The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1885-06-25
The Returned tonvIctS.

The Register yesterday placed the
reading puhlic.in possession of the facts
that there were rum0rs of repetition of
.inhuman treatment of convicts at the
camp of Maj. Twiggs, who is working
them on the line of the Savannah Valley
Railroad, in Abbeville County, and that
seven of the convicts from that camp
had been returned 10 the Penitentiary in
a disabled condition. Colonel John @.
Haskell, who had returned from Able.
vile on last Tuesday, informed the Gov.
ernor that reports of cruel treatment
inflicted upon the convicts employed on
the Savannah Valley Railroad were cur.
rent there. These reports stated that the
convicts were compelled to work fifteen
hours day, and that the indications
strongly pointed to harsh treatment as
the cause of two deaths which had occur.
red recently. At the Governors request,
Colonel Haskell submitted statement of
these reports in writing; whereupon the
Governor Immediately directed the Su.
perintendenti of. the Penitentiary, accom-
panied BY the Surgeon, to make a perso.
nal inspection of the conyicts, and, after
a careful investigation of the charges Of
maltreatment, to make full report Of
their condition. In accordance with
these instructions, Colonel Lipscomb and
DR.. Pope left on Wednesday for the con-
Yict camp.
A reporter of the Register was at the
Penitentiary yesterday morning when
DR.. Gaubert, who, in the absence of the
Physician of the Penitentiary attends to
his duties, examined these convicts.
They were all negroes, their names being
Tom Williams, john Williams, Elias
Williams, MRssa Cameron, Joe Arm
strong, Nathan Mitchell and Paten Will
son. Five of them were in the hospital,
where they had been placed Immediately
on their arrival. They were suffering
from various causes, but nothing in their
cases pointed to any such brutal or severe
treatment at the camp as indicated by
the rumors above alluded to. None of
them made any complaint Of being them.
selves subjected to- treatment harsher
than being compelled to leave their camp
before daylight in the morning in order
70 reach the work, which was five or six
miles away, working until dark and not
getting back to camp until about 9
O'Clock at night. They all spoke of the
brutality ,practiced on some of the other
conYicss BY white man named Jackson
from Georgia, who was left in charge of
them during the absence of Major Twiggs
and Captain Cahill. In consequence OF
the fearful beatings inflicted by this man
on them. two cor 1icts had died within q
month past, one being Sam. Fludd from
Qrangeburg County and the other John
Fant, both negroes. Another convict,
named Henry Porter, had been bound up
with wires and beaten until, as the wit.
nesses state, his back was left raw from
his neck down, and in that condition he
now lies at the camp. When Captain
Cahill returned to the camp after an
absence Of about week, during which,
lit is alleged, these atrocities were perpe'
itrated BY Jackson, the latter left, as the
! witnesses believe, having been dismissed
by Captain Cahill.
It will be seen that the Governor has
acted promptly on receipt of the first in
formation, and while it is likely that the
rumored atrocities have been greatly
magnifed, there is little room to doubt
that the official investigation which Col.
Lipscomb and DR.. Pope are now making
on the spot, will show that sufficient cause
exists to justify the demand which was
made SO emphatic during the last year,
on the report of similar brutalities, that
these exhibitions of inhumanity to these
defenseless creatures shall henceforth be
made impossible by abolishing the sys-
tenn of leasing convicts outside the Peni-
tentiary. Meanwhile we await the deyel-
opments which may be made on the
return of Col. Lipscomb and DR.. Pope
Columbia Register.