The Nation's Peril Part 5

AN AGED WOMAN WHIPPED UPON HER NAKED PERSON.

On the fourth week after the visitation above recorded, and just when the Furguson brothers had about recovered from the effects of the brutal whipping, and were able to attend to their ordinary duties, the family were subjected to a second raid, far more revolting and indecent in its character than the first, and such as the sensitive mind naturally recoils from the contemplation of. The details are given here with a strict adherence to the truth, all the facts herein set forth having been personally verified to the writer by the sufferers themselves.

On the night of the 11th of December, 1870, Susan Furguson, and a young man named Eli Phillips, who had long known, and loved, and sympathized with her, were sitting before the fire in the room which had been the scene of the former outrage; the other members of the family, with the exception of John Furguson, had retired to bed.

Mrs. Furguson, the mother, was in very delicate health, caused by the shock produced by the visitation of the Klan four weeks previous, and the labor consequent upon nursing and caring for her sons. One of the brothers, Daniel, lay stricken with a fever that had prostrated him two days before, and was in an almost helpless condition.

About ten o'clock in the evening, the doors upon both sides of the house were broken in simultaneously, without previous warning, and a band of men, armed and disguised as before, and much larger in numbers, rushed into the room, uttering the most demoniac yells. A portion of the number proceeded directly to the bed where the mother was lying, terror-stricken and paralyzed from fear at their approach, and after first charging her with having exposed their former visit, dragged her from the bed and threw her violently to the floor. They then stood her up, and ordered her to remove her night dress and chemise. This she refused to do, pointing to her gray hairs and imploring mercy in the name of G.o.d, and for the sake of the mothers who had borne them.

Her appeals were made in vain. At the order of the Commander, the members commenced tearing off the only garments that concealed her nakedness, and this with the most shocking brutality. The daughter, maddened by the sight, rushed upon the a.s.sailants, but was antic.i.p.ated by other members of the band, with whom she had a severe struggle, displacing the masks of four of them enough to enable her to recognize their faces.

She was quickly overpowered, and then beheld her mother completely naked, her brother John bleeding profusely from the blow of a club, and her brother Henry and the young man Phillips firmly secured.

The mother was then thrown upon the floor and there securely held, while two of the band beat her with twisted sticks, administering upwards of one hundred blows upon various parts of her person, and bandying the most obscene remarks and jests in relation to her. The daughter plead for her mother most eloquently, she informed them that she was in delicate health, and might die under the punishment, but this had no effect upon the executioners. The interest of the "white man's race" was at stake, and they had sworn to uphold the "white man's government," and would not stay their hands.

Having chastised the mother until there seemed but little life left, they commanded John and Henry, and the young man Phillips, to remove their clothes, and upon their refusing to do so, tore them off until not a vestige was left upon their persons. They were then whipped one after another, with great severity, the beating of John being so terrible that his life was despaired of for several days afterwards. The bed upon which the helpless and fever-stricken Daniel lay, was knocked down from under him, and his already infirm body bruised and lacerated without stint. It was indeed "a chastis.e.m.e.nt with scorpions;" but the most indecent spectacle was reserved to the last.

OUTRAGE UPON A YOUNG GIRL.

SHE IS WHIPPED IN A NUDE STATE IN THE PRESENCE OF THIRTY MEN.

The girl Susan, whose bravery and devotion to her family should have challenged the admiration of these lawless marauders, instead of drawing upon her their contempt, was next ordered to disrobe. Overwhelmed and confused at the merest thought, even, of such indignity, she could hardly command herself sufficiently to speak her denials; as soon as she did, she utterly refused to comply with the order.

The more lecherous and brutal of the band sprang upon and threw her to the floor, with no more regard for her person than if she had been a brute, whom they were leading to slaughter. They stretched her out at full length, and took her measure, as an intimation that they were going to dig her grave.

"We will put her and her radical lies where she can't enjoy their good company, without further trouble," said one. This was responded to by another, who, with a coa.r.s.e oath, e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed, "Six foot under ground makes a good place for solitary confinement, by ----."

The work of "taking the measure" having been completed, Miss Furguson, already suffering from the indelicate treatment she had received, was then allowed to rise, and again ordered to divest herself of her clothes. "Is it possible," she asked, "that you will submit _me_ to such an outrage?"

She had never conceived it possible these men, depraved as they were, would really carry out a threat against which her whole nature revolted.

The reply was a sardonic laugh. The band had learned where the punishment would sting the most, and they meant to apply it and spare not.

For the first time in all her hated experience with these desperate men, she faltered and felt her courage failing her. To the high-toned and sensitive spirit of this brave and beautiful girl, there was something in this contemplated exposure of her person far more torturing than any number of lashes, however mercilessly inflicted. Death itself were a thousand times preferable, and, for the first moment in all her life, she felt like supplicating for mercy. Her hands dropped nervously and motionless at her side, and the stout-hearted heroine of the previous hour, stood in the presence of her persecutors almost stricken dumb with shame and confusion.

There was no sympathy in the glaring eyes that peered with l.u.s.tful and revengeful fires from behind the hideous masks of their tormentors; no sentiment of pity, no hope, no help. She was given but little time to decide. They fell upon her like hungry wolves famis.h.i.+ng for their prey, tearing one garment off after another, she resisting with all the strength she could command, and entreating them to take her life, if they must, but to spare her this last indignity.

Neither her piteous appeals nor her stubborn resistance availed her, and she lay upon the hard floor at last, naked as when born into the world, ashamed, degraded, broken in spirit, and her maidenly feelings outraged beyond any power of description. Four of the defenders of the "white man's race" seized her limbs and arms; stretched them to their fullest tension, and placing their knees thereon, held her brutally and forcibly to the floor. Her punishment was to be terrible.

The "executioners" were called, and five of the band came forward.

"Number one!" shouted the leader, and a stalwart member of the Klan that had sworn to uphold the "white man's government," raising his knotted strap in the air, brought it down upon the naked person of the helpless girl with the terrible force of his muscular arm, cutting through the delicate white skin and causing the blood to spurt at every stroke. He administered thirty lashes, and was succeeded by "number two" and "number three," until, as the witnesses state, one hundred and fifty lashes had been administered, and her shoulders, loins, and limbs, were literally cut into mince meat.

Her screams had ceased, and her unoffending body lay still and motionless long before the punishment had ended. There was something in her young heart far beyond the dread cruelty of this infliction, and she inwardly prayed to G.o.d for death, to end her mental and bodily suffering. Lying under this great mountain of sorrow and shame, she heeded not the rude and obscene observations of her tormentors; and the unconsciousness produced by the punishment, soon placed her beyond the power to listen to them.

Leaving her as one dead, and issuing the edict that if the family did not leave the country, it would be "_death!_ DEATH! DEATH!" to all, the band departed.

Thousands of honest hearts of all shades of political opinions, upon perusing this truthful narration, will feel to wish that they could have been present with power at this time to have utterly destroyed this band of midnight raiders; but, let them remember the words of holy writ, "Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord, I will repay".... "Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the Lord's wrath: but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy, for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land."

It was an hour after the departure of the band, before any of the party exhibited evidences of life or animation. Henry Furguson, and the young man Phillips, were the first to come to a realizing consciousness of the awful scenes through which they had just pa.s.sed. Wounded and bleeding as they were, they felt the necessity for immediate action. The mother and daughter still lay upon the floor, naked, lacerated and motionless. John Furguson had fainted from the loss of blood he had sustained, and was still unconscious, while Daniel was lying amid the debris of the bed, groaning in the agony of the fever, and the wounds upon his body.

Hastily gathering up the dresses of the women, and throwing them over their nude bodies, the young men lifted them tenderly to the bed, and gave them such attention as they felt able to bestow. The remaining members of the family were cared for as well as the circ.u.mstances permitted. Not a doctor could be had in the vicinity, who was not in sympathy with the Klan, and not a neighbor came to their a.s.sistance, although fully aware of their distressed condition. The neglect of the neighbors was in no way attributable to their indifference or their inhumanity. It was one of the legitimate results of the feeling of terror that then pervaded the community. A show of sympathy towards these unfortunates, they feared, would place them under the ban, and subject them to a visitation, and they dared not incur the risk.

In ten days another warning came to the Furgusons, that they must leave the country within twenty-four hours, or the penalty of death would surely be inflicted. They knew this warning must be heeded, and with broken hearts and crushed spirits, they crawled out into the woods, under cover of the darkness, and secreted themselves as they best could.

In an interview held with the writer, subsequent to this last outrage, Miss Furguson stated that the weather, at this time, was cold and disagreeable, sometimes frosting and sometimes raining; that they had to lie out without a shelter, and suffered with the cold and hunger, sometimes going twenty-four hours without food. Occasionally the neighbors gave them something to eat, and finally the unfortunate wanderers sold to them the right to what furniture they had left behind in the house, and thus procured something upon which to subsist.

She stated further, that they were in the woods nearly a month, and that as soon as they were able to travel they left the vicinity and procured a home with a Mr. Dixon, on the lower edge of Chatham county.

An affidavit, based upon the statements of this young lady, was made before the Hon. A. W. Schaffer, U. S. Commissioner at Raleigh, N. C., on the 8th day of September, 1871. It charged the men, recognized by this girl, as being present and concerned in the outrages above related.

Warrants were issued, and the officers of the U. S. Secret Service went to Chatham county and arrested the parties and brought them before the Commissioner. The more wealthy and influential members of the Klan rallied to their rescue, became their bondsmen, and they were released to await trial.

Miss Furguson's description of the dreadful indignities to which she and the other members of the family were subjected, was of the most graphic and thrilling character, and aroused the sympathies of many who heard it.

The defenders of the "white man's government" were alone amazed and enraged at the persistency and courage of this young girl of the "white man's race," and they determined to ferret her out and punish her again.

In this they were successful, although for greater safety, the family had broken up, and the mother and daughter had secreted themselves, as they supposed, beyond the knowledge of their persecutors.

On the night of the 20th of September, 1871, three men, armed and disguised, and who had been detailed by the Camp for the purpose, appeared suddenly before the miserable hut in which these unfortunates had taken refuge. An entrance was easily effected, and the women were told that their doom was sealed, and they were to be whipped to death.

These three protectors of the "white man's race," then fell upon the women, beating them brutally. Susan recognized one of them, by his voice, as a man named Jesse Dixon, whom she knew. The moment she called his name, the three ran away, leaving their victims, who pa.s.sed the remnant of the night in the woods.

On the following day, the mother and daughter made their way to Raleigh, where fresh complaints were entered, and the Secret Service officers, armed with warrants, went out and succeeded in capturing two of the murderous a.s.sailants, who were brought in and held for trial. Mrs.

Furguson and her daughter were then retained in the city as witnesses, at the expense of the government, and to protect them from further outrages.

Susan J. Furguson, the heroine of the terrible experiences above related, is now twenty-one years of age. She is a girl of commanding presence, is endowed with a powerful const.i.tution, great energy and force of character, and an indomitable spirit. Her P. O. address is "Snow Camp Foundry, Chatham Co., N. C.," where herself and other members of the family can be found, in verification of the facts above related.

There are few narrations in the annals of "persecutions for opinion's sake," more shocking in their inhuman details than the foregoing; certainly, none that cry with a louder and more earnest voice to the government, and the right-minded people of the country, for help for those who have been the subjects thereof.

No amount of retributive justice can erase one solitary scar from the knout-welted bodies of the Furgusons, or remove from their spirits the dreadful memory of their disgrace; but to those who went forth to battle in the days of "The Nation's Peril," who stood shoulder to shoulder amid the roar of cannon, and, in vindication of the right, successfully withstood the shock of rebellious armies, it must ever remain a matter of profound gratification that the victories _then_ achieved in the field are _now_ being perpetuated in such a firm and vigorous enforcement of the laws as will have a tendency to make them substantial ones in the repression of any and all such outrages in the future.

GEORGE W. ASHBURN.

SHOT TO DEATH FOR OPINION'S SAKE.

The shocking murder of this gentleman is still fresh in the minds of most readers of the daily journals, North and South. Mr. Ashburn was a sterling patriot, who entertained radical opinions, and through his fluency and ability, as well as his outspoken friendliness towards the colored race, had gained their confidence and support alike, with that of the Republican whites of the vicinity.

He was a member of the Const.i.tutional Convention of Georgia which met at Columbus, in the winter of 1867-8, and during his stay there, was refused admittance as a guest at the princ.i.p.al hotels of the place on account of the political prejudice existing against him. He occupied private rooms upon one of the main streets of the city, where he lived in an unostentatious and unpretending manner.

He was a man of extraordinary natural talents, a good speaker, of fair educational qualifications, and a most earnest defender and supporter of true Republican principles. On all occasions, and wherever he appeared, to discuss the political situation of the trying times he moved in, he spoke his sentiments unreservedly. He was far from ever having been a huckster or trickster in politics, but he was fearless and able, and his enemies doomed him!

At midnight, on the 31st day of March, 1868, a band of about forty men, who were armed and thoroughly disguised, made their appearance in an open lot of ground near his residence, and just opposite his private quarters.

He had gone to bed in his room, and the door was just closed, when a summons from without called the servant, who opened it, and the Klan burst into the hall. Mr. Ashburn heard the noise, sprang out of bed, struck a light, and opened the door of his sleeping apartment. He did not fear death at the hands of these intruders, but he was alarmed at the rude demonstrations they made, and demanded to know what was their purpose.

With an oath and a brief exclamation of unwarrantable abuse, the foremost members of the Klan immediately fired upon and shot him down in his tracks like a dog. A white and colored woman in the house recognized three or four of the leading a.s.sailants, whom they subsequently identified, and these were among the first residents of the city of Columbus. The names of these parties, whose ident.i.ty was sworn to, and who were afterwards placed on trial, are as follows:

Elisha J. Kirksey, Columbus C. Bedell, James W. Barber, William A. Duke, Robert Hudson, William D. Chipley, Alva C. Roper, James L. Wiggins, Robert A. Wood, Henry Hennis, Herbert W. Blair, and Milton Malone.

The morning after the a.s.sa.s.sination, a coroner's jury was summoned, and, as was usual in such cases, the verdict of these men--who were all members of the Ku Klux Klan--was, that Mr. Ashburn came to his death "from wounds received from parties to the jury unknown." The local authorities made a faint show of investigating the matter, but really did nothing towards actually ferreting out and bringing to justice the murderers.

This outrage was so revolting in its inception and consummation, that the military authorities considered it right that they should undertake to do what the local police and citizens of Columbus had apparently been so indifferent in performing.