Ottumwa weekly courier., 1876-07-26
| asked him what he had been doing.

devils, and had stopped 'em. Laugh
ter. He had caught them tearing
down and burning a bridge, and they
had got hurt. Laughter. l asked if
he had Killed them. He said he
guessed so--as they didn't move af-
forwards. Iasked him if it was so
that he had shot them after they had
surrendered. He said it wasn't So;
that he wouldn't let them surrender.
II Cheers lie said. "Do you think
would let those fellows, who had al
ready murdered some of our Union
troops. and were trying to do it again,
come up to me with their hands all
tarred over in an attempt to do it
again, surrender? No, sir; couldn't
do it. and | didn't. One lot of them
have stopped their deyiltry now. that
l know of. and more of them will if
can catch them" [Applause.l What
did / say? Did rebukc "NIac" and
his gallant squad? l said: "You
have done right. and do il again,
whenever and wherever you can
catch any other fellows at the same
sort of deviltry." Those were the
fellows | am charged with having
mardered after they had surrendered.
"Mac' wouldn't let them. [Cheers.l
There was no more bridges burned
on that line while l was i'm command
of the road. Soon after we left they
burned a bridge and threw train
into the water, killing a number of
women and children. They thought
they were layinga trap for a soldiers
train. But the night passenger train
happened to come first, and so the
soldiers escaped. / only wish that
"Mac" and his squad had been there,
and caught them setting it on fire.
j ANONYMOUS LETTERS.
These, fellow citizens and neigh
bors, are some of the many charges
made against me, and sent to me dali
i ly by the score, in anonymous letters.
Il cannot refer to all of them. They
can prove up many like things on me,
and any Union officer or soldier who
was in the war and tried to do his
|fdnty. We were down there to make
war-not merely like Ben Hills reb.
els, to hug the Constitution. In hav.
mig done my duty as a soldier. in my
humble, and yet earnest and well.
meaning way, am now called, after
i have left the Democratic party, q
robber, a burner of houses, a mur-
derer Just as Gen. Logan, honest
noble, true-hearted and patriotic, was
so stigmatized after he had left tho
same party. Doyou wonder, gentle
men, that have been stmg into max
ing publicly the remarks that have
here! have no abuse to make OF
any one. call no one by name.
state simply the general facts. that
others may see as well as myself that
the war and the hate of Union SOL
1 diers did not die, as the st. Louis
platform says, eleven years ago.
THE ST. LOUIS CoNvEN TIoN.
That convention did not look as
though treason was am odious thing
nor that rebels were any the less tn
be honored than patriots. That gath.
cring proved again what the Demo.
cratic House had already proved, that
/ the old rebel element is running the
Democratic party, and that its whole
hope of success is stakcd on their solid
support. They were all there at St
Louis, and were the lions of the day
especially honored and cheered by
the convention, and honored and
ilonlzed by the same gangs of rebels
who were spouting treason and
abusing soldiers there in 1861, as we
were going to the front. and who
were talking the same treason when
was there two years ago. TAp-
plause. Why is it that the nomina-
tion of Tilden has so revived and re-
inspired the old rebel element? Why
so much more SO than the candidacy
of Greeley four years ago, when there
was some hope of Il new party
and the death for good of the old
Democracy? You can answeras well
as ] can. 1t looks like they knew
their man. Applause. The alarm
ing demonstrations daily developing
in the South would look like il. sec
that the Leader interviewed my old
friend, Peter Myers, now living in
Missouri, to-day, and that Peter SAYS
that the stories of raising the rebel
flag in Missouri are untrue. hope
/ they are. But the reports seem to be
well authenticated. and ] fear some
of them are too true.
FOR tnc people TO DO these thing
would be bad, but not so bad. W,
must remember, as was the rebe
!, speech of Ben. Hill in Congress, $,
t. heartily cheered by his Democrat
:, colleagues, and so wildly applaude,
J in the South. That speech. LET me re
fer to again a moment. The Demo
% Gratis aird Democratic press now ga
:, they do not indorse this speech. Bu
r = they cheered ii when il was made i
the House, and the South chcered i
Z and their denunciation of il now /
not so much denunciation of the spirt
! of it as of his imprudcnce in maxim
!; il.
" GOODBYE, DEMOCRACY.
And now, in conclusion, as to tn
, reason why have not left the Demo
!. cratic party sooner. They say waf
!, = Office, and that have wanted oflic,