Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1877-10-17
A BLACK BRUTE.
Ares; of il Negro Preacher in the Pull.
pit. Who Had FloygCd His Daughter
to Death, and Abused Her Body After
She was Dead.
Atlanta GA ! Constitution

Never, either in the annals Of crime
or in work Of fiction, have we
heard Of case so noted for unnatural
cruelty or inhuman brutality as the one
which am to nairate.
While visiting Houston county IL few
days ago the story was told me, and
vouched for by different eye-witnesses,
reliable citizens in this section jas we'll as
corroborated bv the court record About
ten days ago II negro blacksmith named
Burt Holleman became enraged because
he could not find one Of the house keys
that he wanted, and concluded that his
child, "A girl about twelve years old, had
lost it, and because she could not tell
where it was he commenced whipping
her with a heavy wagon whip, every
stroke Of the lash cutting the skin and
drawing the blood He continued beat
ing the child until he was completely
exhausted Then he called his wife
who found the Young girl with her back
and shoulders all lacerated, and the
blood still flowing freely from the gap
ing wounds, while the lash Of the whip
was wet and colored with the blood of
her daughter. The fiend OF husband
then by threats made the wife undress
the girl and wash the wounds Of the
daughter with salt and water. Being
moved by the piteous shrieks Of the
child, she declared that she had rather
risk her husbands vengeance than to
inllict additional torture on the child
and fled from the house
After his wife left he gathered the
whip again and commenced logging
the child anew for crying Instead of
being moved 10y her cries and pleas for
mercy, he continued; the child actually
died under the lash While holding the
dead child in his hands he struck it
across the head a heavy blow, for" play
ing 'possum."
lie then took the body to Il dark wood
near by and buried it, smoothing the
ground over the place so as to remove
all traces of the grave. His next move
was to tell his ncighbors that he had
sent the child to Bib county, and to
threaten his wife with instant death if
she ever said anything about what had
happened. The story of the crime
would perhaps never have been known
ifsome of the little negro children in
the ncighborhood had not been attracted
by the child's cries and seen everything
that happened even To the burial of the /
deceased, They day or two after told /.
what they had seen TO one of their /
who had warrant issued 4
against the negro and arrested him in Il
pulpit where he was preaching the word /
of God to. his colored brethren, prepare /
tory to taking up n collection. When /
he stoutly denied everything. /
Before the court, when confronted by /
his wife and the other witnesses he still |.
denied that he ever whipped the child /
ut NIL, lie was then taken by the of .
icerS Of the law to the forest where the I
witnesses said he had buried the child. /
After short search they found II new /
made grave, and digging up the ground .
they found the body of u child fearfulv /
bruised and mutllatcd When the father .
saw the body of his murdered daughter
he broke down completely and ac-
knowlcdgcd the whole affair. His only +
excuse for beating the child was that (
she lost one Of the house keys that She
had no business touching. Holleman
Is III jail to await trial in the November
term of the court. 1t will be remem-
bercd 10y the readers of the Constitution
that negro was hung in Eningham
county last fall for beating his own child /.
TO death with barrel stavc.