Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1885-06-12
THE LIDDELL-JONES FEUD.
A LITTLE FURRY THAT SEEMS TO
HAVE EXCITED WASHING rON.
Gen. Kings Account Of the Sanguinary Feud
Between the Jones and Iiddeii Families
I'm Louisiana--A Strange Story OF
Bloody Vengeance I'm the south.

Several days ago II was reported that
Cuthbert d. Jones, of Louisiana, was TO be
appointed United States consul at Callao
The news of this brought out an account OF |
feud between the Liddell and Jones fami- |
lies, and an interview appeared in the Pitts \
burg Dispatch, sent by its correspondent |
Mr.. Murray, with General J. Floyd King, |
member of Congress from Louisiana, which |
purported TO reproduce Mr.. Kings lam
| guage with regard TO some ladies Of the
| Liddell-Jones families. The statements
| made were scandalous, and as soon as Cuth-
bert jones' who is now in Washington, had
| his attention drawn TO them he caused friend
| of his to call upon Mr.. Murray and demand
an explanation. Mr.. Murray said that Con-
gressman King was the authority for his
statement. Mr.. King was applied TO. lie
| fatty denied that he had ever made such
statement Mr.. Murray, who is
slightly deaf, contends that he mis-
understood the remarks made by Con-
gressInan King, and 1t is believed the
threatened duel which was to have arisen out
of the affair has been averted. Gen. Kings
story, without the alleged libel is interesting,
however, and is as follows:
"Right on Black river above where 1t
empties into the big Red was the garden of
, l t"ohoy sths pSioio thO "e''
was the richest land in the world. Its plan
tations 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 Lou
isiana wife worth $500, 600 i'm her own right,
and marvellousy beautiful. He prospered.
4 | Five hundred slaves titled the rich soil,
, | and his own steamers carried his cotton
to the New Orleans market family ot
a boys grew up around him, and his wife more
beautiful as a mother than as maid, was 9
| princess to the surrounding country. just
). below the Liddells on Black river lived
a another planter by the name of Jones. The
4 latter was a stern proud man, had been edu
Gated at West Point, was very woalthytas,
5 indeed, everybody who owned lands there
d was) and had married wealthy woman
. He owned several hundred slaves and hi'
y boats and crops rivalled his neighbors', thu
s. Liddells. There was good deal OF bicker
n ing between the two families, but for "A Ions
time it was mostly at second hand, and II
)e the mean time they were on ostenslbi!
10 friendly terms. One fine day the. handsoi
=; and fiery Mrs. Liddell mounted her hors
10 and rode down to the plantation of Col
s. Jones and called him into the road. Her
rv she charged him with circulating defania
a tory story concerning her, and before M
Us could answer pulled a revolver aud she
ne | him in the face point blank. The Jonese
~, | and their friends next day waylad one Of tn
" Liddell boys and killed him. The Liddeii
n, got party together and rode into the Jone
at | plantation, where regular battle occurre
aud three or four men were killed and seN
eral wounded. BY this time the sons an
- dependents of all families In the country ha
~ taken one side or the other, and justice u
Jury trial was impossible. sort OF con
promise was effected for a while, an iinag
rd nary line being drawn, to pass which shoul
ay be considered ahosttle move and which Inigl
i'll be resented by the other side.
,Ie "As far as could be, the Liddells an
- Joneses were kept enart- They travelle
| by understanding, on different boats
as spite of these precautions an armed neutrali
could not always be preserved Sometim
members of the Jones faction would une
pectedly meet members of the Liddell factio
ne When these meetings occurred weapons we
instantly drawn and the shooting began.
might be on board crowded boat, in Ne
+ba | Orleans bar room, or on the high road
80. | church or frolic. 1t didn't matter TIT
"" "" were always armed To the teeth, and alwa
gh promptly pulled and fred. Naturally,
ire good many people were killed in Il
The | vendetta. Sometimes innocent persons in
ant | crowd got a bullet i'm the leg or arm
re- through the heart / think about eighte
persons had lost their lives upto the hreakil
out of the war, when the greater vendetta
!. the South and the North temporarily obscur
yes, and obliterated the private feud. The Ii
dells and Joneses went into the Confedera
in service and distinguished themselves. 7
'ou former family were particularly unfortuna
use During the Red river campaign, IL will
APP remembered, Grant cut the levees and t
ma plantation of the Liddells was almost wip
1ld out Both families lost all their slaves, "a
tie that meant from a quarter to hall mill
sly | dollars at one swoop. From $4,000 year
de- | helpless poverty was n severe blow. Yet
Bill planters Joined to rebuild the levees at I
are close OF the war and their plantations We
lor. heavily mortgaged to cover the expen
Col. Jones secured the mortgage on I
Z. Liddell plantation.
the 80 About this time there were symptoms
ON | revival of the vendetta which had exist
;oIt before the war. The Joneses had turned !
Am publicans and through the control of the {
'h, slave vote had gobbed up the entire govel
ma mental affairs. They carried things witt
ette high hand. OF course, they left no opp
DO tunty 10 rub it into their old enemi
acy Broken in fortunes and in health, Gen. l.
iii dell went to New Orleans to secure money
pay off his mortgage held by Jones AS
came back on Black river boat he learn
~ that during his absence Jones had sold h
.h out under the hammer. Everybody look
tne for terrible tragedy when Gen. Liddell OF
inst more set foot on his plantation.
he Jones family anticipated this, and board
old the boat on her way up unknown to Lidd'
The Jones, father and two sons thus ca
upon Liddell upwards, all three pulling l
49,, tolls on sight, literally riddling the old ma
oh- body with bullets az he sat at the table.
in mob touched shore, but they were hustled
an and safely lodged in the Harrisonburg j.
the i said safely but only for time. III
EN- night strong body of Biddell's friends a
ia mob of citizens generally made an alta
=; upon the Jail, broke i'll and took the el'
III Jones and one son out and lynched the
ing | The other son escaped
one "That was Cuthbert Bullitt Jones ?''
lin "The same. That was Cuthbert Bul
ed Jones, recently candidate for consul
~ Callao. He escaped death in the jail b.
90 skylight and desperate leap"
- - -
'ou RETIgISG A DEAD DOG.