The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1877-05-29

have as much interest in this county as you have
In the county, ! will make proposition to you.
propose now that we let all hands 40 tner OWE vo
nothing TO do with It, Just let them (the negroes)
get their tickets and vote a" they please"
According to his story, election day De
Kalb was full Of storm and danger, the
Democrats crowding into the town, well
armed and prepared to assert their suprem-
acy This is the style in which he as
Sheriff and candidate met them:
Says Damn you, ifany ten of you will be
satisfied. will fight any ten of you # you will only
want to have FL ht." 1 says, ~ know that damn
ed vel: lyon don't want to night hut you don't in
tend to let us hold an election" He says, 1--WE
going to have fair election; but the damned mig
gers have ruled this country just long we in
tend to let them.n Says 1. "God damned il amt
as white as any of you, anyhow" He says, You
run with damned black crowd"
We trust our readers will excuse the re,
production of this profanity, but in giving a
sketch of southern politicainsaid one can
not mince matters, ChisoIm said that he hid
in the woods that night with some Of his
friends, but, getting disguised with the
cowardice of such course, returned after
due amount of profanity, and was very
"cIeverly" treated. The spirit and deter
mnation shown in the whole of this unfor-
tunate mans evidence make it easy to
understand the desperate defence which he
made when attacked in the Jail at De Kalb,
and the resolution displayed by his daugh-
ter is clearly her rightful inheritance.
How did it come to pass, however, that
Chisolm. after having gone safely through
the hot canvass Of 1875 and the still fiercer
one of 1876, should have been killed after the
adoption of Hayes policy of cancellation had
| 10 h. &c -,
quests? Ii only political grudges existed
against him they would have been satisfied
in the utter overthrow of himself and his
party in the state. In his own story the
KEY to bis mystery is found. His trucu
lent disposition had involved him in person
al as we'll as political feuds, and he was
guilty of an unavenged attempt at homi-
eide had shielded the murderer Gilmer
who died with him, and was suspected of
assassination. AS sheriff he had protected
Gilmer after the shooting of Dawson by
arresting him to keep him from harm and
packing grand jury to secure him from
indictment. His conduct brought a great
deal of odium on him and led to a bitter
controversy with an Alabama man named
DillarJ. After it had ragged for some time
they met at Meridian little over year
ago. The scene as pictured in the testi-
mony before five grave United States sena-
tors reads like an extract from one Of Bret
Harte's stories Judge ChisOlm walked
iuto Judge Pooles Office after meeting in
Judge Harris's Office big man who was in
company with Judge Love-what a preci,
Gus lot oflegal magnantes which big man
turned out to be billiard Chisolm loqui
tur:
says 1, Hell Is that DllliardY He (Judge Poole
says. Yes, that is Dilliard,' and 1 started to
wa out, and he says, Come back into the office
Judge billiard is very bad man; he is desperate
man and he is drunk to-day, and would advise
you now TO try and avoid meeting him at ali il
You can Says L, Poole, this is of the days
don't feel like fighting at all; sint got any fight
in me to day He said, i don't think you do
want any difficulty with anybody Says l, i
don't"
A short time afterwards Chisolm and
billiard met in the street, and the latter
began to abuse the former, holding a pis-
to in his hand Il stayed there and took
it, remarked the meek and lowly victim,
" until L got a chance TO go across the
street, and then fixed myself and came
back, and we met on halfway ground and
II shot him. 1t is no wonder that such
a man was suspected of a knowledge of the
recent murder of John Gully, with whom
his testimony shows he had a quarrel OF
several years standing, and it is not al
together strange that such desperadoes as
be and his comrades should have met
with the fate which they finally suffered
at the hands of an outraged community.
W lille we stand fast for the due processes
OF the law in all cases, we can under
stand how the wild justice of revenge some
times breaks over all ordinary forms. andthe
lynching at De Kalb, however deplorable
is the not unnatural sequence of a series Of
crime gainst individuals and society that
bad assumed the shape of a political ven
delta.