03/18/2017
Mark Twain's words on the murderer of my 3rd great grandfather are as follows:
The best description of the Murrell Clan was given by Mark Twain in his work, Life on the Mississippi. Twain compared Murrell to the outlaw Jesse James, claiming “Murell was his equal
in boldness, in pluck, in rapacity; in cruelty, brutality, heartlessness, treachery, and in general and comprehensive vileness and shamelessness; and very much his superior in some larger
aspects.”12 Twain described Murrell’s gang as robbers, counterfeiters, horse-thieves, and negrostealers,
all doing business along the Mississippi River.13 Twain continues with an in-depth description of the Mystic Clan, which consisted of two classes.
The upper class, called the Heads or Councils, planned the crimes. There were about four hundred people within this class. The lower class was called ‘strikers’. Approximately six hundred and fifty members acted as strikers.They often performed dangerous acts, but were poorly compensated. The strikers were also responsible for recruiting slaves for the business. The Councils had the power to kill any striker whom they deemed unworthy to live.14
The process Murrell and his clan used when killing a human and disposing of evidence was gruesome. According to “John Murrell’s Own Story,” Murell “ripped open the victim’s belly and took out the entrails, and sunk him in the creek.”15 The outlaw claimed that the reason he did this was because “he will never give evidence against me; and there is but one safe plan in
the business, and that is to kill.”16 It is estimated that 400 slaves suffered this type of “freedom from slavery” by the hands or orders of Murrell. Unfortunately for Murrell, one slave in Florence,
Alabama did not fall into his trap.
From some oral accounts put down on paper, it seems my 3rd great grandfather, Green Depriest was not so lucky. It is said he was one of the unfortunate ones who's belly was ripped open, stuffed with stones, and sunk to the bottom of the "Muddy Mississip."
