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Courier on Saturday, February 20, 1819.

C HAPTER 2
    The Victims
    T WO C ORPSES AND A C OW
    Sometime after the lynch mob returned to Charleston, the occupants that had been driven out of the Six Mile House returned to the inn. An altercation occurred with David Ross as he stood guard over the Six Mile House. He was attacked but managed to escape into the woods and make his way back to town. His sworn affidavit, given to the authorities on February 20, 1819, described what transpired according to Ross.
    David Ross being duly sworn deposeth that on yesterday about the hour of nine, William Hayward came to Six Mile House of which he was in possession, accompanied by another person, whose name is unknown by him, that the said Hayward cursed him, collared him violently, and pushed him out of doors. The deponent then again reentered the house, and asked to take away the few articles that belonged to him; Hayward put his hand into his bosom, and said you damned infernal rascal, if you lay your hand on anything, I will blow your brains out.—By this time Fisher and his wife Lavinia Fisher came up, with two other men, whose names are unknown to him—that Lavinia Fisher laid violent hands upon him, choaked [sic] and boxed his head through a pain [sic] of window glass—whilst I was endeavoring to get away from them, Hayward and Fisher beat him unmercifully, with loaded whips aided and assisted by the other two men, whose names are unknown to him, there was also another woman, who aided and assisted, whilst they were beating him, the deponent leapt out of the piazza, and crossed the road through the woods then he got to the Four Mile House, but just as he had entered the woods, they fired at him, he got at least into the main road and on his way to town, near Freightous Bridge, he saw the whole party coming to town, Fisher exclaimed several times, you damned infernal rascal if ever I catch you, I will give you a hundred lashes.

    First page of David Ross’s statement. Courtesy South Carolina Department of Archives and History.

    Second page of David Ross’s statement. Courtesy South Carolina Department of Archives and History.
    As an amendment, the following appears to have been added after the judge’s signature: “and deponent doth believe that James McElroy was one of the above party concerned in the nefarious transactions above mentioned.”
    As David Ross was making his way back to town after the alleged attack, a trader named John Peoples was making his way out of town. Two hours after Ross was attacked, Peoples stopped at the Six Mile House to water his horses. As he and a young boy that was with him watered the horses, he was allegedly attacked and robbed. The following is the affidavit that Peoples provided to the authorities upon his return to Charleston.
    John Peeples being duly sworn deposeth that on yesterday forenoon, the 19th into about eleven o’clock as he was returning home from town to his residence in the country he stopped near the forks of the road about 6 miles from town to water his horse that whilst his horses were watering a man came out of the 6 Mile House and told a boy who was with him that he must give him his bucket as he wanted to water his horse, the boy refused to give him the bucket saying he wanted it himself, he swore he would have it and immediately nine or ten persons, among them a tall, stout woman, came out of the same house to the place where he was armed with clubs, guns, and pistols, and immediately made a violent assault on him, some of them beating him with sticks and with their guns, and several times they flashed their pistols at him, that the woman appeared to be the most active in beating him, cutting him over the head and eyes with a stick—that after a while they left him, and reentered the same house, and the deponent proceeded about two hundred yards on the road when two of the same men came up to him on horseback, and stopped his waggon [sic]