Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-06-13
THE J0NES-KING MATTER.
THE STORY WHICH KING TOLD
OF THE VENDETTA.

Founded His Vendetta Story in His
work Entitled - Huckleberry Finn
a few days ago we published q thrilling
story Of the way that Cuthbert Bullitt
Jones, who is now a prominent applicant
at Washington for a Consulship, escaped
a mob who sought his life. Congressman
King furnished a Washington CORE
spondent with the story of the vendetta
between the Jones and Liddell families in
Louisiana and how Cuthbert B. Jones
came to be pursued by n mob.
The correspondent, in preparing the
matter for publication, drew rather more
strongly on his Imagination than the facts
justified, and a correspondence ensued
between Jones and King, and whatever
feeling existed between them on account
Of the publication was dispelled. The
following is congressman Kings story
with the Objectionable parts omitted:
"Right on Black river above where it
empties into the big Red was the garden
OF Louisiana twenty years before the war.
Ii was the richest land in the world. Its
plantations were small principalities, and
every planter was prince. Here came
young man named Liddell and settled
and married. He had been educated
North, like many Southern mems sons,
had Inherited a fortune, and brought with
him back to Louisiana a wife worth
100000 in her own right, and mar
yelOusly beautiful.
"He prospered. Five hundred slaves
titled the rich soil, and his own steamers
carried his cotton to the New Orleans
market. A family of boys grew up
around him. and his wife, more beautiful
as a mother than as maid, was princess
to the surrounding country. Just below
the Liddells on Black river lived another
planter by the name Of Jones. The latter
was stern, proud man, had been edu-
Gated at West Point, was very wealthy
as, indeed, everybody who owned lands
there was), and had married wealthy
woman. He owned several hundred
slaves and his boats and crops rivalled
his neiRhbOrs', the Llddells. There was a
good deal of pickering between the two
families, but for long time it was mostly
at second hand. andin the meantime they
were on ostenslbly friendly terms. One
fine day the handsome and fiery Mrs.
Liddell mounted her horse and rode down
to the plantation OF Col. Jones and called
him into the road.
Here she charged him with circulating
a defamatory story concerning her, and
before he could answer, pulled q revolver
and shot him in the face point blank. The
Joneses and their friends next day way
laid one Of the Liddell boys and killed
him. The Liddells got a party together
and rode into the Jones plantation, where
regular battle occurred and three or
four men were killed and several wounded.
BY this time the sons and dependents of
ell the families in the county had taken
one side or the other, and justice by jury
trial was impossible. A sort of q COM
promise was effected for a while, an i'm
aginary line being drawn, to pass which
should be considered a hostile move, and
which might be resented by the other side.
las far as could be, the Liddells and
Joneses were kept apart. They Travelled,
by understanding, on different boats. In
spite OF these precautions, an armed neu-
trality could not always be preserved.
Sometimes members of the Jones faction
would Unexpectedly meet members Of the
Llddell faction. When these meetings &C.
Cured weapons were instantly drawn
and the shooting began. 1t might be on
board crowded boat, in a New Orleans
barr0om, or on the high road to church or
frolic. 1t didn't matter. They were
always armed to the teeth, and always
promptly pulled and fired. Naturally, a
good many people were killed in this ven
delta. Sometimes innocent persons in a
crowd got bullet in the leg or arm or
through the heart / think about eighteen
persons had lost their lives up to the
breaking out of the war, when the greater
vendetta Of the South against the North
temporarily obscured and ObliteTated the
private feud.
''The Liddells ana JOneses went into the
Confederate service and distinguished
themselves. The former family were par
ticularly unfortunate. During the Red
river campaign, it win be remembered,
Grant cut the leYees and the plantation
OF the Liddells was almost wiped out.
Both families lost all their slaves. and
that meant from $3.50, 600 to $500, 600 at one
swoOp. From $4,000 a year to helpless
poverty was a severe blow. Yet the
planters joined to rebuild the leYees at
the close of the war and their plantations
were heavily mortgaged TO cover the ex-
pense. Col. Jones secured the mortgage
on the Liddell plantation.
about this time there were symptoms
OF areViyal of the vendetta which had
existed before the war. The JOneses had
turned Republicans, and through the
control OF the old slave vote had gObbled
up the entire governmental affairs. They
carried things with high hand. OF
course they left no opportunity to rub it
into their old enemies. Broken IN for
tunes and in health, Gen. Liddell went to
New Orleans TO secure money to pay of
his mortgage held by Jones. As be came
back on "a Black river boat he learned
that during his absence Jones had sold
him out under the hammer. Every body
looked for 4 terrible tragedy when Gen.
Liddell once more set foot on his planta-
ton. The Jones family anticipated this,
and boarded the boat on her way up I'm
known to Liddell.
The Jones, father and two sons, thus
came upon Liddell unawares, all three
pulling pistols on sight, literally Kidding
the old mans body with bullets as he sat
at the table. A mob attacked the muir
derers as soon as the boat touched shore,
but they were hustled OF and safely
lodged in the Harrisonburg Jail. | said
safely; but only for time. That night
strong body OF Liddell's friends and mob
OF citizens generally made an attack upon
the Jail, broke in and took the elder Jones
and one son out and lynched them. The
other son escaped"
That was Cuthbert Bullitt JonesW
"Ihe same. That was CuthDert Bullitt
Jones, recently a candidate for Consul at
CallaO. He escaped death in the JaU by a
skylight aud desperate leap"
sTVaU ~ Urruw