Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1868-07-10

OFFICIAL REPORT OF LIEUTENANT D.
STILES, UNITED STATES ARMY.

AN abstract of the report of the officer
directed by Major General Reynolds, COM
manding, to investigate and report in re-
gard to the alleged outrages of the Klu-
Klux Klan in Texas, is as follows: con
the Goth of May l proceeded to Waco,
| McLernan county, and there found Mr..
Benjamin Crouch, Mrs. Crouch, his wife,
and Mrs Dial, a widow. Mr.. Crouch in
formed me, under oath, that on or about
the night of April Is, 1868, the mob-or
the Klu-Klux, as they are called in Bell
county-came into his house, and forced
his wife to open the door. Three men
VIM. Eritt, VIM. Pruitt, and Joseph webb
searched the premises. They presented
their pistols in Mr.. Crouch's face, and
threatened to shoot him if he ever fed or
harbored any of his friends, many of
whom were lying out in fear of the mob.
After ordering Mr. Crouch to leave the
county they left the house, and Joined a
band of dozen men who waited outside
Fearing violence Mr.. Crouch left his house
and moved to McLernan county. He
| afterward returned to his place for the
purpose of getting his stock and some cot
ton he had left in his fight, but could find
| nothing. He was informed that the prop
erty was taken possession of by the mob.
| The Lee brOthers-brothers-in law to Mr..
Crouch-were lying out at the time, and
thus escaped. They afterward fled to Ar
kansas Mrs. Dial accompanied the Lieu
tenant as far as Galesville in search of her
younger brother, who had been reported
killed. On the 21st Lieutenant Stiles pro-
ceeded to Perry, and took the statement of
Mrs. Julia E. EeliDgton, as follows: That
| on the night of the 23rd of April, at about
10 o'clock, several men came to her house,
about six miles above Mofittown, in Bell
| county, and ordered her husband to get
up and make light, which he did. He
was then ordered to come out of doors
until they could search the house. Mr..
Eelington refusing to come out, they re-
tired for about thirty minutes, then return
ing, two men went into the house. Mr..
Eelington told his wife to sit on his lap,
| which she did. At this moment one of the
men shot Mr.. Eelington through the head
with his gun.
On the night of April 81, 1868, about II
o'clock, a number of men came to the
house Of Mrs. Mary Shackelford, at Perry,
and insisted on entering. Mrs. Shackel-
ford's son George, young man of twenty
| two, proceeded to open the door, when he
| threshold. A younger son, Albert Shack
| elford, seized rifle, and firing into the
crowd, caused them to flee. At daylight
in the morning the body of Edward S.
Jackson, one of the mob, was found near
| the house. The body Of the man was
taken away shortly after sunrise by John
Bazzel, ex-rebel Captain, and said to be a
| leader of the mob.
Mr.. A. Weatherford, under oath, said
| disloyal men in the county say they will
| not allow q Union man to live there,
neither will they allow loyal man to dis
pose of his stock. After leaving Moff1it-
town I proceeded to Gatesville, Coryell
county, where Mrs Erzenish Schoonover's
statement was taken, on the Gath of May,
as follows, viz That at about o'clock D.
M, on the 23d of April, a crowd of men
came to her fathers house in Bell county,
about three miles south of Perry, and
called Mr. Benjamin Schoonover and his
two sons, George and Peter out of the
house; six men then entered and searched
the place, after which they went out and
fired several shots at the Schoonovers,
killing the old man and his son George.
Peter was fired at, but escaped.
On the 25th Of May the statement of
VIM. w. Allen, County Judge of Coryell
follows: That on the 1st of May, L. III.
search of his brother in-law, W. Fl. Lee.
Judge Allen says that he acted in suspi-
| cious manner and | locked him up. No
complaint was entered against Mr.. Dial,
nor were the proceedings of the examina-
tion entered upon the docket. His con-
fnement was made in an informal and
illegal manner. On the same night the
unfortunate man was taken out of Jail and
| hung to tree by mob supposed to be
the Ku-Klux. All the information that
| could be obtained in regard to W. H. Lee,
was that he was seen about ten miles
south OF Gatesville on the day before Dial
was arrested, and on the next day his horse
and saddle were found on the Leon river.
He was next seen about eight miles north
of Gatesville in his shirt and drawers with
his revolver in his hand.
Sheriff Hammock had possession of
DiaPs and Lees horses, &c. the Lieuten-
ant went to his house for the purpose of
recovering the property for Mrs. Dial,
when the Sheriff said he had sold Lees
horse for $15 currency, by order of Judge
Allen, and that DiaIs horse had strayed
off somewhere. 1t appeared from what
the Lieutenant could learn from the freed
man, that Lee was shot and murdered
| while on horseback, and that the Sheriff's
| son had gone to Kansas with Dial's horse.
| Tire following is the exact language of the
report:
Judge Allen and Sheriff Hammock were
both very much alarmed at the questions
l asked them, and tried every way to clear
| themselves 1t is my opinion that the
| Judge is dupe and Hammock (whom
| have known over year and always con-
| sidered murderous villian), was a willing
assistant in the murders in Coryell county.
| He is riotous rebel, and lied to me several
| times while giving his statement.
! David SessumS was chased from the
| lower part of Bell county to Coryell coun-
| ty, where he was killed and thrown over
precipice near James Mills, On the Leon
river. The families of both these men have
| fled from that part of the State, and no
| particulars could be had. 1t was also re-
| ported to me that man named Bullard
| had been killed, but, the family having
left, could get nothing definite.
All of the men killed by the mob are
| charged with being horse thieves, but I
could not find a man who could say word
against them or charge them with any un-
lawful acts
John Bazzel, said to be the leader of the
mob, was very loud in his deDunciation of
the murdered men, and the only thing
that he could say against them was that
they had killed his dog, which / after
wards ascertained was pursuing the par
ties when killed, while on the other hand,
jackson, who was killed at Shackelford's s
house, was leading the horse stolen from
MIR. Dial few days before this horse was