The Shasta courier., 1867-09-28
A Revolving Story of inhumanity.

In February last, Abram jenkins, a Ju>.
tice of the Peace, and George H. Mitchell,
took girl named Phillis Rufin from !,
school house near liarmon's Cross Roads in
Norta Carolina. and conveyed her to piece
of woods where they inflicted one hundred
and twentysix lashes upon her. They were
| tried before military court at Plymouth.
n. c., in June, and sentenced, jenkins To
hard labor for one month and fined twenty
dollars, Mitchell to hard labor for three
months and fined seventy five dollars. Gen.
eral sickles. in approving the sentence,
says:
1T appears that the daughter cf one Of
the prisoners, having attempted to beat n
young colored girl, met with resistance.
which became successful and resulted in
the chastisement of the white by the black.
This unlocked for reversal of a long accus-
toned relation filled the neighborhood with
CONSERVATION and rage. Couriers passed to
and fro from farm to farm, infiaming the
temper OF the people, and concerting meas
ures to produce terror among the negroes.-
A meeting of citizens was convened at a
school house near the residence of the par.
ties. The accused was among those assem-
bled. The magistrate jenkins was invited
so. Phillis, the young freed woman. was
sent for Dragged before this self.consti.
tuted conclave of angry men, whom she had
been accustomed from infancy to call masters,
some of whom she now heard urging her in
carceration, while one swore she would be
hung and all agreed that she must he i'm.
prisoned or whipped, the frightened girl ex
claimed that she would be rather whipped
| ha 10 Ian t.,ta he
preston of the assent, which they desired
Some sort OF writing was drawn up. called
an indenture, 10y which PhilIis, having
signed it, was made to bind herself as an
apprentice to one Mrs. Harmon, who the
upon consented that her so-called ward
| should be fogged.
Quite enough was thought to have been
then conceded to the mockery of legal for
malities, and the impatient assemblage, con.
sisting of all the prisoners who have been
convicted, except the magistrate, hastened
to execute the penalty awarded. PhilIis
was conducted into an adjacent wood,
where, at spot some sixty yards remote
| from any road, she was halted and told to
take down her dress. She not obeying with
alacritv, one of the prisoners snatched it of
her shoulders. Stripped to her waist, ex
eept of her CT emise, she was then whipped
| by FIVE of these men in succession, bv whom,
according to the testimony uf one of them,
one hundred and twenty six lashes were in
ficted upon her half naked body. with rods
three feet long and oLe.haIf to three sights
of an inch thick. Her garment wa, cut
through and through blood ran from the
wales raised on her lacerated back ; one
cash in her flesh, three days after showed
| four inches in length the heavy blows fell
upon her person at random she was push
| ed she was pulled she was kicked in the
abdomen till at last it seems that one of
the accused. an applauding bystander, not
utterly insensble to the sufferings and sex
of the wretched victim, was so far touched
hv the spectacle Of her torture that the cry
was wrung from him. Boys. don't hurt
her hreastl'
Having satiated their savage vengeance.
her tormeutors, fatigued by their exertons,
withdrew not. however, without consider
ing the proposal Of one of their number to
return and give her ten more lashes each, to
stop her screaming. Finally. the poor child,
wounding and groaring. was permitted to
make her way to the house of her mistress.
where for DAYS she suffered, scarcely able to
crawl to her unremitted task. or even to wear
her ciothes without pain. In the revolving
crime thus briefly GU lined, all Of these
prisoners are shown to be eager participants.
In the interest of outra ged jus ice. it is to be
deplored that the perpetrators have been
adiudged to undergo punishmpnts so made
auate to the enormitv Of the offen>e.