Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1872-10-10
AFFAIRS IN POPE COUNTY, ARKANSAS.

du Olu clClZeu VI SlACy-HNe years VI aye, aleo
his son, VIM. T. Hale, Joseph Tucker and j.
L. West, all men ofgood standing and repute.
The arrest was made upon complaint pre-
ferred by Deputy Sheriff Williams, charging
the parties with having attempted to kill him
by shooting at him in the woods. But there
appears to have been no foundation for this
charge, Williams himself having, it is said,
recently confessed (when mortally wounded)
that the charge was made for the purpose Of
getting into their custody the four persons
named. The parties arrested were Immediate
ly taken from Dover by Dodson and his gang,
in the direction of Russellvlle. At sunset,
they reached Shiloh Church, six miles from
Dover, where halt was ordered, and after
consultation between Sheriff Dodson and his
deputy, Williams, eight or ten fthegan were
sent off, under pretence of going for forage;
but they did not return, and when it was fairly
dark, Dodson ordered the party to move on
in the direction of Russellville, with the four
prisoners. They had gone but short dis
tance, when, on reaching dark, narrow place
in the road, guns were discharged in the bushes
upon the roadside, and Immediately Dodson
and his posse fired upon the four unarmed
prisoners, killing VIM. 7. Hale and Joseph
Tucker-Dodson himself shooting Tucker
the othertwo narrowly escaping the same fate
The guns fired by the side Of the road were
pointed upwards into the air, and were fired
by some of Dodson's own men sent forward
for that purpose. five can credit the state
ments of the two who escaped, and old Mr..
Hale is not man whose word any citizen Of
Pope county would doubt, and according to
the statements of Hale and West, just before
the firing, one of the posse remarked, "It is
dark as Egypt" to which Dodson replied,
Egypt has no eyes,
Wallace H. Hickox, the county Clerk, (by
appointment,) was one of the Dodson gang
who were openly charged by Mr.. Poynter, Of
Dover, with the murder of Tucker and Hale !;
and short time after the killing of these
men, Hickox was seen by half dozen citi-
zens, among whom was the Rev. Mr.. Kicker
son, Of Dover, to ride deliberately up to the
shop of Mr. Poynter and commence firing
Poynter returned the fire with shotgun, kill
ing Hickox.
Some time afterwards Deputy Sheriff VIII
liams, in company with number of mounted
men, met Hale, brother of VIM. T. Hale
shot by Dodson, and fired upon him at sight
Hale then fired at Williams, severely wound
ing him Last evening Williams was rot ex
pected to live and he has made confession
(already alluded toy fully eXonerating Hale
from all blame, and revealing plot deliber-
ately entered into by officials of the State for
the double purpose of gratifying personal NAL
ice, and to place the county under martial law
for political purposes.
The MoTIvE.-That the motive for this
bo F,,11 = ebn ho cfo Tod
that Pope county is one of the strongest con-
servative counties in the State of Arkansas,
and in close election, the throwing out Of
Pope county might save the State for the
"minstrels," as the Grant party is here called.
REIGN OF TERRoR.-It is with reluctance
thatwe are forced to believe that even reck
less set of carpet-bag politicians would resort
to such diabolical means to retain the power
which they can but see is fast slipping from
their grasp; but we cannot doubt the truthful
ness of the death-6ed confessions of Williams,
made in the presence of halfdozen of the
best citizens Of Pope county, and in the light
of this confession, and not otherwise, can we
account for the action of Gov. Hadley in call
ing out the State militia to sustain Dodson in
numbering the peaceable citizens of Pope
county. The killing of Hale and Tucker is
not denied by him, and he (Dodson) is now
under bonds to appear and answer to charge
ofmurder at the next term of court. Decen-
cy would seem to suggest that Dodson should
be removed, or least suspended until his own
trial takes place, rather than that the witnesses
against him should be placed in his power.
The citizens Of Pope county unanimously de-
sire Dodson's removal, and have urgently Pc
titioned Governor Hadley to take this course,
and to appoint some man of character and re-
spectability to fill the Office, as the Governor
has full power to do. This course would put
an immediate end to the present difficulties,
for, outside Dodson and his gang, there is not
a man in Pope county but would gladly sur
render himself to the civil authorities, so soon
as they have any reasonable hope of protec-
ton. But the citizens of Pope county will
die, if die they must, with arms in their hands,
sooner than meet at the hands of the Dodson
militia the fate of Joseph Tucker and Hale
There is now complete reign Of terror
throughout the county. Neither the lives nor
property of the citizens are safe
A NEWSPAPER SQUELcuED-It was at
Russellville the printing Office of the National
Tribune was burned about week ago, and its
editor, Mr. j. H. Batten6eld, driven from his
home, under the following circumstances {:
The paper is conservative, and through its
columns its editor dared to express his scnti-
ments in a manner not complimentary to
Sheriff Dodson, or the State officials who ap.
pointed Dodson and are sustaining him in his
iawless acts. The Tribune office was threaten
ed with destruction, and the threat has been
executed
THE MINSTREL MILITIA. THE militia
now deny that it was burned by them, but it
is not denied that their guard on duty near the
office, on the night it was burned, gave no
alarm, and no citizen dared to 60 to the fire for
fear of the militia. And on the day after the
burning, it being reported to Gen. Upham,
then at the Eagle hotel at Russellville, that
the editor, Mr. Battenfeld, had made some
severe remarks at the breakfast table concern
ing the burning of his printing office, General
Upham ordered squad Of the minstrel mi
litia" to arrest him for his offensive language,
and take him to the camp of the militia; he
might as we'll have ordered him shot at sight,
for had he been taken to that camp he would,
in all human probability never have left it
alive. This General Upham himself after:
wards admitted. Mr. Battenfeld was warned
by his friends and made his escape to Little
Rock.
You can Judge of the effect of this state Of
things when tell you that the scrip Of Pope
county is now offered at six cents on the dollar:
There is a general feeling af gloom and dcs
pondency. Business is suspended, the farmer
t.. l. r. H.; ,,nrotborad orons in thn fields