Year: 1868

One of the most revolving outrages
and q double murder occurred neal
Swain's Mill, North Carolina, on Tues
day last, which it was ever our lot to
record, or which ever took place in any
civilized world. A few miles from the
mill, on the Columbus road, lived Mrs.
Marks, a young and beautiful widow
lady about thirty years of age; hired
woman and two children, little boy OF
five, and little girl of eight, living
with her. At about nine o'clock in the
evening of the 2lst ult., a loud rap at
the door of the house startled the in
mates, who had just retired for the
night. The hired womaB, who slept IN
the upper room, raised window to as
certain the cause, and was accosted by
negro, who said that he had letter
for Mrs. Marks, which he had brought
from the village, and that it was very
important, and must be answered that
night. Recognizing him as q man from
the village whom she knew, she went
down stairs and opened the door. AS
soon rs the door was fairly unfasteRed,
gang of nine armed negroes, who had
been concealed in the dark behind a
clump of bushes, made rush into the
house. The woman fled through rear
door, and escaped into piece of thick
woods back of the house.


Mrs. Marks, hearing the noise, start
cd to come from her room, but was met
by two of the negroes, who seized her
and attempted to drag her toward bed
standing in corner of the room. Be-
ing a woman of great strength, she
struggled fearfully, but the rest OF the
gang coming to the aid of the two, she
was finally overpowered. They then
threw her on the bed, tying her arms
and feet to the bed post with cords,
and proceeded to violate her person in
turn, until all nine of them had salts
fed their hellish passions. While this
was going on an attempt was made to
violate the person of the little girl,
who was held by two of the fiends in
plain sight of the mother while third
one accomplished the damnable deed,
knife having to be used for the pur-
pose! The screams of the child were
fearful, which so enraged the demons
that they tore her tongue from her
mouth, and finally beat her brains ont
against the stone jam of the fire place
aud threw the body into the back yard !!
Not content with this, they seized the
boy, and after tying him with cords,
proceeded to commit namcless out
rage upon his body.


The woman who escaped fron the
house fed toward Stover Station, but
the night being dark lost her way, and
did not arrive at Mr.. Appleby's, the
nearest neighbor Of Mrs. Marks, until
about two o'clock in the morning. She
Immediately gave the alarm, and Mr.
Appleby called up his men, and after
arming them, sent off to Robert Stoves
pos bf they a tooS c As
proceeded to Mrs. Marks, where they
found the house on fire and discovered
the terrible scene we have described,
but the perpetrators of the deed had
fled. When found, Mrs. Marks was
wholly insensiblc, and it was with
great difficulty that she was restored to
consciousness. George, the little boy,
was found dead on the floor, bound with
cords as they had left him, and the dead
body of Annie, the girl, had been drag
ged from the yard into the back stsop,
undoubtedly for the purpose Of having
all traces of their guilt obliterated by
the fire which they had set.


1t is supposed the miscreants were
alarmed by the approach of the horses
of Mr.. Appleby and his men, and fled
into the adjoining woods, from which
they scattered to their homes before
morning. The whole country is aroused,
and it will be difficult for all the perpe
traitors of such o diabolical deed to
escape. The negro who pretended to
have the letter was recognized by Mrs.
Orally, the work woman, as Bill Batson,
the recent negro and Radical candidate
for the Legislature from that district.
He was not to be found the next day,
and his wife said that he was going to
Mulberry to q negro meeting He is
probably secreted either in the woods
or in the huts of some of the rest of the
gang, but it will be hard for him to es-
cape, as the whole country is aroused.
No negroes were found absent from
home for five miles around, except Bat
son, and unless he is caught it will be
very difficult to ferret out the murder
ers, on account of the secret Organiza-
tions known to exist among them.


Life and property are at the mercy of
the blacks in nearly the whole South.
They refuse to work, and being fed by
the Freedmen's Bureau, are allowed to
live in idleness to perpetrate their
fiendish outrages.


Mr.. Stokes, whose plantation is on
the Cumberland road, informs US that
he finds it almost impossible to hire help
at any price-all the negroes refusing
to work, and being supported by the
Bureau. Just before the last election
nearly two thousand rations were dealt
out to negroes in that district by the
Bureau agent, and Batson had nearly
the whole control of the distribution.
The excitement in relation to the muir
der is intense, and it was with the Mt
most difficulty that the citizens could
be restrained from wieaking vengeance
indiscriminately.


More Small Stealing.


In Senate Misal. document II, 2nd