The Hot Springs star. (Hot Spings [Hot Springs], Dakota [Dakota Territory, i.e. S.D.]) 1886-189?, 1889-05-31
MURDER OLA. N. NEELY.
STORY OF THE LAST POLITICAL AS
- sAssINATION IN ARKANsAs.


STORY OF THE LAST POLITICAL AS
4. sAsslNATION IN ARKANsAs.
Nicely Was . Leadcr Among the Negroes.
aud Because He Had Influence with
Them He Was Hounded by tho Whit
Leaders and Dinally Murdered.
Forest City ARK special to Chicago Tribune.l
The assassination of Americas Nelly,
colored, and the expatriation OF A., Com
try, the colored merchant, and E. Sweet,
the white farmer, have had the effect Of
satisfying the appetite for blood on the
part Of the mob and all is quiet now.
drop, but it is known that those who have
been driven from home will call upon the
Federal authorities for protection and
restoration to their homes and families.
The conservative people deplore the oc-
currence and desire the matter hushed up,
hence the facts of the case have never
been told. Everybody knows that the
parties did wrong, but no one cares to
criticise, and no local newspaper would
have the temerity to publish the facts.
The attempt to dignity the trouble by
calling it II race wal has been successful
~ resorted to, and reports dictated by the
Rul1ty Y0IIloS nave ueeu S0uC OUT mlUle
MIXING the affair.
The trouble and its history are we'll
known. When Congressman Poindexter
Dunn, of Forest City, ran for Congress a
second time, ter years ago, he was OPP
posed by Joe W. House, of Searcy, White
County. House was believed to be the
favorite, but Dunn received the nomina-
ton. The House men were Disguised,
and openly declared that they would not
vote at all. The Republicans lay low
until just before the election, when they
put up a colored man named John II.
johnson, of Augusta, who was United
States Revenue Collector ut the time.
and elected him by something over 1000
majority. He was counted out and
Dunn counted in. Capt. John
Parlam, of Forest City, was then
a Democrat. He has since fallen
out with Dunn. This fight between
Dunn and Parham was taken up by
James Fussel, formerly dry goods clerk
in Memphis, now a merchant Of Forest
City, and a brother-in-law of Dunn, and
bad blood has existed ever since. Through
Dunn's influence Fussel was placed on
top in local Democratic politics. Parham
retaliated by joining the Agricultural
Wheel, taking it into politics and fusing
with the negroes last election, when the
Fusionists carried the county by storm,
and claim to have elected Featherstone
over Cate for Congress, q contest for
which place is now pending. Fussel and
his crowd raised the alarm of negro dom
ination. and the leaders of the F%usionists
were marked out for annihilation. VIM
chesters were purchased at the last cleo
tion. but no opportunity was found to
open hostilitics The Fussel men openly
hnoSf.1 cSOOn that klo,. ,,,oy,1l 1xoa.. ~
Winchestcrs, and IF ever John Parham
cooked his finger he would lie the first
one to be killed."
When the fusion ticket was made out it
was divided among whites and blacks.
Since then several of the colored breth-
zen have made themselves particularly
obnoxious, claiming that as the negroes
we're largely in the majority they would
elect whom they pleased. The white
fusionists kept them in check. Americus
Nicely was one of the most active of the
intelligent colored men. He made an ill.,
temperate speechtothe effect that the time
had come when the negroes should have
their votes counted if they had to fight
for it. He was spotted. While on his
way to the Court House to be sworn in
as an officer of election, he was stopped
by Il crowd, headed by James Fusscl, who
accused him of circulating false reports,
about him. Nelly denied having circulated
the reports, when Fussel called him IL
liar, and reached down under his coat and
drew forth an iron cane, with which he
beat Nelly over the head while the others
held him. The negro broke away and
ran toward Capt. John Parham. Seven
or eight of Fussel's mon fired Mt him.
Parham was talking to Il young man
named Davenport, who represented him.
self Us being friendly to the fusion side,
but who. it was learned later. had been
deployed with II Pruitt to disarm Par
ham at the opening of trouble. The two
men caught Parham as he was drawing
his pistol. He is one-legged and carries
armed the young men withdrew. and
Fussel came to the middle Of the street,
and, taking deliberate aim, fired at
Parham, the ball taking effect in
his hip. Tom, a son of Capt. Par
ham, was upstairs in the County
Clerks Office at work. He ran down
stairs, and seeing City Marshal Falbre
with n pistol leveled at his father. shot
the Marshal in the head. The Marshal
in falling fired ut young Parham, so did q
brother of the Marshal, l.. Z. Falbre, and
SO did several of the Fussel crowd. He
fell dead, shot through the heart.
While this was going o Sheriff Wilson
was h%urrying down the street t the
scene, sheltered by II block of buildings,
when a prominent professional man slip
ped up on him and shot him. killing him
instantly. Then, putting the pisol in his
breast pocket, he put his hands in his
pockets and walked away. The two wit
nesses that saw this killing will testify
at the proper time. They are afraid to do
80 now.
In the excitement the negro, Americas
Nicely. escaped with only one ball through
his body, and took refuge in an old build
ing, the doors of which he, his father and
brother barricaded. None of the negroes
were armed. The mad mob, armed with
Winchesters. assaulted the house, but
unsuccessfully. Sheriff Wilson being
dead, the next officer was Coroner C. v.
Ingram, "colored. He. too, was trouble-
some, and was put aboard the train and
sent of; Gov. Eagle appointed Nh. Van
his head. He lost control of the peo-
pie. He spent much of the night Mt
Featherstone's house beseeching that
gentleman to prevent bloodshed by send
ing. out word to the county ~iusionists
u negroes to keep away from town.
which was done. Sunday morning at s
O'Clock Sheriff lizard promised the Neelys
safe transportation 10 the jail if they
would come out. They assented gladly.
They had NJ weapons. The Steriff and
some of the posse left with the prisoners
for the Jail, and the remainder continued
the search for Americas Nelly. They
found him under the floor. wounded aud
unable to move, where his father and
brother had scooped out a place with
their hands and hidden him. The mob
rlised the floor and frai xollay. after vol.