Semi-weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1853-18??, 1864-11-25
For the Standard.
TO GOyERNOR.YANCE.


DEAR S1R:-I observe in the C0nserrdtiDe of the
9th, letter from the town Of WilkesboIo address
sed to you Astounding in such glaring talsenoods IN
regard to the situation in this county, that feel 1t
incumbent on myself as citizen of the county, to
expose them. You publish letter that was prob
ally inten ded for your own eye, and that OF the Ad
iutant General alone.
The writer asserts that "rape, murder and rob-
berry are the order Of the day" Let US examine
this aSsertion-this grave charge. And first as to
rape Mot single instance oft has occurred in the
county since the began, the statement in the
Conservative of the 9th lust, to the contrary not
withslamdi1g There is a depraved appetite in the
county for such Stories and deSerterS cannot steal
mans leather cotton yarn, but that it must be
added by the third person who tells it, that they
violated his daughters Shocking The injury from
the deSerters may have been an hundred or thou
sand dollars, but how Insignificant in comparison, is
the loss of character which the mans daughters
sustain? Away with such sympathy
And now as to murder. While we read of muir
derin many other sections Of the State, it is MOTTO
able that not single cold booded murder has been
committed in this county, for three years. Many
violent deaths have occurred, but most of them
have been amongst deserterS. In lew instances,
worthy persons have been wounded, and three kill
ed by bush whackers and deserters What county
in the mountainous region can show fairer record
than this! Yet "rape, murder and robbery are the
order OF the day." according to your correspondent
Now as to robbery. The deserters have been carry
ing pretty high hand at this business on the north
side of the river fora month past. They have rob-
bed some half dozen persons since your correspond
eDt wrote you, but our Home Guard are after them,
and have captured H. Church and others, who were
perhaps the most active in these depredations; and
they feel sanguine that they drive out or cap
ture the others. They go in gangs of about doz-
en- and intimdate by their numbers but seldom
show fight The gangs are composed OF the worst
of our citizens and deserters from other
parts, but they are not armed only as they seize
the weapons of citizens, and cannot cope with the
Home Guard. A regiment ofreguIars would fail to
find them 1t is only by still hunting, that they
can be taken.
Your correspondent says the tories of this county
have formed themselves into about four squads. ~
How nicely he fixes it. He quarters the county,
and gives each section band of robbers but I'M
fortunately for the truth his assertion, the Brushy
Mt region, where he puts the Honngers, is as quiet
and orderly and free from theft, as any portion OF
Wake or Buucombe. In fact all the robbery COM
planned Of in this county has occurred upon the
north side of the river but the county being large
it must be CHARTERED by your correspondent, and
big booted rOhber put in each division to excite
your sympathies and get you to send troops here.
This as the agony
But, Governor, here comes "a whopper" without
any sort of foundationl "a great many of our
best citizens have been driven from their homes,
aud have moved their property ana some nave
been killed in the attempt to move" Not bit Of
truth in that assertion. No such state of affairs in
this county Nobody is moving or trying to move,
nor being killed IN the attempt one family here
became alarmed and have moved some property
si.Ce the date of your infOrmants letter Blu: as to
the people moving, 1t is no such thing As far as
can inform myself, not single instance of NOV.
ing from the county has occurred amongst our good
citizens since the war began. Your correaeondent
talks of moving from amongst US; but, Ihen ne
does, no alteration need be made in the above
phraseology, even though new date might be CIV
en-. But l will make no play on words: only
assert again, that no men of means have moved
from this county since war began. -.
But now let us present another extract Re
spectacle citizen" cries out in agony of despair,
"cant you suggest some plan by which this can be
broken up?" Why certainly. Send troops here
by the hundred-yes, by the thousand, and quarter
them in little town. This will afford protection
to your correspondent in his humane effort to ex-
change cotton yarns for brandy Troops are what
he would have, even the coun-
ties whence they were drawn, and consumed all we
have here in feeding them. What cares he who
suffers; and to grain. he knows how to get that
by threatening his neghbors.