The weekly North-Carolina standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 186?-1869, 1866-01-24
HORRIBLE TRAGEDY NEAR w1LMING-

ONE MAN WOUNDED Two LADIES SERIOUSLY
woUNDED-THE OUTRAGE CoMMTTTED BY
NEGROES. -
The Wilmington, N. c. papers of Friday
have accounts of a horrible tragedy perpe-
trated near that City by negroes on the
Night of Wednesday last. The Herald says {:
Sc" On Wednesday night, about II O'Clock, a
party of negroes came to the house of Mr..
Samuel Cannon, on the Sound, about five
miles from this place, after the family had all
F.. retired except Mrs. Pickett the wife of Mr..
Thomas S. Pickett, a brother-in-law of Mr..
Cannon, anu who, together with his family.
was staying at this house. and knocked at
the door, and in answer to her inquiry as to
who was there, they replied, friends and no
one to hurt you.' She then called upon her
husband, Mr.. Pickett, to go to the door,
which he Immediately did, but on opening
the door he was shot by some person or per-
sons outside, the ball entering the breast and
passing through his body out of his back
Mr. Cannon, who was aroused by the noise
of the firing, jumped out of bed and got as
far as the door, and seeing a negro in the
yard who called to him and told him he had
better get back, or he would shoot him, he
accordingly turned back and ran out of the
back door, and went over to one OF the neigh
boring houses and got the gentlemen at
whose house he reached to go back with him
and assist him in arresting the parties but ar
irving back to Mr. Cannon's house, the ne
groes were no where to be seen. In the
meantime, while Mr.. Cannon was gone, and
after Mr.. Pickett was shot, two negroes en-
tered the house, one of them armed with
large holster pistol, and the other with an
axe, and cried out, kill herr kill her 7 (AlTs.
Pickett whereupon she pleaded for her life,
and told them to take what they wanted and
leave, bnt insteadof doing so, they approach-
ed Mr.. Pickett's daughter, Caroline, and one
of them struck her over the head with shot
gun, which was in the house, belonging to
Mr.. Pickett. which inflicted severe wound
in her head, cutting cash about three or
four inches long. Miss Carter, Mr.. Picketts
step-daughter, was also seriously woundedin
the head from blow inflicted by a pistol.
Mrs. Cannon was shot at several times, but
made her escape by crawling under the house
and remaining there until these inhuman
wretches had gone. Coroner Wood yester-
day went down to the place and called jul
y anu tu iiiiuCS1 ONCi siiO oOuy VI Vii
Pickett The jury returned a verdict, '"That
the deceased, Thomas S. Pickett, came to his
death by shot wound, inflicted by some
person or persons to the jury unknown"
No arrests have asyet been made, although
suspicion points strongly to certain parties
of negro soldiers as having been implicated
in the affair.
The Journal says:
preference to this outrageous murder of
one of our most respectable citizens, it is pro
per to remark that the murderers were ne
groes, but there is no certainty whether they
belonged to the army or not. We are as
sured that the military authorities will CO.
operate with the coroner of the county, John
c. Wood ESQ.,, in ferreting out the perpetra-
tors of this blood-thirsty homicide.
We understand that Miss Carter, a daugh-
ter-in-law of Mr.. Pickett, was struck on the
head with gun The daughter Of Mr.,
Pickett also received severe wound on the
head in similar manner The wounds of
these two ladies may not prove fatal, still
they are considered dangerous.
The murderers should be brought to jus.
tice, if it is possible to ferret them out.