The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1891-07-31

moved to the place now own and Oc-
cupy, in Arkansas County. l do not
owe one cent on the place. 1 am per-
fectly willing for you to ask Maj.
Wynne, Mr.. Burnett, or any of those
old people about Red Fork about me-"
His
GEORGE X COLE.
Mark.
This is Clincher.
After the statement of George Cole
had been gwen the American represen-
tative happened to meet with Jackson
Green, whom he ntold that Cole chad
given the whole snap away" and re-
peated to him the password OF the
league. The ignorant and superStltlous
negro seemed deeply concerned by the
information and soon got away from
the reporter. The next seen of him he
turned up in Waterman's store, where
he got Mr.. l.. s. Sayer, clerk, to write
out for him the following telegram,
copy of which was preserved by Mr..
Sayer:
Dumas Ark, July I7.-John IL. Nc
Dowell, Nashvill, Tenn; George Cole
has given away the password OF our
order. The records has all been found
and disposed. You had better let me
know at once what steps to take. Tele-
graph me. United we stand divided we
fall is correct. JACKSON GREEN.
Lewis Reeves, Rev. Calvin Bow
man, negro minister OF good repute,
and Isaac Rains, and other colored
witnesses, testify substantially the
same as Richard ECole, concern
ing Mcdowell being a member and
the originator of the League. And
upon this subject, Col. w. F.
Warner, a thoroughly responsible
white citizen of Warner, Ark, says
that in 1876 or 1877 he was at Nc
DowelI's house on business, and that
Mcdowell left him, saying he was
going to attend Union League
meeting, and that his understanding
at the time was that Mcdowell was
republican and a member of the
League.
Jehazy Cole and his wife both re-
affirm that Mcdowell invited him
self to take supper with them, and
voluntarily stated there was no diff
ference between them except in color,
and in this they.are sustained by one
Willis Martin, also colored.
His own Witness.
Mr.. Chas. H. Clifford is one of the
witnesses used in the Mcdowell win
dication," and is referred to as one of
the Oldest citizens, q christian gen.
tleman and lifelong democrat. Mr..
McDowell,in his defense, rests large
| Iy upon the testimony of Mr.. Clifford.
And this is what Mr.. Mcdowell, in
his "perfectly satisfactory vindica-
tion,n makes Mr.. Clifford say:
am a member of the Methodist
Church. 1 lived in Red Fork Town
ship, Deshs County, Ark, when J. IL.
| Mcdowell moved here, and lived with
| in two miles of him. l knew him we'll
| and intimately. His record as moral,
upright Christian gentleman was never
impeached while he hved mere thst
| heard Of He built, mostly at his own
! expense, Baptist church in our midst,
and worked to build up the morals OF
the community. AS an official l con-
| sidered him of the best We ever had.
never heard of his stirring up Iltiga-
ton and do not believe he did 1t. He
claimed to be democrat and had no
reason to doubt his sincerity. L have
been a citizen of this county forty seven
years and lifelong Democrat. am
| In NV Goth year. G. H. CLIFFORD.
Douglass, Ark, July 4, 1881.
| Mr. Clifford, as appears in his state
ment, is an old man. He had not
thought of Mcdowell for many years
perhaps, and had heard nothing OF
the charges against him. he was not
expecting to see Mcdowell ,lwhen sud
denly he appeared before him and the
old man says began to f1re questions
at him, such as, "Don't you remem-
her was an active christian down
here? ?" etc., for none of which was
the witness prepared, and he may, he
saws, have assented to the questions.
But later he began to reflect and re-
membered otherwise than stated, and
sent Mcdowell q note requesting him
not to use mis- statement. Here is his
statement of the case to the Ameri-
cans correspondent, made the day az
ter the note was sent, and Mcdowell
was yet in the neighborhood.
"I am now living at Douglass, Lin
coin county, Ark, but my family sun
resides at Watson, in the Red Fork
Township of Desha county. Prior to
nv removal to Lincoln county, on bust
ness four months ago, L had lived IN
Desha county, about forty-seVen years,
and from the time Mr.. Mcdowell came
here I resided about two miles from
him. 1 went from Douglass to Watson
last Sunday, July 5, and on my way, In
passing the house of Mr. Joe Jones, Mr..
Jones came out and told me Jonn ID.
Mcdowell was there and wanted to see
me, Mcdowell himself then came out
and began asking me questions about
what knew of and now L regarded
him, think, when he first came here.
did not know at the tune any ming
was up, was in hurry to get nome,
and did not remember very distinctly
at the time anyhOw-because OF Its sud
denness and my age malnly-and gave
him a statement to the erect that my
recollection was that when he first
came here he was gentleman and
democrat, and that 1 regarded him as a
moral man. After l gave him this
statement, in substance, IN response to
his questions, he stated that somebody
had Something up on Bum, who was
his CONSTABLE, Mcdowell said that he
and Bum were different men, and he
had nothing to do with him. went on
home AFTER the conference with Nc
Doweli, and began rejecting upon his
career down here, and also read the
statement published in the American.
This caused me to recall Sc veral things
" hich had heard at the time, and l
racolIected that after Med Dwell began
mixing actively in politics he was re-
garded by everyone WIsn {" non nom l. came
with that party, according to my recoi-
lactior. After thinking over the whole
matter, wrote Mr.. Mcdowell a note
the atataInent he wrote out and I
signed. This note ! % gave 70 Col.