American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1876-10-14
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CARD FROM GEN MKEE.
1ACE0nN Muse n..t II 1919

CARD FROM GEN. MkEE.
JACKSON, Miss, Oct. IL, 1876.
Editors Clarion My attention
has been called to q Statement
made hy your correspondent abou:
the late affray in Canton. Some o
them profess to be eye witnesses.
others not. / was accidentally an
eyewitness myself. These state
ments place me in false light, be
cause they are not in certain things
correct. Tley hold forth the idea
hat jumped from the stand, al
vance" into an angry crowd, to
whip with my cane, right among
their friends, two armed mn, each
Of whom is much larger and stuutel
than l one of them, Weail,e. shy,
is very large athletic man. do
not profess to b.. either Don
Quixote, bully or fighter. 1t /
had been cut out for "A bully, thi.,k
l would have been cut out On !, big
ger scale than 125 or 100 pounds.
l had no alteration whatever
with this Weathe-sby. l never
! saw him in my life that know of,
either before, since or at tho time
he struck. Mr.. Devine it was who
gave the insult; and when / asked
him again what he said, he, and he
alone, stepped forward and repeated
j.. This the whole crowd knows.
Then dill use to him, and TO him
alone, language more forcible than
polite, and telling him he dared not
come out Of his crowd and say that
to me -. to face. The language
used shows that did not propose
going down iutO the crowd. And
if l had been speaking to two or
more. | must have used tho plural
not the single number. Your cor
Respondents differ; one says l spoke
to the assailant, the other tnat
spoke to both Weathersby and De-
vine. Yet both show by my Ian.
guage that I could have spoken to
but one.
think if lawyer had helped
these witnesses the case would have
looked better on ton.
As to nv Jumping down, did
not jump, l was showed off The plat.
rim. and plenty of witnesses testify
as to the name OF the man who tn. y
saw do it. l do not know of my
own personal knowledge who it
wac. 1 had my cane, hat and pa
pers in my band when showed off.
1t was my ordinary walking stick,
wrllknown by all my friends, and
as to its being such "deadly
weapon" that would depend, I
think, on the sofiness of the head
struck. Some heads easily receive
light impressions.
l notice your correspondents say
nothing about subsequent riot,us
conduct. | wonder if he had a
'personal alteration" with them
and only used such force as was
necessary to repel fOrce.'
None of your correspondents say
anything about the subsequent
trick batting of the post office in
the evening or TIL. firing of qn: 0
"a humber shos int, it at an hour
later, sigh ly wouuding Mark Jo-
seph. ! hope no one will attempt
to excuse such a cOwardly attempt
at assassination. With regard TO
my going to Canton "with the
"vowed purpose of making politi
cal speech" must plead guilty.
AS either. of the Safe, and a not
mcOnsiderable Taxpayer of that
county, | suppose my right 10 speak
there should be conceded.
Regarding my views as TO The pO-
litlcal bearing of the affair, I do not
propose entering into any discus
sion whatever. or to call foi til reply
and debate by any expression. !
seek no newspaper nOt0riety OF
controversy. Very respectfully,
J GEO. G. MCKEE.