The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1879-07-12
FEDERAL BUAIMERS.
Approached on His Plantation-AsIsed For
Money-Hanged and Loft for Doad-Es-
. Gaping the Elames. ~


Money-H"nsed and Loft for Doad-Es-
gaping the Flames. ~
Chief Justice Warner, Of tho Geor.
gia Supreme Court, is now nearly.
eighty years Of age and in good health.
lie was Congressman and judge be-
fore tho war. How he fell into the
hands of Yankee bummcrs is thus told
by the Augusta Chronicle and .Senti-
ael:
III tho spring of 1865 (and after the
surrender of General johnson, though
that disaster was not officially known
in GcorgiW Judge Warner was at his
plantation in Mcrriwcthcr county,
awaiting the approach of one of Will
sons columns of Federal raiders,
which was then passing through the
country. All the whites on the place
fled except Judge Warner and has
married daughter. The latter had q
child only week old and as she could
not be moved the father remained with
hor. During the morning several de-
tachments Of cavalry had halted at the
house and made themselves FREQ with
anything they desired in tho way Of
"portablc property" but 10 violence
was done to the inmates. About
noon another party arrived and stop
ped to fed their horses and to plum
der. After satisfying their appetites
they began to pillagc, and the Judges
silver and other vallables were soon
slowed away in The capacious saddle
bags. While they were robbing the
smoke house of hams and pickles ard
wines and preserves the Judge stood
by in silence, watching their pro-
cecdings. After tho building had
been thoroughly guttcd, a revolver
was suddenly presented OF his hcatl
and he was ordered to accompany the
party. Midway between the house
and the "ncgro quarter" was Il BODY
of woodland and into this grove Judge
Warner was conducted by his captors.
Reaching q place secluded from OBJ
scrvation the leader OF the band, who
wore the uniform of q Federal cap
tain, took out his watch and said lie
would give him three minutes to tell
where his gold was hidden. Judge
Warner protested that he had no gold,
but to no avnil. They had been in
formed along their line of march that
hc huu Il secret hoard and the cd
old sccessionist" must give it up. The
prisoner urged that he had been "a
strong Union man and that the only
money he had was in Confederate
currency and in Central Railroad bills.
They robbed him of $4,000 of the
former and $l5, 900 Of the latter, which
they found upon his person, bnt con-
tinued to insist that he had gold and
must produce it. At the expiration of
the three minutes the captain made a
signal, one of the men took from a
horse a long lcathcrn strap with a
running moose at ono end, while the
others cXtemporized gallows by
bonding down tho end of q stout
sapling. With al oath, the officer
made them select larger and strong
CT tree, Judge Warner remaining
silent, for the sufficient reason that he
had nothing to tell. One end of the
strap was adjusted around his neck
and the other fastened securely to q
tree. The sapling was gradually re-
leased until the line became taut,
when 1t was turned loose and the
Judges body danglcd in the air.
brutes still surrounded him, and he
was again ordered to give up'his gold
under penalty Of death. 1io could
only reply rs before, and again the
sapling was released. This occurred
about two O'Clock. When ho revived
the sun was nearly down. He lay at
the foot of the impromptu gallows, the
halter had been removed from his
neck, and the leaves, which covered
the ground several inches deep, were
burning within few feet of him. He
thinks the heat of the flames restored
him to consciousness and to life. The
wrctches had left him for dead and
set fire to the woods to conceal the
evidence of their crime. The Judge
was able to find his way TO the house,
where he lay i'll for many days. He
finally recovered and now shows no
aigns OF the violence to which he was
subjected. He is confident that the
captain and soldiers who figured rs
amateur hangmen belonged to a regi-
ment OF Wisconsin cavalry, though he
docs not remember any of their names.
Judge Warner is wont to say that he
has suffered all the pangs Of dissolu-
tlon ana has been "as near dead rs he
ever expects to be-"
DANGER IN CuARLEsToN.-Thc DEM
ocratic party OF Charleston has acci-
dentally fallen into the hands of revo-
lutionists, who deliberately propose to
experiment with it IN reckless man
ner; all the self-adjusting machinery
OF tho party, long in use and ensuring
wise results, is to be prostrated, and
experiments tried, which, if not
promptly arrested, will hand tho city
over to the Radicals, white and black,
who are ready Otis true, rs yet some
what disgoiscd) to reap the fruits of
the revolution. No wonder the rural
Democracy of South Carolina sneers
at Charleston Democrats, when an in
dependent candidate, backed up by
the worst Radical influences i'm the
city, has his champions on the CITY
Executive Committee. We have faith
that the rank and file of the CITY
Democracy will deal with this whole
matter in very summary way so
soon as they realize fully tho conse-
aucnces of this stupcndous folly.