Year: 1865




When JkFr THoMpsoS's men had been
assembled at Jacksonport, Arkansas, to
be paroled, a few weeks since, the re
doubtable hero Of the white plume
mounted barrel and spoke to them


after the following fashion. A portion
of his address has already appeared, but


will bear repetition:


GENrLEMEN: l have come here tn
have little family talk with You, as this
will be the last time may ever meet YOU
together. l have come here to tell Won
the news. Many of you don't know vet
that Vicksburg has fallen, and many of
you don't know that Lee or Johnston
have surrendered, but tell you it is all
true. Many Of the 5000 men now see
around me, very many Of you, have been
skulking for the last three years in the
swamps within q few miles of your own
homes, skulking duty, and during that
time have not seen your children. see
many faces about me that have not been
seen by mortal man for the last three
years and what have you been doing
all this time? Why, you have been
lying In the swamps until the moss has
grown six inches long on your backs,
and such men call themselves ..chiyal
rous soldiers" A few weeks ago Gen
Reynolds sent flag Of truce to my
headquarters, and sent out to gather
up respectable force to meet those Off
GERS and not one of you responded; a
few days later, when Col Davis and
Captain Bennett of General Dodge's
staff, bore dispatches to me from that
General, | again attempted to call about
me enough of you to make a respectable
show, and how many Of these brave
5000 men reported at the call ? One
sore eyed man riM green goggles. But you
rally like brave and gallant men around
Uncle Sans commissary stores, and
now come to surrender you, and hope YOU
will make better citizens than you have
soldiers. Voice from the crowd: Gen
eral, talk to us like gentlemen" Now
you just dry up until get through, and
then you can get UP ON this barrel and
talk know there are some gentlemen
here, and know there are more d--d
sneakins' cowardly dogs.who shave new
er done nothing on nary side" and am
going to talk to you all.


Now, l want you to 60 home and work
hard and take care Of your families,
work early and late, and get up at night
and see II your crops are growing.
Above all things, avoid political discuss.
ion If any man says ''nigger" to you,
swear that you never knew or saw one
in your life. We have talked about the
niggers for forty years, and have been
out talked: we have fought four years
for the niggers, and have been ID
badly whipped, and now it is not ..your
put" the Yankees have won the nigper,
and will do what they please with him.
and you have no say in the matter; if
they want him they will take him, and
II they say that you must keep him, you
must do it and no mistake. tell YOU
that you have no say in the matter. and
you oughtn to have any. Go home and
stay there; don't 60 anywhere but to
mill; don't go to church, for the minis
ters will put knots and mischief in your
heads and get you into trouble Be
good citizens, and then those of you
who have been good, honest, and brave
soldiers have nothing to fear, but warn
those OF you who have been nothing but
sneaking, cowardly jayhawkers, cut
throats and thieves, that just retribution
awaits you, and hope to God that the
ederai authorities will hang you wher
ever and whenever they find you, and
they will do it sure


Now ! want to talk to you Missouri
ans. You are talking about going to
your old homes to live again. What did
every one OF you say last fall, when Won
went into Missouri and expected to re-
main there? Why, that you would make
every Union man "climb . tree and
many threats OF . similar character.
Now, do you think that those Union men
whom you threatened with halter
Few days ago, il you got the power, are
now going to permit you to come and
live among them, and have all the rights
and privileges they enjoy? Not much
Now the tables are turned if you 90
back there they may make you climb trees
and hope they will for many of you
richly deserve it.