The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1909-09-15

vas getting high II tle heavens. ana
{ must have been nearly eleven
o'clock. The searching was ended
,y breaking in the front door Of
Louis Schiiler's store. which was al
50 his residence Schiller was low
Jew, who had joined the negroes.
and had been given Office by them.
having held the position Of county
auditor until the county OF Aiken !
was Set apart. We wanted 10 hang |
him as the resentment against white
scalawags was intense. He had been
born and raised in Hamburg and
had really sold himself 10 the ne
grces. We did not End him IL the
house. but learned afterwards that
the poor wretch escaped US by Climb
ing through a trap door which led
out on the roof and that he was
lying behind paTapet on top OF
the house while e1ecrat!ons against
lis name and the purpose to swing
him was being expressed by the
white men below. All OF the work
being practically finished the whites
began 20 disperse AID those from
Augusta 20 retrace their steps across
the bridge. Gen. Butler and Col.
Butler had very quietly departed
some time before. without leaving
any orders and the mob. II 1t may
be called such. rapidly thinned out
About this time Jas. Lanham. my
ne!shbor. and Jas. McKie. who had
been on the post with me great
part OF the night. and both frst
cousins OF young Meriwether. who
had been killed. came to where a
group OF US were standing. One OF
them asked the question as 70 wheth-
er It was not dear piece OF work
for US to lose one Of our best men
and have only two negroes dead and
another wounded It was agreed
that we could not have story like
that 20 out as record OF the nights s
work. Lantham said 10 me. Il bave
no balls In my pistol and no cartridg-
es.'' told him that had only shot
once at Cook al had Ave balls left.
We exchanged pistols and he and Nc
Kie soon found others Of their way
Of thinking. The party made thei!
/! way TO the place where the negro
prisoners were held and Henry Get
son, who lived two miles from Ham
burg and who knew all the negroes
In the town and neishborhood. was
asked to designate those OF the
meanest character and n2=. worthy
of death. AS fast as he would Sc
!ect from among the prisoners those
he thought ought to be killed-al
milit!amen-they were taken OF 6
little ways down the street and shot
|; After Ave had been thus dealt with
the little squad OF white men vnc
were still remaining IN town seemed
satisfied and 1t was decided that the
rest Of the negroes. come 2o or 81
in number. should be allowed t
go. The permission was given ana
they were told to go up the stree
and you may depend on It tha,
they were not slow to move. Wher
they had got about SO yards ava,
the crowd fired volley over thei
heads. but I could not see that !!
added anything to the speed which
they were making. II young Me-i
wether bad .iot lost his life do no
think any Of these last negroes woulc
| have been killed. but the purpos'
Of our visit 70 Hamburg was Z
strike terror and the next mornin;
| Sunday. when the negroes wht
.ad fed to the swamps returned
some OF them never cd return
but kept on goius) the ghastly sigh
which met their gaze CT seven deae
negroes lying starg and stif Ger
ssin!y had its effect
One OF those doomed to die es
Hped in a rather curious way
Whether It was that the white me,
we're sick OF the bloody work Of
something else. do not know. Be
ing the last Of the doomed men
they either aimed badly or some o.
them did not fire at all at the wore
OF command. When the shots rans
out this negro fell as though deae
and as soon as the whites went away
he crawled into the high weed:
which were near the road and thu.
escaped with only wound IN hi:
thigh. He was afterwards the stai
witness against US and the means o.
getting the rames OF some Of the
men who were there. His name was
Pomp Curry and by a strange coinci'
dence he was the boy who. when
went to school at Liberty Hill ir
1851 and 1862 and boarded with Mr.
Kiah Edwards. made our fires
brought wood. blacked shoes. etc
He disappeared. whether by death OF
fright. l do not know. After the
election Of 1876 never heard OF
him again.
It was now after midnight and
tie moon high in the heavons looked
| down peacefully on the deserted
town and dead negroes. whose lives
had been offered up as sacrifice
10 the fanatical teachings and fend-
| ish hate Of those who sought TO sub
stitute the rule Of the African 20.
| that OF the Caucasion In South Car
olina.
The party with which left Ham
burg was the last to leave the place.
We got our horses and when We ap-
preached the outskirts OF the town
We stopped a, the famous Spout
Spring. whose waters gushed from
the BLUFFS back - re town In the
better days OF the town this spring
had been provided with granite
coping and cover and was always