Whig and tribune. [volume] (Jackson, Tenn.) 1870-1877, 1874-08-29
The Gibson County TrOnblcs.

village III GlDSOu county on III
Memphis & Louisville Railroad. TIL
horses. the Young men we're ridin
were shot to death, but they mad
their escape by taking to the wood
and 6utrunning. their tiendish pun
suers. As they fled to Pickettsville
they sounded the alarm, and on reach
ing that village, a crowd of arme,
citizens were organized to meet tn
lawless knaves who were thought L
be marching on the town. The wO
men and children we're gathered int
one house, pickets thrown out upol
all the roads and u stout resistanceor
ganized. A mounted party then wen
in pursuit of the wOuld-be-assassins
But it seems that the negroes dis
/ perscd after their fell attempt to muir
dor Warren and Morgan, aud tn,
mounted party succeeded in arrestinl
eleven, in detached squads of two and
three-all armed. In attempting tC
arrest one John Raglan, a leader
among them, Raglan resisted, receiv-
ed a wound in the hand and another
in the hip, and then escaped to Hum,
boldt. where he was arrested on Mon
day with three others of his confeder-
ates. Two others engaged in the riot
were subsequently arrested, and the
entire sixteen, after fair hearing be-
fore Esquires Jordan, Hunter, Par
ker and Fly, were committed to Jail
in Trenton. In the trial before the
magistrates court, held in the village
of Pickettsvile, two or three of the
criminals turned states evidence, and
fully exposed the hcllish plans of
their confederates. The following is
a fair and correct analysis of their
confessions. They stated substan-
italy that ut was rumored for some
time that President Grant would back
the negroes in whatever course they
took against the white men. Acting
upon this belief, the colored people
had determined to extirpate the
whites, SO as to own.the Glands, ten
ements and hereditaments," and cul-
tivate their own land. In other words,
they wanted to make 1t a negroes
country, to do which it was necessary
TO kill at least the majority of white
people. They had not agreed upon
any time for the outbreak and assas-
sination, their object being to effect a
thorough organization. This meas
ure for the murder of the whites was
agreed to by all the negroes in the
county except one, Burrell Butler
Because of his opposition, they i'll
tended to make him their first VIC
tim. They intended to kill him that
night, for he was too intimate with
the white people. There were about
thirty negroes in the crowd that fired
at Morgan and Warren, Saturday
They had been to a meeting, and the
attempted murder was not III accord
ance with any programme, as no time
had been fixed, but only as an expe-
riment, to see if they could kill a
white man with impunity. They
elected WinsIey Shields captain, with
the understanding that Josh Webb
was to be made generalisimo of the
expedition -
Webb was invariably referred 10 as
I'll \
of their murderous organization.
They further confessed that, when the
time for united action arrived, organ
lied bands from Milan, Humboldt and
Trenton were to join them, and united
were to they move upon Pickettsville
and the surrounding country, kill all
the white men, women and children
taking possession of the country, uu-
der the fixed belief that the United
States Government would sustain
them in their course With few OK
ceptions the negroes admitted their
guilt, and that they intended to have
a general riot, when their officers Col.
Webb, Belfain, Il preache, Raglan and
Shields gave the order. That their
terrible organization was well nigh
complete, and that the hour for a wide
spread massacre was close at hand,
cannot be reasonably doubted. And
whom it Is considered that the south
ern portion of Gibson county, ada
cent to the Memphis & Louisville L.
r., contains vast majority of the
negro population of the county, the
excitement that the unprovoked as
sault OF Saturday night, and the
dark and bloody revelations made by
the negroes arrested, was fully justi-
fed by the facts, and was sufficient
cause for alarm and for organizations
to meet whatever dire evil might
come. But, be it said to the credit of
the,white people Of PickettsvilIc and
vicinity, that not a single lawlesS act
was even attempted by them urult
their woull be-IssaSS:ns. that tIey-
accorded their would he mur,Ier-ls "a
fair trial, TINT uot even the otar;hu.;
admissions at dcsigus O." uU r,l.r
and plumber ou the pant oj tac Doe
groes. aroused 81 spirit ~ lawios5 t.
veuge. and that every cyt'ai ial ar
rested. was safely c,uveys.J e. the
Trenton jalI, although ma ,keI meu at
the pistols mouth demanded their
surrender. josh Webb, the iucllnate
devil who seems to have beeu-the IN
stagator and the head of this hole
viIliauous matter, lied from Gibson
county to Madison, was seen at a farm
/ in West Madison on Tuesday, but be-
fore the posse who went to arrest him
reached his retreat, he had made good
| his fight to Brownsville. On Wednez-
| day night about II o'clock, a posse
/ from the 10Th district of this county
| brought to jackson seven negroes
who were engaged in the Pickettsyille
riot. Three of them had been tried
and sent to Jail in default of bail, and
all were sent to jackson because il
was not safe to place them in the
Trenton Jail. Right here we would