St. Landry democrat., 1886-12-25
The WitkON ski Affair.
THE SORT OF \ MAN WITKOWSKI WAS
4 LETTER FROM ONE OF HIS
NEIGlIBORS, y

A LETTER FROM ONE OF Ills
NEIGHBOKS.
Tie following letter from merchant
OF West Carroll to a gentleman of this
city has been placed at the disposal Of
the Picayune:
OAK GROVE.
West Carroll Parish, La, Dec. 10, 1886. ,
+. ii. Frost, Esq, No. 40 Union street,
New Orleans: Ny Dear Sir have a
small store at this place. Witkowski
also had store here and one at Gale
donia, about four miles northeast of this
place. He opened store here after
did and for the purpose of breaking me
up. as he told several. Several persons
had stores since the the war, and
broke-Carson & Lewis, II. $. Faith
and l.. c. Massengill, the last of whom
was cut all to pieces one night by a man
named Johns, who left him for dead.
Massengll believes that Johns was an
instrument of Witkowski's. | do not
know. | know Massengill quit mer-
chandsing here. Since my advent
here Witkowski has done all he could
to RUN me, getting cotton upon which
had lien. This year | furnished a
negro 10y the name of Tins, who was
working one of WIS places He owed
me 1852. One day was on my way to
Providence with oul candidate for
Congress-a warm friend of mine-IIon.
{. Newton, met Mckay with several
of NitkOWSki's wagons. | asked him
where he was going. He replied he
was going after Tins cotton (the man
! | had fnrnishcd). | told him had a
privilege on one half the cotton and |
would prefer his not removing it until
my return. He said that | would get
no cotton until it was sinned and
/ divided, as Simon said >n. | went on to
Simon's, where We took dinner. He is
! very h0>pItahlc when he thinks If NAV
pay. told him ahont the cotton. ana
/ that he had troubled me enough. He
agreed TO advance me SEQ PEI bale on
that lot of cotton, which, as he GOT four
bales, he sent me so. Then. As per
agreement, | was TO haul the next LOT of
cotton. In Il few weeks, hurng.my ab
sencp, Witkowski sent his teams and
/ hnuled off. so the negro Tins said. three
(acs in the seed. wrote hima note
asking for IL division he said he would
make noNe until this cotton WAS cinurd.
etc. told hIm III my note that he had
violated his agreement. He replied |
that h" did haul the cotton for his own !
protection lest it should be stolen He !
could have sent me word because he had /
then Srnt after u little more cotton !
thaf Tins h"d in nnn,F,nr iou>c and !
WitkoW>kl did not know of. | had /
cotton ginned and cot 215 pounds OF
lint. then heard Tins had hauled , (
bale toa neighbor'S Gin aud said he !
Intended taking it 10 Witkowski and /
claiming it rs his wife'S. Immediate !
" seized the cotton, bale, and corn u /
bushels, and wrote WitkoNski what | |
had don" and wanted an amicahlr
settlement. He told my clerk Andrew /
that he intended to bond the cotton and
corn and law me about it. | knew
that he could prove anything and did
not want his law.
nrr. Mr. Gray, and a deputy Sheriff, Mr..
toyie. who had made the seizures. for n
settlement. Some Of my friends, know
ing >i'nnn way Of settling and know
ing that he kept four or five men around
him. determined to 90. After NV ar
rival went into his office with him
the office joins his store. Mr.. CnyIp
came in, 50 did Andrew jackson, a good
citizen. | told him wanted the cotton
or the money for the Tins debt. Il
should have neither" ;" just then these
men e. ne into his store, not into the
door was sInt-he then re-
=
of lint and 81 bushels corn.
then told him that | had furnished
supplies to a certain lady and he had
taken her cotton on an old debt; that
was poor and he should have waited
and not me. He then agreed to nav
that debt, hut would have done nothing
if my friends had not been near. mol
one used any threats, and all his news
paper reports are lies.
The Houston house. | think. was
burned accidentally, as if was old and
dilapidated and vacant. Fires were afI
our parish. know nothing Of
the killing of Mckay. He may have
had it done as he owed Mckay large
amount. No one has threatened him.
No one has burned his store and home.
He has made no atfidavits against any
one here, so the officers could do =
nothing. AS for there being band of
outlaws here aefying the law. it is all a
lie, made of whole cloth. OF course all -.
good citizens regret that Mckay was {
but must a whole parish be
denounced because some one killed a
man? Witkowski says that the mob
ran the postmasters off He was post
master at Caledonia and ran himself off
Excuse this detailed and lengthy let
-er. but am indignant to think that
good people should be so s'andered by
IN infamous Scoundrel.
You can use this i'm any way Won '
lesire. Yours truly,
Ed. F. NEWMAN.