Bellows Falls times. [volume] (Bellows Falls, Vt.) 1856-1965, 1862-05-02
Letter from MIR. Robinson.

/
|, readers to need any further introduction. :
1t was addressed to his parents, and has bee
r sent to us for publication, at his own sug
gestion. II will be read with great interest
| especially by large portion Of our readers
Ii also contains an account Of the escape o
Mr.. Parker formerly Of Cavendish, giving
: details not before published. With his nu
merous friends in this state, we must mingl,
our own most cordial congratulations to ou
old friend, on his final escape and deliver
ance from villains who vainly tried so long
to murder him. 1t will be seen, also. tina
whatever political views he may have enter
tanned, his heart has ever been with The
Union, and not with the traitors. The con
nection in the letter is best preserved by
giving il entire, and we therefore give it II
that form. Many of his friends, to whom
he requests the letter to be sent, are sub
scribcrs to the TINES, one Of whom is
brother, practcing law in the west to all O.
whom we can give the letter at once, ant
as it win be of interest to the general read
er, we do so with pleasure, as follows -
JACKSONVILLE, Fla, April 5, 1862.
Ny Dear Father and Mother IL ought tC
have written you before, but wrote to AL
den and Caroline by the first boat that went
after we were delivered from thralldom. and
asked them to send you the letter, as have
great deal TO do since the Federals came
here, in assisting to bring order out of chaos
A pretty full account was published in the
New York Herald, and | hope you will see
that. A great many of the citizens have
fled from Jacksonville nearly all the Sc
cessionists, and they by threatening, scared
off very many of the Union people.
| don't know how to tell you. in the short
space of letter, so you will gain anything
like an adequate idea of the terrible times
that l have passed through since last wrote
you. 1t would fill coh1meS. None of my
letters for year have been free express
sion of what ! have felt, except that written
from Louisville, in August. / have lived
constantly in fear that / should be shot
down in the night, or in the day, and have
left my dear home in the morning not know
ing as should ever return-haye kissed
my dear wife and little boys, feeling that it
might be the last time should see them.
After returned from Louisville, my per-
secutions and troubles were greater than
before--much greater. The rufians said
bad been to Boston and communicated with
the north, and they were about 10 destroy
my property, and pillage my house. Soon
after | returned, closed my store, to avoid
accommodating much Of the Railroad money,
which was then about the OILY currency,
and which was almost worthless, or fast be-
coming so. Several others in town were
doing SO. My trade was very light, and |
made it my excuse that it would not pay
clerk hire. A few days after, one of the
rufiians anne to me, and told me they were
going to take care of my goods, and dispose
of me---that they had man watching al
my movements. looked him directly in
the eye, and told him to tell his friends ia
come OIL was ready for them, night OF
day, whenever they were ready TO attack
me, but TO be assured of one thing that was
certain--that the head man and several Of
his followers had gott "btte the d,tst"-thai
was ready at any time. From that time
the dirty towards treated me with more
respect, and were pretty shy of me. was
thoroughly armed, and have been for the
last year, all the time. made kind Of
bell arrangement at my house, so that in the
night, no one could touch my gates to open
them, without ringing bell and waking me
up at once, and could Immediately betake
myself to my hiding places, where could
shoot twenty of them before they could find
where | was. They got "wind" Of some Of
my preparations, and, as all towards do
they were more careful how they interfered
with one whom they found it dangerous tc
NEEDLE with. Thus things went on-ev.
cry day growing worse, till it eliminated il
the burning of all the mills, the Judsor
House, and all my stores and wharf prop.
erty, on the terrible night of the Iiih o.
March-the day before the arrival of the
Federal gunboats. You remember the ter.
rible times in Kansas, few years ago, ant
from the state of society there, you can form
an idea of the condition we were in here
for it was the same.
They sought me, to kill me, that night
but after they had marched into town, SOC
strong, the day before, and knowing tina
there would be bloody times that night, ]
took nay wife and babies across the river, {:
mile wide,) and was intending to return arc
be here that night, but some negroes who
had my small boat to take off some of m,
valuables, and who promised to be there
failed TO be there, and / was compelled I,
see my property burned by the soldiery
and the goods pillaged and carried away
from the other side of the river, withou
being able TO get over myself. Mr.. Parker
and a clerk of nire ssc,Dad ;,s, - a.