The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1879-09-17
The Chisholm lIsrderers Dangerous Pc,
alttos, nf the PFasNautloh,

aIl boarding Of the house Ol a widow, on
the edge 81 the town. The house sits far
back In a shadedyRrd. An avenue shad.
ed BY trees extends from It to the front
gate. In front OF the house runs coun.
trS foaa, and the further edge OF the
road Is deep and wide gully. Monday
night, at eleven o'clock, Mr.. Morris and
Mr.. Ware, counsel for the prosecution,
Colonel Meek, counsel for the defense,
and one Or two others were sitting on the
piazza enjoying the fresh alt, when there
came up from the road halloo. 1t was
apparently 0 negro's voice, and tsinqutred
II 1uhge Morris was there. ii
Morris replied, yes
lawn YOU come hefe?" inquired the dis.
tAnt visitor, II would like TO see you"
Norris was In almost complete didIabiue,
and the weather was quite warm, and he
shouted back; II am undressed; come
here II you wish to SEQ me-" The voice
replied, mo, sab"
IhWhat do you want2" returned Mr..
Morris. u would like TO see you here, II
II Ia convenient to see you, sal" came
back the seeming negro voice. Word was
shouted ID him 10 many times to come
up 10 the piazza, and he talked back tn a
rather low negro voice, mo, sab, so per-
|sistently, that suspicious was aroused.
Mr.. Morris started 70 get his shoes to 20
70 the front gate, but the other geutlem
present were so thoroughly imbued with
anxiety that. they warned him against
such risk, Colonel Meek, the counsel for
the defense, being especially earnest.
Several gentlemen, Meek among the apm.
Der, said as they had studied the voice
more and more they were satisfied it was
not negrO's, but Awhile mans made 10
initiate negro. Moreover. It DAD pot
come fFom.the front gate, but from either
the middle Of tho road or the gully be-
Iyond the road. Morris yielded TO the adj
1ceof his friends and did not go, but re.
peated Invitations were shouted out to the
man to come in, and they were as often
declined Everybody was by that made
quite nervous, and Morris cried out that
the fellow had better get away from there.
Nothing was heard from that ting. It
had been the custom for some nights be-
fore to sleep with tho doors wide open, 10
get all the air possible, but that night
everybody went at once 10 bed, and every
door was locked and boiled.
The opinion Of all was that II it was
really negro he would come TO Morris
the next morning and tell what he want.
ed, for that Is the well-knoyn habit Of the
negro, but none such came, and the arp
conviction OF nearly all Is that an attempt
was made TO assassinate Morris. That
such an attempt was'made has nothing to
do with the more significant fact that in
Kemper county, Mississippi, such reign
OF terror exists that . man calling at II
o'clock at night at front gate for another
man frightens house full Of Rble.bQlied
men familiar with the local customs 50
much that not one Of them dares to go
out TO see what is wanted, but all 20
straight to bed after locking and boiling
the doors. fEEsf ~
Leading Democrats say repeatedly that
therei s no danger whatever, but the fact
none the less exists that the members Of
the prosecution now generally go armed.
They feel uneasy, and they will be glad
when it is over, so they can get away.
Morris said this morning: ''If the jury
acquits Gully the crowd will kill Judge
Hamm within year. Ia He Is an upright
judge, and the Gullys and their friends
hate him. There came near being m out
break against him the other day. When
the tilt between him and Colonel Meek
took place one man stood at the foot OF
the stairs and declared that he would spit
in the Judges face when he came down."
The worst feature in the prosecution OF
the Chisholm murderers was that the evil
dence taken on the trial showed that
Philip Gully, brother Of the man just
acquitted, and thirty-two other rioters
were indicted for Chisholm's murder two
years ago, but that no arrests had ever
been made, no bail required and no steps
taken toward prosecution in these cases
"a state Of affairs almost inconceivable in
a community having grand jury and
prosecuting attorney at all.
The Philadelphia Lsagr, journal rare.
ly given to expressing itself on any sideo
any political issue, but a journal Of large
circulation, makes the following comments
on the verdict in the Chisholm trial: at
is possible that If the abstract question
whether Cornelia Chisholm, daughter Of
Judge Chisholm, was shot at all was sub
mitted TO Kemper county (Mississippi)
jury, there might be verdict that she was
shot, but ii such finding involved the
punishment Of any Of the gang Of muir:
derers who did the shooting, it is not i'm.
probable that the jury would fail to agree
upon that abstraCtquestion. But she was
most brutality murdered while endeavoring
tosaveher father from being murdered. She
was shot by leader, in The mob that at
tackled her fatherwhile in the hands Of
the Sheriff in Jail. Henry Gully, the
prisoner on trial, was a leader in the mob;
all the circumstances show him to have
been at the head of the murderous con-
spiracy, and there was clear and positive
evidence that he, with his gun, shot Cor.
nelia chisholm-yet it took that Kemper
county jury but half an hour to find a
verdict OF not guilty."
"Kemper and Yazoo are making up a
fatal record for Mississippi-fatal, too, for
those who attempt to excuse or explain
the murders away. Atrocities and bar.
barities, such as their names are now in.
etfaceablY Unidentified with, live in and
move the current OF public feeling all over
the United States. There have been fail
urts oiiustice in the North-many of them
-as vellas in the South; but the records
oiour courts would be searched in vain
for parallel to this series Of crueland bar
barous murders, and the perversion Of
justice III the effort to punish the muir.
derers."
/. It will be seen that in the Massachu.
sets Republican State Convention yester.
day, United States Senator Hoar made a
.torcible allusion to the murderous STATE Of
Affairs In Mississipni In connaction With