New national era. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1870-1874, 1871-05-04
kU-I&IuN OutraSes.
NORTH CAROLINA.


Mr.. III. G. Luce respectable citizen of
North Carolina, writes a long letter giving his
experience in the ku klux State. Mr. Luce
and friends settled twenty five miles west OF
Charlotte in the winter of 1869, and went to
mining and expended "A large sum of money.
There was no school in the locality, and Mr.
Luce established one for the colored people on
his place. During the summer of 1870 large
number OF Outrages were committed in his
vicinity, and finally he received a warning to
| leave. No personal violence was committed
but his family were annoyed and insulted so
that they " felt much as If we were living in
Cheyenne county subject to midnight attacks
from he savages.' The balance of Mr.. Luce s
story we let him tell IN his own language. 1t
is q threadhare but too true tale
have thus far told the story Of our social
experience among the Southern people, and
suppose it will not differ materially from that
of Northern families Of responsibility generally
who have settled in many districts of the South
Ia addition, it should be shown how Northern
man will succeed in business there. Having
spent large sum of money in developing mines
and reconstructing the works, we found that
after many months of experiment in altering
our furnaces and changing In various ways our
treatment of the ores, while we could produce
from the ores used In that region fine quality
of iron, the ores were so refractory that we
conld not produce Il sufficient quantity Of The
metal We therefore searched tor other ores
and found IN abundance an easily fused ore which
had been deemed worthless in that country
Repeated experiments showed that we could
produce good foundry iron in n sufficient guam
tity to pay. From il we could produce eight
tuus of iron per day where we procured but
four with the ore usually used there. Had we
been permitted 10 continue our work the
probability is that We would have had eight
tuns on an average from a furnace that never
in olden times, made more than one tun we
would have done it ut half the cost of similar
iron in the North, and eventually we would
have found good market for it. Coming to
New York for weeks trip, we left store
with goods enough in it to pay every dollar of
debts we owed IN the South the works were
just going into blast under the most promising
circumstances the furnace had been heating
n sufficient length Of time, and ii was ready 10
receive the ore. I'm few DAYS we could have
turned out enough iron to meet every pressing
demand We had a full stock Of goods, a large
stock of fuel plenty Of ore mixed, and every
thing ready for work. Nevertheless, as soon as
my back was turned, several creditors made
oath that | had abscondcd with intent to de
fraud them applied for and procured attach
ments, levied on the store, and closed it. When
| came home, men were searching everywhere
for things to attach. The whole country was
full Of rumOrs the Yankees were to be cleaned
out. No arrangement could be made with the
creditors, and nothing remained to be done but
wind up business. The proceedings against
our property were unnecessary, and would not
have occurred in community less unhappily
constituted. 1t was impossible to remain with
any assurance Of safety, and in the autumn we
left for our Northern homes Such is the story
of one earnest, honest effort on the part of
Northern men to settle in North Carolina,
develop its resources, and improve its condition.
III the South Is ever TO be regenerated, it will
be when Northern men settle in sufficient mum
bers to control the communities where they
make their homes This statement | make
because it is denied that as q whole the South
ern whites are hostile to the Northern settlers
or unjust toward the negroes. l wish to place
it on record that Northern men have been
grossly deceived as to the welcome they will
find at the South.
David Hoadley, So Wall street. and W. Il
Nermilye, l6 Nassau street New York indorse
Mr.. Luce as a man of veracity.
TENNESSEE
The Memphis AOaianche Of the oath instant.
says: About ten days since the Office of
David Schaeiters, ex-sheriff of Weakley county,
at Dresden, Tennessee, was entered, and valua-
bic papers distracted from n desk and carried
of, and other papers burned Suspicion fell
upon William and Edward Johnson, cOlored,
and the latter was arrested and confined in Jail
but William made his escape, and sent word
back from Paducah, Ky, that he had found
bad list of ku kIux in Schaefiers desk and
that he would send "A cOl0red egiment of troops
to sqnelch them. A few DAYS since Schaef-
fers, accompanied by Sheriff Vincent, proceeded
TO Paducah, and with a requisition arrested
William and left for Dresden with the prisoner.
This morning about o'clock when the train
carrying the party stopped at Ralston, on the
Nashville and Northwestern railroad, some
eight miles from Dresden, about forty men,
with masks, suddenly appeared, and, after
pointing pistols at the railroad officials, took
the prisoner off This morning the bodies of
Edward aud William were both found hanging
IN the woods. 1t appears the maskers had
forced the .jailor at Dresden TO give up Edward
and had taken him 10 Ralston''