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as they say it does?" I said, "I reckon it does." He put it back in the rack. There was some one out of doors who said, "Let me see that gun." The one who put it back took it down, and took it out there. One of the men stuck his finger down the barrel of the gun, and said, "This is a mighty big bore for a gun." I said, "Yes; that is the only objection to it; but it will bring all that I send it after." He went to put it back, and then said, “He told us to take every gun from a nigger, but you can come up to-morrow and get it." I said, "Be careful; that left-hand barrel has had a load in it ever since last Christmas, but the right-hand barrel is all right." He said, “Have you a pistol?" I said, "No; I have no use for a pistol." They all seemed to know me, but I did not find out any one of them. One then called me out of doors, and said, "Anderson ;" and I knew his voice at once. He said, "Come here; I want to see you." I supposed they wanted me to look for the fellow. He said, "Where is your pistol?" I said, "I have none." He said, "I heard that you had a six-shooter." I said, "I never had a pistol in my life." He said, "You don't mind being searched?" I said, "I don't." He said, "Search him, George." He searched me, and ran his hand into my pocket, and said, "There is nothing but keys." I said, "Yes; nothing but keys." He ran his hand into my other pocket, and when he went to draw his hand out he closed it on my knife. I caught hold of him and said, "That isn't a nigger or a pistol." He jumped back and drew his pistol, and said, "I will shoot you if you punch me again." I said, "I will do it worse than that if you undertake to take my knife away again." Mr. Morris then said, "I will tell you what we came here for; it was to teach you the difference between a white man and a nigger." I said, "Mr. Morris, I know the difference." He said, "Don't call me Morris.' I said, "Ain't you Morris; do you deny your name?" He then said, "You come with us." I said, "I am not going a step; I will die right here first." At this time a man in the house asked my wife where the keys of the trunks were. She said she did not know; and he said, "You get the keys.” One of the men outside said, "Don't you go into the trunk." I said, "They don't get in there; I have the keys in my pocket; there is no nigger in the trunk." Morris said, "You say you will not go?" I said, "No." He said, "Sit down." He went around the house, and when he came back he struck nie with a stick. I straightened up and started toward him, and he shot me; and the ball struck me right on top of the lead. He said, "You won't go, eh?" I said, "No." I then heard the crack of a pistol, but I did not feel anything. I heard something falling on my shoulder, but I thought it was pitch; I put my hand up and I found it was blood. I said, "Mr. Morris, what did you shoot at me for? You hit me." He said, "God damn you, I aimed to hit you." I threw my hand toward him, that had blood on it, and said, "I wish I could throw it on you." I began to go back then, and he said, "Stand! You come here like white men and try to get everything." He then said, "You will not stand?" I said, "No!" Something hit me in the ankle, and I got around the corner of the house and put. I saw Mr. Yarboro, and I told him what had happened, and that I wished he would go there and see if he did not know some of them, for I did not know but one. He said, "Did you know any of them?" I said, "Yes." He said, "Who was that?" I said, "I will not tell you." I then said, "Loan me your rifle; they took my gun, and I will go down there and mark one so that he will be known." He said, "I will not do it; my rifle is not in the proper fix." I then began to think of my wife and children; I turned around to go back, and as I got nearly to the lane, I heard somebody talking; I was in the woods, and they were in the road; it was a cloudy night, but the moon gave a little light through the clouds; I dodged back into the bushes until the crowd passed on; just as I got to the yard, I saw a woman come around the house, tracking me by the blood. Just as I got to the corner of the house, my wife found a great big puddle of blood, and she screamed out and hollered, and said, "They have killed my dear husband and dragged him off." She began to holler so that I said, "Who did they kill, Lucy?" She said, "I thought they had killed you." That astonished me, and I went there to see the puddle. I said, "Where is Flora?" She said, "Before they got to the house I heard a pistol once." Said I, "I blame you for this; if you had told me about their firing a pistol they would not have got in. They killed the dog when they fired that pistol, and then they dragged her off." I said, "I am going to follow them; I know one, and Í am going to try and find out the balance." I asked a young man who came on ver there if he would go with me, and he said he would. I went down to the river and found the flat on this side, so I knew they had not gone across. I turned around, came up, and took the road and came np with them again; I liked to have got on to them before I knew it. I waited to see where they were going. They went on to one of Mr. Cameron's quarters. I woke up Mr. Cameron and told him what had happened. He took his pistol and asked two of his men to go with him, but they refused to go, for they were afraid. I said, "Mr. Cameron, I would go with you, but you see what condition I am in." He said, "I don't want you to go with me." Another man came up and said, "I will go with you, Mr. Billy." They went on in the road and I went on in the field by the side of the road. These men went into one of Mr. Cameron's quarters. I saw Jim Harris, and knew him by the light; I did not know him when he was at my house. They came out and met Mr. Cameron, and said to him, "Halt!"

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He walked up and said, "Halt yourself." He walked up to Jim Harris and said, Jimmy, what are you doing here to-night?" He did not say a word. One man said "Where's the captain?" The captain said, "Forward, march." They walked off without making any reply to Mr. Cameron. This was near day. I saw them go back to the flat, and go across the river. I just went home and lay down and took a nap of sleep; when I woke up I could not walk, my ankle was so sore.

Question. How many were there of them all?

Answer. There were ten of them.

Question. You knew two of them?

Answer. I did not know but one at my house, and then one afterward at Mr. Cameron's quarters.

Question. Have any of those parties been arrested or dealt with by the law?
Answer. Yes, sir; they arrested Mr. Morris, Mr. Harris, and Bill Phelps.

Question. What was done with them?

Answer. They turned them out. The way they came to arrest them was this: My boss, Dr. Ferrell, and Judge Ferrell, both came down on Tuesday. They asked me what the matter was, and I told them. Said he, "God damn it, why didn't you come up and let me know it?" I said, "The reason why I did not do it was that I never thought any such difficulty as this could happen on any man's plantation without he knew of it beforehand." Said he, " Damn it, if I don't show you whether I knew it or not; I will take it in hand myself. Are you not going to take out a warrant?" I said, "No." He said, "Why?" I said, "So many cases of this kind have happened, and the negro always comes out of the worst end of the horn, I will not do anything about it here; but as soon as I can get to headquarters, I will go and report it." He said, “We will handle it right here." Said I, "I shall see it when you do it." He took out a warrant, and undertook to prosecute the case, and had these men brought up and the witnesses fetched up. But they began to swear for one another, and to prove that they did not leave home. Mr. Blunt ordered them to be committed to jail, or give bond and security. They could not get anybody to go their bond, and they put two of them in jail. Mr. Morris spoke to Mr. Banker to go his bond, and he refused to do it. He then took him out one side and talked with him, and then he went bond for him. Question. Were they ever tried?

Answer. Yes, sir; they were tried, and there was a true bill found against them; they carried me as a witness up before the grand jury. The bill was found, and went down in the lower part of the court-house, but they never would carry it before the judge. I saw they never intended to do me justice, and I just came away.

Question. Who is the judge there?

Answer. Judge Wright, I think, is his name.

Question Does Judge Caldwell live there?

Answer. He has a house and lot there, I think.

Question. Is he not a judge down there?

Answer. No, sir; I never heard of his being a judge ther

Question. That is the county he lives in ?

Answer. Yes, sir; his family is there at La Grange.

Question. Did he run for Congress there?

Answer. Yes, sir; he did, once.

Question. Ran against Mr. Bigby, who was elected?

Answer. I do not know who he ran against.

Question. How many other cases of whipping and shooting by the Ku-Klux have you heard of in the same county?

Answer. O, Lord! I could not tell you from now until to-morrow all that I have heard of. I have known several, but as for those I have heard of, I could not tell how many.

Question. Have you ever heard of any one being punished for it?

Answer. No, sir.

Question. Why not?

Answer. Why, a colored man would as soon dare get up there against a white man as he would to spit in another man's face.

a friend to the Ferrells, and I love them like Question. They did not stand up for you? Answer. No, sir; they did not.

Question. You are living here now ?

They are afraid and scared. I say I am brothers; but they went back on me.

Answer. Yes, sir; I could not live anywhere else.
Question. When did you come here?

Answer. Last Christmas.

Question. Have you been back in Troup County since?

Answer. No, sir; they have written to me to come back; Judge Ferrell has been here and tried to get me to go back. He said I ought to go there and attend court in June. I said, “No; I could not succeed when I was there, and I shall not pay out the

little I have made to go there for foolishness." He said that if I did not go there next month, the thing would be thrown out entirely.

Question. Why not go down?

Answer. Well, sir, I heard of this committee coming here, and I thought I would come before the committee before I went there.

By Mr. BAYARD:

Question. Do you know that Judge Caldwell holds court there in that county
Answer. I never saw him hold any court there.

Question. Who is the judge there?

Answer. I think it is Judge Wright.

Question. You went before the grand jury with your witnesses, and they found a true bill against these men?

Answer. Yes, sir.

Question. The bill came down, and they were regularly brought up for trial?
Answer. No, sir.

Question. How long did you wait after the bill was found before you came away?
Answer. It was found in November, and I came away on the 3d day of January.
Question. Who is the prosecuting officer of that county, the solicitor?

Answer. I do not know him.

Question. What is this notification you have had about going down and appearing against those men?

Answer. Judge Ferrell said to me, "Haven't you and those men compromised this thing; have they not paid you damages?" I said, "No, sir." He said, "They are anxious to settle this thing and to pay you for all damages." I said, "I staid there until I tried the courts, and they did not mention it." He said, "They will pay you for taking your gun, killing your dog, shooting you, and alarming your family, and you ought to have fixed that up before you came away." I said, "Massa Blunt, what would you ask to be in my fix that night?" He sort of laughed, and said, "I would not have been in that fix for ten thousand dollars." I said, "If they will give me that I will make up my costs myself," He said, "I will do all I can for you.” Question. When was this conversation?

Answer. Since June.

Question. You would not state what sum you would take for the damages they did you?

Answer. I did not state it because they never said anything to me about it.
Question. You did not suggest to Judge Ferrell any sum that you would take?

Answer. No, sir; I did not tell him what I would take. I told him that I wanted the law to have its course, to have the men dealt with justly.

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Question. You did not care about their paying you anything?

Answer. So far as pay was concerned, I wanted the law to take its course.

Question. When is the trial of these men to come off?

Answer. I do not know what time. I wrote a letter down there to my sister, and

sent it Monday, to inquire when the court comes on. It is some time next month, so Judge Ferrell said. We have had two trials in court of this thing.

Question. Have you been before the jury?

Answer. Yes, sir..

Question. I do not mean the grand jury, but before a jury of men to try them to see if they were guilty or not guilty of the offense for which the grand jury indicted them?

Answer. I have not been before any jury but the grand jury.

Question. What do you mean by having two trials?

Answer. They tried them last year.

Question. Were there any witnesses examined?

Answer. Yes, sir; they had witnesses and I had witnesses.

Question. Were you there?

Answer. Yes, sir.

Question. Did you give in your testimony?

Answer. Yes, sir.

Question. What was the result of the trial?

Answer. They committed those men to jail, except them that gave bond and security. Question. They have been held to bail?

Answer. Yes, sir.

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Question. And they are to be tried before a jury next month?

Answer. I do not know where they will be tried, or when, but they are under bail.

By the CHAIRMAN :

Question. There has been no trial since you went before the grand jury?

Answer. I do not know what they did with them last June; I was not there.
Question. You went before the grand jury last November?

Answer. Yes, sir.

Question. The next term being in June, you did not go there?

Answer. No, sir.

Question. And you have written to your sister to find out at what time the court comes on next month?

Answer. Yes, sir.

W. M. SHROPSHIRE sworn and examined.

ATLANTA, GEORGIA, October 26, 1871.

The CHAIRMAN. This witness having been summoned at your instance, Mr. Bayard, you will commence his examination.

By Mr. BAYARD:

Question. Are you a native of Georgia?

Answer. Yes, sir. I was born and raised in Georgia.

Question. In what county is your residence?

Answer. My residence is in Rome, Floyd County.

Question. What has been your occupation?

Answer. I have been a merchant, and I am now merchandising in Rome.

Question. Were you summoned upon the grand jury in the circuit court of the United States at its last term?

Answer. I was summoned before the court; I did not give in any evidence before the court at all.

Question. Were you a member of the grand jury?

Answer. I was a member of the grand jury of the superior court of the county in which I lived; I was not a member of the United States grand jury.

Question. I was under the impression that you had been foreman of this grand jury here. Were you summoned before this grand jury as a witness?

Answer. Yes, sir..

Question. In what case?

Answer. I do not know. I was simply summoned to appear before the grand jury; when I had remained here a few days, the court adjourned, and I was discharged. Question. You were not examined before the grand jury as a witness?

Answer. No, sir.

Question. Were you examined by the United States district attorney, Mr. Pope, or by Mr. Caldwell, his assistant ?

Answer. No, sir.

Question. Although summoned as a witness you were never called?

Answer. No, sir.

Question. The object of this committee is understood to be, so far as possible, to ascertain, by personal observation and by testimony, the social, political, and industrial condition of your State. I will ask you, therefore, whether there is, in the portion of the State in which you reside, and elsewhere, so far as you know, a condition of peace and good order?

Answer. Well, sir, there is to some extent. There have been some depredations committed in our immediate county, and I have also heard of like things around there; nothing that I know of my own personal knowledge.

Question. Do you believe that the laws of the State afford generally a reasonable security to person and property where you réside, and throughout the State, so far as you know??

Answer. Well, sir, that is a pretty hard question for me to determine really and candidly. So far as I know of my own personal knowledge, the law is executed there as well as it can be. There are depredations committed, and the parties are not known, and are not got hold of; they get out of the way in some way, so that they are not brought to justice.

Question. Is there any indisposition on the part of the great mass of your community to afford safety to the property and person of every one in your midst?

Answer. I think the great majority of the people are law-abiding people, and are in favor of law and order.

Question. Do you believe you have in your county a greater average of criminals than is usual in similar communities?

Answer. I do not know but what during the early part of this year more depreda

tions have been committed than usual there. But of recent date, I do not think there have been so many.

Question. But in times past

Answer. Yes, sir, in times past. During the fore part of the year depredations were committed throughout the country that I heard of.

Question. Do you know of any organized resistance to the laws of the United States, or the laws of the State?

Answer. I do not know of any of my own knowledge.

Question. Do you believe that your courts of justice and your juries are disposed to award justice to all persons, irrespective of political opinion? Answer. I do.

Question. Unaffected by the question of color?

Answer. I think that the juries in the county in which I reside would do any party justice.

Question. Do you believe that if a black man was to be wronged in his person, he could reasonably expect of the proper authorities to have the perpetrators of the wrong upon him brought to justice and punished?

Answer. I think so. I think it may be safely said that in our county they would be brought to justice, if the authorities could get hold of them.

Question. What is the feeling of your people in respect to persons coming from Northern States who seek to identify themselves with your population?

Answer. I think they are treated with every idea of kindness, courtesy, and hospitality. I do not think that the majority of the people there, you may say the better class, the property-holders there, are now disposed to encourage anything like lawlessness.

Question. Do you believe that a stranger coming there, a law-abiding man, can meet with the same kindness that any other of your citizens would meet with, and the same success, if engaged in business?

Answer. I think so. It has been my pleasure recently to meet a Baptist minister from one of the Northern States. I cannot now call his name; I was with him in the association, in his company frequently. I heard his speech before that body there, and the sentiments which he said he entertained before he came South, and the different opinion he now had after visiting the South and being with the people here. Question. State the substance of what he said.

Answer. His remark was that his family physician had recommended him to go South on account of his health, and he had given up his church for the time being. His opinion at the time was that it would not be safe for him to come down here. His brother, being a resident of our community, induced him to come, and he said he had never been so agreeably disappointed and surprised in his life as at the hospitality and generosity which the people had extended towards him.

Question. He was a clergyman?

Answer. Yes, sir. I know his name, but I cannot call it to mind just now; he is from Maine.

Question. How long has he been among you?

Answer. I think he said he had been down here two or three months.

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Question. And met with kindness everywhere?

Answer. Yes, sir. It was in Polk County that I met him, in the association.

Question. Is not the Baptist religious sect probably the most numerous in your State? Answer. I think Georgia has more Baptists than of any other denomination.

Question. What do you know of depredations-I believe that is the word you used— committed by bands of armed men in disguise?

Answer. Well, sir, I have heard of some, and have good reason to believe that they have been committed in our county. I have known some negroes who have been abused, some whipped, and some shot, and things of that sort. I do not call to mind any one in the county that was killed, though there may have been some. I investigated one case, and found true bills against the parties.

Question. What case was that?

Answer. A negro who was named Calhoun. I investigated that case closely and thoroughly myself, for I was foreman of the jury before which it came. We thought the evidence was sufficient to find true bills against three parties, and they were arraigned before the court for trial.

Question. What became of that case?

Answer. They were tried and acquitted.

Question. Why were they acquitted; what was the cause of their acquittal?

Answer. I do not know-some technicality perhaps. I know that Judge Harvey is a good man, and will do all in his power to suppress lawlessness.

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