Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1871-07-13


the child made an effort and failed; his
father again ordered him to put on his
shirt, when he said, =" cant see i'll /
can't see i'll | can't see It'll You
can't see it2" No, father, cant see
you, father, cant see you, fatherl and
fell dying; my husband said, " Have |
killed Shim?" and / said, Yes, you
have; you have finished him.; he then
took him in his arms and bathed him
with whisky, and tried to get him TO
drink some; he tried to pour some down
him; he then threw some liquor over
him, and tried to revive him, and having
failed he cried: Have / killed him,
have l killed him2"
He rubbed him with spirits half an
hour; the child raised his hands once,
and moved his lips, and it was over.
His last words we're Il cant see, | can't
see. He then pushed the body under
my bed, where it remained until little
before midnight. After night, Mera
went out often staying for short time,
and then would return. He took the
body out of the front door. He said he
would give his right arm and leg rather
than had it happened. He would suffer
any torture to have him back again. He
generally treats his family well; he is q
good provider The only trouble was,
the boy would tell lies. He would tell
the boy to tell the truth and mind his
lessons.
He is n very high-tempered man, and
never knows when to stop. If was on
my feet, | could have saved my boy but
my babe was only one day old. | was
on my bed. He has not always treated
me well, he gave me crack aside the
head one or two times. / did want to
leave him some time since, but he prom
ised better, and we got along very well
afterward. He has had some trouble
with his neighbors, but he never spoke
bad of them. My brother came to see
me once, and my husband drove him OIL.
The first day | was up / went to look
for the grave. ! told Martin had been
out to look for the grave He asked,
"Did you find it2' told him " No. ."
81 don't think you could, was the re-
ply. When the men came out to search
ior the body denied it, for my own and
my children's sake. knew that Martia
was a passionate man, and that our lives
were in danger. He told me not to tell
of what happened, and he said, This is
a bad Job" and then said, 1T was too
bad"
The children were not afraid of him
except when he was whipping some OF
them; / was afraid of him at times; he
is very passionate man, and when he
was kind he was extra kind; when the
men took him away, he said, This is a
bad job; this is a terrible thing; | did
not say n word while the whipping was
going on; | looked at him as much MS
to say, You have done enough, but | did
not speak, as / knew he would be more
angry; he was not under the influence
of liauor ut the time he killed the boy;
he has whipped the girls number Of
times with horsewhip.
He went for neighboring woman; on
Tuesday morning, about ten O'Clock,
was taken sick; the woman came and he
took her back after dinner; the boy was
healthy; never heard him complain un
less it was the headache; he wonld have
been eleven years old on the 18th ol
June; his shirt was bloody, but do moi
know where it came from; it did moi
come from his mouth; his face was
swollen in the morning; suppose it was
from the whipping the night BEFORE | dc
not know where the whip Isl he was il
his right mind; he never acted singularly
he is a man of good, sound sense, steady
and adapted to money-making.
LITTLE MAGGIE.
: This little girl, about seven years old
said: Father whipped brother with {
whip; he put brother on the stove; he
laid him down; he cried when he was
put on the stove; there was fire in the
stove; he laid him down on his back on
the hot stove; brother tried to get away;
his clothes we're all Off; father made
him take them off himself; father hit
brother on the back and head; he hit
him lots of times; he threw them in the
shed; he then walked in and stood up by
the side of the wall; he whipped him
and took him into mothers room;
never saw him more; don't know what
was done with him; father told me not
to say anything about it, or he would
punish me; / loved my brother; father
whipped me sometimes with whip.
SARAH MERA
Is very modest-appearing girl of about
fourteen years of age She swore: j
always lived at home; father treated me
well at times and sometimes not; he
has punished me two or three times; the
last time in December last; he did
threaten me four weeks ago; did work
around the stable helping father; did
housework; ABOUT year and half ago
he whipped me very hard with a horse
whip; not the same whip he used on
brother; he whipped me very hard in
December because / had been at a
neighbor's and staid an hour; he often
threatened to whip me If did not do
the chores; on Tuesday, two weeks last
Tuesday, he brought brother in and
said he had not worked, and whipped
him and knocked him down twice;
father continued to whip him until he
could not stand up; he would whip
the life out Of him" two or three times
he would say this, and brother would
plead with father, saying, Father, don't
whip me any more-oh, don't whip me
any morel' lie was a good boy, and
when brother went TO bed about ten
o'clock. he said he did not know why
father whipped him so; he never told
stories only when father made him;
father would say that if he didn't own
that he did do so and so he would whip
him, and to avoid it he would own TO
things he never did.
THE FATAL MORNING.
On Wednesday morning / got up and
got breakfast ready; father rose when
breakfast was ready; brother got up, but
felt so badly that he went TO bed again;
father made him get up and go out and
feed the stock, and when he came back
father whipped him and sent him TO the