The Athens Post

HORRIBLE TRAGEDY.—We are indebted to a friend at Dandridge for the account below of one of the most horrid murders ever perpetrated in this or any other country. It will be seen that the murderer was subsequently arrested, chained to a stake, and burned to death. We are no friend or advocate of any proceedings outside the regular course of justice, but there are extreme cases where Lynch law is at least expedient, and where the punishment should be as summary and terrible as the outrage was fiendish and cruel. The case below is one of that character, and the community among whom the horrid murder and outrage was committed, were justifiable in inflicting the punishment they did upon the inhuman and brutal perpetrator:

Dandridge, Tenn., 20th June, 1854.

Editor Post:—A tragedy has just been enacted in this vicinity, more awful and horrible than has ever before occurred in any peaceful land. Elijah Moore and his wife had lived together some eight years upon a farm on French Broad River, near the mouth of Chucky. They had no children. Miss Lotspeach, the sister of Mrs. Moore, was living with them. She was a young lady much esteemed by her acquaintances as amiable, prudent and modest. Moore and his wife were clever, respectable people. He owned a negro man named Tom, about 22 years of age, who had been raised in the family and admitted to many familiarities and liberties, such as are too often allowed to slaves by those who own but few. This slave and two small free negro boys, hired by Moore, worked in the crop on his farm.—The slave Tom had been insolent to the family, and especially to Miss Lotspeach, and ought to have been arrested, but Moore was desirous of having his labor in the crop at this particular time, and was perhaps somewhat afraid of the negro. He therefore suffered the negro still to live on in the family. On last Wednesday evening the slave, Tom, sent away the little free negro boys to their mother's, not far distant, and in the night entered the house where Moore and his wife were in one bed, and Miss Lotspeach in another bed in an opposite corner of the same room. He entered the room with a lamp and an axe. He struck Moore in the head a blow with the edge of the axe, causing such instant death that he did not, when first discovered after death, appear to have moved. Several wounds, apparently given with great force with the axe, were found upon and about his head. Mrs. Moore awoke, sprang from the bed, and contended with the negro in defence of her husband. The negro inflicted several wounds upon Mrs. M. similar to those upon her husband, and lifting her from the floor, threw her upon the bed where she died in a few minutes. Whilst the brief contest was pending with Mrs. Moore, her sister, Miss Lotspeach, started to her relief. The negro struck her upon the arm and broke it; he then threw her upon the bed and violated her, with many acts of barbarity and inhumanity, not to be repeated. She resisted and fought to the last. Her screams alarmed the negro so that he killed her by a blow upon the back of her head, and then made his escape. The next day the whole neighborhood assembled, and all who were there say that the sight of the murdered dead was the most awful they had ever seen. The whole neighborhood turned out upon a diligent search for the murderer, and on Sunday he was arrested, not, however, until he had received a severe flesh wound from a rifle ball. He made a full, though not voluntary, confession, which is confirmed by other evidence. On Monday, after general public notice throughout the country round, in the presence of an immense assembly, and by the expressed approbation of every individual present, the negro was chained to a stake and burned to death, and to ashes.