Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1879-08-28
THE PISTOL IN MISSISSIPPI.

On Monday oflast week, a tragedy occurred
in Yazoo City, Miss, in which Henry M.
Dixon was the victim, at the hands of James
H. Barksdale. Dixon was an independent
Democratic candidate for sheriff of Yazo6
county, and Barksdale is the regularly nomi-
mated Democratic candidate for chancery
clerk of the same county. The difficulty
originated, it is alleged, not on account of the
independency of Dixon, but because as po.
litical disturber and agitator he was obnox
ious to the Democratic party, having brought,
especially in the campaign of 1875, much
odium upon the party as the principal leader
and actor in what is known as the "shot-
gun policy" 1t is claimed by Barksdale's
friends, that the property holders ever de-.
nounced this policy, so called, as being mimi
cal to their interests, and in speech few
days previous to the occurrence, Barksdale
denounced Dixon as an agtator, opposed to
law and order, and who, though leader of
the bull dozers in 1875, was in this campaign
seeking to organize the negroes and array
them against the whites. This led to the diff
6culty eliminating in the death of Dixon.
Dixon was a reckless, fearless man, and
Barksdale well knew, when making the char
ges, that they would be resented. The time
soon arrived, when the men met, and accord
ing to Mississippi style, a rencountre was in
evitabe. While the occurrence is deplorable
and to be regretted, in any view that can be
taken of it, we cannot see that sectional feeling
can by any possibility be correctly charged as
the origin of the trouble. 1t was neither ma
tive versus carpetbagger, nor Democrat versus
Republican but simply a crime growing out
of political local excitement, such as is likely to
occur during heated campaign in any State
of the Union, North or South. 1t will, of
course, be dangled before Northern voters in
the pending fall elections, as another instance
of Southern Democratic terrorism, and may
be the means of securing States to the Re-
publicans, which otherwise might have voted
Democratic.
Barksdale has been admitted to bail in the
sum of $4,000. He has heretofore borne an
excellent reputation, and prior to the present
campaign the two were on friendly terms
Barksdale is nephew of Hon. E. Barksdale,
a prominent Democratic candidate for the
United States Senate, editor of the Jackson
Clarion and chairman of the Democratic
State Executive Committee. He was also a
nephew of General William Barksdale, dis
tinguished Mississippian, who was killed whilst
commanding a Confederate brigade during
the late war.
Dixon is spoken of as having been boy of
IA when the war broke out, and was student
at Georgetown college. He was induced to
run away and join the Southern army, but
was captured after four months absence, and
remained neutral during the remainder Of the
war; He married, at the age of II, the
daughter of very wealthy Mississippi planter,
who died not long after this event, leaving
his large plantations in the Yazoo country to
Mrs Dixon. Young Dixon went there to
live, and has been resident of Mississippi for
thirteen years. He kept aloof from politics
until 1872, when he organized rifle club,
and was made captain of the bull.dozers
His experience seems to have disgusted him
finally, and in 1874 he left the club. The
deceased was son of the late Major Henry
Dixon, who was shot and killed in Alexan-