The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1881-01-06
EvICFlNG A WHOLE VILLAGE.
How Landlord in Donegal ReYengetl the
Murder OF Hls Steward.

| AurucFOt Ate bteR0rd.
A Dublin correspondent of III. 81
James Gazette says:
In the Daily Express summary of news
iherc are two consecutive pa.Agraplls
we'll worth noticing together: -
! Land meetings were also held In va.
rious other. parts of the country, and
hints were thrown out ut them that IL the
prosecution of the Land Leagues should
end in imprisonment, the pensantry would
resort TO assassination of landlords by
way of repeal.
"Mr. J. G. Adair went, oa Saturday,
from Monntmellick, Queens County,
to his estate at Graigue. to cGl!cct his
rents. He was accompanied by two armed
constables, and it is stated that other
c0nstables weie stationed at intervals
along the road. The tenants demanded
an abatement, which was refused, and
then they paid in full"
Dir. Adair refused to grant an nbate
ment. and the rest was paid in FULL Now,
to enable you to under tand the signifi.
canoe OF this last paragraph, i will relate
little story. Dir. t.dair is II gentleman
owning property u several Counties in
Ireland. Just and honorable in his deu..
ings ano a keen man Of business, lie re.
fuses obedience to tho wishes of the
Land League. And that he has courage
IL well known TO his tenants, who do not
forget under what circumstances he evic.
ted an entire village. In 1858 Mr.. Adair
purchased the property of Glenveigh,
lonely mountain tract in Donegal.
Having restricted the liberty hitherto en-.
Joyed by the tenants ofgrazing their cat.
tie and sheep over tie mou ntains Us com.
monage. difficulties arose. "A Scotch
steward was either murdered or grievousiy
wounded / forget which) near the vii
Iagc of Derryveigh. The people who did
the wrong were known, but, as is usual
in such cases, no evidence was forthcom.
ing. Another steward, James Murray.
was found with sufficient hardihond to
take the place Of the first. but he thought
1t advisable TO carry revolver. On The
morning of the 18th of November 1860.
James Murray left his house. On the
10th his body was found cn the mountain,
his bruins dashed out by stone. Beside
him was his revolver, the stock broken
upon his skull. One barrel had been
discharged. The bullet had slipped 80
far out of the next chamber that it would
not revolve. Mr.. Adair visited the spot
with the resident magistrate. Near the
top ofthe bnre mountain could be seen
oieaaiy uiurked in the peat, on which no
heather grew, the tracks of men who had
evidently approached Murray where he
stood. The whole story was written OH
the mountain.side. Th @ was the
place where the tracks repeated
themselves-thc.c the men stood
while Murray stuck his stick in the peat
where It was found standing. He had
evidently done so to free his right hand,
with which he took out his pistol and
fired one ahot probably over their head.
to frighten them; possibly with crring
aim at one or other. Then, his weapon
failing him, he turned and fed with great
strides down the mountain side. Step
by step the tracks could be clearly seen
TO the spot where he slipped, and fell to
rise no more, Step by step could also be
traced-the booted pnrsuer OF one side,
the barefooted on the other-to the spot
where they broke his skull and battered
his brains out rs he lay. But more than
that; step by step Mr.. Adair followed
these tracks until they mingled with foot.
marks in the village of Derryveigh, and
there and then he declared that If within
one month The murlerers of his steward
were not handed over to justice he
would evict every man in the village and
would not leave one stone upon another.
AT this time the people of tho village
were under notice to quit, as u prelimina-
ry to squnring their farms, which were
hitherto held in separate patches, and re.
Installing each one as tenant on consol.
idated holding. But the threat was un.
availing; the murderers of james Murray
dwelt safe in the valley. Possibly the
people thought the threat would never
be carried out. But Mr.. Adair was as
good as his word. On the 9Th, 9th and
10th of April, every tenant in Derryveigh
had to leave the place and the houses
were leveled. This was, indeed, q terri
b!o act CT retribution--so terrible that
nothing but extreme necessity could jus.
'tifyi But no steward was murdered
on the property afterwards.