Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1880-09-03
Communications.
THE C0USHATT1 OUTRAGE.


of the DCtdmcr saw fit, in his last issue, to
call the attention of the public to the Cou-
shatta outrage, committed in Coushatta La,
Aug 81, 1874, by which three of our noble
boys were cruelty torn from their wives and
children, and most brutally murdered by men
of his (the Dctamer oditor's) own kin and
party. Why he should again. and especially
at this period of the campaign, recall such
bloody scenes as this-why he should ask the
people of Windham county to review such a
terrible massacre, committed by men of his
own nature and politics, who, as representa-
tivcs of the Solid South and the shotgun pol
icy, are moro to be dreaded than the man
caters of Ethiopia-isa mystery which can
not unravcl Can lie expect TO gain any votes
for the Democratic party by keeping before
the public the memory Of these dead heroes,
and reiterating from time to time his infamous
lies as regards their character while in the
North, and the history Of their capture and
murder in the South 7 Does he think that the
people of their native State will believe his
foul assertion when he says that NJ. &. Willis,
ii. J. Twitchell or Clark Holland never bore
a decent name while in the North II he ex-
poets, or even surmises, that he can gain
Democratic victory by trying to deludo poo
pie with such contemplate lies as this he
either isn't smart enough to see his folly, or
poor whiskey has blurred his eye-sight and
softened his brain. These men were like all
other men so long as they lived in the North
they had their friends and their enemies,
their good qualities and their poor ones but,
70 far as their character was concerned, they
always stood well in their town and district
and were well known as men Of truth aud
veracity-as high above the Dcfamcr in this
respect as the heavens are higher than the
earth, or the Republicans higher than the
Democrats. Indecent as he would make them
| here, and as he would have you believe they
| were, history of the past lives Of either of
| them would show but fraction of wrong do
ing, compared with the meanness and corrupt
ness betrayed in the Detdmer's last issue.
Now, why were these men shot? The De-
| .tdmcr says, not because Of their political
| principles (''but they should have been ~,
but because of the robberies which they COM
mitted and the wealth which they quickly
amassed. l don't know but he would have
liked to help his ex-rebel friends in commit
| ting that dreadful decd. However that may
be, it has nothing to do with the falsity of his
last named statement, which is no less u lie
than the first only moaner and more con-
temptible. If they did wrong, and got money
fraudulently, they certainly learned it of the
Democrats after their arrival in Louisiana
for they knew nothing of such deyiltry when
| they left Vermont, and they could not have
|
killed for this, as the Detdmer claims, and, as
some Of our Northern Democrats claim, were
lawfully killed, why not have II little lawful
killing on the other side Take William II.
English, the Democratic candidate for vice
president, who has robbed the people of In.
diana until he has amassed fortune, and has
become SO rich it is said, that his money is
almost burden, while his victims are SC
poor that it takes three Of them to cast
I 4. l.. - Il 1
his kindred and his friends, and, after prom
Using him safety in the State of Illinois, shoo
him like dog, and leave his body las did the
ghouls of louisiana for birds and beasts Of
prey to feed upon And why not? Becaus,
no member of the Republican party believes
in this mode of punishment Every Repub
lican knows it is unlawful and inhuman anC
too base practice to put into execution. II,
knows it is not sufficient reason for murder
ing man in cold blood, and he knows, too
that it was not the reason why those tire
Vermont boys fell at the point of the bayone
on the 3lst day of August, 1874. So does tn
DltdDer know it, but its editor must need
tell another shameful lie, TO help shield AM
cover up such hellisl deeds as are daily bein
committed by the ox-robcls of the South an
upheld by the copperhead Democrats of tn
North.
Homer j. Twitchell hadn't an enemy i
Red River parish, excepting his political en-
: emies. Old and gray haired O. rebels of Cou
, shattG often visited him at his home and a
=, ways welcomed him to their homes, and man
and pleasant were the visits exchanged. b
his frequent acts Of kindness Ire won thei
, sympathy and esteem, and they always Gale
= HIM their boy Homer" The subject of 20
| tics was hardly ever mentioned, for il stirre
= the old rebel feeling in these men to such
. degree that it wasn't a safe topic for CONVEX
sation. When the political campaign bega
in 1874, the old rebel element of Red Rive
determined TO establish its political power, an
!. | in open convention at Coushatta, Campt,
Brownsville Mansfield, and other places, til
i, leaders openly avowed that they would accom-
! plsh their purpose at all hazards; that Ii
: district had been carried Republican for fou
y years, and, if necessary, the lives of all whit
Republicans in Coushatta should pay the pei
4 atty. Many were the entreaties made by IL
a rebel friends of the Vermont boys, expost,
y lating with them, and asking them to vote IL
- Democratic ticket. Promises of money, prt
lection of selves and fnmilies-anything thu
4 they might ask would be granted-if the
= would only comply with this request b,
= no their ever ready and faithful reply was
II cannot betray my country" 80 long
live shall live true TO the flag, true TO thel
freedmen, true to my country
a As the election days approached, the
'boys" remained firm in their decision, an,
s when it was understood throughout the pa
. ish, the hatred of the rebel element knew I
a bounds They avowed death 10 all Republ
/, cans, and on the night of Aug. 9th the We
- mont men were taken from their homes, fro
. everything near and dear TO them, and, wit
y three others, were by the hands of the Sol
South, cast into prison. On the evening
the 3Oth they started on their last earth
N march, having guard of thirty armed me
q under prctensc of protection and safe CISCO
l. to Shreveport, distance of 60 miles. Wht
le thirty miles had been safely passed over, the
is hoped for freedom, and the gloom that hi
mantled their faces gave place to cheerfulnes
y Ten miles more were quickly passed over, al
a then this guard of thirty men-these dew
A. in human form who planned this scheme f
I their murder, a scheme too wicked to be REF
A. | lied even, by men in the perilous situation
the Vermontors-shot them with treache
- unoquRled in the annals of Indian perfd
y As the Windham county boys lived, 30 thu
~ died, martyrs to the Union and the cause
liberty. This Strengthening of human bein
~ because of their political principles, this mu
u dering of Northern men who rather die thl
~ betray their country's trust-this is what Il
i Detdmey, with the copporhead Democrats
~ the North, calls justice This is the doctril
o. it is preaching to the young, middle-aged al
u old voters of this county, whom it boldly as
to vote for Hancock and English, for ''r
Of trenchment and reform! :" Good law-abidii
f. citizens condemn such deeds; but she
like the Detdmer, whose columns are black
G. than the skin of the blacklist freedman, who
X deeds if it were South would equal in CO.
ardico and atrocity the vilest ever committe
D. whose every issue pollutes the very atmo
phere in which it circulates-this is the pap
- that publicly pronounces such deeds Justice
~ and then calls loudly for honesty and !
in form :" Such a doctrine, if published by /
NJ Democratic leaders of our State for the ne
in two months, and faithfully followed by
NJ members of their party in the North, W
~ give to the Republicans in November a n
% jority never yet equalled, and will thorough
linnLn IL ..n...il.iliLr. Of Anr.annrn