The history of John Gregg, and his family, of robbers and murderers

THE

HISTORY

OF

John Gregg, and his Family,

OF

Robbers and Murderers.

 

Who took up their abode in a cave near to the sea-side, in Clovaley in Devon-shire, where they liv’d twenty-five years without so much as once going to visit any city, or town. How they robbed above one thousand persons, and murdered and ate, all whom they robbed. How at last they were happily discover’d by a pack of bloodhounds; and how John Gregg, his wife, eight sons, six daughters, eighteen grand-sons, and fourteen granddaughters, were all seized and executed, by being cast alive into three fires, and burnt.

 

GLASGOW,
PRINTED IN THE YEAR.

The History of JOHN GREGG.

THE following account, tho' as well atteſted as any hiſtorical fact can be, is almoſt incredible, for monſtrous and unparalleled barbarities; that in novels there is nothing that we ever heard of with the ſame degree of certainty that may be compared with it; or that ſhews how far a brutiſh temper, un-tamed by education and knowledge of the world, may carry a man in ſuch glaring and horrible actions.

John Gregg, was born in the county of Devon, about eight or nine miles eaſtward of the city of Exeter. His parents worked at hedging and ditching for their livelihood, and brought their ſon up to the ſame occupation. He got his daily bread in his youth, by theſe means; but being very much addicted to idleneſs, and not chuſing to be confined to any honeſt employment, he left his father and mother, and ran away into the deſart part of the country, taking with him a woman, as viciouſly inclined as himſelf, theſe two took their habitation in a Rock by the Sea-ſide on the ſhore of the county of Devon, where they lived upwards of twenty-five years without going into any city, town or village.

In this time they had a great number of children and grand-children whom they brought up after their own manner, without the leaſt notion of humanity or civil ſociety. They never kept any company but among themſelves, and ſupported themſelves by robbing, being moreover ſo very cruel, that they never robbed any one but what they murdered.

By this bloody method and their living ſo retired from the world, they continued a long time undiſcovered, there being nobody able to gueſs how the people were loſt who went by the place where they lived. As ſoon as they had robbed and murdered any man, woman or child they uſed to carry off their carcaſes to their den, where cutting them into quarters, they would pickle their mangled limbs, and afterwards eat them, it being their ſubſtance.

All the people in the adjacent parts were alarmed at ſo uncommon a loſs of their neighbours; for there was no travelling near the den of theſe wretches. This occaſioned ſpies to be ſent into theſe parts, many of whom never returned again, and thoſe who did, after the ſtricteſt ſearch and enquiry could not find out how theſe melancholy matters happened. There were ſeveral honeſt travellers taken up upon ſuſpicion, and wrongfully hanged; ſeveral innocent innkeepers were executed for no other reaſons than that the perſons who had been loſt were known to have lain at their houſes, which occafioned ſuſpicion of their being murdered by them, and their bodies privately buried in obſcure places to prevent diſcovery. Thus an ill-placed Juſtice was executed with the greateſt ſeverity imaginable, in order to prevent theſe frequent attrocious deeds, that the innkeepers, who lived on the weſtern road, left off their buſineſs for fear of being made examples of, and followed other employments; this on the other hand occaſioned many great inconveniences to paſſengers, who were now in very great diſtreſs for want of accommodation for themſelves and their horſes, when they were diſpoſed to bait or to put up for lodging at night. In a word, the whole country was depopulated.

John's family was at laſt grown very large, and every branch, as ſoon as able, aſſiſted in perpetrating their wicked deeds, which they followed with impunity: ſometimes they would attack four, five, or ſix footmen together, but never more than two if on horſeback. They were alſo very careful that none ſhould eſcape, an ambuſcade being laid on every ſide to ſecure them every way, how then was it poſſible they ſhould be detected, when not one that ſaw them ever perceived any body afterwards? The place they inhabited was ſolitary and loneſome, and when the tide came up, it reached a mile under ground, ſo that when ſome had been ſent armed, they paſſed by the mouth of the cave without any notice, not ſuppoſing anything human would live in ſuch a place of horror.

The number of people they deſtroyed was never known, but it was computed in twenty-five years they had murdered one thouſand men, women, and children, and the manner they were diſcovered was as follows.

A man and his wife behind him on the ſame horſe coming home from a fair, and falling into an ambuſcade of theſe wretches, they attacked him in a furious manner: The man to ſave himſelf fought bravely, riding ſome of them down by main force, but in the conflict, the poor woman fell from behind him and was inſtantly murdered before his face, the female cannibals cutting her throat, and ſucking her blood with as great guſt, as tho' it had been wine. This done, they ripp'd her up, and pull'd out her entrails; which diſmal ſpectacle cauſed the man to make the more reſiſtance. It pleaſed Providence, while he was engag'd, thirty people came in a body together from the fair; on which John Gregg and his crew withdrew, and made the beſt of their way thro' a wood to their den.

This was the firſt man that ever fell in their way and came off alive: He told the company what had happened, and ſhew'd the mangled body of his wife, which the murderers had not time to carry off. They were ſtruck with amazement, and went and made it known to the Mayor of Exeter, who immediately ſent to the king. In a few days his Majeſty in perſon with a body of about four hundred men, ſet out for the place where theſe tragedies were acted, in order to find out this helliſh crew, which ſo long had been a nuiſance to that part of the Kingdom. The man who had been attacked was the guide, and care was taken to have a large number of blood hounds, that no human means might be wanting to put an end to thoſe barbarous cruelties. No ſign of habitation was found for a long time? and even when they came to the cave of theſe wretches, they took no notice of it, but were going to purſue their ſearch along the ſhore, the tide being then out; but ſome of the blood hounds luckily entered the cave, and ſet-up ſuch a hideous barking and yowling, that the king and his attendants went back and looked into it, but could not think that any thing human was there. Nevertheleſs, as the hounds went further in, they increaſed their noiſe and refuſed to come back; torches were immediately had, and a great many men entered thro' the moſt intricate windings, 'till they came to the private receſs of the murderers: then the whole body of then went in, and ſaw the diſmal ſight, and were ready to ſink into the earth to ſee ſuch a multi-tude of arms, legs, thighs, hands, and feet of men, women, and children, hung up in rows, like dry'd beef, and a great many lying in pickle. They alſo found a quantity of money, watches, rings, ſwords, piſtols, and a large quantity of cloathes and other things, which they had taken from thoſe they had murdered.

John's family at this time conſiſted of himſelf, his wife, eight ſons, ſix daughters, eighteen grand-ſons, and fourteen grand-daughters, begotten in inceſt: they then were all ſeized and pinioned; they took what ⟨human⟩ ſleſh they found, and buried it in the ſands, then taking all the ſpoil, they returned to Exeter with the priſoners, the country people flocking round to ſee the curſed tribe. When they came to the town, they were committed to the goal, and next day conducted under a ſtrong guard to Plymouth, where they were all executed without any proceſs, it being needleſs to try any creatures who were ſuch profeſs’d enemies to mankind.

The men had firſt their privy members cut off and thrown into the fire before their faces; and then their hands and legs were cut off, by which amputation they bled to death ſome hours afterwards.

The wife, daughters, and grand children having been made ſpectators of this juſt puniſhment inflicted on the men, were burnt to death in three ſeveral fires. They all dy'd without the leaſt ſign of ⟨repentance⟩, and continued curſing and ⟨ſwearing⟩ the moſt horrid Imprecations ⟨to⟩ the laſt gaſp of breath.

F I N I S.