The Portland daily press., 1879-09-04
A Statement from Mrs. Dixon.
She Declares the Murder Political One
A Plain Recital OF the Facts-Dixon's
Dying Words.

L
Yazoo City on the morning of the 10Th by
| James A. Barksdale Democratic candidate for
| the office of Chancery Clerk, Without proof,
| yet without remorse have the epithets of liar,
| infdel, murderer, gambler, etc, been heaped
| upon him. L can refute every SANDER ever
produced against him, and it was the intention
| of him who was so ruthessly and violently
torn from the arms of his wife and little ones.
| This so-called liar, infdel, murderer, gambler,
| etc., was the same whose name brave men
wore proudly upon their bosoms in 1915, as in
| dicatiye of his leadership of them in the hour
of his country's peril. Drawn up i'll rank and
| file on the streets of Yazoo City, my husband
and his brave comrades received the commen-
| dations of Lamar, Singleton, George and 9TH
ers for his courage and fidelity to his country,
| In this present campaign, which has cost him
his life, when charged with midnight meetings
and incendary influences upon the colored
race he repeatedly demanded an investigation
of these charges, and challenged his accusers
to produce any responsible man white or black
to assert this upon his personal knowledge
and promising when they would do so he
would leave the county never to return. In
all his political meetings he invited the parti-
cpation of his opponents, and no one has ever
| been able to produce any arguments or appeal
| from him calculated to briug about discord be
| tween the races. He was called ''the man Of
violence" / leave it to the public to decide
who were the men OF violence during this
campaign. When the mob of the 18th of July
threatened his life and he was ordered like a
thief and outlaw to leave his home and family
and these demands made in the presence of his
family; the sanctuary of his home polluted by
these lawless scenes, even over the cradle of
his almost dying babe, was there from him or
his friends one single act of violence or retalia-
ton? He was strictly temperate man, and
no one had more regard or appreciation for the
virtue and chastity of woman. As an enemy
he was bold and aggressive; a friend he was
warm, affectionate and true as STEEL That he
was not the outlaw portrayed by his political
traducers, refer to the fact that at his funeral
was gathered a larger concourse of people than
have ever assembled at this place to pay the
last sad tribute of respect to the dead If this
| be not a political murder why is the Herald so
| careful to stife public sentiment and so eager
| to prejudge the case? When before was a citi-
| zen of any town shot down without warning,
| the case tried and judgment rendered before
| hand by the journals? And if this was not a
| political matter, why did the Democratic con-
yention make that significant appendage to
| their scurrilous resolutions passed ON the 10th
of August, which reads as follows?: "The
names of two reliable men have been handed
to the secretary of this meeting stating that
threats of assassination have been made by
HI. M. Dixon against James Barksdale, Demo-
cratic candidate for Chancery Clerk" Point
ing to this nv husband said to some of his
friends: "That means murder; am to be as
sasnated; this is another way to prepare the
| public mind for it, l shall demand the author
+ Of this SANDER hold him responsible; also in.
form James Barksdale have never made such
threats; all of which he Swears in his dying
testimony, under oath, and in view OF eternity,
to have done the day before he was murdered,
| NV husband was an infidel say his accusers.
| the Democratic Committee. No one of their
| falsehoods has less foundation than this. In
| the privacy of his home, and in his serious mo
| ments, did he always avow his firm belief III
| the Christian religion. While he was not pi-
| GUS man he was not scoffer or a skeptic. No
| man for his means contributed more largely to
the support of the churches Of this place than
| he. A few hours before his death he was bap-
| tized in the Catholic church, and his last word
was ''Bible." When dying he forgave his
murderers, saying: II had rather been killed
than to have killed any of them" Immedi-
ately after the shooting OF my husband, tele-
grams were hastily sent from this place by the
chairman and others of the Democratic Com
mittee, stating that he was killed in street
fight y "personal encounter" etc. 1t takes two
I parties to make an encounter, street
| light" and in this affair the murderer was the
only actor. My husband, after being shot lin
| the back, with broken and mutilated hand and
in fainting condition, crawled up stairway
! opposite, and fired his pistol four times, with
| broken right hand supported by the left hand
Here is my husbands dying testimony taken
| by our estimabe and faithful Mayor, who was
| the only officer who dared perform his duty
| when the mob of the 18th of July threatened
| to rush into our home and tear my husband
| from his family to commit the deed OF violence
| for which they were thirsting. AT $50 O'Clock
| on the morning of the 18th inst my husband
was brought home ON lounge, borne by the
populace, naked to his waist, the CITY Physl-
clan having torn off his clothing down the
street to examine his wounds. When placed
upon his bed my husband gasped: "Oh! am
murdered" then, after moment or so, for
nothing. Ii | could only live long enough to
| tell 1t all" Then upon the arrival of Mayor
| Holt my husband, being duly sworn, made the
| following statement: walking down
the street-as 1 neared McCormick's drug
| store saw Jim Barksdale and w. u. Gibbs
| (who, by the way, is Democratic State SENATOR
| '.standing in the door, thought / could get
by without being attacked (although for two
| weeks have not gone down the street expect
ing to get back alive), when, just as got oppo-
| site McCormick's, Jim Barksdale rushed out
| into the middle of the street, and began firing
| at me- / felt that was badly shot, and made
! for stairway near; crawled up, sat on the top
| step, and fired my pistol until l tainted. In
| a cross-examination, Mr.. Holt asked him if he
saw Jim Barksdale with gun. II did see
| him with a shotgun" Mr.. Holt asked il he
saw anyone else shoot. II did not" Mr.. Holt
asked if Jim Barksdale spoke, at all, and if
| Barksdale fired first. II did not hear q
sound, and did not dream of immedi-
| ate danger until I felt that / was
badly shot in the back. Mr.. Holt asked my
| husband if he had ever threatened jim Barks-
dale's life, or made any threats Of any nature.
| 6 in, 70 mn oul n
! friend who told him l was innocent OF all
charges l wrote the same to the Democratic
| Executive Committee, also to John Posey (who
was secretary of the mass convention, when
/ these scurrilous resolutions were read), and de-
manded of Posey the names of the two men
| who could say they had ever heard me plotting
the assassination of Barksdale He refused
| their names, saying that | wished to attack
| them. again sent to him that L did not-had
no desire or wish to harm anyone-only wished
1 to clear up the groundleSs charges and the
| plot which L had seen gradually thlckemng
against me- He again refused the names, say
| ing that he would confront me-" My husband
| said before dying: II had rather been killed
| than to have killed any of tEem''-and when
| exclaimed: "Oh, no! L would that you had
killed them all, and your life been spared to
me''-he said: "No, no, you must not say
that" He also said: Il wish Jim Barksdale
was here to see brave man die" That some
members of the Democratic Executive Com
| mittee or those who endorsed those scurrilous
|
| sidered the convictions they held at the time
| of my husbands Imprisonment for the murder
| (as they in those resolutions call it), the cold
blooded murder of Samul Harrison, herewith
append an extract written my husband by the
| Hon j. c. Prewitt, brother-in-law.toJ James A.
Barksdale, while my husband lay in prison.
He states in letter of March 8, 1878: 81 know
you are an innocent and persecuted man, and
l sincerely hope that you may come out re-
deemed and ceansed from all stain. The peo-
pie are always right-they will vindicate you,
in the end, and they will never forget the gal,
liant man who drove out their plunderers ana
oppressors in the historic year of 1870. Then
again, Apr. IS, he says: with kindest re-
CARDS and the hope that you will be acquitted,
not only on account of YOURSELF but your wife
and children, and because of your innocence,
am very truly and sincerely, j. c. Prewitt."
| Thus man of legal ability, and never at any
time particular friend of my husband, de
clares his opinion that he was an innocent and
| prosecuted man." This ends my statement,
| honest and true, sacred to the memory OF my
| murdered husband Mrs. III. NJ DIXON.
| New York Wcrld.l
! MI n @c