Daily State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1863-07-29

Ed SENTINEL: In YOUR local column of YES
terisy appears the following:
Gen. Dumont. our member Of Congress elect.
hss settled lot OF contrzband negroes on his
farm. on the Bluff road. a few miles south Of
the city, who are worse than a lot Of Methodist
preachers in their love Of chickens The neigh.
bors complain that their stocks of barn yard
fowls have been exhausted since the Generals
colony was established, and that their gardens
and orchards suffer terribly. There is law on
our statute books that ought TO be enforced
against the Generals colony. but we are not &C,
tain nov that any Law can reach General or a
member OF Congress"
10 it ] desire TO make but a brief reply
have at this time, aud for the past year have had
an old negro man in my employ. A year ago,
on nv return To the army. | employed him to
stay as a servant in my family in the eity while ]
should be gone, and he has remained there ever
since, and Is still living with Us. doing hat may
be needed At the house. or going to the farm and
assisting in the work there; but he does lot live
upon the farm. and has never, 10 my knowledge.
staid there but one single night he is a civil,
well-behaved. Trustworthy old man, willing to do
what he is able and have paid him for bis ser
vices, and have never heard any complaint
against him. have no other negro or cnlored
man In my employ at nny piac~ ut this time /
have settled no colony Of negroes contraband or
otherwise. nv farm on the Bluff road or
elsewhere No negro lives on said place-none
has ever lived there to my knowledge If there
be any negroes living on the Bluff road. or in
that neighborhood. do not know IT, The only
person living on my place. or who has since
owned II, Is Dir DOwney. a respectable a. in
dustrious white man ! have been making some
improvements upon my place this spring and
summer. and have cultivated n considerable nor-
ton OF IL mysel and have h. d NJ times 10 en-
| J. n
could get them, as they are better hands as
general thing. but have at times had negroes
temporarily IN my employ. as others have had /,
and have been glad To get them. | could at
times get no other. and had no fancy TO lose nv
crop. upon which had myself performed much
l,bor. and worked hard notwithstanding / might
be made the victim whilst engaged in INV hum
bic calling for the support of my family and
interfering with one) of a malicious sauib
This is all the foundation that can divine for
the attack IL is false aud malicious in letter
and spirit, in manner and matter. in intent and
meaning. calculated 10 iniure and wound. aud
without provoeation.
Others have employed negro hands Not
house in town could be erected without them.
and yet why are the shafts Of malevoence so
persstently aimed and directed Mt me? What
have done to provoke malice know not IL il
consoling TO believe that it will not hurt after the
truth Of the matter il stated f. DrNoNr.
indianapolis. July %. 1863
The Information upon which the souip that the
General complains of was founded was derived
from some OF the most respectable persons living
on the Bluff road in the neighborhood Of his
farm. They are not maliciously disposed toward
General Dumont. for some of them we know
voted for him 'or Congress They were dis.
posed. however. to preserve some of their chick
ems aud share of their fruit. upon which they
had expended some labor. for the use OF their
families. and these they supposed the negroes in
the employ Of General Dumont had wasted and
DESTROYED. They may be mistaken: the sable
chicken thieves may have been in the employ of
some other party. IL is question for the neigh
bJrs to settle and fthey have any reply to make
to the Generals card will publish il As freely
as we have published his defense