The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1878-12-05

Among the victims of Asto1neV Cor
eral Deyens's bloody-shirt crusade is
Mrs. John Simms, OF Wilson, North
CAROLINA. Mrs. Simns is female bnil.
dozer, II that be an admissible expres-
sion. Her offense is that OF commits
ting a Southern outrage of a politics.
nature, upon the person OF her hus-
band, John Simms. 1t appears thas
Mrs. Slmms, who is a femaleo color.
and stalwart both as to her Radicalism
and her muscle, commanded her hus-
band to vote for 0,Hara, the colorsd
candidate for Congress. He promises
to do so, but on his way toh he polls Was
met or oyertaken by coup OF white
men on horseback. These miscreants.
not having the fear of the fifteenth
amendment before their eyes, shot
John Smms in the mouth with bot
tie of apple-jack. In fact they fairly
riddled him, so that by the time John
arrived at the polls he was too badly
wounded to remember his promise IA
Mrs. Smms. He indeed so oaitv
intimidated that he voted Demn-
cratic ticket, which the two wlia
put into his hands, and for the
that day John Slmms slept and
bered in the kindly shade of W.,
shed. Toward night he awoke and
sauntered forth with a headache. He
soon met colored acquaintance. who
advised him that Mrs. Simms had been
apprised of his voting the Democrats
ticket, and was looking for him. There
upon John Simms, probably believing
himself to be at the Hardshell Baptiss
forks of the road, leading to perds-
tlon in one direction and to damnation
In the other, incontlnently took to the
woods. And he remained in the
woods until the twelfth instant, a pe-
rod OF seven days, when, being nearly
starved, he was forced TO show HIM
self again in town. For the rest let
us quote the local chronicler who saws:
"Simms' wife met him on the
street, and, having provided herself
with heavy hickory stick, she adj
ministered a severe beating on her
lord for failing to vote for her choice.
The woman was arrested, not, how
ever, until she had laid thirty lashes
on the back of her husband" Later
advices say that after Johns personal
safety had been assured by the iodr-
ment of his s,alwart better-half in tho
Jail of the Vicinage, some of his
Democratic friends escorted him
to the Office of the United States
commissioners, where he made COM
plant in due form against Mrs. Sinims
on a charge of "abridging his rights
on accout of race, color or previous
condition, contrary 10 law and tho
Constitution of the United States. y
Mrs. Slmms was thereupon bound over
to keep the peace and await tho action
of the United States grand jury. All
the local accounts agree that the affair
is the cruelest piece of persecution, on
political grounds, that any negro has
ever been subjected to in North Caro-
lima. In view of the peculiar gravity
of the case, we suggest to Attorney
General Devens the propriety Of en-
ploying special government counsel to
assist the district attorney in the prose
cution of Mrs. Simms. We think Il
perfectly safe to promise him that the
Democratic House will cheerfuIly ap-
propriate the money required to pay
the fees of special counsel in the re-
case. AS we understand il,
Alr. Hayes's intention to enfore tho
laws with stries ~ 2 F==.izi. !. y.-e--.s.k-qkt-
lHgtUH F0SEEa