person in the family. We started from there for Mrs. Reese's,
maintaining the most perfect silence on our march, where finding the
door unlocked, we entered, and murdered Mrs. Reese in her bed, while
sleeping; her son awoke, but it was only to sleep the sleep of death, he
had only time to say who is that, and he was no more. From Mrs. Reese's
we went to Mrs. Turner's, a mile distant, which we reached about
sunrise, on Monday morning. Henry, Austin, and Sam, went to the still,
where, finding Mr. Peebles, Austin shot him, and the rest of us went to
the house; as we approached, the family discovered us, and shut the
door. Vain hope! Will, with one stroke of his axe, opened it, and we
entered and found Mrs. Turner and Mrs. Newsome in the middle of a room,
almost frightened to death. Will immediately killed Mrs. Turner, with
one blow of his axe. I took Mrs. Newsome by the hand, and with the
sword I had when I was apprehended, I struck her several blows over the
head, but not being able to kill her, as the sword was dull. Will
turning around and discovering it, despatched her also. A general
destruction of property and search for money and ammunition, always
succeeded the murders. By this time my company amounted to fifteen, and
nine men mounted, who started for Mrs. Whitehead's, (the other six were
to go through a by way to Mr. Bryant's, and rejoin us at Mrs.
Whitehead's,) as we approached the house we discovered Mr. Richard
Whitehead standing in the cotton patch, near the lane fence; we called
him over into the lane, and Will, the executioner, was near at hand,
with his fatal axe, to send him to an untimely grave. As we pushed on to
the house, I discovered some one run round the garden, and thinking it
was some of the white family, I pursued them, but finding it was a
servant girl belonging to the house, I returned to commence the work of
death, but they whom I left, had not been idle; all the family were
already murdered, but Mrs. Whitehead and her daughter Margaret. As I
came round to the door I saw Will pulling Mrs. Whitehead out of the