The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1871-05-01
THE CLARENDON TROUBLE.
CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE MURDER
OF LEMON.
the Negro Mob Marched to Man.
ming and Marched Away Again.
from the Clarendon Prcs7.I

Peter j. Lemon, (colored, } county commits
| sioner, was found dead in his buggy, at a
branch neal Fellowship Church. on Thursday
morning, the Goth Inst. He had been to Man
ming the day before, 10Th inst, and had start
ed home some time before sunset. When
found he was lying In the foot of the buggy
perfectly dead, the horse having re-
NAMED attached to the buggy the entire
night, at or very near The spot where the
murder occurred. 1t was supposed that he
was shot about or probably a little before sun
set, by parties concealed in the edge Of the
branch, as tracks were found in that locality.
Coroner James II. Gamble, with a Jury oil In
guest, repaired promptly to the spot, but
nothing could be elected save that the de-
| shot wounds inflicted by parties unknown.
Upon his person were found twenty-one
bnckshot wounds, ranging from the forehead
to the knees-the large majority Of which
wounds would have proved mortal. 1t was u
terrible deed and deeply to be regretted, as
political capital is ever manufactured out OF
these occurrences by our enemie to the dis
favor Of the whites. There is no evidence
as TO who the perpetrators Of the deed
are. It is true that the only APP
! proach to evidence which we have up
10 this moment been able to gather was from
a colored witness land q Republican, on the
| second inquest which occurred last Monday
that he had heard a colored man, now a refu-
gee from justice, supposed to be Skulking
about here in the woods. threaten Peter j..
Lemons life. Whether this individual carried
out his threat or not, we are unable 10 form az
opinion; but of one thing we are certain, that
the whole affair has engendered some bad blood
In our district, which. but for The fortitude and
promptness of the White people in meeting IL,
,,.n,,lb bor-n hQpn nrnlurt1va Dl 1nncn evil. inc
body OF Lemon was buried on Friday on San
tee where the deceased lived. At his funeral It
WINS proposed by some Of the inluriated ne
groes, upon mischief bent, that they would or
ganiZe O large force and march TO Manning
next day, take the town, terrliy the Women
and Children, and insult and i'll use the White
men on account ot Lemons death. In ac-
cordance with this programme the army Of
occupation led BY the Yalorous Colonel Oil,
yer GaiIliard (negro.) commenced the forward
movement against the doomed city on Satnr-
day morning. The citizens were apprlsed very
soon OF their coming, and in a short time per
sons in the country were notified OF the hos
tile demonstrations taking place. Before
many hours had elapsed, a number OF white
citizens, variously estimated ut from three to
four hundred, rallied to The defence Of the
town, fully prepared 10 give them q warm re-
ceplion, but to act on the defensive I'M
til the negroes should commit the first
overt acs. The force OF negroes; hearing
OF The preparation made TO receive them,
wisely concluded 10 call a halt when on. the
suburbs Of the town, and after some parleylDg
Colonel Gailliard and q squad came IN only
partially armed and commenced an altercallon
with one Egbert Nelson (colored Republican,
Tor the great and mighty reason that SAID
Egbert was supposed 10 be rejoicing over
Lemons DEATH" and had, moreover, written
Lemon a letter TO come to o. on the day in
which he was killed. Upon this slight and I'M
satisfactory evidence it was demanded that
Egbert should be given up to an infurlated
mob, which the whites refused to suffer done.
Finding that, Republican as Nelson is, that the
whites were determined that he should nave a
fair chance, and that everything sLou'1 re
departure, uttering curses both loud and
deep against the town, and swearing
that they would come back in greater
force on the following Monday and have 1t
out, in sacking and laying everything IN
ashes, from Manning 10 Santee. ForeWarne0
was TO be forearlned, and long before the sun
had reached its meridian splendor on Monday
q large force Of Several hundred citizens were
under arms in town, under competent officers,
selected on the occasion, and again ready 10
try conclusions with the redoubtable black
warriors, who seemed 10 have IN itching for
deeds of martial glory. But "a change has
come over The spirit OF their dreams" Ihey
"SlC ASG a. oAAAh w. 80
day. This time the negroes came in o more
pacific way, led by q negro Of more sense than
Colonel Gallliard. They came This time with
very few arms. and IL they had them at
all, did not bring them as far as the church,
some three miles from town, where they
hailed, ard the coroner held another inquest
as arranged the previous Saturday, in view OF
further evidence which they deemed they had,
but which turned out q failure. Coroner Cam
BILE and other gentlemen from Town went ont,
buL found everything more pacific ana quiet
than We had reason to expect from the de-
monslrations on Saturday. The second In
quest having been held, the party Of whites
returned to town, and The negroes TO their
home on Santee, having concluded not TO
enter Manning under ''the glorious pomp and
circumstance Of war;
Our thanks are due to our friends and fell
low-citiZeus in Sumter, who, hearing That We
were in great straits, and u bloody drama
being enacted, sent us special col,riers to
know If we wanted any assistance, and prot
tering several hundred men at short notice.
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