The Canton mail. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 18??-1882, 1875-09-11


fresh men from town which pet an
end 10 their pursuit but did not
prevent
THE MASSACRE.
Young Mr.. Thompson, of Ray
mond, not being able Gt is thought
from Wounds to reach the road
crossing in time, went directly
South across some fields to the Ray
mond road where he was caught up
with by mounted negroes and mu
dercd at least a mile and a half from
the barbecue grounds
Mr.. Sivclcy also failing to reach
the crossing in time, kept directly
across the public road into a large
field in which he was also caught
up with and butchered The bodies
OF these men were fcarfully and at
trociously disfgured and mangied.
They were robbed of all they had
about their persons, their boots and
other pieces of clothing.
The murder of Mr.. Charles Chill
ton WAS as cowardly and brutal an
act as was ever pcrpetrated. 1t
will be remembered that the barbc-
cue grounds were bounded on the
North by the Chiffon place-this
WAS Mr.. Charles Chilton's residence.
lie had been at the barbecue in the
morning but had carried one or
two friends home with him to din
ner. They were sitting in his house
talking when the firing began.
They, with the ladies of the house
hold, ran out on the gallery to see
what was the matter. Soon after
they got out, Mr.. Chiffon observ-
ing IL crowd of negro women and
children coming around the fence.
ran down to his gate to let them in
the yard for protection, as he did
not know the extent of the fight
ing, it being nearly an eighth of a
mile away. He opened the gate
and called them in and after some of
them had awaited themselves of his
kindness he turned and started back
to the house, when party of negro
men who were leaving the grounds
fired upon him and strnck him in
the back, MORALLY wounding him.
He was carried into his house, and
died in an hour and q half. The
wanton atrocity of this deed vii be
better understood when it will be
remembered that all of the fighting
was at the southwest and south of,
and on the grounds, and Mr.. Chill
ton was at the extreme northwest
corner of the grounds, and was at no
time much nearer than an eighth of
a mile of the fight, nor in sight of
it, and that it was all the time NOV
ing directly away from his resi-
dence. That he was shot by men
who were roaming from the fight,
and probably had not been near
where 1t was, as the grounds We're
very large.
Five or six whites wounded,
Messrs. Neal and White supposed
to be mortal y, tho others various
ly-trom serious to very slight.
There was said to have been five
or six negroes killed on and around
the grounds, but we saw only two
there-two had fallen at the first
fire, right at the branch. There
was also near them a big pool of
blood, which indicated that anoth-
er had also fallen there. These
two were said to have been from
the Byram neignborhood. 1t was
said that three others were lying
in the field near by, but we did not
see them.
How many negroes were wound
ed it was impossible to ascertain,
but two were lying at Charles
Caldwell's residence in Clinton, and
one reached Jackson Saturday evc-
ming.
AS soon as tho wounded whites
reached Clinton, kilograms were
sent up and down the road for aid.
1t was now about 5 o'clock in the
evening, and reinforcements were
im,n edIatoly sent from Vicks-
burg, Jackson and other places.
Sunday morning about day-dawn
two negroes We're killed by the
pickets. From their appearance
they were supposed to be leaders.
Reports of arming and missing
among the negroes were brought in
during the right, and at day dawn
a company of cavalry were sent out
to investi gate them, but nothing au
thcntic has been heard regarding
their invcsti gatiOn.