Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1884-02-20
THE MISSISSIPPI INVESTIGATION
strong Proof that the Murders in COpiah
County Last Fall were Political.
New ORLEANS, Feb. Is

Senator Hoars committee still further es-
tabished today that the murders in Mississi-
ppi last fall were purely political. Copiah
county lawyer appeared at Senator Saiisbury's
side to assist him examine the republican
witnesses. He was one of the active sym
patbizers with the mob. The colored wit
nesses who came down today did not dare to
take the cars at Hazehurst. and so walked
several miles to the other station They
were intelligent people. Most of thom could
read and write. Dave Bell, chairman of the
republican county committee. testified that
he was whipped before the election, and the
republican tickets taken away from him. He
recognized his assailints, but did not think
it prudent to name them. Tom Wallace's
widow, her arm still in a sling, told how her
husband was killed before her eyes, as the
mob said, because he was a republican. She,
with nearly all the colored people, lived in
the woods for a month. One son, Josh. re-
mained at home and voted. but at the peril
of his lite. Handy Fortner, a good looking
colored man, described minutely how he
was taken out at night and whipped by
gang of twenty. They told him if he voted
the republican ticket they would blow bis
brains out. He did so, and then hid in the
woods one or two months. Half a dozen
other colored men testified to a similar ex-
ptTieuCc. anu NJ btRut. q fOuE tltut,
very few negroes dared t, sleep in their
houses. J.. T. Boudeeout, a young white
man, whose father was in the rebel army,
gave q description Of what he described as a
perfect reign of terror. He heared Con-
gressman Barksdae's last campaign speech
in the Hazelhurst court house. Over hun
dred men with rifles belonging to the State
Of Mississippi. were present. Addressing
them, Barksdale said he was glad to see fixed
determination to carry the election, no matter
what was the issue. Barksdale advised them
to hang F. NJ. Buck, the republican super
visior of the elections, so high that the birds
of prey could not bury their beaks in his
body. Mead, chairman of the democratic
committee, was excused from speaking be-
cause he had been go long in the saddle and
wanted twenty armed men to be in readiness
to 90 to any place on election day where he
might choose to send them. The leader of
the mob requested that no negroes would
vote as they were all in the woods, and
moved TO appoint committee to bury the
independent dead-all this in public politi-
cal meeting. Hamilton the democratic clerk
of the election, testified that Wheeler killed
Matthews as the latter was voting, without
provocation. Both were challengers on
their sides, but there had been no anger be-
tween them. Wheeler vas the only man in
the court house at the time who was armed,
but his son-in-law stood at the door with a
gun and was the first man who entered.
| When murdered, Matthews was the only re-
publican in the house, and he was the only
man who had voted. During the rest of the
day the republicans had no challengers. T.
N. Matthews, another brother of the mar-
dered man, told how all his tenants bad been
obliged to leave him since the election. To
some Of them he had given tickets to Kansas
He has never been attacked, but has bee 4
warned never to take any further part in poll
tics. His fathers cotton gin was burned re.
Gently, and the grand jury ignored the fact