Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1874-10-01

| -EepuUflcdu.
As fit sequel to this horrid politi
. cal assassination, | will now narrate
the case of nothern man named AL
len, keeper of hotel in Livingston, in
} the same county, where Billings was
murdered. Up to this time, and fol
twenty wears past, Allen has voted for
democrats in Alabama. Since the
taking off of Billings, Allen has been
outspoken in his denunciation Of the
crime and its perpetrators, and has
openly asserted that Billings "was
murdered on account of his politics. y
The last week in August, in his hotel,
while he was peaceably pursuing his
business, Allen was set upon by a gang
of rutfians, who beat him numerically
with their pistols, and threatened to
kill him eff he didn't keep his mouth
shut about that ID Yankee Billings
The next example" as the rebel
leaders are wont 10 term the "unusual
Killings" is perhaps one of the most
atroclous, unprovoked and terrible that
has ever stained the pages of southern
desperation. About six months since
l had Thomas L. Ivey, an inoffensve,
intelligent, honest and hard working
colored n,appointed United States
route agent on the Alabama and Chat
tanooga railroad, running between
Meridian, Miss, and Livingstone, Ala
Mr.. Ivey had never been charged
with any crime against the laws of
4 the state or society, and was univers
sally regarded as an exemplary and
faithful employe of the government.
Yet on Saturday, August 90, 1874, he
was wantonly murdered while in the
discharge OF his duties, as will more
fully appear from the following taken
from the Selma daily Times, Ia lead
ing democratic newspaper,) Of Sept
ember L.
sat three O'Clock p. M, last Satur-
day, while the south bound Alabama
and Chattanooga train was within four
miles of York station, it was Gagged
down" and the mail agent, Tom Ivey,
was shot and killed while having his
head out of the car window, The per-
petrators were not disguised. though
none were known. They were but
foar in number. Iveg's body was
brought to York, and while it awaited
the Coroner's jury some fifty OF more
negroes organized a democratic club,
which is daily increasing in>number."
The aninaus of the killing, and u
result fully appears in the four conclud-
ing lines of the above, paragraph
The second account of Ivey's murder
is from the Meridian. Miss, Mercury,
also democratic newspaper
ASSASSINATION OF A ooLoRED MAIL |
AGENT.
baInafis aaeflEdqay afternoon, as the Ala
ing this way, about three miles beyond |
York, and six this way from Living |
stone, man stood upon the track and |
tagged the train down with his hat
Charlie Briggs was the engineer, and
stopped train. Immediately as the
train stopped, some three to six shots,
variously stated by eye witnesses,
were fired at Thos. L. Ivey, the color
ed mail agent. He is said to have ut
tered a single exclamation of pain,
and, from the terrible character of the
wounds, was, doubtless, killed instant
ly after. The train brought the body |
on to this city. 1t is supposed that
Ivey came to the door of the car to |
observe what the train was stopping |
for, and so gave his slayers the fair
opportunity they wanted. 1t is said |
there were assailants on both sides of |
the train. Their work was quick and |
decisive, and they disappeared in the
brush, and no one of all the people |
about the train recognized anyone.
Our good friends "across the Dor
der" will allow us to use this item,
which came from their state, and take |
notice that we make no charge against |
the Sumter county democrats, and Gin
sinuate" nothing except, from what is
deemed reliable information, that the |
deceased was dangerous man to the
peace of the community"
The most intelligent account of the
murder of this man, however, is from
the report of United States officer,
who visited the scene of the murder
soon after it occurred. | extract
that part of the report which bears on
this case:-"On Saturday, August 90,
1874, Thomas L. Ivey, route agent on
the A. and G. railroad, between Me
ridian and Livingstone was brutally
murdered in his car while in charge of
the U. S. mail, and in the usual dis
charge of his duty. The circumstances
of his killing can only be cleaned from
the evidence of the engineer of the
train, who says 'about o'clock in the
afternoon on Aug. Goth, l discovered a
man on the track, waving the signal of
danger. Immediately put on brakes
and the train was stopped in cluster
of thick underground on each side of
the road. Then the report of a mum
Der of guns or pistols were heard and
Ivey was found shot to pieces."-
When the friends of Ivey took charge
of his body, twenty odd bullet holes
were found in it; his jat0S scere cut
open and has tongue pulled out By its
roots See report thereof in the Daily
Alabama Journal, September Sd. =
The 'charge against Ivey was that he
was "nigger" and "meddlesome" in
politics. As apropos to this murder,
/ append the following from the Sell
ma Daily Times of September 3d.
"The killing of Tom Ivey the negro
route agent, the circumstances of
which are noted elsewhere, has, SO
we are informed, caused considerable
excitement among the negroes in this
city. Some of them, so we are inform
ed, have used some very imprudent
language concerning the matter. IF,
as some of them assert, Iyey was muir
dered by kuklux, Would not these blat,
ant felIoUs do tc.u to dry up?n
The purpose of this band of outlaws