Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1884-02-28
COPIAH COUNTY.
Testimony Before the Senatorial Inyestiga-
tIon.

New ORLEANS, Feb 20.-Thc sub
committee of the United Safes senate,
investigating the Copiah county, Miss,
outrage, resumed the hearing of testi-
mony to-day. David Bill, colored, testi-
fed that he was chairman of the repub-
lican executive committee of Copiah
county; saw armed men riding about the
night before the election. His home
was visited by twenty-five men; they
took the tickets he had for distribution
away from him and destroyed them; they
were mixed tickets, republicans and in
dependents, and the name of Miller,
democratic candidate was on them; wit
ness was now assistant sergeant-at-arms
in the Mississippi senate; he was given
the position, he thought, through the
influence of Miller, whose name was on
his ticket.
Witness declined to give the names
of the men who took the tickets away
from him; supposed them to be lot of
drinking fellows, and denied having of
fered to testify for the democrats. Wit
ness voted the Independent republican
ticket at the election, as did most of the
colored men. They were not intimi-
dated.
Mrs. Wallace, colored, widow of Thos.
Wallace, testified that the night before
the election armed men came to her
house, pushed open the door and at
tempted to throw rope over her hus-
bands neck, when he threw up his hands
asking what they meant to do. A man
then shot him in the neck. Several
shots were fired, one shot striking her
on the arm, passing into her husband S
neck and killed him, and then the men
went away. She did not know them.
After her husband was killed she went
to the woods and remained there until
after the election.
Handy Fortner, colored said that two
weeks before the election at 0 o'clock at
night crowd came to his house, cursed
him and said they had come for him
They made me cross my hands and fol
low them. Some of them were masked
and some painted They took me out
in the woods; made Pollard and West,
the colored men at my house, follow.
When they got to where the crowd was
they pulled down my breeches and
stretched me on the ground They
made Pollard sit on my head and West
on my feet and commenced flashing me
The pain was SO great that Pollard and
West could not hold me still. Then
the mob would lash then until they held
me steady. There were 16 men in the
crowd, 13 of whom took a hand in
whipping me. They kept it up until
my body had no feeling, and l ceased
halooing. After this Joe Reese struck
me 40 or so licks with a strap. My
back was nothing but one bruised
mass. The men ceased and threatened
to shoot my brains out. I told them
| was going to vote the democratic
ticket and they said that if | was
within 100 miles of there the next
day they would kill me, They said
the same thing to Pollard and West
| then left my home and remained in
the woods about four weeks. My COWS
and four bales of cotton were destroyed
The negroes all slept in the woods for
some time after the election, as the mob
continued its visits to Salisbury. Wit
ness said he had sued man named
Thompson in Claiborne county, and had
beaten him in the suit, and he thought
this was the reason he was whipped by the
mob. Isham Gilmore, Jack Thomp.
son and G. l.. Oliver, colored, j. w
Bond and Durant, white, all testified
substantially corresponding with the
witnesses regarding the reign of terror
prevailing in Copiah county, George NJ
Hamilton, white, of Hazelhurst, testified
concerning the killing of Matthews on
election day by Wheeler, the democratic
challenger.