The Brookhaven ledger. (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1875-1883, 1879-08-28
The Yaxoo RusIn sss.

nc BBOW uYUSb0CHSs
Just after the wal q man named Mors
gan. who had some connection with the
Federal army, settled in the county OF
Yazoo, Miss, and married q mulattO
woman, engaging in politics as an avo-
cation. The population of the county
of Yazoo. at that time, was fonr hfths
black, aud Morgan, by thoroughly
identifying himself with the negroes.
became their leader. His word was law.
He found no difficulty in being elected
to any Office he chose, and finally, after
irving a number. selected that of Sheriff
as being the most profitable. His reign
was n reign of terror. Things went on
from bad to worse, until nearly every
white man who did not profit by an as
ISOLATION with Morgan found a refuge
elsewhere. Que day a man named Dix
on, who had been a confederate soldiers,
aud was we'll known as a desperate
character sent Morgan an unsealed let
ter in which he tersely informed him that
he (Dixon) was tired of the way things
had been going, and that he wanted
him (Morgan) to "git ont of their LII
order that he might know just what was
meant, Dixon added a postscript to the
| effect that il he met HIM after the re-
ceipt of his letter he wonld shoot him
on sight. Morgan was q desperate
man himself. bnt in Dixon he recog-
niz4d his m .ster. Within the time pres
scribed he found himself a new abiding
place. Dixon immediately succeeded
to his leadership AMI tyrannical dom
linatiou.
The negroes feared him, but they
obeyed him. He ruled them rs merci-
Iessly as Morgan. aud by she same
means. One day he chased an ofend>
ing coIored man to a cotton fell where
thirty or forty other negroes were at
work. The hunted man saw him com~
ing and fad to the river. Dixon rode
mp to the gang unattended and forced
them by his wiil-power alone to capture
the runaway. put a rope around his
neck aud hang him to the limb of a
tree without any more ado than if he
had been a mad dog. Two years ago.
| Dixon met a g,m5l"r who had won
some of his money anl shot him down
without a word Of warning. HIS next
job was to pack a jury with negroes
and obtain an acquitta. By this time
he had become as great a terror ms Nor
gan had eve. been. AM finally the
white citizens of Yaz,o and the sur
rounding country made common cause
and drove him out of the State. Two
months ago he returned and announced
himself MS an Independent candidate
for sheriff. That meant, if it meant
ANYTHING, a renewal of the old scenes
violence, murder and ruin. In sheer
self-defense, Just as they would have
united against an insane man with Il
torch in his hand. OF a wild animal. the
citizens OF Yazoo county-vithont dis
tinction of politics or color-came to
eether, and informed Dixon that he
would not be- allowed to turn their
peaceful community into another hell
"In most countries such a man wonld
have been hing to the highest tree OF
the nearest lamp>post. and bnt little
note would have been made of it.
Hero however, a quiet but determined
suppression of him has been tortured
into prescription of the worst grade,
and the Northern papers have printed
columns of ~denunciation of what they
style the Mississippi method Citizens
who have combined nearly to protect
their fresides from rapine and riot are
asssiled as bnlldozers and Yahoos."
The telegraph now brings ms the new
that Dixon has been shot in a personal
encounter. There was a dispute.
pulling of pistols. one or more shots.
but somebody was too quick for him
and Dixon fell dead. Perhaps this viii
he the end of the troubles and conse
anent notorietv of Ysz 20. Possibly
not. These staten nts. however. have
been made to MS by N who has had
every opportunity to know that they
are true. AMI Wa print them to show to
our readers. the kini of creatures on
whom the Rmublican parers of the
North have been wasting tons of sym
pathy.-W tshia qt0n Past.