Evansville daily journal. (Evansville, Ind.) 1863-1866, 1866-03-21

l.
to have appeared in yesterdays jour-
NAL, but vas ihadvsssenll5 laid aside.
Capt. Hutchens, we know personally, |
and have always regarded hinas an in
dustrious mechanic. We regret exceed
ingIy that be should have been hurt SO
severely. He was gallant soldier,
having assisted in some of the most re-
marksble events in the war. He was
one of the engineers that built the cele-
brated dam across Red river, BY which
our Aeet was saved-one Of the greatest
triumphs of engineering and courage
and labor ever seen 10 this or any other
country. We give Capt. Hutchen's
statement of the difficulty, to set him
right before the community
k An Explanation. g
Editors Journals
In Fridays issue, March 10th, Won
publish an article headedF A Terrible
Fight" Tn the general details of that
article the material conclusion of every
pereon not acquainted with the facts
would be, that it was nothing more than
q bar room brawl, and free 6ght, in
which all Of the parties named partici-
pated freely and at their own option.
This is not so. The facts are these: AT
| or about o'clock entered julius Mey-
er's saloon, on Franklin street, in La
masco, according TO previous engage
ment with George Backman, my partner
Bin business, and some other parties that
we expected to meet there relative to.
some work we were to do knew, or
| thought, was little early, bat desired
to purchase some tobacco at that house.,
and for that reason went little earlier
than Mr.. Backman. When entered the
saloon did not see Mr.. Meyers behind
the counter, nor did 1 see any of the
party that i had business with. ! mo-
ticed party of young men sitting at q
table near the door, and to my left, when
| / entered the house. | also saw party
Of three or four men, rolling or playing
on q pigeon hole table. / saw 9
vacant chair in the farther end
Of the room, and / walked through
the room, pickedup the chair, tilted the
chair back against the wall and set
down in H. About that time-I saw Hem
~ Bourgdof, a young man who boarded
with Mr.. Meyers, and I spoke to him and
4 told him that we wanted to go to work
the next morning. He, Bourgdof, had
been working flr us and was still in our
employ whenever the weather was so
that we could work. In about five min
utes after entered the house, it might
have been longer, those men playing or
rolling pigeon hole stopped playing,
| their game being out as I supposed All
! Of q sudden, i saw one Of these men
thatahad bsanrolling pigeon. hole, kick
ing aud striking young man at the op-
posite end Of the house from me, who i
knew by sight as George Link Link
was setting down when the assault was
made cnhhim. simultaneously, almost,
with that on Link, John. Shear struck
Henry Bonrgdof with a cue stick, and i'm
mediately this man, Lewis Riddel as he
! is called, left Link and commenced
striking Bourgdof. In the fight they
wharegetting pretty close to where 1
was setting, and fearing that might be
run overly them I brought the front of
my chair to the floor, and made an effort
10 raiGe up but before / could raise
was struck by john. Shear some two
or three blows, and asI fell TO the Hoor
/ received kick in the side, that think
| was from Riddles Not an angry word
nor any sign Of disturbance had heard
OF noticed from the time I entered the
house, until the assault was commenced
on Link, nor was there afterwards, dn-
ring the melee, q word spoken by LUX,
Bourgdof or myself, only, as Shear struck
at me, / called ont hold on" and, fur
Their, there were no blows struck Nor any
effort to strike, as could see, by Link
or Bourgdof, and as for myself, could
not have struck if had desired to; nor
did know either of thoSes rutiian cut
throats, Shear and Riddle, either By
sight or character al that time. There
had not been any drinking offany kind
ct the bar by anybody from the time /
entered the house uatil the towards COM
menced their assault e
ALI of the above is substantially true.
Ecss JoHE B. HU1cHREs.
EvANsyILLE, March II, 1866.
P. 8. Since writing the above, Tiearn
the Courier, in publishing the affcay,
says we were all drunk All / have to
say 18TH Courier and ite editor are not
worth the notice Of any respectable
community or person. / have not seen
the GourieE since, but if it does SO report
and misrepresent the facts, as to calling
me drunk at that time, it is nothing
more than might be expected from the
lying rebel editor of that papers against
one who had been engaged in lighting
the rebels for three and a. half years.
Ofcourse I did not expect any better of
him, for certainly it must cost him a
great effort to tell the truth in any case.
q N,JoHN B. HUTcHINs.
/ EvASsvILLE, March II, 1856