The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1894-05-16
EIGHT LIVES FOR ONE.
TERRIBLE RETRIBUTION FOB
LOUISIANA MURDER.

-Four More Men Lynched for the
Boyce Assassination In Madison
Parish-Long Hunt for the MUIR
derers In the Swamps-Shertf's
Posse Overpowered.
-Four more Of the colored men who were
connected with the murder OF ]. B.'Boyce In
Madison Parish. Louisiana, were captured
by the sheri1's posse and, as was expected,
were lynched soon aftetwsrd. This murder
has already resulted In nine deaths, that
Of Borce, the white overseer who
was first killed, and eight colored men who
have been killed In retaliation. Harris WIZ
iams was shot, and Tom Cla1ton, Dave Haw-
kins, Sam Slaughter. Shell Claxton, Pomp
Claxton, Scott Harvey, and Tony Mccoy
have been lynched. OF these, the first three
were fynched on Sunday night, and the
other four Immediately after their capture as
related.
The killing Of Boyce occurred a week be-
fore and ever since then the posse had been
hunting for the coIored men who were sup
posed to have taken part In the affair. The
posse was composed of 200 white men, half
the total number Of white men In Madison
Parish, where the colored people are twelve
to one. The whites split up In
to half dozen parties and
secured the entire country. The murderers
were supposed to have taken refuge in the
triangle swamp between Milliken's Bend and
Omega and the river. All three places were
watched, particularly the river, to prevent
them from escaping Into Mississippi Blood
hounds were obtained to track the men, but
the Sheriff dismissed most Of his posse,
but Afty men remained on duty. However,
the scent was taken up by the dogs, and It
was evident thnt the pursued men had been
cornered In Buckhorn woods, compare
ttyely small swamp. The Sheriff called for
reiniorcements. and 200 men responded.
The gang were found In cabin between
the woods and river. They had made ar
rangements with colored man to. take
them across the river. and would have sue.
ceeded In escaping to Mississippi IL It had
not been for the prompt action Of the posse.
The posse surrounded the house and
PLAYED deaf and would not answer.
and he was told II he did not come out and
surrender the men the officers would fire on
the house. He still refused to answer, and
yolley was fred In the roof of the cabin. The
owner came out and said the fugitives were
nor there, and that he did not know where
they were.
Inc posse tnen Sea.cneO tne premises anQ
In the loft OF small crib In the yard four OF
the fugitives were found huddled together
Pomp Claxton, Shell Claxson, Scott Harvey
end Tony Mccoy. They were arrested, and
Sheriff McClelland deputized twelve OF the
posse to take them to Tallulah. The cap.
tured men were without guns, having
thrown them away in their flight when
pursued by the bloodhounds. They scat
tered, and only came together when they
were caught.
As the Sheriffs deputies, with the prison.
ers, got near Miliken's Bend an effort was
made by crowd to take them away, but the
deputies resisted and got as far as tho
Sherry place, about two miles from Talfulah,
when crowd Of about two hundred men
met them and overpowered the officers and
took the four murderers to the Crescent
place, where the four men were hanged on
q tree about one hundred feet from the place
where they killed Boyce.
The executions were conducted very
quietly, the people living In the vicinity
knowing nothing about them until neIt
morning, when they were surprised to find
the bodies Of the four men hanging there.
There were twenty-six colored men In all
on the Crescent plantation who were sus.
pected OF completely with the killing OF
BoEe. Eight have been killed. one Is at
large, and seventeen are prisoners IN the
parish jail.