The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1863-12-31

to in this address, / do not intend aecusin
them with completely with the leaders, an
may as welk say so here.
CONDITION OF AFFAIRS WHEN HrNDNAN CAM
gRRE-Hrs OBJECTS AND ACTS.
When Hlndman came here we had n
army on our soil. Nor indeed no hostil
army threatening US. The policy of tn
Confederate authorities had been announc
ed. 1t was that no more regiments shoul
be organised, but, that all men liable t
military duty, should be enrolled in regi
ments then existing. This policy was il
the way Of Hindman's building up for him
self and the Johnsons, great array Of sat
elites, by the appointing power" There
fore, in the teeth of this policy, and disre
gardiRg authority, he organized and officer
cd some forty regiments. The poor soldie
could not choose his own officer. III
might not choose what would be regarded
as Johnson Hindman mater ial. But tn.
creation and continued existenc of an officer
as such, depended upon Hindman's breath
alone. 1t remained now to be seen, wha
one who had crawled in the dirt before th.
people, when he wanted place, would d.
when he held supreme power
Among his first acts was to declare Mar
tial Law all over the State, and to appoin,
patrols Of ten with Captain in each town.
ship-a new military organization of his
own creation. Among their duties was, tc
assist in arres.ing and imprisoning, with.
out charge or complaint, the suspected free.
men of Arkansas. And many poor crea.
ture thus torn from home and family, died
in !oathsome prison, or perished by the
wayside Would you believe it, my fel.
low citizens, that two or three lines from
Hindman or one Of his subordinates. has
been al the commitment upon which re.
spectacle citizens. with their heads shorn,
have fingered year in the Penitentiary,
treated as ordinary convlcts? The records
- . III tuC lLtttIS llOCk.
/. But this is not ALL He plundercd our
people most mercilessly. Anarc by and des-
potism v1ed in their reign His Commits
sary Department was so miserably mana-
ged, that, with an abundant country to
draw and collect supplies from, It was so
neglected. that. am told, in many instan-
ces. he took bread from the mouths Of help
less women and children, whose only stay
and support had perished by disease or the
bayonet. lie assumed to regulate prices.
BY this arbitrary and tyranical means, he
caused great suffe ring, and afforded increas-
81 facilities for fraud and crime, while all
honest men were well nigh impoverished.
He ordered cotton to be burned In regions
remote from navigation, and where an army
will never tread, and where, If it should
come, it could not more than transport
supplies, much less haul cotton. And he
ent brutal rough men to execute these or.
iers. ia citizen complained, he was snub-
bed, piundered or imprisoned Oftener all
of these things. or all these things Jeff.
Dacis ,cas duly informed.
When long absence and tales of distress,
coming from the homes Of toil-worn SOL
diers. impelled them from impulses not to
be despi ed. to force their way homo, to
stop the cry ofsuffering babes, and seoth
the sorrow Of heart-broken wives, with the
intention Of again returning to their COM
RAIDS, hehas not waited their return, but
treated them as dessrters, had them hunted
with negro dogs, and when caught, executed
with fieniishness alike cruel and shock
ing to humanityl
He has, am told, appointed Military
Commissions which should keep no records,
and from their midnight recesss as spoken
away the lives Of citizen and soldier. In
'ne instance, this mysterious, and worse
han Jesuitical Tribunal, condemned to six
months imprisonment .itizen of cur State
With stroke Of his pen, he raised the PEN
'lty to capital punishment, and the victim
vas accordingly executed. What the sup
posed offender did--what he was accused of
ioing, there is no written record LETT
Voltair says, that in Africa, tyrants who
execute with their own hands, criminals con.
iemned to death are justly called barbara
'ns. He would be puzsled for name for
he tyrant in this instance.
In other cases, he is said to have caused
men to bc executed without trial, and even
10 have witnessed their execution. In
others again, he is said to have seized cit
isens and put them upon trial before mill
tary tribunals and had them executed. In
one instance, the offence being Unionism,
It was ascertained after trial and sentence,
that the supposed offender was a good
Southern man. A pardon from, Hindman
was started, but the bearer only reached
there in time to see the lifeless form of the
murdered man being borne from the desc
Grated spot Of his execution! Or ALI
THESE THINGS JEFFERSON DAVIS WAS DULY
INFORMED.
Story OF THE TEXAN Your#s.
The story of the two Texas soldiers
have often heard, and never heard it contra.
dicted. They were twin brothers,
and sprightly. Having just en-.
tered the service, and from State noted
for its peculiar ideas Of personal freedom
they supposed that few days absence from
camp, without leave, would subject them tc
nothing more than slight camp punish.
lnent. And having relatives few mile. in