Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1879-10-31
tFrom Harper's Weekly.l
The True KnEoo Story


The Chicago Times Democratic paper
recently published the most thorough anC
vivid history of the Dixon murder at YaZoc
| that we have seen. 1t was written upon the
| spot, evidently after careful inquiry, and it,
! tone is candid and truthful, so that it may b,
! regarded as altogether the most accurat,
statement of the facts It is an extraordna
ry revelation of the condition of society il
that part of Mississippi and elsewhere in tn,
Southern States, and it explains the immedi
ate acquittal by the jury of the Chisolm mur
! derers The writer repeats emphatically
what has been so long clear to close students
of the Southern situation, that "the whites
will not allow the colored race to rule them
again, and therefore Independent tickets art
| tolerated only where there is 10 danger that
their success will result in the dominance OF
the colored race. In counties where there il
u decided colored majority and a candidate
| has its united support, he will be killed, OIL
the colored citizens will not be allowed tc
vote, or if they are, their ballots will not be
honestly counted This is the political situa
tion in part of Mississippi, rs illustrated by
Dixon's story He was a man Of thirty three
years Of age professional gambler. and the
kind of character that figures in the roughest
Southwestern legends. In 1873, when the
whites in the Yazoo district resolved to sub
Lllt ~ ALt CblOltu Ihlt Lo louBtIs lJlAOu up
peared as a ringleader in all the violence
against the colored voters-the mobbing har-
rying, shooting, and hanging of negroes
proud of his feats, and enthusiastically fol-
lowed by kind of guard called Dxon's
scouts. The campaign Of fire and blood
against the colored voters was triumphant.
They were cffectually suppressed and "grate-
full friends" among the women presented "A
silver pitcher to Dixon "for his gallant ser
vices in September and October 1873. which
resulted in the complete overthrow of radical
tyranny and oppression in la2OO. Misaissip-
pi."
Upon the success of the Democratic party
the county treasury was robbed, and Harri-
son, another gambler, accused Dixon of the
theft This led to feud, and Dixon at last
lay in wait for Harrison and shot him. This
was regarded us u cold -blooded murder, and
Dixon was imprisoned for some months
This murder, with the charge of theft, and
the condemnation by decent Democrats of his
negro hangngs gradually weakened Dixon's
influence and he began to withdraw from the
Democratic party. At last in the spring, he
announced himself as an Independent caudi-
date for sheriff, and was instantly taken up by
the colorsd voters because, AS they said, he
confessed he had done wrong in hunting
them The colored voters cling together
and from vote of four thousand Dixon was
sure to get thirty seven hundred The Dem
ocratc convention was held at the end of
June. when Dixon had been a candidate for
three months, and the hatred of him was in
tense. The general Republican conviction is
that some of the nominations were made with
the understanding that the nominees were to
kill Dixon. The narratorinthe Chicago Times
says that to decide this point, but
there is no doubt he would have been killed,
] Il 4
been allowed to become "the negroes sher-
if On the 18th of July mob Of three
hundred whites rode armed into Yazoo 1t
was in the day, and they were not masked.
and did not conceal their purpose. They
sent a committee to DiXons house to sum
mon him to leave the country and not to re
turn. His friends, white and colOred, Re
publcnns and Democrats who surrounded
him. begged him to yield. He replied 10 the
committee that he was citizen, and would
not surrender his rights. The committee re-
tired. His counsel who knew that other
wise Dixon was a dead man, besought him to
compromise by Withdrawing from the can
yass, and he did not absolutely refuse. Upon
the report of the committee to the mob at the
Democratic headquarters, the order was Civ
en- to fall in" As the mob was about NOV
ing toward Dixon's house, the mayor con
fronted them with a drawn revolver threat
ening to shoot the first man who stirred. He
was himself covered by shot-guns in the hands
of men equally resolute, and he too would
have fallen if DiXons counsel had not appear
ed. saying that he believed that he could per
suade Dixon to withdraw. The mob insisted
upon a written withdrawal, not only from
that canvass, but from the race issue. Dix
on yielded and wrote the withdrawal, and the
local paper Immediately announced in an ex-
/ -,Ni 10, 500
over this glorious old county, uncontaminAt-
ed and unchsllenged, and long may it wave !"
Early in August it was known that Dixon
was again in the field, stating that his with
drawal had been extorted by force. There
was intense rage and it was announced at a
Democratic mass-meeting that Dixon had said
that he would shoot Barksdale one ofthe Dem
aticcandidates. Then Dixon and his friends
knew that he was doomed. He demanded to
confront his accusers, and was on his way, as
he supposed to meet them, when he was shot
by Barksdale, who according TO his friends
story, called to Dixon to defend himself. The
crowd of armed supporters Of Barksdaie who
Immediately appeared shows, however, the
deliberate purpose of assassination. Barks-
dale surrendered himself. and was bailed in
Sl5, 900, but such is the condition of public
feeling that there is no probability OF con-
viction. The Chicago Times, commenting on
the story, concludes: "Concedng Dxon's
badness and his quarrel with Barksdale, 1t re-
mains indisputable that he was shot because
he threatened the supremacy of the Demo
cratic party in Yazoo county" This will be
the opinion of all intelligent readers. The
story is vivid revelation of the method by
which the South has been made solid, and by
which it is proposed TO keep it solid for the
Democratic Presidential candidate next year.
Tho that tba atiVa Fpsnppt-
able Democratic leaders are now filled with
alarm lest the brutal element which they
made use of in 1873 to master the Republican
party will in turn irretriovably master them.
The result is a strong reaction, and there are
independent tickets in every county, Hazoo
itself having full ticket in the field, which
in total voting population of six thousand
has the support of three hundred whites and
four thousand cOlored men. The opinion
which produces the reaction is that upon
which the restoration of Southern society
must be founded, and il is to this opinion
that Northern patriotism must turn. No leg
islation, no military power, can ciyilize such
a society Time alone, with the steady CO.
operation of all good citizens in the State
and out of it, and with the evidence that the
rest of the country is firmly united against
the attainment of national control by such
MEANS can subdue the barbarism which
these facts reveal. Meanwhile the intelligent
citizens of Mississippi, who see clearly that
no progress is possible for their State until
this curse of anarchy is removed, ought to
be able to see that their true policy lies in an
alliance with those in the rest of the country
who agree with them in opinion regarding
such crimes, and not in persisting in union
with party which extenuates anarchy, and
favors the policy which the Yazoo mob de-