The Greenville enterprise. [volume] (Greenville, S.C.) 1870-1873, 1871-07-19
The Mera Tragedy.

a The Mera Tragedy.
e CnIcAao, July s.
Il The coroner's inquest over N
I lynche,., man ELECTED lie followino
s Mary Mera, 'notlier of the chic
t testified as follo,, g: My husbar
, Martin Mcra, whip,'rd my So
Martin, aged ten years, ;vo week
ago tuesday night. My JaGc wa
porn that day, and l did not so,
the Whipping; it was done in an
0lher room; | heard The blows ant
Teard the child beg for mercy.-
Ihe child went to bed about ten
o'clock. The next morning the
child came to my bedroom. f;5IIow.
ca by his father who was whipping
nm very hard with a black-snakes
morse whip. The child lodged
around the room, to avoid Tho
92lows, and begged for mercy
In Inc child was completely.a~Hni
us latheE. E.haeif. Ills face was
Swollen from the whipping lie l. ad
received the night before. His
father whipped him very hard for
ten or fifteen minutes. at last he
stopped, and told the child to put
on his shirt. lie made an effort TO
do so and failed. His father re.
peated the order, when the boy
said, 81 can't see! / can't see -
- You can't see it," responded his
father; mo, father, / can't see
yon; | can't sec you. l feel like
DIVING" The father then rubbed
the boy with spirits and forced
some down his throat. The child
raised his hands, moved his lips
and expired.
Mera then took tho body and
put it under the bed, where The
sick mother was lying, and it re-
mained there until evening, when
he buried it. The testimony of
the boys sister is still more bprri-
ble.
Sarah Mera, daughter of The
murderer, aged IA, testified tba.
her father often Whipped her broth
er very severely with q horse whip.
Tuesday two weeks ago he brought
my brother in, and said that he
had not worked, and whipped and
Knocked him down twice. Father
continued to whip him, and said
he would whip him till he could
not stand up; that hc wonld whip
the life out of him. Two or. three
times he would say this, and broth.
er would plead with father: /:
Father, don't whip me any more.
Oh, don't whip me any morc."-
| liked him. Brother went to bed
about 10 o'clock. lie said he Cid
not know why father whipped him
SO he never told stories only when
father made him. Father would
say il he didn't own up he had
done so and so, he would whip
him; and, to avoid it, brother
would own to tiIingaihe never did.
Wednesday l got up and got
breakfast ready. Father rose
when breakfast was ready, and
brother got mp, but felt so badly
hc went back to bed. Father
made him get mp and 90 out and
feed the stock, and when lie came
back father whipped him, and sent
him to the field. He went for him
and brought him, aud made him
take off his clothes, and then whip.
ped him, and then picked him mp
and laid him on the stove. The
stove was hot enough to heat an
iron. l was baking biscuit
Father put him on the sloye twice;
brother pleading all the while
Father don't burn me-" He
screamed very loud and the
stain stuck to the stove. His skin
came of Lis back and his feet, and
stuck to the stoYc. it smelled so
that ! open the door and father
Immediately shut it. While broth.
er was pleading, father said he
would burn him till he worked. I
have seen father strike mother
with lis fists many times. lie
knocked brother down several
times with the but end OF the whip.
| never saw my brother after he
went into mothers room.
4 s.s-