1865-1871, 1866-05-17
The RecOnsfructed.

The President, the Copperheads, small
fraction of Republicans, aud the most
virulent of the lately rebellious South, are
all very anxious that the Southern States
should be put in all respects upon ac equal
footing with Pennsylvania, Illinois, New
York and Ohio. One would think, to hear
Johnsonian plead for his rebel friends,
that the whole South had been converted
to truth and fairdealing, was on her knees
IN sack cloth and ashes, and praying to
have blotted from remem5rance the bloody
record of her folly and crime. But how
different the truth. During the war, she
piously insfgated the complete burning
of New York city, and her friends reveled
for days in shooting MANNED men and
defenceless women and wrapping in flames
an orphan asylum filed with children,
| and now that the war has ended she has
the same spirit still. When the work of
devastation, blood and death began in
New York, the telegraph wires flashed
over the entire North that Negro riot
was in progress when the like carnival
was enacting in Jamaica last October, and
bands of soldiers were hunting and shoot
ing unarmed men and women as they
would wild beasts, the same wires flashed
the same news, and we were lectured by
the Copperhead press on the horrors of
Negro equality. So, now, when the re-
constructed seek amusement in indiscrim-
mate slaughter of freedmen, we are
gravely informed of great Negro riot.
Perhaps this fashion of killing "niggers"
Is one of the domestic affairs for she
irresponsible and unlimited control of
which the South fought SO valiantly.-
These reconstructed used to busy them
selves shooting Union soldiers. That
sport being over, they seek amusement in
shooting the freedmen For two days,
the first and second of the present month,
great portion of the city of Memphis
was under the control of rioters, whose
chief delight consisted in shootin 9, some
times to wounding, sometimes TO death,
into breaking into houses, and in burning
school buildings and churches. Fhe
following specimens we take from New
York paper: -,
"The riot was kept up all Wednesday night
Crowds OF armed citizens were gathered at
the corners. Many were half drunk. The
great feat of the roughs was the burning of
the colored school houses, churches and
homes. They seem to have acted in concert
and to have carried out programme which
had been previously arranged. This is shown
by the clean sweep which was made of every
building used for coIored school or place of
worship by the colored people, but. most
strongly by the conduct of the rioters on the
burning of the Collins Chapel This colored
church stood on Washington St, and cost
$1,000"
cloud and repeated threats were made by
the rioters that when they had destroyed the
colored school houses they would kiln the
teachers. The threats were so violent. and
the rioters having shown themselves capable
of any brutality, it was deemed prudent that
tt ey should go North. They all left for Cairo
on the st. Louis packet. Many of the officers
on duty here sent their wives away with these
ladies'" ..,-'
"a house near Mr.. Rankin's school-house,
which was burnt on Tdes1 lay, was fred
during the night. A colored girl, II years
of age, named Rachei Hatchell, who had been
scholar Of Mr.. Rankin's, was sick in this
house, and on running out was knocked down,
shot, and thrown into the fire. Her body lay
In the ashes yesterday morning, burnt to a
crisp, excepting her head and shoulders
Some one had kindly thrown shawl over
this horrid spectacle"
"Robert Jones (coloredl had just come in
from the country, and was standing on the
corner of Beal and Causey sts., in the fore
noon. A man, appearing to be policeman,
took his pistol and S29 in money, and as he
turned to leave, thrust knife into his back
under the shoulder blade. Another, standing
by, known to be policeman, made no arrest
of the robber."
ga negro was shot in the knee, near the
corner of Howard's row and the levee. This
was done by we'll known individual for the
sake Of amusement, and was laughed at by the
citizens who saw it,
ga large number of houses in South Mem
phis, occupied by the blacks, and some in
other parts of the city, were burned. No
effort was made to stay the flames. In one
| case, four negroes were fastened up in house
ard the house set on fire."
ga colored man on Alabama ST. informs is
that his house was broken into and about two
hundred dollars in money taken, and he
beaten over the head; and the same party
broke into his neighbor's house, killed him,
locked the vile and children in the house, set
it on fire and burned it down"