The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1886-04-14
neck, and hanged him up to beam. Phebe

death of Reynolds, the Tories proceeded
to plunder the house. They no soone
had left the room than Phcpe cut the rope
by which her father was suspended, re
moved the moose from his neck, and car
ried him to bed. She had succeeded
in restoring him to consciousness, whe1
cne Of the gang rc-entered the room anc
discovered what she had done. He sum
moued the Others. Phebe took her posi-
ton in front of the bed, brandished he'
knife, and declared she would kill tht
first one who attempted to touch he'
father. Benjamin Kelly, the leader OF
the gang, shouted:
'Get away, you little rebel --, or II
run my sword through you"
The undaunted girl refused to move.
';You may kill me- she replied, 'fol
if you kill my father I do not want tc
livem
Kelley made lurge at her with his
sword. She knocked it from his hand,
and in trying to catch it before it fell to
the ground he received wound from it
on the under part of the wrist from which
the blood flowed freely. One of the
others stabbed Phebc in the breast, and,
seeing that she would be ovcrpowered by
the Tories, she threw herself upon her
fathers body on the bed, and c'a'pcd her
arms about him in order to shield him
from the weapons of his assailants While
one of the gang prodded tn" girls arm
with his sword, the tiend Kelley tore er
clothing from her and lashel her bare
body with the rope with which
they had hanged her father. In
relating the brutal details of this
assault, even seventy years after
ward, Phebe never attempted to rcpress
her an ger ard indignation at the memory
of it. During all the severe punishment
she received at the hands Of the Tories,
she never uttered a moan or gave any
sgn of the pain they inflicted. The
blood ran down her arms from the
wounds made by the sword, and the
rope cut great gashcs in her flesh,
the scars frcm which she carried
to her grave. Being unable to force the
brave girl from the protection of her
helpless father by this means, the Tories
removed her by main force, and hurled
her, weak from her superhuman efforts,
into a far corner of the room. Her
mother had regained consciousness by
this time, and was crouching in corner,
holding little Caleb, who had also re-
vivcd, in her arms. The assass;ns again
hanged Reynolds from the beam in sight
of the moaning woman and her two
children. and, believing that Phebe was
past rendering any further aid to him,
proceeded to the completion of their
scheme of pluadering. They had mis-
calculated the courage and vitality of the
girl, however, and the last Tory was
barely out of the room before Phebe had
once more cut her father down. She
was attempting to remove him to another
room when he fell heavily to the floor.
Phebe at once threw herself on his body
and the Tories found them mingling their
blood together, the father apparently
dead, and the girl shielding his body
with hers. The murderers thrust their
knives and swords several times into the
body of their PROSTATE victim, and twice
Phebe was stabbed in her efforts to pro-
tect her father. The Tories finally
dragged her from her father and threw
him into chest, shutting the lid down
upon him. They then departed with
what booty they had obtained, first roll
ing large stone against the door, which
opened outward, to prevent it being
oncned. AS soon as the murderous
gang was out of the house, Phebe
herself covered with blood from her
wounds, hastened to remove her fathers
body from the chest, hopeful that he was
still alive. Her mother was wandering
from room to room, moaning and weep
inp, The bound boy stood as immovable
as stone against the wall where Edward
Robin had placed him with the terrible
threat half an hour before. He was still
afraid to stir. Phebc's mother rendered
a little aid in removing her husband from
the trunk. He stiff and pallid, and
apparcntly dead. Phcbc got him upon
the bed, and was overjoyed to hear him
groan. She pried his jaws open with a
pewter spoon-a rude tablespoon, still in
the family, with the teeth marks of Henry
Reynolds upon its handlc-and poured a
few drops of water in his mouth. He be-
ean to revive, and while Phebe was put
ting forth every effort to stounch his
wounds and aid lis restoration, her
mother, who had been aimlessly wander
ING about the house, tottered- into the
room, and dropping to the floor, covered
her eyes with her hands and Historically
exclaimed:
ssOh, Phebe! Phebc! The house is on
fire! 1t is on fire in three places, and
I can't put it out if it burns down over
oar heads"
The bound boy still stood motionlcss
by the wall as if he were nailed to the
spot, and could not be Undue ID to move
Phebe was compelled to leave her father,
as the volumes of smoke that began to
come from an adjoining room warned
her of another impending danger. The
Tories had set f:e to some fax and to
two straw beds. Phebe extinguished
the fire, and then tried to make the
bound boy run and alarm
the neighbors, but he would
not stir BY persistent cf-
fort the brave girl, herself covered with
wounds, and her clothing saturated with
blood, brought her father back to con-
seriousness, and then, consigning him to
the care of her m ,ther, who had grown
more composed, she STATED out to give
the alarm. In her relation of the terri.
bic experiences of that night to her chill
dIen and grand children, more than half
century aftcrward, she dwelt with par
ticuar pride en- the fact that she noted