Life of Ryland Randolph

Some of their friends went to the negro’s house to punish him. They found a number of armed negroes within the house, because an attack was expected. The father of the boy who had been frightened loosened a plank in the floor and crept out of the house to the bushes. He fired at the crowd of white men and killed Murk Findley. That ended the belligerent proceedings for that night. The whites withdrew in disorder, but they were aroused to white heat. The next day a messenger was sent to Randolph to come to Northport and take the leadership of a squad of extemporized cavalry to pursue the murderer and avenge the death of Findley. Randolph found about eighty men mounted and awaiting him on the principal street of Northport. In the course of a few hours a negro implicated in the murder of Findley was shot to death by these men. to Coroner’s jury from Tuscaloosa held an inquest over the body and rendered the verdict that the negro’s death had been caused by parties unknown. The jury declared that they regretted the spirit of lawlessness manifested in such cases, but they were of the opinion that much of the disregard for legal processes was caused by the apathy and