The Avoyelles pelican. [volume] (Marksville [La.]) 1859-186?, 1862-08-09
THE LETTER OF 7. j. EDWARDS.
--s~e@-

THE LETTER UF i. j. EDWAkDN.
This singular document should be read
by every one. 1t is IL rare emanation
but was not entirely unexpected. We
desire to anal Use and expose its false
hoods, and to give few Of his antecc-
|S2..nts that his new allies may be able to
ar,,reciate him fully.
~ He says, "as soon as it was known
l'that New Orleans had fallen [ made it
my business to visit several parts OF the
parish for the purpose Of preparing the
minds Of the people to return to their
allegiance to the United States Govern
ment. was generally successful III this
&c" The truth is, that when New Or
leans fell into the hands Of the brute
Butler, y. j. Edwards was the acting
assistant Quarter Master of Johnson's
special Battalion which was then at
Camp Lewis. lie says he made it his
"bnsness to prepare the m,mds Of the
people to return to their allegiance to the
nitrd States Government If he did
this. it is little strange that no one here
ever heard Of it before his letter was re-
criv d. Who ever heard Of his having
any influence on the minds Of the people
in this parish. His Yankee friends must
be very crelulous indeed to believe, that
man of his intelligence could prepare
the minds of the people for anything
They must first believe that we are but
one degree removed from idiots. His
success consisted in deceiving few ignor-
rant but honest men, with regard to the
burning of Cotton. He, with some others
Of his family induced some Of this class
to believe that unauthoriec mo IS would
burn their cotton. This they soon found
to be false, however, and were he back
again he might receive some evidence Of
their gratitude.
He says, 5" Armed bands of men had
been sent 10 burn our cotton by the Mi
Iitia Colonel, which We're promptly re-
sisted by us and compelled t" return
loinr," Now here are the facts. No
,nder was ever given by the Militia
Y *Cylonel to burn cotton and never has. a
~iis'e fibre been burnt to this day by
h,s order. He has never Yet called armed
ll,r unarmed men togcth,r for such a
purpose and probably never will. Mr..
Edwards made some Of the people be-
Ii,Ave this story and it was by such de-
etprion as this, that he and some of his
family succeeded in getting sixty five
men to assemble in the prairie on the 5th
Of May last. Another quotation from
his letter and our explanation will cover
all the facts in this connexion and make
them clearly understood. He says. "Mus
kets had been sent up from New Orleans
previous to its capture to ovcrawe and
keep us in subjection" The Militia Of
the State is governed as every one knows
by State aws. The captain of one of
the Militia beats in the parish, had, ac-
cording to the law defining and prescri-
bing his duties, reported several mem
bers of his command for neglect to at
tend musters. They were cited to ap-
pear before the Court of assessment to
answer to the charges Of their captain.
They appeared, but in the course of the
first trial, one of the witnesses raised a
question as to the legality Of the Courts
rights to sit in Judgment. In little
while the crowd became boisterous and
the Court was broken up. A represent
tation of these facts was made to the
Government. who every one knows is, by
State authority the commander-in- Chief
Of the State Militia. Believing that the
conduct Of the parties implicated amoun-
ted to rebellion against lis authority,
he sent up the guns in question (about
fifty to be used in quellIng it. The
parties, however, game in and gave salts
factory evidence of thetf ioyatfy andrf
willingness to dotheir duty as good cit
izens and the matter was permanently
quieted. The guns, were never taken
out Of the boxes in which they had been
sent, and were Immediately ordered to
be taken back to the landing. There
was no unnecessary delay in forwarding
"a