Report of the Joint select committee appointed to inquire into the condition of affairs in the late insurrectionary states, so far as regards the execution of laws, and the safety of the lives and property of the citizens of the United States and Testimony taken.

ALABAMA —SUB-COMMITTEE. 1949
Question. Where men were banded together, I mean to say.
Answer. I do not know of any.
Question. You think you have exhausted the catalogue now of such c1ass?
Ainswer. Those are the only cases I remember of.
Question. Let me call your attention, then, to some cases.
Anslver. There may be others that have escaped my mind.
Question. I will try and bring some of these cases to your notice. Did you ever hear
of the case of Charles Powell, who lives at or near Lee's Station, who was taken from
his place, a rope put around his neck, and whipped, and who was shot at afterward.
Answer. No, sir; I (lo not know that I ever did.
Question. Did you ever hear of the case of Peter Stewart, who was shot about a year
ago, up on the railroad here?
Answver. No, sir.
Question. By a band of men. Hle was shot in the morning and died of the shot afterward?
Answer. I do not remember him by that name, sir. On what railroad was it at?
Question. Near Coatopa Station. Did you ever hear of that case?
Answer. I do not know the name of Peter Stewart. There was a negro killed there.
The difficulty arose between him and a man by the name of White. It arose from
something about the division of cotton, I think. sir; and he was shot by White, and
subsequently died. If that is the case, and that is the name, those are the circumstances. It was a private quarrel at the gin-house, I think.
Question. Did you ever hear of the son of Henderson Young being killed last fall?
Answer.c Yes, sir.
Question. Did yon ever hear of the case of Enoch Sledge, who was shot two years ago
on the road between here and Horn's bridge?
AnswXer. Yes, sir; I have heard of that, and I remember some of those cases, but you
were only asking for the cases in which there were bands of men, either disguised or
not, as I told you. These cases you were referring to now, of outrages, were not in
that way.v'
Question. Did you ever hear of the case of George Ihouston being shot?
Ant''er. Yes, sir.
Question. Was lie said to have been shot by a band of men?
Answer. He was shot the same night of the killing of Coblentz.
Question. IBy the same band of men?
Anstw er. Yes, sir; it was supposed to have been by the same. His house was not very
far from Choutteau's house, where Coblentz was killed, and it was thought they were
some of the samne party.
(Qustion. Did you ever hear of the case of Isaiah HIunter, shot at in his house at
night, and his house burned, about two years ago?
Answe'. Yes, sir.
Question. Was that said to have been done by a band of men?
A.nswer. No, sir; it was said to have been done by two or three negroes in the neighborhood, who had a prejudice against him as a conjuror. Prior to that lie was shot at
by the negro supposed to have been concerned in his murder, while he was going along
the road, and a fetw weeks after that lie was killed. I am not sure as to the time, but
it was subsequent to his assassination on the road; he was assassinated on the road,
but was merely wounded, not killed. That was done by a colored man named Arnold
Lee, against whoum the murder was charged. Arnold Lee had accused Isaiah Hunter
of conjuritg and poisoning his wife,.and he tried to kill him while riding along the
road on his waigon, but did not succeed. Isaiah -Hunter was a short time after that
murdered in his house; and while there was no evidence to show it was Arnold Lee,
or anylody, it was like any other case where the tracks of the murderer were so covered up that they could not be ascertained; but the supposition always was that Arnold Lee had killed him, or had had him killed.
Question. Did you hear of Jerry Clark?
Answer. He was killed by the man Prater, who was rescued from jail. Prater was
drinking, and killed him on the road about this time of day.
Question. Did you hear of Yankee Ben, on Dr. Choutteau's place?
A dnswer. Yes, sir.
Question. Was he shot?
Aswler. I think he was. I heard he was in some way murdered, but I nevfr understood it was by a band of disguised men.
By Mr. BLAIR:
Question. That was done by a posse, was it not, who were in search of some one?
Answer. They were in search of a negro, by the name of Enoch Townsend, who had
assaulted, with intent to murder, a man named Richardson. They called at the house
of Yankee Ben, and lie went up the chimney, and they thought-so I understood-that
it was the negro Townsend escaping.