The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1868-10-17
II ~ x A 8.
Members OF the Constitutional COnven-
ton and COlOred Men Assnssinnted.

Members of the Constitutional COnven-
tiOn and COlOred Men Assassinated.
The New Orleans Republican of the 18th
instant relates the following
We learn the following facts from Judge Cald-
well, OF jefferson. member of the Texas Con-
stitutional Convention, which are very clearly
narrated. Judge Caldwell arrived here last
on Sunday night, the 4th instant, tragedy
occurred in the city OF Jefferson, Texas, which
sSrpasses In asr0S.y anyonlng whicn nae mas taken
Hon. George w. Smith, member OF the Con-
stitutional Convention, and three negro men
were assassinated, There are no pretenses that
the cause was not political.
Mr.. Smith had Just reached home from the
Convention. His colleage, Rev. Mr. Grigsby,
brought his valise in buggy Smith having
come on horsebsck). and gave IL to some colored
Smiths residence they were met by party Of
young men, who robbed them of the valtse.
In The issue of the Rtt. Rlu1 newspaper of the
3D. was published what purporis to be an in.
ventory of Smiths "carpet bag" That night
Smith, with the assistance OF Lieutenant Ryan
Of the 18th United states In fantry, and squad
of men, went in search of the carpet bag, but
failed to find it, 1t was subsequently found, cut
into hundred fragments, and mis- clothes scat
tered on the ground, but his papers were miss
A little after dark Smith was accosted in the
street and ordered to halt. He charged that he
was fired upon, and in return exhausted the
shots of his six.shooter, wounding ten OF his
OF Major Curtis, commanding the post. for pro-
tection He was surrendered by Major Curtis
TO the civil authorities, and by the Mayor con-
fined in the city prison to await the investiga-
tion of the affair The Mayor stationed a guard
of six or eight citizen police At the calsboose
that he was safe, detailed a guard from the 18th
Infantry, under Lieutenant Bois, as an addi-
Between nine and ten o'clock, just after the
people in the churches had been dismissed, q
body Of "Ku. .Klux," estimated to be seventy
five or one hundred, all masked or painted,
med with double. barreled shot-guns and six
shooters rushed upon the guard and disarmed
fhnn hoTf tnu of no NriC
door to force 1t open, which Major Curtis hear
ing, ran to the scene of action with his orderly,
instructing his men to follow; w, SO soon as ne
him, and said to him:-"Major, we don't want to
hurt you or your men. We have come for an
Resistance was useless. The door was forced
and Smith literally shot to pieces.
were also confined with Smith, and supposed
to be witnesses of the assault on Smith the pre-.
vious night Two were killed, one effected
wounded in the shoulder. The cry was then
raised. I'VE have got smith-Caldwell and
Judge Campbell anticipated trouble and took
refuge at Major Curtis headquarters in the
evening. Judge Caldwell had just retired to
bed when the firing was heard. He immedi-
ately arose. taking with him his two sons, one
Of whom is nineteen, the other fifteen, and re-
two hundred yards from his house. In a few
moments some twenty-five or thirty of the
"Ku- Klux" passed the road within few feet OF
the Judge and his sons, going in the direction
of his house. The Judge then directed his
youngest son to take circuitous route home
When the lad reached the corner of the gar
den he was arrested by masked TX, ,"ku-kl9x.'
| sorted to every means short OF actual violence
| to extort from the youth the locality of his
| some two hours in captivity the boy was re-
| leased.
| to assassinate the Hon. g. III. Slaughter, o mem
| ber of the Constitutional Convention.