The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-01-02
"A TALE OF BOURBON TTRvNG.
How A. W. Burnett Was Driven from
His Mississippi Home.
The Killing of Matthews, as Related by the
Murderer-Barksdale Morally Re-
spOnsible for Political Murder.

ClrcuIuSbduCSS COHutCJeu VIII OuC hiOU N~iNiAS
him, Burnett, from the county. Following are
extracts:
Mr. Burnett was formerly of Hazlehurst Miss
He is now of nowhere. He has no home. The
lBourbons of Hazlehurst have robbed him of
Ihome, business and property He is now IN
Washington and expects soon to settle some
where in the North, where his life and his prop
erty when he has again accumulated some may
be tolerably safe. Mr.. Burnett is thirty years
old, a lawyer by profession, and man OF intelh-
.gence and education. No man who talks with
him will believe him to be either a liar or cow
ard. He talks most of and seems most inter
ested in the murder of his friend, ''Plint" Mat
'thews, but as Bourbon bullet went through his
own body less than two months ago. it may be
inferred that his personal experience OF Mlssls-
sippi methods are interesting.
Did Wheeler ever make any excuse for the
hootingi"
mot a word. can give you the story of the
shooting in his own words. He says that when
Matthews came into the polling place that morn
ing be said to him (WheelerG We'll, good morn
ing Ras what do you knowf Wheeler said he
knew of nothing, and then he asked HIM Print,
are you going to voter Print said Yes. and
Wheeler said Print I wouldn't vote Print
smiled, and replied: 4 prize my right to vote
very highly and feel that | owe it to my eoun-
try Then he stepped up TO the ballot box and
gave Inspector Coxwell his ticket 1 then took
the shotgun said Wheeler, which was con
cesled in a dry goods box and, cooking both bar
rels, leveled it on him. Just as pulled the
trigger he threw his eyes on me and put his
right hand to his side. He had no pistol in his
hand so far as | saw That is Wheelers own
account of the affair"
'Why did they shoot you and drive you out of
Hazlehurst, Mr.. Burnett"
81 was the only Republican lawyer there, was
getting the most business and was the chairman
of the Republican executive committee Some
weeks before the election | went to jackson and
succeeded in getting an intelligent white com
missioner of elections appointed for our side, in
IF no 1cpf1n mt hat hn
had brought up and wanted appointed. | got
home late at night and went to bed. The next
morning friend of mine came to my room and
told me that J. W. Bailey was looking for me to
slap my jaws. I prepared myself for him and
went out When met him asked him if he
had said any such thing, and told him if he tried
ii one OF us had got to die. He denied having
said any such thing. but said that he understood
] had been making remarks about him and had
made sport of him. | told him had not done
so so, and he said It was all right, we would be
friends and he shook hands with me.
IA couple of hours afterward | walking
down the street, and Bailey, Head and four or
five others were talking together corner
AS came up to them they separated, and all
went away but Bailey and fellow named Hart
who stood so that had to pass between them.
Hart said to me as came up, 1 understand you
say you didn't make sport of Baileyf l said
didn't He began to draw his pistol, and said,
Well, you're liar | struck at him with my
knife, and he ran away. His pistol caught in
his pocket When he got thirty yards away he
fired, and the ball went straight through my
body. That was how l got my wound When
Hart was arrested the judge asked him who his
counsel was, and he said, The HaZlehurst bar
1t was true. l had to send to another town for
a lawyer to prosecute him. He was bound over
but the grand jury ignored the whole thing |
hadn't got entirely well at election time, and the
night before the election | went up to Crystal
Springs to look after the election there, when l
heard that Matthews was killed. l started for
Hazlehurst, but the crowd on the train told me
that they were going to put me with Print Mat
thews, and | jumped off at Gilman while the
train was running"
''Why didn't they shoot you there?"
Because it wasn't safe for Them 1 had
friends there who would have joined in the shoot
ing The next day | went to Hazlehurst, but
didn't stay but about two hours The darkies
are true to the men that they have confidence in
and one of them told me that the mob was going
to kill me- ] took the first train for Jackson. ]
told Meredith Matthews, the of the muir
dered man that | should be back on Thursday
night | got a letter and telegram from him
telling me not to come back-that there was a
crowd waiting for me at that train on Thursday
night to kill me. Here is a note which was sent
to me two days after the election. 1t is in the
same handwriting as the warning which went to
Matthews the day before he was killed"
Here Mr.. Burnett showed the following note:
I'VE were in hopes that your dark-visaged face
would never be streets again. You have
business here We give you fair warning to
leave you will meet the fate of your friend, j. P.
Matthews. y.
NOV. s, 1888"
Jumping from the train and the exposure had
made me sick, and | went into the country to
my fathers house, and lay in bed four weeks
with typhoid fever. have just got well enough
to get out l shall never go back to Mississippi
/ have lost my library and all my business,
but shall start again where life and property are
safe"
''Are you carpet Dagger, Mr.. Burnett"
Il was born in Copiah county, and have lived
other there or in Hines county all my life.
Mine is family in the State. Two of my
fathers uncleS, John Ford and Daniel Burnett
delegates to the convention which framed
the State constitution My father was a mem
Der of the State Legislature in 1880 He was an
old Wing but during the war had to go into the
confederate service. For if a man did not 90
they took him out and broke his neck My
father pays taxes than two thirds of the mob
which drove me out of the State. He has never
been wanting i'll his duty to his government in
any capacity. He is now an infirm and feeble
old man, and expect them to spare his life on
that account. have two young brothers there,
two sisters and my mother. l. have been driven
from my family, home and native land for no
other reason than because | would not indorse
the views of the Bourbons If the Bourbons
elect President of the United States l shall
leave the country was urged to stay in Jack
son, but was going to tell what | knew about
these things, and they certainly would have
sent man there to murder me. Here, l think
among different people, may be able to de-
fend myself if l am attacked"
what about Barksdales denial that he adj
yised the shotgun campaign
81 did not bear his speech, but sent man
to hear him THAT was not suspected by them,
and could safely be there. This is the exact Ian
guage that he used in Hazlehurst the night be-
fore the election, just after they had voted to
see who. should kill Matthews. Said he: Eel
low citizens-I must compliment you on your
patriotism and the manner in which you
have evinced it by shouldering your shotguns.
saw in the countenances of those armed men
w he afS tod lew 1,atin
to carry this election and I say you must carry
this election, regardless of what the issue may
be- Idefy Mr. Barksdale to produce any law
abiding citizen not part of that armed mob
who will say that he did not use that language
He has produced certificates from several men
that he did not so speak. Every one Of the men