The Red Cloud chief., 1884-01-04
Mrs. Matthew'S Story Of Her Husbands
Murder.

d~aZienurSt, MISS, SIMPLY because ne
dared to be a Republican. is herewith
given. The shooting of Matthews takes
is place in the long and terrible record
Of blOOd-guiltinesS heaped up against
the South, that must some day culmi-
nate in some terrible punishment. Com
munities and individuals alike, sooner
or later, must pay the penalty for out
raging Divine laws; and though at
| present political intolerance may con-
done the shedding of innocent blood
and reward its red-handed authors,
%retribution will surely Gomez:
Mrs. Matthews. in reply to my request that
she would favor the Nat OndI R:puhr icdn with
q recital of the circumstances leading up to
and associated with the Hazlehurst tragedy.
said tnat she had no disposition to parade her
sorrows before the public. nor To conceal
them, il their publication would have u ten
dency to save others from a similar desOla-
ton. She had received from Journalists and
Others repeated requests for u statement. but
she had written nothing. So many horrible
things had been done in Mississippi since the
war, which for q time seemed to arouse the
whole Nation, and then be forgotten. that she
had little hope that her sad story would bene-
1T any one.
Mrs. Matthews went on to say that she and
her husband had known each other from
childhood, and were married about the be-
ginning OF the war. Mr.. Matthews always
entertained the political opinions for which
he was murdered. In 1870, Il mere boy.
he made a Union spec h. which excited the
hostility of the Democrats, vino were as intol-
Grant then as now. He was firm i'm maintain
ing his convictions. generally successful IN
whatever he undertook, and aside from his
politics. as popular as any man In the cOun-
ty. and more prosperous in his business than
most of his neighbors. For many years he
had believed his assassination possible AZ
any time, as has been stated by the Copiah
0uhty Stqndt, and that fact had caused her
to watch his course more closely, AMI take
more interest in politics than she otherwise
would.
"As far back as Is15." she said. ian armed
and angry mob of Democrats marched i'll pro-
cession in front of our house. carrying a life
sized collin. with my husbands name upon il,
toliing a bell as they marched. and we had
many such WARNINGS of what finally bcicl us.
the late election my husband was Chair
man OF the Republican County
and Amos Burnett was Chairman of the In
dependent Committee. They and their friends
deefSct 10 hest 10 make up the ticket mainly
of Independents and liberal Democrats. \
brother OF Mr.. Matthews, who was nominated
for Sheriff. was the only Republican placed
upon it. When this ticket was first put out
everybo ~. including Democratic county
papers, said " was an excellent ana uneX-
ceptiOnablc one: but when they saw that il
would certainly be elected the RourDOns en-
tered on their campaign of blood. Six weeks
before the election Mr. Burnett. Independent
Chairman. was shot down by Il Democrat. He
was carried 10 our house to Be nu- Scd. where
he fingered until two dayS before the election.
when threats of further violence forced him
TO leave. a week before the election bands
of armed men commenced niGht-rliding
whipping and numbering negroes. and driv-
ing them from their homes and 10 sleep in the
woods. One excellent old man, who was
seventy years old, and who had EARNED no
one, was called out OF his house at midnight
AID shot to death, and his wife seriously
wounded His only crime was that he had eX-
pressed n preference for the ~anti-BourbOn
ticket. Several others were killed in Il SINH
lar manner. The house of Erastus Matthews
was fired into by the mob, and the houses OF
many other Independents and Republicans
were visited and threats of violence freely
ndu!ged and. in several cases, the men Sc
verely whipped.
by the Saturday before the election the
reign Ofterror had become so great that DIR.
Barlow and Others brought to Hazlehurst a
petition directed to the Sheriff and signed by
sixty white men, asking for protection. or or
ders to protect themselves, and they made
affidavit for the arrest of the rioters, hut no
attention was paid to the demand. On the
same day my husband received in the mail a
letter, signed by authority of the Democratic
Club. threatening his life. and. later in the
day. a reliable. person came to my husband
and informed him that he hal overheard Il
conversation between Sheriff Hargraves,
Mead. the Chairman of the Democratic COM
mittee. and Others. in which it was proposed
to dcputize him to go out and arrest the riot
ers. some of them remarking that it would be
u good way of having him killed
"At first we thought our informant must
ndNc misunderstood the conversation, Out as
We were sitting down to tea on saturday even
ing Sheriff Hargraves. his Deputy. Love-. and
Mead came TO our gate. and on being invited
in to make known their business they stated
that they wished to deputiZe my husband to
go out and arrest the persons against whom
affidavit had been made. This was in my
presence. and my husband replied that they |
wei! knew he was not the proper man to
make the ares, and that their wanting him
to undertake it verified what he had heard a
few hours befOre-that they had agreed on
that Hln nj nx,n hin. T1n. \
of course denied it, but there is no doubt of
Its truth. On Saturday night we kept lights
burning all night, expecting the effort to as
SaSSlnate, and you can well imagine the terri
bic suspense. On Sunday armed bodies of
men were riding through the streets. "a on
Saturday. On Monday the excitement had
Congressman Barksdale was TO speak to
the mob in the day and again in the evening.
and he did make the two speeches. FIVE hun
decd men armed with guns were in line. My
husband was ut home with "a sick daughter,
ana the mob threatened to go To the mousse
after him. Our family physician went tothen
ana informed them of the critical condition
of our daughter, and pleaded with them not
to go to the house, but late in the afternoon
about "a hundred of them, with Chairman
Mead ut their heal, rode up near our house
ana sent John McLemore with Il note TO Hr.
matthew's, which you may copy If you
choose.
That note was written on a half sheet of
note paper in Il business hand, but with ap-
parent haste. 1t is in the following words:
"wHEREAS, 1t is thought that the public in
tereSt will be subserved by Print Matthews
himself from the polls on election
therefore be it
"RcsOlued. That Print Matthews be ordered
To keep within his own enclosures tomorrow.
ADOPTED BY citizens of Copiah County this the
5th day of November. 1855.
After reading the note my husband told
McLemOre that he was q free man, and had
as much right 10 vote aS any of them, and
that he would exercise the right.
"Mr. Barxsdales speeches. especially the
one at night. were well calculated to eilcOur-
age violence. He told them among other
things to carry the election if they had to do
at the muzzle of their guns. This was heard
BY all and fully talked about. i have read a
denial OF IT by some one for him, but Mr..
is too bold and too truthful 4 man
to deny it himself.
. the morning of the election we were
but after it was over. replying to
brother, Leon. he said: Yes. l will vote,
and went to his store, situated near the polls.
never saw him again in life, but faithful and
truthful friends have told me the horrors that
followed.
"The room in which tfa election was held is
about a hundred yards from our house. IL
from the inside. When the polls were opened
husband went to them with a handful of
tickets. where he found Wheeler. who was 70
act as Democratic challenger. and the officers
)f the election. Very few others were any
visible. He saw no gun, but it was
here, setting in u gun-box. As my husband
came into the room he and Wheeler met and
had q conversation: and all say they
wereO not only friendly, but pleasant;
In a few moments my husband
,aid: WELL have always voted last, but TINS !
lime 1 will vote first:' and Wheeler said: ,