The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1877-05-23


Of considerable ability and of great
personal courage. He bad been q
Judge Of probate under the Confcd-
eracy, aud when civil government
was re-ests1 1ished be obtained the Of
tice Of Sheriff In this position he
virtually ruled the county for seven
years, until the political revolution of
1875. The other Offices were filed
BY the men be told the negroes to
nominate The were all natives
no carpc.-bssgers coming into the
county. TIE Republican local ad-
ministration was intensely unpopular.
Taxes wero - high one year as $32
on the $1,000 and . debt was con-
tracted Of $27, 900. professedly for the
building Of schcol-houses, which til
Democrats say were not built, and
for the support Of schemes which
they allege were of no account.
Over 100, 600 acres of land were seiz-
ed for taxes, and are still held by the
State, no purchasers having been
found. When Judge Chisolm took
Office he was, according to the report
Of bis enemies, too poor to get credit
for q saddle-horse, aud when be
left it they say be was worth $50.-
600.
Among the active Democrats of the
county were the numerous members
of o family named Gully. chief Of
which was John W. Gully. There
was i'll feeling between Chisolm and
this man, but no personal encounter
ever grew out Of it. One of the
warm partisans Of the Judge. named
Benjamin Rush, formerly clerk of the
Cbancery Court had quarreled with
Gully years ago about q business
matter (they had been in partnership,
and in 1873 an impromptu duel took
place in the msin street of De Kalb,
in which Samuel Gully, brother Of
John W., was killed, and Rush was
severely wounded About the same
tine j. p. Gilner, another of CHS.
olm's adherents, who kept store at
Scooba, and was State Senator, shot
a Democrat named Dawson. His
clerk fired at the same time, and be-
tween them both they killed him.
Although it was shown that Dawson
entered the store with pistol in bis
hand with the avowed purpose Of
killing Gilmer, mob of Democrats
invaded the town one night, and, fail
ing to End Gilmer, took bis goods out
OF his store and made bonfire out of
them. Arrests were made, but there
were no convictions. The same year
Benjamin Rush was wsylaid and
shot and severely wounded by some
person lurking behind q church in
De Kalb.
As result Of the campaign OF
1875, Judge Chisolm and bis friends
lost their Offices In 1876 the Judge
ran for Congress and was defeated.
The campaign was a heated one, and
the Democrats banded together in
well disciplined clubs, broke up some
of the Republican meetings by march
ing to them in large bodies, and hold
ing meetings of their own in the
same places to insimidate the negroes.
On Que ccssion Democratic process
sion paradei in front of Chisolm's 3
house, and some men in it fred pis-
tolls 10 the air, according to some ac-
counts, and at the house according to
others. After the election Cbisolm
procured the Indictment OF thirty-two
prominent Democrats by the United
States Grand Jury at Jackson, under
the intimidation clause of the En-
forcement act. This added fresh fue,
to the FIRE of hostile feeling long cher
ished against him in the county. In
December last an attempt was made
to assassiuate John w. Gully. He
was waylaid aud shot By some un-
known person. Suspicion fell upon
Rush. Shortly afterward Rush
left the State and went to Russell
vile, Arkansas. No one has seen
him in Kemper County since.
Last Thursday evening, the 26tb,
as John W. Gully vas returning
home to bis plantation. a few miles
north of De Kalb, be was assassinat-
ed BY some person 10 hiding by the
roadside, who sent charge of buck.
shot through him and robbed him OF
bis boots aud money 1t was believ-
ed that Rush had returned and had
committed the crime. but as no trace
of him could be found, the revengeful
feelings of the relatives and friends
of the murdered man centered on the
powerful personal and political friends
of Rush. A story few about from
mouth to mouth that the Gullys had
some evidence that ChisoIm and Gil
mer were accessories to the crime.
1t cannot be ascertsined, however,
that there was the slightest ground
for this report, aud it probably grew
solely out of the suspicious of the
Gullys. John w. Gully was buried
on Saturday, and about two hundred
and City men attended the funeral
So much engaged was this throng 10
planning the scheme of vengeance
which was executed next day, that
there was difficulty in getting any
body to Gil up the grave.
On that day warrant xas sworn
out for the arrest of Judge Chisolm.
Gilmer, G. Roscnbaum "a friend of
Gilmer, the De Kalb postmaster but
living in Scooba, and two brothers
named Hooper, one a merchant and
the other saloon-keeper in De Kalb.
All these men were Republicans
There seems to have been q plot to
get them together and murder them
ell. The sheriff arrested the two
Hoopers aod Chisolm aud placed
them all under guard in Chisolm's
house. and dispatched a deputy to
Scoobs for GiImcr and Rosenbaum,
but they had heard OF the warrant
and were met coming to town to
give themselves up
About ten O'Clock that morning
Sunday armed men began to ride
into De Kalb. First small detach-
ments came. and afterward large
body, numbering about 100 Before
noon over 200 men bad congregsted.
They we're sober. cool and determiu-
ed. Tying their horces to the gal