The weekly Floridian. [volume] (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1867-19??, 1881-02-15
re sraalJen Tragedy.

son, and the presence Of armed uooiS
- :, rraxent vsdlence. The Governor at
NC. ordered ont tiesachments of the Governors
and Monticello Rifles, which were trans
,,or,.a =, once. by spdcial train 70 Madison, IN.
f.. 49, Command of Adiutant- General Yonge.-
a. their arrival there, they found q large number
or .rrned and excited negroes collected together
from, town and country, and the white people
af ,ha town greatly disturbed The arrival of
The State troops produced the desired effect, and
n /. short time entire quiet was restored.
The capse Of the trouble was, in brief, as fol-
L.. :. far IA can be learned from the scores OF
d;ver.e .,a,emeuts which have been in circula-
ton:
On Monday, the evidence OF seVerai "l'nessee
ss taken In the contested election case of Bisbee
vs. Finley. at the house of Mr.. Dennis Eagan
before whom the testimony was taken, as Notary
Pohlic Among the witnesses there examined,
was Savage. a violent and unprincipled negro
politician. who had been q candidate in the re-
cent election for the ONCE oil representative III
the LEGISLATURE for Madison county. On Mon
dav The examination was continued at the court
horse IN theconrse of which Mr. Frank Paterson,
a vounO attorney of the place, who was present,
and Savage became ia involved in a controversy
Of words concerning the testimony Of Savage and
o,hars given The day before, which illuminated
In one of the most shocking and cold -blooded
murders which has ever occurred in the State,
The negro Savage having caught Patterson with
his left arm from behind, and, reachlng afouhu
| his body with his right hand shet MIN III 'ne
front mart of the body with selfcocking pistol.
Tn the subsequent confusion, two other shots were
1 6rad AT Paterson after he fell, by Savage and
] s..SSu vA.i,ruIruI, auu imminent danger OF q
conflict between the officers of the law and the
crowd of negroes which had gathered about, were
arrested and lodged in jail Threats were made
of rescue of the prisoners, on the part of the
blacks, and there was also some talk of lynching
them on the part ofthe whites but the prompt call
for q superior force by the Sheriff and the Judge
of the Circuit, as promptly responded to by the
Governor in sending the militia, dispersed the
excited mob of blacks, and prevented intern
perate action on the part of the whites.
The connection of Eagan with the murder, is
as various in statement, as the other facts. 1t is
asserted that proof can be made that he called
out TO Savage when the difficulty first began, to
"shoot him !" also that he had armed many of
the negroes and encouraged them on to the point
of aggression. However these things may be.
and whatever may have been his direct or indi-
rect connection with the crime committed by
Savage and James, il is certain that he, rather
his friends for him, as he is understood to assert
felt the for his safety, and
having made his escape from the place of the
murder, he was guarded at his home by num-
Der of armed negroes for few hours, and thence
escaped into Georgia. and was arrested in Alba
ny, and brought TO Tallahassee. where he is now
in custody The detachments of Tallahassee and
Monticello troops were, on Friday, relieved by
attachments from Jacksonville and Lake City
companies, who are now on duty, guarding the
prisoners, Savage and James, in Madison jail
1t is probable that arrangements may be made
for their removal thence to some other point
Now that they are in the hands of the law, they
will certainly be retained and protected and Civ
en- a fair trial.
The prompt action Of the authorities and the
officers of the law and the military have been
deservedly commended in all quarters, and meet
the hearty appreciation of all good citizens, dis
appointing only those who would rejoice TO see
Florida and the whole South again deuged in
blood, if they could once more regain thereby
the power they once enjoyed, and to their last
desperate struggle to retain which may be direct
" traced not only the horrid tragedy in which
young Paterson's life was sacrificed, but nearly
every i'll which yet affiicts an ordinarily paten,
and long suffering people
1t is quite evident that the Republicans are
endeavorng 10 make political capital out of this
Madison affair The following telegram from
Gen. Jenkins who was present and witnessed
the murder of young Patterson, dispatched to
Bisbee in Washington, is the very quntessence
of cunning He said to that embodiment OF
malignity (Bisbee)-
Intense excitement here. Fight in one precinct
and Esgan's life threatened Have been obliged
TO stop One man killed What shall do
To which dispatch, Mr.. Bisbee replied as
follows:
Gail on Judge Settle to take testimony Con-
tinue, unless prevented by force. To abandon
Madison will encourage violence elsewhere ; but
act on your own judgment.
Mark how he withholds the fact that the
lone man kiled" was a Democrat and was
murdered by Republican negro Mark also
the stress he lays on the o-called fight 9 in one
precinct" when there was no fight but q
brutal murder by one of Bisbee's swift witnesses
II is plain from Jenkins telegram and Bisbee's
reply, with the comments thereon by the stall
wArt newspapers, that the impression was in
tended TO create that testimony in the contest
between Bisbee against Finley could not be
taken in Madison on account of Democratic in
timidation and violence, when Jenkins knew
that not the slightest opposition TO the taking
of such testimony had been interposed by any
Democrat-that in fact the only violence he had
encountered came from his own Witnesses This
it was which Obliged him TO STOP" and not the
opposition of the whites. We assert that any
person who may be deputed by Judge Settle OF
any other authority win meet with no opposi-
ton in collecting all the testimony wanted, false
or true, as the case may be. No better evidence
Of this is needed than the fact that when this
sad occurrence happened, less than half dozen
whites were any where about the courthouse
while negroes were in and around in crowda
The whites were quiet, offering no opposition,
and this Mr.. Jenkins knew. His telegram was
an outrageous suppression of facts, and for this
he deserves the sevefest condemnation
The Mails.
The number of complaints Of the irregularity
and ineficiency Of the mail service in Florida
and other Southern States Is increasing TO an