Helena weekly herald. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1867-1900, 1875-03-18

Eli Perki ins Makes an Apology
, the Noble Bandits of Shreveport: !:

To the Noble Bandits of Shreveport:
GENTLEMEN:-I regret exceedingly that |
was betrayed into saying that you high-toned,
chivalric Southern White Leaguers are pre-
JUDGED against the Northern Republican resi-
dents in your State 1t is not 80. l lied
about it. You love them. You did not
murder the six planters of Coushatta. These
Northern planters killed themselves. Dis
gusted with the knowledge that they were
Northern mudsils, your interiors, and too
late to change their vulgar natures, they killed
themselves. Other Northern men shot them
selves out of sympathy to these planters, and
then several hundred negro Republicans shot
themselves to avoid singularity. | also lied
about there being any difficulty in Louisiana.
You all love the government. You love the
Union. Not one Of you ever fought against
the flag Not one ever seeded. You stood
by the Constitution as you stand by it now.
You invite Northern Republicans to come
among you. You love and cherish the negro.
You are high-toned. You are chivalric. You
don't carry revolvers. Oh, no! Your highest
ambition is to follow the plow-to peacefully
till the soil. 1t is true, on the other hand,
that Northern men come among you and
shoot you while at your daily toll. They
drive you from your homes, seize your prop
erty, and if you open your mouths, they shoot
you down. When Northern journalists come
among you and criticise you, you speak kindly
and forbearingly Of them. You are gentle
men, and we are low, vulgar mnd-sils, only
fit 70 sit at your feet-tit to stand around and
be shot at. We ale not fit to vote. 1t is
wrong for US to hire negroes-Wrong to pay
them and demoralize them with high wages
| am sorry l said ''there had been distur-
Dances in New Orleans" That was a lie,
too 1t has been perfectly quiet there. The
six Northern planters-Twitchell, and Cone,
and Scott, and Holland, and De Wees, and
Howell, would have been peacefully tilling
| the soil now down at Coushatta if they had
| not killed themselves. But through their
| own self-murder their plantations are now
desolate-the;r houses destroyed, their negroes
f1eo md killed, and their wives and children
| impoverished, ostracised, and orphaned.
You do not ostracise Northern men. Oh,
no! That is another of my lies. They os-
| tracise you. Your women are forgiving.
They are polite, beautiful, and accomplished.
women take them by the hand.
| You are in constant trepidation for your
lives. Northern planters ride around on
horseback and hunt you down. They arc
envious of you. They form White Leagues
and threaten, if the troops were withdrawn,
that they would kill any one of your poor
honest, Woodworking Southerners in thirty.
six hours. They join Ku-kulx bands and kill
negroes, while you protect the negro, pay
him his wages, give him schools, churches,
and sell him land When said differently
lied am sorry for it now. You Shreye.
port bandits would have been better men in
My place than have been. humble myself
before you as do before my mother-in-law.
l could even wish that l we're dead. And
may heaven continue to protect you from
| This poor, lying mudsill,
! ELI PERKINS.
P. ST. shall now sit down after this hum
bic letter of contrition and await invitations
to lecture in all Louisiana towns of 500 in
habitants and upward. If the engagements
don't follow then l shall take back this
statement" and write my ''true story of the
whole affair, ending up by demanding ''bill
of particulars. Send on your invitations,
dear Bandits, send 'em on! E. P.