New national era. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1870-1874, 1874-07-30
FROM Georgia.

COLUMBIA Co., GA, July Is, 1876.
To the Editor Of the EeO National Era:
Knowing your fathfulncss in chronicling
the outrages that are committed upon our
people, I write to give you an account Of
1ome horrible occurrences which have trans
PRED in our county within the last few
days.
will first say that the whole trouble has
grown out of determination on the part of
the white people to prevent colored people of
the county from enjoying the rights and priv
ileges vouchsafed to them by the Consttu-
ton and laws of our country. sses~-sr.
Some months ago number Of young men
in our county concluded to organize a militia
ry company, merely for enjoyment and pas
time. To this some of the white people in
the neighborhood objected, the colored men
assured them that they had no intention. Of
interfering with any one and went on with
the organization. 81 s.
To show that these young men had no III
design, will state that they had only about
six guns in the whole company, and these
only such guns as country people usually
keep for hunting purposes. To supply them
selves with something in the shape of arms,
they took a pine plank and cut out pieces
which they fashioned in the manner of guns
and used them at their drills
These young men were ordered to disband
by the white people, but knowing they had
a perfect right under the laws of the State
and the United States to have such an organ
ization, they did not obey these orders. On
Friday, the 10th inst, while Fountain Dog
gett and his three sons were quietly working
in their field, all of them living and working
farm, six armed white men, one of them the
Deputy Sheriff of the county, rode up and
pretended to have warrant for their arrest.
Not wishing to resist the sheriff, at once
surrendered. and were tied together. They
had been told that they were to be carried to
the court house for trial, but were carried in a
contrary direction when starting off. The
wives Of the four colored men started to fol-
low them but were driven back by the white
men, and were told that they would be killed
if they did not obey. The women went back
to the house and the white men went on till
they reached thickly wooded part Of the
road, near a creek, where all four of the
colored men were brutally shot down and
left lying there.
They Matched up a tale, saying these men
but there is not shadow Of truth init; they
were all lying near together and were shot
in front.
The next day these and other parties went
through the county for miles around and
whipped every man that they could find who
went to the school-house where young
colcred man named Collins II. Lyons had
opened school under the authority of the
county school board, just three days before,
and was an entire stranger in the neighbor-
hood, never having been there before, and
who is studying at the Augusta ministerial
school under a Dr.. Robert, and only expected
to teach here during the summer vacation !;
took him out in the woods, made him strip at
the peril Of his life, and gave him an unmer-
ciful whipping assigning no cause whatever
except his teaching negro children. After
whipping him they turned him loose, and
gave him half hour to leave, aud told him
if seen again in the county within three years
they would kill him. He left for Augusta
and 1 suppose is now there. There were
several others whipped almost to death but
have been unable to get the particulars.
God grant that the day may soon come
when the poor, down-trodden people of
Georgia will get justice and be permitted to
live in peace and quietude.
Yours in much tribulation,
COLUMBIA.