New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1875-10-16
vicksburg Outrages Continued,


grOes, better than usual. Three younp gen.
tlemen of the White Line brigade shot two
negroes in one part of the city, at about one
o'clock in the morning, without cause or
provocation, mortaily wounding one and
severely wounding the other. They then
proceeded to the residence of Mr.. G, w.
Davenport, colored, and called for that
gentleman to come out. Instead of Dayen-
port, young colored man, named Ben
johnson, appeared, and the assassins killed
him Immediately, mistaking their victim for
the man they had come to kill. The fiends
then saturated the clothing of the dead
man with coal oil, set fire to it and marched
on, leaving the body to roast The Vicks-
burg Herald gives the sickening accounts
III detail. A portion of those relating to
the murder of johnson are as follows:
1t appears that between one and two
O'Clock on Wednesday morning sor1e men
came to the house of Davenport in search
OF him. Suspecting that something was
wrong, his wife let him out of the window
OF their room, and turning on the gas, had
Ben johnson open the door, when one of
the men commenced firing and shot John
son three times, who ran back into his room
anu tnere 1ell DenlnQ the door.
By some means not known vet, coal oil in
the room was found to be on fire, and John.
sons clothing and bedding and the walls of
the room in flames. The family of Daven-
port fled from the house after the firing, and
upon returning discovered the flames burst
ing through the door. An alarm was given,
| and by the aid of some negroes in the
nelghborhood, who had been aroused by the
shrleks OF the woman, the fire was entin-
guished, but the dead most horribly
burned,
G. Washington Davenport is clerk of the
Warren County Chancery Court; he is an
Intelligent and peaceable man. Like Sheriff
Smith, of East Feliciana, in this State,
Davenport's only crime consists in the color
of his skin, which offense is aggravated by
the fact that Mr.. Davenport holds small
office in his county which, otherwise be-
slowed, might afford support to member
of the shotgun party. Davenport escaped
on Wednesday morning by the thoughtful
ness Of his wife; but of course his murder,
and that OF other leading colored man, is
only question of time, 60 lawless has the
State OF Mississippi become. Vicksburg has
an organized band of men who are ready to
81
did at Clinton few weeks since, where
men were killed by the dozen. She has men
who did not hisitate to rob the wharfboat
of freight and distribute among themselves
arms stolen from the State. She has men
who did not hesitate to break up fourth
of July meeting of colored men, and murder
such as could not escape. Have the people
and press of Vicksburg condemned such
outlawry' Not long since the Monitor, in
discussing the campaign, said:
About hundred Radicals who talk too
much with their mouths, and steal too
much with their hands, ought to be killed.
Old gentlemen with views may think this
is very severy remedy, and it is, but des-
perate diseases require desperate remedies.
Now, however, few citizens and q
preacher make a mild protest against muir
ders in general. The shotgun agent has
exceeded his instructions, and killed the
wrong man. Davenport escaped, and there
was no reason to waste ammunition killing
Ben johnson. The Picay,ne says the con-
duct of the people of Vicksburg is in the
highest degree commendable. "They dis
claimed all respor sibility in the matter,
and pledged themselves to the support of
the law of the land" The Vicksburg Herald
of the fourteenth says:
The president of the executive committee
OF the Democratic Conservative party
called meeting at Hibernian Hall yester-
day OF the members of the committee and
citizens, to consider the shooting of the
three negroes In this city on Tuesday night,
an account of which will be found else
where. SaVRrQl man hprs of ha
failed to see wherein they had anything to
DO with the affair as a political organiza-
tion. upon motion, the meeting then unan-
inously agreed to adjourn, after which a
meeting OF citizens was organized.
1t will be seen that the willy Democrats
would not take upon themselves the respon-
sibility of condemning negro shooting in
the campaign. They 'failed to see wherein
they had anything to do with the affair.""
and in that they were consistent. Out of
the adjourned meeting of the Democratic
executive committee grew the meeting of
citizens called to place bloody Vicksburg
on record as law abiding town. The citl.
zens meeting took high moral tone. Rev.
DR.. Marshall said: "Vicksburg has made a
reputation that will never be forgotten
while the great Mississippi flows to the sea,
or the starssshine down from the canopy of
heaven" We should think so. The citi-
zens whereased and resolved, among other
things, as follows:
WHEREAS, On Ben johnson was, during
the night OF October 12, 1875, shot and killed,
at his own home, in this city, and B. L.
hickman and Calvin Gibbs, about the same
time, were shot and wounded at the home
OF the latter, also in this city; and,
whereas, These acts are not only shock
ing to our humanity, but also, in the pres
ent excited condition of political affairs in
TINS state, are liable to be made use of to
our injury with honorable men and good
eltizens abroad, and thereby affix an un-
deserved stigma upon the good name of our
city and the fair fame of our people; there
fore, We, the citizens of Vicksburg, in mass
assembled, without undertaking to pass
upon the guilt or innocence of any indivi-
dual or individuals who NAV have been
concerned therein, but leaving that ques-
tiOn to the courts of the country, to whom
1t properly pertains, do hereby resolve,
That we condemn all such acts of vio-
lence, and do hereby disclaim any respOn-
slDility as community for the aforesaid
acts.
That the law of the land is powerful
enough to try the perpetrators thereof, and
should they, upon fair trial, be found
guilty, to punish them.
The gist of the regrets is that sue muir
ders are liable to be made use to the injury
OF the fair fame of Vicksburg. The resoiu-
-.