The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1881-01-06
A Horrible Recital.

| tSaWncY Beane was born about eight or
nine miles eastward Of the city of Edin.
burgh, of parents who went hedging and
dltching for their daily bread, and who
| brought up this their bloody-mlnded child
to the same occupation; but as he grew up,
his disposition to idleness not permitting
him to followan honorable employment, he
left his father and mother, and ran into the
country, where, following most wicked
life, and taking up woman as vicious as
himself, instead of living, III any city,
town or village, they took up their lodging
on rock by the seaside, on the Shore of
ward of twenty-five years, having both
children and Grand children in that time,
whom they brought up so wickcdly that
they never separated, kept no other COM
pany but themselves, and supported them
selves entirely by robbing, and, what was
| worse they never committed robbery with
out a murder.
They never frequented any market for
provisions but as soon al they murdered
any man, woman or child, they did noL
leave tho carcass behind, but carried it 10
their den, where, cutting it into quarters,
| they wouldpicklc them, andliveuponh human
flesh till they got another prey of the same
kind. But they had generally supcrtluity,
insomuch that they oftentimes in the night
time, but ut great distance from their
sanguinary mansion, threw legs and arms
OF some they had killed into the sea, which
the tide cast up at several parts of the
country, to the great astonshment of the
beholder5. Persons who went about their
lawful occupations fell often into the
hands of these merciless cannibals and
never returned home again. This raised a
general cry among their friends and rela-
tions, insomuch that the whole country
was alarmed, and private spies were sent
out in all parts to find out If possible how
these melancholy events happened. For
a length of time their strict searches and
inquiries were to no purpose. However,
several honest travellers were taken up
upon suspicion, and wrongfully hanged
upon bare circumstances, besides several
innocent ipn-keepers, who were also exc
cuted for no other reason than that persons
who had been thus lost were known to have
lam i'll their houses, and were supposed to
have been robbed and murdered by them
and their bodies privately buried in OBJ
scure places to prevent a discovery. After
several had been executed, and no one
made any confession at the gallows, but
declared they were innocent of the crime
for which they died, this rigorous way Of
proceeding was given up, and the find
ing out Of the murderers left wholly to
God.
Sawncy I}cane, with his wife, children,
and grandchildren still pursued their bar
barous actions with impunity, and, being
somewhat numerous, they would attack
four, five or dix men together, if they were
| on foot. AS for horsemen, two were the
! most they would ever set on, and then
with such caution that an ambuscade was
| laid to secure them, ride which way they
| would, provided one or both made their
escape from the fist assailants. Thus, those
whose misfortune socvcr it was TO fall into
their barbarous hands, he or she never came
Off with their lives. The place was solitary
where they inhabitatcd; and, when the
tide came up, the water went for near two
hundred yards into their subtclrancan hab-
itation, which reached almost milo un.
derground, 80 that if they wero seen there.
about by any person. 1t was not in the least
suspected that anything human resided in
such dismal place of perpetual horror
and darkness. The number of people they
had killed was not exactly known; but il
was reckoned that in the twenty-five years
they had reve]ed in these inhuman slaugh
tiers they had washed their hands in tho
blood of above one thousand men, women,
and children" 5
The discovery of tho cannibals was thus
made: a man and his wife, who was be-
hind him on the same horse, coming ono
evening from fair and falling into an
ambuscado Of these mcrciless wretches
they fell upon them in most furious man,
Ier; the man, to save himself as we'll as h,
could, fought bravely with his sword and
pistol, riding some of them down by mair
force Of his horse, from which his wife, IL
tho conflict, fell off, and was presently