Report of the Committee on Outrages in Mississippi

6life. One evening after he came home from the depot—he went there generally of a Saturday to get his mail—a son of a member of the board of supervisors—I think he was a supervisor; he was an officer anyhow; his name was Fatheree. I always answered the door if anybody called at 1 night; and, in fact, in the daytime as well | as night, for I thought I might do better than Mr. Haffa—he came to the door and says: “Is Mr. Haffa in?” <Says I: “Yes, sir.” He says, “I wish to see him on business.” I said. “Won’t you alight and walk in?” He said, “No.” I went in and told Mr. Haffa, and I went out with a candle, and he says to me, “Mamma, you go in; it is too cold for you here, you will take cold.” The young man says to him: “Send your wife in. I want to talk about business, and it is not prudent for ladies to be present.” There was a colored woman, a school-teacher, there,standing by me Mr. Haffa then spoke in a more emphatic manner than usual for me to go in, and I went to turn around with the candle to go in when this colored woman just shook her head that way, [indicating,] and I said, “I will not go in,” and I turned, and at that moment saw a pistol aimed at Mr. Haffa. He had it cocked, but Mr. Haffa snatched it from his hand and made him get down off his horse and put him in the cotton-house and locked him up until the next morning. In the morning he knocked at the door and prayed to be let out, and asked Mr. Haffa/s pardon, and said he did not intend anything. Mr. Haffa thought, probably, on account of the feeling, that it would be better to be lenient than to use harsh means, though he had him in his power, so he let him out; and, said he, “Squire, won’t you give me my pistol?” It was a small Derringer pistol. Mr. Haffa said, “I don’t know that I will.” He said, “Will you give it back to me, please? I will promise you I won’t do any such thing as that again, and I am very sorry for it, but I was put up to do it.” Mr. Haffa said, “Who put you up to do it ?” and he would not say who it was; and he gave him back his pistol and h® went home. Two or three days after that his mother called on me—Mr. Haffa was absent at the time—and made an apology to me for the conduct of her son. Mr. Haffa says, “We will think nothing about it; we will let it slide, as long as he made reparation for it: In that way probably I can overcome them by kindness.” MRS. HAFFA TEACHES SCHOOL AND ADVISE* COLORED VOTERS. Then he came on North here and remained a year, and left me there as teacher. I have been teacher there evei- since the public schools have -been iii vogue. Th® I school-house was only twenty or thirty usual—T always went to the door when there was white people come around, for I was very much afraid of them myself. So they got him out by a tree a short distance off, and they had hitched their horses to that tree. I watched them and they took a cowhide and commenced to lash him very freely with it. I ran out and grasped him around the waist. They said, “We will show you what Southern blood is.” Mr. Haffa never said a word. I said, ‘ ‘Mr. Bush, you have a wife in heaven and a child also, here; remember what your fate will be. I am here among strangers.” He says, “Well, you have got no business to be down here among such an illiterate class of people.” MBS. HAFFA INJURED. And finally, I kept on, and I presume it lasted over an hour, perhaps two hours; and they kept on until they got up to the house, and then Frank Bush took hold of me and threw me violently against a sill in front of the door, and the effects of it I have never got over yet. I was laid up in consequence of it for about a month. I was taken to J ackson, Mississippi. Sena-. tor Caldwell, of Mississippi, a colored man, paid my expenses there, which cost h m $50. I was there for a month to be recuperated; I was not able to be home at all; they had no hopes of me. In the meantime Mr. tlaffa had gone to Jackson to make his bond for his position as magistrate for the second term. He was there for a few days and then went back and attended to his business, leaving me there. HER HUSBAND INSULTED—HER BOY FIRED 1 AT. Then I went home, and there was nothing of any moment occurred for several months. Then Robinette, a brother-in- law of these Bushes, met Mr. Haffa coming from the depot with my little boy, who was on a mule, and Mr. Haffa was on a horse. Robinette came up to Mr. Haffa and took hold of his whiskers and told him he wanted him to come down off his horse and be would have it out with him there. Mr. Haffa somehow got away from him and put spurs to his horse, and the horse ran, and then Robinett fired at my little boy. ATTEMPT AT ASSASSINATION. Owing to the excitement he could not get out any warrant to have the man arrested, and there was never anything done with him. So, repeatedly after that, the Bushes made attempts at Mr. Haffa, and Mr. Haffa had always somebody with him wherever he went. He had to be guarded by the colored people. Even in going to the stable, which was no farther than from here across the street., he was afraid of his

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