Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1877-05-25
The South Carolina Buffers.

The South Carolina Buffers.
The avenging Nemesis of Justice
appears to be abroad in the land
The Grand Jury of Kemble county,
Mississippi, has been convened In
extra session to take action upon the
brutal murder of Judge Chisholm
and his family. The United States
Circuit Court for the district OF
South Carolina has just begun its
session in Charleston, with Chief
Justice Waite presiding, assisted by
the Circuit Judge Bond. The trial
of $50 men in patches of IL in a
bunch has commenced. These are
the rioters-the chivalrous murderers
who contrived and executed the
Ellenton horror last summer in the
interest Of "Tilden and REFORM
One among these desperate scoun-
drels and assassins is Gen. M. G.
Butler, whom the Democrats elect.
ed to the United States Senate, as
has already appeared in the first
days disclosures Of the evidence, the
first witness, Mr.. J. G. Moore, testi-
flying that cit was arranged the kill
ing should be done by unknown men,
and Butler has done the whole thing
and he was too smart a man to be
caught" The witness also testified
that the leaders of this ku-klux gang
informed HIM that "the Democrats
intended to carry this election if
they had to wade to their saddle
skirts in blood" He also said
there was a prearranged dead-list,
and that every man on this fatal list
was to be killed. 1t was in August
and September last that this dread
full scheme of blood was put into ex-
ecution,-th excitement of the
Hamburg massacre of July before
having somewhat quieted down. 1t
was at this time, says the Cincinnati
Gazette, that "the colored people of
Aiken county were warned that they
had their choice either to live as
Democrats or die as Republicans
The warning was addressed tc the
blacks particularly, but the notice
was served on all the people. The
Democrats were going to carry the
State seven if they had to wade knee
deep in blood" They performed
the latter operation with greater per-
lection than the former, and it will
be admitted that their success in the
carrying" part of the business, iudg
ing by results, has not been indiffer-
ent. In September the conspiracy
eliminated in the assembling Of sew
eral hundred white men, all Demo-
Gratis, armed and equipped, under the
command of captains and other Off
GERS. They had lists of prominent
colored Republicans, and they had
come together to kill these men!-
And they did carry out their bloody,
terrible plan, killing some fifeteen or
twenty black men. While this
slaughter of human beings was IN
progress, United States soldiers
''troops'-appeared, and put tenn
porary stop to the carrying Of the
State" Then the brave white men
drove nearly hundred negroes in
to a swamp, and opened fire on them,
wounding several, but the approach
of a detachment Of troops made
them desist, and the negroes in the
swamp were saved. The white men
were found in battle array, drawn
up in line, with skirmishers thrown
out and guns loaded. The comman-
der of the Democrats was Col. A. p.
Butler. He is one of the South
Carolina Buffers. We have seen
his pedigree somewhere. It is quite
a long one, and has in it some illus
trious names, though none so notorious
as his. For the credit ancestry it is
to be hoped that his descent is deep
as well as long. Butler and the
commander of the United states
troops agreed that the colored people
should be allowed to 60 home, and
that the armed white man dispense to
their homes. AS an example of the
honor which is said to exist among
these Southern gentlemen, it may be
remarked that, notwithstanding
their agreements, on their way home
they brought down several colored
men, and on the next day killed a
few more. Such were the Ellenton
riots"
1t will not be doubted by any
truthful man that if this matter was
left to the State authorities nothing
would be done. But it is the Fede-
raj Government that is showing OH
their works." and right here and
now is the proper place to remark
that, although the troops" are with
drawn from any interference in local
affairs, and the State has passed
entirely into the control OF Hampton
and the Democrats, these red-handed
murderers are to answer tor their
crimes nevertheless. The rigorous
Enforcement laws of Congress are to
be applied, not by local authority,
but by the Federal courts. Under
the decisions of the Supreme Court
these Kuklux laws are applicable to
the freedmen only, they being the
words of the nation, and owing their
freedom and political rights to 1t. 1t
should not be inferred therefore that,
because the President has announced
the non-interference policy, there are
no adequate remedies for admins
tering justice upon the assassins of
the blacks; and opinion entertained
by many that the President determin-
ed to abandon these colored wards to
the ku-klux is now clearly shown to
be erroneous. On abandoning the
policy, stress will be laid
upon peaceful measures lor redrcss'
ing wrongs. lie who constraes the
estate autonomy" and "local solt
government of the Presidents
policy as suspension or abridg
met of the Governments power or
purpose to afford protection to the
blacks, grossly misjudges HIM, and
ere long will be compelled to
acknowledge it. Snsh an interpreta-
ton is to doubt the President, the
man and the law. We have no fears
In this regard, and there is no doubt
that the whole country is steadily
reaching this frame of mind.
THO ;pry bofora whom tho E1lan