The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1877-05-23
THE nIssrssIrPI TRAGEDY.
A SAVAGE AND THRILLING STORY.

From the staff eorrespondentof OF the N. Y. Tri-
bune.,
De KALB. Kemper Co., Miss,
May 2, 1877.
l heard of the Kemper County
Tragedy while in New Orleans.
The meager particulars given by tel
egraph made it appear an affair Of
unusual atrocity, and raised a strong
suspicion that political feeling lay at
the bottom of it. If party animosity
bad had nothing to do with the in-
yasion of quiet village on Sunday
by an armed mob of 200 men the
the murder of three men and child,
and the wounding of heroic girl
defending her fathers life, then the
occurrence, l thought, must have
grown out of condition of society
worth examining on the spot. |
stopped at jackson on Tuesday to
learn further details, and finding that
the first accounts seemed in the main
to be verified by the later news, / Sc,
out for the scene of the outrage.
On the train was pleased to find
Gov. Stone. bound for the same des'
tination. He had received no com.
munication from the Sheriff of the
County, bat deemed it his duty q
Chief Executive of the State to make
personal investigation of the occur
renee. The Governor is a conscien-
tious, fair-minded man of very con.
servative views, whose administra-
tion has been marked by q determin-
alton on his part to preserve the
peace and enforce the laws without
respect to persons or parties. We
reached Meridian on Wednesday
oigbt, and starting at daybreak this
morning on train going northward
over The Mobile 4 Ohio Railroad. fell
in with a surgeon on second trip to
De Kalb to dress the wounds of the
two surviving victims. Leaving the
railroad at Scooba, forty miles north
of Meridian, we succeeded with some
difficulty in procuring q team to pros
ecute the journey. The landlord OF
the village tavern furnished mule
and a wsgon, and the editor of the
local newspaper kindly contributed 9
horse. With the landlord as driver
and the editor mounted on q saddle
horse as escort, we made a party Of
Eve, and managed to traverse 10 four
hours thirteen miles Of detestable
road. In the whole distance We
passed but single vehicle, and saw
only one mounted man. The road
led through forests for most of the
way, and the few plantations it skirt
ell seemed in 8 q alidated, worn
but condition. Tie landlord said it
vas mighty poor country"
De Kalb proved TO be an unsightly
little hamlet standing on q bill in the
midst of barren, sandy fields and
patches of scrub-oak Two rude un-
painted churches with more than half
the glass broken out Of their win
dows, misers able tumble-down
frame court house, with neither paint
without nor plaster within, bright
new jail of boards painted white,
and a dozen one-story stores Of the
cheapest and meanest construction,
half Of them closed and sotting down,
and all much dilspidated, formed the
prominent features of the place.
Three or four pretty cottages 10 the
midst of blooming gardens seemed
strangely out Of their natural envi-
comment.
Half the day spent in hearing tine
narratives Of cl,izens OF both political
parties who witnessed the doings Of
ne mob on Sunday and Of the despe-
cately wounded judge and his heroic
laughter, who we're among tie vic
tins, enables me to construct an ap-
proximately correct account Of the Of.
fair. To give an idea Of the state ol
feeling out Of which 50 phenomenal
q crime grew, / must prefa,e il By
a reference to personal feuds and bit