Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1874-10-04
REEVES FLIGHT.
The scaIIawaR sheriff OF Fayette
County Runs OF from His Creditors
60 Play Martyr I'm Indiana,


County Runs on from His Creditors
60 Play Martyr I'm Indiana,
Memphis Ledger.
A private letter has been received in
Nashville from j. G. Reeves, who is
now in Indiana, in which be states that
he was driven from the home of his
nativity, Somerville, Tenn, himself
wounded and his two brothers killed
without any preferred charges against
them except that he had arrested the
Mayor and four othermen for shooting
a negro, and that they were Repubh-
cans. No doubt this man Reeves viii
parade himself as a martyr In the
North. 1t happens, however, to be
well known in this part of the country
that his family brought all their trou-
bles upon themselves by their arrogant
bullying.
SOmerville Falcon.
There has already been published in
the Falcon a full and accurate account
of the shooting of J. @. Reeves and mis-
two brothers, and We do not care to re-
peat it here. The Ledger is right in
saying that they brought their troubles
upon themselves. As Reeves speaks of
his departure from this place, we will
tell the manner of his going. He left
between two suns" and that, not
from fear of his life being endangered
by a longer stay, for he had remained
here unmolested a month after the
time he was shot, but because he left
here unpaid accounts to the amount of
two or three thousand dollars and he
wished to avoid his creditors, some of
whom, the day before, he had asked to
make out their accounts, assuring them
that he would pay them before he
left. Monday morning, aday before his
term of Office expired, he left, the jail
in charge of gentleman here, and, an
hour or two before day, he folded his
tents like the Arabs and silently stole
away" Reeves says he was 'driven
from the home of his nativity" be-
cause he was a Republican, etc. Bosh.
There are men living here now, who be-
long to the same party Reeves did,
whose names were on the Republican
ticket with his name, and against
whom the luminosity of the white peo-
pie was as strong, if not stronger, than
against Reeves himself, they are on
our streets every day, and they have
never been molested in any way. But |
still another and better reason than
that assigned by himself can be given |
For his sudden departure from Somer-
vile. He proposed to Oscar Burton to
dismiss all proceedings against
him and leave the country pro-
Eided Oscar would withdraw all pro-
against him. H. feared the
law. He knew he would have to
answer before jury of his country
men for an attempt, without cause or
to take the life of Oscar
Burton, and he stood in dread of the
result. A term in the penitentiary
stared him IN the face and the prospect
vas not pleasing. However, no matter
what may have been the cause of his
sudden departure, the people of Fayette
county feel that thereby they have
been blessed with a a happy radiance,
md have no desire to ever look upon
lin or his like again. Up to the time
lie signed that document" which con-
igned him and the Radical party to
heir political grave, j. q. Reeves was
Ike a man, and respected as an officer
Who performed well the functions of
us Office, and we regret that for the
axe Of making a lion" Of himself in
Northern society, he has adopted the
Ian of defaming and slandering his
lative country.