The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1867-06-22
Reign of Terror in Tennessee.

son, we are assured by persons lately from
Tennessee, come short OF the actual facts:
Your excenency having been personally ac-
qualnted with us as people, and knowing how
dearly We loved our rights, and how jealously we
guarded them, can appreciate how exquisitely we
felt their loss. But notwithstanding all this, we
were contentto bear our wrongs in silence, and we
would not trouble your excelency with our
grievances We're it not that the iron heel of des
potism upon our necks may no longer be borne.
All that is left of is lives and little prop
erty, and, although our history since the war is
without reproach, we have shown your excel
lency yet our rulers, affecting to question our
loyalty, have organized band of reckless, DISCO
lutte and irresponsible men, and turned them
loose to do their will upon us. We submitted
to their humilating threatenings, being deter
mined to do no act that would afford them
pretext to wreak their malice upon u.s. The Of
fcer in charge, in public order addressed to our
people, announced in most offensive manner,
that he had come among us for the purpose of en-
forcing and bringing criminals to Justice, and at
that time, we had but one man at large under
Indictment for murder, and he had been abscond-
ing and concealing himself for two years to escape
arrest, upon an Indictment for murder perpetrated
in 1860, and also for second murder perpetra-
ted in 1864, while he belonged to the rebel army.
Notwithstanding these facts, and on the face of
his published order, the officer in command re-
ceived the murderer into his command and he is
now going publicly around, to the terror of the
people. We have been informed and believe that
the party alluded to is one of the most respect
able men in the command, and we refer to him
for the reason that he is one of the few men of
whose character we can speak with certainty,
and not for the purpose OF fixing him with an
infamy that could distinguish him above his fell
lows. This band of armed desperadoes, seething
with hatred toward our people, and falsely pre-
tending to be the guardians of the law, began
their depredations upon us by wanton searches
of our homes and the seizure of our property,
falsely pretending that they had authority to
search our houses and seize our stock as the prop
erty OF the united States government. In the
exercise of this pretended authority they have
robbed us, cursed and abused our wives and chill
dren, and denounced all who questioned their
right. They have taken from our farms the
means of making their crops in some instances
and appropriated the property so taken to their
own USE They maintain the right to take the
property from our citizens with impunity. They
have kept our community in constant terror by
threatening the lives of many of our citizens
They went to the house of one of our citizens in
the night time, and fired several shots at him,
and he saved his life only by flight. They took
another quiet, law-abiding citizen from beside
Of his wife and aged father, they took him to the
woods and shot him down like dog. These
red-handed murderers are still at large, and are
denouncing the most terrible vengence against
all who question their prerogative to rob and slay
us at their will. Impoverished as we are many
of our people in that portion of our country have
been forced to abandon their houses and their
growing crops in order to save their lives, and in
every part OF our country our people are filled
with fear and apprehension; and, indeed, so alb
solute, and complete is the reign of terror they
have inaugura'ed that many of our people are
afraid to meet with us to peaceably present our
wrongs to the consideration of your exccllenry.
This terrible state OF affairs is beyond endurance
and inasmuch this cruel, bloody, lawless band
was organized, araed and set over us by the state
authoritios-inasmuch as it is your duty as chief
magistrate to see that the laws faithfully ex-
ecuted--inasmuch as we have the right to peace.
ably assemble ourselves together to petition fer
the redress OF our grievances and nasmuch as
we have an abiding confidence in your solcitude
for the welfare and protection of all law-abiding
citizens, without reference to their antecc6ents
or political sentiments, we therefore earnestly en-
treat your excellency, if you question either
the propriety or expediency of removing the
lawess band which is depressing us, that YOU
will send to our country a sufficient number of
national troops to protect our persons and prop
erty and bring to punishment the murderers of
our people"
The worst of it is, that from these horrors
there is no relief. The President is unable to
interfere unless requested to do SO by Gov
BrOwnlow, and as he is the chief scoundrel
against whom interference must be invoked.
OF course no such request will ever be made.
The white men in Tennessee who support
this bloody tyranny are comparatively few,
but to keep the reins in their hands. congress
has clothed Brownlow with such powers that
escape from his domination and the few white
rascals who airport him is next to impossible.
These scoundrels, to perpctuate their own
power, had made constitution for Tennessee
which, while it gave the elective franchise to
the negroes, excluded them from office but
soon the negroes, growing dissatisfied with
such an arrangement threatened to vote in a
body against the radicals, upon which the con
stitution was so amended as to make negroes
equally eligible with the whites. And now,
therefore, ii is more than an equal chance
that at the next election in that state, the ne
groes will have a majority in the legislature,
in short, will have complete possession of the
government; and, byiusing the powers and
machinery which congress placed in Brown
lows hands to pcrpctuatc his infamous rule in
defiance of the popular will, there is no qucs.
ton that the negroes can, in spite of their be-
ing in a minority in the state, as against the
whites. OF over two-thirds, pcrpctuate their