Republican paper. This was the first episode of Ku Klux Klan violence which Merrill witnessed in York County, and he was unable to step in to protect the black citizens. Eight days after the attack, Merrill met with community leaders demanding change, although violence continued over the summer. Merrill's efforts eventually led to the dismantling of much of the Klan in the county. But Bratton, who ran away to Canada for a number of years to escape prosecution, was never successfully prosecuted. Emigration to Liberia Hill was afraid for his life and contacted Congressman Alexander S. Wallace and the American Colonization Society, seeking to escape the United States. Along with 135 other blacks, he sailed across the Atlantic to settle in Liberia in October 1871. Before leaving, he testified before a congressional committee that emigration was the best solution: "We do not believe it is possible from the past history and present aspect of affairs, for our people to live in this country peaceably and educate and elevate their children to any degree which they desire." At least 21 of the 31 households that were part of the Clay Hill emigrant group either had suffered Klan attacks or had near relatives in York County who had been victims. "That is the reason we have arranged to go away," Hill said. The congregation boarded the Charlotte, Columbia and Augusta Railroad and traveled to Charlotte, North Carolina, and then to Portsmouth, Virginia. They sailed to Liberia on the Edith Rose, a trip that included 243 regular passengers and two stowaways, all former slaves like Hill, except for the youngest and a few freedmen. The group settled in Arthington, Liberia. Life in Liberia and death Arthington had been founded in 1869 by Alonzo Hoggard and his congregation from Bertie County, North Carolina. In 1870, John Roulhac and his party arrived. In 1871, parties led by Jefferson Bracewell and Elias Hill arrived, and in 1872 another group led by Aaron Miller came. Conditions in Liberia were much worse than colonists had been told. Colonists believed that mortality and illness were low. However, as many as 20% of immigrants would die of malaria. And Hill discovered when he arrived that the government was in "great disorder". Liberia's president, Edward James Roye, was overthrown in late 1871 in the wake of a financial scandal and was assassinated in early 1872. Hill died of malaria on March