New-York tribune., 1874-10-12

that do not exactly accord Win MS thooaJ'
says he got his information from letter 70 !"e
Meridian Mercury and must have had the letter o1-
fore him when he wrote, for he quoted from IT, he
savs. "Notbine is known as to why these negroes
were killed" The letter from which he Quo'eu
reads:
7, anne.rs that two negro men went dead In corn
field Tor stealing corn. at the hands OF unknown par%ss %
third was killed in n fracas with other negroes Ihe
Win v 6 S gun Of the Snp
The 6f,b tragedy was that OF negro woman, whose
husband deliberately shot her In the head producing
instant death he had roue for Iv
lngston Jail. escorted by Mr.. Vincent
So Mr. Hayss inference that the five murders in
North Sumter were for political effect was willful.
malicious lie.
MINOR REPRESENTATIONS.
Mr.. Hays's next case was that of the ASSASSINATION
of Simon Edwards and Monroe Keeton and he ieads
his readers to infer that they took place In sumter
County or at least in his district The fact Is that
both of these murders about one of which there is
much doubt. happened in Mississippi, II they
occurred at all. 1t is nonsense to suppose that
negroes would be murdered in Mississippi for poiti-
cal effect in this State and have not heard OF any
"War Of Races" across the border.
Mr. Hays next introduces Ku-Klux warning"
which was taken from sgnboard near Livingston
and handed" him by Democrat. This warn
ing refers to the murder of JOY which occurred on
the same day that Mr.. Hays reached Washington
and was not known in the vicinity of Livingston
until day or two later. 1t could not. therefore,
have been handed" to Mr.. Hays in Alabama, and
il is hardly probable that Democrat would SEND u
to him in Washington. The people here believe
that the warning" was purely Republican ln-
rention
Mr. HAYS describes terrible state of affairs in
Pickens County. He says that the white men there
publicly boast that no white man ever cast Repub-
hcan vote and lived through the year; that the
present reign of the Ku Klux is worse than ever be-
fore that the white or colored man who would dare
make Republican speech in the county would be
shot down like mad dog that the negroes are in
worse condition than in the days of slavery. He
cites two cases. of four negroes supposed to be
"emissares" hanged in Carrollton during the third
week of August, and the other of the discovery on
the 10Th of last August. OF the bodies OF three
men, two colored and one white, floating down
anS hS pocaTaS To MoSe with the @
pliments of Pickens County, I have been unable
to learn anything about the four colored men VINO
are said to have been hanged, but the story ABOUT
the bodies floating down the Tombigbee River has
suspicious similarity to story illustrated In Inc pays
Doags shortly before Mr.. Hayss letter was written.
The picture represented raft with some cotfns
floating down The Mississippi River. and labeled,
there are WHITE Repubeans in Pickens County who
hold office there; that United states Marshal Healy
is authority for the statement that there are no
ku-k
meetings are advertised in that county.
THE "oUTRAGEs" IN HALF COUNTY.
Mr.. Hays next enumerates some Outrages" In
Hale County. He says that negro benevolent So
ciety was ordered by white men on the night of
August 20 to hold no more meetings.; that masked
men, on the same night, visited the house of negro,
James Bliss, who seeing them, had left. and that he
has fled the country. aud that Major James q.
Stokes who made Republican speech in Green's
boro. "was warned after his room IN the hotel had
Sstoed snd armed Tuans that he must not visit
the county again or make Radical speeches
Ihave before me the affidavts of the officers of
both the negro benevolent societies in Green's
bcro denying that they have ever been disturbed in
their meetings or warned to discontinue them; the
affidavit of DR.. L. X. Wa-d of Hale County, in whose
employ the negro Bliss formerly was, embracing
statement by Bliss himself denying that he had
been run out of the county. and explaining that he
gone to work to obtain it. have also the afdavits
of the hoelkeeper at Greensboro and of the Judge
of Probate. the Mayor, the Postmaster the United
States Commissioner and others, both Republicans
aud Democrats denying the truth of the whole story
about the warning of Major Stokes
know nothing about the "oufrages" which Mr..
Hays describes in Russell Macon. or Coffee counties
though the truth of his reports Is positively denied
the authority OF men who are more worthy OF
belief than he is.
THE CHoCTAw COUNTY MASSACRE"
The following is part of what Mr. Hays says
about Choctaw County:
Ou or about e1st Of August the newspapers OF Ala
hal ma
groes con gregatiug in Choctaw County for the pur
pose Of commencing war upol me whites Vi course
different ctions swiftly hurried to the scene OF the
pposed conflict but when they arrived no M earn "a
make example So company OF wnes aa 10 aed
wounded 13.
Mr.. Hays derived this information from Jack
Turner. the supposed leader of the negroes who
were ambushed and whom be met in Montgomery,
at the State Convention. The full history of this
affair derived from afidavits before me- is as fol-
lows: A negro named HUFF Cheney had divulged to
the white people some secret which he learned in
meeting Of the negroes In punishment for tins the
led by Jack s durne, a.bss soOk CHENEY
then made complaint against the negroes
and warrants were issued for their arrest; Il. A.
Glover Deputy Sheriff of the county, started on the
18th of August with posse of five men to execute
the warrant. Thev found Turner In the road, armed
with gun and pistol, and he signed a BOND agree
ing to appear at court The Sherh arrested anotner
OF the negroes. against whom he bad warrant, at
school house. and while he was there Jack Turner
arrived much excited, and sent boy to two neigh
herring plantations to tell the negroes to get their
arms aud meet him at once at ON Kings. 80,
Soon after, Jack appeared on the ROAD VIII WIN
and as Cheney had just passed, and the Sheriff was
afraid they would injure him, be went ahead OF
them with his posse to the next Town ana ieati1. ,,
inform the people Of the matter. number of white
men armed themselves. but remained in town, and
sent out four old men, led by MIR. Brewster wholly
unarmed, who halted the negroes and tried to per-
suade them TO disarm and disperse This they re-
fused TO do but when they saw the crowd IN town
and the four men of the Sheriffs posse coming up
behind them, they ran away into the woods. AT
that time two three shots were fred but not at
the negroes and no one was hurt
HAYS PREVIOUSLY INFORMED OF THE FACTS.
The negro Jack Turner swears to statement
similar to that of which have given the substance
here and adds that he told the story to Charles
Hays at the Republican COnventionin Montgomery,
and assured him that no one had been injured. An