Helena weekly herald. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1867-1900, 1876-12-21
MISSISSIPPI.
Letter From an Ex-Confederate
Colonel.
An Inside View Of the Recent
Election in that State.

IJlCCUlUu LII ul1OU NVtaoOs
WASHINGTON, November 2S.---TLe follow
iny are extracts from letter received here
the other day from a gentleman now living
in Mississippi who is a native OF that State,
and was IL Colonel in the Confederate army:
You no doubt know just as well as we 40
who won here during the canvass, how 1t
was carried on, and how the election day
was spent by both parties You know,
Judge. as well as do, and us we'll as any
thinking man does, that there IS not one
negro in every 5000 in this State q Demo-
crat as very intelligent negro remarked to
me Yesterday: "Major, whenever Il nigger,
born of !. niggcr woman, says he is a Demo
crat be tells lie.
NO Niger is A DEMOCRAT:
and ii any vote that ticket, it is because he
was forced in some way to do So This man
as you know, told the truth.
Hence, had fax expression OF the VIII or
the legal voters been given III this State on
the day of election, II would have gone at
least 25 ,00O to 30, 600 tor Hayes and " heeler.
Finding that We were not likely to find our
tickets, and that then It was late III the alter
noon before the day of the election, went
to one Of the Democratic papers OF our town,
uot the one employed to print their tickets,
but the one left out in the cold by its own
party, ard contracted with the proprietor to
print us three or four thousand tickets right
off, He consented to print them, and When
he had about 200 struck OFT, the oherl11, the
Deputy Sheriff, and County Clerk came up
into the office, and took the proprietor ott
and had 2 private talk with him. lie re-
turned confused, and halted on the printing
1,, nj nGI
Whitefeld, d lawyer Of this place, came and
had a private talk with him, after which he
refused positively to do our printing. Esquire
Dodson, cur Postmaster, and myself remon-
strated with him, and endeavored to show him
the unfairness and meanness of such course,
and even offered him double the price; yes,
any price he might ask, to print our tickets,
| to al Of which he REPLIED:
THAT HE COULD NOT AND DARED NOT
print our tickets that he was poor man,
and was unable to do in all things us he
pleased" Think OF this, that great
national party could not, for either love or
money, get its tickets for President and Vice
President printed in a town where there were
three presses, and that peace and law officers,
the highest in our country, and a lawyer were
the cause OF it. am ashamed to relate such
disgraceful conduct on the part of our peo-
pie, for you know am a Southern man by
birth, education, and feelings. Why, the
other day when We had hopes of the election
of Hayes and Wheeler, we Republicans
thought if Hayes and Wheeler were elected
we would celebrate the victory. The Democ-
racy had the nj ght or two previous torch
light procession. and went through the form
OF burying the Radical party. They started
the report that the Republicans were going to
kill q certain negro man. whom they forced,
as be said, to active part in the burial OF the
generally. SO the. got up al excitement;
men 20, their guns ready, and The talk OF
killing the Radicals was freely in-
du]ged in. One man. and prominent
one too, said That Wolford ought to be
thankful that they permitted him to live here
at all, and should not attempt to barrow their
feelings by getting up Hayes celebration
Now think of this. |, who was born in this
State, whose parents were born in the South,
who lost at least 100000 worth of negro
property by the war, and who gave freely
and literally to the support of the South dur
ing the war, and who too went at the first
call into the war, and who fought up to
colonelcy of artillery, and who was never
absent from duty an hour without authority
during the whole war, who was in the first
and IN the last battle of the war, should be
thankful that was permitted to live here at
ALL" And Why? Not that have made a
bad citizen ; they all give me credit for max
ing Il law-abiding, active, and wide-awake
citizen; but simply because | have been and,
YTIE HELP OF GOD,
propose to remain, defender of the govern
ment and its action toward us since the war;
beca:;se sustain General Grant and contend
that lie is not only one of the greatest but one
OF the most humane men that ever lived Oh,
God. will this state of affairs continue?
Will the law abiding people of iLe North
sustain it? Will Congress not take some
steps TO check their madness am toe poor
to leave, or l would leave the Statei in twenty
four hours Poverty forces me to remain
here, and as long as do live here l will fight
their madness and their disloyalty. Our
Southern people dislike, despise, and abhor
the government much more now than they
did at the close of the war. | heard Lamar
speek during the canvass, and while he did
not deal in the low, vulgar slang of most OF
their speakers, yet not one word did he utter
or one sentiment did he enunciate that would
have a tendency to make his hearers love,
respect, or even tolerate if they could help it,
the government, the stars and stripes. Lamar,
I fear, before Northern audience, or in the
halls of Congress, is not the Lamar before a
Southern Democratic audience where there
are no reporters. Will the vote of Mississippi
be counted Will the election Of Tilden be
recognized when it was procured by fraud,