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[H 47]

Bureau R. F and A. L.
Franklin N. C. July 17th 1868

Sir:
I have the honor to state that it is reported at this Office, that one Briscoe has for a long time pursued a course of crime and outrage in Cherokee county without interference by the civil authorities. He goes heavily armed, and when he meets freedmen, he compels them to stand, while he beats them, and threatens their lives. It is stated that he meets women on the highway or in the fields, and at the mouth of the pistol, outrages their persons, sometimes even the presence of their husbands or fathers. The Sherriff and other Civil officers seem powerless, or indifferent, and this desperado so intimidates whole Communities that thus far no attempt has been made to arrest him. Several freedmen have left their homes in Cherokee