The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1874-09-08
A DARK DEED.

THE TENNESSEE KU-KLUX.
THE WHOLESALE MURDERS IN WESTERN TEN
NEssEE-THE GIBSON COUNTY ATROCfTY-A
GRAPHIC ACC UNIT OF THE BLOODY SCENES
BY AN EYEWITNESS.
The correspondent OF the Cincinnati Com
mercial, now travelling in the South, sends
The following account of the Gibson county
horror TO that paper. He writes from Nash
vile, the 18th inst: In the long, long record
of crime called history the blackest pages
are those which detail the murder of the in
nocent, defenseless, and imprisoned. None
but the most barbarous of barbarians tie
the hands of defenseless and innocent men,
and then shoot them down like hogs.
That is precisely what the Gibson county
Ku-Klux did the other night. They muir
dered 16 men, men who, so far as any evil
dence has yet been developed, were guiltless
of any crime save that of being heroes.
The stories set afloat as to the supposed
crimes of the negroes are frightful lies. We
need not be surprised at this, for those who
will murder will lie. want to call your
attention to one fact. In all the trouble in
Gibson county, which has resulted in the
tragic taking off of 16 prison.
ers and the killing of two Others not a whits
man has been scratched. Bear that in mind.
Here are Is negroes killed, and for what?
whites, and necessarily colored as much as
possible, and you fail to find the negroes
guilty of any crime. Some negroes-but
whether these 16 or not is not known-are
said to have fired ON two white men-Mor-
gan and Warren. These two white man say
that the band who did the firing numbered
80 or 40; that they were close upon
them and saw them. Now, it is very
plain that those negroes could have
killed Morgan and Warren, had they chose
to do so, and the fact that they escaped with
out scratch is proof that the "thirty or for
ty armed negroes" did not have murder in
their hearts. The more we slit the evidence
The more we are convinced that the murder
of the Is negro prisoners at Trenton was
without the shadow of justification. They
bad not killed anybody; they bad not
harmed anybody, and the very most we can
make of it is that they, or some of them, had
threatened to resist if attacked by the Ku-
KIux. A strong proof of their inno-
cence of wrong, either commi ted or in
tended, is the fact that none of them tried to
get away when arrested or before being
arrested. They were taken out of bed at
night or in the fields at work. The diff
Guilty had its origin in dispute between
negro and a white man at negro barbecue
about the payment of so cents. Then two
white men, while riding along the public
road leading to Pickettsville, were fired on
''by thirty or forty negroes" They jumped
from their horses and ran, followed, as they
say. by storm of bulle:s; but the fact that
neither they nor their horses were
touched, that their horses walked
home unmolested, and that they, Nor
gan and Warren, were not followed by
the negroes-all this points strongly against
the probability of the whols story. But even
were it true. was it justification for taking
! 16 men out ofjail, without evidence connect
ing them with the shooting, tying their
hands behind them, and
SHOOTING THEM IN COLD BLOOD?
1t happened that Nashville friend of mine
WAS in Trenton, attending the teachers in
stitute, at the time of the lynching. He
gives me the Details and as he furnished the
same to the Union and American, of
this city, append that account, only
adding that know the eye-wit-
ness well, r. c. Stone, and that he is gem
tleman in every sense, discreet and reliable !:
Z" The Jail is a new iron and brick structure
recently completed, standing on the north
east corner Of the public square. The Hicks
House stands on the southwest corner, and
| the court house, with yard surrounding, oc-
cupies the center of the square. i had a
| front room at fhe Hicks House, and was
awakened out of a sound sleep by a voice
shouting, Close up there; don't you hear?
On you, close up therer At the
same time l heard the rattle
of horses hoofs Springing from.
4 NV D5u saw tBlOuBn buO VIII
dow band of about eighty mounted men,
galloping in from the southeast corner OF
the square, swinging around in front of the
hotel, then to the right, toward the Jail.
sHalt!' Keep everybody Off! came the
command in the clear, ringing voice of the
leader. Then a knocking at the Jail door,
distinctly audible across the square, for ii
was now near / o'clock, and everything
quiet. Knock, knock, ratified againat the
door, and the leader calling Mr.. Alexan-
derF 'Mr. Alexander! we won'S break
in, men, but we must get in" Up to this
time I thought it was a sheriff7s
posse, bringing in more prisoners from
Pickettsville, sixteen being already in
there under charge of being connect
ed with the shooting on Saturday
night. Startled by the words, We'll no.
break in, men, / dressed and went own
but could not see soul on the street.
saw, however, the long row of horses anC
men in front of the jail, the group at the jai
door, heard the hum of voices along the line
the command Keep back, and retired
toward the hotel. Here 1 met two Other
just awakened men, and seeing some sliI
| among the trees of the courtyard, we al
started, but went over to the opposite sid,
of the square-going toward the Jail
, until sepulchral voice halloet
I 'Haltr and we stopped. / saw nov
that the men were masked, and understood
THAR mission They yvera after the sixtaeY