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pushed or knocked down in the street of Lexington on last Sunday afternoon by a young white men who at the time was walking with a female friend- Both parties were going to or from church or prayer meeting- The evidence on the one side was that the girl Mariah had not said or done anything to cause the man Henderson to grasp her by the throat, push or strike her- on the other that she had come directly in front of his companion Miss Rhodes and demanded in an insolent tone that she should make way for her- although there was plenty of room for her to pass on either side of the pavement- and then he pushed her to one side, when she fell-

Col Ruffs decision was that Mariah's complaint was not well founded- as she had insulted the white lady- and that she should pay the costs- In my opinion the costs should have been paid by Henderson and perhaps he should have been fined a small amount- for, though I have reason to believe in offense was given by Mariah, he was not justified by the law in striking or even pushing her to one side- and yet very few young men, under similar circumstances would have refrained from doing something- but then they would assume a responsibility for which they should be held accountable-

This case has produced some disturbance in the town, and the only unkind manifestation of unkind fueling on the part of the Freedpeople towards the Whites- Many of those in Lexington denounce it as an outrage and an index of their being without protection, while on the part of the White citizens the insolence of the blacks is loudly spoken of as 

Transcription Notes:
---------- Reopened for Editing 2024-03-14 16:11:35