Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1890-02-20
Turneryillc, Ga.

If reports be true some men near
here have been made rich ir. few
days by uncarthing fifty or sixty
thousand dollars in gold y.nd silver
the god of some miscr. We will
give history of the facts.
Perhaps there is not a man in on,
hundred miles of Turncrvillc who
ever Travelled the road leading from
Clarksville to Clayton but knows the
Buckhorn place. This noted old
mansion now looks like some old ban
quct hall deserted, yet with all its
loneliness it has a history which few
places can excel. There have been more
ghosts seen around that deserted old
hall, than Carter had oats, not less
than twenty bushels to the acre of
hobgoblins, raw heads, bloody bones
and haunts, and mon, women and
children have been chased day and
night there; as brave men as the
brayest have been made to stand and
deliver up. No lives lost; but one
young man we will call Major Taylor
came near losing his life. lie was
hemmcd in, cornercd, and no way to
escape. Fortunately when all else
failed, when the ball was tightly
winding round him, the only thing
that saved him was the password
and grip, that in an almost dying
struggle he gave and was released.
Tradition tells us that this was
once the hiding place of one of the
most daring murdcrcrs, robbers and
land pirates that ever lived, Capt.
Kidd not excepted, and that person
was John A. Nturrell, whose hands
were washed. in the blood of his
hundreds. Murder for this man was
only phstimc. Tradition tells us
that years ago this noted pirate had
his headquarters here; he you'd make
frequent raids III the Carolinas, steal
negroes, horses, mules, &c, then
cross Chattooga River at Roguc's
Ford, which goes by that name to-
day; from there he crossed Taluah
River ut what is now called Cranes
Ford. 1t is said he there murdered
traveller named Crane, tied rocks
to his body and sunk it in the river
From this point he came to Buck
horn, and III dense swamp near the
house, concealed his stolen property.
Then he would make his way to
Mississippi and Alabama and sell it,.
IN this swamp il is said he killed
an" buried a negro after stealing
and selling him five times. When
asked why he killed the negro his re-
ply was, "dcad men tell no tales"
Years after Murrcll's haunt was
broken up, this place was occupied
by Il man named IIalcomb. This
man, who knew no fear, Tough, the
raw head and bloody bones foY i've
years; then folded his tent an,-silcntly
stole away. Then Pink Nichols
tried his hand with the hobgoblins.
lie was defeated and fell back.
Then 5. ii. Cox, from down South,
where men feast on ghost soup,
bought the place, tore down the old
building, tiled up Murrcli's sunkcn
graves, and concluded thc ghosts had
vacated the place. But alas Cox
was mistak ken; the ghosts increased |
so fast he left, saying that it was too
cold up here, but others thought it ,
was too hot. Then DR.. Cox tried
his hand on ghosts. lie kept blue
and red light burning in each room
day and night, nailed up mule shoes,
horse shoes; got graveyard rabbits
feet and stuck them up; bought all .ne
buck horns he could get, nailcJ; one
to every post and at every door;
Sprinkled anti-ghost dr2ps. all over
the house; still ghosSa with no heads
were seen, grEAa, and muttcrings
were heard III, over the house day
and night, Cox left, went off and
killed l.usclf.
THEN Julius Cezcr, cx-Shcrilf of
Eanks County, took hold OF this
noted place; no ghosts could frightrM !
him, for if there is any one tina. is
brave it is an officer or one tlaat has
been an officer; they have. brave
look, they feel brave an.h il there is
n man on earth that is. brave, it is n
cx-Shcriif, Dept. U. S. Mar
shall or l{cvcnuc, officer. If had |
one hundred ana fifty Of them and
they were all AS brave as they look and
tccl, | cou!d'conqucr the world on half
rations IL, half the time it took Alex
andcr the Great TO do it. But with all !
this kind of bravery ie amounts to
very little in a ghost fight. This
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