The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1871-03-02
Delegation from the South Carolina
LegiSIature-Ku-KlGX Outrages-
United states Troops Needed.

a
LegiSlature-ku-klGX 0utrageS-
I United States Troops Needed.
The TTi6stHe's Washington speciaI.
I Of the 23d ult-, says that a delegation
contisting of three members Of the
I South Carolina Legislature, arrived
I there Monday, and have asked the
l President TO order troops to the eoun-
ties Of Laurens, Union, Spartanburg.
/ York and Abbeville, where they say
l the Ku-KluX Outrages have become so
I frequent, and the perpetrators of them
so bold and defiant, that il is unsafe
for order loving men of any party TO
rumain there.
These gentlemen deny that they
have been sent here for the purpose Of
making political capital. Their State
is Republican by more than 10000
majority, and they need no more Re
publican voters, and unless the Union
men are driven from the infected ser
ton or frightened out of any partici-
patton in political affairs, any action
of the Executive can in no way
change the result Of future elections.
They report that the troubles of
which they complain, began, on the
day before the election in October last,
with the whipping Of a negro. The
judge of election, in order to prevent
him from being present at the polling
place to which he was assigned, also
! interfered. There was, however. no
interference with the voting in Lau-
] rens county, as a detachment of Unit
/ ed States troops were stationed there.
I On the day after election the soldiers
Q II el-e- L
were out of hearing the Ku-KIux
showed themselves. A constable who
I had a warrant for the arrest of two
men was attacked near the court
house, and shot, and, as if this was a
| signal agreed upon, line of men,
armed with rifles, then appeared on
/ the square and commenced firing;
then separating into squads of two or
three, they secured the country
around, and shot down, in cold blood,
II of the prominent leaders of the Re-
publicans, most Of whom were assas-
sinated without warning.
Among the victims of this outrage
were the Judge of the Probate Court
of this county and member of the
State Legislature. Troops were i'm
mediately sent back, and, while they
remained, the county was compara-
lively quiet, but since their withdraw
al many persons have been whipped
and otherwise shamefully abused.
The troops arrested several men
known to have been engaged in the
Laurens affair, and they were imme-
diately taken to Columbia where they
were Immediately released on writs Of
habeas corpus by Judge Vernon, who
has since been impeached by the Leg
islature, but resigned before the trial
began.
The most recent outrage reported by
this delegation took place in Union
county, about six weeks ago. While
the colored militia were on parade,
they demanded whisky of an illicit
distiller, who gave them some but re-
fused more on the plea that it was not
his property. He was taken into the
woods and shot.
Every Republican as we'll as Demo-
cratic journals Immediately demand
ed that the guilty men be arrested
and punished for their crimes. Five
members of the regiment have been
placed in Jail, two of whom, however
will probably be able to prove that
they were not on parade when the
murder was committed. Three men
were taken from the Jail during the
night by mob of disguised men and |
shot, two being killed outright, and /
the mob suppOsing the other dead left /
them. The one who escaped was
badly wounded and replaced in Jail. /
When partially recovered he inform |
ed the authorities that he knew some /
who were engaged in the former out /
rage and that if his safety could be /
guaranteed he would tell who were /
the guilty men. Judge Thomas, of /
Columbia, therefore issued a writ or
dering the removal of the man to that /
city, and placed it in the hands of /
Sheriff Dun, with orders to execute il. /
After some delay it was reported that /
he had completed arrangements for |
his secret removal on Monday night, /
February Is. Sunday night band of /
about 500 fully armed masked men
rode into and picketed all roads west
of the Jail and ordered the keeper to
give them the keys; this he refused to
dOand they then tied him to the hitch
ing post, and then threatened his wife
with instant death if she did not tell
where the keys were, and having
thus obtained them they took out of
Jail ten prisoners and carried them a
little ways out of town; they then
shot six, hung two and took two
away with them, and they have not
since been found. This outrage was
seen by the Mayor of the town and
the editor of the Democratic newspa-
per published there, and he unites
with ali order loving citizens in ask
ing for troops. The delegation says
that the men committing these out
raRes- -eaRfAdAratA-So who
have never disbanded and that HeTUTI--
er rmilitary1nor civil authorities are able
to do anything to stop them.