The south Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1879-1883, 1883-06-05

president, had been taken from he
side in bed, by a democratic clul
whose members she reorganized, ant
murdered in s)ld blood, ,ardafter being
murdered was cut in pieces before
her eyes; that they took her nursing
babe from her breast and deliberately
Drained it; that they took her
year old girl away with them an(
that she never saw her afterwards
and that she herself was shot ant
cut and MANNED until her life wa
despaired of. Her story created {
genuine sensation upon her audience
as well as upon the whole country
and John Sherman (rep.) and Geo
w. Julian (dem.) of the visiting
statesmen, shed tears as they listened
to her story. She was before thu
statesmen four days and every re
publican newspaper in the United
States rung with scathing comment
and shed column after column of pa
thetic and feeling editorials on thu
horror. Eliza Pinkston's wounds
and bruises became the theme O.
sympathy for nation, and her &C
counts of scourging, shooting ant
outrages, drowned the utterance o
statesmen and formed the preteX
for throwing out the vote of the par
ish of Ouchita, a parish of sufficien
Importance numerically to give thu
electoral vote of Louisiana to Hayes
by the returning board, and the Sx'
commission in Washington decided
that they could not go behind thu
State returns and review the New
Orleans evidence.
Republican Subscriber will re-
member that the States Of Oregon
Louisiana and Florida were for {
time in doubt. If the Democrats
secured any one of them, Tilden wal
elected, while to elect Mr.. Hayes
the Republicans were bound to se-
cure all three of them. Louisiana
depended entirely upon Ouchits
parish If the republicans coult
prove that parish was bulldozed
they could throw out the vote, which
would leave the state for Hayes. Il
its vote was counted, the state was
for Tilden and he was elected. The
Importance to the republicans, then
of this prostitutes evidence is appar'
ent. Strangers and visiting states
men, of course, not knowing any
thing about her character, believed
her evidence.
But where the Pinkston was
known, 1t was known that her evi
dence was a mass of lies. 1t wal
known that she had neither husband
nor children at that time and was il
fact common prostitute. But the
rebutting evidence which was to
come from the distant parish, could
not be obtained in time to come be-
fore the returning board, so thai
body very curiously declined to wal
for it. The clamor against the out
rage, in view of these facts, became
national and an investigating com
mittee from the United States Senat,
was sent down to review the matter
The chairman of that committee wal
Timothy o. Howe, then a senator
from Wisconsin, and the late and la
mented postmaster general. 1t wal
conclusively proven to the committe,
that Eliza Pinkston's story that sh,
so glibly reeled of, was monu
mental and unparalleled net work o
falsehoods, without even the slightes
element of truth. She was not no
either had she ever been, residen
of the parish of Ouchita. She was {
shrewd, sharp strumpet, living OF
the levee at New Orleans, who hat
been taught her role by unprinciple'
carpet baggers and federal Office hol
ders, whose tenure Of Office depende,
upon such lies to keep them in Office
She afterwards, when cornered, an
the states prison was staring her il
the face, appeared before the How
committee and admitted that her for
mer story was false; that she ha
never been outside of New Orleans
Ouchita parish is 800 miles froI
New Orleans that she had neithe
husband nor children, and, that sh
J was not wounded when before tn
returning board that she was pal
$1,000 to do it, and that she was noV
sorry for it. Hon. Timothy {
, Howe afterwards said to the write
that there was no possible doubt bu
that her first story was made up OF
of whole cloth and that she wa
drilled in it by unprincipled person
Nevertheless her lies and pretende
abuses helped a desperate band {
conspirators to steal the presidenc.
This has been her frequent boast an
: when visited in Jail few years ae
by some northern people who locke
, upon her as curiosity, she pointe
/ to Rutherford B. Hayes photograg
t hanging in the cell and exclaimed
"Dis old niger wench made dat a
: ting der president
But she was soon deserted by h,
: republican brethren who we
/. ashamed of her. She fell into rui
Q and further disgrace and drifted in
: worse than former habits. Thr,