Viewing page 45 of 262

This transcription has been completed. Contact us with corrections.

fatally   A party of white men went to the house of a Negro living about half a mile from Salem. in the night and two of the number went into his room with pistols in their hands and without provocation struck him with their pistols and one of them shot him in the head; the wife and daughter of the negro were present but being new comers to the County did not know the white men; The Civil Authorities have investigated the affair but can get no clue to the perpetrators of the outrage;  A meeting of the Citizens was held for the purpose of expressing the public opinion in regard to the affair and to take such steps as possible to arrest the guilty parties. I would respectfully suggest that if a detective could be sent here the guilty parties might be discovered and punished and I think it highly important that the matter should not be dropped as the failure to punish the offenders in this case will encourage a certain class of young men here who think they have a right to maltreat a Negro, so long as they can escape the arm of the law. 

With the exception of the two outrages above referred to everything has progressed very quietly in my sub-dist.

Very Respectfully

Transcription Notes:
{?}: Was unsure of the word Resolved ---------- Reopened for Editing 2024-03-13 11:03:09 ---------- Reopened for Editing 2024-06-03 23:27:35