New national era. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1870-1874, 1872-10-10
Desperate 3 ate of Affairs Ia For.
ti0nS sis Allah: ma.

To IRE E'itor Of tic Chronicle:
I As q Grant and Wilson elector for the
Fourth Alabama Congressional District, COM
prisng fourteen OF the wealthiest counties in
Alabama, as chairman Of the Fourth Repub-
lean Executive Committee, as an eX-delegate
TO the Philadelphia Convention, as an eX-
State senator, and as a native Albanian, |
deem ii my duty to inform the public, as well
as the Administration, of tho awful state OF
affair which exist in this portion Of Ala
| bama.
On the 2ist inst, in accordance with a
! previous notice, proceeded TO Livingston,
Sumter county, Ala, in my buggy, pulled by
two fine mules, for the purpose OF address,
| ing the Republicans of said county. | went
in the daytime, by way of Belmount and
Bluff Port, Two interior villages Of Sumter.
| These two little villages were once flourish
ing and prosperous, but the black deeds, such
rs whipping, hanging, and killing Of the col
ored people, have caused ruin, waste, and
dcsolation. The store houses have crumbled
down, the dwclling-houses uninhabited and
decayng, the fields, where once were labor
and cultivation, arc now grown up in weeds
and hroom-sage. | arrived at Livingston
precisely at | o'clock A. NJ. found tre-
mendous assemblage.
| Shortly after my arrival, Hon. Charles Hay,
member of Congress from the Fourth Ala
bama district, and who has been renominated
| by the Republican convention, arrived A
| short while after my arrival, two men, one
quite q youth, the other quite advanced IN
age, with tremendous pistols bucked around
them, approached me and said: 'I'll bet you
$40 that such q man can whip you" L in
formed them that l was not there to fight,
but belonged to the Republican party, which
is the party of peace and prosperity. Almost
x,lit hoI ii
him. l soon found out that l could not
speak there. Some Of those present, hear
ing that | had expressed the opinion that
could not speak, insisted on my doing so.
| assembled the stand and told good many
humorous anecdotes and stopped l could
not have spoken there.
About five O'Clock +. NJ. began my Jour-
ney home, the same way had travelled in
the morning After proceeding about four
teen miles, a colored man met me, very much
excited, and said, "Mars Will, crowd of
white men have gone down the road to De-
mopolis, armed" My family were i'll, and |
had to go home ifpossible. On arriving in Bel
mount drove a short distance down the Nc
Dowell road to see an old schoolmate of
mine and ascertain from him if he had seen
or heard anything of those men. He said he
had not. | concluded to brave the danger.
A colOred man let me have two pistols. l
instructed my driver, as it was very dark
the moon not then being up-to drive very
slow, SO, should any one be approaching us,
we could hear them, and prepare to fight. l
passed through the Bigbce swamp" safe,
and woke up the terryman to put us across
the Iombig bee river. drove the buggy in
the tiat-boat myself my driver assisting the
ierryman. Just as we got half way over the
river the fiat-boat ran aground on sand
bar. was sitting in the buggy holding my
mules. al! at once there came vollev of
pistol shots. One ball struck my risht-hand
mule; l heard several hit the buggy l was
holding to my mules one ball went through
my coat, just above my hip; then Jumped
out and told them to shoot me and not kill
my mules. The ferryman abandoned his post
and laid fiat down in the boat. Invent to his
post OF duty and endeavored to get the fiat
off, the rascals shooting Mt me all of the
time. The moon was shining almost as bright
as day; saw them and know some of them
This is no embellished tale. The buggy with
pistol holes through it the mule shot my
coat perforated, are all here to show for
themselves. Now, some will say, why did
they not get me in the swamp? Had L not
gone down the Mcdowell road short dis
lance, and while there received a warning,
they would have gotten me. Had those ras-
Gals not met, when within three or four hun
dred yards of me, three men, they would
have gotten me. / have heard since that
there were only four men who shot at me.
Had / known that while the shooting was
going on, they would have had a hard time
and very rough time. / counted fourteen
shots. The ferryman counted seventeen
One Of the party said, "NO damn Radical
shall speak in Sumter county!' This was
the first time had been in Sumter county
since tho 4th day of July, 1870. canvassed
my native county (Marengo) in 1860 for Bell
and Everett. My first vote was for them.
l did my duty as Southern man in the
Southern army. After the war declared
that was Republican. l have advocated
the validity OF the reconstruction acts of Con-
gress. have been an advocate of the amend
ments to the United States Constitution.
have been strong defender of President
Grants administration. For this am called
traitor. am q candidate for no Office
have asked no office from the hands of Pres
ident Grant. ] support him because he is
the saviour of our Union and the defender
of the peoples rights.
The spirit Of rebellion in Sumter county
to-day Is worse than in 1850. The mon
strOus prosecutions upon the colored man
upon Republicans-are as great now in Sum-
ter as in 1871. The spirit of Ku-KIuxism is
only waiting for the election of old Horace
Greeley. Thank God it will have to wait
some time on that. 1 have heard of no Gree
ley elector beng shot at or in the least mall
treated. The Greeley elector for this district
and l, the Grant clector, have met several
time. Whenever we Republicans speak we
always invite the Democrats to show up
their hand. Give us a fair vote in this dis
trict; put down lawlessness and crime let
the colored people, who are all for General
Grant, have a fair showing, and Alabama is
sure for General Grant, for we have twelve
thousand majority.
l., as citizen, native citizen of Ala
bama, identified i'll every particular with its
interests that every other citizen is, would
thousand times rather have martial law pro-
claimed here than to live here as it Is now.
No man who openly advocates Republican
measures and love for the Union is safe
here.
So a man be a Democrat, no matter
how low, how mean, how bad char
acter he has, he can speak and do as no
wishes and nothing said--nothing done, but
all is right.
l write this over my full name so there
can be no mistake as to who the authors.
w. b. JONES,
Grant aud Wilson Elector,
4th Alabama district.
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