Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1890-01-09
A Brutal Butchery.

"A III uCbk DWGOIOlys
CHARLESTON, S. c., Deccmbcr 28.
A mob of several hundred masked
mon broke open the Barnwell County
Jail at two o'clock this morning and
and overpowercd the jailor. They
seized Ripley Johnson and M. Ad-
ans, the two murdcrers of James
Heffernan, and six men held for the
recent murder of Robert Martin, at
Martins, Barnwell County. The
prisoners were taken out of town and
shot to death. The jailor was tied
and forced to go with the lynchers.
After the iynching the jailor was re-
leased. The whole affair was con-
Quoted very quietly and without con
fusion. The citizens Of the town were
ignorant of any attempt OH the Jail.
A large crowd of negroes speedily
congregatcd at the scene of the
lynching and fears are entertained Of
more trouble. The Governor has been
appealed to for troops toprcservc the
peace.
The following statement signed by
Robert Aldrich, Mike Brown, George
II. Bates, William McNab and
James A. jenkins, some of the most
prominent and influential citizens of
Barnwcll, has been sent to the Neqos
and Courier in explanation of the
horrible butchery last night:
"ln consequence of the lynching,
which took place here last night, the
undersigned were this morning re-
qucstcd by the sheriff to act as an
advisory committee to counsel such
steps AZ may be deemed best to Sc
cure order. We at first proceeded to
investigate and deem it right to put
the public iii possession of the facts
of the occurrence and the causes
which we believe led to it, as far as
we have gathered them.
"On the Both of October last John
II. Hcffcrnan, prominent young
merchant, and a brave, public spirited
citizen, was killed in Barnwcll by
negroes. Public indignation ran
very high. Threats of lynching
were freely made, but this was avcrtcd
by cooler counsel. At the last term
of court the grand jury found bills
against the marderers and accessories,
but the cases were continued.
While the people were disappointed
tho negroes, it is thought, were
emboldencd by that disposition of
! the matter.
"On The 10Th of December, James
l.. Brown, prominent planter and
leading citizen of Fish Pond town
ship, VAS shot to death on his own
promises by negroes without the
slightest justification or excuse.
The murderer has not been arrested.
"On the 18th of Dcccmber while go
ing from his store at Martins Station
to his house a mile away, Robert
Martin, young man of the most ex-
emplary character and of the highest
standing as man and citizen, was
followed by negroes and shot in the
back with a agun loaded with slugs,
on the public road, which passed
through his fathers plantation, in
the hearing of negroes whose houses
were all around the spot where he
was shot, and who admitted that they
heard the shot and his cries when
shot, and none of whom went to his
relief.
"rhey did not 60 near his body,
although it lay in the road all night
and for several hours after daylight
in plain view of them all. 1t was
satisfactorily established that his
murder was the result of conspiracy
to remove him in order that their
license upon the plantation of his
father might be greater. The mur-
dcrcrs, that is the negro who fired
the shot and his accessories, six in all,
after being heard by the coroner's
Jury, were arrested and lodged in
jail. These several brutal murders
of prominent white men by negroes
caused q state of indignant resent
mcnt among our people that can be
better imagined than described, but
can not be imagined by anyone not
present in our midst. Last night q
large body of armed men III disguise
at about two n. m. called at the Jail,
ovcrpowcrcd the jailor, took out the
six rnurderers of Martin and the two
OF Heffcrnan, took them to the limits