The weekly Union times. [volume] (Union C.H., South Carolina) 1871-1894, 1877-10-12
A BLACK BRUTE.

Arrcst of Negro Preacher IN Me Pulptt
Who Had FIogged His Daughter to
DEATH.
Never, either in the annals of crime or
in work Of fiction, have We ever read or
heard of case so noted for unnatural cru
city or inhuman brutality as the one which
L am about to narrate.
.Whiss ssislti i6s' Hoo =: :ahty q few
days ago, the story was tofd me, and vouched
for by different eyc-witnesses (some of whom
are among the most reliable citizens in this
section, as well as corroboratcd by the court
record About ten days ago negro black
smith namct Burt Holleman became en-
ragged because he could not find one of the
house keys that he wanted, and concluded
that his child, girl about IL years cd, had
lost it, aud because she could not tell where
it was he commenced whipping her with q
heavy wagon whip, every stroke of the lash
cutting the skin and drawing the blood.
lle continued beating the child until he was
completely exhausted Then he called his
wife, who found the young girl with her
back aud shoulders all laceratjd and the
blood still flowing freely from the gaping
wounds, while the lash of the whip was wet
and colored with the blood Of her laughter
The iicud Of husband thepby tbrsats made
his wife undross the girl aud wash the
wounds Of the daughter with salt and water
Being moved by the pitcous shricks of the
child, she declared that she had rather risk
her husbands vengeance than to inflct ad
ditonal torture on the child and fled from
the house.
After his wife left he gathered the whip
again and comcnecd fogging the child anew
for crying. Instead of being moved by 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 heavy blow
for ''playing possum."
lie then took the body to a 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 20 tell his
ncighbors that he had sent the child to Bibb
County and to threaten mis- wife with instant
death if she ever said anything about what
had happened. The story of his crime
would perhaps never be known if some 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 neighbors, who had warrant issued
against the negro, and arrested him in Il
pulpit, where ne was preaching the word of
God to his colorcd brethren preparatory to
taking up colccti IN. When arrested, he
stoutly denied everything. Before the court,
when confronted by his wife and the other
witness, he still denied that he ever whip
ped the child ut all. lie was then taken by
the officers of the law to the forest where
the witnesses said he had buried the child
Aitcra short search they found a new made
grave, and, digging up the ground, they
found the body Of child fearfuly bruised
and mutilatcd. When the father saw the
body of his murdered daughter he broke
completely down, and acknowledged the
Whole affair. His only excuse for beating
the child was that she lost one of tho house
keys that she had no business touching
lloleman is in Jail to await trial at the
November term of the court. 1t will be
remembered by the readers of the Constitu-
iioM that negro was hung in Eihngham
County last fall for beating his own child to
death with a barrel stavc.- Constitution.