Arkansas weekly mansion., 1883-09-08
HOWARD AND HEM PSTEAD
COUNTIES.
[Contiuued from last issue.l

WHAT AN EYE WITNESS SAYS ABOUT 1T.
[Contiuued from last issuel
So we met about 10 clock Monday night
and discussed what had been done to our
friend Doughty, and hearing his statement
of the matter we agreed to go then and
there and arrest this man Wyatt and carry
him to Washington before a justice of the
peace. Our meeting adjourned at O'Clock
that night and we began to make prepara-
tions to be on time Tuesday morning at
Prince Marshalrs house. There was but
twenty-eight of us who met at the church.
but we sgreed there to get every man we
could by next morning, 30 we set to work
about 3 o'clock, after leaving the church,
each man acting a deputy telling his
friend what had occurred and that he must
go and assist, and by so doing We secured
about thirty more men who went to help
arrest Wyatt for attempt of rape on James
Msrshalrs daughter. SO we met at Princes
and proceeded to where Wyatt was, and as
Joseph Booker was our leader and one of
the officers, he was to demand Wyatt to
surrender, but wien we got in thirty or
forty yards of Wyatt he broke and run and
hid in the weeds; of course We were look
ing for him. when he raised up and fired on
Joseph Booker and Booker returned the
fire and got of his horse and said boys
am shot in few minutes he reeled and
tell on the ground, and then the shooting
commenced, seven or eight guns firing;
there were at least forty-five or forty-six
men that never fired q gun at Wyatt, or
crossed the line in Howard county the day
of the killing of Wyatt, or ut the time this
crowd that they csll a mob, was only to
l. nfh ho 4
if We gould have succeeded in arresting
and safely carrying him to Washington,
where We were satisfied that he would be
dealt with according to law, but of course
when Wyatt was killed, that stopped his
trip to w WashiDgton, and we dtsbanded and
went home; then was the time we heard
the white men were together hunting for
US; then, OF course, as many as could got
together, did SO for our own protection.
1t has been charged that Sam johnson, .
welt-to-do colOred farmer, was at the bot
tom OF 1t; this is only done by some wealthy
white farmers who live near Sam and want
to break him up, and get in possession of
about one hundred and sixty acres of open
land under cultivation, and those white
men who are trying to implcate Sam live
near a little town called Columbus, and If
hell was scraped with q fine tooth comb
there is not meaner set OF white men.
In Hampstead county the colored men met
at Sam Johnson's house, on Wednesday af-
ter the killing OF WYATT. Sam had nothing
to do with them and tried to drive them
from his gate; he told me in plain words
that he did not indOrse no such, and I was
surprised at him, knowing as did that his
two boys were in with us, and then pro-
ceeded to tell bin all about the matter just
as it stood, and then he told me that he
would like for us to leave his house, and
the leaders of the Republican party at
Washington and get the thing stopped. and
80 after he ate his breakfast he came out to
the wOod-pilc and asked us again to leave
hi.
something about this fuss and he wanted
US to leave his place, but we did not leave
then. About 10 o'clock twenty-five or thirty
of our boys come into Johnson'S house and
we concluded to go to Washington and
there have the matter settled. but our re-
treat WAS found out and we were surround
ed by mob of four hundred white men,
asking for an unconditional surrender. and
when saw that the men who we Ii ad work
ing for peace had to surrender us that way
thought i: tims to leave. Golfer and my
self left, and l want the public to know
that If am solicited to assist in bringin n
british man to- justice foI outragiDg awomsn
will do it every time. We never went
into it only for what was done to the wo-
man, and II 1t is called murder and we are
all caught and hung, l say to the colored
men th2t are left behind to stand firm, and
II our women are beaten and outrat ed rid
die the perpetrators of it with bullets. let
the consequences he as it may.
History never will record u worse murder |
than the killing Of Eli Gamble, Alonzo /
Flowers and johnson Booker's boy. Mr.. |
Booker's son was sitting on the fence and
the mob. composed OF white men, shot him |
OF just AS they would \ squirrel, and old |
man Eli Gamble, they killed him with his
square in hand, maxim" Joe lSOOker's coffin, |
who WAS killed the day before, and Flowers |
was waiting to assist in the burial, and not |
a single Ohe of these white men have been |
arrested and the sheriff of the county is !
msking no effort whatever to bring them !
to justice, and this same sheriff was elected |
by colored men and / for one supported |
him at the advice of certain leading Repub |
licans. and his deputy did all he could to |
crush the colOred men in that riot; he dep |
uiised the very enemies and getters up of |
that whole trouble to do the arresting and |
left on all good, quiet, white and cOlOred |
citizens, and his so-called deputies went |
them and called them all kinds of names,
taken the men prisoners, also boys that
were only fourteen years old aud some old |
men that are actually seventy-fve or eighty,
taken them out OF the bed. This Is the |
kind Of treatment that cOlOred men get |
that supported liberal democrat. Now
my advice to cOlOred men Is to vote the |
Republican ticket under all circumstances,
and when they cant go that take the |
straight Democrat, for If we had had the |
proper sheriff none of this trouble would |
not have been; 80 my advice to colored men |
Is to follow huch men AS DIR. George mar
tain and other leading cOlored Republicans
who tried to shaw us last year the import
aIce of supporting Republican for those |
important omces, because when the trouble |
comes these cid Republicans are all we
have to say one word in our favor-pr.
George IL. Martain, r obt Samuels and Tho
mas Muldrow, are the only men now to AS
>ist us in our troubles, out of so many 9TH
ers that claimed to be our friends, and Mr.. |
Editor, honestly believe if it had not have |
been for these men and the better class of |
white men at Washington, the last negro |
in that riot would have been mobbed. |
Washington is the only place of retreat |
that colored man has got to 90 to where |
white men will give him justice at all. auy-
where in Hampstead or Howard counties. |
If Il negro can't get to Washington he had |
better leave the country. These all |
fully. w. c. j.