Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1877-06-01


lar wrecks ha,c been sadly frequent of late
years.
Tue evidence in the trial OF the Ellenton
rioters, at Charleston. s C, now in progress
before Chief Justice Waite, of the United
States SuT rene Court and jury composed
OF six white and six black men, shows that
at the time Of the massacre from Is to 20
negroes were murdered within week, that
none of them were bearing arms at the time,
and most of them were either prisoners or
We're attacke! while in the field. and were
killed while trying to run away. One of
the sh;e-liners said before election that
they intended to adopt the Mississippi
plan, and shoot all negroes that could not
otherwise be subdued. When asked how
they could escape the law, he replied that
there wonld he no one to inform against
them, and all The iGlrVers an 4iken had agreed
10 aSsisf tien. The whole thing, he said.
was tn be under the charge of Gary and
Butler. The story Of the death of PET ~
Williams. col0red man. is particu all.
pathetic. A party of white men, + d. w;fc
of one Of whom had been struck b. ,
seized Williams upon suspic' on Of b,rinc
committed the assault, bea' him a,a .h.n
shot him down. mortsr wor,d;nc him
Tbey threw him ipt- -y "0u"1ins NM
'''e" "'''' '"' a wagon, and, as his
LEGS hung over tb' side. one Of his butchers
sent bullet II rough one of his feet. VIII
liams was tn n taken before the, woman who
had snhere' the assault, and she said a. Oh,
you have shot the wrong niger you ought
not t. bave shot him till you had showed
him to me lie is not the man who knock
ed me- Notwithstanding this, the white
ruffians carried him off in the wagon with
the avowei intention of " finishing" him,
bat for some reason did not carry out their
threats. The innocent man. whose only
crime was the color of his skin and his Re-
publican politics. died a week after. Tes-
timony was given Of the shooting Of negro
simply because he persisted in running after
he had been ordered TO halt White men
rode into a field where two negroes were at
work. one of whom until that day had for |
slme time been confined to his house BY |
sickness, marched them into the woods and |
riddled their lOdies with shot. The muir
derers were merely canyassing in the inter
est Of Tilden and Hendricks Touching, in
deed was some Of the testimony for instance
that of colorei woman. whose husband was
shot to death By white-liners in her presence
and that of her children, the two Oldest of
whom realized their fathers danger, and
8 kept saying, do MT shoot my papa
Richard Thompson testified that he heard
E. W. Bash begging for his life. PLEASE,
Sir, don't kill me. he said, "and III vote
any ticket YOU ask me to-; but they drove
him along, ana, after he had been talked to
a 'ery few minutes, Woodward shot him
twice, AMI Roundtrec and Anderson also
fired two shots each into his body after he
was down. Then they rode of and ioired
the main part Of the company. Witness
mother ard Bush's wife saw the shooting,
but were afraid to 9 to his body for an hour
or more. When they did GO, they found
him dead
Later in the day, some Of the party re-
turned with a cart to take the bod away and
asked the witness TO help them he refused at
first, bot at last went. and after he had help
ed them DR.. Turner, one Of the party, level
led his gun at him and cooked it, saving he =
was under obligations to shoot him. Wit
ness sail il it mast be 50, Gods will be done.
Then one of the men interlered and told the ,
Doctor not 70 Sholt this negro, because Mr..
Ashley hal spoken good word for him.
iitS li'e was then spared. In a day or two
afterwarl he met some NOR c armed men.
and they aske! hm what were his POLITICS
lie sad he vas a Democrat there were too
many guns in Carolina for HIM to be Re-
publican
The outline Of defence, las opened BY the
defendants counsel. would be dec ned a
'urlesque oGt Of South Carolina. Ie ,ook
ne 2ronni that the collisions wer . NOT the !
'esnlts OF conspiracy, but were merely in
'IdentiI to the terrorizej com Elton of the
,juntry' during which of conr C there was a
s2oi deal Of sbootins hu politics had
lothing to . y, with the hr ing and the ne
sroes VIZ. we're killed NC re slain because
To- mysterious hand Of Providence guided :
tue hall" Whether tie South Carolina !
rife clubs will succeed in shifting the muir
ders from themselves to Providence. remains !
to lie seen