The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1866-09-07
TEXAS RECONSTRUCTED.
Views as Published In . Conservative
Organ.

Organ.
The New York Erening Post, which has
adopted ''my policy and the Philadelphia
platform, publishes the following extracts
from private letters received by the editor
from Texas:
Matters are worse here than is suspected
at the North. The war is not over yet The
people of Texas are more open'y disoyal than
they were in the spring of 1861, and may be
found in arms against the national govern.
ment any day. The United States force here
and the civil officers of the United States
Government are tolerated for the present be-
cause the rebel leaders think that by the aid
Of President johnson they viii soon be able
to control both at home and at Washington
'lfso much as mob should do violence
in one Of the cities of the North, Texas will
again be in arms. The rebel leaders have
excited a feeling they cannot control. The
idea disseminated among the people is this:
That they must feign loyalty, and, lfpossible,
be thereby re admitted. That done, they ex.
pect the South TO control a, of old and to in
troduee what they call 'peonage' in the place
of slavery.
"Indeed. since Gov. Hamilton went North,
in divers localities disloya men have consul
ted together as to when they would be able ito
begin to gather their 'niggers,' and have
openly expressed the conviction that Andy
Johnson means to give US back our niggers.i
In one county have heard of persons who
have bought the chance of regroes, as they
express it, at ten dollars in specie per head
1.-The number Of crimes Of violence COM
mitted in Texas is incredible. For example,
in a small county adjoining to this eighty
three persons are indicted for murder. In
worse counties there are no indictments. be
cause witnesses dare not testify, and grand
larors dare not indict. Since the war, though
over five hundred men have been indicted
for murder, not single white man has been
convicted and punished. Yet have known
Of instances in which freedmen have cen
over punished for trivial offenses A negro
was sentenced at Waco to the penitentiary
for two years for stealing a ginger cake. As
matter of course, Gov. Hamilton pardoned
him.
"A few days ago the clerk of Bell Court
was shot in open day while sitting by the side
of his wife. returning from wedding in the
country, in the streets Of Bolton The
Chief-Justice at once mounted, and rode all
night some sixty miles to Austin to ask for
troops to maintain law and order in his coun-
~; he cannot return home without them
If he should escape assassination on account
of his having asked for a garrison for his
county, it will only be from fear of retalia>
ton on the part of his sons, three of whom
have been in the United States volunteer ser
vice. Even they can scarcely protect their
fathers life, if the troops which are to be
sent should be Withdrawn.
Every day ! hear of murders of freed
men. Since five o'clock this afternoon four
new ones have been reported here. The
disloyal press suppress the mention of such
occurrences.
"Should there be another outbreak in
Texas, very many Union men, as well as
large proportion OF freedmen, would at once
be massacred IN order to bring about such
another reign of terror as would make the
South unit
From another letter the following extracts
are taken:
stThis State is in worse condition to-day
than can describe | wish some member
of the loyal press Of the North could travel
through The country and collect and print but
a moderate portion of the facts he would ems
counter and learn from authentic sources. To
illustrate what | mean: Three freedmen
were murdered in or near the line of an ad-
joining county few days ago. The wagon
which one of them was driving was robbed of
all the fine goods it contained. The other
two freedmen we're shot by the same man,
who is believed to be their former owner
The head of one Of them was cut off, and
they were left unburied. No investigation
has been, or probably will be, made into
these murders. If any Union man were to
move IN the matter it would be at the peril Of
his life.
"1he brave and loyal man who told me Of
these murders was applied to by freedman
"a kinsrnan of one OF the murdered-for ad-
fba tol1 IN A
tin and report the fact to the agent OF the
Freedmen Bureau; but be appears not te
have arrived. Parhaps lac was suspected,
and, Ike the freedman dispatched by the
Chief Justice Of Refugio county, with letter
setting forth the disorders in that county, he
NAV have been shot on the road. S
MY informant, seeing that | set about
writing down the facts as to these murders
Just as he stated them, said to me, DO not
make my name public, for it is all ] can do to
hold my own IN county just now, and
added, i keep no money i'll my house, but a
few dollars for current expenses. ! can take
care of myself in the daytime, but do not
feel safe at night
''The rebels, or, as they call themselves,
conservative leaders, are telling their adhe e.
rents to behave themselves. or at least keap
up appearances, until the State is turned over
to their rule. This is all that keeps down vi
olence for the time being.
Fa.sI have distributed numbers Of the Eren-
ing Tbst, and will be able to get yea some
subscribers, but Union men are getting too
inundated to take loyal paper in very
many instances. The dark shallow of sec
ond reign of terror seems already TO be upon
them Such of them as remained here ere
as much demoralized in the way of abject SUBJ
mission to traitors, as the latter have been to
violence and awiessness by practice Of VIZ
client and lawless acts for four years.
"A andrew johnson $ policy has made loysl>
ty odious and patriotism disreputabie IN
Texas Thus far Congress has not CONS pp
to the mark--has done nothing for our re>
lief