Question. And did you always live in Georgia until you went to Chattanooga, six years ago?

Answer. Yes, sir.

Question. What has been your business since you lived in Chattanooga; what trade have you followed?

Answer. The only trade I followed was coopering. I learned the trade of coopering there within the last two or three years.

Question. And you have followed that?

Answer. Up to a year or so ago.

Question. Do you now hold some office?

Answer. Yes, sir; I am a justice of the peace.

Question. When were you chosen a justice of the peace?

Answer. I was elected on the 4th of last August.

Question. Are justices of the peace in Tennessee elected by a vote of the people?、

Answer. Yes, sir; I was elected by a vote of the people.

Question. By a vote of the city of Chattanooga?

Answer. Yes, sir; the fourteenth civil district.

Question. Does that include any more than the city of Chattanooga?

Answer. No, sir; it does not-not for regular business. In any district in the county

I can sign any papers connected with that office.

Question. You are a justice of the peace for the whole county?

Answer. Yes, sir; for the whole county

Question. How many justices were elected at the same time as yourself?

Answer. In our district three were elected at the same time.

Question. Were they all colored men?

Answer. No, sir; I was the only colored man; the other two were white men.

Question. Since you were elected, last August, bave you been performing duty as a magistrate or justice of the peace?

Answer. I have.

Question. How far is Chattanooga from the Georgia line?
Answer. Only four and a half miles by the nearest route.

Question. I want to inquire of you particularly in reference to some violence which it has been understood was committed upon you a short time ago. Tell us the story in reference to that.

Answer. On the 17th of last month I went out from Chattanooga to Whiteside on a visit to a school which my sister was teaching. Whiteside is on the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad, fourteen miles west from Chattanooga. I went down there on Saturday night and staid all night. My sister is teaching school there.

Question. A colored school?

Answer. Yes, sir.

Question. Is it a public or a private school?

Answer. It is a private school, supported by a party of people in that district.

Question. Various colored people living about in that vicinity associate together and hire your sister to teach their children?

Answer. That is it, sir.

Question. You went down on Saturday night and staid over Sunday?
Answer. Yes, sir.

Question. State all that took place.

Answer. On Sunday night, between 11 and 12, or 10 and 11 o'clock, I cannot say exactly which, (I had been over to the mountain that day, visiting the coal mines, and was very tired, and slept very sound,) I woke up, and there was a crowd of men, all with masks, around me, with pistols in their hands. They waked me up. They called me by my name; they took me out near a mile from the house.

Question. Tell all that they said.

Answer. They took me out about a mile from the house, talking all the time they were going along.

Question. What did they say to you at the house?

Answer. They asked me what was my name. I told them. Then some of them said, "O, yes; you are the man we are looking for," and so forth. One of them told me they were going to kill me. He said, "I am going to give you five of these balls." He had a pistol in his hand. After they got me out of doors, the captain of the organization (they called him "captain ") told me that he was going to whip me; he said he would give me twenty-five lashes; that I had had the impudence to run against a white man for office, and beat him; that they were not going to allow it; that it was an organization organized by them to stop negroes holding office, and to put out of office those that had office; that if they did not get out of office by being told or notified

or whipped, they were going to kill them. They took me up about a mile from the house, I reckon, and hit me as much as twenty-five times.

Question. Did they take you into a woods or swamp?

Answer. They took me through the woods into an old field, down near a swamp. I had never been there before. They took off my coat, and whipped me with hickories seven or eight feet long; they said they were going to give me twenty-five lashes, and I guess they gave it to me. They told me that if I would promise to resign my office when I went to Chattanooga next morning, they would turn me loose; and I very readily promised it.

Question. They required you to promise to resign your office?

Answer. Yes, sir.

Question. At the time they came into your house, were you in bed and undressed ? Answer. Yes, sir.

Question. Did they allow you to dress yourself?

Answer. Yes, sir; they told me to put on my clothes.

Question. And when they got down to the field they made you take off your coat?

Answer. Yes, sir; my coat and vest; and one of the men held them till they got through.

Question. They did not require you to take off any of the rest of your clothing?
Answer. No, sir.

Question. How many of the men whipped you?

Answer. There were three of them whipped me separately.

Question. Did they strike severely?

Answer. Yes, sir; they struck as hard as they could strike; I don't think they could have struck harder. They made me get on my knees, and by that means the point of the hickories struck the ground, so that they did not cut my skin any.

Question. You think that the length of the hickories prevented the blows from being as severe as they otherwise would have been?

Answer. Yes, sir; I am certain of it.

Question. They whipped you until you promised to resign your office?

Answer. Yes, sir.

Question. And when they got from you the promise that you would resign your office, did they then cease beating you?

Answer. I promised them that before they struck a lick; they required me to, and I did it.

Question. State as much of the conversation as you can remember-all that they said from the time they came until they let you go.

Answer. When they were taking me out of the door, they said they had nothing particular against me; that they didn't dispute I was a very good fellow, and they never heard anything wrong of me; but they did not intend any nigger to hold office in the United States; that they were going to stop it, and were going to whip me to show me that I was not to have the impudence to run against any white man in an election, as I had done; and that I might notify a couple of other colored men that we have in our city-members of the city board-that they were going to get them. They said further that any white man who had anything to do with my election-going my bond or anything of that sort-if they got hold of him they would treat him just as they did me.

Question. Did they say anything about colored people voting?

Answer. No, sir; they did not say anything about colored people voting-not to me. They said they did not object to the people having the school, but that the association of colored people had to stop meeting so often; that if they kept meeting there like they were doing, they would form a sort of a league after a while, and be for trying to stop them, and they were going to stop that.

Question. They said they intended to stop this association that had this school?

Answer. Yes, sir; and that they had understood I came out there to regulate the schools; that if the people out there wanted schools they had to regulate them themselves; that no nigger justices from Chattanooga should regulate schools for that part of the country.

Question. Did your visit have anything to do with the schools?

Answer. Not a thing.

Question. You went merely to visit your sister?

Answer. That is all I went there for.

Question. This association of colored men who have this school, is it an association for any other purpose than to maintain a school for their children?

Answer. No, sir; I am confident that they are not. They only meet when they want

to get a teacher, or want to make up money to pay the teacher.

Question. They only meet when they want to attend to some business in connection with the schools?

Answer. That is all the time they meet.

Question. They have no league or society for any other purpose, so far as you know? Answer. I do not think they have.

Question. At whose house were you stopping when you were making this visit : Answer. I was at the house of Birch Overby, a colored man.

Question. Is that where your sister boards?

Answer. Yes, sir.

Question. Did those men take out anybody else besides yourself?

Answer. They took out a young man that formerly lived there; but he got out of a situation there and came to Chattanooga and works there. He goes home every Saturday night.

Question. He had gone to stay at home over Sunday?

Answer. Yes, sir; he always goes to stay at home on Sundays, and he keeps his clothes there mostly. They took him out, but did not whip him any. There were three other men in the house. The owner of the house they had whipped twice before that. They told me so, and I have heard him say so. These same men told me that they had whipped him before.

Question. You also heard it from him?

Answer. Yes, sir; and they told me themselves that they had whipped him severely twice before.

Question. Did these men say anything to you about elections?

Answer. Nothing more than just about colored men running for office, and that they should not do it.

Question. Did they say anything about the next presidential election?

Answer. No, sir, I do not think they did. I was pretty badly excited, and a great deal that they did say I suppose I cannot remember now.

Question. Did you know any of these men?

Answer. No, sir; not one of them.

Question. How many do you think there were ?

Answer. Well, from how they looked I thought probably fifteen or sixteen.

Question. Were they all disguised?

Answer. Yes, sir.

Question. What sort of disguises had they on?

Answer. Gowns-some red, some black, and some white. Then they had a sort of a face and cap all made together, with eye-holes and a mouth-hole.

Question. The cap had something that came down over the face?

Answer. Yes, sir.

Question. What was the shape of the cap ?

Answer. I really could not tell you, because I was afraid to eye them too close. I could look in their faces, but was afraid to eye them too close.

Question. Did they all seem to be armed?

Answer. They were all armed when I saw them. When I first waked up they were pretty well all in the house, and they all had pistols in their hands, right over me. Question. You did not wake up until after they got into the house?

Answer. No, sir.

Question. Have you any idea as to where these men lived?

Answer. My opinion is that they lived right around in that vicinity.

Question. In the vicinity of where you were that night?

Answer. Yes, sir.

Question. You do not think they were men who came from Chattanooga?

Answer. I could not say; but I think a portion of them were from right around there. I think so from what they said. I know that one of them said to the other boy, "I suppose some of you are fixing up a sort of a gang here to fight the Ku-Klux." He said, “No, I am not.” Then the man said, "You do not know who you are talking to; Í am the very man that got your bullet-molds and your gun that night when we were here before." I supposed from that that they must live right around there—some of them at least.

Question. Is Whiteside in the same county as Chattanooga?

Answer. No, sir, it is in the lower part of Marion County, I think.

Question. This was not within your jurisdiction as justice of the peace?

Answer. No, sir.

Question. Did these men say anything about colored people voting?

Answer. No, sir, I don't think they did; if they did I don't remember it.

Question. You say they had whipped before this man at whose house you were stopping? Answer. Yes, sir.

Question. How long before?

Answer. The last time I think was inside of two months.

By Mr. COBURN:

Question. What did they say they whipped him for?

Answer. They did not say what they whipped him for. I heard him say what they whipped him for the last time, and what he thought they whipped him for the first time.

By the CHAIRMAN, (Mr. POLAND :)

Question. What was it?

Answer. The first time they were after a man that staid down there. This colored man knew some of the men that were ku-kluxing; he could always tell pretty nearly the time they were coming and could notify the people. They were sort of watching for them. When he heard them coming he went to work and told the old man that boards at his house that he had better get out, that the Ku-Klux were coming. They suspicioned that he did tell that, and they took him out and whipped him.

Question. They suspected that he notified the old man so that he got out of the way? Answer. Yes, sir.

Question. What was the reason of his being whipped the second time?

Answer. I think he has been a sort of a seaman; he can splice ropes-these wire ropes that they use to pull coal backward and forward on the coal-track. There was a white man, I think, that had been doing that or wanted to do it, and this colored man had taken the job. Some republican man down there gave him the job in preference to this other man. They went and whipped him for that.

Question. What are those ropes used for?

Answer. For pulling coal-cars. It is a kind of wire rope. It is called a rope, but it is a big wire.

Question. Somebody had given him the job of doing this work?

Answer. Yes, sir; of splicing the rope when it broke.

Question. Have you stated all that took place that night?

Answer. Well, I think I have stated all that took place that night as nigh as I can remember it.

Question. Did they leave you down in the field, or did they go back with you to the house?

Answer. They went back to the house with me, and staid there and talked for nearly an hour, I suppose. They all sat round the yard and staid there. Some wanted to take me back and whip me again. They said they had not got any blood, and they ought to have blood. They asked me where I was raised, who I had belonged to, and all such things as that.

Question. Did they say anything more about your office or your resigning it?

Answer. They told me very distinctly that they wanted me to understand that I must be punctual to my promise. I promised them I would. They said if I didn't do it, they would kill me the next time they caught me.

Question. You went out there from Chattanooga on the cars?

Answer. Yes, sir.

Question. In the evening?

Answer. Yes, sir; I think the train left at 8 o'clock in the evening.

Question. Was anybody that you knew on the train?

Answer. There was nobody on there, I believe, that I knew. There was one gentleman that I knew when the train started; but I don't know where he got off. Question. A Chattanooga man?

Answer. Yes, sir. There were two Chattanooga men on there. There was another that I did not know at that time; but after this transaction had taken place I remembered him very well when I saw him. I saw he had a basket and valise, and he got off at Whiteside. The gentleman that my sister boarded with told me who he was, and I remembered him then.

Question. He got off at Whiteside and stopped there?

Answer. Yes, sir.

Question. Have there been other colored men whipped in the vicinity of Chattanooga?

Answer. Yes, sir; there have been other colored men whipped around there.
Question. How long ago did this whipping of colored men begin?

Answer. I disremember exactly how long it has been; but some time last year this thing started up around there.

Question. Have there been any colored men killed by these bands of disguised men in that part of the country?

Answer. Yes, sir; there was one killed last spring-since Christmas, or just before Christmas. He was killed six miles west of Chattanooga, at a place on the railroad called Wauhatchie Station.

Question. What was his name?

Answer. I do not remember. He came into my place on Saturday to get a marriage license. I went to the clerk's office and went his security; but I forget his name now. Question. Was he killed that same night?

Answer. Yes, sir; that or the next night.

Question. Was he killed by disguised men?

Answer. Yes, sir; he was taken out of the house by them.

Question. How is it known he was killed?

Answer. They found his body next morning.

Question. Was he killed by shooting?

Answer. He was hung up and then shot.

Question. Do you know what they killed him for?

Answer. No, sir; I never could find out what they had against him.

Question. Did you ever hear it alleged that he had committed any crime?

Answer. I heard several rumors that there was a man in that vicinity where he was

that wanted to make a contract with him, or something of the sort, about some land, and they could not agree, and had some words.

Question. Was that shortly before he was killed?

Answer. Yes; a week or so before he was taken out.

Question. Whether that had anything to do with the killing, you do not know?

Answer. No, sir. The man that was killed was a son-in-law of an old man that was whipped since that time-a man by the name of Isaac Beeson.

Question. Where did Isaac Beeson live?

Answer. At Wauhatchie Station. After he was whipped by the Ku-Klux he came to Chattanooga, and is there yet.

Question. Was that before or after his son-in-law was killed?

Answer. Afterward. I do not think it is more than three or four months ago that he was whipped.

Question. Was he taken out and whipped by a body of disguised men?

Answer. Yes, sir.

Question. What did they whip him for?

Answer. I never could find out. He did not say they had any charge against him. Question. You talked with him about it?

Answer. No, sir; I never had any special talk with him about it. I heard him say this; I was standing off while he was talking. He said they told him they had been lying behind the moon for a great many nights and days, watching of him, that he was a good old nigger, and they had nothing against him, but that he was getting most too saucy and that they had better whip him a little and maybe he would obey better. That was the tale I heard him tell.

Question. Did they whip him severely?

Answer. They whipped him pretty bad.

Question. Did you see him immediately after he was whipped?

Answer. I saw him after he was whipped.

Question. How old was he?

Answer. He is a man betwixt fifty and sixty-probably older. He has grown children and grandchildren.

Question. How long have you known him?

Answer. I have heard of him a good deal. I never saw him to know him before this case happened. He has always lived in the country.

Question. Have you ever heard anything against his character?

Answer. I never heard anything against his character. He always had a very good character so far as I have ever heard-he and his family.

Question. Do you know whether he is a man of prominence among his people?

Answer. I think he is; he is an old citizen, and I think he is a leader down there amongst them.

Question. Does he have anything to do about elections or about politics?

Answer. Yes, sir, right smart. I have heard several men speaking of it. They would say that if it had not been for Isaac Beeson such and such a thing would not have been done, and the republicans would not have any votes.

Question. You understand that he was a pretty active republican?

Answer. Yes, sir, an active republican; always took an active part in elections?

Question. Did you ever hear that he did anything improper, or was anything more than a zealous man on his side in politics?

Answer. I never did, sir.

Question. You say this old man, Isaac Beeson, removed into Chattanooga immediately after he was whipped?

Answer. Yes, sir.

Question. What did he come to Chattanooga for?

Answer. He did not consider that, he was safe out at Wauhatchie.

Question. That is a thinly settled place?

Answer. Yes, sir.

Question. You understood that he broke up out there and came to Chattanooga in order to secure his safety?

Answer. Yes, sir; that is my understanding.

Question. Have there been any other colored men killed in the neighborhood of Chattanooga?

Answer. I do not believe there have.

Question. Have there been any others whipped?

Answer. Yes, sir; there have been some others whipped. One of them by the name of Joe Coulter was whippe