Tragedy In Alabama

Source Type: Newspaper
Author: Weekly Raleigh Register
Place of publication: Raleigh, North Carolina
Date of publication: Jun 20, 1855 12:00 am
Source URL: View Source
Transcript:

TRAGEDY IN ALABAMA. We have already published an account of the terrible tragedy in Alabama, commencing with the murder of a young girl by a negro. and ter. minating with the fearful retribution of the en- raged inhabirants in burning the murderer at the stake. This is one of the most shocking cases that it has ever been our lot to record, and we must say that if anything can justify the ex- treme measures which were taken by the nat- urally infuriated citizens of Alabama, the fiend- ish conduct of the negro in question was a suffi- cient provocation. The following embraces his confession and the mode in which he effected his devilish nur- pose. Dave (the murderer) on being questioned again, acknowledged that he had done the deed, but Hardy hired him to do it, telling him he would give him five dollare, if he (Dave) would kill her. He then went with some gen- tleman and showed them where tonk her from –said she was sitting down playing in the water. He then showed them where, in taking her off, he had thrown her OR the ground, evidently very hard. A little further on he had thrown her on the ground again, and then again. It is supposed that when he did this, she was trying to escape. He said she WAR crying all the time, and pleading with him not to kill her. The tourth time he threw her down he beat her with an old piece of stump. Shedid not speak again after that, but cried very much. When he got to the place where he boried her, she was not quite dead, 80 he cut a club and struck her on the forehead. He then got a large stick and put it across her throat, and put his knees on each end, and bore down upon it until she was entirely dead. He then took a boe and covered her entirely up, throwing some leaves and brush on her. He acknowledged, finally, that be did it of his own accord-that no one else knew any- thing of it, that he never thought of doing it until he saw her walk down to the branch. He had not the alighest shadow of reason for doing it, said her was not even mad with her–that she had not provoked him in the least. He had be- longed to her father ever since she W&A a small child, and had always seemed to think a great deal of her-ever ready to accomodate her in any way. TRAGEDY IN ALABAMA. We have already published an account of the terrible tragedy in Alabama, commencing with the murder of a young girl by a negro. and ter. minating with the fearful retribution of the en- raged inhabirants in burning the murderer at the stake. This is one of the most shocking cases that it has ever been our lot to record, and we must say that if anything can justify the ex- treme measures which were taken by the nat- urally infuriated citizens of Alabama, the fiend- ish conduct of the negro in question was a suffi- cient provocation. The following embraces his confession and the mode in which he effected his devilish nur- pose. Dave (the murderer) on being questioned again, acknowledged that he had done the deed, but Hardy hired him to do it, telling him he would give him five dollare, if he (Dave) would kill her. He then went with some gen- tleman and showed them where tonk her from –said she was sitting down playing in the water. He then showed them where, in taking her off, he had thrown her OR the ground, evidently very hard. A little further on he had thrown her on the ground again, and then again. It is supposed that when he did this, she was trying to escape. He said she WAR crying all the time, and pleading with him not to kill her. The tourth time he threw her down he beat her with an old piece of stump. Shedid not speak again after that, but cried very much. When he got to the place where he boried her, she was not quite dead, 80 he cut a club and struck her on the forehead. He then got a large stick and put it across her throat, and put his knees on each end, and bore down upon it until she was entirely dead. He then took a boe and covered her entirely up, throwing some leaves and brush on her. He acknowledged, finally, that be did it of his own accord-that no one else knew any- thing of it, that he never thought of doing it until he saw her walk down to the branch. He had not the alighest shadow of reason for doing it, said her was not even mad with her–that she had not provoked him in the least. He had be- longed to her father ever since she W&A a small child, and had always seemed to think a great deal of her-ever ready to accomodate her in any way.