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BROOKS  P>^' BAXTER  WAR 


A  HISTORY 


OF  THE 


RFXONSTRUCTION  PERIOD  IN  ARKANSAS 


By  JOHN  IVl.  HARRELL. 


■^  THE   KL-7UVIGHTV  DOL-L-MR  -«<- 


1893: 

SLAWSON  PRINTING  CO., 

St.  Louis. 


j^!^j^!4?^!<i'»!<tj^!<fej>?^i 


.  -^iDEDlCATEDi^s- 

TO  THE 

United  Confederate  Veterans 

BY  THE  AUTHOR, 

JOHN  M.  HARRELL, 

Brig. -Gen.  Comdg.  S.  Div.  Arkansas  U.  C.  V. 


^F^^^^^^W^^ 


CoPYRionT : 
By  CHARLE8  CUTTEK,  ASSIGNED  TO  JoHN  M.  HaRRELL. 


preface:. 


In  less  than  a  decade  after  the  surrender  of  Lee  the  Southern  States,  one  after  another, 
threw  off  the  governments  erected  under  the  military  bills  of  Congress.  They  re-established 
governments  in  accordance  with  ancient  usages,  inherited  from  the  colonies,  and  the  rules  of 
home  government  reserved  to  them  in  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States.  The  re-awakening 
was  irresistable  and  phenomenal.  By  these  sketches  I  have  attempted  to  trace  the  aetiology  of 
this  material  and  moral  palingenesis  in  Arkansas. 

I  have  spent  my  youth  in  Arkansas,  and  I  watched  with  deepest  interest  the  succcessive 
stages  of  its  disenthralment.  In  the  early  days  of  its  settlement  chance  assemblages  of  adven- 
turers from  the  older  States,  at  the  river  towns  on  the  Mississippi,  committed  lawless  deeds  on 
its  border  that  gave  it  a  reputation  which  did  not  apply  to  the  interior.  The  caricaturist  of  the 
Eastern  press  selected  it  as  the  scene  of  droll  characters  and  incidents — the  creatures  of  his  im- 
agination— and  found  a  never-failing  source  of  merriment  in  the  tales  of  the  "Arkansas-Traveler." 
Young  off-shoots  from  a  civilization  which  had  grown  too  exacting,  perhaps,  coming  to  the  State 
and  yielding  a  credulous  faith  in  the  reality  of  these  burlesques  repeated  them,  and  fancied  that 
they  thus  enhanced  their  own  accomplishments,  not  fully  appreciated  at  home.  It  got  to  be 
called  the  "  Home  of  the  bowie-knife  and  refuge  of  the  cut-throat."  The  "gentle"  "Autocrat  of 
the  Breakfast  Table  "  approves  the  bowie-knife — pronounces  it  the  "  Roman  gladius,  modified 
to  meet  the  daily  wants  of  civil  society." 

Others,  who  never  visited  the  State,  or  the  South  even,  applied  their  caricatures  to  the 
Southern  States  generally.  The  gifted  Bret  Harte,  accomplished  by  the  amenities  of"  Roaring 
Camp,"  and  learned  in  the  magic  of  "  Ah  Sin,"  has  lately  attempted  to  borrow  them  for  use  in 
distant  Scotland.  His  etchings  of  M'liss  and  Yuba  Bill  are  far  below  the  art  of  Cable's 
"Les  Demoiselles'  Plantation "  or  Miss  Murfree's  "Drifting  Down  Lost  Creek."  His  lam- 
poon of  "Elsie  Kirby,"  whose  "Maw"  has  invested  twenty  thousand  dollars  in  a  "syndicate" 
for  obtaining  by  her  daughter's  marriage  a  share  in  the  title  and  estate  of  a  Scottish  "  laird," 
contains  none  of  Nature's  touches,  and  is  a  new  role  for  a  Southern  girl.  On  her  first  meeting 
with  the  American  Consul  (a  former  claim-jumper  from  Scott's  Camp,  on  North  Fork),  the 
author  makes  this  feminine  type  of  American  thrift  and  modesty  say  : 

"  It  was  m.ighty  good  of  you  to  come  and  see  me,  for  the  fact  is,  I'm  a  Southern  girl,  and 

did  not  admire  going  to  your  consulate — not  one  bit.     I  never  was 'reconstructed,' either.     I 

don't  hanker  after  your  gov'ment.     I  reckon  I  ain't  been  under  the  flag  since  the  wah.     I'll 

just  run  up  and  see  if  Maw's  coming  down.     She'd  admire  to  see  you.     You  would  n't  think 

I  was  half  engaged  to  Malcolm,  would  you?" 

(iii) 


550212 


iv  Preface. 

Mr.  Rudyard  Kipling  says  he  heard  some  conversation  like  this  between  real,  living  belles 
in  San  Francisco.  He  talked  also  with  a  girl  who  was  not  Southern,  on  the  heights  of  the 
Yellowstone  upon  their  first  chance  meeting — a  full  cousin  to  "  Daisy  Miller  " — whose  mothers 
were  sisters.  He  paints  his  English  portrait  of  these  American  girls  as  faithfully  as  Harte 
"bites  in"  his  Scottish  fancy.  But  Harte  is  confused  with  recollections  of  Nob  Hill  and 
studies  of  Poker  Flat. 

W.  D.  Howells,  essaying  to  quit  the  commonplace,  attempts  the  blood-curdling  romance 
of  the  loves  of  a  naval  officer  and  lovely  mulatto  girl.  The  learned  lover  tells  her  that  South- 
erners hate  "her  race"  because  they  "had  injured  it."  He  never  heard  of  the  "horrors  of  the 
middle  passage,"  when  her  ancestors  were  brought  by  ships  not  Southern,  naked  cannibals, 
saved  from  being  eaten,  as  captives,  to  our  coasts,  where  they  were  disciplined  to  a  degree  of 
"  culture  "  which  Howells  and  some  Bostonians  regard  superior  to  their  own. 

Let  us  leave  it  to  foreigners  and  expatriated  Americans  to  hold  Americans  up  to  ridicule 
abroad,  while  we  recognize  their  worth  at  home — in  the  cabinet,  on  the  bench  and  in  the 
pulpit.  The  "  necessities  of  war  "  invited  foreigners  to  aid  in  putting  down  the  South.  There 
is  now  no  demand  for  a  similar  alliance  to  write  us  down.     Or,  is  there  ? 

Several  years  before  the  war  I  traveled  nearly  all  over  the  State  on  horseback,  alone  and  with- 
out a  weapon.  Its  peace,  plenty  and  hospitality  were  idyllic.  I  found  everywhere  men  of  culture, 
among  them  lawyers,  soldiers,  poets,  orators,  whose  renown  was  not  confined  to  the  State,  nor 
that  ot  some  to  the  United  States  ;*  gentle,  lovely  women,  whose  lives  of  purity  and  refinement 
were  as  impressive  as  they  were  genuine,  inherent.    The  cut-throats  were  imaginary  until  1868. 

The  papers,  addresses,  editorials,  proclamations,  military  orders  of  "  old  citizens,"  repub- 
lished in  these  pages,  bear  witness  to  the  enterprise,  ability  and  culture  of  the  thinkers  and 
workers  who  took  part  in  the  deliverance  of  the  State  from  the  grasp  of  the  spoilsmen.  Brooks 
men  and  Baxter  men  were  animated  by  the  same  purpose.  They  afford  abundant  proof  that 
our  great  State,  with  its  fertile  river  valleys  and  grandly  picturesque  mountains  and  prairies, 
is  not  the  habitation  of  ignorance,  rusticity  and  crime. 

To  vindicate  the  honor  of  our  oppressed  people  who,  after  years  of  patience,  felt  that  longer 
endurance  was  reproachful,  and  rose  up  in  their  strength,  as  grand  and  irresistible  as  they  were 
liberty-loving  and  patriotic,  these  pages  were  written. 

The  opportunity  of  publishing  them  came  about  this  way:  Capt.  Cutter,  editor  and  pro- 
prietor of  his  handsomely  executed  Illustrated  Journal,  asked  me  to  contribute  to  its  pages. 
Mr.  E.  S.  Brooks,  editor  D.  Lathrop  Publishing  Company,  at  the  suggestion  of  Mr.  Geo.  Russ. 
Brown  of  the  Gazette,  had  applied  to  me  to  write  the  "  Story  of  Arkansas."  I  preferred  to 
write  these  sketches  of  the  "  Period  of  Reconstruction." 


Preface,  v 

I  began  it  from  materials  which  had  been  gathered  for  me  by  a  friend  to  whom  I  have  given 
the  name  of  "Darley  Raynor."  I  finished  it,  after  exhausting  many  sources  of  information. 
The  authority  for  the  facts  contained  in  the  work  accompanies  them,  connected,  I  think,  by  a 
sufficiently  perceptible  thread.  They  are  reprinted  from  authentic  reports  of  the  press  and 
sworn  testimony  of  the  actors. 

I  would  not  have  these  papers  to  be  considered  a  book  of  politics.  They  are  but  the  pub- 
lished records  of  dark  experiences,  which  point  an  impressive  moral  for  the  whole  American 
people.  Mistaken  solicitude  for  the  blacks  (certainly  originating  in  a  kind  and  noble  impulse) 
prompted  the  measures  that  excited  unnecessary  antagonisms  between  them  and  the  whites,  with 
whom  they  were  indissolubly  joined  by  interest  and  contact;  that  violated  democratic  usage,  in 
erecting  vice-regal  directories  for  "Cn^vc protection  (?)  instead  of  State  governments  "republican 
in  form." 

Many  acts  suggested  by  the  kindest  motives  are  hurtful  to  the  cause  of  humanity.  Under 
the  circumstances  by  which  he  may  be  surrounded,  the  race  of  man  must  improve  each  exigency 
for  his  advantage,  whether  it  demands  peace  or  war.  The  contest  is  unending.  The  preser- 
vation of  the  "  fit,"  which  is  to  be  desired,  is  only  another  conception  of  destruction  or  absorp- 
tion of  the  "unfit,"  hardly  less  to  be  desired. 

The  Malthusian  metaphor  serves  a  feast  for  a  limited  number  of  guests  at  Nature's  table. 
The  question  is,  who  is  to  be  favored  with  a  seat?  No  principle  purely  of  morals  will  govern 
the  situation.  The  office  of  morality  in  the  struggle,  is  to  humanize  it,  and  alleviate  its  bitter- 
ness to  those  who  are  rejected. 

The  preceding  paragraph  is  the  general  sense  of  an  article  of  Leslie  Stephen,  in  the  London 
Contemporary,  which  arrives  at  the  following  conclusion :  "  We  give  inferior  races  a  chance  of 
taking  whatever  place  they  are  'fit'  for,  and  try  to  supplant  them  with  the  least  possible 
severity,  if  they  are  'unfit*  for  any  place."  He  had  the  Maoris,  Bushmen,  Africans,  on  their 
own  soil,  in  view,  while  writing ;  perhaps  never  heard  of  our  "  Fifteenth  Amendment." 

If  Mr.  Lincoln's  design,  and  the  American  policy  of  conciliation,  mutual  trust  and  confidence 
between  officers  and  people  had  been  observed,  the  State  might  have  been  made  republican. 
The  military  governments  contained  the  elements  of  their  own  destruction.  This  is  the  lesson 
taught  in  these  faithful  chronicles.  J.  M.  H. 


*Capt.  Bonneville,  Irving's   Scenes  in  the  Far  West ;  Albert   Pike,  Hymns  to  the  Gods,  Blackwood's 
Edinburgh  Magazine;  A.  H.   Sevier,  Minister  to  Mexico;    Solon  Borland,  Minister  to  Nicaragua:    A.  H. 
Garland,  United  States  Attorney   General ;   Edward  Fitzgerald,  Delegate  to  Ecumenical  Council,  Rome 
H.  C.  Lay,  Member  Pan-Anglican  Conference,  Lambeth. 


INTRODUCTION. 


By  way  of  palliating  criticism  of  what  may  be  considered  a  spirit  of  resentment  running 
through  these  sketches  of  character  and  chronicles  of  actual  occurrences,  a  true  description  of 
which  must  seem  harsh,  I  will  present,  as  an  introduction,  from  the  article  of  statistical  illustra- 
tion recently  furnished  the  Boston  Arena  by  Joshua  W.  Caldwell,  a  few  short  passages.  Nothing 
could  be  less  polemical  than  the  spirit  in  which  this  writer  treats  of  the  relations  of  those  who, 
under  seemingly  conflicting  but  really  identical  impluses,  united  to  establish  the  American 
Republic. 

Mr.  Caldwell  commences  his  article,  to  show  that  "  The  South  is  American,"  with  the  asser- 
tion that  a  great  deal  has  been  said  and  written  by  Southern  men  of  the  need  for  a  history  of  the 
South.  The  admirers  of  the  late  Henry  Grady  were  fond  of  predicting,  before  his  death,  that 
to  his  brilliant  genius  the  South  would  become  indebted  for  a  history  which  would  fully  "vin- 
dicate" her.  It  is  respectfully  submitted  that  the  South  does  not  need  vindication,  and  that  in 
any  event  she  must  rely  entirely  upon  the  facts.  We  need  not  expect,  and  do  not  desire,  any 
vindication  except  the  truth. 

Now  is  the  time  to  gather  the  material,  to  preserve  it,  for  the  hand  of  the  historian,  who 
shall  extract  from  it  the  truth;  but  not  until  generations  shall  have  passed,  and  feeling  and 
prejudice  shall  have  ceased  to  obscure  and  distort  truth  and  judgment.  We  may  rely  upon  it> 
the  truth  will  finally  be  told,  and  the  world  will  know  it. 

As  Virginia  had  been  the  richest  and  most  influential  of  the  Southern  colonies,  she  became 
the  controlling  Southern  State.  There  was  no  time  prior  to  1861  when  she  was  not  the  fore- 
most and  most  influential  Southern  State.  The  younger  Southern  States  are  very  largely  of 
Virginia  origin.  It  is  correct,  both  geographically  and  politically  speaking,  to  call  the  four 
Southern  colonies  the  "Virginia  group."  Socially,  politically  and  religiously,  the  Southern 
colonies  were  of  the  same  type ;  and  it  was  mainly,  almost  exclusively,  Virginia  and  Virginians 
that  shaped  their  institutions  and  determined  the  character  and  quality  of  their  civilization.  This 
civilization  was  essentially  Anglo-Saxon. 

But  while  the  American  colonists,  more  especially  the  Southern  ones,  were  men  of  the 
Anglo-Saxon  race,  and  had  the  Anglo-Saxon  civilization,  they  were  at  the  time  of  the  Revolu- 
tion not  Englishmen,  but  Americans.  No  writer  has  more  satisfactorily  presented  this  truth 
than  Theodore  Roosevelt.  It  is  true  that  Georgia  had  not  long  been  settled,  but  in  most  of  the 
other  colonies  the  white  race  had  lived  for  more  than  two  centuries.  In  Virginia  they  had  dwelt 
for  more  than  two  hundred  and  fifty  years.  The  Anglo-Saxon  supremacy  in  the  South  has  never 
been  overcome.  So  far  as  other  white  races  are  concerned,  it  has  never  been  threatened.  The 
white  population  has  always  been  American  and  homogeneous. 

The  third  decade  of  this  century  witnessed  the  setting  in  of  that  mighty  tide  of  immigration 

(vi) 


Introduction.  vii 

which  has  "  known  no  retiring  ebb."  The  South  has  had  almost  no  immigration.  In  some 
parts  of  the  West  we  know  that  foreigners  possess  the  land,  and  do  with  it  as  they  please.  But 
statistics  are  more  convincing  than  general  statements.  According  to  the  census  of  1890,  there 
were  for  every  100,000  native  born  Americans  17,330  foreign  born.  In  New  York  for  every 
100,000  natives  there  are  35,000  foreign  born  ;  in  Illinois,  28,200;  in  Michigan,  35,000;  in  Wis- 
consin, 44,000;  in  Minnesota,  56,000;  in  Montana,  48,000;  in  North  Dakota,  80,000 — for  every 
100,000  natives. 

Massachusetts  alone  has  a  foreign  population  of  657,000 ;  New  Jersey,  329,000,  or  nearly 
as  many  as  the  whole  South  ;  New  York,  i,6oo,oco,  four  times  as  many  as  the  South ;  Pennsyl- 
vania, 845,000;  Ohio,  459,000;  Illinois,  842,000;  Michigan  and  Wisconsin,  each  over  500,000; 
Minnesota,  nearly  the  same ;  and  California,  366,000. 

But  these  figures  do  not  indicate  the  real  importance  and  influence  of  the  foreign-born 
population.  It  is  the  percentage  of  those  of  voting  age,  which  in  New  York  is  38.73;  Illinois, 
36.39;  Michigan,  ifi.zz;  Wisconsin,  52.93;  Minnesota,  58.55;  North  Dakota,  64.89;  Nevada, 
51.41 ;  California,  50.22. 

These  are  foreign  countries,  and  it  is  a  positive  relief  to  turn  to  the  South  and  feel  that  there 
are  still  some  Americans  left.  The  percentage  of  foreign-born  voters  in  some  of  the  Southern 
States  is  as  follows:  Tennessee,  3  per  cent.;  Kentucky,  7;  Alabama,  2'/^;  Mississippi,  2; 
Louisiana,  10;  Texas,  14;  Arkansas,  3;  Virginia,  3;  West  Virginia,  5;  North  Carolina,  0.61; 
South  Carolina,  2;  Georgia,  2;  Florida,  11. 

The  white  people  of  the  South  are  not  only  American — they  are  in  the  main  the  descendants 
of  a  race  which  from  the  days  of  Tacitus  has  been  known  in  the  world's  historj'  as  the  exemplar 
and  champion  of  personal  purity  and  political  liberty.  For  them  no  life  but  one  of  freedom  is 
possible. 

The  strongest,  most  concentrated  force  of  Americanism  is  in  the  South.  Americanism  is 
the  highest  form  of  Anglo-Saxon  civilization.  There  is  no  part  of  the  globe,  except  the  King- 
dom of  England,  which  is  so  thoroughly  Anglo-Saxon  as  the  South. 

But  it  will  be  said,  nevertheless,  a  war  was  necessary  to  keep  her  in  the  Union.  To  this 
matter  I  am  compelled  to  refer  very  briefly.  The  excellence  of  the  American  Union  is  in  the 
principles  on  which  it  is  established — that  is  to  say,  in  the  Constitution.  Surely,  no  man  will 
say  that  it  is  more  important  to  preserve  the  physical  integrity  of  the  Union  than  the  prin- 
ciples of  the  Constitution. 

We  claim  for  the  South,  in  the  war  between  the  States,  absolute  good  faith.  Whether  she 
was  right  or  wrong,  the  impartial  judgment  of  the  future  will  fully  determine.  The  South,  I 
affirm,  has  been  from  the  first,  absolutely  faithful  to  the  principles  of  the  Constitution,  as  she  in 
good  faith  construed  it.    It  is  correctly  said  that  the  Constitution  was  adopted  and  promulgated 


viii  Introduction. 

by  a  convention  in  which  Southern  influences  predominated.    The  heading  of  one  of  Bancroft's 
chapters  is  "  Virginia  Statesmen  Lead  Towards  a  Better  Union." 

Virginia  did  lead  the  movement  for  the  establishment  of  the  Constitution.  The  reader 
who  wishes  to  know  the  extent  of  the  influence  of  George  Washington,  of  Virginia,  in  this 
movement  is  referred  to  the  pages  of  John  Fiske,  of  New  England.  Rutledge  and  Pinkney,  of 
South  Carolina,  were  the  most  important  contributors  to  the  form,  as  well  as  to  the  substance, 
of  the  Constitution.     The  Bill  of  Rights  is  mainly  the  work  of  Thomas  Jefferson,  of  Virginia. 

During  the  first  century  of  our  national  life  Southern  statesmen  held  the  Presidency  and 
shaped  the  policy  of  the  Government.  They  acquired  Florida  and  Louisiana,  including  the 
Mississippi  River  and  the  vast  area  of  the  Northwest,  and  extended  the  public  domain  to  the 
Rio  Grande  and  Pacific  Ocean. 

The  Constitution  was  first  construed  by  John  Marshall,  of  Virginia.  \Mien  the  Southern 
Confederacy  was  formed,  it  adopted  as  its  organic  law  the  old  Constitution,  unchanged  in  any 
essential  respect.  There  is  no  fact,  nor  logic,  which  can  prove  that  the  South  ever  deviated  from 
her  fealty  to  the  Constitution,  or  ever  shed  a  drop  of  blood  except  in  defense  of  its  principles, 
as  it  was  ever  construed  by  the  South. 

The  war  construed  the  Constitution  differently.  The  South  has,  in  good  faith,  unreservedly 
accepted  every  legitimate  result  of  the  war.  No  man,  who  is  honest  and  who  is  adequately  in- 
formed, will  say  that  her  people  are  not  absolutely  loyal  to  the  Union  and  the  Constitution.  I 
go  further  and  affirm,  that  in  the  troubles  which  the  future  is  sure  to  bring,  the  principles  and 
the  institutions  of  American  liberty  will  find  their  most  loyal  and  steadfast  support  in  the  twelve 
millions  of  Southern  Anglo-Saxon  Americans. 

The  election  of  Mr.  Lincoln  was  not  the  cause,  but  only  the  signal,  for  organization  by 
the  Southern  States  of  an  independent  confederacy.  He  could  not  have  "coerced"  the  nineteen 
Northern  States,  which  had  passed  the  "personal  liberty  bills,"  into  observance  of  the  Consti- 
tution. They  appealed  to  "higher  law."  They  had  furnished,  under  Presidents  not  in  sym- 
pathy with  them,  John  Brown,  Owen  Lovejoy  and  the  slayers  in  the  Batcheldor  riot  in  Boston. 
Their  emissaries  would  have  disturbed  the  repose  of  the  South  in  every  quarter — Federal  sol- 
diers would  have  garrisoned  Southern  towns — an  outcry  would  have  arisen  to  make  slavery  and 
the  name  "Southerner"  execrated,  for  all  time,  in  every  land. 

It  was  according  to  the  plan  of  that  "higher  law"  that  Southerners  anticipated  the  exigency, 
and  met  it  in  manly  line  of  battle.  Thus  they  unified  the  South,  and  demonstrated  a  courage 
that  won  universal  sympathy.  Thus  they  saved  for  their  invaders,  as  well  as  for  themselves,  the 
principles  of  constitutional  liberty — which  ivas  "the  cause" — that  is  not  lost. 

THE  AUTHOR. 


THE  BROOKS  AND  BAXTER  WAR: 

A.  History  of  ttie   Reconstruction   Period 
of  Arkansas. 


The  war,  you  know's  all  done  and  ended, 

And  aint  changed  no  p'ints  o'  the  compass; 
And  whites  and  blacks — ther  helth's  jes  splendid 
As  'fore  the  rumpus. 
— James  Whitcomb  Riley,  paraphrased. 

Note  by  the  Editor. — The  manuscript  of  the 
following  circumstantial  narrative  of  the  be- 
ginning and  course  of  the  long  struggle  that 
culminated  in  the  violent  collision  of  political 
factions,  in  the  State  of  Arkansas,  called  "  The 
Brooks  and  Baxter  War,"  was  found  with  the 
effects  of  Mr.  Darley  Raynor — a  young  man 
who  had  been  reared  in  Little  Rock  and  was 
sent  East  to  be  educated,  where  he  showed 
some  promise,  but  was  compelled  to  abandon 
his  studies  by  the  breaking  out  of  the  civil 
war  and  return  home.  There  he  remained 
until  his  death,  which  was  a  tragic  one,  soon 
after  the  Brooks  and  Baxter  conflict.  He  had 
accepted  the  duty  of  occupying  and  taking 
charge  of  a  vacant  dwelling  in  a  picturesque 
retreat  near  Little  Rock,  and  was  found  life- 
less in  his  room  on  the  ground  floor,  at  the 
feet  of  his  chair,  after  he  had  been  dead  seve- 
eral  days 

The  crashed  panes  of  glass,  the  hole  of  a 
rifle-ball  in  his  skull,  and  the  position  of  his 
remains,  were  conclusive  evidences  of  his  sud- 
den and  violent  death.  Poor  Darley !  He 
was  not  known  to  have  an  enemy  in  the  world  ; 
he  was  proverbial  for  his  amiability  and  his 
reticence ;  he  was  happiest  when  alone  with 
his  books  and  papers,  for  he  was  forever  en- 
gaged   in    writing    mysterious    manuscripts, 


which  he  kept  carefully  locked  from  all  be- 
holders ;  he  was  never  known  to  visit  any 
friends  but  his  family  in  the  city.  His  mur- 
der was  a  most  inexplicable  deed,  until  invest- 
igation led  to  the  conclusion  that  it  was 
brought  about  by  his  kind  acts  and  sympa- 
thies alone.  There  lived  near  him  a  man  who 
had  a  modest,  patient,  and  beautiful  wife. 
The  husband  was  impracticable,  and  failed  to 
properly  provide  the  necessaries  of  life  ;  while 
the  unfortunate  wife  endeavored  to  eke  out  a 
famishing  livelihood  by  all  kinds  of  labor. 
Young  Raynor  sometimes  visited  the  wretch- 
ed hut  where  she  toiled,  but  was  never  known 
to  enter  it.  Upon  some  of  these  visits  he  left 
presents  of  articles  of  food  or  apparel,  which 
the  wife  did  not  think  to  conceal,  but  on  the 
contrary  spoke  of  them  freely,  and  referred  to 
the  matter  in  such  complimentary  terms  as  to 
arouse  the  demon  of  jealousy  in  the  heart  of 
the  husband.  Knowledge  of  these  circum- 
stances led  to  the  husband's  arrest ;  but  on 
investigation  he  was  pronounced  unmistaka- 
bly insane. 

The  manuscripts  found  in  young  Raynor's 
trunk  fell  to  me.  Among  them  were  these 
memoranda  of  the  Brooks  and  Baxter  War. 
They  consisted  of  several  packages  fastened 
together  and  labeled,  as  are  the  transcripts  of 
court  papers,  and  were  numbered  "  Paper 
First — B.  &  B.  War  ; "  "  Paper  Second,"  etc. 
Each  paper  I  found  to  be  a  stage  of  distinct 
occurrences  of  the  history.  It  was  evidently 
the  literary  work  of  a  student,  preserved  for 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


his  own  inspection  and  remembrance.  It 
gives  many  facts  connected  with  an  important 
era  in  the  history  of  the  State,  and  I  feel  it  my 
duty  to  give  them  to  the  public  for  what  they 
are  worth.     I  think  they  have  decided  value. 

FIRST  PAPER. 

I  felt  very  sorry  for  the  people 
whom  I  had  known  in  their  afflu- 
ence in  my  State  of  Arkansas,  but 
who  had  taken  sides  with  the  Con- 
federacy, and  gone  into  the  army  or 
exile,  and  came  home  poor  and 
dispirited  after  '  the  surrender '  in 
1865.  It  was  but  the  State  of  my 
adoption,  it  is  true,  as  I  was  born 
in  Newburyport,  Massachusetts ; 
but  I  had  been  reared  from  infan- 
cy in  little  Rock,  the  capital  city 
of  Arkansas,  and  felt  for  it,  alone, 
that  mysterious  tie  which  seems  to 
bind  all  men  to  the  haunts  and 
associations  of  infancy  and  youth. 

The  tumble-down  vehicles  and 
jaded  teams,  the  old-fashioned  ar- 
ticles of  dress  of  the  citizens,  and 
bearded,  scarred  or  emaciated  fig- 
ures of  the  soldiers,  as  they  came 
into  the  city,  presented  an  odd  mix- 
ture of  the  ludicrous  and  the  piti- 
able. However,  they  were  greet- 
ed with  forbearance  by  the  sol- 
diers and  officers  of  the  victorious 
army  in  occupation,  and  kindness 
and  respect  by  the  citizens  who 
had  remained  behind.  The  civil 
officials,  however,  by  indictments 
against  the  most  prominent,  which 
were  dismissed  with  costs,  and 
claims  against  their  property  un- 
der void  tax  sales,  caused  them 
some  annoyance;    but  for  this,  it 


seems,  they  were  prepared,  and 
bore  it  with  fortitude,  and  a  spirit 
of  resignation  which  was  doubt- 
less sustained  by  the  pleasure  of 
being  once  more  at  *  home,'  and 
realizing  that  the  war  was  at  an 
end. 

I  had  not  taken  part  in  the  war. 
I  was  too  young  when  it  began, 
and  ere  it  ended,  I  was  convinced 
of  its  hopelessness  to  the  Confed- 
erates, with  whom  I  sympathized 
with  all  my  heart.  I  was  persuad- 
ed of  the  injustice  and  blight  of 
slavery,  but  I  could  not  imagine 
any  place  in  our  government  for 
the  black  people  when  they  should 
be  made  free,  since  I  believed 
them  incapable  of  exercising  the 
duties  and  rights  of  freemen.  I 
derived  my  impression  on  the  sub- 
ject probably  from  my  mother, 
and  her  husband,  my  step-father, 
who  were  New  Englanders,  but 
who  after  a  long  residence  in  Lit- 
tle Rock  in  contact  with  them 
frequently  spoke  of  the  negroes 
as  fit  only  for  Africa, — would  not 
have  one  about  their  house.  A 
Yankee  housewife  could  not  'en- 
dure '  a  colored  servant.  But  now 
the  war  had  freed  them,  and  they 
were  numerically  stronger  than 
the  whites  in  Pulaski  County. 
Months  went  on  without  any 
marked  evidences  of  the  great 
change  that  had  been  wrought. 
The  negro  servants  were  tractable 
as  ever,  and  without  words  or  con- 
duct, except  in  particular  instan- 
ces indicating   undue    exaltation. 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  iti  Arkansas. 


went  their  ways  in  much  the  same 
manner  as  when  they  were  slaves. 
In  fact  they,  as  well  as  the  whites, 
seemed  dazed,  in  view  of  the  al- 
tered situation,  so  unexpected  to 
every  one.  There  were  soldiers 
about  in  great  numbers,  it  is  true, 
and  quite  an  army  still  remained 
at  Little  Rock,  the  presence  of 
which  may  have  prevented  friction 
in  the  transformation  that  had  ta- 
ken place  within  a  few  short 
months. 

So  profound  seemed  the  peace- 
fulness  of  this  feeling,  and  so 
bright  was  deemed  the  promise  of 
the  little  city  as  a  future  railroad 
center,  and  mart  of  commerce, 
though  then  containing  hardly 
three  thousand  inhabitants,  that 
many  of  the  officers  and  soldiers 
of  the  Union  Army  stationed  there 
decided  to  become  residents  and 
take  their  chances  with  the  future 
of  the  city  and  the  State.  Col.  H. 
C.  Caldwell,  a  lawyer  of  ability 
from  Iowa,  was  appointed  by  Pres- 
ident Lincoln  U.  S.  Judge  of  the 
Eastern  District  of  Arkansas,  vice 
Daniel  Ringo,  disqualified  by 
sympathy  and  participation  with 
the  Southern  revolt.  Robert  A. 
Howard,  who  had  served  on  the 
staff  of  Genl.  Steele  and  been  U. 
S.  Attorney  of  Nebraska  ;  Capt.  L. 
B.  Nash,  and  Maj. White  lately  pro- 
vost marshals  of  the  post;  Maj. 
Willshire,  a  nephew  of  Gen.  John 
A.  Logan ;  Capt.  J.  G.  Bottsford, 
George  H.  Meade,  Col.  W.  S. 
Oliver  and  M.  W.  Benjamin,  who 


were  all  prominent  actors  subse- 
quently in  the  events  of  the  Brooks 
and  Baxter  War,  took  up  their 
residence  and  entered  into  busi- 
ness there.  I  might  mention  O. 
S.  Dillon,  the  fat  man  and  humor- 
ist, and  A.  G.  Cunningham,  the 
fireman,  also. 

The  old  citizens  had  sustained 
great  financial  losses,  and  almost 
every  family  had  been  bereaved 
by  the  casualties  of  war,  yet  they 
acted  as  ifrealizing  that  these  were 
the  legitimate  or  necessary  conse- 
quences of  the  great  wager  that 
had  been  fought,  and  that  acqui- 
escence in  its  loss  was  inevitable 
and  honorable.  The  military  rule 
under  that  chivalrous  and  brave 
officer.  Gen.  Steele,  had  greatly 
propitiated  the  feelings  of  the 
conquered  people,  and  the  cour- 
teous bearing  of  his  officers,  and 
the  orderly  conduct  of  the  soldiers 
under  him  had  encouraged  a  cor- 
diality in  the  association  which 
was  not  seen  at  many  places  in  the 
South.  The  examples  of  mag- 
nanimity set  by  the  commanding 
officers  in  accepting  the  surrender 
of  the  Southern  armies,  served  to 
allay  mutual  resentments,  and  en- 
couraged hopes  of  a  permanent 
peace. 

True,  for  several  months  after 
the  surrender,  some  of  the  best 
dwellings  continued  to  be  occu- 
pied as  residences  or  'quarters* 
by  the  military,  who  had  found 
them  vacated  by  their  owners  upon 
the  '  occupation '  of  the  city.    The 


The  Brooks  atid  Baxter   War:  a  History 


residence  of  Gen.  William  E.  Ash- 
ley, with  servants,  houses  and  sta- 
bles, was  chosen  from  the  first  as 
'headquarters'  of  the  general 
commanding,  and  continued  to  be 
so  occupied  for  many  months  after 
peace  was  established.  There  was 
never  a  more  generous  or  amiable 
gentleman  than  William  E.  Ash- 
ley. His  father  was  an  able  law- 
yer and  represented  the  State  a 
long  time  as  U.  S.  Senator.  He 
left  his  sons  a  large  estate  which 
he  never  dreamed  would  be  in  a 
great  measure  destroyed  by  his 
own  countrymen.  They,  the  sons, 
and  their  families,  which  included 
Mrs.  Ashley  and  Miss  Fannie,  the 
gentlest  and  loveliest  of  ladies, 
found  a  contented  home,  mean- 
while, elsewhere.  The  fine  resi- 
dence of  Capt.  Morton,  with  its 
service,  linen,  and  wares,  was  sim- 
ilarly '  occupied,'  and  the  family 
found  a  home  with  relatives.  It 
was  singular  that  the  heads  of 
both  these  families  were  originally 
Bostonians. 

Citizens  were  glad  to  find  repose 
after  years  of  ravage  and  alarm ; 
combatants  on  both  sides  quite 
willing  to  bid  'farewell  to  the 
neighing  steed  and  shrill  trump ' 
of  war. 

Entertainments  were  given  to 
the  officers  of  both  armies  by  citi- 
zens who  had  suffered  least  misfor- 
tune from  this  conflict.  The  post 
band  serenaded  Gen.  N.  Bedford 
Forest,  who  happened  in  the  city 
on  business,  and  the  Confederate 


military  band  of  General  Price's 
command,  the  members  of  which 
had  made  their  way  to  the  city, 
serenaded  Generals  Sherman  and 
Reynolds — the  latter  command- 
ing the  department — with  '  March- 
ing through  Georgia,'  and  '  My 
Maryland.' 

The  conflict  of  the  armies  had 
indeed  ended.  But  the  interval 
of  repose  was  short,  for  the  war 
of  the  politicians  had  just  be- 
gun. The  plans  of  the  latter 
were  promptly  laid  immediately 
upon  the  entry  of  the  State 
capital  by  the  army  under  Gen. 
Steele,  on  the  lOth  of  September, 
1863.  Being  afforded  the  protec- 
tion of  the  Union  arms,  they  gath- 
ered into  Little  Rock,  citizens  of 
the  State,  mostly  original  Union 
men,  with  some  deserters  from  the 
Southern  cause,  and  set  about  the 
formation  of  a  State  Government 
which  should  be  '  loyal '  to  the 
Union,  and  replace  that  which  had 
been  constructed  under  the  aus- 
pices of  secession  upon  the  con- 
stitution of  1 86 1.  The  plan  was 
at  first  whispered,  and  received 
anything  but  encouragement  from 
the  military.  In  fact  the  projec- 
tors were  contemplated  with  a 
coldness  by  the  victorious  and 
pampered  sons  of  Mars,  under 
whose  aegis  they  had  ventured  to 
follow  in,  with  a  coldness  that 
would  have  deterred  men  less 
zealous.  But  the  tendency  of 
events,  foreshadowing  the  inevita- 
ble   defeat    of    the    Confederate 


of  tlie  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


cause,  encouraged,  and  finally 
sanctioned  their  purposes.  Mr. 
Lincoln,  the  President,  was  con- 
sulted, and  favored  them  with  a 
proclamation. 

Appearances  are  deceitful.    Un- 
der  the   faded   or  dirty  military 


developed.  Chosen  mostly  from 
military  organizations  of  State 
'  troops,'  elected  in  the  camps  in 
many  instances,  in  almost  every 
case,  I  may  say,  many  miles  away 
from  the  counties  they  represent- 
ed, delegates  were  now  assembled 


N 

EX  GOV.   ISAAC   MURPHY. 


clothing  in  which  a  majority  of 
these  patriots  were  disguised,  the 
mottled  beards  and  sombre  physi- 
ognomies which  most  of  them 
wore,  the  beholder  could  not  easi- 
ly discern  the  high  qualities  of 
statecraft  which  they  subsequently 


in  the  vacant  State  house  to  or- 
ganize a  convention  for  the  adop- 
tion of  a  State  Constitution.  The 
situation  was  not  favorable  to 
protracted  legislation.  A  consti- 
tution was  quickly  framed,  which 
provided  for  an  early  meeting  of 


8 


The  Brooks  a7id  Baxter   War:  a  History 


a  General  Assembly — April  nth, 
1864. 

The  changes  produced  had  been 
very  great,  beyond  the  expecta- 
tions of  men.  Those  that  were  to 
followwere  equally  unforeseen.  It 
had  not  yet  been  intimated  that 
suffrage  would  be  conferred  upon 
the  freedmen.  "  Where  was  it 
ever  known,"  said  William  Lloyd 
Garrison,  in  reply  to  some  one 
who  objected  that  this  would  be 
the  result  of  emancipation,  and 
while  Mr.  Lincoln  hesitated  to  go 
that  far  even, — "  where  was  it  ever 
known  that  liberation  from  bond- 
age was  accompanied  by  a  recog- 
nition of  political  equality  ?  Chat- 
tels personal  may  be  instantly 
translated  from  the  auction  block 
into  freemen;  but  when  were  they 
ever  taken  at  the  same  time  to  the 
ballot-box,  and  invested  with  all 
political  rights  and  immunities  ? 
According  to  the  laws  of  develop- 
ment and  progress  it  is  not  prac- 
ticable." So  thought  the  prophet 
of  abolition.  But  he  had  not 
looked  next  door.  Wilberforce 
before  him  had  intended  merely  to 
consecrate  the  "soil of  England  to 
freedom,"  the  quasi-freedom  only 
of  a  British  'subject.'  In  the  En- 
glish slave  colonies,  the  chattel 
translated  from  the  block  into  a 
freeman,  was  very  soon  taken  to 
the  ballot-box.  New  Englanders 
were  ever  Anglo-maniacs.  It  was 
not  reasonable  that  we  would  stop 
short  of  the  example  of  the 
'Mother    Country.'        The     New 


Englander  was  not  likely  to  over- 
look the  elements  of  supremacy. 
It  was  the  element  of  pozver  in  the 
negro  that  first  made  him  an  ob- 
ject of  interest.  He  was  behind 
an  agricultural  system  the  most 
powerful  to  wage  war  with  mer- 
cantile and  manufacturing  thrift. 
Three-fifths  of  him  were  repre- 
sented in  the  Congress  and  the 
electoral  vote  for  President.  Mr. 
President  Johnson  was  plainly  co- 
quetting for  the  support  of  this 
power.  His  rivals  had  not  yet  be- 
come alarmed.  There  were  some 
indications  of  an  appreciation  of 
this  hidden  resource  in  the  open- 
air  meetings  that  were  held  of 
freedmen  in  Little  Rock,  at  which 
Judge  Liberty  Bartlett  presided, 
and  Mr.  Charles  Farrelly  was  one 
of  the  speakers.  Judge  Bartlett 
had  made  soap  at  Camden,  in  the 
State,  for  the  Confederate  army, 
which  accommodated  itself  as 
usual  to  the  unprecedented  scar- 
city. He  was  elected  Judge  of  the 
Little  Rock  Circuit  under  the  new 
Constitution.  Mr.  Farrelly  had 
enlisted  as  a  volunteer  in  the  Con- 
federate State  milita,  but  declined 
to  enter  the  Confederate  regular 
service. 

The  new  Constitution  had  re- 
frained from  taking  the  translated 
chattel  immediately  to  the  ballot- 
box.  It  confined  its  superior 
privileges  to  '  free  white  men.' 
Section  21  of  its  bill  of  rights  pro- 
vided : 

"  That  the  free  white  men  of  this  State  shall 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkaiisas. 


have  a  right  to  keep  and  bear  arms  for  their 
common  defense." 

The  second  section  of  its  fourth 
article,  regulating  the  qualifica- 
tions of  electors,  declared  : 

"  Every  free  white  male  citizen  of  the  United 
States  who  shall  have  attained  the  age  of  21 
years,  and  who  shall  have  been  a  citizen  of  the 
State  six  months  next  preceding  the  election, 
shall  be  deemed  qualified  to  vote  in  the  county 
or  district  where  he  actually  resides ;  or  in 
case  of  volunteer  soldiers,  within  their  several 
military  departments  or  districts,  for  each  and 
every  office  made  elective  under  the  State  or 
under  the  United  States  laws." 

It  provided  for  the  election  of  a 
Governor  and  Secretary  of  State, 
for  a  term  of  four  years,  and  an 
Auditor  and  Treasurer,  for  a  term 
of  two  years.  An  ordinance  of 
the  convention  authorized  a  Pro- 
visional State  Government,  and  a 
Provisional  Governor,  Lieutenant- 
Governor,  and  Secretary  of  State, 
to  be  elected  by  the  convention, 
and  continue  in  office  until  their 
successors  were  elected  by  the 
people. 

None  of  the  ordinances  or  pro- 
ceedings of  the  convention  seem 
to  betray  the  touch  of  Mr.  Wm. 
M.  Fishback,  whose  official  apart- 
ments as  officer  of  the  Treasury 
Department  were  in  the  old  Beebe 
residence,  opposite  the  State- 
house.  Mr.  Fishback  had  been  a 
delegate  to  the  convention  of  i86i; 
had  voted  for  the  ordinance  of  se- 
cession, against  his  convictions, 
and  he  took  an  early  opportunity 
to  renounce  his  short-lived  adher- 


ence to  the  cause  of  the  Confed- 
eracy. He  was  a  lawyer  and  a 
man  of  ability  and  attainments. 
But  it  is  said  that  the  motto  of 
audax  et  fides  would  not  be  appro- 
priate to  his  heraldic  crest.  He 
would  have  made  an  executive  un- 
der the  new  constitution  who 
might  have  held  the  position  to  the 
end  of  his  term,  by  skillful  modi- 
fications to  meet  the  changing  de- 
mands. "  He  underestimated  the 
advantages  of  the  position,  and 
gave  evidence  of  an  ambition  for 
the  more  dignified  office  of  U.  S. 
Senator.  Congress  not  being  ready 
for  the  admission  of  the  State,  re- 
fused to  receive  him  as  such. 

Isaac  Murphy,  of  Madison  Co., 
was  elected  Governor.  This  was 
considered  an  eminently  proper 
selection.  He  was  the  delegate 
from  the  mountain  district,  on  the 
Missouri  border,  who,  Spartan- 
like, had  stood  firm  in  the  conven- 
tion that  passed  the  ordinance  of 
secession  in  i86i,  and  refused  to 
vote  for  that  measure.  A  solitary 
figure  among  the  hundred  dele- 
gates, he  raised  his  voice  in  protest 
against  this  gross  political  heresy. 
To  the  appeals  of  the  President 
of  the  convention,  his  old  neigh- 
bor and  party  chieftain — and  of 
his  former  fellow  union-men 
that  he  consent  to  make  the 
vote  unanimous,  he  remained  ob- 
durate. He  was  not  a  learned 
or  gifted  man,  but  his  course  on 
that  eventful  day  caused  him  to  be 
remembered  as  a  man  of  heroic 


2 


lO 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


firmness  and  fidelity  to  his  pledg- 
es and  to  the  Union.  What  he 
said  and  what  else  he  did  were  for- 
gotten, and  that  bold  stand,  alone, 
had  made  him  illustrious.  Rather 
slender  of  form,  gray-haired  and 
partly  bald,  with  weak  eyes  that 
wept  involuntarily,  he  made  a  brief 
explanation  which  was  barely 
heard,  but  he  stoutly  voted  No  !  to 
the  last,  and  that  vote  now  made 
him  Governor ;  at  first  chosen  Pro- 
visional Governor,  and  then,  at 
such  elections  as  were  held,  Gov- 
ernor. After  he  took  possession 
of  the  executive  office,  I  had  occa- 
sion more  than  once  to  talk  with 
Governor  Murphy,  after  the  col- 
lapse of  the  Confederacy,  and  the 
recognition  of  President  Lincoln 
had  made  his  position  authorita- 
tive under  the  new  powers  and  in- 
fluence conceded  to  the  victorious 
general  government.  Approach- 
able, talkative,  and  kind,  his  ap- 
pearance yet  caused  a  feeling  of 
sadness  to  the  beholder.  His  tear- 
ful eyes,  attenuated  features  and 
plaintive  tones  made  one  think 
that  he  must  have  undergone  some 
experiences  of  training  or  grief 
that  had  wasted  him  to  the  skele- 
ton, mentally  and  physically,  of 
what  otherwise  he  might  have 
been.  His  conversation  was  also 
unusual  and  eccentric.  He  had 
no  hesitation  in  asking  any  strang- 
er who  called  upon  him,  in  a  kind 
or  deprecatory  manner,  it  is  true, 
if  he  "was  one  of  those  wicked 
rebels  who  had  helped  to  bring 


ruin  upon  the  country  ?  "  He  used 
to  say  it  was  a  good  thing  that  it 
had  gone  out  of  fashion  to  hang 
men  for  treason.  I  ventured  to 
suggest  to  him  that  there  should 
be  trial  and  ""onviction  before 
hanging. 

"  Yes,"  he  said,  "  I  know  the 
lawyers  would  want  to  make  long 
speeches  and  confuse  judges  and 
juries  with  their  rules  and  prece- 
dents, to  show  that  red-handed 
traitors  had  not  committed  any 
crime  for  which  they  could  be 
punished." 

"  But  law  is  founded  upon  pre- 
cedent," I  said,  humbly. 

"  It  should  not  be  so,"  he  said. 
"  If  I  had  my  way,  I  would  burn 
up  all  the  court  reports,  have  no 
reading  of  authorities,  but  let  ev- 
ery case  come  before  the  court 
upon  its  own  peculiar  circumstan- 
ces." 

"But  Govenor — "  I  began. 

"  But  me  no  buts,"  he  interposed; 
"  I  know  that  you  are  a  rebel 
sympathizer,  and  wish  to  excuse 
some  relative  who  ought  to  be 
hung  for  raising  his  hand  against 
the  'best  government  the  world 
ever  saw.'  " 

And  so  the  old  delegate,  who 
voted  "  no,"  went  about  and  was 
regarded  the  embodiment  of  loy- 
alty and  licensed  contemner  of  his 
fellow  men  who  had  been  beguiled 
into  taking  up  arms  in  behalf  of 
the  '  lost  cause.' 

One  day,  I  was  present  when 
Hon.  A.  H.  Garland  called  on  him. 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arka?isas. 


Mr.  Garland  had  served  with  him 
in  the  Convention  of  1861,  had 
been  selected  member  of  the  Con- 
federate Provisional  Congress  and 
afterwards  Senator  for  Arkansas 
at  Richmond,  and  was  now  prac- 
ticing law  through  his  partners, 
Messrs.  White  and  Nash,  ex- 
Federal  officers,  mentioned  above, 
although,  at  the  time,  he  was  dis- 
barred by  an  act  of  Congress  which 
was  subsequently  annulled  by  the 
U.  S.  Supreme  Court  on  his  pe- 
tition. He  had  come  to  ask  the 
Governor  to  append  his  signature 
to  a  recommendation  to  President 
Johnson  for  the  pardon  of  Judge 
David  Walker,  who  had  been 
President  of  the  Convention  of 
1 86 1,  and  afterwards  espoused 
heartily  the  Southern  cause,  and 
presided  over  a  military  court  to 
try  offenders  against  the  military 
laws  of  the  Confederacy. 

"Sit  down.  Garland,"  said  the 
old  gentleman,  glancing  at  the  pa- 
per with  an  ominous  expression  of 
displeasure.  But  he  brightened 
up  as  he  met  the  light  of  Garland's 
large,  dancing,  black  eyes,  con- 
templated the  immense  head  of 
unkempt  hair,  the  rather  sensual 
lips  puckered  with  suppressed 
mirth,  as  Garland  took  a  seat  draw- 
ing his  rough  tweed  overcoat 
about  him. 

Mr.  Garland  laid  the  paper  open 
before  him  on  the  table,  and  sta- 
ted its  object. 

"  Now,  Garland,"  said  the  Gov- 
ernor, in  a  more  amiable  tone,  for 


he  had  a  great  respect  for  his  old 
colleague  who  had  also  opposed 
secession.  "  Why  do  you  come 
to  me  to  recommend  Judge  Wal- 
ker ?  Judge  Walker  need  not 
have  gone  into  the  rebel  army  and 
gone  so  actively  into  the  support 
of  the  rebel  cause.  He  was  old 
enough  to  know  better,  and  to  stay 
at  home.  This  is  asking  a  great 
deal  of  me." 

"Very  well,  sir,"  replied  Mr. 
Garland,  rolling  up  the  paper  with 
an  expression  of  severe  reserve: 
"  No  one  knows  Judge  Walker 
better  than  yourself ;  no  one  could, 
better  than  yourself,  understand 
his  motives  and  make  allowances 
for  his  course."  And  he  turned 
as  if  to  go. 

"  Hold  on,  Garland,  don't  go !" 
exclaimed  the  Governor;  for  his 
visitor  knew  where  to  touch  him, 
and  had  done  so  most  effectually. 
"  Hand  me  that  paper  again,  and 
let  me  see  what  it  says." 

He  pretended  for  several  min- 
utes to  be  engaged  in  reading  it, 
though  I  knew  he  could  not  make 
out  a  word,  if  it  was  written  in  Mr. 
Garland's  delicate  hieroglyphics ; 
and  then  laying  it  on  the  table  he 
asked : 

"  Where  must  I  sign  ?  You 
know,  Mr.  Garland,  that  the  Gov- 
ernment must  do  something  to 
prevent  another  rebellion  !  Now 
pardoning  the  head  leaders  is  a 
bad  way  to  begin." 

Mr.  Garland  remained  silent  with 
a   demure   expression,    until    the 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


Governor  had  signed  the  appHca- 
tion ;  then  throwing  off  his  reserve 
he  told  an  anecdote  vaguely  illus- 
trating the  reward  of  kindness  and 
liberality ;  and  ended  with  a  quo- 
tation of  some  words  of  a  comic 
rhyme,  of  which  I  have  a  dim  re- 
membrance. It  was  something 
about  a  certain — 

Mr.  Terrence  McGe-hee, 
A  very  fine  man  was  he-hee, 
Who  sometimes  got  on  a  big  spree-hee,"  etc. 

At  this  the  Governor  laughed 
dubiously.  When  Mr.  Garland 
had  gone  down  stairs,  the  Govern- 
or said  to  me,  just  before  admit- 
ting another  visitor,  as  I  rose  to 
go: 

"  That  is  a  very  bright  man — 
that  man  Garland.  What  a  pity 
he  is  a  lawyer ! " 

I  did  not  think  Governor  Mur- 
phy really  meant  the  half  that  he 
uttered  in  denunciation  of  the 
'rebels.'  He  had  not  in  any  way 
suffered  by  the  results  of  the  con- 
flict. On  the  contrary,  he  and  his 
fellow  officials  had  been  elevated 
into  positions  of  profit  and  power 
by  it.  Yet  it  would  seem  that  he 
but  declared  the  spirit  which  per- 
vaded all  the  laws  and  measures 
of  the  new  State  Government. 
The  predominant  idea  seemed  to 
be  proscription  and  punishment 
of  *  the  rebels.'  Though  they  were 
objects  now  worthy,  it  would  seem, 
of  compassion  only.  They  were 
miserably  poor  and  in  debt.  There 
were  few  of  them  that  were  not 
sorrow  stricken.     They  were  dis- 


appointed and  deeply  humiliated 
by  their  terrible  defeat  and  its  con- 
sequences. While  they  were  in 
the  army  as  soldiers,  or  in  exile 
as  refugees  from  their  homes,  the 
Legislature,  under  the  new  State 
government,  on  May  31st,  1864 
(fully  a  year  before  '  the  surren- 
der '),  had  passed  the  act,  entitled 
"  An  act  to  suspend  the  collection 
of  debts,  and  for  other  purposes," 
which  contained,  in  section  five  of 
the  act,  the  following  : 

^^  Be  it  further  enacted.  That  any  person 
hereafter  aiding  or  abetting  the  rebellion,  or 
that  has  or  shall  hereafter  violate  his  oath  of 
allegiance,  and  all  persons  vcho  are  now  in 
arms,  and  all  rebels  in  prison  by  the  federal 
authorities,  and  all  persons  who  have  aban- 
doned their  homes,  and  have  fled,  and  have 
taken  protection  under  the  so-called  Southern 
Confederacy,  shall  forever  be  barred  from  the 
collection  of  their  debts  in  this  State,  of  every 
description  whatsoever,  and  all  courts  having 
jurisdiction  in  this  State  are  hereby  required 
to  dismiss  said  suits  whenever  such  proof  is 
made,  at  the  plaintiff's  cost." 

It  will  hardiy  be  imagined  that 
it  should  ever  have  occurred  un- 
der this  unjust  law,  that  returning 
'  rebels  '  themselves,  would  have 
assigned  to  ostensible  *  loyalists  ' 
negotiable  instruments  of  other 
'  rebels,*  and  through  their  *  loyal ' 
agents  obtained  judgments  against 
their  compatriots  in  rebellion  who 
had  not  yet  returned  from  distant 
fields  of  service.  Yet  I  knew  of 
several  instances.  The  impatient 
creditor  was  not,  however,  in  any 
instance    a    combatant.      I   don't 


of  the  Reconstructiofi  Period  in  Arkansas. 


13 


think  a  soldier  would  have  done  it. 

"  The  bravest  are  the   tenderest :  the  loving 
are  the  daring." 

I  was  impressed  with  the  idea 
when  I  saw  this  law  published  in 
Dr.  Header's  loyal  newspaper, 
called  "  The  National  Demo- 
crat," that  it  was  an  improvement 


bridge.  Any  important  change  in 
an  orderly  design  leads  to  others 
that  could  not  be  anticipated.  If 
the  persons  in  charge,  had  permit- 
ted returning  rebels  to  vote  with- 
out restriction,  as  provided  in  their 
constitution,  the  rebels,  in  the  ex- 
ercise of  free  election,  would  have 


KX  -GOV.   ELISHA   BAXTER. 


on  the  code  of  Judge  Lynch, 
whose  proceeding  was  to  catch  an 
offender  before  hanging  him.  It 
was  directly  in  the  teeth  of  the 
new  '  bill  of  rights.'  It  is  not  to 
be  forgotten  that  these  state-ma- 
kers had  some  knotty  questions 
to  solve  and  difficult  situations  to 


chosen  other  men  to  represent 
them.  The  power  of  the  '  new 
men '  would  have  been  brief. 
Yet  no  '  free '  election, — no  free 
government.  It  was  a  tangled 
skein.  We  are  not  to  wonder  that 
it  was  hard  to  unravel.  The  new 
officials  were  novices  in  the  art  of 


14 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


law-making.  They  had  never 
pondered  upon  the  principles  in- 
volved, for  want  of  opportunity. 
Perhaps  it  never  occured  to  them 
that  study  was  required.  So  they 
folded  up  their  'Constitution,'  and 
in  violation  of  its  provisions  pro- 
ceeded to  enact  an  election  law 
as  follows : 

"Sec.  6.  Be  it  further  enacted:  That 
each  voter  shall  before  depositing  his  vote  at 
any  election  in  this  State  take  an  oath  that  he 
will  support  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States  and  of  this  State,  and  that  he  has  not 
voluntarily  borne  arms  against  the  United 
States,  or  this  State,  nor  aided  directly  or  in- 
directly the  so-called  Confederate  authorities, 
since  the  l8th  day  of  April  1864;  said  oath  to 
be  administered  by  one  of  the  election  offi- 
cers, and  this  act  to  take  effect  from  and  after 
its  passage." 

The  act  was  approved  May  31st, 
1864.  Its  intention  was  to  disfran- 
chise the  great  body  of  the  '  reb- 
els.' They  were  then  in  camp, 
standing  to  their  colors,  faithful  in 
the  hour  and  article  of  dissolution 
to  their  dying  Confederacy.  As 
men  of  honor  and  courage,  they 
could  not  have  been  otherwise. 
Their  position  no  one  could  fail 
to  understand  or  admire,  friend  or 
foe.  There  must  have  been  a 
strong  motive  in  the  framers  of 
the  law,  to  cause  them  to  extend 
an  invitation  which  was  merely 
tantalizing.  It  resembles  the  de- 
vices of  ancient  humorists  who  de- 
lighted to  trifle  with  the  most  seri- 
ous emotions  of  their  victims.  The 
hour  was  the  carnival  of  the  war. 


It  was  a  time  of  mockery  and  mas- 
querade. Its  exhibitions  were  gro- 
tesque beyond  any  similar  festival 
since  the  grim  phantasm  of  the 
French  Revolution,  1793,  when 
Robespierre  perfected  the  work- 
ing of  the  guillotine  for  his  own 
execution. 

The  only  newspaper  published 
at  the  capital  was  issued  from  the 
office  of  Mr.  J.  D.  Butler.  He 
had  not  participated  in  the  rebell- 
ion or  favored  secession.  His  pa- 
per had  been  issued  as  a  mere  ad- 
vertising sheet,  and  circulated  free 
of  charge  among  the  business 
men  of  the  city.  But  it  began  to 
come  out  in  the  summer  of  1865 
with  editorial  articles  pointing  out 
these  inconsistencies  and  the  un- 
constitutionality of  the  laws  which 
had  been  enacted  by  the  recent 
legislature.  Its  circulation  was 
rapidly  extended ;  its  advertise- 
ments increased,  and  it  met  with 
ready  sale  on  the  streets.  It  grew 
daily  more  severe  in  its  criticisms 
and  more  tentative  in  its  appeals 
for  equal  rights.  It  was  called 
The  Pantagraph,  and  was  printed 
in  the  block  nearly  opposite  the 
State-house. 

"  Those  devils  that  are  running 
that  paper,  over  there,"  Governor 
Murphy  used  to  say,  "are  trying 
to  revive  the  rebellion.  They  will 
never  be  satisfied  until  they  are 
closed  up,  and  their  types  are 
thrown  into  the  river,  or  they  cause 
somebody  to  be  hung  !  " 

He  sent  over  and  obtained  the 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


15 


first  copy  that  was  issued  from  the 
press  regularly  every  day,  and  as 
his  nerves  were  unsteady,  would 
seem  to  seize  it  with  trembling 
hands.  It  was  a  source  of  un- 
doubted annoyance  to  him.  One 
day  it  contained  a  short  paragraph 
charging  him  with  unbecoming 
bias  in  refusing  to  recommend  the 
pardon  of  Grandison  D.  Royston, 
by  the  President,  when  he  had  so 
lately  signed  the  recommendation 
of  Judge  David  Walker,  the  chief 
of  '  rebels.'  Gen.  Royston  was  an 
old  resident  of  Hempstead  County, 
which  had  been  the  home  of  Mr. 
Garland,  but  was  an  '  original '  se- 
cessionist. 

"  Well,  how  do  the  devils  of  that 
newspaper  obtain  their  informa- 
tion of  what  goes  on  in  my 
office  ?  "  he  asked  of  me,  one  day. 
"  Do  the  writers  for  it  come  spy- 
ing through  the  State  house,  or 
are  they  employed  in  the  Post 
office?  It  seems  to  me  that  I  can- 
not write  a  letter  that  they  do  not 
find  out  its  contents."  The  Gov- 
ernor was  rather  jealous  of  the 
Federal  officials. 

On  the  7th  day  of  September, 
1865,  the  paper  came  out  with  an 
article  entitled  "A  Crime  Against 
the  People  of  the  South."  It 
started  out  by  asserting  that : 

The  men  who,  by  legislative  enactments, 
have  undertaken  to  withhold  indiscriminately 
from  the  Southern  people  engaged  in  re- 
bellion, the  sacred  right  of  franchise,  premedi- 
tate a  great  crime  against  those  people.  A 
large  majority  of  the  people  of  Arkansas  re- 


mained loyal  to  the  Government  until  over- 
come by  the  overwhelming  power  of  secession 
which  brought  all  civil  and  military  authority 
to  perfect  submission.  When  we  reflect  that 
in  a  most  trying  moment  they  were  abandoned 
by  the  United  States  Government,  and  no  less 
a  person  than  Mr.  William  H.  Seward  is  heard 
saying  on  the  floor  of  the  Senate:  "I  have 
such  faith  in  this  republican  system  of  ours 
that  there  is  no  political  good  which  I  desire 
that  I  am  not  content  to  seek  through  the 
peaceful  terms  of  administration,"  which  was 
reasonably  construed  as  a  pledge  to  sustain 
Mr.  Buchanan's  policy — "not  to  coerce  a 
State."  He  also  very  plainly  intimated  that 
Sumter  would  be  evacuated,  and  actually 
ordered  the  withdrawal  of  the  Powhatan,  the 
vessel  ordered  to  relieve  Sumter.  Even  Gen. 
Scott  wrote :  "  Let  our  erring  sisters  depart 
in  peace."  Mr.  Chase  said :  "Let  the  South 
go.  It  is  not  worth  fighting  for."  Mr.  Holt, 
while  Postmaster-General  in  i860,  had  writ- 
ten:  "These  liberty  bills  which  degrade  the 
statute  books  of  seme  of  the  free  States,  are 
confessedly  a  shameless  violation  of  the  fed- 
eral constitution  in  a  point  vital  to  the  coun- 
try's honor.  If  the  free  States  will  sweep  the 
liberty  bills  from  their  codes,  propose  a  con- 
vention of  the  States,  and  offer  guarantees 
which  will  afford  the  same  repose  and  safety 
to  Southern  homes  and  property  enjoyed  by 
those  at  the  North,  the  impending  tragedy 
may  be  averted,  but  not  otherwise."  Edwin 
M.  Stanton  told  A.  G.  Brown,  of  Missis- 
sippi, that  he  (Brown)  "was  right;  it  was  the 
only  course  to  save  the  South.  He  must  keep 
his  constituents  up  to  it." 

The  newspaper  then  came  to  the 
obvious  purpose  of  the  article, 
when  it  concluded : 

The  venerable  person  who  now  exercises 
the  functions  of  Governor  of  the  State  of  Ar- 
kansas, though  he  voted  against  the  ordinance 
of  secession  in  compliance  with  instructions. 


i6 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


as  he  explained,  was  nevertheless  the  first 
mover  ot  a  resolution  in  that  convention  when 
it  reassembled  at  the  call  of  President  Walker 
for  taking  action  in  view  of  the  invasion  of 
the  South  by  the  armies  called  out  by  Presi- 
dent Lincoln.  That  resolution  was  for  "  re- 
quiring the  committee  on  military  affairs  to 
prepare  and  report  a  plan  for  the  organization 
and  arming  of  the  State,  and  tu  report  the 
same  as  soon  as  practicable,  and  to  put  the 
whole  population  on  a  war  footing  as  speedily 
as  possible."  The  journal  of  the  convention 
containing  this  resolution  is  in  our  possession, 
and  can  be  seen  by  any  one  who  may  so  de- 
sire. He  also  voted  for  representatives  to 
represent  the  State  in  the  "  Rebel  Congress." 
When  he  voted  against  the  ordinance  of  se- 
cession, he  declared  before  the  convention 
that  he  did  not  so  vote  because  he  was  not  a 
rebel ;  that  he  was  a  rebel,  and  while  he  did 
not  believe  in  the  doctrine  of  secession,  he 
would,  as  a  rebel,  be  found  battling  for  the 
independence  of  the  South  as  long  as  he  had 
a  hand  to  raise  in  her  defense.  Is  it  strange 
that  a  people  led  by  such  guides  should  go 
astray  ?  Is  it  not  strange  that  the  leaders  who 
misled  and  then  abandoned  them  should  now 
wish  to  punish  them?  The  people  did  not  go 
until  they  were  led.  They  did  not  return  until 
they  were  invited.  Now  they  have  returned, 
they  are  told  they  must  be  punished.  It  is  a 
great  crime  against  these  people  to  be  so  used. 
The  retribution  of  heaven  will  be  visited  ulti- 
mately upon  its  perpetrators. 

This  was  the  article.  I  kept  a 
scrap  of  it  because  of  the  events 
that  followed  its  publication.  The 
publisher  and  his  employes  went 
to  their  homes  that  night  as  if 
nothing  had  happened.  They  were 
pleased  to  see  that  the  paper  was 


being  read  approvingly  by  the  peo- 
ple. The  writer  of  the  article,  who 
was  not  generally  known  as  its  au- 
thor, I  learned  afterwards  had  sent 
it  to  the  press  from  a  sick  room. 

When  the  publisher  and  his  men 
came  to  the  office  early  the  next 
morning,  they  found  it  closed,  and 
the  press  in  the  hands  of  United 
States  soldiers.  The  paper  had 
been  suppressed  !  A  sergeant  of 
infantry  and  sentinels  stood  guard 
over  the  office  of  The  Pantagraph^ 
by  order  of  Maj.  Gen.  Reynolds, 
in  command  of  the  Department  of 
the  Southwest. 

Now,  what  was  there  in  the  ar- 
ticle that  invited  the  forcible  sup- 
pression of  the  paper  by  the  Uni- 
ted States  authorities?  The  fact 
of  the  military  seizure  of  the  press 
caused  the  paper  to  be  sought  for 
and  read  by  hundreds  who  had 
.overlooked  the  offending  article. 
When  they  had  read  it  over  and 
over  again,  they  still  wondered 
what  there  was  in  it  that  called 
for  the  suppression  of  the  paper. 
There  was,  however,  one  who  very 
well  knew  ; — the  writer  of  the  ar- 
ticle. He  had  not  yet  recovered 
from  the  effects  of  a  malarial  fever. 
It  was  the  sultry  season  in  Little 
Rock.  The  heat  and  miasma  were 
perceptible  as  they  arose  in  undu- 
lations from  the  steaming  earth. 
The  publisher,  greatly  excited  by 
the  event  of  military  interference 
with  the  'liberty  of  the   press,' — 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkafisas. 


17 


frightened,  and  yet  rather  gratified 
to  be  an  actor  in  a  sensation — vis- 
ited the  writer  and  gave  him  his 
impressions  of  the  condition  of  af- 
fairs. 

There  was  consternation  among 
the  old  pohticians  who  preferred 
wily,  secret  methods.  There  was 
alarm  among  the  people  who  had 
just  returned  from  exile.  They 
beheld  for  the  first  time  the  pow- 
er of  the  *  mailed  hand.' 

Mr.  Butler,  the  publisher,  did 
not  exhibit  any  personal  fear  of  the 
consequences.  He  had  not  taken 
part  in  the  hostilities,  but  had  re- 
mained in  the  city.  He  seemed 
to  feel  a  genuine  alarm  for  the 
safety  of  the  writer  of  the  article, 
who  assured  him  on  learning  that 
Gen.  Reynolds  was  a  graduate  of 
West  Point  and  had  been  a  college 
professor,  that  as  soon  as  he  could 
go  to  see  the  General  he  would 
explain  the  article.  He  was  satis- 
fied that  if  the  General  was  a  man 
of  letters  and  of  liberal  informa- 
tion, the  explanation  would  be 
accepted. 

"  Don't  think  of  it,"  said  the 
publisher.  "  He  will  order  you 
out  of  the  department.  He  has 
said  he  would  order  the  author  of 
the  article  out  of  the  department." 
For  a  week  ,  the  sentinels  were 
mounted  and  relieved  in  front  of 
the  entrance  to  the  printing  house 
of  the  Pa7itagraph^  and  its  presses 
were  silent.  At  the  end  of  a  week 
the  writer  of  the  article  was  able 
to  dress  and  walk  down  from  his 


rooms,  in  the  Ringo  dwelling,  to 
the  General's  headquarters  in  the 
Ashley  mansion.  Very  quiet  and 
cool  seemed  the  wide  hall  up 
stairs  as  he  and  the  publisher 
waited  a  response  to  the  card  they 
had  sent  in.  The  General  came, 
bareheaded,  in  undress  uniform, 
into  the  hall  where  they  were 
alone,  and  bade  them  take  seats. 
He  had  the  obnoxious  article 
rolled  over  a  thin  book  or  card- 
board, and  sat  down  holding  it  in 
his  left  hand,  and  with  a  pencil  in 
his  right,  as  if  to  point  out  the 
most  objectionable  features.  He 
looked  the  college  professor  to  per- 
fection. '' Now,"  he  began,  with  an 
expression  of  much  severity,  "  you 
have  here  printed  an  article,  on  the 
heels  of  a  great  rebellion,  which 
reproaches  the  officers  of  the  Gov- 
ernment with  the  perpetration  of 
a  great  crime !  And  I  am  told, 
Mr.  Harrell,  that  you  have  been  a 
soldier  in  that  rebellion  against 
the  Government." 

"Give  me  only  five  minutes. 
General,"  replied  the  writer  of  the 
article,  "  and  if  I  do  not  explain  to 
you  that  the  cause  of  offense  is 
not  against  the  officers  of  the 
Governmet,  but  against  those  who 
are  imposing  upon  them,  I  will 
submit  to  any  decision  you  may 
render." 

"Very  well,"  replied  the  Gen- 
eral, coldlv,  "  I  will  hear  you. 
Proceed."  ' 

Then  the  writer  took  from  the 
chair   beside    him  a  printed  vol- 


i8 


The  Brooks  atid  Baxter   War:  a  History 


ume,  entitled  "Journal  of  the 
Convention  of  1861,"  and  stating 
what  it  was,  opened  at  the  pages 
which  he  had  turned  down,  and 
read  the  following,  dated  the  6th 
of  May,  1861  : 

"  Mr.  Murphy  (who  was  the 
delegate  for  Madison  County,  and 
now  the  Governor  of  this  State) 
offered  the  following  resolution, 
which  was  adopted : 

Resolved,  That  in  view  of  the  danger  that 
surrounds  the  Southern  States,  it  becomes  the 
State  of  Arkansas  to  put  the  whole  population 
on  a  war  footing  as  speedily  as  possible  ;  the 
committee  on  military  affairs  are  therefore  in- 
structed to  prepare  and  report  a  plan  for  the 
efficient  organization  and  arming  of  the  State, 
and  report  the  same  as  soon  as  practicable." 

"While  that  article  does  not 
contain  one  misstatement  of  fact, 
it  makes  no  protest  against  the 
authority  of  the  United  States.  It 
makes  no  unauthorized  criticism 
of  any  one.  It  is  a  protest  against 
the  denial  of  the  constitutional 
right  of  the  citizens  of  this  State 
to  vote. 

"  You  cannot  fail  to  see,  Gen- 
eral, that  Mr.  Murphy,  who  ac- 
cepts great  commendation  for  his 
persistent  loyalty  in  voting  against 
the  ordinance  of  secession,  was 
then  very  far  from  being  the  loyal 
patriot  he  is  now  regarded.  The 
article  offends  him  because  it  con- 
tains an  allusion  to  the  resolution 
offered  by  him  in  the  convention 
of  1861,  to  put  the  population  of 
this  State  on  a  war  footing  against 
the  authority  of  the  United  States. 


By  the  publication  of  that  article 
he  saw  that  he  was  about  to  be 
unmasked.  The  first  part  of  the 
article,  he  knows,  was  merely 
leading  up  to  the  mention  of  his 
part  in  the  performances  of  1861. 
The  threatened  exposure  exasper- 
ates him.  He  interprets  the  arti- 
cle to  you  in  person,  or  through 
his  agencies,  as  intending  to  chal- 
lenge the  authority  of  the  United 
States,  which  he  counseled  the 
people  to  resist  in  former  days. 
He  has  thus  influenced  you  to  in- 
terpose your  power,  as  commander 
of  the  military,  to  stop  the  publi- 
cation of  the  record  he  cannot 
deny.  He  must  have  feared  the 
results  of  his  action,  for  in  another 
resolution  he  proposed  that  the 
proceedings  of  the  convention 
should  be  secret.  None  of  us  feel 
any  personal  animosity  for  him. 
We  merely  protest  against  the 
measures  of  his  administration." 
"Give  me  the  book,"  said  the  Gen- 
eral. "  Your  article  was  undoubted- 
ly misinterpreted  by  me,"  he  said, 
after  a  quick  but  close  inspection 
of  the  book.  "  Return  to  your 
paper,  and  say  in  it,  if  you  please, 
that  I  approve  it  fully,  and  am 
under  obligations  for  the  informa- 
tions it  contains.  I  will  order  the 
guard  withdrawn  from  your  press. 
If  there  are  other  records  that 
will  afford  information  proper  to 
be  known  by  the  people,  publish 
it.  I  will  take  care  that  you  are 
not  molested." 

He  gave  each  of  his  visitors  his 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkansas, 


19 


hand  as  he  arose  from  his  seat, 
and  bidding  them  good-day,  re- 
tired to  his  room.  They  went 
down  the  stairs  with  hghter  steps 
than  they  came  up  them,  and 
going  up  the  street,  quietly  took  a 
look  at  the  unconscious  sentinel 
walking  up  and  down  in  front  of 
the  printing  house. 


SECOND    PAPER. 

"  Woo'd  and  married  and  a' — 

Married  and  woo'd  and  a'  ! 
And  was  she  sae  very  weel  oft 

That  was  woo'd  and  married  and  a'  ?  " 

— Alexander  Ross. 

The  paper  was  issued  the  next 
day,  with  a  report  of  the  visit  to 
headquarters,  and  the  interview 
with  General  Reynolds.  Its  lead- 
ing editorial  was  in  a  tone  of 
temperate  exultation  at  the  result 
of  an  understanding  with  the  mili- 
tary authorities,  spiced  with  some 
good-humored  gibes  at  the  civili- 
ans. It  announced  that  if  it 
should  hereafter  refer  to  the  Gov- 
ernor as  the  venerable  '  rebel,' 
who  exercised  the  executive  func- 
tions, it  hoped  no  offense  would 
be  taken,  as  he  had  assumed  the 
name  himself  in  preference  to  that 
of  secessionist,  reminding  him  that 
the  fifty- four  signers  of  the  Decla- 
ration of  Independence — Wash- 
ington and  his  Generals,  and  the 
army  of  'j6 — were  contented  to 
be    so   called,  and  the    only    one 


among  them,  who  preferred  the 
name  of  'loyalist,'  was  Benedict 
Arnold. 

The  editorial  article  proceeded 
to  aver,  that  there  were  examples, 
and  very  high  authority,  to  justify 
secession,  and  sanction  the  name 
of  'secessionist,'  which  was  pre- 
ferred by  some  who  maintained 
the  right  of  the  Southern  States  to 
withdraw  from  the  Union.  Only 
such  examples  would  be  cited  as 
were  afforded  by  the  action  of  the 
New  England  States,  and  such 
authority  as  an  old  Federalist  and 
Whig  would  endorse  and  venerate. 

Timothy  Pickering,  Senator 
of  Massachusetts,  had  written  in 
1804,  that  "A  Northern  Confed- 
eracy would  unite  congenial  char- 
acters, and  present  a  fairer  pros- 
pect of  public  happiness.  The 
separation  must  begin  in  Massa- 
chusetts." 

Josiah  Quincy,  also  a  Senator 
of  that  State,  declared  in  his 
speech  on  the  admission  of  Loui- 
siana :  "  If  the  bill  passes,  it  is 
my  deliberate  opinion,  that  it  is 
virtually  a  dissolution  of  the 
Union  ;  that  it  will  free  the  States 
from  their  moral  obligation ;  and 
as  it  will  be  the  right  of  all — it 
will  be  the  duty  of  some — to  pre- 
pare for  separation ;  amicably,  it 
they  can  ;  violently,  if  they  must." 

George  Cabot,  also  a  Senator  of 
the  same  State,  wrote  from  Wash- 
ington in  1803:  "I  will  rather 
anticipate  a  new  Confederacy, 
exempt  from  the  corrupt  and  cor- 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


rupting  influence  of  the  Demo- 
crats of  the  South." 

Delegates  to  a  Convention  of 
New  England  States  at  Hartford, 
Connecticut,  in  1814,  adopted  a 
memorial  which  contained,  among 
many  similar,  such  sentences  as 
these  :  "  Some  new  form  of  Con- 
federacy should  be  substituted 
among  these  States, — a  seperation 
by  equitable  arrangement  will  be 
preferable  to  an  alliance,  by  con- 
straint,   among  nominal  friends." 

And,  in  1844,  the  Legislature  of 
Massachusetts  adopted  resolutions 
which  concluded  with  the  avowal, 
that  "The  project  of  the  annexa- 
tion of  Texas,  unless  arrested  on 
the  threshold,  may  tend  to  drive 
these  States  into  a  dissolution  of 
the  Union." 

Among  the  great  names  quoted 
as  authority  for  the  course  of  the 
South,  was  that  of  President  Wil- 
liam Henry  Harrison,  who  said  in 
his  inaugural  address,  approved 
by  his  Secretary  of  State,  Daniel 
Webster,  in  1841 :  "  The  attempt 
of  citizens  of  one  State  to  control 
the  domestic  institutions  of  an- 
other, is  a  certain  harbinger  of  dis- 
union and  civil  war.  Our  Con- 
federacy is  perfectly  illustrated  by 
the  terms  and  principles  of  a  com- 
mon partnership." 

President  Fillmore  said,  in  a 
speech  at  Capon  Springs,  Va.,  in 
1854;  "I  have  not  hesitated  to 
say  and  I  .repeat,  that,  if  the 
Northern  States  refuse,  wilfully 
and    deliberately,    to    carry    into 


effect  that  part  of  the  Constitu- 
tion which  respects  the  restoration 
of  fugitive  slaves,  and  Congress 
provides  no  remedy,  the  South 
would  no  longer  be  bound  to  ob- 
serve the  compact.  A  bargain 
cannot  be  broken  on  the  one  side 
and  still  bind  the  other  side." 

And  Henry  Clay  said  in  the 
Senate  in  1839:  "The  Aboli- 
tionists, let  me  suppose,  succeed 
in  their  present  aim  of  uniting  the 
inhabitants  of  the  free  States  as 
one  man  against  the  inhabitants 
of  the  slave  States,  a  virtual  disso- 
lution of  the  Union  will  have 
taken  place,  while  the  forms  of  its 
existence  only  remain.  And  if 
the  Abolitionists  were  to  conquer, 
whom  would  they  conquer  ?  A 
foreign  foe  ?  No  sir  !  It  must  be 
a  conquest  without  laurels,  a  con- 
quest of  brothers  over  brothers, 
of  common  ancestors  who  had 
nobly  pledged  their  lives,  their 
fortunes  and  their  sacred  honor  to 
establish  the  independence  of  these 
States." 

The  editorial  article  added : 
The  only  sin  of  the  South  was, 
that  she  delayed  too  long.  She 
hesitated,  and  was  lost.  We  suc- 
cumb to  the  power  of  superior  ar- 
mament and  numbers  ;  but  refuse 
to  confess  to  the  charges  of  trea- 
son, rebellion  and  perjury,  when 
we  did  not  commit  them.  Rather 
let  those  who  violated  and  an- 
nulled the  Constitution  and  in- 
vaded sister  States,  apply  the  epi- 
thets to  themselves. 


of  the  Recotistruction  Period  in  Arkatisas. 


This  seemed  to  me  to  be  an 
audacious  article,  and  certain  to 
invite  the  final  closing  of  the 
printing  office;  but  there  was  no 
further  interference.  Perhaps 
there  was  a  medicinal  placebo  in 
its  concluding  paragraph  : 

"  That  there  is  a  class  in  the  United  States 
and  in  the  State  of  Arkansas,  to  whom  the 
idea  of  a  restoration  of  peace  is  repugnant, 
cannot  be  disputed.  But  in  this  class,  we 
are  happy  to  say,  cannot  be  numbered  the 
officers  and  soldiers  of  the  army  of  the  United 
States.  This  we  lay  down  as  a  rule,  to  which 
there  are  exceptions.  So  true  it  is,  the  world 
over,  that  the  brave  are  generous,  forgiving, 
magnanimous. 

"  We  ask  the  citizens  of  Little  Rock  if  our 
assertions  are  not  borne  out  by  their  expe- 
rience? Who  is  there  among  them  can  com- 
plain of  intolerance,  injustice,  or  injuiy,  to  be 
avoided  in  his  situation  by  Maj.  Gen.  Frede- 
rick Steele  ?  We  have  never  heard  a  com- 
plaint against  his  successor,  but  have  personal 
knowledge  of  many  instances  of  his  cour- 
tesy and  forbearance.  And  the  private  sol- 
diery, the  citizens  are  in  justice  bound  to 
concede  that  their  considerate  conduct  under 
all  circumstances  ;  their  manly  bearing  in  the 
absence  of  official  restraint,  when  it  has  been 
in  their  power  to  insult  and  oppress,  is  worthy 
of  the  highest  encomium." 

Against  the  civilians,  remon- 
strance and  caricature,  were  alter- 
nately employed.  The  people 
read  with  increasing  interest;  the 
military  were  diverted ;  but  the 
civilians  raged.  The  records 
that  the  latter  had  made  were 
cited  to  sustain  every  impeach- 
ment against  them.  For  example, 
the   act   of    the    late    Legislature 


passed  and  approved  to  pay  the 
military  staff  of  the  Governor, 
who  were  placed  very  high  in 
rank,  in  time  of  peace,  provided 
that  they  might  demand  and  "  re- 
ceive the  same  pay  and  allowance 
as  officers  of  the  same  grade  in 
the  United  States  Army, "  and 
required  also,  "  that  the  Adjutant- 
General  of  the  State  be  paid  from 
the  time  he  entered  upon  his  du- 
ties." This  act  was  republished 
with  sarcastic  comments. 

The  Adjutant-General  was  a 
gentleman  from  Buffalo,  New 
York ;  a  relentless  partisan  and 
deemed  himself  a  missionary  of 
manners  and  refinement,  as  well  as 
of  political  reform  to  the  rebel 
barbarians.  He  had  attached 
himself  to  the  illustrious  Delegate 
of  the  Secession  Convention  when 
Gen.  Herron,  after  the  battle  of 
Prairie  Grove,  had  entered  and 
overrun  the  counties  on  the  north- 
ern border. 

Adjutant-General  Bishop  was  of 
a  literary  turn,  and  had  published 
"A  History  of  the  Loyal  Heroes 
of  Northwest  Arkansas,"  which 
contained  a  free  sketch  of  the 
sacrifices  and  services  of  the  faith- 
ful member  from  Madison  County. 
The  pages  of  this  little  book  were 
further  embellished  with  highly 
colored  matter  that  had  been 
ruthlessly  imposed  upon  the  en- 
thusiastic author.  He  it  was 
doubtless,  who  procur-ed  the  pass- 
age of  an  act  which  bears  a  re- 
semblance to  his  mincing  style  of 


22 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


writing  and  'bloody  conclusions,' 
and  which  prescribed  an  unusual 
decoration  to  be  worn  by  his 
militiamen,  as  follows : 

"  All  State  Militia,  provided  for  in  this  act, 
shall  wear  as  a  mark  of  distinction  and  for 
the  purpose  of  being  recognized  at  a  distance, 
a  band  of  red  cloth,  three  inches  in  width,  to  be 
worn  on  their  hats,  or  in  the  most  conspicuous 
manner.  And  every  person  found  wearing 
said  mark  of  distinction,  who  does  not  belong 
to  said  militia,  or  to  the  Federal  Army,  shall, 
by  sentence  of  military  authority,  suffer  death." 

The  General  wore  the  '  mark 
of  distinction '  conspicuously  in 
the  lapel  of  his  coat,  in  the  form 
of  a  scarlet  ribbon.  He  was  tall 
and  'willowy,'  had  a  down  curv- 
ing length  of  nose,  narrow  fore- 
head and  short  chin  almost  hidden 
by  an  enormous  mustache.  He 
wore  the  hair  of  a  diminutive 
head  in  long  tresses,  which  waved 
gracefully  to  his  undulating  move- 
ments with  which  he  picked  his 
way,  when  walking  the  thorough- 
fares with  elastic  step.  He  had 
no  cause  during  his  term,  so 
peaceful  was  the  time,  for  calling 
out  his  men;  but  in  person  he  re- 
mained near  his  illustrious  chief 
in  the  hour  of  his  greatness,  and 
drew  salary,  or  pay  and  allow- 
ances, with  military  promptitude. 
The  paper  quoted  the  clause  of 
the  act  and  urged  the  '  Red-raga- 
Murfians'  to  put  on  their 'marks 
of  distinction,'  and  suggested 
that  if  they  should  be  called  on 
to  do  battle,  the  most   '  conspicu- 


ous manner '  of  wearing  them 
would  be  to  sew  them  on  their 
backs. 

One  of  the  measures  of  the  late 
Legislature  was  criticised  with 
the  gravity  it  deserved.  From  the 
time  it  was  adopted  it  had  failed 
to  receive  the  approval  of  the 
Commanding  General,  and  proved 
a  dead  letter ;  while  it  remained  on 
record  to  show  the  inclination 
which  prompted  it.  It  was  a  con- 
current resolution  of  the  General- 
Assembly  which  received  the 
Governor's  approval  and  was  as 
follows : 

Whereas,  There  are  living  within  the 
Federal  lines  in  the  district  of  Little  Rock, 
two  thousand  refugees,  citizens  of  the  State, 
who  have  been  driven  from  their  homes  by 
the  outrages  and  violence  of  rebel  armies 
and  bands  of  guerillas  who  infest  different 
parts  of  the  State, 

And  whereas,  The  property-holders,  who 
have  encouraged  and  now  sympathize  with 
the  rebels,  are  in  whole  responsible  for  the 
existence  of  the  rebellion,  and  there  are  now 
residmg  in  Little  Rock  many  of  the  families 
of  such  rebels  and  sympathizers,  being  easily 
and  comfortably  in  the  possession  and  enjoy- 
ment of  their  property,  while  the  refugees  are 
suffering  all  the  horrors  of  disease  and  famine 
brought  upon  them  by  these  rebel  citizens  and 
their  aiders  and  abettors  in  the  rebel  army 
and  guerillas, 

"  Therefore  be  it  Resolved  by  the  General 
Assembly  of  the  State  of  Arkansas:  That 
the  General,  commanding  the  Department,  be 
requested  to  appoint  five  men  of  unquestion- 
able loyalty   to   make  an  assessment  of  

dollars  upon  the  property  of  the  disloyal  and 
their  sympathizers,  having  due  regard  to  the 
wealth  of  said  parties;  and  the  said  Commis- 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


23 


sion  shall  have  the  right  to  decide  the  ques- 
tion of  loyalty  upon  proof  presented  to 
them ;  and  this  tax  shall  he  collected  and  dis- 
bursed under  such  regulations  as  said  General 
or  Commission  may  judge  best." 

This  was  to  be  a  Commission 
invested  with  rare  powers.  It  was 
to  be  authorized  by  the  sword, 
was  to  levy,  assess  and  collect 
taxes,  without  limit,  and  judicially 
determine  upon  such  '  proof  as 
they  might  choose  to  hear,  or  re- 
ceive, who  were  the  '  disloyal '  to 
be  made  victims;  having  no  re- 
gard to  anything  but  '  the  wealth 
of  the  parties.' 

I  was  '  a  sympathizer '  with  the 
Confederates,  because  I  could  not 
help  it.  The  ties  of  friendships 
and  associations  actuated  me,  I 
suppose  ;  but  whatever  the  influ- 
ence, I  could  not  resist  it.  I  had 
some  houses  in  the  city  that  were 
paying  rents,  and  I  had  impecuni- 
ous and  envious  neighbors  who 
would  have  readily  testified  to 
anything  before  such  a  Commis- 
sion, in  order  to  get  my  houses, 
or  the  rent  of  them  free,  or  for 
pay  given  them  by  others  with 
such  designs ;  and  I  had  no  hopes 
that  the  five  Commissioners,  who 
might  be  as  impecunious,  or  more 
grasping,  thus  authorized,  would 
find  any  difficulty  in  discerning 
my  true  inwardness.  It  was  dis- 
tressing and  alarming  to  behold 
the  fear  created  by  this  measure 
at  the  time  it  was  adopted.  Many 
sympathizers  ceased  to  sympa- 
thize. 


Feeling  secure  from  any  attempt 
of  the  State  authorities  to  carry 
out  these  or  similar  oppressions, 
because  of  the  military  protection 
of  which,  now,  they  felt  assured, 
the  people,  or  some  of  them,  were 
encouraged  to  meet  in  county  con- 
ventions and  send  delegates  to  a 
State  convention  of 'the  people,' 
for  the  purpose  of  entering  a  pro- 
test against  disfranchisement, 
' taxation  without  representation' 
and  petitions  of  some  power  for 
relieffrom  their  varied  evils.  Some 
timid  persons  besought  the  paper 
not  to  take  the  risk  of  calling  such 
a  convention.  But  there  was  to 
be  an  election  for  county  officers 
and  members  of  the  Legislature  on 
the  first  Monday  in  August,  1866, 
and  if  the  people  should  be  free 
to  vote  in  that  election,  they  would 
elect  their  own  representatives, 
who  might  be  relied  upon  to  pass 
laws  for  the  general  safety  and 
prosperity.  A  call  for  a  conven- 
tion was  decided  upon,  and  made 
by  a  small  county  meeting  of 
which  William  Miller,  afterwards 
Governor,  was  president,  and  J. 
M.  Harrell,  secretary.  It  was  to 
be  held  at  Little  Rock,  December 
I2th,  1865.  The  object,  as  an- 
nounced in  the  call,  was  for  the 
purpose  of  organizing  a  People's 
Party,  which  should  favor  the 
maintenance  of  the  constitution — 
State  and  Federal — and  the  re- 
storation of  peace  and  a  republi- 
can form  of  government  for  the 
State  of  Arkansas. 


24 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


The  authors  believed,  that  un- 
der the  constitution,  none  but  free 
white  men  could  become  qualified 
electors.  As  the  constitution  of 
the  United  States  then  existed 
with  the  Thirteenth  Article  of 
Amendments  abolishing  slavery 
added,  none  but  free,  white  men 
could  become  naturalized  citizens. 
Mongolians,  Indians,  Africans  or 
their  descendants  were  excluded. 

The  convention  met  according 
to  call  in  Robbin's  old  theater,  on 
Main  street.  It  was  understood 
that  Gen.  T.  W.  Sherman  would 
be  present  at  the  convention  and 
citizens,  induced  by  curiosity  to 
see  him,  added  greatly  to  the 
small  number  of  delegates  who 
had  come  up  from  the  counties. 
Dr.  Lorenzo  Gibson,  of  Little 
Rock,  was  chosen  president,  and 
a  number  of  secretaries  appointed. 
A  committee  was  designated  to 
notify  Generals  Sherman  and  Rey- 
nolds that  the  convention  was 
ready  to  receive  them.  The  com- 
mittee attended  them  in  an  open 
carriage  drawn  by  four  horses 
from  the  Morton  residence,  where 
Gen.  Reynolds  was  residing,  to 
the  hall  of  the  convention,  where 
they  were  assigned  to  seats  on  the 
stage.  The  large  concourse  of 
people  who  had  gathered  through 
curiosity,  filled  the  hall  and  min- 
gled with  the  delegates,  so  that 
'the  convention '  seemed  to  be  a 
numerous  and  intelligent  body. 

The  president  of  the  convention 
delivered  an  opening  address  that 


was  dignified  and  appealingly  elo- 
quent. Dr.  Gibson  was  a  prac- 
ticing physician,  a  life-long  citi- 
zen, universally  respected,  had 
served  the  county  more  than  once 
in  the  Legislature  of  the  State  and 
was  an  eloquent  and  accomplished 
orator.  He  was  of  portly  person, 
with  a  countenance  that  beamed 
with  intelligence  and  good  humor. 
It  was  evident  that  his  remarks 
produced  upon  the  two  generals 
a  favorable  impression. 

At  the  conclusion  of  his  speech 
he  introduced  Gen.  Sherman,  who 
was  in  uniform,  and  who  pro- 
ceeded to  address  the  large  audi- 
ence that  filled  every  part  of  the 
the  theater.  His  speech  was  re- 
ported by  the  Little  Rock  Gazette, 
whose  then  owner,  Mr.  Holtzman, 
was  present,  although  he  took  no 
part  in  the  convention,  having 
taken  sides  with  the  Union.  I 
take  the  report  of  Gen.  Sherman's 
speech  from  the  Gazette,  as  it  was 
copied  into  the  St.  Louis  Republi- 
can of  the  14th  December,  which 
I  saved  in  a  clipping : 

SPEECH    OF    GEN.  SHERMAN    IN    LITTLE   ROCK' 

Gen.  Sherman  attended  the  People's  Con- 
vention held  at  Little  Rock  on  the  1 2th  inst. 
The  Little  Rock  Gazette  gives  us  the  sub- 
stance of  his  remarks  on  that  occasion  : 

He  commenced  by  saying,  that  the  object 
of  the  convention  had  been  fully  set  forth  by 
the  president,  and  as  stated  by  him,  it  is  not 
expected  or  desired,  either  for  himself  or  any 
other  military  officer,  to  engage  in  political 
discussion.  It  was  his  duty  to  obey  the  laws 
of  the   country ;    and   that   America   was  the 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


25 


only  country  in  which  law  governed,  and  the 
law  was  his  God. 

He  knew  nothing  of  the  authority  by  which 
the  present  convention  was  called,  nor  did  he 
care  to  know.  But  the  people  in  each  neigh- 
borhood and  county  and  Stale  had  the  right 
to  meet  together  and  consult  as  to  the  best 
means  of  advancing  their  interests  and  the  in- 
terest of  their  respective  States. 

He  thought  that  the  duty  of  the  hour  was, 
not  to  engage  in  political  discussions  ;  but  for 
each  and  every  man  to  go  to  work.  We 
wanted  elbow  grease.  He  said  that  Arkansas 
was  behind  most  of  her  sister  states  because 
she  had  not  adopted  heretofore  any  system  of 
internal  improvements  to  lead  to  the  develope- 
ment  of  her  vast  resources. (*)  *         * 

The  delegates  of  the  convention,  he  said, 
ought  to  be  sure  they  are  representing  the 
people  and  sentiments  of  the  counties  from 
which  they  come.  He  knew  the  Southern 
people,  and  he  had  yet  to  see  any  high-toned 
Southern  man,  who  would  willingly  or  inten- 
tionally misrepresent  himself  to  obtain  pre- 
ferment or  place. 

Don't  be  in  a  hurry  ;  bide  your  time  ;  help 
build  up  your  country  and  never  mind  about 
voting.  He  thought  that  in  time  all  would 
work  well.  He  believed  all  were  now  in  favor 
of  peace  ;  every  one  desired  it;  and  there  was 
peace.  There  should  be  peace,  and  it  was 
the  duty  and  the  pleasure  of  Gen.  Reynolds  to 
receive  and  hear  from  each  individual  of  the 
convention,  or  of  the  State,  any  and  all  griev- 
ances ;  and  they  would  do  all  in  their  power 
to  aid  and  assist  the  people  in  their  efforts. 

He  believed  that  if  proper  representations 
were  made  in  a  respectful  manner,  and  they 
were  of  such  a  character  as  required  execu- 
tive  interference,  that    President   Johnson,  or 


(*)  What  he  said  here  in  comparison  be- 
tween Arkan'^as  and  Missouri,  and  his  refer- 
(.nces  to  the  States  of  South  America  omitted. 


even  Congress,  would  give  the  matter  their 
attention,  and  without  delay  rectify  the  evils 
of  which  they  complained. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  speech,  Gen.  Rey- 
nolds made  also  a  few  remarks  which  were 
timely  and  well  received. 

So  kindly  and  bluntly  spoke  the 
hero  of  the  "March  to  the  Sea;" 
a  hard-hitter  in  battle,  but  a  mag- 
nanimous victor,  whose  conven- 
tion with  Gen.  Johnston  for  the 
latter's  surrender  was  too  liberal 
for  the  Secretary  of  War,  and  was 
disapproved  by  him,  for  which  the 
sturdy  soldier  refused  to  shake 
hands  with  him  on  the  platform  in 
front  of  the  White  House,  where 
Sherman  was  the  hero  of  the  day, 
in  the  last  review  of  his  grand 
army. 

It  was  evident  from  his  speech, 
that  some  one  had  sought  to  dis- 
parage the  convention,  but  in  vain. 
If  the  people  had  grievances,  he 
believed  the  President  or  even 
Congress  would  relieve  them  with- 
out delay.  His  attendance  and 
utterances  before  the  convention 
caused  a  profound  impression. 
They  were  like  air  and  sunshine  to 
a  prison-house.  It  encouraged  even 
the  rulers  to  be  less  proscriptive. 
It  gave  assurances  of  peace  and 
security. 

When  the  president  of  the  con- 
vention had  appointed  some  com- 
mittees, the  assembly  took  a  re- 
cess and  delegates  conversed  with 
the  two  officers  for  a  few  minutes 
prior  to  their  departure  from  the 
hall. 


26 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


The  Supreme  Court  of  the  State 
was  then  composed  of  T.  D.  W. 
Yonley,  Supreme  Justice,  and 
Elisha   Baxter  and   C.  A.  Harper 


peared.  Judge  Yonley  was  a  Vir- 
ginian, and  had  removed  to  Little 
Rock  in  1859. 

Judge  Baxter  came  from  North 


GENERAL    W.    T.     SHERMAN. 


Associate  Justices.  The  two  for- 
mer were  actual  citizens ;  the 
third  had  appeared  in  the  State 
suddenly  and   as   suddenly  disap- 


Carolina  and  settled  at  Batesville, 
in  1852,  where  he  was  a  merchant, 
at  first,  and  then  studied  law.  He 
represented  Independence  county 


of  the  Reco7istriiction  Period  in  Arkafisas. 


27 


twice  in  the  State  Legislature  be- 
fore the  war.  He  was  a  Whig  in 
politics  and  sided  with  the  Union. 
Captured  in  Missouri,  in  1863,  by 
Col,  R.  C.  Newton's  regiment  of 
Confederate  mounted  men,  on 
being  paroled  to  report  to  Gen. 
Holmes  at  Little  Rock,  he  kept 
his  word,  when,  through  the 
blundering  of  officials,  he  was  con- 
signed to  the  county  jail,  then 
used  as  a  prison  by  the  military 
as  well  as  the  civil  authorities,  and 
by  W.  M.  Randolph,*  the  Confed- 
erate States  Attorney,  was  caused 
to  be  indicted  for  treason  against 
the  Confederacy.  He  made  his 
escape  and  recruited  the  Fourth 
Arkansas  regiment.  Union  volun- 
teers, and  reporting  to  Gen.  Liv- 
ingston, was  assigned  to  the  com- 
mand of  the  post  at  Batesville. 
On  the  organization  of  the  new 
State,  he  was  made  one  of  the 
Judges  of  the  Supreme  Court,  and 
subsequently  elected,  the  same 
year.  United  States  Senator,  but 
was  not  admitted. 

Chief  Justice  Yonley  was  an 
original  character  of  great  natural 
ability.  He  had  been  denied,  or 
else  had  slighted,  opportunities 
for  '  early  education.'  He  had 
studied  law  before  he  entered  into 
the  practice  at  Little  Rock.  He 
was  well  grounded  in  his  profes- 
sion, full  of  recources,  self-made, 


*  W.  M.  Randolph  was  then  the  law- 
partner  of  Mr.  Garland,  but  left  the  Confed- 
eracy, went  to  Memphis  and  became  a  Re- 
publican. 


self-reliant  and  aspiring ;  frank  and 
manly,  and  rapidly  made  friends. 
In  the  heat  of  the  political  discus- 
sions of  i860,  he  avowed  himself 
in  favor  of  the  Union,  and  boldly 
debated  '  the  issues '  with  any 
challenger.  Hence  he  caused  no 
personal  feelings  against  him  when 
he  took  sides  with  the  Unionists 
after  the  conflict  of  war  usurped 
the  contests  of  the  forum.  His 
personal  appearance  and  eccen- 
tricities rendered  him  the  sub- 
ject of  good-humored  comment 
at  the  bar,  on  the  bench,  and  in 
the  streets.  He  was  fleshy,  round- 
shouldered,  careless  of  dress,  and 
wore  his  hair  and  whiskers  in 
tangled  masses.  He  walked  with 
a  rapid,  shambling  gait,  throwing 
out  his  hands,  muttering  to  him- 
self, or  munching  peanuts.  I  have 
seen  him,  when  leaning  forward  to 
read  an  opinion  behind  the  panel- 
ing of  the  *  bench,'  slip  off  his 
shoes,  and  place  his  feet  on  the 
chair-round,  in  'socks'  not  as 
stainless  as  his  ermine.  But  Judge 
Yonley  was  always  sure  of  him- 
self, bore  no  malice,  practiced  no 
deceit,  and  was  just  and  generous 
in  all  his  dealings.  He  had  great 
political  foresight  also. 

About  the  time  the  Peoples' 
Convention  was  assembling,  he 
called  in  Judge  Harper  and  ren- 
dered a  decision  in  the  election 
case  o(  Riso/i,  et  al.  election  judges, 
against  Farr. 

Captain  Farr  was  a  well-known 
ex-Confederate    who,    having    re- 


28 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


fused  to  take  the  oath  at  some 
election,  was  denied  the  right 
to  vote,  and  sued  the  judges  of 
the  election.  It  was  a  case  made 
to  test  the  validity  of  the  election 
law.  The  case  had  been  decided 
against  the  election  judges  in  the 
court  below,  and  they  had  ap- 
pealed. The  papers  published  a 
synopsis  of  the  Supreme  Court 
decision,  which  created  unbounded 
satisfaction.  I  give  an  extract 
from  it : 

So  much  of  the  oath  as  relates  to  bearing 
arms  against  the  United  States,  refers  directly 
to  oiTences  against  the  government  of  the 
United  States,  and  are  not  within  the  powers 
and  jurisdiction  of  this  State  to  punish,  even 
by  due  process  of  law.  There  are  crimes 
which  can  only  be  punished  or  forgiven  by 
that  government.  And  the  Chief  Magistrate 
of  the  United  States,  acting  on  that  principle, 
by  his  proclamation  of  the  29th  of  May  last, 
in  conformity  with  the  authority  conferred  by 
the  constitution  of  the  United  States  and  the  act 
of  Congress  made  in  pursuance  thereof,  has 
most  graciously  extended  pardon  and  amnesty 
to  a  large  majority  of  citizens  of  this  State 
who  had  engaged  in  the  late  rebellion,  within 
the  provisions  of  which  the  plaintiff  below  has 
brought  himself  by  averments  contained  in 
his  declaration.  Hence  to  deprive  him  of  his 
right  to  vote,  on  account  of  his  participancy 
in  the  war  against  the  United  States,  would  be 
to  punish  him  for  a  crime  of  which  he  had 
been  pardoned. 

The  loth  section  of  the  bill  of  rights  de- 
clares, that  no  man  shall  be  taken  or  im- 
prisoned, or  disseized  of  his  freehold,  liabili- 
ties or  privileges,  or  outlawed  or  exiled,  but 
by  the  judgment  of  his  peers  or  the  law  of 
the  land.    And  the  14th  section  of  the  bill  of 


rights  provides,  that  no  man  shall  be  put  to 
answer  any  criminal  charge,  but  by  present- 
ment, indictment  or  impeachment,  except  as 
thereinafter  provided,  which  exception  refers 
to  petty  offences,  made  cognizable  before  jus- 
tices of  the  peace. 

Then  it  is  clear  that,  although  treason  is 
the  highest  crime  known  to  the  laws,  the 
mere  commission  of  that  offense  will  not  in 
itself  work  a  forfeiture  of  the  rights  or  privi- 
leges of  the  offender  ;  but  before  he  can  be 
deprived  of  all  or  either  of  them,  he  must  be 
convicted  by  due  process  of  law.  From  this 
view  of  the  case,  the  part  of  the  6th  section, 
providing  for  the  manner  of  holding  elections, 
which  requires  the  oath  referred  to,  is  abso- 
lutely null  and  void. 

The  decision  was  well  argued 
and  served  the  purpose.  But  on 
reading  it,  I  thought  of  Governor 
Murphy's  dislike  for  '  wise  saws 
and  modern  instances.'  It  might 
have  been  said  briefly  :  "  Here  is 
your  State  constitution.  Here  is 
the  constitution  of  the  United 
States,  which  forbids  any  State  to 
pass  a  bill  of  attainder  or  ex  post 
facto  law.  The  State  election-law 
is  repugnant  to  the  former,  and 
plainly  defies  the  latter  in  two 
aspects.  It  is  void,  and  thejudg- 
ment  below  will  be  affirmed." 

Violation  of  the  Federal  con- 
stitution, however,  did  not  seem 
to  be  regarded  seriously  at  the 
time.  It  was  boasted  by  Republi- 
can leaders  that  "they  had  dis- 
carded the  parchment  guarantees 
of  freedom  in  order  to  secure  the 
substance,"  i.  e.  freedom  to  whites 
secondary  to  that  of  the  negroes. 


of  the  Recotistructio7i  Period  in  Arkansas. 


29 


The  decision  was  to  silence  dis- 
contents and  weaken  the  influence 
of  their  spokesmen.  This  it  ac- 
complished. There  was  nothing 
in  the  way  now  of  a  free  election 
by  the  white  men  of  the  State. 
The  election  for  county  officers 
and  members  of  the  Legislature 
was  held  on  the  day  appointed  by 
law  without  restraint.  The  'freed- 
men  '  looked  on  good  humoredly. 
Not  so,  a  quantity  of  new  faces, 
of  any  specimen  of  whom  Caesar 
would  have  said  as  he  said  of  Cas- 
sius : 

"Yond'  Cassius  has  a  lean  and  hungry  look  ; 
Would  he  were  fatter  !" 

All  unconsciously  the  people 
as  a  rule  voted  for  the  men  of 
their  choice.  From  a  majority  of 
the  counties  they  elected  to  the 
General  Assembly  those  who  had 
led  or  defended  them  in  the  late 
struggle,  and  formed  what  was 
afterwards  known  as  the  '  Rebel 
Legislature.'  It  was  a  misnomer, 
however,  because  they  studiously 
avoided  partisan  measures.  But 
their  action,  when  required  as  to 
measures  thrust  upon  them,  they 
took  as  might  seem  best  for  the 
State.  Their  constituents  had  not 
favored  secession,  and  as  longer 
heads  had  foreseen,  did  not  yet 
perceive  the  purpose  of  foisting 
negro  suffrage  upon  them. 

For  Representatives  from  Pu- 
laski county  Col.  R.  C.  Newton 
had  been  elected  without  opposi- 
tion.    He  was  a  native  of  Arkan- 


sas, gifted  and  popular,  son  of 
Hon.  Thos.  W.  Newton,  the  only 
Whig  ever  elected  to  Congress 
from  Arkansas, — a  gentleman  who 
was  loved    by  all   who  knew  him. 

Mr.  Charles  Farrelly  was  elected 
over  Col.  J.  M.  Harrell,  by  a  ma- 
jority of  twenty-seven  votes,  as 
returned.  The  former  was  an 
avowed  advocate  of  the  Union. 
The  latter  had  been  for  years  a 
declared  disunionist,  of  the  school 
of  John  C.  Calhoun,  who  predicted 
all  that  was  now  taking  place. 
Only  a  part  of  his  prophecy  had 
yet  been  fulfilled.  By  a  ma- 
jority of  the  people  of  Pulaski 
county,  composed,  in  part,  of 
merchants  and  professional  men 
from  the  North,  the  teachings  of 
Calhoun  were  rejected.  Reluc- 
tantly, and  therefore  with  the 
greater  patriotism,  they  had  ac- 
quiesced in  separation.  They  were 
now  rejoiced  to  believe,  that  the 
Union  was  restored.  They  had 
eaten  husks  long  enough,  and  be- 
gan to  ask :  "  How  many  hired 
servants  of  my  father's  have  bread 
enough  and  to  spare  ?  I  will  arise 
and  go  to  my  father!"  They 
were  ready  to  overlook  the  mild 
encroachments  of  '  trade '  and 
view  complacently  enough  great 
stretches  of  constitutional  limita- 
tion, and  even  yield  states  rights, 
to  atone  for  the  'error'  of  seces- 
sion ;  when  the  march  of  events 
soon  taught  them  the  value  of 
the  barriers  of  state  sovereignity. 

President  Johnson  very  naturally 


3° 


TJie  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


desired  to  continue  in  the  office  of 
Chief  Magistrate.  The  Southern 
States  were  equipped  with  three- 
fifths  of  the  negro  population  in 
their  representation  in  Congress 
and  the  Electoral  College.  His 
course  was  plainly  directed  to 
conciliating  the  South.  Congress 
discovered  his  purpose,  and  oppo- 
sing his  aspirations,  determined  to 
strip  the  Democracy  of  that  ele- 
ment of  strength,  and  control  the 
five-fifths  for  the  support  of  the 
Republican  party,  by  giving  the 
negroes  themselves  the  right  to 
vote.     It  was  their  last  resort. 

The  awful  menace  of  negro 
domination  and  its  attendant  dan- 
gers, at  once  arrested  the  growing 
inclination  to  nationalism,  as  if  by 
magic.  Political  visionaries,  even 
when  actuated  by  the  purest 
philanthropy,  seem  at  a  loss  to 
understand  this  all-powerful  repul- 
sion of  blood,  that  vast  body  of 
natural  or  inherited  proclivities, 
which  we  are  accustomed  to  sum 
up  in  the  word  "  color,*  which  is 
really  the  meaning  of  caste.  (See 
Webster's  Dictionary.)  It  is  not 
mere  pigment,  only  skin  deep — 
this  repelling  quality.  It  is  some- 
thing beneath  skin,  which  divides 
the  races  by  lines  that  have  never 
been  passed,  wholly  independent 
of  their  volition.  And  why  in  the 
economy  of  nature,  should  it  not 
be  so?  Men  do  neither  gather 
grapes  of  thorns,  nor  figs  of  this- 
tles. 

Heaven   knows   that   I   sympa- 


thize with  the  black  man  in  all  his 
aspirations  for  good.  I  would 
lend  him  a  helpmg  hand  in  the 
school  of  life.  But  he  will  have 
to  learn  the  rudiments,  as  we  did. 
I  believe  the  negroes  are  the  most 
docile,  kindly  of  the  races,  under 
the  tutelage  of  the  white  race. 
But  I  do  not  think  it  true  philan- 
thropy, or  wise  statesmanship  to 
endeavor  to  advance  them  at  the 
peril  of  the  civilization  of  the 
white  race. 

But  Congress,  containing  only 
a  few  Democrats,  had  determined 
to  endow  the  negroes  with  the 
right  of  suffrage.  The  Fourteenth 
Article  of  Amendments  to  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States 
was  proposed  as  follows  : 

Section  i.  All  persons  born  or  naturalized 
in  the  United  States  and  subject  to  the  juris- 
diction thereof,  are  citizens  of  the  United 
States  and  of  the  State  wherein  they  reside. 
No  State  shall  make  or  enforce  any  law  which 
shp.U  abridge  the  privileges  or  immunities  of 
citizens  of  the  United  States;  nor  shall  any 
State  deprive  any  person  of  life,  liberty  or 
property  without  due  process  of  law ;  nor 
deny  to  any  person  within  its  jurisdiction  the 
equal  protection  of  the  laws. 

Section  2.  Provides  for  the  representation 
to  be  of  the  whole  population,  except  where 
the  right  to  vote  is  denied ;  then  to  be  reduced 
in  that  proportion,  unless  denied  for  partici- 
pation in  rebellion,  or  other  crime. 

Section  3.  Disqualifies  a  class  of  rebels 
from  holding  office,  unless  such  disability 
shall  be  removed  by  Congress. 

Section  4-  Provides  for  its  ratification  by 
the  States. 


of  the  Reco7istruction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


31 


The  first  step  required  was  to 
compel  the  ratification  of  this 
amendment  by  three-fourths  of 
the  States,  which  could  not  be 
done  without  s'ome  of  the  South- 
ern States.  So  the  act  of  Con- 
gress was  passed  entitled  "  An  act 
to  provide  for  the  more  efficient 
government"  of  the  'rebel  states' 
over  the  President's  veto,  March 
the  2nd,  1867.  By  this  act  the 
'  rebel  states '  were  divided  into 
military  districts,  Arkansas  and 
Mississippi  composing  the  Fourth. 
To  each  district  a  military  com- 
mander was  required  to  be  as- 
signed by  the  President,  with 
power  to  organize  military  com- 
missions to  try  offenders  against 
military  orders  and  regulations. 

It  also  provided,  that  when  the 
people  of  any  one  State  shall  have 
formed  a  constitution  framed  by  a 
convention  of  delegates  elected 
by  male  citizens  of  whatever  race, 
color  or  previous  condition,  and 
shall  be  ratified  by  a  majority  of 
such  persons  voting  on  the  ques- 
tion of  ratification,  and  Congress 
shall  have  approved  the  same,  and 
the  Legislature  of  such  State, 
elected  under  said  constitution, 
shall  have  adopted  said  Four- 
teenth Amendment,  and  the  said 
amendment  shall  have  become  a 
part  of  the  constitution  of  the 
United  States,  then,  and  not  until 
then,  said  State  shall  be  declared 
entitled  to  representation  in  Con- 
gress. 

On  the  23rd  of  March,  1867,  a 


supplementary  bill  was  passed, 
authorizing  the  appointment  of 
registrars  by  the  commanding 
general  and  prescribing  the  form 
of  oath  to  be  administered  to  the 
elector  before  admitting  him  to 
register.  That  oath  was  in  sub- 
stance, that  the  elector  was  a  citi- 
zen of  lawful  age,  of  a  certain 
county  and  State  and  had  not  been 
disfranchised  for  participation  in 
any  rebellion  or  civil  war  against 
the  United  States,  nor  for  felony  : 
and  that  he  had  not  taken  an  oath 
as  a  State  officer  or  member  of 
Congress,  or  as  an  officer  of  the 
United  States,  and  afterwards  en- 
gaged in  insurrection  or  rebellion 
against  the  United  States,  or  given 
aid  or  comfort  to  the  enemies 
thereof;  such  oath  to  be  adminis- 
tered by  any  registering  officer. 

At  the  passage  of  this  act,  the 
'  Rebel  Legislature  '  of  Arkansas 
was  in  session.  The  act  would 
disqualify  a  majority  of  its  mem- 
bers, and  some  of  the  'loyal' 
members  of  the  other  depart- 
ments of  the  State.  The  new 
Ship  of  State  so  recently  launched 
with  the  sanction  of  Lincoln, 
seemed  destined  not  to  pass  be- 
yond the  roadsteed.  The  Legisla- 
ture adopted  the  report  and  reso- 
lutions of  the  House  Committee 
on  Federal  Relations,  presented  by 
its  chairman,  Mr.  W.  H.  Brooks,  a 
distinguished  Confederate  Colo- 
nel, who  came  to  Arkansas  from 
Detroit,  Michigan,  in  1859,  and 
was  elected  from  Sebastian  county. 


32 


The  Brooks  a?id  Baxter   War:  a  History 


The  resolutions  show  how  cordi- 
ally the  affiliation  had  become  be- 
tween the  different  departments 
of  the  State  government. 

Whereas,  the  present  government  of  the 
State  of  Arkansas  was  duly  and  properly 
organized  under  the  proclamation  of  President 
Lincoln  of  December  the  8th,  1863,  and  has 
been  peaceably  acquiesced  in  by  all  the  people, 
and  has  remained  and  is  now  in  full  force  and 
operation  over  all  parts  of  the  State,  in  all  its 
departments,  whereby  life,  liberty  and  prop- 
erty are  fully  and  amply  protected  in  the  per- 
sons of  all  its  inhabitants ; 

And  Whereas,  the  greater  majority  of  the 
people  of  the  State  are  satisfied  therewith,  and 
desire  no  change,  and  the  constitution  of  the 
State  provides  for  its  own  amendment  and  no 
law  has  been  passed  calling  a  convention  for 
its  alteration ; 

Be  it  resolved  by  the  General  Assembly  of 
the  State  of  Arkansas,  That  the  existing  gov- 
ernment of  the  State  of  Arkansas  is  hereby 
declared  to  be  republican  in  form,  in  con- 
formity with  the  constitution  and  constitutional 
laws  of  the  United  States,  and  as  such  is 
the  true  and  proper  government  of  the  State — 
and  of  right  ought  to  be  recognized  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Federal  Union, — and  entitled  to  its 
due  representation  in  the  Senate  and  House 
of  Representatives  of  the  United  States,  with 
all  the  rights  and  privileges  of  other  States. 

Be  it  further  Resolved,  That  our  United 
States  Senators  be  instructed,  and  our  Repre- 
sentatives in  Congress  (?)  be  requested  to  lay 
these  resolutions  before  the  President  of  the 
United  States  and  Congress,  and  a  copy  be 
sent  to  each  of  the  Governors  of  the  several 
States  of  the  Union,  with  the  request  that  the 
same  be  presented  to  their  several  legislatures. 

It  was  a  dignified  but  vain  pro- 
test.    It  seemed  fatuous  to  speak 


of  Senators  and  Representatives 
in  Congress,  since  none  had  been 
admitted  and  the  conditions  upon 
which  they  were  to  be  admitted, 
were  set  forth  in  the  act  of  Con- 
gress, and  the  contingencies  were 
too  remote.  Mr.  Garland  and  Rev. 
Andrew  Hunter  were  elected  by 
the  Legislature  the  two  Senators 
in  Congress,  and  '  went  on  ;'  but, 
I  regret  to  say,  soon  '  returned,' 
not  being  admitted. 

The  minority  report  which  was 
presented  by  Mr.  Racket,  fully 
'  accepted  the  situation.'  It  was 
also  lengthy  and  contained  some 
'  assumptions'  not  warranted.  I 
give  the  substance  of  the  report  of 
the  minority  committee  as  fol- 
lows : 

By  an  act  of  Congress,  which  became  a  law 
the  second  day  of  March,  1867,  the  present 
government  of  the  State  of  Arkansas  is  de- 
clared provisional,  and  under  th?  provisions 
of  the  act,  it  is  probable  that  this  Legislature 
is  without  a  quorzim,  the  undersigned  respect- 
fully recommend  the  appointment  of  a  com- 
mittee whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  ascertain 
what  members  of  this  Legislature  are  entitled 
to  their  seats;  and,  if  upon  that  report  it  shall 
appear  that  there  are  members  disqualified 
by  the  act,  their  seats  be  declared  vacant,  and 
an  election  under  the  provisions  of  said  act 
be  held ;  and  that  so  far  as  the  qualifica- 
tion of  voters  and  the  eligibility  of  candi- 
dates is  concerned,  and  until  such  election, 
all  business   in  this  department  be  suspended. 

The  undersigned  fully  concede  the  power 
of  Congress  to  pass  said  law,  and  are  in 
favor  of  an  early  call  for  a  convention  for  the 
purpose  of  organizing  the  State  under  the 
same.     The  people   demand  that  this  shall  be 


of  the  Reconstructioti  Period  in  Arkansas. 


33 


done;  and  if  those  who  are  ineligible  to  exer- 
cise any  political  privileges  whatever,  con- 
tinue to  exercise  the  functions  of  office,  the 
people  will  be  unsettled  as  to  their  natural 
(sic)  rights,  and  may,  and  doubtless  will,  (ne- 
groes chiefly),  by  virtue  of  the  inherent  and 
inalienable  right  of  every  people  (except  for- 
mer rebels),  seek  their  safety  and  happiness  in 
a  constitutional  (sic)  and  organized  govern- 
ment, and  proceed  peaceably  to  form  and 
establish  a  government  in  conformity  with 
said  act  of  Congress. 

Those  who  voted  in  favor  of  the 
minority  report  in  the  House", 
were  Messers.  Dickey,  Farrelly, 
Racket,  Harper,  Leming,  McCol- 
lum,  Wheeler  and  West. 

In  view  of  the  act  of  Congress 
and  the  powers  then  asserted  by  it, 
the  supporters  of  the  minority  re- 
port apparently  took  the  more 
business  like  stand.  The  unseating 
of  the  *  rebel '  members  was  in- 
evitable, and  that  would  practic- 
ally destroy  the  General  Assem- 
bly. But,  upon  principle,  the  sup- 
porters of  the  majority  report  were 
in  the  better  attitude  before  the 
white  people.  In  standing  by 
their  people,  they  undoubtedly  dis- 
played the  truer  philanthropy  and 
patriotism.  It  took  four  years  from 
that  date,  that  is  to  the  date  of 
the  determination  of  the  "  Brooks 
and  Baxter  War,"  to  demonstrate 
that  theirs  was  the  truer  policy  and 
they  the  better  politicians. 

For  the  present,  the  government 
was  declared  '  provisional  only,' 
and  Governor  Murphy  was  again 
a  '  Provisional  Governor,'  and  had 


only  to  look  across  to  the  place  of 
meeting  of  the  Union  convention, 
then  also  in  session,  to  realize  that 
his  '  provisional '  tenure  was  draw- 
ing to  a  close. 

The  Union  State  convention  was 
in  session  for  the  purpose  of  or- 
ganizing the  Republican  party 
upon  the  basis  of  negro  suffrage. 
Col.  James  M.  Johnson,  of  Madison 
County,  was  president.  Among  its 
ablest  and  most  zealous  members 
were — from  Arkansas  county,  Jno. 
McClure;  from  Hempstead,  D.  P. 
Beldin,  J,  R.  Montgomery  ;  from 
Jefferson,  Powell  Clayton,- John 
A.  Williams,  and  Sam  W.  Mal- 
lory ;  from  Montgomery,  J.  W. 
Demby ;  from  Prairie,  T.  M.  Gib- 
son ;  from  Pulaski,  Ben.  F.  Rice, 
T.  D.  W.  Yonley,  W.  W.  Will- 
shire,  J.  L.  Hodges,  L.  J.  Barnes 
W.  S.  Oliver,  and  James  Hinds, 
John  Peyton,  etc.  Rev.  Joseph 
Brooks,  living  at  Helena,  is  not  in 
the  list  of  delegates  from  Phillips, 
reported  by  the  committee  on 
credentials.  After  remaining  in 
convention  for  several  days,  they 
adopted  a  platform  and  resolu- 
tions in  favor  of  enfranchising  the 
negroes  and  disfranchising  the 
*  rebels'  Many  of  them  came  to 
this  State  with  or  behind  the  army  ; 
a  few  were  old  citizens  from  the 
'  Mountains.' 

The  third  and  the  fourth  article 
of  their  platform  will  sufficiently 
show  the  animus  and  purpose  of 
the  convention. 

3.     That  we  recognize  the  power  and  right 


34 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter    War:  a  History 


of  the  National  Government  to  determine  the 
method  and  apply  the  means  of  reconstruct- 
ing the  rebel  States,  and  of  providing  lawful 
governments  for  the  same ;  and  we  do  wil- 
lingly abide  by  and  heartily  accept  the  meas- 
ures adopted  or  which  may  hereafter  be  neces- 
sarily prescribed  by  Congress  for  a  full,  per- 
fect and  final  reconstruction  of  said  States, 
to  the  end  that  the  State  may  be  admitted 
to  its  wonted  position  in  the  Union  and  repre- 
sentation in  Congress  ;  that  the  liberty  and 
rights  of  every  citizen  may  be  secured  and 
sacredly  guarded  and  protected  under  an 
honest,  competent  and  loyal  State  govern- 
ment ;  that  the  credit  of  the  State  may  be  re- 
stored and  economy  in  the  public  expen- 
ditures be  secured  %  that  the  construction  of 
railroads  and  other  internal  improvements  so 
necessary  to  the  prosperity  of  the  State  may 
be  commenced  and  vigorously  prosecuted ; 
and  that  the  peace,  security  and  prosperity 
may  be  restored  to  the  State  and  all  people. 
We  declare  that  we  are  in  favor  of  immediate 
action  under  and  in  conformity  to  the  acts  of 
Congress,  and  we  hereby  tender  to  the  Major- 
General  commanding  this  district,  our  hearty 
support  and  co-operation  in  their  honest  and 
faithful  execution. 

4.  That  we  denounce  the  guilty  authors 
of  the  late  rebellion  who  refuse  to  acquiesce 
in  the  necessary,  legitimate  and  just  results  of 
their  own  folly  and  crime,  and  who  are  now 
counselling  the  people  to  continued  opposition 
and  resistance  to  the  legitimate  and  lawful 
authority  of  the  National  Government,  as  ene- 
mies of  the  Union  and  all  the  dearest  and  best 
interests  of  the  people,  and  they  deserve  the 
scorn  of  every  honest  citizen  who  desires  to 
see  law  and  order  and  peace  and  prosperity 
secured  to  the  State. 

The  fourth  article  contained  a  de- 
nunciation of  "disloyal  newspapers 
and  political  demagogues,  whose 


purpose  it  was,  as  soon  as  represen- 
tation in  Congress  is  secured,  to 
repudiate  their  compact  with  the 
National  Government,  disfranchise 
the  recently  enfranchised  citizens 
and  prohibit  education  of  their 
children." 

The  platform  contained  several 
other  sections,  which  I  leave  out, 
as  they  are  in  the  same  strain.  A 
State  central  committee  was  ap- 
pointed with  extraordinary  powers. 

John  Kirkwood,  an  old  citizens 
of  Batesville,  then  offered  the  fol- 
lowing resolution,  which  was 
adopted : 

Resolved,  That  Hon.  Elisha  Baxter,  Gen. 
Albert  W.  Bishop  and  Col.  James  M.  Johnson 
be  requested  to  represent  the  interests  of  the 
loyal  men  of  this  State  at  Washington  City 
whenever  in  the  opinion  of  ihe  State  Central 
Committee,  such  interest  may  seem  to  require 
their  presence,  and  that  the  State  Central 
Committee  be  instructed  to  provide  for  mak- 
ing suitable  compensation  for  the  services  of 
these  gentlemen. 

The  convention  adjourned  sine 
die.  Here  were  Chief  Justice 
Yonley,  Col.  James  M.  Johnson 
and  Adjutant-General  Bishop — 
not  to  mention  Judge  Baxter,  who 
was  not  in  office — holding  com- 
missions aboard  the  sinking  ship 
of  the  New  State  Government, 
giving  her  up  as  doomed.  The 
affiliation  of  the  departments  had 
been  complete,  while  it  lasted, 
and  gave  promise  of  a  harmoni- 
ous future.  But  the  aspirations  of 
interested,  false  friends  interfered 
to  disrupt  a  union  that  augured  so 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


35 


well,  and  bring  ruin  upon  a  virtu- 
ous and  happy  household. 

The  full-pay  Adjutant-General 
was  not  to  be  closed  out  by  the  new 
combination.  He  would  wave  his 
hyperian  locks  and  display  his 
'mark  of  distinction'  upon  the 
avenues  of  the  '  National '  Capi- 
tal,— whence  he  returned  a  Re- 
gister in  Bankruptcy. 

Its  crew  was  leaving  and  the  hulk 
of  the  Lincoln-Murphy  White- 
Man's  Government  was  drifting  out 
to  sea  to  become  a  prize  to  the 
freebooters. 


THIRD    PAPER. 

"  Say,  why  are  you  here  ?    Why  did  you  come  ? 

How  long  are  you  going  to  stay? 
Why  don't  you  speak  ?     You  cannot  be  dumb  ! 

Say,  when  are  you  going  away  ? " 

— Helen  Cranberry. 

Major-General  Ord  had,  by  the 
President,  been  appointed  Com- 
manding General  of  the  Fourth 
Military  District,  with  headquar- 
ters of  the  district  at  Vicksburg, 
Mississippi.  He  visited  Little 
Rock  with  a  glittering  staff,  where 
he  was  waited  on  by  the  '  commit- 
tee of  conference,'  appointed  by 
the  Republican  convention,  to  ad- 
vise him  in  regard  to  the  appoint- 
ment of  Registrars  under  the  late 
acts  of  Congress,  of  which  Jonas 
M.  Tibbetts  was  chairman,  and 
the  'Republican  Central  Commit- 
tee,* of  which  B.  F.  Rice  was  chair- 
man. These  occurrences  dispelled 
from  all  minds  the  idea  that  peace 


had  been  permanently  established, 
although  two  years  had  passed 
since  the  surrender  of  the  rebel 
armies,  and  three  years  since  the 
organization  of  the  State  govern- 
ment under  the  Lincoln  procla- 
mation. 

And  so  the  operations  of  the 
Lincoln-Murphy  government  had 
been  practically  delusive.  It  had 
been  set  aside  by  the  acts  of  Con- 
gress for  the  reconstruction  of  the 
State  upon  a  basis  of  enfranchise- 
ment of  the  negro,  with  liberty  to 
the  agents  of  reconstruction  to  dis- 
franchise the  whites  who  had  par- 
ticipated in,  or  sympathized  with, 
the  rebellion.  The  sword  was 
unsheathed  in  order  to  compel 
citizens,  whether  loyal  or  disloyal, 
to  organize  a  State  government 
which  should  adopt  a  cohstitution 
giving  suffrage  to  the  negro,  when 
a  legislature,  under  such  constitu- 
tion, should  ratify  the  fourteenth 
article  of  amendments  to  the  Con- 
stitution of  the  United  States. 

The  amendment  had  already 
(June  6th,  1866)  been  proposed  to 
the  States  by  Congress  (in  which 
ten  States  were  not  represented), 
and,  under  the  forms  of  the  con- 
stitution, was  required  to  be  rati- 
fied by  three-fourths  of  the  States 
of  the  Union.  It  was  a  rounda- 
bout proceeding,  through  uncon- 
stitutional methods,  to  adopt  a 
constitutional  amendment  which 
should  deprive  the  States  of  their 
control  of  the  power  to  regulate 
the  elective  franchise  in  the  States. 


36 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter    War:  a  Historv 


It  had  been  repeatedly  decided 
by  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
United  States,  that  the  power  to 
regulate  the  elective  franchise  be- 
longed exclusively  to  the  States. 
The  Court  further  laid  down  the 
rule  that  "  citizenship  has  no  nec- 
essary connection  with  the  fran- 
chise of  voting,  or  eligibility  to 
office,  and  does  not  of  itself  give 
the  right  to  vote;  nor  does  the 
want  of  it  prevent  a  State  from 
conferring  the  right  of  suffrage." 
I  do  not  think  that  any  leader  in 
Congress  affected  to  regard  these 
proceedings  as  strictly  'constitu- 
tional.' They  assumed  that  war 
still  existed ;  that  peace  had  not 
been  permanently  established,  and 
that  the  maxim  Inter  anna  leges 
silent  alone  applied.  Yet  they 
strenuously  denied  the  application 
of  the  maxim  equally  applicable: 
Anna  in  armatos  sumere  jura 
sinunt  (to  take  up  arms  against  the 
armed  is  a  lawful  right),  which  lies 
at  the  root  of  the  doctrine  of  self- 
defense.  The  general  government 
possessed  expressly  delegated 
powers,  among  which  was  not  in- 
cluded the  right  to  regulate  suf- 
rage  in  the  States,  or  to  coerce  a 
State. 

All  powers  not  delegated  were 
"  reserved  to  the  States,  respect- 
ively, or  to  the  people'' — whatever 
'  people  '  may  mean  in  such  con- 
nection. Its  leaders  could  not 
justify  their  acts  by  any  other  ar- 
gument than  that  which  is  called 
the  last  argument  of  kings  : 


"Where  the  word  of  a  king  is,  there  is  power; 
And  who  may   say  unto  him :     ^\^lat  doest 
thou?" 

Meanwhile  impecunious  stran- 
gers swarmed  through  the  negro 
quarters  of  the  city  and  cabins  of 
plantations. 

On  the  19th  of  July,  1867,  Con- 
gress passed  another  and  the  third 
in  the  series  of  reconstruction 
acts,  still  more  clearly  defining  its 
purposes.  I  will  give  in  full  the 
following  section  of  the  act : 

Section  5.  A7id  be  it  further  enacted 
That  the  boards  of  registration  provided  for 
in  the  act  entitled  "  An  act  supplementary  to 
an  act  entitled  'An  act  to  provide  for  the 
more  efficient  government  of  the  rebel  States,' 
passed  March  two,  eighteen  hundred  and  six- 
ty-seven, and  to  facilitate  restoration,"  passed 
March  twenty-three,  eighteen  hundred  and 
sixty-seven,  shall  have  power,  and  it  shall  be 
their  duty,  before  allowing  the  registration  of 
any  person,  to  ascertain,  upon  such  facts  or  in- 
formation as  they  can  obtain,  whether  such 
person  is  entitled  to  be  registered  under  said 
act,  and  the  oath  required  by  said  act  shall 
not  be  conclusive  on  such  question,  and  no 
person  shall  be  registered  unless  such  board 
shall  decide  that  he  is  entitled  thereto  ;  and 
such  board  shall  also  have  power  to  ex- 
amine, under  oath  (to  be  administered  by  any 
member  of  such  board),  any  one  touching  the 
qualification  of  any  person  claiming  registra- 
tion ;  but  in  every  case  of  refusal  by  the  board 
to  register  an  applicant,  and  in  every  case  of 
striking  his  name  from  the  list  as  hereinafter 
provided,  the  board  shall  make  a  note  or 
memorandum,  which  shall  be  returned  with 
the  registration  list  to  the  commanding  gen- 
eral of  the  district,  setting  forth  the  grounds 
of  such  refusal,  or  such  striking  from  the  list ; 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  i>i  Arkansas. 


37 


Provided,  That  no  person  shall  be  disqualified 
as  member  of  any  board  of  registration  by 
reason  of  race  or  color." 

Filled  with  dismay,  leading  citi- 
zens met  to  consult  as  to  the 
course  they  should  take,  and  ad- 
vise their  friends  to  take,  in  the 
formation  of  a  new  State  govern- 
ment under  the  reconstruction 
acts  of  Congress.  After  full  de- 
liberation they  issued  the  follow- 
ing address : 

"  To  the  People  of  the  State  of  Arkansas',  or 

such  as  may  be  Entitled  to   Vote  at  the 

coming  Election  fixed  by  Gerteral  Ord  for 

the  £th  day  {Jirst  Tuesday')  of  November, 

A.  D.  1867 : 

"  Each  of  us  whose  names  appear  in  this 

paper,  has  received,  from  time  to  time,  letters 

from  various  persons  in  the  State,   asking  our 

opinions  and  advice  as  to  the  course  to  be 

pursued   in   the   election   above  referred   to. 

Upon  consultation  we  have  agreed  upon  this 

method  of  answering  those  letters,  and  in  so 

doing  we  but  give  our  opinions,  and  do  not 

assume  to  direct  any  one,  or  to  dictate  to  any 

one. 

After  a  most  careful  and  thorough  consider- 
ation of  the  Reconstruction  Act  itself,  with 
all  the  reasons  for  and  against  which  we  have 
heard  or  read,  we  regard  reconstruction  under 
that  act  as  an  impossibility.  Some  sort  of 
restoration  may  be  had  under  it,  but  a  recon- 
struction such  as  will  give  our  people  equal 
rights  with  others,  and  such  as  will  secure  to 
our  State  and  her  citizens  full  constitutional 
rights,  cannot  be  had  under  that  measure. 
Any  reconstruction  short  of  this  would  be  a 
cruel  mockery,  and  would  result,  in  the  end, 
in  the  certain  degradation,  prostration  and 
complete  ruin  of  the  State.  As  harsh  and 
severe  and  as  odious  as  military  rule  may  be, 
we  prefer  it  infinitely  to  what  must,  of  neces- 


sity, follow  from  any   kind  of  restoration  or 
reconstruction!  under  that  act. 

"Therefore,  a  convention  to  bring  about 
such  a  reconstruction,  as  this  bill  contem- 
plates, is  to  be  avoided  as  the  worst  of  evils. 
And  if  the  convention  is  not  needed  to  effect 
national  restoration,  or  national  integrity,  cer- 
tainly it  is  not  necessary  for  any  merely  local 
purposes.  This  is  more  particularly  true  when 
in  its  proceedings  hundreds  and  thousands  of 
our  citizens  are  not  permitted  to  even  have  a 
voice,  but  are  altogether  excluded  from  it,  and 
besides  are  disfranchised,  and  branded  as 
traitors  and  felons. 

"  We  regard  it,  then,  as  a  sacred  duty  on  the 
part  of  those  who  claim  this  as  their  home, 
and  who  feel  for  the  pride,  honor,  and  pros- 
perity of  the  State,  to  go  to  the  polls  and  vote 
against  a  convention,  and  at  the  same  time 
to  vote  for  cautious,  prudent,  wise,  conserva- 
tive delegates,  so  that  if  a  convention  should 
be  held,  its  proceedings  will  be  controlled  and 
directed  with  an  assurance  that  the  State  will 
not  be  given  up  to  destruction, 

"These  arc  the  views  we  entertain  on  this 
most  important  question,  and  they  are  submit- 
ted with  a  full  conviction  and  a  perfect  sense 
of  the  magnitude  of  the  interests  at  stake. 

"  Respectfully,  etc. 
Daniel  Ringo,  W.E.Woodruff,  Sen., 

F.  A.  Terry,  Sol.  F.  Clark, 

Z.  P.  H.  Farr,  Chas.  a.  Carroll, 

Wm.  Q.  Pennington,  J.  F.  Fagan, 
S.  C.  Faulkner,  R.  C.  Newton, 

T.  J.  Churchill,         Geo.  C.  Watkins, 
JNO.  C.  Peay,  U.  M.  Rose, 

C.  B.  Moore,  L.  B.  Cunningham, 

Wm.  E.  Ashley,  Jos.  Stillwell, 

Jno.  M.  Harrell,       E.  H.  English, 
A.  H.  Garland,  Wm.  A.  Crawford." 

The  States  might  not  pass  any 
bill  of  attainder  or  ex-post  facto 
law,  but  (it  was  argued)  Congress 


38 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


might.  The  Constitution  of  the 
United  States  had  not  incorpora- 
ted the  29th  chapter  of  Magna 
Charta  in  its  provisions ;  but  those 
of  the  States  had,  as  cited  by 
Judge  Yonley;  and  the  common 
law  was  the  rule  of  decisions  of 
the  courts  of  all  the  States  except 
Louisiana. 

The  foregoing  address  did  not 
attempt  any  argument  of  the  legal- 
ity of  the  reconstruction  acts  of 
Congress.  President  Johnson  had 
exhausted  the  subject  in  return- 
ing them  to  Congress  with  his  ob- 
jections, —  in  the  fulfilment,  he 
claimed,  of  his  oath  of  office. 
'Congress,'  of  sixteen  States,  pro- 
ceeded to  pass  them  over  his  ob- 
jections by  the  requisite  tzuo  thirds 
vote  (?),  bound  also  to  the  fulfil- 
ment of  a  similiar  oath  of  office, 
and  asked  no  justification.  It  mere- 
ly trained  its  victorious  guns 
against  the  prostrate  South. 

The  newspaper  established  in 
Little  Rock  as  the  organ  of  the 
Republican  party  lately  organized, 
and  styled  The  Repjiblicaii,  edited 
by  Capt.  John  G,  Price,  professed 
to  be  pleased  with  the  address  as 
above  issued.  That  paper  said  : — 
"  The  Bourbons  have  issued  an 
address  which  is  eminently  char- 
acteristic of  their  inability  to  learn 
anything,  and  will  give  comfort  to 
the  friends  of  restoration  and  good 
government.  We  will  with  the 
most  disinterested  purpose  advise 
them  to  beware  how  they  monkey 
with  the  buzz-saw." 


The  Registrars  throughout  the 
State  were  duly  appointed  in  ac- 
cordance with  suggestions  to  the 
commanding  general  by  the  con- 
ference committee,  which  had 
been  assigned  that  duty  by  the 
Republican  Convention.  The 
State  of  Arkansas  was  composed 
of  three  regions  of  country  inhab- 
ited by  those  whose  interests  and 
occupations  were,  to  a  degree,  as 
distinct  as  the  physical  subdivis- 
ions of  the  State.  Similar  divis- 
ions, geographical  and  social  or 
commercial,  are  described  as  exist- 
ing in  the  ancient  republic  of  Ath- 
ens. 

These  were  distinguished  as  the 
Mountain,  the  Plain,  and  the  Shore. 
*  The  Mountain '  was  inhabited  by 
small  farmers,  and  a  populous 
community  of  hardy  but  ingenu- 
ous people.  *  The  Plain '  was 
formed  of  broad  fertile  lands, 
which  were  cultivated  by  opulent 
slave-holders.  '  The  Shore  '  was 
the  seat  of  cities  where  wealth  was 
gradually  concentrating,  and  learn- 
ing and  arts  were  cultivated.  A 
description  of  one  of  these  regions 
and  its  people,  would  in  no  wise 
answer  for  a  correct  description  of 
another.  The  Mountain  has  less 
sympathy  with  the  people  of  the 
Plain  and  Shore  in  their  political 
or  social  aspirations.  The  Regis- 
trars that  were  appointed  with 
such  unlimited  discretion  were 
carefully  chosen  with  a  view  to 
their  adaptability  to  these  various 
localities.    The  negroes — to  whose 


of  the  Reco7istruction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


39 


voting  no  restraints  were  inter- 
posed by  the  acts  of  Congress, 
numbering  about  200,000,  which 
was  one-fourth  of  the  entire  pop- 
ulation of  the  State — inhabited, 
principally,  the  Plain  and  the 
shore.  There  was  no  trouble  in 
registering  them.  The  prospect 
of  voting  filled  them  with  pleasure. 
They  were  for  the  first  time  aroused 
to  a  real  appreciation  of  the  sig- 
nificance of  occurring  events.  Most 
of  the  slaves  retained  the  names  of 
the  families  in  which  they  had 
lived.  Some  of  these  names  were 
no  less  illustrious  than  those  of 
Washington,  Jackson,  Livingston, 
Hamilton,  etc. 

While  the  Registrars  were  at 
work,  under  the  pay  of  the  United 
States,  as  required  by  the  first  or- 
der of  the  commanding  general  to 
complete  the  registration  by  the 
26th  of  September,  the  freedmen 
chiefly  thronged  the  offices  of  reg- 
istration; the  subject  of  registra- 
tion forming  the  principal  topic  of 
conversation  among  them.  You 
might  hear  on  the  streets  or  in  the 
lanes  of  the  plantations  such  dia- 
logues as  the  following : — 

"  Mr.  Washington,  has  you  done 
registered  yit  ?  " 

"  O,  yes,  Mr.  Jackson,  I  done 
registered  a  week  ago — leastwise 
I  went  dar  and  give  um  my  name, 
but  may  be  I  mought  as  well  go 
agin." 

**  Why  certen'y.  Go  agin,  go 
two  or  t'ree  times.       I  went  dar 


four  times.       I  was  gwine  to    be 
sho  dey  got  my  name." 

"  But  I  spose  you  can't  vote  but 
once? " 

"I  ain't  concern'  about  dat;  I 
want  to  vote  one  time,  sho." 

At  an  office  of  registration  in 
one  of  the  mountain  counties  where 
there  was  a  great  rush  of  appli- 
cants for  registration,  and  ropes 
were  extended  for  some  distance 
on  each  side  of  the  entrance  to  se- 
cure admittance  in  regular  order,  a 
young  white  man,  just  become  of 
age,  applied  to  register.  He  was 
ordered  to  be  admitted  escorted 
by  two  negroes,  each  armed  with 
a  revolver,  who  marched  him  up 
between  the  ropes.  On  giving  his 
name  and  age,  his  application  was 
rejected,  on  the  ground  that  al- 
though he  had  not  participated  in 
the  rebellion,  his  father  had  been 
a  Southern  political  leader ;  the 
suspected  sympathies  of  the  ap- 
plicant demanded  his  rejection. 
He  was  marched  back  by  his  col- 
ored escort. 

The  Registrars  were  taken  gen- 
erally from  the  Union  League,  a 
secret  organization  which  formed 
a  compact  body  existing  through- 
out the  State,  from  which  the  body 
of  the  whites  was  excluded  and 
to  which  the  negroes  were  admit- 
ted upon  the  payment  of  a  small 
initiation  fee,  and  in  the  lodges  of 
which  they  were  encouraged  to 
speak,  and  relate  with  excited  im- 
aginations the  experiences  of  their 
oppressions,  prior  and  subsequent 


4° 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


to  their  emancipation.  Agents  of 
the  Freedmen's  Bureau  organized 
and  directed  the  League. 

Mr.  James  Hinds  was  a  lawyer, 
living  in  the  dwelling  of  Dr.  C. 
Peyton,  a  distinguished  Confeder- 
ate surgeon,  purchased  at  a  tax 
sale  made  by  Copperthwaite, 
United  States  Commissioner  for 
the  collection  of  direct  taxes  to 
the  United  States,  which  sale  was 
subsequently,  by  Justice  Miller, 
declared  invalid.  The  United 
States  courts  exercised  jurisdic- 
tion, as  if  Arkansas  were  a  State 
duly  represented  in  Congress. 

Mr.  Hinds  practiced  in  the  jus- 
tices' courts;  wore  a  long  black 
coat,  dark  clothing  generally,  and 
white  cravat,  and  was  usually  to 
be  seen  with  a  law  book  under  his 
arm.  With  a  triangular  face,  broad 
forehead  and  sharp  protruding 
chin,  smoothly  shaved ;  thin  lips, 
curving  downward ;  an  habitual 
smile,  and  mild  blue  eyes,  he 
was  seldom  seen  on  the  street, 
except  when  it  was  evident  that 
he  had  tarried  too  long  at  the 
wine  cup.  I  never  ascertained 
whence  he  came  to  Little  Rock, 
and  never  saw  any  one  who  was 
able  fully  to  explain  the  mystery 
of  his  tragic  fate.  He  was  one 
of  the  candidates  of  his  party  for 
a  seat  in  the  proposed  convention. 
No  one,  than  he,  had  more  influ- 
ence over  the  colored  people.  He 
had  them  at  his  home,  and  treated 
them  as  his  social  equals.  He  was 
courteous  to  the  whites  who  were 


inclined  to  accept  his  overtures ; 
and,  negrophilist  as  he  was,  he  was 
liberal  to  his  opponents,  and  espe- 
cially those  who  had  been  in  act- 
ive rebellion.  Meeting  Col.  New- 
ton on  the  street,  he  said : 

"  Col.  Bob,  I  like  a  rebel  who 
fought.  I  am  a  rebel  myself; 
always  was.  I  rebelled  against 
the  Constitution ;  I  have  been 
spitting  on  it  ever  since  I  under- 
stood it  authorized  the  enslave- 
ment of  my  fellow  man.  I  don't 
blame  you,  though,  as  you  did 
not  make  the  Constitution." 

"  You  are  very  kind,  Hinds," 
said  the  Colonel;  "I  appreciate 
your  leniency,  but  the  Constitu- 
tion was  a  contract;  the  consider- 
ations which  supported  it  were  a 
compromise,  and  don't  you  think 
we  were  bound  to  observe  it  in 
honor  of  its  framers  ?  " 

"No!"  said  Hinds,  "it  was 
adopted  without  reference  to  those 
who  were  chiefly  concerned,  and 
was  a  fraud  as  to  them ;  and 
fraud  vitiates  from  the  beginning." 

"Oh,"  said  the  Colonel,  "but 
they  had  their  legal  representa- 
tives ;  they  were  wards ;  they  were 
disabled  from  acting  for  them- 
selves. I  don't  think  they  are  any 
more  competent  now." 

"  Ah,  Colonel,  that  is  prejudice. 
Such  prejudice  exists  in  the  minds 
of  you  rebels  that  the  colored 
population  cannot  have  justice 
done  to  them,  and  until  we  clothe 
them  with  the  power  of  the  ballot, 
I  undertake  to    say,   that  justice 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


41 


cannot  be  administered  to  them 
even  in  the  courts." 

"  So  you  propose,"  said  the 
Colonel,  "  to  go  to  the  opposite 
extreme,  and  give  that  people  all 
the  power,  and  reserve  none  for 
us  rebels?  " 

"  No,  sir ;  we  will  do  no  such 
thing.  We  will  adopt  a  constitu- 
tion under  which  no  man  shall  be 
disfranchised  unless  he  disfran- 
chises himself.  All  may  vote,  who 
will  not  interfere  with  the  other's 
right  to  vote." 

"  Yes."  replied  the  Colonel,  "  but 
there  will  be  the  bayonet  behind 
the  ballots  of  all,  just  as  now." 

"No,  no,"  laughed  Hinds,  put- 
ting his  arm  around  the  Colonel's 
shoulder  and  leading  him  away; 
"  under  the  constitution  that  we 
shall  make,  the  ballot  will  be  a 
weapon  firmer  set,  and  better  than 
the  bayonet — a  weapon  that 

"  Comes  down  as  still 
As  snowflakes  fall  upon  the  sod. 

But  executes  a  free  man's  will. 
As  lightning  does  the  will  of  God." 

Hinds  was  the  lawyer  of  the 
colored  litigants,  and  attended  all 
their  meetings,  political  and  relig- 
ious. He  would  say  to  the 
congregations  crowding  the  col- 
ored churches  upon  occasions 
when,  layman  as  he  was,  he  would 
be  invited  to  the  pulpit : 

"  My  colored  brothers  and  sis- 
ters, I  am  a  '  missionary.'  I  am 
one  of  those  fellows  who  used  to 
be  called  an  '  abolition  emissary.' 

4 


I  am  authorized  to  save  souls  by 
making  the  people  free.  I  believe 
there  is  no  hope  of  heaven  for  a 
slave,  because  he  has  committed 
the  unpardonable  sin  in  being  a 
slave.  This  is  the  day  of  your  ju- 
bilee; you  vote  for  a  convention, 
and  vote  for  me,  and  I  will  give 
you  a  free  ticket  of  admission  to 
the  heavenly  city."  Which  would 
be  responded  to  with  shouts. 

And  the  Rev.  Joseph  Brooks 
often  followed  Mr.  Hinds  in  these 
exercises.  He  resided  at  Helena, 
to  which  place  he  went  with  Gen. 
Curtis,  as  chaplain  of  a  colored 
regiment;  was  a  candidate  for  the 
convention,  and  frequently  visited 
Little  Rock.  He  was  a  man  of 
great  size,  had  a  large  head,  which 
was  nearly  bald,  large  features  and 
sallow  face,  cleanly  shaven.  He 
would  say,  when  Mr.  Hinds  would 
come  down  out  of  the  pulpit,  as 
he  took  his  place  behind  the  sa- 
cred desk : 

"  My  Christian  friends,  you  un- 
derstand Brother  Hinds.  In  a  re- 
ligious point  of  view  he  is  not 
quite  orthodox  in  what  he  says, 
but  the  spirit  of  his  remarks  is 
just,  if  rightly  understood.  He 
means  that  a  voluntary  slave  may 
not  enter  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 
But  I  will  say,  its  streets  are 
thronged  with  slaves,  from  the 
time  of  Javan  down  to  Uncle  Tom ; 
and  I  can  see  that  old  slave,  from 
Abraham's  bosom  talking  kindly 
to  the  rich  Lagree,  explaining  that 
the  gulf  which  now  separates  them 


42 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


is  impassable,  and  that  no  advice 
will  be  sent  to  his  kinsmen,  but 
that  they  must  act  upon  their  own 
responsibility  in  the  affairs  of  this 
life,  and  make  reparation  to  those 
whom  they  have  oppressed,  by 
granting  them  equal  rights  with 
themselves." 

If  his  allusions  to  Lagree  were 
not  understood,  those  to  Abra- 
ham and  the  rich  man,  had  been 
heard  before. 

Mr.  Brooks  had  a  fluent  deliv- 
ery, powerful  voice,  and  energetic 
action.  Such  appeals  invariably 
stirred  the  congregation  to  an  up- 
roar. "  Bless  Gods,"  went  up  from 
the  men,  and  "  hallelujahs,"  and  ' 
shouts,  from  the  women,  who  end- 
ed by  singing — 

"  In  the  morning,  in  the  morning  by  the 
bright  light." 

Messrs.  Hinds  and  Brooks  were 
elected  from  their  respective  coun- 
ties to  the  constitutional  conven- 
tion. The  convention  was  de^- 
clared  carried  by  order  of  the  com- 
manding general,  in  General  Or- 
ders No.  43,  Headquarters  Fourth 
Military  District,  series  of  1867, 
by  the  following  vote  :  For  Con- 
vention, 27,576  ;  Against  Conven- 
tion, 13,558- 

The  convention  commenced  its 
sitting  on  Tuesday,  January  7th, 
1868,  and  after  a  little  more  than  a 
month's  deliberation  declared  the 
constitution  adopted  on  February 
nth,  1868,  ready  for  submission 
to  the  people  for  their  ratification. 


and  the  election  of  officers  under 
it  on  the  13th  day  of  March,  1868. 

Its  President  was  Thomas  Bow- 
en,  of  Mt.  Pleasant  Iowa.  Rev. 
Jos.  Brooks  was  one  of  the  Vice- 
Presidents,  and  John  G.  Price, 
Secretary. 

The  new  constitution  contained 
the  following  provision  on  the  sub- 
ject of  the  franchise  : 

Section  i.  In  all  elections  by  the  people 
the  electors  shall  vote  by  ballot. 

Section  2.  Every  male  person  born  in  the 
United  States,  and  every  male  person  who  has 
been  naturalized,  or  has  legally  declared  his 
intentions  to  become  a  citizen  of  the  United 
States,  who  is  twenty-one  years  old  or  up- 
wards, and  who  shall  have  resided  in  this 
State  six  months  next  preceeding  the  election, 
and  who,  at  the  time,  is  an  actual  resident  of 
the  county  in  which  he  offers  to  vote,  except 
as  hereinafter  provided,  shall  be  deemed  an 
elector.  Provided,  no  soldier,  or  sailor,  or 
marine,  in  the  military  or  naval  service  of  the 
United  States,  shall  acquire  a  residence  by 
reason  of  being  stationed  on  duty  in  this  State. 

Sec.  3.  The  following  classes  shall  not  be 
permitted  to  register  or  vote  or  hold  offices, 
viz  : 

First.  Those  who,  during  the  rebellion, 
took  the  oath  of  allegiance,  or  gave  bonds  for 
loyalty  and  good  behavior  to  the  United 
States  government,  and  afterwards  gave  aid, 
comfort,  or  countenance,  to  those  engaged  in 
armed  hostility  to  the  government  of  the 
United  States,  either  by  becoming  a  soldier  in 
the  rebel  army,  or  by  entering  the  lines  of 
said  army,  or  adhering  in  any  way  to  the 
cause  of  rebellion,  or  by  accompanying  any 
armed  force  belonging  to  the  rebel  army,  or 
by  furnishing  supplies  of  any  kind  to  the 
same.  • 


of  the  Reco7istruction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


43 


Second.  Those  who  are  disqualified  as 
electors,  or  from  holding  office  in  the  State  or 
States  from  which  they  came. 

Third.  Those  persons  who  during  the  late 
rebellion  violated  the  rules  of  civilized  war- 
fare. 

Fourth.  Those  who  may  be  disqualified 
by  the  proposed  amendment  to  the  Constitu- 
tion of  the  United  States,  known  as  Article 
XIV.,  and  those  who  have  been  disqualified 
from  registering  to  vote  for  delegates  to  the 
convention  to  frame  a  constitution  for  the 
State  of  Arkansas,  under  the  act  of  Congress 
entitled  "An  Act  to  provide  for  the  more 
efficient  government  of  the  rebel  States," 
passed  by  Congress  March  2d,  1867,  and  the 
acts  supplementary  thereto.  ***** 
Provided,  That  all  persons  included  in  the 
first,  second,  third,  and  fourth  subdivisions  of 
this  section,  who  have  openly  advocated,  or 
have  voted  for  the  reconstruction  proposed  by 
Congress,  and  accept  the  equality  of  all  men 
before  the  law,  shall  be  deemed  qualified 
electors  under  this  Constitution. 

Sec.  5.  All  persons  before  registering  or 
voting  must  take  and  subscribe  the  following 
oath:  "I  do  solemnly  swear  (or  affirm)  that 
I  will  support  and  maintain  the  Constitution 
and  laws  of  the  United  States,  and  the  Con- 
stitution and  laws  of  the  State  of  Arkansas; 
that  I  am  not  excluded  from  registering  or 
voting  by  any  of  the  clauses  in  the  first,  sec- 
ond, third,  or  fourth  subdivisions  of  Article 
VIII.  of  the  Constitution  of  the  State  of  Ar- 
kansas ;  that  I  will  never  countenance  or  aid 
in  the  secession  of  this  State  from  the  United 
States;  that  I  accept  the  civil  and  political 
equality  of  all  men,  and  agree  not  to  attempt 
to  deprive  any  person  or  persons,  on  account 
of  race,  color,  or  previous  conditions,  of  any 
political  or  civil  right,  privileges,  or  immunity, 
enjoyed  by  any  other  class  of  men  ;  and,  fur- 
thermore, that  I  will  not  in  any  way  injure, 
countenance  in  others  any  attempt  to  injure. 


any  person,  or  persons,  on  account  of  past  or 
present  support  of  the  government  of  the 
United  States,  the  laws  of  the  United  States, 
or  the  principle  of  the  political  and  civil 
equality  of  all  men,  or  for  affiliating  with  any 
political  party." 

On  the  13th  day  of  March,  1868, 
the  people  were  to  be  called  on 
again  to  vote  upon  the  ratification 
or  rejection  of  this  constitution. 
The  subject  of  the  ratification  of 
this  constitution  making  radical 
changes,  and,  in  view  of  the  pro- 
posed  constitutional  amendment 
to  perpetuate  its  measures,  excited 
the  deepest  interest. 

The  old  citizens  of  the  State, 
without  regard  to  former  party  af- 
filiation, whether  for  or  against  the 
Union  in  the  late  conflict,  were 
generally  opposed  to  the  radical 
measures  of  the  proposed  consti- 
tution. In  response  to  a  call  issued 
by  well-known  leaders  of  different 
party  complexions,  residing  at 
Little  Rock,  the  convention  of 
what  was  styled  '  The  Democratic 
Conservative  Party  of  Arkansas,' 
met  at  Little  Rock  in  January. 
It  was  largely  attended,  and  rep- 
resented the  wealth  and  intelli- 
gence of  the  State.  After  full  dis- 
cussion, it  was  decided,  despite 
the  offer  which  it  was  well  under- 
stood would  be  in  the  constitution 
itself,  that  all  who  voted  in  favor 
of  it  should  be  admitted  to  regis- 
tration, not  to  vote  for  the  consti- 
tution. 

The  convention,  previous  to  its 
adjournment,    appointed    a    State 


44 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter    War:  a  History 


Central  Committee,  composed  as 
follows  :  Robt.  A.  Howard,  Chair- 
man, Little  Rock;  Wm.  Byers, 
Batesville  ;  J.  S.  Dunham,  Van  Bu- 
ren;  A.  B.  Williams,  Washington; 
L.  B.  Nash,  C.  B.  Moore,  Arnold 
Syberg,  F.  A.  Terry,  and  R.  C. 
Newton ;  J.  M.  Harrell,  Secretary, 
Little  Rock. 

The  committee  established  the 
Campaign  Gazette  as  its  organ,  a 
paper  issued  from  the  presses  of 
the  Arkansas  Gazette  whose  print- 
ing office  was  in  the  control  of 
those  who  had  no  sympathy  with 
the  movement.  I  will  give  here 
some  paragraphs  from  the  columns 
of  the  Campaign  Gazette,  edited 
by  the  committee,  as  samples  of 
the  arguments  and  positions  taken 
by  the  organization  it  represented. 
In  its  leading  article  of  January 
loth,  speaking  of  the  Constitution- 
al Convention  then  in  session,  it 
said: 

"  We  attended  the  first  opening  of  the  Rad- 
ical Menagerie  at  the  '  old  capitol '  this  morn- 
ing. When  we  considered  that  only  a  few  of 
the  animals  have  ever  been  on  exhibition  be- 
fore, and  are  characterized  by  insatiable  ra- 
pacity, we  were  a  little  nervous  on  approach- 
ing the  arena,  and  secured  a  place  beyond 
danger  in  the  gallery.  We  could  not  but  re- 
gard the  collection  with  the  deepest  interest, 
which,  we  must  confess,  partook  more  of  terror 
than  admiration.  Dr.  Nieuwentyt,  in  his 
treatise  to  demonstrate  the  reality  of  final  cau- 
ses has  asked :  Can  it  be  chance  that  has  in- 
spired the  gentle  and  useful  animals  with  the 
disposition  to  live  together  in  our  fields,  and 
prompts  ferocious  beasts  to  roam  by  them- 
selves in  unfrequented  places?      Why  should 


not  flocks  of  tigers  be  led  by  the  sound  of  the 
shepherd's  fife?  Why  should  not  a  colony  of 
lions  be  seen  frisking  in  our  parks  among  the 
wild  thyme  and  the  dew,  like  the  little  ani- 
mals celebrated  by  La  Fontaine  ? " 

In  another  article  there  occured 
the  following  paragraph  : — 

"  Circumventing  God." 
"  That  popular  reason  in  the  United  States, 
under  recent  strains  upon  it,  should  have  given 
signs  of  some  derangement,  is  not  astonishing. 
No  people  ever  were  less  prepared  for  the  ca- 
tastrophes of  a  war  like  that  we  have  passed, 
following  upon  a  generation  of  unequaled,  un- 
appreciated, peace  and  happiness.  A  sub- 
ject of  greater  wonder  is,  that  the  '  sober  sec- 
ond thought,'  in  which  we  have  been  bred  to 
have  an  abiding  faith,  should  foreshadow  its 
return  so  soon  !  Already  with  growing  com- 
posure we  contemplate  the  future,  and  remem- 
ber the  past  as  a  troubled  dream — a  dreadful 
delirium — from  which  we  pray  a  perpetual  de- 
liverence. 

"  The  organ  of  the  Radicals  at  the  Capital 
of  Massachusetts — whence  were  loosed  some 
of  the  fiercest  gusts  of  the  late  passion-storm 
— cries  out  in  the  very  pain  of  a  similar  return 
to  reason,  that  defeat  in  the  recent  Northern 
elections  has  overtaken  the  party  because,  by 
attempting  to  make  the  negro  the  equal  of  the 
white  ma.n,  it  iried  io  cii'cu/uvent  God.  And 
this  is  not  the  language  of  disappointment,  or 
passionate  exageration,  but  of  truth,— in  the 
point,  force,  and  eloquence  of  truth — truth, 
'  and  nothing  more.' 

"  In  undertaking  to  elevate  the  negro  to  a 
position  of  equality  with  the  white  race, — if  it 
had  undertaken  no  more,  the  radical  party  has 
plotted  to  circumvent  God  !  That  God's  pur- 
pose is  the  contrary  of  this,  is  nowhere  more 
plainly  declared  in  his  revelations,  and  the  rev- 
elations of  nature,  which  all  may  read  and  un- 
understand.    The  attractions  and  sympathy 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


45 


which  white  men,  in  the  most  generous  of  im- 
pulses, formerly  felt  for  the  negro,  is  admira- 
bly explained  by  Horace  Greely  in  his  declar- 
ation that  'the  negro  in  his  bonds  was  strong- 
er than  his  master,  because  of  the  principle  of 
justice  crucified  in  him '  by  his  enslavement. 
As  a  slave,  he  was  clothed  too  in  the  garb  of 
an  orderly  propriety,  and  reflected  the  urban- 
ity and  refinement  of  his  fortunate  owner,  and 
the  effects  of  the  patriarchal  mode  of  life  in 
which  he  was  reared." 

The  Fairfield  (Iowa)  Democrat, 
of  about  that  date,  contained  arti- 
cles denouncing  the  Rev.  Joseph 
Brooks  in  unmeasured  terms.  He 
had  gone  into  the  army  as  chap- 
lain from  that  place,  but  as  those 
articles  merely  made  out  what  we 
knew  him  to  be — a  political  preach- 
er, an  abolition  fanatic,  we  were 
not  much  enlightened  thereby. 
"These  abolitionists,"  Mr.  Lincoln 
once  said,  "are  unhandy  people 
to  deal  with,  but  their  faces  are 
set  towards  Zion." 

The  leaders  in  the  convention 
had  been  Joseph  Brooks  and  his 
colleagues  from  Philipps  County, 
Wm.  C.  Gray — a  dark  mulatto, 
who  had  emigrated  from  some 
Northern  State;  John  McClure, 
agent  of  the  Freedmen's  Bureau, 
of  Arkansas  County;  and  John  R. 
Montgomery,  Freedmen's  Bureau 
agent,  from  Hempstead  County. 
There  were  some  able  Conserva- 
tives in  the  convention.  Robt.  S. 
Gantt  and  W.  F.  Hicks,  of  Prairie 
County;  J.  N.  Cypert,  of  White 
County ;  Bouldin  Duvall,  of  Law- 
rence   County;    and    George    W. 


Norman,  of  Ashley  County.  But 
their  united  voice  made  as  little 
impression  upon  the  course  of  the 
convention  as  the  vetoes  of  the 
President  had  upon  Congress. 

Mr.  McClure,  who  was  a  very 
well  informed  and  brainy  man,  in 
the  disguise  of  long  locks  and  an 
immense  beard,  was  supposed  to 
assist  in  the  conduct  of  the  Re- 
publican organ  at  Little  Rock. 
Its  articles  consisted  in  denuncia- 
tion of  the  rebellion  and  rebels, 
and  withering  sarcasms  at  the  ex- 
pense of  '  the  Bourbons.'  The 
Democratic  Central  Committee 
appointed  speakers  to  make  a  can- 
vass of  the  State  against  the  con- 
stitution. The  '  Union  League  ' 
sent  its  ablest  lecturers  to  the  re- 
motest corners  of  the  negro  dis- 
tricts. As  there  was  but  a  short 
time  in  which  to  make  the  canvass, 
it  was  conducted  with  great  vigor 
on  both  sides.  One  evening,  when 
the  city  was  in  darkness  from  some 
failure  in  the  supply  of  gas,  I  sud- 
denly beheld  the  reflection  of  a 
great  light  upon  the  clouds  in  the 
eastern  part  of  the  city.  This  was 
in  the  direction  of  the  plantations 
extending  down  the  river.  As  the 
light  increased  I  heard  shouting. 
Without  public  notice  that  it  had 
been  projected,  a  torchlight  pro- 
cession of  the  negroes,  from  the 
plantations  from  below,  entered 
the  city.  I  should  judge  there 
were  about  three  thousand  torch- 
es. They  wended  through  the 
principal  streets  of  the  city,  and 


40 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


excited  the  deepest  interest,  not 
to  say  alarm,  in  the  breasts  of  the 
inhabitants.  A  refined  and  ami- 
able lady,  who  stood  near  me  on 
the  steps  from  which  we  viewed 
it  (the  widow  of  the  late  Dr.  Jor- 


"  Madam,"  I  replied,  "you  speak 
lightly  of  it ;  but  I  regard  it  as 
more  serious  than  you  think."  To 
me  it  was  a  very  alarming  spec- 
tacle— that  long  column  of  howl- 
ing  negroes,  with   their    flaming 


dan,  who  had  been  the  largest 
planter  in  the  State),  exclaimed 
in  a  vein  of  sarcastic  humor: 

"  They  had  left  us  our  lives  ;  I 
suppose  they  now  propose  to  put 
us  to  the  torture." 


torches.  Riding  slowly  in  front 
of  them,  in  sharp  silhouette,  was 
James  Hinds,  the  only  white  man 
to  be  seen  with  the  procession. 
They  ended  their  procession  in 
front    of    the  'Anthony    House,' 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


47 


where  it  was  understood  that  Pow- 
ell Clayton  and  other  orators  were 
to  address  them. 

Farther  than  as  a  delegate  to  the 
Union  convention,  Gen.  Clayton 
had  not  taken  any  part  hitherto  in 
politics.  He  was  understood  to 
have  been  a  pro-slavery  Democrat 
in  Kansas  prior  to  the  war;  was 
an  efficient  officer  in  the  Union 
Army,  and  rose  to  the  rank  of 
brigadier-general.  He  had  mar- 
ried in  Helena,  Arkansas,  and  pur- 
chased the  '  Willoughby  Williams' 
plantation  below  Pine  Blufif,  where 
he  and  his  brother  resided.  He 
was  a  man  a  little  above  the  me- 
dium height,  with  light  hair  and 
mustache,  with  a  graceful  but 
haughty  bearing.  He  was  ambi- 
tious of  place  and  power,  to  which 
he  sacrificed  all  prejudices,  and 
had  accepted  the  Republican  nom- 
ination for  Governor.  Standing 
on  the  balcony  of  the  Anthony 
House,  in  the  glare  of  the  torches, 
he  made  a  defiant  speech,  indi- 
cating that  he  threw  his  fortunes 
upon  the  success  of  the  Republi- 
can party  in  Arkansas.  Hinds, 
Brooks,  and  McClure  stood  near 
him,  and  the  white  people  heard 
him  from  the  windows  of  the  ho- 
tel and  the  sidewalks.  The  indi- 
cations seemed  ominous  of  evil  to 
the  Conservative  party  and  white 
people  of  the  Sate.  I  pondered 
upon  the  evil  which  might  be  per- 
petrated by  that  horde  of  black 
men  that  blocked  the  street,  shout- 
ing so  wildly,  under  such  a  leader. 


James  Hinds  stepped  forward, 
and,  with  feeble  voice,  was  begin- 
ning to  speak,  when  the  fire-bell 
suddenly  rang  out  at  the  City  Hall, 
one  hundred  yards  west,  and  soon 
the  engine  and  trucks,  led  by 
George  Counts,  came  dashing 
madly  through  the  excited  mass. 
The  negroes  uttered  a  cry  of  rage, 
as  if  they  understood  it  to  be  a 
false  alarm  made  for  disturbing 
their  meeting;  but  the  fire  engine 
dashed  madly  on.  Torches  were 
beaten  over  the  horses'  heads,  and 
a  pistol  shot  was  heard,  and  then 
another.  The  orators  hastily  re- 
tired from  the  balcony,  except 
Clayton. 

As  if  they  had  been  provided 
for  the  occasion,  hundreds  of 
bunches  of  Chinese  fire-crackers 
were  touched  off  at  that  instant. 
They  sounded  like  the  reports  of 
a  thousand  pistols  and  the  tumult 
of  a  fearful  riot ;  but  no  one  was 
hurt.  Before  the  popping  had 
ceased,  there  was  not  a  negro  to 
be  seen,  except  a  woman  known 
as  '  Flying  Jinnie,'  who  was  hys- 
terically cursing  the  rebels. 

Fifty  yards  south  of  the  hotel, 
there  was  a  canal  or  ditch  known 
as  the  *  Town  Branch.'  It  con- 
tained all  that  was  left  of  the  pro- 
cession, hiding  under  its  banks 
and  groping  along  its  shallow  bed 
to  some  place  of  safety. 

Such  was  the  termination  of 
that  opening  grand  procession  of 
the  campaign ;  and  there  was 
never  any  attempt  at  another. 


48 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


On  the  28th  of  February,  Con- 
gress adopted  an  additional  meas- 
ure, which  provided  that  the  rati- 
fication or  rejection  of  the  consti- 
tution should  be  decided  by  a 
majority  of  the  votes  actually  cast, 
and  that  at  the  time  of  voting 
upon  the  ratification  of  the  con- 
stitution, the  registered  voters 
might  vote  also  for  representation 
in  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States,  and  for  all  elective  offices 
provided  for  by  the  said  consti- 
tution. 

General  Ord  had  been  relieved 
from  the  command  of  the  De- 
partment. Major-General  Alvan  C. 
Gillem  was  appointed  his  successor. 

Notification  from  the  General  of 
the  Army  at  Washington,  by  tel- 
egram to  Gen.  Gillem,  of  the  pas- 
sage of  this  act  was  received  tivo 
days  after  the  election  had  com- 
menced.  It  could  not  be  made 
known  to  those  who  were  not  ap- 
prised of  it  beforehajid.  It  was 
a  'scheme'  between  the  carpet- 
baggers and  Congress  to  elect 
State  officers  and  representatives 
in  Congress  without  opposition. 
Upon  fair  notice,  citizen  Unionists 
would  have  been  candidates  and 
largely  supplanted  them,  as,  al- 
though the  former  had  control  of 
the  machinery,  they  would  not 
have  dared  to  use  it  openly  in 
such  a  contest. 

On  April  23d,  Gen.  Gillem  re- 
ported to  the  General  of  the  Army 
that  the  election  held  in  Arkansas, 
commencing   March     13th,    1868, 


upon  the  ratification  of  the  con- 
stitution, showed  27,913  votes  For 
the  Constitution;  26,597  Against 
Constitution.  Majority  For  Con- 
stitution, 1,316,  as  returned. 

He  made  also  an  extended  re- 
port in  regard  to  the  frauds  claimed 
to  have  been  perpetrated  by  both 
parties,  but  Congress  paid  no  at- 
tention to  aught  but  the  reported 
result,  and  on  June  8th,  1868, 
passed  on  an  act  reciting  that  the 
State  of  Arkansas  had  adopted  a 
constitution,  and  the  Legislature 
of  the  State  (which  had  organized 
in  the  meantime)  had  duly  ratified 
the  amendment  to  the  constitution 
of  the  United  States  known  as  Ar- 
ticle XIV.,  and  that  the  State  was 
entitled  and  admitted  to  represen- 
tation in  Congress  as  one  of  the 
States  of  the  Union  upon  the  fun- 
damental condition  contained  in 
said  amendment.  President  John- 
son returned  said  act  with  his  ob- 
jections, from  which  I  take  the 
following  paragraphs  in  his  mes- 
sage : 

"If  Arkansas  is  a  State  not  in  the  Union, 
this  bill  does  not  admit  it  as  a  State  into  the 
Union.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  Arkansas  is  a 
State  in  the  Union,  no  legislation  is  neces- 
sary to  declare  it  entitled  '  to  representation  in 
Congress  as  one  of  the  States  of  th»  Union.' 
The  Constitution  already  declares  that  '  each 
State  shall  have  at  least  one  representative;' 
that  the  Senate  'shall  be  composed  of  two  sen- 
ators from  each  State;'  and  that  *no  State 
without  its  consent,  shall  be  deprived  of  it& 
equal  suffrage  in  the  Senate.'  The  bill  de- 
clares that  the  State  of  Arkansas  is  entitled  and 


of  the  Reconsfructiofi  Period  in  Arkansas. 


49 


admitted  to  representation  in  Congress  as  one 
of  the  States  of  the  Union,  upon  the  following 
fundamental  condition :  That  the  constitu- 
tion of  Arkansas  shall  never  be  so  amended 
or  changed  as  to  deprive  any  citizen  or  class 
of  citizens  of  the  United  States  of  the  right  to 
vote  who  are  entitled  to  vote  by  the  constitu- 
tion herein  recognized,  except  as  a  punish- 
ment for  such  crimes  as  are  now  felonies  at 
common  law,  whereof  they  shall  have  been 
duly  convicted  under  the  laws  equally  appli- 
cable to  all  the  inhabitants  of  said  State  : 
Provided,  That  any  alteration  of  said  consti- 
tution, prospective  in  its  effect,  may  be  made 
in  regard  to  the  time  and  place  of  residence  of 
voters. 

"  I  have  been  unable  to  find  in  the  constitu- 
tion of  the  United  States  any  warrant  for  the 
exercise  of  the  authority  thus  claimed  by  Con- 
gress. In  assuming  the  power  to  impose  a 
'fundamental  condition  '  upon  a  State  which 
has  been  duly  '  admitted  into  the  Union  upon 
an  equal  footing  with  the  original  States  in  all 
respects  whatever,'  Congress  asserts  a  right  to 
enter  a  State  as  it  may  a  Territory,  and  to  reg- 
ulate the  highest  prerogative  of  a  free  people 
— the  elective  franchise.  This  question  is  re- 
served by  the  constitution  to  the  States  them- 
selves, and  to  concede  to  Congress  the  power 
to  regulate  this  subject  would  be  to  reverse  the 
fundamental  principle  of  the  republic,  and  to 
place  it  in  the  hands  of  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment, which  is  the  creature  of  the  States,  and 
the  sovereignity  which  justly  belongs  to  the 
States  or  the  people,  the  true  source  of  all 
political  power,  by  whom  our  federal  system 
was  created,  and  to  whose  will  it  is  subordi- 
nate. 

"  It  is  well  known  that  a  very  large  portion 
of  the  electors  in  all  the  States,  if  not  a  large 
majority  of  all  of  them,  do  not  believe  in  or 
accept  the  political  equality  of  Indians,  Mon- 
golians, or  Negroes,  with  the  race  to  which 
they  belong.      If  the  voters  in  many  of  the 


States  of  the  North  and  West  we»e  required 
to  take  such  an  oath,  as  a  test  of  their  qualifi- 
cation, there  is  reason  to  believe  that  a  major- 
ity of  them  would  remain  from  the  polls  rather 
than  comply  with  its  degrading  conditions. 
How  far  and  to  what  extent  this  test  oath  pre- 
vented the  registration  of  those  who  were 
qualified  under  the  laws  of  Congress,  it  is  not 
possible  to  know  ;  but  that  such  was  its  effect,  at 
least  sufficient  to  overcome  the  small  and  doubt- 
ful majority  in  favor  of  this  constitution,  there 
can  be  no  reasonable  doubt.  Should  the  peo- 
ple of  Arkansas,  therefore,  desiring  to  regu- 
late the  elective  franchise  so  as  to  make  it 
conform  to  the  constitutions  of  a  large  pro- 
portion of  the  States  of  the  North  and  West, 
modify  the  provisions  referred  to  in  the  *  fun- 
damental condition,'  what  is  to  be  the  conse- 
quence ?  Is  it  intended  that  a  denial  of  rep- 
resentation shall  follow  ?  And,  if  so,  may  we 
not  dread,  at  some  future  day,  a  recurrence  of 
the  troubles  which  have  so  long  agitated  the 
country  ?  Would  it  not  be  the  part  of  wisdom 
to  take  for  our  guide  the  Federal  Constitu- 
tion, rather  than  resort  to  measures  which, 
looking  only  to  the  present,  may  in  a  few 
years  renew,  in  an  aggravated  form,  the  strife 
and  bitterness  caused  by  legisation  which  has 
proved  to  be  so  ill-timed  and  unfortunate  ? 
"  Andrew  Johnson." 
"Washington,  D.  C,  June  20th,  1868." 

The  State  officers  declared  to 
have  been  elected  were — Gover- 
nor, Powell  Clayton ;  Lieutenant- 
Governor,  James  M.  Johnson ; 
Secretary  of  State,  Robert  J.  T. 
White ;  Auditor  of  State,  James 
R.  Berry ;  Treasurer  of  State, 
Henry  Page ;  Attorney-General, 
John  R.  Montgomery;  Superin- 
tendent of  Public  Instruction, 
Thomas  Smith;  Associate  Justices 
of     Supreme     Court,     Lafayette 


50 


llie  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  Historv 


Gregg,  John  McClure,  Thomas  M. 
Bowen,  and  William  M.  Harrison. 

Members  of  Congress  elect — 
First  District,  Logan  H,  Roots; 
Second  District,  James  Hinds; 
Third  District,  Thomas  Boles. 

United  States  Senators  elect — 
Benjamin  F.  Rice,  and  Alexander 
McDonald. 

Rev.  Joseph  Brooks  was  left  out ! 

By  the  constitution  just  declared 
ratified,  Article  VH.,  Sections  3 
and  5,  the  Governor  was  author- 
ized to  appoint  the  Chief  Justice, 
and  Judges  of  the  'inferior' 
Courts.  He  appointed  W.  W.  Will- 
shire  Chief  Justice ;  sixteen  Circuit 
Judges,  and  a  Chancellor.  Few  of 
the  latter  had  ever  practiced  law, 
and  all  were  subservient  to  his 
policy.  What  that  policy  proved 
to  be  will  be  shown  in  a  subse- 
quent paper.  It  verified  the 
prescience  of  the  authors  of 
the  Democratic-Conservative  ad- 
dress which  had  proclaimed  :  "As 
harsh,  and  as  severe,  and  as  odious 
as  military  rule  may  be,  we  prefer 
it  infinitely  to  what  must  of  neces- 
sity follow  from  any  kind  of  resto- 
ration or  reconstruction  under  the 
acts  of  Congress." 


FOURTH  PAPER. 

"  But  now  that  statesmanship  is — ^just  a  way 
To  dodge  the  primal  curse — to  make  it  pay; 
Sure,  office  means  a  kind  of  patent  drill 
To  force  an  entrance  to  the  People's  till." 

— James  Russell  Lowell. 

The     pretended     election      by 


which  the  constitution  was  held 
to  be  ratified  was  a  mockery.  Not 
only  had  notice  of  the  amendatory 
act,  authorizing  the  election  of  all 
officers  under  it,  come  too  late  to 
be  made  known  in  time  through- 
out a  State  without  railroads  or 
telegraph  lines,  but  the  three  com- 
missioners appointed  in  the  sched- 
ule to  supervise  the  election  were 
vested  with  power  to  control  it 
absolutely.  They  had  the  selection 
and  control  of  all  election  officers  ; 
they  might  hold  the  election  as 
many  days  as  they  should  see  fit; 
count  the  votes  and  reject  any 
they  might  deem  illegal;  set  aside 
the  election,  or  'correct'  the  result 
in  any  county  or  precinct,  and  de- 
cide the  right  to  any  office  con- 
tested. 

If  it  could  have  been  submitted 
to  an  impartial  tribunal,  I  doubt 
whether  the  instrument  itself,  thus 
adopted,  could  have  been  adjudged 
'republican  in  form.'  Instead  of 
diffusing  power  among  the  people 
of  cities  and  counties  to  regulate 
their  internal  or  local  affairs,  it 
concentrated  all  power  at  the  capi- 
tal, and  really  left  none  to  be  ex- 
ercised elsewhere.  The  newly 
enfranchised  negroes  had  as  little 
influence  in  the  government  as  the 
mules  upon  the  plantation. 

Powell  Clayton,  who  was  in- 
stalled Governor  by  means  of 
these  measures  of  undisguised 
fraud  and  force,  was  a  resident  of 
Pine  Bluff,  35  years  of  age,  en- 
gaged with  his  brother,  John  M. 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


51 


Clayton,  in  planting  near  that 
place.  He  was  born  in  1833,  on  a 
farm  in  Delaware  County,  Penn- 
sylvania. His  father  was  of 
Quaker  descent,  and  his  mother 
English.  At  the  age  of  20  he  was 
sent  to  the  military  academy  of 
Captain  Alden  Partridge,  at  Bris- 
tol, in  that  State.  From  thence 
he  went  to  Wilmington,  Delaware, 
to  study  civil  engineering.  His 
father  was  a  Whig  in  politics, 
but  young  Clayton,  under  the  in- 
fluences that  surrounded  him  at 
the  capital  of  the  little  banner 
State  of  Democracy,  became  a 
decided  Democrat.  In  1855  he 
removed  to  Leavenworth,  Kansas 
Territory,  at  the  beginning  of  the 
disturbances  in  that  Territory, 
which  grew  into  national  import- 
ance in  the  years  1856  and  1857.  I 
have  no  authority,  beyond  mere 
rumor,  for  stating  that  he  took 
any  part  in  those  historic  scenes. 
But,  enterprising  and  ambitious, 
he  must  have  cooperated  with 
Capt.  Martin's  Kickapoo  Rangers, 
or  Atchison's  Platte  County  Rifle- 
men, in  some  of  those  campaigns, 
either  in  the  one  against  Lawrence 
— then  the  headquarters  of  John 
Brown  and  Jim  Lane — or  in  the 
skirmish  at  Hickory  Point,  where 
the  conflict  between  the  border 
combatants  was  prevented  by  the 
timely  arrival  of  the  United  States 
troops  ordered  to  the  scene  by 
Col.  Sumner. 

As  a  Democrat  he  would  have 
favored  the  Lecompton  Constitu- 


tion, countenanced  by  the  admin-, 
istration  of  President  Buchanan, 
as  against  the  Topeka  Constitu- 
tion— the  movement  in  behalf  of 
which  President  Pierce  had  pro- 
nounced'revolutionary,' 

Senator  Stephen  A.  Douglas 
had  advocated  the  repeal  of  the 
Missouri  Compromise,  which 
opened  Kansas  to  the  introduc- 
tion of  African  slavery,  and  invited 
these  foments.  But  he  was  led, 
from  some  cause,  to  oppose  the 
Lecompton  Constitution,  and  with 
the  aid  of  four  other  Democrats 
in  Congress,  voted  to  defeat  the 
passage  of  the  bill  for  the  ad- 
mission of  Kansas  as  a  State 
under  that  constitution.  His  po- 
sition may  have  contributed  to  aid 
him  in  defeating  Mr.  Lincoln  for 
the  Senate  in  1858-9,  but  the 
effect  was  to  transfer  the  Kansas 
embroilment  to  the  country  at 
large,  and  to  disrupt  the  Demo- 
cratic party. 

These  results  precipitated  the 
war  between  the  States  which  fol- 
lowed. Clayton  was  endorsed  by 
the  Democrats  of  Leavenworth, 
who  elected  him  City  Engineer 
and  Surveyor  of  that  city. 

Upon  the  storming  of  Sumter, 
he  resigned  his  civic  position  and 
was  elected  a  Lieutenant  of  in- 
fantry in  the  volunteer  service  of 
the  Union,  but  was  transferred  to 
the  5th  Kansas  Cavalry,  of  which 
he  became  Colonel.  With  this 
command  he  entered  Helena,  Ar- 
kansas, in  1862,  under  Gen.  Curtis, 


52 


TJie  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


and  Little  Rock  under  Gen.  Steele 
in  1863.  He  was  ordered  thence 
to  Pine  Bluff,  where  he  repulsed 
an  attack  by  Confederate  mounted 
men  in  greatly  superior  force 
under  Gen.  Marmaduke.  This 
was  heralded  as  a  brilliant  exploit, 
and  secured  Clayton's  promotion 
to  the  rank  of  Brigadier-General. 
He  does  not  appear  to  have  dis- 
tinguished himself  in  any  other 
historic  engagement.  The  sur- 
prise of  Dockery's  men  was  an 
every-day  affair  of  no  moment. 
Gen.  Clayton  was  possessed  of 
personal  courage,  beyond  a  doubt, 
and  was  not  a  man  to  avoid  a  per- 
sonal encounter.  He  had  begun 
his  career  amidst  scenes  of  frater- 
nal strife  and  bloodshed,  and 
seems  to  have  been  at  home  in 
them. 

The  powers  conferred  upon  the 
executive  by  the  new  constitution, 
and  by  the  acts  of  the  Legislature 
which  met  April  2,  1868,  placed 
the  control  of  all  the  machinery 
of  government  in  the  Executive, 
He  was  authorized  to  appoint  the 
Chief  Justice  and  all  the  judges 
of  the  inferior  courts;  Commis- 
sioner of  Immigration  and  State 
Lands ;  Commissioner  of  Public 
Works  and  Internal  Improve- 
ments ;  Boards  of  Registration 
to  choose  registrars  and  judges  of 
election;  Board  of  Trustees  of  the 
Institute  for  the  Blind,  and  Deaf 
Mute  Institute  ;  Board  of  Trustees 
of  the  Industrial  University;    to 


be  President  of  Railroad  Com- 
mission; to  be  Commissioner  of 
Common  School  Fund  ;  President 
of  the  Board  of  Public  Printing; 
to  designate  'official  newspa- 
pers ; '  to  issue  State  bonds  to  rail- 
road companies ;  to  appoint  Prose- 
cuting Attorneys;  Assessors;  all 
militia  officers ;  negotiate  for  loan 
for  purchase  of  arms ;  to  remove 
County  Superintendents  of  Com- 
mon Schools;  to  cast  up  and  'ar- 
range '  the  vote  for  each  person 
voted  for  as  Presidential  Elector ; 
to  fill  all  vacancies  in  the  offices 
of  Secretary  of  State,  Auditor, 
Treasurer,  Attorney-General,  Su- 
perintendent of  Public  Instruc- 
tion, County  Clerks,  Sheriffs,  and 
County  Supervisors. 

To  make  his  power  over  all  the 
departments  complete,  he  was  the 
political  head  and  Commander  of 
the  Union  League.  In  this  capaci- 
ty he  could  dictate  to  the  pliant 
and  helpless  blacks,  in  each  repre- 
sentative district,  the  persons  to 
be  elected  by  them  as  Senators 
and  Representatives  in  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly,  at  all  elections 
conducted  by  registrars  and  judges 
who  were  his  creatures.  The 
counties  were  gerrymandered  to 
form  representative  districts  in 
which  the  blacks  would  surely  be 
in  the  majority. 

He  designated  the  justices  of 
the  peace  and  constables  who  were 
to  be  members  of  the  boards  of 
registration  and  presidents  of  such 
boards,  and  might  remove  any  one 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkatisas. 


53 


so  appointed  '  for  sufficient  cause.' 
The  powers  of  these  boards  were 
extraordinary.  Each  registrar  and 
board  of  review,  while  discharging 
its  duties,  was  invested  with  and 
required  to  exercise  the  powers  of 
a  circuit  cotcrt,  and  might  issue 
process  to  sheriffs  or  constables, 
who  were  to  receive  fees  for  their 
services  as  for  '  similar  services  in 
State  cases.'  No  circuit  court 
could  exercise  the  power  to  issue 
any  mandamus,  or  other  process, 
to  any  registrar  or  board  of  re- 
view. This  was  to  prevent  inter- 
ference by  the  courts  in  the  con- 
duct of  *  elections,'  which  were 
merely  executive  appointments, 
through  this  expensive  and  de- 
moralizing system. 

Whether  it  was  because  Gov. 
Clayton  was  lead  into  temptation 
by  the  possession  of  these  arbi- 
trary powers,  or  was  by  nature  of 
an  arbitrary  disposition,  he  soon 
demonstrated  that  there  was  no 
authority  thus  conferred  upon 
him  that  he  would  hesitate  to  ex- 
ercise. The  sword  was  intended 
to  cut  one  way,  but  it  was  not 
long  before  his  political  associates 
found  that  it  was  two-edged,  and 
are  on  record  in  protests  and  pro- 
ceedings accusing  him  of  exceed- 
ing and  abusing  his  powers. 

The  Governor  was  to  be  paid  a 
salary  of  ;^5,ooo,  and  to  have  the 
rental  of  a  Governor's  mansion  at 
;^i,200  per  year,  payable  quarterly 
out  of  any  money  in  the  treasury 
not  otherwise  appropriated.    The 


Secretary,  Auditor,  Treasurer, 
;^3,ooo  each ;  the  Chief  Justice, 
^4,500;  Associate  Justices,  $a^,ooo 
each ;  the  Circuit  Judges,  Chancel- 
lor, Attorney-General  and  Super- 
intendent of  Public  Instruction, 
;$3,500  each. 

The  Metropolitan  Hotel,  then 
owned  by  Jonas  Tibbetts,  was 
headquarters  of  the  Republican 
leaders.  Judge  Bowen  boarded 
there  with  his  beautiful  wife,  for- 
merly Miss  Thruston,  of  Van 
Buren,  where  Bowen  first  landed 
in  Arkansas  as  an  officer  under 
Gen,  Blunt.  McClure,  Rice  and 
Bowen  met  there  nightly,  in  Nat. 
Hill's  room. 

*  Colonel '  Hill  was  an  ex-Con- 
federate, who  professed  to  advo- 
cate the  reconstruction  measures, 
and  paid  court  to  the  new  officials. 
They  formed  a  lively  coterie. 
Bowen  talked  cards.  He  had  a 
'  system  '  which  he  claimed  would 
break  any  faro-bank  dealt  *  on  the 
square.'  He  had  'rules,'  too,  for 
playing  draw-poker.  But  Judge 
McClure,  proclaiming  no  theory, 
was  the  most  successful  adept  at 
this  great  American  game.  Clay- 
ton was  fond  of  the  game,  but  did 
not  play  there.  When  a  Senator 
afterwards,  he  played  an  equal 
hand  with  Blaine,  Dorsey  and 
Pinchbeck,  who  were  fine  players. 

There  is  a  great  deal  of  human 
nature  in  poker.  The  game  is  a 
mimic  battle  of  life,  in  which 
knowledge  of  human  nature,  pru- 
dence, calculation  and  nerve  are 


54 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


brought    into   play;    and    active 
minds  delight  in  it. 

Col.  Hill  had  also  systems  and 
theories.  He  related  startling  in- 
stances of  their  successful  appli- 
cation. But  as  his  bank  account 
did  not  seem  to  increase,  his  audi- 
tors refrained  from  prying  into  his 
secrets.  McClure  said  that  Hill 
was  so  'visionary'  in  his  talk,  if 
another  man  were  to  report  him 
dead,  and  Hill  should  come  around 
in  person  to  deny  the  report,  Mc- 
Clure would  be  bound  to  believe 
the  other  fellow.  McClure  was 
the  *  Touchstone  '  of  these  exiles 
in  the  forest  of  Arkansas.  In  spite 
of  systems  Rice  and  McClure,  who 
did  not  profees  to  have  any,  dem- 
onstrated a  practical  superiority  in 
the  game,  and  rapidly  exhausted 
the  finances  of  their  adversaries. 
The  purses  of  all  these  doughty 
chevaliers  of  reconstruction  were 
getting  slender.  Hence  the  ner- 
vous anxiety  which  is  betrayed 
by  the  act  of  their  legislature  of 
July  9,  1868: 

Section  2.  That  every  officer  of  the  State, 
city,  county  or  township  who  is,  or  has  been, 
employed  in  the  collection  of  the  public  reve- 
nue shall  be  required  by  the  judges  of  the 
County  Court  to  make  final  settlement  of  all 
the  moneys  which  have  come  into  his  hands, 
by  virtue  of  his  office,  within  thirty  days 
after  notice  served  on  him  to  appear  and 
make  settlement,  etc. 

Sec.  3.  Makes  it  the  duty  of  the  Grand 
Jury  to  indict  any  such  officer  for  embezzle- 
ment in  whose  hands  any  balance  due  shall 
remain  unpaid  thirty  days. 


The  assessors  had  all  been  ap- 
pointed, and  were  on  their  rounds 
under  the  act  of  July  22,  1868 : 

Section  22.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the 
Governor  forthwith  to  appoint  and  commission 
some  suitable  person  in  each  county  in  this 
State  to  the  office  of  assessor,  whose  term  of 
office  shall  continue  until  the  general  election 
in  1870,  unless  sooner  removed  by  the  Gov- 
ernor, etc. 

The  act  of  March  25,  1871, 
Sec.  38,  made  it  the  duty  of  the 
Governor  to  appoint  assessors  for 
the  full  term  of  four  years,  unless 
sooner  removed  by  the  Governor. 
And  lest  by  any  influence  any  as- 
sessor should  be  induced  to"  place 
his  valuation  of  taxable  property 
too  low,  it  was  provided,  in  the 
former  act : 

Section  31.  Each  County  Clerk  shall, 
from  time  to  time,  correct  any  errors  in  the 
the  name  of  the  owner,  in  the  valuation, 
description  or  quantity  of  any  tract  or  lot  con- 
tained in  the  assessment  books  of  his  county, 
but  in  no  case  shall  he  make  any  reduction 
from  the  valuation  of  any  tract  or  lot  of  real 
property. 

By  Sec.  Zj  of  the  same  act,  he 
was  declared  entitled  to  three  per 
ceritum  on  the  amount  of  taxes 
levied  on  his  assessment  list,  to 
be  paid  out  of  the  county  treas- 
ury. This  was  a  commission 
which  stimulated  to  high  assess- 
ments. The  Board  of  Equaliza- 
tion, composed  of  the  same 
assessor  and  clerk,  was  forbidden 
to  reduce  them  except  in  particu- 
lar cases  ;  the  aggregate  value  to 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


55 


be  returned  without  reduction, 
with  the  additions  made  by  the 
clerk. 

By  the  act  of  March  28,  of  the 
same  year,  the  county  assessor  was 
clothed  with  power,  and  it  was 
made  his  duty,  to  attend  the  voting 
places  in  each  election  precinct, 
district  and  ward,  and  after  five 
days'  notice  to  add  to  the  regis- 
tration list  of  voters  the  names  of 
such  persons  as  he  might  find  to 
be  qualified  voters,  and  to  issue 
certificates  to  such  electors,  and 
to  deliver  copies  of  such  registra- 
tion to  the  judges  of  election.  He 
was  authorized  also  to  appoint 
judges  and  clerks  of  election,  and 
while  discharging  his  duties  to 
have  the  power  of  a  circuit  court/ 
The  Governor,  upon  satisfactory 
evidence  furnished  that  the  regis- 
tration in  any  county  had  been 
fraudulent  or  illegal,  might  set 
the  same  aside  and  order  a  new 
registration. 

The  assessor  was  thus  the  object 
of  the  special  care  of  the  Legisla- 
ture. He  was  the  mere  agent  of 
the  Governor,  removable  at  the 
Governor's  pleasure.  Through 
this  important  agent  it  will  be  seen 
how  taxes  were  increased  to  meet 
the  demands  of  exactions,  piled 
upon  each  other,  until  the  reve- 
nues, at  any  increase,  were  insuffi- 
cient to  pay  a  tithe  of  the  interest 
upon  the  debts  created. 

Under  the  Murphy  government, 
from  April  18,  1864,  to  October  i, 
1867,  the  money  expended  for  the 


support  of  the  State  Government 
amounted  to  ^64,800  per  annum, 
or  $194,400.  The  first  two  years 
and  a  half  are  accurately  stated 
at  $64,800  from  the  records.  The 
last  year's  expenditures  from  Oc- 
tober I,  1866,  to  October  i,  1867, 
are  involved  with  expenses  of  re- 
construction, and  cannot  be  stated 
as  positively,  but  as  expenses  of 
the  State  proper,  were  about  the 
same.  No  moneys  were  paid  on 
account  of  Democratic  Senators 
elected,  or  messengers  or  attor- 
neys employed  on  behalf  of  the 
State,  as  has  been  falsely  rumored. 
It  was  upon  the  organization  of 
the  State  government  under  the 
constitution  of  1868,  that  the 
flood-gates  of  official  extrava- 
gance were  opened.  Mr.  James 
R.  Berry,  '  elected  '  auditor  on  the 
ticket  with  Clayton,  and  who  was 
auditor  under  Governor  Murphy 
(his  father-in-law),  and  'elected' 
on  the  ticket  with  Baxter,  stated 
on  oath  in  his  examination  before 
the  Congressional  Committee,  of 
which  Hon.  Luke  E.  Poland  was 
chairman,  as  follows :  Question — 
Was  there  any  money  in  tne  treas- 
ury when  Gov.  Baxter  took  pos- 
session of  the  office  in  1873? 
Anszver — For  general  purposes, 
'  narry  red.'  Q. — At  the  time  of 
the  installation  of  Gov.  Baxter, 
was  not  the  State  debt  very  much 
larger — both  the  funding  and  float- 
ing debt — -than  it  was  in  1868, 
when  Gov.  Clayton  took  posses- 
sion ?  A. — Very  largely  increased. 


56 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


The  witness    then 
following  table  ; 


presented   the 


S5   . 

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ro 

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a> 

t^ 

o\ 

«  e 

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VO 

VO 

c4   cS 

ro 

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VO 

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dv 

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t^ 

« 

? 

'^     ,n 

pf 

S"^ 

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W2 

w- 

w- 

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H 

t>.     \o 

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VO        00 

c4     . 
1) 

0\       o 

t^        Ov 

vO         N 

l^     '^ 

o>       - 

V?       S 

c^    vo 

VO         ro 

Oi-l 

i-T      <5 

i-T       rC 

-         rF 

Tf      ■* 

1^        00 

O         -1 

fO       ro 

rf         Tj- 

Tl-            O^ 

s 

< 

««^ 

w- 

(fi- 

8     8 

8     8 

8    8 

a. 

vO        vo 

ro        Ov 

m         N 

o 

«         N 

VO 

-i-        OS 

P-i 

X^        rj- 

I^       00 

Ov        M 

4J 

S^    8 

VO         Q 

o\      O 

O        VO 

vO         ro 

«        VO 

00         uo 

1 

00         d\ 

cT      fo 

"         Tf 

vO        VO 

0\        Ov 

o      o 

H 

««• 

yj- 

te- 

c 

00       ON 

o      « 

N          fO 

nl 

vO        vO 

t^      r^ 

t^     t-» 

V 

00      00 

00      00 

00         00 

> 

n           " 

H               1— 

"          ►» 

*This  amount  does  not  include  $200,coo  in 
bonds,  for  pay  of  militia  and  general  arrears. 

The  note  appended  to  the  table 
is  that  of  the  witness.  The  total 
expenditure  is  ^6,284  281.62,  with- 
out including  the  $200,000  for 
militia.  In  addition  to  the  above 
expenditure,  plans  for  issuing 
bonds  were  devised.  Measures 
creating  a  public  bonded  debt 
were  early  begun.  The  "  Act  to 
aid  in  the  construction  of  rail- 
roads," with  its  '  catchy  '  title,  was 
the  initial  enterprise,  and  was  ap- 


proved by  Gov.  Clayton  July  21, 
1868.  As  passed,  it  was  in  viola- 
tion of  Art.  VI.,  Sec.  10,  of  the 
new  Constitution,  which  reads  as 
follows  :  "  The  credit  of  the  State 
or  counties  shall  never  be  loaned 
for  any  purpose  without  the  con- 
sent of  the  people  thereof  ex- 
pressed through  the  ballot  box." 
The  following  are  the  salient 
sections  of  the  act : 

Section  i.  The  faith  and  credit  of  the 
State  of  Arkansas  is  hereby  irrevocably 
pledged  to  the  issue  of  the  bonds  of  the  State 
in  the  sum  of  one  thousand  dollars  each,  pay- 
able in  thirty  years  from  date,  at  seven  per 
cent,  per  annum,  in  the  sum  of  $15,000  per 
mile  for  each  railroad  which  has  not  received 
a  land  grant  from  the  United  States,  and 
$10,000  for  each  railroad  which  has  received 
a  land  grant  of  the  United  States,  on  account 
of  which  said  bonds  shall  be  due  and  issuable. 

Sec.  9.  Be  it  further  enacted  that  nothing' 
herein  shall  be  construed  to  prevent  said  board 
of  railroad  commissioners  from  granting  the 
State-aid  herein  contemplated  to  the  whole  or 
zny  part  of  any  railroad  in  this  State  which 
may  now  be  unfinished,  or  in  process  of  con- 
struction. 

The  last  section  provides  for 
submitting  the  act,  at  the  next  elec- 
tion, to  vote  of  the  people  by  bal- 
lots, simply  "For"  or  "Against" 
railroads.  If  there  should  be  a 
majority  of  the  votes  "For  Rail- 
roads," the  act  should  'immediate- 
ly become  operative.' 

Under  this  act,  which  was  voted 
upon  by  those  allowed  to  register 
and  vote  on  Tuesday  succeeding 
the  first  Monday  in  November, 
1868,  and  declared  ratified,  there 


of  the  Reconstniction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


57 


were  issued  to  the  following  rail- 
roads and  projected  railroads  the 
sums  annexed,  bearing  7  per  cent, 
interest : 

Little  Rock  &  Ft.  Smith $1,000,000 

Memphis  &  Little  Rock i  ,200,000 

Miss.,  Ouachita  &  Red  River 600,000 

Little  Rock,  P.  B.  &  N.  O 1,200,000 

Arkansas  Central 1,350,000 

The  manner  of  issuing  these 
bonds  will  be  illustrated  by  an  in- 
junction suit  which  was  instituted 
in  the  course  of  issuing  the  bonds 
to  the  Memphis  &  Little  Rock 
Railroad  Company.  The  Secre- 
tary of  State,  R.  J.  T,  White,  was 
engaged  in  his  office  in  counter- 
signing the  bonds,  then  ordered 
to  be  issued  to  that  road — about 
;^8oo,ooo.  The  bonds  were  beau- 
tifully engraved  and  illuminated. 
The  company  claimed  to  have  eigh- 
ty miles  constructed  —  forty-five 
miles  from  Little  Rock  to  De  Vall's 
Bluff,  on  White  River,  and  thirty- 
five  miles  from  Madison,  on  the 
St.  Francis  River,  to  the  Missis- 
sippi River,  opposite  Memphis. 
The  latter  section  had  been  hastily 
constructed  through  the  bottoms, 
so  as  to  afford  transportation  in 
1861,  but  had  been  since  then  un- 
used. The  Secretary  was  con- 
templating the  pile  of  paper  and 
musing  upon  the  vast  sum  that  he 
was  helping  to  create,  when  Mont- 
gomery, known  by  the  soubriquet 
of  "  Pigeon  Toe,"  then  Attorney- 
General,  came  stumbling  into  the 
office. 

0 


"  Making  money.  White,  right 
along !  "  he  remarked,  by  way  of 
greeting. 

"  Yes,"  returned  the  Secretary, 
"  and  very  little  will  it  benefit  me, 
only  $  I  per  bond  for  my  name  and 
the  seal  of  the  State." 

"  That's  pretty  good ;  about 
;^8oo,"  replied  Montgomery  en- 
couragingly. 

"  Montgomery,"  said  the  Secre- 
tary, "these  bonds  will  bring 
seventy-five  per  cent.  easy.  What 
a  god-send  for  that  Memphis 
crowd  !  They  are  nearly  starved 
out.  Why,  their  mouths  are  water- 
ing ;  they  could  not  bear  to  be 
disappointed." 

"  Why  should  they  ?  "  asked  the 
Attorney-General.  "  Hasn't  the  is- 
sue been  ordered?" 

"Yes,"  answered  White ;  "but 
the  *  law's  delay,'  you  know." 

"The  law's  delay?"  gasped 
Montgomery,  not  comprehending 
what  the  Secretary  meant. 

White  stared  at  Montgomery, 
and  merely  muttered : 

"  I  was  just  thinking  the  act 
might  be  unconstitutional, or  rather 
hastily  passed,  without  the  proper 
submission  to  the  popular  vote  !  " 

"  I  begin  to  see  a  pint  myself," 
said  Montgomery,  who  affected 
the  country  dialect,  "and  by  G — d, 
I  think  a  bill  tinll  reach  it,  and  the 
Chief  Justice,  or  any  of  his  asso- 
ciate justices,  has  jurisdiction  to 
grant  an  original  injunction  !  The 
issue  of  these  bonds  will  do  the 
State   irreparable   injury,    White, 


58 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter  War:  a  History 


and  it  is  my  duty,  as  her  law  offi- 
cer, to  prevent  it !  " 

Montgomery  worked  all  night, 
and  took  some  counsel,  and  the 
next  morning  at  the  earliest  mo- 
ment, with  only  an  hour's  notice 
to  the  superintendent  of  the  road, 
presented  his  petition  in  the  name 
of  the  State,  to  restrain  the  issu- 
ance of  the  bonds. 

But  while  he  was  arguing  his 
motion,  the  superintendent  saw 
the  Secretary,  overcame  his 
qualms  as  to  the  issuance  of  a 
great  part  of  the  bonds,  and  with- 
out waiting  to  contest  the  injunc- 
tion, hastened  out  on  his  road  with 
the  bonds  as  far  as  De  Vails  Bluff, 
on  the  way  to  Memphis. 

The  restraining  order  was  is- 
sued, and  with  it,  the  first  time  in 
the  history  of  the  State,  the  old 
writ  of  ne  exeat  regno  for  the 
superintendent,  who,  having  to 
wait  for  a  boat,  was  duly  served, 
and  came  back  with  the  officer. 

After  several  days  argument  of 
counsel,  however,  the  injunction 
was  dissolved,  and  the  railroad 
company  got  a  part  of  the  bonds 
at  any  rate. 

The  Little  Rock,  Pine  Bluff  & 
New  Orleans  Railroad  Company, 
mentioned  above  as  getting  bonds, 
received  of  the  railroad  aid-bonds 
^750,000;  'levee  bonds,'  ;$320,000; 
Chicot  County  bonds,  ^1,000.  To- 
tal, ;^  1, 07 1, 000. 

The  levee  bonds  were  issued 
under  the  act  of  March  16,  1869, 
and  an  act  supplemental  thereto 


of  April  12,  1869,  amended  by  the 
act  of  March  23,  1871.  It  pro- 
vided that  upon  application  to  the 
County  Court  of  the  county  in 
which  the  lands  lay  to  be  bene- 
fited by  the  draining  or  ditching, 
or  protection  from  overflow,  of  a 
majority  of  the  owners  of  the 
land  granted  by  the  court,  the 
Commissioner  of  Public  Works, 
if  he  deemed  expedient  after  cer- 
tain surveys  and  estimates,  was 
authorized  to  contract  for  levees 
or  ditches,  after  due  advertise- 
ment. Upon  his  certificate  that 
any  contract  had  been  completed, 
the  Auditor  of  the  State  was  re- 
quired to  issue  his  warrants,  to  be 
denominated  "  Arkansas  State 
Levee  Bonds,"  in  sums  of  not  less 
than  ;^50,  nor  more  than  ;$  1,000 
each,  to  such  contractor.  They 
were  payable  in  thirty  years,  with 
interest  at  seven  per  cent.,  at- 
tached as  coupons  to  said  bonds. 
On  becoming  due  and  payable, 
said  interest  to  be  levied  tipon  and 
collected  from  the  owners  of  the 
land  benefited  by  the  building  of 
any  levees,  or  the  making  of  any 
ditches,  the  issue  of  said  bonds 
being  limited  to  ;^3, 000,000.  There 
was  no  pretense  that  these  bonds 
were  issued  by  the  consent  of  the 
voters  through  the  ballot  box. 

Other  bonds  were  caused  to  be 
issued  by  the  party  in  power,  as 
follows : 

To  pay  '  loyalists  *  for  supplies  fur- 
nished militia $  400,000 


of  the  Reconstniction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


59 


State  Funding  Bonds  issued  by  the 

Governor 300,000 

Pulaski  County  Bonds 1,000,000 

Chicot  County  Bonds 400,000 

Clark  County  Bonds 300,000 

Sebastian  County  Bonds 100,000 

Conway  County  Bonds 

Hot  Springs  County  Bonds 33,ooo 

Other  counties  had  outstanding 
scrip  issued  in  large  amounts, 
which  were  bought  up  by  specu- 
lators. The  appropriation  bill  of 
April  12,  1869,  contains,  among 
many  other  extravagant  appro- 
priations, the  following : 

To  Merchants'  National  Bank,  money 
loaned  to  buy  arms  (for  Clayton's 
militia) $12,000 

To  Herman,  Booker  &  Co.,  for  arms 

sold  State 6,000 

Organizing  Clayton's  State  Guard  and 

Militia 10,000 

To  pay  for  Public  Printing  "a  sufficient 

amount" 

Judge  McClure  was  president 
of  the  publishing  company  which 
was  paid  several  hundred  thousand 
dollars  for  public  printing  during 
Republican  rule,  with  consent  of 
Clayton,  President  Board  of  Pub- 
lic Printing. 

One  of  the  most  shameless  acts 
for  depleting  the  treasury  and 
creating  a  vast  debt  for  posterity, 
without  any  earthly  reason  in 
morals  or  propriety,  was  the  fund- 
ing of  the  Holford  claim  for  ^i,- 
370,000.  The  funding  of  this 
supposed  debt  was  authorized  by 
the  act  of  April  6,  1869,  entitled, 
"An   act  for  the   funding  of  the 


public  debt  of  the  State,"  and  ap- 
proved by  Gov.  Clayton,  which 
was  as  follows : 

Section  9.  The  Governor  is  hereby  au- 
thorized and  required  to  fund  the  debt  of  the 
State,  consisting  of  bonds  issued  by  the  State 
to  the  Real  Estate  Bank,  and  State  Bank,  by 
issuing  new  bonds  of  the  State  in  lieu  of  the 
bonds  issued  to  said  Real  Estate  and  State 
banks. 

They  were  payable  in  thirty 
years,  and  of  ;^i,ooo  each,  bearing 
interest  at  six  per  cent,  per  an- 
num from  date.  The  amount  of 
the  new  bonds  was  to  be  the 
amount  of  the  old  bonds,  with  ac- 
crued interest  thereon. 

There  was  no  actual  indebted- 
ness of  the  State  as  a  basis  for 
these  funding  bonds.  The  Real 
Estate  Bank  was  a  private  bank 
to  which  the  State  had  issued 
July  I,  1838,  its  bonds,  upon  land 
mortgages  to  the  State,  for  ;^500,- 
000,  stipulating  on  the  face  of 
them  that  the  bonds  should  not  be 
sold  for  less  than  their  face  value. 
The  bank's  agent  pledged  them  to 
the  American  Banking  and  Trust 
Company,  in  violation  of  this  stipu- 
lation, for  ;^  1 20,000,  for  his  own 
private  purposes.  The  American 
Banking  and  Trust  Company  soon 
failed,  owing  James  Holford  & 
Bros.,  of  London,  ;^250,ooo.  The 
Holfords  obtained  possession  of 
these  bonds,  and  sought  to  make 
their  debt  of  the  American  Bank- 
ing and  Trust  Company  by  suing 
the  State  of  Arkansas  for  ;g250,ooo, 
and  instituted  two  suits  at  laiv — 


6o 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


one  in  New  York  and  one  in  Ar- 
kansas. The  judgment  of  the 
New  York  court  went  beyond  its 
jurisdiction ;  that  brought  in  Ar- 
kansas was  carried  to  the  Supreme 
Court  of  Arkansas,  which  decided 
that,  while  the  plaintiffs  might  be 
entitled,  in  equity,  to  ;^  121,000  and 
legal  interest,  they  had  no  ground 
of  action  against  the  State  at  lazv. 
But  Gov.  Clayton  approved  the 
act  which  funded  these  worthless 
bonds,  with  thirty  years  accrued 
interest,  to  the  amount  of  1^1,370,- 
000.  There  were  some  prominent 
Democrats  who,  as  lobbyists,  lent 
their  counsels  and  influence  to 
this  measure. 

Not  only  were  the  foregoing  in- 
terest-bearing evidences  of  debt, 
which  the  property  of  the  citizens 
was  taken  to  pay,  authorized  to  be 
issued,  but  the  act  of  March  20, 
187 1,  empowered  the  Governor  to 
issue  still  others  ;  "  to  supply  de- 
ficits in  the  expenses  of  the  State, 
and  to  sustain  the  State  credit  as 
follows : 

Section  i.  The  Governor  of  the  State  is 
hereby  authorized  to  issue  three  hundred  in- 
terest-bearing bonds  of  the  denomination  of 
$1,000  each,  with  coupons  attached,  said 
bonds  to  bear  interest  at  the  rate  of  seven  per 
cent,  per  annum,  payable  semi-annually  in  the 
City  of  New  York,  principal  to  be  paid  in  ten 
years  after  date  of  issue ;  provided,  said 
bonds  shall  only  be  issued  and  disposed  of  to 
raise  money  to  pay  deficits  in  the  State  Treas- 
ury arising  as  interest  on  the  State  debt  now 
funded.  And,  provided  further,  that  the 
bonds  provided  for  in  this  act  shall  not  be  dis- 


posed of  at  less  than  eighty  per  cent,  of  their 
face  value. 

Gov.  Clayton  issued  these  bonds 
for  the  full  amount. 

With  all  the  money  collected  as 
taxes  upon  an  assessment  of  prop- 
erty which  the  assessor  and  clerk 
and  boards  of  equalization  were 
rewarded  to  place  at  such  a  figue 
as  made  the  owners  pay  taxes 
amounting  to  the  double  rental 
value  of  their  own  houses,  there 
were  deficits  in  the  State  Treasury 
which  had  to  be  supplied  by  bor- 
rowing money  on  new  bonds  at 
seven  per  cent. 

A  French  financier  of  modern 
times  is  represented  as  saying 
that  the  art  of  obtaining  money 
from  the  people  for  paying  public 
expenditures,  is  to  proceed  so  that 
in  plucking  the  goose  you  shall 
not  make  her  cry.  But  the  carpet- 
bag statesmen,  looking  to  their 
momentary  gain,  regardless  of  her 
cries,  proceeded  to  kill  her  for  her 
golden  eggs.  Suffering  and  dis- 
content were  universal.  The  offi- 
cials only  were  prosperous.  They 
were  unable  to  resist  the  usual  in- 
clination to  make  a  display  of 
their  sudden  acquisitions,  amidst 
the  general  poverty  and  gloom. 
Hodges  and  Weeks,  in  charge  of 
the  State  Penitentiary,  under  a 
contract  that  entitled  them  to 
draw  large  sums  from  the  State 
Treasury,  built  themselves  pala- 
tial mansions.  They  removed  the 
slate  roof  from  the  Penitentiary 
buildings  in  causing  some  altera- 


of  the  Rtconstrtution  Period  in  Arkansas 


6i 


tions  which  they  saw  fit  to  make, 
and  transferred  it  to  the  roofs  of 
their  own  residences.  Senator  Mc« 
Donald  and  the  sheriff  and  collec- 
tor of  Pulaski  County,  Col.  Wil- 
liam S.  Oliver,  built  fine  houses 
in  the  same  locality — a  high  ridge 
overlooking  the  Arkansas  River. 
The  river  men  called  it  "  Robbers' 
Roost."  Gov.  Clayton  purchased 
and  occupied  subsequently  the 
house  and  grounds  of  Col.  Oliver. 

The  industries  of  the  country 
upon  which  this  partial  prosperity 
was  based  began  to  suffer  a  gen- 
eral decline.  The  cotton  crops 
fell  short.  The  freedmen,  who 
alone  could  be  employed  to  work 
them,  because  white  laborers 
would  not  work  with  their  families 
in  proximity  to  them,  had  become 
disorderly  and  unmanageable.  The 
mules  furnished  them  by  the  land- 
owners were  ridden  down  and  the 
provender  exhausted,  in  attending 
political  celebrations  and  meetings 
of  the  Union  League,  at  w^hich 
they  were  inspired  to  distrust  their 
white  landlords  and  look  to  a  di- 
vision of  their  property  among 
themselves.  They  were  plainly 
told  that  the  policy  of  oppressive 
taxation  they  witnessed  meant 
confiscation.  The  freedmen  be- 
came insolent,  and,  in  many  in- 
stances, threatening  to  a  degree 
that  caused  their  white  neighbors 
anxiety  for  their  personal  safety. 

Jack  Agery,  coal-black  orator 
and  humorist,  said:  "Amandat 
has  not  got  nothin',  always   runs 


to  a  fire.  I  ain't  never  seen  one 
ov  sich  weep  at  de  confusion  dey 
seen  dere  at  dat  fire." 

Cattle  and  hogs  were  killed  in 
such  numbers,  and  with  such  im- 
punity that  planters  abandoned 
the  attempt  to  raise  them.  As- 
saults by  negroes  upon  white 
women  became  alarmingly  fre- 
quent. Encouraged  by  the  organ- 
ization of  'leagues'  in  every 
neighborhood,  and  shielded  by 
their  partisan  officials,  it  was  futile 
to  attempt  to  deter  them  by  legal 
proceedings.  The  whites  in  the 
neighborhood  saw  the  necessity 
of  organizing  for  self  protection. 
This  began  in  localities  at  first,  «s 
a  sort  of  patrol,  independent  of 
any  general  plan.  Knowing  the 
innate  superstition  of  the  blacks — 
their  belief  in  evil  spirits  and  spec- 
tres that  came  out  of  their  graves 
at  night — and  wishing  to  frighten 
them  into  desisting  from  their 
night-raiding,  the  patrol  carried 
white  dominoes  and  paper  caps, 
in  which  they  appeared  in  the 
thickets  at  night,  at  such  times  as 
were  deemed  opportune,  and  crea- 
ted great  consternation,  not  only 
among  the  negroes,  but  their  white 
leaders,  who  saw  their  influence 
declining  under  this  new  method 
of  'intimidation.'  No  one  was 
more  deeply  agitated  by  these 
demonstrations  than  the  Governor. 
Thoughtless  writers  invented 
stories  of  mysterious  processions 
of  ghostly  riders,  and  published 
them    embellished    with    cuts    of 


62 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter    War:  a  History 


skulls  and  cross-bones,  and  grue- 
some warnings,  signed  "K.K.K.," 
and  gave  accounts  of  fabulous 
organizations  of  the  "Ku-Klux 
Klan." 

Governor  Clayton  took  to  him- 
self credit  for  'executive  ability,' 
rather  than  legislative.  He  who 
governs  firmly  without  violating 
the  laws,  without  friction  or  un- 
necessary violence,  may  claim  to 
be  endowed  with  executive  ability. 
The  best  machinist  is  he  whose 
engine  is  run  the  most  smoothly. 
The  best  government  is  that  which 
is  felt,  not  seen.  It  was  this  quality 
in  our  government  which  De  Toc- 
queville  most  admired — the  ab- 
sence, everywhere,  of  soldiers  and 
badges  of  authority.  It  is  irony 
to  call  that  man  an  able  *  execu- 
tive* who  overcomes  opposition 
through  lawless  measures  of  anni- 
hilation. "  He  made  a  solitude 
and  called  it  peace,"  is  said  of  an 
ancient  tyrant.  M.  Guillotin  in- 
vented an  automatic  *  executive.' 
It  never  occurred  to  Clayton  that 
he  was  just  such  an  '  executive ' 
as  this  fatal  machine  set  up  by 
Robespierre,  Danton  and  St. 
Just;  or  that  eventually,  as  did 
they,  his  party  would  look  through 
the  'little  window,'  and  his  own 
executive  head  'sneeze  in  the  sack.' 

There  were  those  of  his  own 
party  who  had,  in  some  way,  taken 
deep  umbrage  at  the  Governor 
and  his  State-house  satellites. 
James  Hinds,  member  elect  to 
Congress,  made   no   concealment 


of  his  disaffection.  One  day,  as 
he  walked  along  Markham  street, 
he  said  to  me,  pointing  to  the 
State  house :  "  I  am  going  to  the 
country  in  a  few  days,  and  I  de- 
vote that  establishment  to  the  in- 
fernal gods."  Hinds  indulged  in 
quasi-heroics,  and  was  nothing  if 
not  'classical.'  "Yes,"  said  he, 
"  those  fellows  have  builded  upon 
my  foundations  ;  they  have  reaped 
what  I  have  sown.  They  plant  a 
little  whirlwind  for  me  now,  and 
they  shall  reap  a  cyclone.  I  am  a 
cyclone  producer,  Raynor,  and 
they  know  it!"  Hinds  and  the 
Rev.  Jos.  Brooks,  as  a  matter  of 
fact,  did  go  to  the  country  in  a 
few  days.  Somewhere  on  White 
River  they  were  fired  upon  from 
ambush.  Hinds  was  killed  in- 
stantly. Brooks  was  severely 
wounded  and  repeatedly  fired 
upon,  saving  himself  by  the  speed 
of  his  horse.  This  atrocious  mur- 
der was  proclaimed  at  once  from 
the  State  house,  to  be  the  deed  of 
the  Ku-Klux  Klan.  Disown  it  as 
much  as  the  Democracy  might  by 
resolutions  and  editorial  disa- 
vowals and  denunciations,  it  was 
religiously  ascribed  throughout 
the  land  and  in  the  halls  of  the 
Congress,  where  the  murdered 
man  was  entitled  to  a  seat,  as  the 
diabolical  work  of  the  "  Ku-Klux 
Democracy."  Hinds' body  lay  in 
state  in  Washington,  while  the 
North,  without  regard  to  party, 
shuddered  at  the  cruel  political 
assassination.      No  one  was  eve- 


of  tJie  Reconstructio7i  Period  in  Arkansas. 


63 


arrested  or  punished  for  the  das- 
tardly deed.  I  have  never  heard 
that  any  one  was  suspected,  be- 
yond some  unheeded  assertions 
that  Hinds  was  killed  by  men  of 
his  own  party.  Gen.  Thomas  C. 
Hindman,  the  ex-Confederate  gen- 
eral, an  ex-member  of  Congress, 
distinguished  in  the  political  his- 
tory of  the  State,  was  shot  at 
night  through  the  window  of  his 
residence,  at  Helena,  about  the 
same  time.  His  assassination  is 
shrouded  in  equal  mystery  as  to 
the  identity  of  the  perpetrator 
and  the  motive.  Gen.  Hindman 
was  an  ardent  Democrat,  a  man 
of  splendid  attainments  and  ability. 
He  was  a  most  efficient  political 
leader,  and,  at  the  time  of  his 
death,  was  actively  organizing  the 
negroes  along  the  Mississippi 
River  for  cooperation  with  the 
Democratic  party. 

The  Democratic  leaders  greatly 
deplored  these  disastrous  events  ; 
the  assassination  of  Hinds  being 
particularly  injurious  to  the  cause 
of  Democracy  throughout  the 
United  States.  The  body  of  the 
Congressman-elect  was  taken  to 
Washington,  where  it  lay  in  state 
in  the  hall  of  Representatives. 
Expressions  of  indignation  filled 
the  newspapers  at  the  deep  damna- 
tion of  his  taking  off — and  just 
upon  the  eve  of  a  Presidential 
election.  Grant  and  Colfax  had 
been  nominated  by  the  Republi- 
can National  Convention,  and 
Seymour  and  Blair  by  Demcrats, 


for  the  offices  of  President  and 
Vice-President.  The  respective 
tickets  for  Arkansas  were  as  fol- 
lows : 

Republican  Ticket — For  Presi- 
dent, Gen.  Ulysses  S.  Grant,  of 
Illinois;  for  Vice-President, 
Schuyler  Colfax,  of  Indiana.  For 
Electors  at  Large  :  Wm.  H.  Grey, 
of  Phillips  County;  O.  A.  Hadley, 
of  Pulaski  County.  For  District 
Electors  :  ist  District,  J.  Pat  Far- 
relly;  2d  District,  O.  P.  Snyder; 
3d  District,  M.  L.  Stevenson. 

Democratic  Ticket — For  Presi- 
dent, Horatio  Seymour,  of  New 
York  ;  for  Vice-President,  Francis 
P.  Blair,  Jr.,  of  Missouri.  For  Elec- 
tors at  Large:  Robert  S.  Gantt, 
of  Pulaski  County ;  John  R.  Fel- 
lows, of  Ouachita  County.  For 
District  Electors  :  1st  District,  W. 
W.  Drummond  ;  2d  District,  Met. 
L.  Jones;  3d  District,  W.  D. 
Jacoway. 

Before  putting  out  the  Demo- 
cratic ticket  for  President  and 
Vice-President,  the  Democratic 
State  Central  Committee,  after 
due  deliberation,  resolved  to  coun- 
sel the  members  of  its  party  to 
take  the  oath  prescribed  by  the 
Constitution  lately  declared  in 
force,  and  register  and  vote  at  this 
election.  It  would  otherwise  have 
been  absurd  to  nominate  candi- 
dates for  Democratic  electors, 
with  the  entire  party  disfranchised 
on  account  of  its  previous  vote 
against  the  Constitution.  The 
committee  issued  its  address,  call- 


64 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


ing  upon  Democrats  to  register 
for  the  coming  election.  The 
oath  was  exceedingly  distasteful, 
and  was,  to  some  extent,  miscon- 
strued. Without  a  party  vote, 
however,  the  Democracy  could 
never  wield  a  party  influence. 
However  serious  the  dissensions 
in  Republican  ranks  upon  a  divis- 
ion into  factions  of  that  party, 
there  would  be  no  vote  outside  of 
the  Republican  party  to  go  to  for 
assistance.  There  were  no  in- 
ducements for  disaffected  Repub- 
licans to  make  overtures  for  Dem- 
ocratic votes,  where  there  would 
be  no  Democratic  votes.  Citizens 
must  register  or  retire  from  par- 
ticipation in  their  State  govern- 
ment. But  the  proposition  of  the 
committee  met  with  formidable 
opposition.  Some  of  the  ablest 
and  most  respected  members  of 
the  party  rejected  it.  Gen.  Albert 
Pike,  at  that  time  editor  of  the 
time-honored  Memphis  Appeal, 
denounced  the  recommendation 
in  the  strongest  terms.  Comment- 
ing upon  a  speech  of  the  secre- 
tary of  the  committee,  which  was 
in  earnest  support  of  the  commit- 
tee's address  in  the  5th  September 
issue  of  the  Appeal,  he  wrote : 

''  Some  gentlemen,  and  among  the  rest  CoL 
J.  M.  Harrell,  of  Little  Rock,  are  laying  up 
for  themselves  wrath  against  the  day  of  wrath. 
****** 

**  It  was  Mr.  Jefferson,  we  believe,  who  wish- 
ed that  a  sea  of  fire  separated  America  from 
Europe,  that  American  republicanism  might 
not  be  corrupted  by  European  examples,  nor 


the  precedents  of  despotism  become  authority 
on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic.  If  radicalism  is 
to  rule  the  North ;  if  all  the  isms  of  a  cor- 
rupted and  putrid  puritanism  are  to  legislate 
for  the  South  in  Congress,  and  the  South  is  to 
be  the  bastard  brother  of  the  North,  setting 
below  the  salt  and  eating  the  bread  of  degra- 
dation, do  you  not  wish  for  Southern  inde- 
pendence ?  Do  you  not  wish  th?.t,  to  keep  out 
of  the'  South  the  idolatrous,  abominations — 
political  and  social — of  the  Northern  States, 
there  were  a  line  between  us  and  them  which 
the  devilish  emissaries  of  mischief  and 
malevolence  could  not  cross  ?  Or,  are  you  so 
much  in  shame  and  dishonor  as  to  wish,  out 
of  your  intense  love  for  a  Union  you  lately 
detested,  and  a  flag  that  only  a  little  while 
ago  you  said  was  a  symbol  of  oppression,  as 
to  be  willing  that  the  South  should  be  forever 
tied,  limb  to  limb  and  bosom  to  bosom,  to  the 
North,  as  the  living  and  the  dead  were  tied 
together  by  Mezentius  ? 

"  O  speak  with  bated  breath  and  crook  the 
pregnant  hinges  of  the  knee  before  your  con- 
querors, who  never  conquered  you  in  verity 
until  now !  Swear  oaths  that  you  do  not 
mean  to  keep,  and  advise  a  whole  people  to 
commit  rank  and  damnable  perjury  !  It  will 
be  profitable.  There  is  no  God,  or  if  there  is, 
He  has  forgotten  how  to  punish  crime.  Down 
on  your  knees,  and  with  the  edge  of  the 
scimitar  on  your  neck,  swear  an  oath  which 
to  keep  or  break  is  equally  shameful  and  dis- 
honoring to  one  who  remembers  that  his  an- 
cestors were  freemen ! 

***** 

"  The  man  who  advises  the  people  to  such 
course  will,  indeed,  'build  his  coffin  *  and  find 
death  a  relief  from  the  ignominy  that  will 
overwhelm  all  such  counselors. 

"  '  I  will  be  a  swift  witness  against  the  false 
swearers,  saith  the  Lord  of  Hosts.' 

"  'They  have  spoken  words  swearing  falsely 
in  making  a  covenant :  thus  judgment  spring- 
eth  up  as  hemlock  in  the  furrows  of  the  field.' 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


65 


"  If  the  people  of  Arkansas  permit  them- 
selves to  be  led  into  the  great  sin  and  shame 
to  which  they  are  tempted,  they  will  cheat 
themselves  and  afterwards  find  that  no  per- 
manent profit  or  advantage  can  be  reaped  by 
a  people  from  an  act  for  which  its  own  con- 
science will  in  vain  labor  to  find  a  sufficient 
cause.  That  which  is  right,  and  just,  and 
true,  is  only  profitable,  in  the  end,  to  men  or 
nations." 

Gen.  Pike  had  been  an  officer 
in  command  of  Arkansas  cavalry 
in  the  Mexican  war,  a  Confederate 
general,  a  lawyer  of  splendid 
ability,  a  poet  of  acknowledged 
genius,  since  his  "  Hymns  to  the 
Gods "  were  published  in  Black- 
wood's Edinburgh  Magazine,  con- 
temporaneously with  Tennyson's 
"  Locksley  Hall,"  than  which  they 
are  scarcely  less  inspired  and  fin- 
ished, and  his  paper,  the  famous 
Memphis  Appeal,  circulated  wide- 
ly among  the  steadfast  Democracy 
of  Arkansas.  His  article  created 
a  sensation.  It  was  in  unreserved 
repudiation  of  the  policy  which, 
after  anxious  days  of  considera- 
tion, the  Democratic  Central  Com- 
mittee had  resolved  to  adopt. 
They  should  not  be  expected  to 
countermand  their  policy.  Their 
secretary  undertook  to  answer 
Gen.  Pike's  declaration  of  inde- 
pendence. After  some  references 
to  the  General's  '  recalcitrations,' 
political  and  military,  in  bygone 
days,  the  answer  to  his  article 
upon  the  point  in  controversy,  was 
as  follows : 

But  what  has  the  committee  done — what 


have  I  done,  to  provoke  the  heated  tirade  of 
the  editor  of  the  Appeal  which  professes  to 
be  a  Democratic  journal?  The  committee 
appointed  by  a  State  convention  of  the  De- 
mocracy of  Arkansas  found  it  necessary,  after 
the  adjournment  of  the  New  York  conven- 
tion, to  consider  the  course  of  policy  they  felt 
called  upon  to  indicate  to  the  party  in  Ar- 
kansas. It  being  impossible  for  them  to  con- 
sult Gen.  Pike,  in  Tennessee,  for  want  of  time 
and  opportunity,  they  determined,  after  a 
patient  discussion  of  the  questions  involved, 
to  recommend  to  all  who  could  do  so,  to 
qualify,  register  and  vote  under  existing  laws. 
These  laws  prescribe,  as  a  condition  of  suf- 
frage, an  oath  to  accept  the  political  equality 
of  all  men,  and  to  promise  not  to  deprive 
'  any  person '  on  account  of  race,  of  any  priv- 
ilege enjoyed  by  any  other  class  of  men.  The 
New  York  platform  declares  that  the  authority 
for  the  enforcement  of  these  laws  had  no 
warrant  in  the  Constitution,  and  are  void.  All 
men  recognize  them  as  an  unlawful  artifice,  if 
only  a  temporary  one,  for  preserving  to  the 
radical  party  at  Washington  the  control  of  the 
Government,  and  to  its  emissaries  in  the 
States,  North  and  South,  the  power  of  en- 
riching themselves,  by  a  wholesale  system  of 
taxation  and  spoliation,  which,  in  the  Southern 
States,  amounts  to  the  ruin  of  every  material 
interest.  In  the  meantime  the  elections  are 
at  hand  upon  which  the  perpetuation  or  failure 
of  this  unholy  usurpation  is  to  turn.  By 
taking  the  oath  in  Arkansas  the  scheme  might 
be  defeated,  and  by  no  other  means,  and  her 
five  electoral  votes  contributed  to  secure  the 
desired  result.  This  is  the  high  inducement, 
and  no  sacrifice  is  demanded,  except  a8  to 
feelings  of  taste,  or  upon  mere  questions  of 
deportment.  '  The  equality  of  all  men '  is  sus- 
tained just  as  well,  and  better,  if  no  practical 
means  are  taken  to  resist  the  power  by  which 
the  usurpers  are  to  be  sustained,  whether  we 
accept  it  or  not.  Nor  are  we  any  the  more 
likely  to  make  any  forcible  or  otherwise  un- 


66 


The  Brooks  afid  Baxter   War:  a  History 


lawful  attempt  to  deprive  'any  person'  of  a 
privilege  enjoyed  by  other  persons,  whether 
we  promise  or  not.  The  State  Constitution 
which  we  swear  to  support  at  the  time  of 
taking  the  oath,  to  say  nothing  of  the  allegi- 
ance to  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States, 
which  the  oath  implies,  provides  in  the  very  first 
section  that  the  people  possess  the  right  which 
in  all  free  constitutions  is  declared  to  be  in- 
alienable, "to  alter,  or  reform  it,  whenever 
the  public  good  may  require  it." 

There  is  no  man  who  is  not  disfranchised 
by  the  military  bills  (and  they,  having  per- 
formed their  office  in  the  formation  of  the 
present  Constitution  of  State,  are  fundus 
officio  in  Arkansas,  and  dead),  who  cannot 
conscientiously  take  the  oath  required,  under 
the  circumstances.  No  option  is  left  him^  if 
he  would  participate  in  the  direction  of  the 
Government  over  him  and  exercise  his  right 
as  a  citizen  in  aiding  to  alter  bad  laws,  when 
found  to  be  such,  and  reforming  abuses  when 
they  ought  no  longer  to  be  borne. 

Is  not  this  wiser  than  to  sit  sulking  in  the 
pride  of  prejudice  and  be  plundered,  when  no 
other  hope  of  relief  presents  itself;  when  the 
Democracy  of  the  Northern  States  call  on  us 
to  perform  the  duty  we  took  upon  ourselves 
when  we  entered  into  the  New  York  Conven- 
tion the  4th  of  last  July?    The  ungracious 
pastor  in  Tennessee  quotes  scripture  and  reads 
lessons  of  morality  from   the   fathers  of  the 
Inquisition  to  the  Democracy  of  Arkansas, 
Whilst,  like  a  puffed  and  reckless  libertine, 
Himself  the  primrose  path  of  dalliance  leads. 
And  recks  not  his  own  rede." 

Tfee  people  in  Arkansas  are  in  a  far  greater 
extremity  than  he,  when  obtaining  from  Presi- 
dent Johnson  his  special  pardon,  he  took  the 
oath  of  allegiance  a  year  or  two  ago,  forget- 
ting which  he  now  asks  us  if  we  do  not  wish 
for  Southern  independence  !  I  will  make  him 
no  other  answer  than  is  contained  in  the  fa- 
miliar replies  of  Rome's  old  Cato,  and  Lucius, 
refusing    their    swords   to   Sempronius,  who 


proclaimed:  "My  voice  is  still  for  war  !^^ 
Gen.  Pike  may  seek  to  wear  as  gracefully  as 
he  may  the  classic  drapery  of  the  great  moral- 
ists, Descartes,  Pascal,  La  Bruyere.  He  ad- 
dresses us  in  the  language  of  Condillac,  who 
said,  "All  metaphysicians  have  bewildered 
themselves  in  enchanted  worlds.  I  alone  have 
discovered  truth.  My  science  is  of  the  high- 
es,  utility.  I  am  going  to  explain  to  you  the 
nature  of  conscience,  of  attention,  of  recollec- 
tion." But  we,  the  people  of  Arkansas,  ask 
to  be  spared  the  teaching  which  has  not  been 
practiced  by  him  who  offers  it.  Rather  let  us 
wish  the  poet-sage  who  once  lived  amongst 
and  was  honored  by  us,  the  enjoyment  of  that 
pleasure  extolled  by  Lucretius:  "It  is  a  pleas- 
ant thing  from  the  shore  to  behold  the  dan- 
gers of  another  upon  the  mighty  ocean,  when 
the  winds  are  lashing  the  main;  since  nothing 
is  more  delightful  than  to  occupy  the  elevated 
temples  of  the  wise,  well  fortified  by  tranquil 
learning,  whence  you  may  be  able  to  look 
down  upon  others,  and  see  them  straying  in 
search  of  the  path  of  life." 

It  would  surely  afford  much  purer  enjoy- 
ment than  entering  uncertain  contests  unin- 
vited by  those  who  may  be  sought  to  be 
benefited,  to  be  provoked  by  their  want  of  ap- 
preciation, and  injure  them,  with  the  stings  of 
writings  and  speeches  which  remind  us  of 
those  of  the  bees  in  Virgil.  ^''  Animasqtie  in 
vulnere  ponunt" 

The  people,  regardless  of  these 
criticisms,  registered  with  great 
unanimity,  and  were  ready  to  vote 
at  the  Presidential  election  on 
Tuesday,  the  3d  day  of  November, 
1868,  when  the  following  letter 
was  found  in  the  hands  of  mem- 
bers of  the  Legislature : 

[Copy  of  Letter  Written  to  All  the  Members  of  the 
Legislature] 

November  i,  1868. 
Dear  Sir  : — I  am  led  to  believe  that  it  will 
be  absolutely  necessary  to  proclaim   martial 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


67 


law  in  several  counties  in  the  State.  These 
counties  are  now  in  a  state  of  insurrection, 
and  the  civil  authorities  in  them  are  utterly 
powerless  to  preserve  order  and  protect  the 
lives  of  the  citizens.  Many  officers  and  citi- 
zens in  these  counties  have  been  assassinated 
or  driven  away,  and  a  reign  of  terror  is  now 
existing  in  them.  I  have  consulted  with  the 
State  officers  and  the  representative  men  in 
the  city,  and  they  unanimously  agree  with  me 
that  this  is  the  only  course  that  can  be  pursued, 
that  will  put  an  end  to  these  existing  evils, 
and  I  now  communicate  with  you  for  the  pur- 
pose of  obtaining  your  views  upon  the  subject, 
and  your  cooperation  and  assistance  in  re- 
storing the  civil  authority  and  bringing  to 
punishment  the  violators  of  the  public  peace. 

I  urge  upon  you  the  necessity  of  coming 
here  soon  after  the  election,  as  it  is  believed 
that  a  concerted  effort  will  be  made  to  so 
diminish  the  number  of  the  members  of  the 
Legislature  as  to  prevent  there  being  a  quo- 
rum. If  your  views  coincide  with  mine  as  to 
the  expediency  and  necessity  of  this  course,  I 
trust  you  will  use  all  your  influence  to  assist 
in  the  organization  of  the  State  Guards.  The 
success  of  this  movement  depends  very  great- 
ly upon  the  promptness  and  dispatch  with 
which  it  is  carried  out.  A  decided  and  prompt 
effort  will,  in  my  opinion,  settle  the  difficulty 
within  thirty  days. 

Awaiting  your  reply,  I  am  very  respectfully 
yours,  etc.,  Powell  Clayton, 

Governor  of  Arkansas. 


State,  at  the  same  time  that  they  were  contri- 
buting to  their  private  fortunes. 

There  was  then  one  line  of  railroad,  only,  in 
the  State,  running  from  Little  Rock  to  DeVall's 
Bluff,  on  White  River.  This  was  soon  extend- 
ed to  Memphis,  by  assistance  of  the  Railroad 
Aid  Bonds.  The  line  of  railway,  projected  by 
Stephen  A.  Douglas,  from  Cairo  on  the  Miss- 
issippi, to  Fulton  on  Red  River,  with  a  branch 
from  Little  Rock  up  the  Valley  of  the  Arkan- 
sas to  Fort  Smith,  endowed  with  a  grant  of 
government  land,  of  alternate  sections  twenty 
miles  on  each  side  of  the  main  line  and  the 
branch,  was  begun ;  and  the  value  of  this  mag- 
nificent grant  was  utilized  through  these  finan- 
cial operations.  They  facilitated  the  transpor- 
tation of  produce ;  have  built  up  some  small 
towns,  and  added  to  the  population  of  Little 
Rock  at  the  rate  of  about  one  thousand  inhab- 
itants yearly.  An  asylum  for  the  blind  was 
erected  at  considerable  cost. 

Much  of  the  money  raised  upon  the  securi- 
ties may  have  gone  into  the  hands  of  priva'  j 
promoters.  It  was  the  era  oi  credit  mobilier, 
which  destroyed  Colfax  and  imperiled  Gar- 
field. The  Governor  issued  the  bonds ;  some 
of  them  went  into  the  hands  of  Josiah  Cald- 
well and  Warren  Fisher,  who  charged  Speaker 
Blaine  with  getting  some  of  them.  But  the 
work  done  was  valuable,  and  under  Democrat-  ' 
ic  administrations  has  added  $15,000,000  to 
the  assessable  property  of  the  State.  H. 


Note. — The  author  did  not  intend  to  leave  it 
to  be  inferred  that  the  money  thus  to  be  obtain- 
ed upon  pledges  of  the  property  and  industries 
of  the  people  was  to  be  expended  without  bene- 
fit to  the  State  by  the  new  officials,  and  only  for 
their  personal  ends.  The  Governor  and  his 
coterie  are  to  be  credited  with  the  purpose  of 
favoring  improvements  for  the  promotion  of 
the  commercial  and  industrial  interests  of  the 


FIFTH    PAPER. 

"  I'm  a  jay-hawk  that's  crested,  I  am  ; 
I'm  a  blizzard  that's  tested,  I  am; 
I'm  the  boss  of  the  melish, 
I  can  croak  whom  I  wish; 
I'm  a  Gov'nor,  I'm  a  daisy,  I  am." 

—Puck. 

Whether  or  not  it  is  my  prov- 
vince  to  declare  the  motives  which 
impelled  the  performances  of  the 


68 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


actors  in  this  real  life  drama,  as  the 
historian  of  the  direful  events  that 
followed  the  installation  of  Powell 
Clayton  as  Governor  of  Arkansas, 
I  shall  indulge  in  no  invectives, 
but  leave  facts  to  speak  for  them- 
selves, and  the  intelligent  reader 
to  make  his  own  deductions. 

Should  the  narrator  of  human 
events  essay  to  'judge'  the  inten- 
tions of  their  agents,  the  beam  in 
his  own  eye  might  be  of  huge  pro- 
portions, and  he  unable  to  accom- 
plish the  feat  of  *  casting  it  out,' 
that  he  might  see  clearly  '  the  mote 
that  is  in  his  own  eye,' 

The  comments  of  eye-witnesses 
and  utterances  of  the  other  drajna- 
tis  personcB  are  proper  to  be  in- 
troduced as  evidence  to  be  weigh- 
q,d  by  the  circumstances  of  their 
situation. 

What  passions  or  purposes  act- 
uated the  n&^Xy -appointed  Gov- 
ernor in  the  course  he  adopted 
toward  the  people  of  the  State,  is 
the  subject  of  legitimate  inquiry 
to  the  reading  public.  General 
Sherman  was  as  brave,  and  a  great- 
er soldier,  yet  he  gave  liberal  terms 
to  a  vanquished  enemy,  and  utter- 
ed words  of  sympathy  and  encour- 
agement to  a  people  petitioning 
for  relief  from  political  oppressions 
— technical,  rather  than  actual. 

Governor  Murphy  had  spoken 
with  much  spleen  against  '  rebels ' 
and  their  sympathizers — of  whom 
at  one  time  he  professed  to  be  one; 
but  all  his  acts,  as  Governor,  were 
characterized  by  clemency  and  fair 


dealing,  which  quickly  won  and 
entitled  him  to  the  confidence  of 
the  people. 

Gen.  Clayton  had  been  prudent 
in  his  cotton  investments  while  in 
command  on  the  Arkansas  River. 
With  the  proceeds  he  purchased  a 
plantation  from  a  shrewd  old  dem- 
ocratic capitalistof  Nashville,  Ten- 
nessee, and  must  have  been  annoy- 
ed to  find,  after  his  purchase,  that 
it  was  upon  a  'caving  bank'  of  the 
river,  and  that  the  best  prepared 
land  was  rapidly  washing  into  the 
muddy  stream.  Upon  the  teturn 
of  the  Confederates,  after  peace 
was  declared,  he  was  profuse  in 
his  expressions  of  devotion  to  the 
Democratic  party,  and  hastened  to 
announce  his  willingness  to  repre- 
sent the  party  of  his  district  in 
Congress.  He  was  keenly  stung 
by  the  ill-concealed  scorn  with 
which  his  overtures  were  rejected 
by  the  Democratic  leaders.  The 
whimsical  accounts  which  he  saw 
in  the  newspapers  of  a  mythical 
organization,  whose  members  were 
said  to  rise  up  out  of  the  stumps 
and  fence  corners,  with  tall  white 
hats,  and  who  could  drink  whole 
pailfulls  of  water  at  a  single  gulp, 
and  were  described  as  a  terror  to 
the  negroes,  called  the  '  Ku-Klux- 
es,'  suggested  to  the  Governor  the 
justification  of  exercising  arbitrary 
power  through  military  displays, 
in  which  he  felt  himself  at  home, 
and  whereby  he  might  gratify  his 
resentment  of  all  the  slights  and 
injuries    he    had    received    at  the 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


69 


hands  of  his  quondam  party  asso- 
ciates. If  he  could  put  his  State 
government  on  a'mihtary  footing, 
like  the  doctor  who  cured  *  fits ' 
only,  he  was  sure  of  his  ability  to 
govern. 

There  was  really  no  organiza- 
tion of  the  "Ku-Klux-Klan"  in  the 
State  of  Arkansas,  There  were 
sporadic  attempts  at  the  for- 
mation of  some  such  organiza- 
tion, but  they  came  to  naught. 
That  the  extensive  organization 
throughout  the  State  of  negroes 
and  strangers,  known  as  the 
Union  League,  suggested  secret 
associations  of  whites  was  natural 
to  the  inhabitants  of  localities 
where  they  were  in  the  minority ; 
but  no  practical  steps  were  taken 
when  it  was  observed  that  the 
Union  League,  as  an  association, 
committed  no  overt  acts  of  injury 
to  the  white  inhabitants,  or  their 
property. 

The  autocratic  powers  confided 
to  him  by  the  State  Constitution, 
easily  tempted  the  new  Executive, 
filled  with  visions  of  wealth  and 
political  distinction,  to  indulge  in 
excesses.  Such  power  has  caused 
irresponsible  rulers  uniformly  to 
play  such  fantastic  tricks,  that  it 
is  recognized  as  a  form  of  insanity, 
and  is  known  as  the  Caesarian 
malady,  and  has  done  more  to 
devastate  States  and  cause  misery 
to  the  peoples  than  plagues,  pesti- 
lence or  famine. 

Governor  Clayton  was  not  long 
in   manifesting    symptoms   of  the 


Caesarian  malady,  if  I  may  accept 
the  evidence  of  a  writer  who  knew 
him  well  and  had  just  visited  him 
at  Little  Rock,  and  whose  estimate 
of  him  was  published  in  a  letter 
to  the  Louisville  Courier-journal, 
January  25,  1869,  over  the  nom  de 
phivie  of  "A  Fair  Minded  Carpet- 
Bagger,"  The  letter  is  in  itself 
proof  that  it  could  not  have  been 
written  by  an  ex-Confederate,  be- 
cause it  shows  a  familiarity  with 
the  Governor's  army  experience 
and  associations  not  known  to 
Confederates,  or  to  any  but  those 
who  had  served  with  him.  It  is 
the  product  of  a  man  of  high  at- 
tainments which  he  could  only 
have  acquired  by  means  of  some 
such  advantages  as  the  writer 
claims  to  have  enjoyed,  and  who 
shows  an  ability  that  would  have 
enabled  him  to  discern  and  ana- 
lyze the  feelings  and  purposes  of 
his  former  superior  in  his  new  po- 
sition. I  take  the  following  ex- 
tracts from  that  letter : 

"  I  served  with  Governor  Clayton  during 
the  war.  I  was  born  in  Massachusetts.  I  was 
educated  at  Harvard,  and  have  always  been  a 
Republican.  I  voted  for  Fremont — twice  for 
Lincoln,  and  recently  for  Gen.  Grant — for 
President.  My  purpose  is  to  give  a  fair  no- 
tion of  the  condition  of  affairs  in  Arkansas. 
That  condition  is  terrible.  Nothing  like  it 
exists  this  side  of  the  Cretan  Islands.  Com- 
mon, every-day  events  remind  me  of  the  reign 
of  Warren  Hastings,  in  India,  or  of  Musta- 
pha  Asaph,  in  Greece  ! 

"  During  the  rebellion,  Clayton  commanded 
a  brigade  of  the  best  cavalry  in  the  Union 
service,   and  commanded  with  vigor.     After 


7° 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter    War:  a  History 


the  peace,  he  tried  conservatism;  found  it 
unsuited  to  his  purpose ;  pUinged  into  radical- 
ism, and  now  openly  declares  his  purpose  to 
depopulate  the  State  and  repeople  it  with 
loyal  negroes.  Tranquillity  would  be  fatal  to 
his  plan.  The  distance  between  him  and 
Washington ;  the  friendliness  of  the  Govern- 
ment ;  the  ease  with  which  his  acts  may  be 
concealed,  and  the  acts  of  the  people  misrep- 
resented, make  him  bold  and  careless.  He 
knows  his  game.  He  has  studied  the  ground. 
And  he  will  not  fail.  Indeed,  I  see  no  help 
for  Arkansas.  Nothing  this  side  of  disorgan- 
ization and  reorganization  of  society  will  suf- 
fice, and  this  can  only  be  the  work  of  years. 

*  *  *  "  Old  party  differences  have  noth- 
ing to  do  with  the  matter.  The  term  'rebel' 
is  used  only  as  a  pretext.  One  of  Governor 
Clayton's  agents  is  a  rebel  bushwhacker  whom 
I  captured  and  tried  by  drum-head  court- 
martial  in  1864.  He  escaped  »^^ halter  to  be- 
come the  surer  prey  of  my  superior  officer, 
whose  confidential  friend  he  is  now,  and  has 
been  for  months.  The  very  meanest  cut- 
throat in  all  the  militia  was  a  prviate  in  Ter- 
ry's body-guard  and  afterwards  a  scout  for 
Wharton  and  Harrison ! 

"  One  of  John  Brown's  cronies,  who  went 
from  New  Hampshire,  in  1857,  with  a  Sharpe's 
rifle ;  served  faithfully  through  the  war  as  a 
Union  soldier,  and  who  had  settled  down, 
with  a  wife  and  a  farm,  was  recently  mur- 
dered by  a  negro  militiaman.  This  negro 
militiaman  had  been  a  hostler  for  Kirby 
Smith,  and  had  killed,  as  he  says,  'many  and 
many  a  Yankee.' 

"These  d.re  facts,  and  I  give  them  for  what 
they  are  worth.  I  do  not  say  the  people  are 
unoffending.  They  resist  as  desperate  men 
only  can  resist.  But  if  they  did  not,  it  would 
be  all  the  same.  Clayton's  policy  is  extermi- 
nation. Nothing  can  divert  him.  He  is  not 
a  milk-sop,  but  a  man  of  genius,  and  the  field 
is  fruitful.      All  that  he  has  to  do  is  to  pass 


his  scythe  over  the  land,  and  reap  a  full  har- 
vest of  blood,  which  is  the  cement  of  his 
power." 

As  I  have  said,  Clayton  was  no 
coward.  His  exhibition  of  appre- 
hension at  the  existence  of  the 
Ku-Klux  must  have  been  simulat- 
ed. He  had  his  spy  in  the  only 
lodge  ever  organized  in  Little 
Rock,  and  he  knew  that  it  held 
but  one  meeting ;  that  it  never 
took  the  slightest  action  of  any 
kind,  and  disbanded.  He  knew 
all  that  went  on  in  the  society  of 
the  '  Knights  of  the  White  Came- 
lia,'  organized  afterwards,  and  that 
this  latter  organization,  although 
it  met  oftener  and  enrolled,  indis- 
criminately, all  who  applied,  was 
as  lifeless  and  impracticable  as  the 
former. 

As  insincere  as  was  his  secret 
circular  to  the  members  of  his 
Legislature,  telling  them  that  there 
was  a  conspiracy  to  assassinate  a 
sufficient  number  of  them  to  de- 
feat a  quorum,  must  have  been  his 
letter  to  Gen.  Smith,  the  U.  S. 
Military  Commander  of  the  Dis- 
trict, of  which  the  following  is  a 
copy : 

"Little  Rock,  Ark.,  Nov.  6,  1868. 
Brevet  Maj.  Gen.  C.  H.  Smith, 

Commanding  District  of  Arkansas  : 

Dear  Sir, — In  compliance  with  your  re- 
quest, I  herewith  send  you  a  copy  of  your  let- 
ter of  October  3d,  and  in  reply  to  your  com- 
munication wish  to  say,  that  I  did  not  regard 
my  letter  as  a  private  one,  as  it  treated  entirely 
of  public  business.  I  think  that  upon  a  re- 
examination of  it  you  will  see  that  it  clearly 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkafisas. 


71 


indicates  that  martial  law  is  the  only  remedy 
for  the  condition  of  affairs  in  the  helpless 
communities  referred  to.  I  regret  very  much 
that  we  differ  in  opinion,  as  the  knowledge  of 
that  fact,  if  it  be  knozvn,  will  of  itself  have  a 
verj'  detrimental  effect.  The  opposition  can- 
not be  overcome  except  by  an  unconditional 
surrender  of  principle,  which  I  am  unwilling 
to  make. 

"By  direction  of  the  Governor. 

J.  H.  Barton, 

Private  Secretary. 

He  had  resolved  to  be  sole  com- 
mander. But  he  must  propitiate 
the  Federal  power.  Menaces  of 
martial  law  were  made  before  the 
Presidential  and  Congressional 
elections  of  November  3d.  They 
were  intimidating  to  the  Conserv- 
atives, in  the  extreme,  and  to  such 
negroes  as  would  have  acted  with 
with  the  Conservatives,  and  pre- 
vented a  full  vote  of  *  the  opposi- 
tion.' 

Never  were  a  people  less  pre- 
pared or  less  inclined  than  the 
people  of  Arkansas  to  enter  into 
a  conflict  with  these  dual  forces. 
They  well  knew  that  the  carpet- 
bag government  would  be  sus- 
tained by  the  government  at  Wash- 
ington, and  that  any  excesses  of 
the  former  would  be  excused  by 
the  latter,  or  if  reproved,  would 
be  reproved  as  a  parent  corrects 
a  favorite  child.  The  people  of 
the  South  had  no  longer  their 
State  establishments,  within  which 
to  withstand  encroachments  of 
power  from  any  quarter. 

The  Governor  had  not  been 
three  months  in  office  when  his 


Sheriffs  in  the  outlying  counties 
were    seizing    every    pretext    for 

*  calling  out  the  militia.'  Although 
it  was  in  the  midst  of  an  election 
canvass,  any  insignificant  disturb- 
ance, less  serious  than  city  police- 
men are  called  on  to  suppress 
daily,    was    exaggerated    into   an 

*  outrage,'  or  *  an  uprising,'  attrib- 
uted to  the 'spirit  of  rebellion' 
still  cherished  by  the  ex-Confede- 
rates. The  Governor  acted  as  if 
he  invited  public  tumults,  and 
eagerly  made  capital  of  them,  and 
omitted  no  means  to  magnify  their 
importance.  Native  Governors 
would  have  pursued  the  opposite 
course,  and  earnestly  striven  to 
preserve  peace  and  prevent  false 
rumors  calculated  to  retard  the 
growth  of  the  State. 

A  petty  prosecution  in  Conway 
county  was  nurtured  into  propor- 
tions far  beyond  the  exciting  cau- 
ses, and  made  the  name  of  Clay- 
ton in  that  county  synonymous 
with  deceit  and  cruelty — to  remain 
forever  odious.  It  grew  out  of  the 
killing,  by  one  negro,  of  another 
negro's  dog. 

*  Lone '  was  the  name  of  the 
negro  accused.  He  had  been  the 
slave  of  Anderson  Gordon,  an  ex- 
Confederate  Colonel,  in  Cabell's 
brigade.  Lone  was  accused  by  a 
negro  from  the  plantations  of 
shooting  his  dog,  was  arrested  and 
carried  before  'Squire  Humphreys, 
a  reconstruction  office-holder,  as 
for  a  criminal  offence.  I  cannot 
imagine  how  the  act  could  have 


72 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


been  made  the  subject  of  a  crimi- 
nal warrant.  He  was  arrested,  how- 
ever, and  went  to  his  old  master 
for  assistance.  Col.  Gordon  was 
engaged  in  merchandizing  at  Lew- 
isburg,  and  had  no  experience  as 
a  lawyer,  but  he  responded  prompt- 
ly, and  consulted  John  L.  Matth- 
ews, the  prosecuting  attorney,  an 
appointee  of  the  Governor,  living 
in  the  town,  who  said  he  was  sick, 
and  did  not  appear  at  the  trial. 

Upon  the  evidence  of  the  pros- 
ecuting witnesses  —  no  evidence 
being  introduced  by  the  defence — 
Lone  was  discharged.  But  in  a 
few  days  he  was  again  arrested 
upon  a  warrant  drawn  by  the  pros- 
ecuting attorney  (for  shooting  a 
dog),  and  a  large  number  of  ne- 
groes, as  witnesses,  from  the  plant- 
ations made  their  appearance,  all 
armed.  At  the  suggestion  of  Dr. 
E.  W.  Adams,  that  so  many  armed 
men  about  a  court  ought  not  to 
be  permitted,  the  negroes  were 
persuaded  to  deposit  their  guns 
in  a  drug  store  (which  was  kept 
by  a  Republican),  and  the  trial 
proceeded,  resulting  again  in 
Lone's  acquittal.  Some  of  both 
races  drank  whisky  on  the  occa- 
sion, and  when  the  negroes 'called 
for  their  guns  to  go  home,  a  num- 
ber of  them  were  refused  permis- 
sion to  take  their  guns  away — that 
day,  and  told  to  come  back  for 
them  on  some  other  day.  Those 
who  were  refused  went  home  angry, 
and  caused  dissatisfaction  among 
their  fellows  on  the  plantations. 


Early  in  the  following  week,  it 
was  rumored  in  Lewisburg  that 
the  negroes  on  the  plantations 
had  held  meetings  and  resolved  to 
*  mob '  Lewisburg  on  a  certain 
night.  The  towns  people  prepared 
for  defence,  and  placed  pickets  on 
the  road  leading  into  the  town. 
The  commander  of  one  of  the 
picket  posts,  after  waiting  some 
time,  departed  from  his  instruc- 
tions, and  led  his  men  in  the  night 
some  distance  east  of  the  town, 
to  reconnoitre.  About  five  miles 
from  the  town  his  party  was  fired 
upon  from  the  fence  corners.  Thos. 
Burchfield,  an  ex  -  Confederate 
who  had  lost  an  arm  at  Oak  Hills 
(or  Wilson's  Creek),  was  mortally 
wounded,  and  several  horses  were 
killed  by  the  ambuscade.  Burch- 
field lived  about  a  week,  and  died 
of  his  wounds. 

News  of  this  disturbance  and 
consequent  excitement  was  report- 
ed at  Little  Rock.  The  Governor 
and  Mr.  A.  H.  Garland,  accom- 
panied by  citizens  of  both  politi- 
cal parties,  went  on  a  steamer  to 
Lewisburg.  A  force  of  militia  was 
ordered  from  Little  Rock  to  Lew- 
isburg by  land.  The  Governor  and 
his  party,  by  steamboat,  arrived 
at  the  town,  and  witnessing  the 
disposition  of  the  citizens,  after 
speeches  by  the  Governor  and  Mr. 
Garland,  with  mutual  explanations 
and  assurances,  the  Governor  de- 
clared the  trouble  over,  and  sent 
orders  to  arrest  the  march  of  the 
armed  force  on  the  way  from  Lit- 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


73 


tie  Rock.  But  to  no  one  did  he 
make  known  the  fact  that  he  had 
ordered  mihtia  from  Springfield, 
the  county  seat,  in  the  hills,  thirty- 
miles  northeast  of  Lewisburg,  also 
to  march  upon  Lewisburg.  Dur- 
ing the  day,  citizens  rode  into 
Lewisburg  announcing  the  ap- 
proach of  this  force,  under  the 
lead  of  the  Sheriff  and  Matthews, 
the  prosecuting  attorney. 

The  Governor,  before  embark- 
ing on  his  return  by  the  steamer, 
gave  sealed  orders  directed  to 
Matthews  and  the  Sheriff,  to  dis- 
band their  men  and  go  back  to 
Springfield.  The  orders  were  de- 
livered to  them  by  citizen  messen- 
gers. The  Sheriff  promptly  dis- 
banded his  force.  Matthews  and 
the  men  under  him  refused  at  first, 
but  concluded  before  reaching  the 
town  to  obey  the  orders.  They 
had  entered  into  transactions,  up- 
on leaving  Springfield,  for  the  sale 
of  the  coffee  and  dry  goods  they 
were  to  bring  back  from  the  loot- 
ing of  Lewisburg.  This  became 
known  to  citizens  of  Lewisburg, 
and  Matthews  was  severely  de- 
nounced by  them. 

He  had  come  to  the  State,  dur- 
ing the  war,  from  Kansas,  and  was 
a  favorite  with  the  Governor. 
'  Old  man '  Hooper,  who  was  a 
neighbor  of  Burchfield,  the  man 
wounded  in  the  ambuscade,  said 
that  Matthews  had  instigated  the 
negroes  to  arm  themselves,  and 
was  with  them  in  the  ambuscade. 
Hooper  was  arrested   by  order  of 

G 


Matthews.  Hooper,  never  having 
engaged  in  the  war,  was  tied  upon 
his  horse  and  taken  down  into  the 
*  bottoms,'  near  Plummersville,  on 
pretense  that  he  was  being  carried 
to  jail  at  Springfield.  After  being 
'  tantalized  '  all  day  by  his  merci- 
less captors,  he  was  finally  shot 
to  death  and  his  body  left  welter- 
ing in  the  country  road.  There 
was  no  military  commission  or 
civil  arrests  ordered  for  the  pun- 
ishment of  this  causeless  crime. 

FultonCountyis  in  a  hilly  but  fer- 
tile region,  on  the  Missouri  border, 
and  had,  according  to  the  census 
returns  of  i860,  only  eighty  ne- 
groes of  all  ages;  in  1870,  only 
thirty-five.  It  was  in  the  judicial 
circuit  of  which  Elisha  Baxter  was 
judge  in  1868,  appointed  by  Gov. 
Clayton.  Upon  the  organization 
of  a  Democratic  club  by  ex-Con- 
federates, which  the  Sheriff,  E.  W. 
Spears,  pretended  to  believe  was 
a  lodge  of  the  '  Ku-klux,'  he  called 
out  the  militia  and  sent  squads  of 
them  scouting  through  the  farms 
of  citizens.  By  his  direction,  one 
Simpson  Mason,  a  border  marau- 
der during  the  war,  went  on  a  scout 
to  the  neighborhood  of  Col.  Tracy, 
an  ex-Confederate,  and  on  Sep- 
tember 19,  1868,  proceeded  with  a 
band  of  mounted  men  in  the  direc- 
tion of  Bennett's  Bayou  precinct. 
Within  three  miles  of  that  place 
(Harlen's  store),  his  company  was 
fired  upon  from  the  bushes,  and 
Simpson  Mason  was  killed.  His 
escort  fled,  leaving  his  body  in  the 


74 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter    War:  a  History 


road.  The  fleeing  militiamen  went 
to  the  house  of  Houston  Thomp- 
son, and  ordered  him  to  get  the 
body,  money  and  arms  of  Mason, 
and  keep  them  until  their  return, 
saying,  "  It  was  the  d — d  Tracy 
crew,  and  the  killing  had  only  just 
begun." 

About  the  third  day  following, 
the  Sheriff  assembled  thirty  men 
near  Talbott's  Mill,  whence  they 
went  to  the  house  of  Capt,  N.  H. 
Tracy.  Not  finding  him  at  home, 
they  arrested  Joe.  H.  Tracy,  and 
took  him  with  them  to  the  home  of 
Mr.  Uriah  B.  Bush,  ten  miles  dis- 
tant, and  arrested  Bush  while  plow- 
ing in  his  field.  Capt.  T.  C.  Flutey 
and  T.  W.  Baker  rode  up  and  pro- 
tested against  the  *  scouting  of  the 
county  by  the  militia.'  Capt.  Flu- 
ty told  the  Sheriff  that  he  would 
vouch  for  his  being  able  to  arrest, 
unassisted,  any  man  in  the  county ; 
that  if  it  was  Col.  Tracy  he  was 
after,  and  he  had  a  warrant  for 
him,  and  would  guarantee  to  pro- 
tect and  insure  him  a  fair  trial,  he, 
Flutey,  would  vouch  for  the  peace- 
able arrest  of  Tracy.  The  Sheriff 
gave  his  verbal  guaranty,  and  the 
force  went  to  Col.  Tracy's  house, 
but  found  only  his  wife  there,  who 
told  them  her  husband  would  be 
at  home,  or  at  Capt.  Tracy's  dur- 
ing that  day. 

While  they  were  standing  upon 
the  porch  of  Col.  Tracy's  house, 
Capt.  Wm.  Monks,  a  noted  Union 
'bushwacker,'  of  Missouri,  rode 
up,  with  sixty  Missourians.    After 


a  talk,  it  was  agreed  between  him 
and  the  Sheriff  that  he  and  his  men 
should  be  '  sworn  in '  as  Fulton 
County  militia. 

Captain  Flutey  left  them  to  go 
home,  and  on  his  way  stopped  at 
Noah  L.  Baker's  for  dinner;  and 
about  the  same  time  Col.  Tracy 
also  rode  up  to  Baker's.  He  said 
to  the  militiamen,  that  he  under- 
stood they  had  a  warrant  for  him, 
and  he  had  followed  them  to  give 
himself  up  and  demand  a  trial. 
But  Flutey  informed  him  of  Monks 
and  Allsop  being  at  Harlen's,  and 
told  him  that  if  they  laid  hands  on 
him  they  would  kill  him  without 
any  trial.  Tracy  said  they  should 
not  take  him,  but  told  one  of  the 
militiamen,  named  Smiley,  to  find 
the  Sheriff,  and  tell  him  that  he, 
Tracy,  desired  to  meet  him  in  pri- 
vate, and  would  wait  for  him  there. 
After  Smiley  left,  Col.  Tracy  rode 
upon  a  ridge  commanding  a  view 
of  the  Baker  place. 

When  Smiley  came  back,  in- 
stead of  the  Sheriff,  he  was  accom- 
panied by  Monks  and  forty  mount- 
ed men,  who  made  a  dash  at  the 
house,  expecting  to  surround  Col, 
Tracy.  But  he  seeing  them  from 
his  look-out,  made  his  way  out  of 
danger.  Monks  sent  a  scout  from 
there  who  arrested  Capt.  Bryant, 
and  brought  him  in. 

The  account  of  these  events  is 
an  abbreviation  of  the  statement 
of  J.  H.  Tracy  and  N.  E.  Baker, 
which  was  published  in  the  North 
Arkansas  Times,  October  lo,  1868, 


of  the  Reconstniction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


75 


edited  by  Charles  Maxwell.  The 
conclusion  of  the  statement  I  copy- 
literally,  in  the  language  of  the 
writers  : 

"Monks  and  his  men  then  commenced 
scouting  the  country,  destroying  forage,  riding 
over  yards,  feeding  and  camping  around 
houses.  They  took  upper  and  sole-leather, 
tobacco,  horse-shoes  and  nails,  without  paying 
for  them,  from  Harlen's  store ;  made  a  guard- 
house of  Harlen's  dwelling,  and  compelled  his 
wife  to  cook  for  them  and  the  prisoners.  On 
Saturday  Monks  called  on  all  the  men  who 
were  in  favor  of  killing  the  prisoners  to  fall 
into  line.  About  seventy  responded ;  but  ten 
or  fifteen  refused  to  fall  in.  At  this  the  Sheriff 
protested,  and  said,  "  They  are  my  men,  and 
I  do  not  want  them  hurt."  Monks  replied 
that  "he  would  do  as  he  d — d  please,"  and 
ordered  Capt.  Bryant  and  U.  B.  Bush  to 
bring  forward  the  men  who  committed  the 
murder  by  Monday  at  2  o'clock  in  the  after- 
noon, or  the  prisoners  should  be  killed.  A 
scout  brought  in  Archer  and  Hunter,  who  had 
been  arrested  at  their  homes,  but  left  there — 
Hunter,  on  account  of  sickness,  and  Archer, 
because  of  his  blindness.  The  Sheriff  then 
went  away,  leaving  the  prisoners  in  the  hands 
of  the  mob,  and  never  went  back  to  see  what 
had  become  of  them,  saying  he  was  afraid 
they  would  kill  hint  also. 

"Saturday,  at  2  o'clock  p,  m.,  they  broke 
up  camp  at  Harlen's  and  moved  up  to  Col. 
Tracy's  place.  They  took  possession  of  the 
house  and  drove  his  family  into  the  kitchen, 
ordering  his  wife  and  mother-in-law,  Mrs. 
Pickrue,  to  go  to  cooking,  or  they  "  would 
burn  the  last  d — d  thing  on  the  place."  They 
chained  U.  B.  Bush  with  a  log-chain  upon  one 
of  the  beds,  and  pitched  into  Tracy's  papers 
and  books,  and  made  a  general  smash  of 
them ;  tore  up  his  buggy  and  threw  it  into  a 
mill-pond ;  took  all  the  mill-irons,  augers  and 
tools  they  could  find,  and  threw  them  away ; 


fed  away  and  destroyed  about  4,000  bundles 
of  oats;  about  200  bushels  of  corn,  and  cut 
and  destroyed  cofn  yet  in  the  field ;  took  and 
destroyed  some  thirty  bee-hives ;  killed  all  the 
chickens,  and  smashed  up  things  generally, 
to  the  damage  of  Tracy,  of  between  seven 
hundred  and  a  thousand  dollars. 

"  They  took  out  Capt.  Bryant ;  hung  him  up 
by  the  neck,  and  told  him  if  he  did  not  say 
that  certain  parties  killed  Mason,  they  would 
kill  him,  but  if  he  would  implicate  certain  par- 
ties, he  should  be  released.  At  last,  to  save 
his  life,  he  told  them  any  and  everything  they 
asked  him — so  he  told  Bush,  when  they  again 
turned  him  into  the  guard-house.  Said  he  to 
Bush :  '  I  have  been  nearly  killed  by  these 
men,  and  to  save  my  life  I  have  told  an  awful 
tale.  I  had  to  tell  them  that  you  did  assist 
in  killing  Mason,  and  the  only  chance  for 
you,  is  to  do  as  I  have  done, — lie  out  of  it  the 
best  you  can,  and  get  out  of  this  place.' 

"Biyant  was  sent  out  with  an  escort,  and 
they  reported  that  he  'made  his  escape.' 
They  arrested  one  B.  T.  Deshazo,  a  very 
harmless  citizen,  and  tied  a  rope  around  his 
neck,  surrounded  him  with  pistols  cocked,  and 
told  him  if  he  did  not  acknowledge  that  Col. 
Tracy,  Capt.  Tracy,  T.  \V.  Baker,  U.  B.  Bush, 
and  Capt  Bryant  did  the  murder,  they  would 
kill  him ;  but  if  he  would  tell,  they  would 
turn  him  loose.  He  protested  to  the  last  that 
he  knew  nothing  about  it.  They  abused  him 
very  badly.  They  then  caught  up  Deshazo's 
little  brother  and  would  write  out  just  the  evi- 
dence they  wanted,  and  ask  him  if  it  was  not 
so?  The  little  fellow  would  say  what  they 
wanted  him  to  say,  and  they  would  come  in 
and  tell  a  prisoner  that  a  certain  one  had 
sworn  to  statements  implicating  him,  and  he 
had  as  well  acknowledge,  etc.  Some  times, 
some  of  the  guards  would  get  an  opportunity, 
and  tell  the  prisoners  that  nobody  had  so 
sworn,  and  not  to  acknowledge  anything. 

"  Things  went  on  this  way,  and  they  had 
prolonged  Bush's  life,  until  about  dark,  Mon- 


76 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter    War:  a  History 


day  night,  when  Pink  Turner,  the  Deputy 
Sheriff,  arrived  with  a  writ  of  habeas  corptcs 
for  the  prisoners  (issued  by  Hon.  Ehsha  Bax- 
ter, Judge  of  the  Third  Judicial  Circuit), 
which  Monks  and  his  men,  at  first,  voted 
unanimously  to  disobey,  saying  they  intended 
to  kill  ten  men  for  Mason,  and  had  three  who 
were  already  fat  enough.  Some  time  after 
they  refused  to  obey  the  writ,  a  squad  of  them 
found  some  newspapers  in  the  house  and 
made  caps  of  them,  and  started  up  the  road, 
in  the  direction  of  Salem,  saying  they  were 
'  Ku-klux.'  Directly  after  they  left,  Monks 
told  the  Deputy  Sheriff  that  he  would  obey 
the  writ,  and  the  prisoners  were  at  his  com- 
mand. The  Deputy  Sheriff  tlren  took  U.  B. 
Bush  and  J.  H.  Tracy,  and  started  for  Salem, 
saying  that  Tracy  should  not  be  hurt,  but  say- 
ing nothing  about  Bush.  When  they  had 
proceeded  about  two  miles,  they  were  met  in 
the  road  by  the  men  with  paper  caps,  who 
made  no  halt,  but  rode  directly  up  to  them 
and  made  efforts  to  seize  the  bridles  of  the 
prisoners'  horses.  The  Deputy  Sheriff  caught 
J.  H.  Tracy's  horse,  and  whispered  to  Tracy  to 
run  with  him.  They  ran,  leaving  Bush  in  the 
hands  of  the  men.  After  they  had  fled  a  short 
distance,  Tracy  heard  Bush  pleading  for  his 
life,  and  directly  they  heard  firing.  Bush's 
body,  pierced  with  three  balls,  was  found,  at 
daylight  next  morning,  near  the  spot  where  he 
was  taken  away  from  the  Deputy  Sheriff. 
William  Rirchardson,  when  the  prisoners  were 
thus  taken  away  from  the  Sheriff,  galloped 
back  to  Col.  Tracy's  where  the  main  gang  was, 
and  told  them  what  had  taken  place,  when  all 
of  them  mounted  and  started  up  the  road.  In 
the  excitement,  T.  W.  Baker,  Deshazo  and 
the  rest  of  the  prisoners  escaped.  The  gang 
returned  to  Tracy's  and  hunted  around  in  the 
orchard  and  lots  for  Baker,  thinking  he  was 
too  sick  to  sit  up,  and  had  been  carried  out 
by  the  other  prisoners. 

"  On  learning  that  an  armed  body  of  men 


was  advancing  upon  them.  Monks  and  his 
band  left  in  haste  for  Missouri,  taking  to  the 
woods,  after  they  had  proceeded  a  short  dis- 
tance. The  Deputy  Sheriff  arrived  in  Salem 
before  day  with  J.  H.  Tracy  as  a  prisoner, 
who  immediately  stood  his  trial  and  was  ac- 
quitted, together  with  all  the  rest,  who  have 
stood  their  trials,  to-wit :  N.  W.  Baker,  E.  C. 
Hunter  and  James  M.  Archer.  The  others 
implicated  are  ready  for  trial  when  called  on. 
The  Prosecuting  Attorney  said  to  a  gentle- 
man in  Salem,  after  the  prisoners  had  been 
acquitted,  that  he  was  satisfied  it  was  nothing 
but  a  '  Union-League  trick,'  to  get  vengeance 
upon  certain  parties." 

It  was  alone  through  the  inter- 
ference of  civil  process  that  the 
lives  of  these  citizens  (all  except 
Bush)  were  saved.  Monks,  who 
connived  at  the  murder  of  Bush, 
heeded  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus 
as  to  the  others.  This  great  writ, 
through  which  any  captive  may 
have  the  causes  of  his  imprison- 
ment inqured  into  judicially,  and 
which  is  an  obstacle  in  the  way  of 
unlawful  methods  of  vengeance 
and  oppression,  most  objectiona- 
ble to  tyrants,  drove  the  Missouri 
invaders  out  of  the  State  of  Arkan- 
sas, where  the  Executive  author- 
ity did  nothing  to  restrain  them, 
but  where  judicial  process  was  yet 
powerful  for  the  repression  of 
crime  and  the  preservation  of 
peace.  While  judges  should  be 
required  to  issue  this  writ,  it  was 
seen  by  the  Governor  that  there 
were  limits  to  his  supreme  author- 
ity. The  law  was  above  him.  He 
might  appoint  judges,  and  remove 
them  ;  but  the  law  made  it  impera- 


of  the  Reconstniction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


77 


tive  upon  the  judges  to  issue  the 
writ  whenever  applied  for  by  the 
humblest,  most  helpless  prisoner. 
And  so  such  an  irresponsible  in- 
strument of  tyranny  as  Monks,  the 
leader  of  lawless  invaders  from  a 
neighboring  State,  was  driven  out 
by  an  appeal  to  the  judicial  depart- 
ment of  the  State  government. 
The  Governor  realized  that  his 
power  would  not  be  absolute  with- 
out the  existence  of  martial  law. 

It  does  not  detract  from  the  pow- 
er of  the  writ,  or  the  fidelity  of  the 
judge,  that  he  saw  proper  to  write 
a  note  to  the  Deputy  Sheriff,  who 
served  it,  to  the  leader  of  the  out- 
laws : 

Colonel  William  Monks : 

We  ask  you  most  earnestly,  as  officially  rep- 
resenting the  Judiciary  of  Arkansas,  to  turn 
over  the  prisoners  to  the  Sheriff.  We  beg  of 
you  as  citizens  to  allow  the  majesty  of  the  law 
to  be  vindicated  in  this  matter,  and  not  to  im- 
peril the  lives  and  homes  and  property  of  all 
good  citizens  of  this  State. 

Respectfully  and  truly  yours, 

Elisha  Baxter. 

While  Judge  Baxter  was  thus 
endeavoring  to  prevent  destruction 
and  bloodshed,  and  was  interpos- 
ing the  writ  of  habeas  corpus  to 
maintain  the  supremacy  of  the  civil 
authority,  in  a  time  of  peace, 
against  the  lawless  intruders  from 
another  State,  the  Governor  who 
had  appointed  him  to  office,  and 
whose  duty  it  was  to  resist  inva- 
sion, was  writing  letters  to  the  chief 
promoter  of  the  disturbances.  I 
append  one  of  the  Governor's  let- 


ters to  his  Sheriff,  Spears,  who  had 
welcomed  Monks  and  his  men, 
and  so  promptly  sworn  them  into 
service  as  members  of  the  militia 
of  his  county : 

Little  Rock,  October  i6,  1868. 
Wm.  E.  Spears,  Esq.,  Salem,  Fulton  Co.  : 

Dear  Sir, — Your  communication  in  rela- 
tion to  the  troubles  in  Fulton  county  is  receiv- 
ed. Your  course  is  approved.  I  regret  that 
the  offenders  are  still  at  large ;  but  think  it  is 
best  not-to  attempt  their  arrest  until  after  the 
election.  Keep  your  eye  on  them,  and  bide 
your  time. 

By  direction  of  the  Governor. 

J.  H.  Barton,  Private  Sec'y. 

And  now  again  there  was  trouble 
in  Conway  County,  The  truce 
proclaimed  by  the  Governor  was 
a  hollow  one.  Capt.  John  Gill,  who 
had  served  under  John  L.  Mat- 
thews, in  the  3d  regiment  Arkansas 
Federals,  was  placed  by  Matthews 
in  command  of  three  companies  of 
militia — two  companies  of  whites 
and  one  of  negroes — which  raided 
the  country  around  Lewisburg, 
and  through  Matthews'  judicial 
district.  Gill  pretended  to  estab- 
lish a  hotel  in  an  old  vacant  store- 
house. His  hotel  was  suspiciously 
burned, .the  fire  communicating  to 
Col.  Gordon's  store-house,  and  de- 
stroying the  latter,  with  a  quantity 
of  valuable  goods  and  supplies. 
Only  energetic  work  saved  Col. 
Gordon's  residence.  Wells  &  How- 
ard's store  was  burned  about  the 
same  time,  with  most  of"  its  con- 
tents. It  was  while  Gill  was  in 
command,  that  Casey's  store-house 


78 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter    War:  a  History 


was  also  burned,  and  the  owner,  a 
quiet  citizen,  burned  with  it,  and 
all  his  goods  except  a  crate  of 
crockery.  His  money,  of  which 
he  was  reported  to  have  consider- 
able sums,  was  destroyed  or  stolen. 
J.  E.  Bentley  and  P.  O.  Breeden 
were  supposed,  and  were  probably 
intended,  to  be  burned  with  Casey. 
Gill  ordered  an  inquest,  and  the 
jury,  by  their  verdict,  found  that 
Bentley's  and  Breeden's  remains 
were  mingled  with  Casey's.  Costs 
amounting  to  ;$  180.00  were  charg- 
ed against  the  county  for  tliree  in- 
quests, and  the  same  remain  a 
record  in  the  office  of  the  County 
Clerk.  But  Bentley  and  Breeden 
had  secretly  escaped  and  kept  out 
of  the  way.  It  was  a  squad  of 
Gill's  command  that  arrested  old 
Thomas  Hooper,  five  miles  above 
town,  and  shot  him  on  '  the  bot- 
toms,' near  Plummersville.  When 
they  arrested  him  they  killed  his 
son-in-law,  Jackson,  pulling  corn 
in  the  field,  and  wounded  a  man 
named  Perry,  who  was  at  work 
with  him.  About  a  year  after- 
wards Matthews,  in  going  to  or 
from  court  in  Perry  County,  was 
assassinated  and  left  dead  in  the 
road. 

Judge  Baxter's  personal  com- 
munication, delivered  to  Monks  by 
the  officer  who  served  the  writ  of 
habeas  corpus,  was  the  object  of 
sarcastic  comment.  But  at  that 
time  of  official  dissembling,  to  my 
mind,  it  gave  assurance  of  the 
Judge's  good  faith  in  issuing  the 


writ.  It  was  evidence  that  the 
writ  was  not  issued  as  a  mere 
formality,  but  that  the  Judge 
meant  it  to  be  obeyed. 

The  legislature  was  in  session 
the  following  April — the  same  col- 
lection of  nondescripts  which  had 
adjourned  from  July,  1868.  It  re- 
garded the  performance  of  the 
Missouri  'loyalist 'in  a  different 
light,  if  the  House  reflected  its 
sentiments  on  the  occasion  of  the 
visit  of  that  hero  to  the  State  cap- 
ital. The  House  adopted  unani- 
mously the  following  resolution : 

Whereas,  Colonel  William  Monks  is  among 
us,  and  as  he  has  distinguished  himself  for 
prowess  on  the  tented  field  in  favor  of  equal 
rights  to  all ;  therefore  be  it 

Resolved,  That  he  be  invited  to  address  the 
citizens  of  Little  Rock  at  seven  o'clock  this 
evening,  in  the  Hall  of  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives. 

The  invitation  was  doubtless 
pleasing  to  this  flower  of  chivalry. 
It  was  not  altogether  full  of  joy  to 
those  thus  doomed  to  hear  the 
'  address.'  Sad-faced  Fitzwater, 
the  mover  of  the  resolution,  may 
have  offered  it  in  the  vein  of  Mark 
Twain's  burlesques  then  coming 
into  vogue.  But  the  house  voted 
it  with  the  self-sacrificing  patriot- 
ism of  Artemus  Ward.  In  their 
fervid  loyalty  these  rising  states- 
men may  have  sincerely  believed 
that  carrying  bee-hives  by  assault, 
scaring  women,  'charging'  a  soli- 
tary citizen  and  murdering  a  pris- 
oner by  a  troop  of  seventy  horse, 
was  'prowess  on  the  tented  field.' 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


79 


With  a  smaller  force  Fremont  in- 
vaded California,  and  Walker  con- 
quered Nicaragua.  To  elude  im- 
aginary pursuit,  the  murderers  of 
Bush 'took  to  the  woods,' upon 
the  first  rumor  that  there  was  an 
armed  force  to  meet  them.  They 
recklessly  penetrated  the  black- 
jack solitudes  until  safe  beyond 
the  Missouri  border.  The  rumor 
that  inspired  this  strategic  maneu- 
ver was  the  invention  of  overwork- 
ed wives,  who  saw  their  scanty 
stores  disappearing  with  enter- 
tainment of  the  hungry  warriors. 
The  phrase,  '  in  favor  of  equal 
rights  to  all,'  which  rounds  the 
rhetoric  of  the  invitation,  was  a 
threadbare  motto  of  a  mock  phi- 
lanthropy. It  deceived  no  one. 
All  men  knew  that  it  meant  op- 
pression of  the  many,  for  conserv- 
ing the  power  and  interests  of  a 
few.  The  altruism  it  professed  was 
'  too  utterly  '  self-denying  for  the 
characteristic  thrift  of  its  origina- 
tors. 

"  To  save  a  fellow-man  from  death 
Never  would  they  cry  "  Dear  friend,  O  take 
This  life-preserver  for  thy  sake." 

The  Governor  appointed  three 
'  generals,'  two  of  them  from  the 
Legislature,  and  one  from  the  U. 
S.  Marshal's  office — all  '  carpet- 
baggers' — to  command  the  three 
districts  designated  in  his  orders. 
According  to  the  description  of 
the  American  tramp,  they  had 
tried  nearly  all  the  walks  of  life. 
By  the  constitution,  just  adopted, 


"Officers  of  the  Executive  de- 
partment were  ineligible  to  any 
position  in  the  gift  of  the  qualified 
electors."  These  militia-officers, 
thus  transferred  to  the  Executive 
department,  returned  to  their 
seats  in  the  Legislative  depart- 
ment, without  pretending  to  be 
re-chosen  by  the  qualified  electors, 
and  took  part  in  the  enactment  of 
measures  which  granted  them  im- 
munity from  punishment  under  the 
laws  they  had  violated  as  militia- 
men. 

D.  P.  Upham  was  assigned  to 
the  Northeast;  S.  W.  Mallory,  of 
the  Senate,  was  given  command  of 
the  South,  and  R.  F.  Catterson, 
of  the  House,  was  assigned  to  the 
Southwest.  Gibson,  of  Darda- 
nelle ;  Coolidge,  of  Union,  and 
Demby,  of  Montgomery,  mem- 
bers of  the  House,  accepted  or- 
ders to  raise  men  and  renew  their 
raids  against  their  ex-rebel  neigh- 
bors. 

The  militia  levies  consisted  of 
whites  and  negroes,  until  the  lat- 
ter grew  insubordinate  and  had  to 
be  disbanded.  The  former  were 
a  people  about  whom  much  has 
been  written.  From  the  mountain 
districts  of  the  older  Southern 
States,  they  had  removed  to  simi- 
lar regions  in  Arkansas,  in  which 
the  planter  and  his  slaves  would 
have  starved.  There  they  built 
their  log  dwellings,  and,  except  a 
little  coffee  and  sugar,  were  inde- 
pendent of  commerce.  They 
did  not  hate   slavery   as   much  as 


8o 


The  Brooks  ayid  Baxter    War:  a  History 


they  hated  the  slave,  who  in  return 
aspersed  them  as  "  poor  white 
trash."  With  instinctive  jealousy 
of  negro  competition,  they  de- 
clared the  late  war  "a  rich  man's 
quarrel  and  a  poor  man's  fight," 
and  fled  or  fought  the  Confederate 
conscripting  offiers.  Attracted  by 
the  military  bounties,  they  became 
at  length  nominal  recruits  to  the 
Union  army,  and  with  pay  in  pros- 
pect, and  new  opportunities  for 
plunder,  eagerly  responded  to  the 
Governor's  call. 

The  great  body  of  the  negroes 
remained  faithful  to  their  peaceful 
education  in  slavery.  Only  the 
idle  and  vicious,  as  a  rule,  joined 
the  militia,  in  which  they  devel- 
oped the  atavism  of  race,  and  ex- 
emplified the  pitilessness  of  the 
dark  races  the  world  over.  Their 
employment  to  harry  their  former 
masters  and  mistresses  was  regard- 
ed a  brilliant  move  of  the  humani- 
tarians. The  authors  and  signers 
of  the  renowned  accusation  of  the 
Colonies  against  their  sovereign 
had  set  forth  in  that  instrument : 
*'  He  has  excited  domestic  insur- 
rection among  us,  and  endeavored 
to  bring  on  the  inhabitants  of  our 
frontiers  the  merciless  Indian  sav- 
ages." (The  'domestics'  were 
African  slaves). 

It  was  the  climax  of  their  list  of 
grievances,  and  placed  the  two 
races  in  the  same  category. 

The  Africans  in  America  had 
no  more  agency  in  this  warfare 
than  the  lions  from  Africa  which 


were  made  instruments  of  torture 
to  early  Christians  in  the  Roman 
arena,  as  depicted  by  Talmeda 
and  Gerome.  Oge,  who  led  the 
massacres  of  Hayti,  Mackaya,  who 
renewed  them,  encouraged  by  the 
Amis  des  Noirs,  of  Paris,  and  Nat. 
Turner,  who  headed  the  insurrec- 
tion in  North  Carolina,  were  the 
'  lions '  that  were  to  be  feared  at 
the  South.  They  were  well  re- 
membered by  the  Amis  des  Noirs 
of  America.  Their  failure  to 
*  perform,'  in  resistance  to  every 
means  of  encouragement,  was  a 
surprise  to  the  pious  transcenden- 
talists,  Emerson,  Thoreau,  Alcott, 
Sanborn,  Wendell  Phillips,  et  al. 
From  John  Brown  to  Mallory,  they 
proved  a  disappointment. 

The  South  was  in  a  condition  of 
utter  helplessneess.  Its  people 
had  responded  to  the  invitation  to 
return  to  their  homes  and  resume 
their  labors  of  peace.  The  ex- 
Confederates  were  all  prisoners 
under  parole.  They  were  entitled 
to  protection  from  their  conquer- 
ors. But  the  battle  being  ended, 
and  arms  laid  aside,  this  new  en- 
emy appeared  against  them  thus 
bound  and  defenceless.  We  have 
all  read  with  horror  of  the  inhu- 
man creatures  who  sometimes  ap- 
pear upon  the  scene  of  awful  fa- 
talities, to  rob  the  dead  and  mur- 
der the  wounded,  governed  by  no 
other  motive  than  greed  of  gold. 

Several  hundred  of  the  militia 
were  collected  at  Batesville,  by 
Upham.       This    faithful  chieftain 


of  the  Recoiistructio7i  Period  in  Arkansas. 


wrote  to  the  Governor  asking  what 
were  his  powers  under  martial 
law?  The  Congressional  Viceroy 
answered,  employing  the  defini- 
tion of  the  Duke  of  Wellington. 
But  the  Iron  Duke  applied  it  alone 
to  territory  invaded  by  his  armies, 
and  not  to  any  part  of  the  British 
realm.  Governor  Clayton  wrote 
in  reply: 

"  Little  Rock,  Nov,  8th,  1868. 
"Brig.  Gen.  D.  P.  Upham,  Batesville: 

"  Sir, — In  reply  to  your  communication  of 
Nov.  13th,  I  will  say,  that  the  provision  of  the 
militia  law  to  which  you  refer  applies  only  to 
the  discipline  of  the  militia  force,  and  not  to 
political  offenders.  A  military  commission  is 
not  governed  by  any  written  law.  It  is  sim- 
ply the  will  of  the  Commander-[in-chief]. 
You  are  authorized  to  organize  military  com- 
mission for  the  trial  of  citizens,  but  will  not 
enforce  the  death  penalty  without  sending  the 
proceedings  to  these  headquarters  for  appro- 
val.    By  order  of  the  Governor. 

"J.  H.  Barton,  Private  Secretary." 

Barton  was  the  Governor's  broth- 
er-in-law, I  have  been  told.  The 
Governor  also  wrote  Upham,  Oct. 
19th,  that  he  had  not  written  him 
in  person  because  of  an  accident 
by  which  he  had  lost  his  right 
hand.  About  that  time,  his  hand 
had  to  be  cut  off.  While  enjoying 
peaceful  recreation,  amidst  the 
general  excitement,  with  dog  and 
gun,  of  which  he  seems  to  have 
been  as  fond  as  Mr.  Winkle  in  the 
Pickwick  Papers,  he  received  a 
wound  in  the  hand  by  the  acci- 
dental discharge  of  his  fowling- 
piece,  rendering  amputation   nec- 


essary. Like  Mr.  Winkle,  he  learn- 
ed that  "  Every  bullet  has  its  bil- 
let." He  has  thenceforth  worn  an 
empty  sleeve." 

He  also  wrote  Judge  Baxter  in- 
quiring if  there  were  in  his  circuit 
any  lawlessness  that  could  not  be 
suppressed  by  civil  law?  He  did 
not  mean  Monks  or  his  band 
from  whom  his  Sheriff,  Spears,  had 
stolen  away  in  such  mortal  terror. 
I  had  no  means  of  ascertaining  the 
Judge's  response. 

Gen.  Upham,  being  enlightened, 
proceeded  to  'execute'  martial 
law,  but  without  referring  the  cap- 
ital cases  to  the  Commander-in- 
chief.  It  has  not  been  disclosed 
what  disposition  he  made  of  the 
money  he  extorted  from  the  help- 
less victims  who  were  subjected  to 
his  merciless  exactions — exactions 
conducted  with  an  ingenuity  of 
rapacity  unparalleled  since  the 
campaign  of  Alva  in  the  Nether- 
lands. He  led  a  detachment  and 
established  'a  post'  at  Augusta, 
in  Woodruff  County,  in  the  fertile 
valley  of  White  River.  In  that 
productive  region  the  old  citizens 
had  been  now  three  years  busy 
in  recuperating  the  losses  they  had 
sustained  during  the  previous 
years  of  military  invasion  and 
occupation  of  the  armies  of  Con- 
gress. 

News  of  the  violence  and  fe- 
rocity of  his  men  had  preceded 
Upham.  Their  merciless  treat- 
ment of  ex-Confederate  soldiers 
had     been    told     by    fugitives. — 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


Many  of  the  ex-Confederates  of 
Woodruff  County  resolved  not 
to  fall  into  their  hands,  and 
withdrew  to  adjacent  swamps 
where  they  organized  them- 
selves under  Colonel  Pickett,  a 
gallant  ex-Confederate.  They 
proclaimed  their  determination, 
rather  than  be  tortured  in  viola- 
tion of  their  paroles,  to  sell  their 
lives  dearly.  They  made  no  war- 
like movement,  farther  than  to 
provide  themselves  with  arms  and 
munitions.  They  were  never  at- 
tacked by  the  militia,  who  exer- 
cised a  wholesome  discretion  in 
this  particular,  confining  their  op- 
erations to  running  down  and 
shooting,  or  robbing  the  citizen 
they  found  alone. 

At  the  ancient  hostelry,  well- 
known  as  the  'Anthony  House' — 
destined  to  be  mentioned  again  in 
these  annals,  and  the  scene  of 
many  a  stirring  event  in  Little 
Rock — soon  after  Upham's  '  occu- 
pation' of  Augusta,  I  met  several 
old  citizens  from  Woodruff  coun- 
ty, who  had  fled  to  the  State  cap- 
ital for  protection.  They  had  ap- 
pealed to  the  Governor.  But  as 
well  might  the  hind  have  asked 
pity  of  the  lion.  They  narrated 
to  me  several  instances  of  the  pro- 
ceedings of  Upham,  under  *  mar- 
tial law,'  which  came  under  their 
observation.  I  took  down  from 
their  lips  the  following  memoran- 
da of  their  experiences  with  Up- 
ham's militia: 

Albert  W.  White  said, — 


"I  am  sixty  years  of  age.  I  live  ten  miles 
north  of  Augusta.  On  the  8th  of  December, 
1868,  I  was  arrested  by  Capt.  McClure  and 
squad  of  mounted  men  of  Upham's  militia,  at 
my  store.  They  took  from  my  store  one 
thousand  dollars'  worth  of  dry  goods;  four 
horses,  and  one  mule.  They  took  me  to  Au- 
gusta and  imprisoned  me  in  the  Irving  block; 
kept  me  a  prisoner  there  from  Dec.  8th,  1868, 
until  Feb  6lh,  1869.  There  was  never  a 
charge  made  against  me.  I  had  pneumonia 
while  in  prison,  and  was  not  allowed  a  physi- 
sician.  My  son,  Richard  A.  White,  was 
made  a  prisoner  just  before  I  was  released, 
and  placed  in  the  Irving  block.  I  obtained 
my  release  and  that  of  my  son  by  paying 
money  to  Upham's  Provost  Marshal,  John  H. 
Rosa.  He  sent  me  word  by  Mr.  Horton,  who 
had  been  a  prisoner  and  released  by  Rosa,  that 
I  could  have  my  son  released  for  three  hun- 
dred dollars,  and  unless  I  paid  him  that  sum, 
he  would  send  him  to  the  penitentiary  at  Little 
Rock.  Col.  Lewis  Barnes  told  me  he  had 
seen  Rosa,  and  Rosa  had  told  him  the  same 
thing,  and  advised  me  to  pay  the  money.  I 
gave  Col.  Barnes  that  amount,  who  handed  it, 
in  the  presence  of  Rosa,  to  my  son,  and  saw 
my  son  hand  it  to  Rosa,  who  released  my 
son  at  once.  I  was  released  Wednesday, 
Februai7  the  6th ;  my  son  the  Sunday  fol- 
lowing." 

Robert  W.  Murray  stated, — 

"  I  live  in  sight  of  Albert  W.  White,  ten 
miles  from  Augusta.  Before  the  release  of 
Mr.  White,  I  was  arrested  at  home  by  a  scout 
of  cavalry,  under  Lieut.  Wilson,  of  Upham's 
militia,  and  put  in  the  same  place  of  confine- 
ment. Understanding  that  prisoners  were 
paying  out,  and  being  sent  for  by  Rosa,  I  was 
taken  before  him  by  Ford,  Rosa's  *  orderly.' 
I  offered  him  fifty  dollars  for  my  release.  He 
demanded  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  for 
releasing  me,  and  giving  me  '  protection  pa- 
pers,'   and    returning   my  two   mules    which 


of  the  Reconstructio7i  Period  hi  Arkansas. 


83 


had  been  taken  by  Wilson's  scout.  I  paid 
him  that  sum  and  was  released,  but  got  only 
one  of  my  mules." 

Charles  F.  McKinney  stated, — 

"  I  live  eight  miles  north  of  Augusta,  on  the 
lacksonport  road.  I  was  arrested  on  riding 
into  Augusta,  Dec.  28th,  1868,  by  Capt.  Mc- 
Clure,  and  imprisoned,  without  any  charge,  or 
other  formality,  against  me.  Rosa  came  to 
me  about  ten  o'clock  that  night ;  said  I  would 
be  tried  for  carrying  powder  to  Pickett  and 
his  men,  and  if  convicted,  I  would  be  shot. 
He  said  he  would  release  me  for  three  hun- 
dred and  fifty  dollars,  and  give  me  '  vouchers ' 
for  the  property  taken  from  me,  and  '  protec- 
tion papers.'  I  told  him  I  could  not  raise 
that  amount  of  money.  He  took  me  before 
Upham,  who  questioned  me  about  the  powder, 
and  sent  me  back  to  Rosa,  who  had  me  put  in 
the  town  calaboose,  and  came  to  see  me  again, 
and  said  he  would  accept  two  hundred  dol- 
lars, and  send  a  man  around  town  with  me 
to  get  the  money  from  my  friends.  Ford,  his 
orderly,  guarded  while  I  was  trying  to  raise 
the  money  about  town.  This  was  on  Friday, 
or  Saturday,  January  15th,  1869.  Seeing  that 
I  was  not  able  to  get  the  money,  Rosa  released 
me  on  '  parole,'  to  go  home  and  gin  and  sell 
my  cotton,  which  I  did,  and  paid  him  the 
money  in  the  presence  of  his  wife.  I  got 
'protection  papers,'  but  the  vouchers  proved 
worthless  to  me." 

These  witnesses  also  gave  the 
details,  as  they  heard  them,  of  the 
killing,  by  Upham's  militia,  of  the 
following  persons  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Augusta,  viz :  Richard 
Coley,  over  sixty  years  old,  met  a 
gang  of  militia  in  the  road,  when 
he  turned  his  horse  or  mule  and 
tried  to  get  away  from  them.  He 
was  shot  dead  and  left  in  the  road. 

John  Tharp  was  the   first  man 


they  took  out  to  shoot,  by  order 
of  Upham's  military  commission, 
upon  the  charge  that  he  was  Cap- 
tain of  Ku-Klux.  There  was  never 
a  man's  life  begged  for  as  was  his. 
He  was  shot  and  buried  without 
a  coffin. 

A  young  man  named  Rogers,  at 
Cotton  Plant,  engaged  to  be  mar- 
ried, was  shot  to  death  by  orders 
of  Upham,  after  he  had  paid  Rosa 
three  hundred  dollars. 

James  Bland  was  taken  at  mid- 
night from  the  side  of  his  wife  and 
child,  and  killed  without  trial,  even 
by  a-commission. 

Charles  Ruddock,  the  school 
teacher,  was  taken  from  his  room 
at  night  and  killed  without  any 
trial. 

Dr.  Marquis  D,  McKenzie,  a  fa- 
vorite physician  and  leading  citi- 
zen of  the  county,  was  taken  out 
of  his  house  in  the  evening  by  Up- 
ham's men  and  shot,  and  his  re- 
mains thrown  into  White  River. 

Bartlett  Y.  Jones,  a  well-known 
citizen,  was  taken  out  the  night 
Dr.  McKenzie  was,  and  killed. 

There  was  no  charge  against 
these  men  except  their  expressions 
of  indignation  at  the  invasion  of 
the  county  and  acts  of  the  militia. 

An  Englishman,  named  Parker, 
temporarily  sojourning  at  Augus- 
ta, was  killed  for  denouncing  the 
militia.  The  British  Minister  was 
informed  of  the  killing  of  Parker. 
But  his  government,  which  had 
punished  Theodore,  and  subse- 
quently avenged  Isandlwana,  hes- 


84 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


itated  to  inquire  into  the  deeds  of 
Clayton's  militia  in  Arkansas. 

A  Frenchman,  who  lived  at  Joe 
Hill's  place  (with  an  unpronounce- 
able name),  was  charged  with  be- 
ing a  spy  of  Pickett,  and  killed  in 
the  woods  near  the  town.  The 
French  Caesar  was  then  bickering 
with  Russia,  and  was  soon  after- 
wards himself  an  exile.  His  son 
has  recently  fallen  under  the  asse- 
gais of  Zulu  negroes,  and  thus  the 
poor  young  prince  may  have  ex- 
piated the  death  of  Toussaint, 
eaten  by  rats  in  the  dungeons  of 
Joux,  to  which  he  was  consigned, 
during  the  reign  of  Napoleon  the 
First, 

One  of  the  refugees  from  Aug- 
usta gave  me  an  original  safeguard, 
issued  by  Upham — '  protection  pa- 
per,' he  called  it — of  which  the  fol- 
lowing is  a  true  copy  : 

"Headqrs.  North  East  Arkansas,  "I 
Augusta,  Dec.  29.  1S68.  / 

"A  safeguard  is  hereby  granted  James  B. 
Currie  and  family  and  all /ro/^r/j' of  whatever 
kind  belonging  to  him.  All  officers  and  sol- 
diers under  this  command  are  therefore  com- 
manded to  respect  this  safeguard. 

D.  P.  Upham,  Brig.  Gen.  Commanding. 
E.  H.  Mix,  [in  red  ink]  Capt.  A.  Adjt.  Gen. 

John  H.  Rosa,  Provost  Mar.  Gen." 

Rosa,  though  small  of  stature, 
and  of  '  Dago '  complexion,  was 
worthy  of  his  chief,  the  black- 
bearded  Upham. 

The  foregoing  are  but  instances, 
reported,  as  aforesaid,  by  accident. 
Citizens  of  the  invaded  districts 


were  afraid  to  complain,  and  com- 
plaint would  bring  no  relief.  In 
the  fertile  counties  skirting  White 
River,  hundreds  of  country '  stores' 
were  gutted;  barns  were  emptied; 
fields  were  stripped,  and  dwellings 
robbed.  These  depredations  were 
not  committed  upon  citizens  and 
ex-Confederates  alone.  Neither 
age  nor  sex  was  spared.  The 
Memphis  Appeal,  of  the  26th  Jan- 
uary, gave  an  account  of  the  as- 
sault and  robbery,  by  militia,  of 
Mr.  Isaac  Andrews,  of  Evansville* 
Indiana : 

"  Travelling  with  his  wife  in  a  buggy,  over- 
land, he  was  overtaken  at  the  Tyrongee  by  a 
party  of  the  militia.  One  of  them  engaged 
him  in  conversation  while  another  struck  him 
down,  and,  before  releasing  him,  robbed  him 
of  one  hundred  and  sixty  dollars.  He  had 
proceeded  on  his  way  as  far  as  the  Bradley 
farm,  when  two  negroes  of  another  party  of 
militia  met  him  and  his  wife  and  demanded 
his  money.  He  replied  that  he  had  just  been 
robbed.  The  negroes  then  presented  cocked 
pistols  at  the  head  of  Mrs.  Andrews,  and,  curs- 
ing her,  threatened  to  shoot  her  if  she  did  not 
give  up  the  money  she  had.  Mr.  Andrews 
gave  them  another  fifty  dollars,  all  he  had  with 
him.  Their  captors,  whose  grins  now  lighted 
their  sombre  features,  permitted  their  victims 
to  depart,  bleeding  and  pale,  while  they  divid- 
ed the  treasure." 

The  same  paper  published  a  tel- 
egram from  Little  Rock,  dated 
January  27,  1869,  giving  account 
of  the  breaking  up  of  a  wedding 
party  near  Pine  Knob,  in  Johnson 
County,  by  negro  militia.  The 
bride  was  a  niece  of  a  former  As- 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


sociate    Justice    of    the    Supreme 
Court : 

"  Just  after  the  company  had  assembled,  and 
before  the  marriage,  a  company  of  negro  mili- 
tia, commanded  by  a  white  man,  surrounded 
the  place,  and  putting  out  the  lights,  those 
who  had  entered  the  house  laid  violent  hands 
on  the  ladies.  Some  of  the  guests  had  weap- 
ons with  them,  which  they  fired  upon  the 
other  militiamen  who  were  about  to  enter,  and 
upon  the  intruders  who  ran  out  to  their  assist- 
ance, the  militia  returning  the  fire  by  shooting 
into  the  house.  After  an  exciting  fight,  in 
which  four  negroes  were  badly  wounded  and 
some  horses  killed,  the  negroes  were  driven 
off.  A  sister  of  the  bride  was  dangerously 
wounded.  The  radicals  say  that  the  object 
was  not  rapine,  but  to  make  an  arrest." 

At  Charleston,  in  Frankhn  Coun- 
ty, a  respectable  young  lady  was 
found  at  home  alone  by  a  scout  of 
negro  militia,  and  subjected  to 
criminal  assault  by  several  of  their 
number,  and  left  in  a  state  of  un- 
consciousness, amidst  the  frag- 
ments of  broken  furniture,  trunks 
and  scattered  clothing. 

While  Upham  was  pursuing  his 
mission  of  death  and  devastation 
in  the  East,  the  Governor  had 
equally  dutiful  agents  passing  his 
'  bloody  scythe '  over  the  South- 
west. They  were  all  strangers  in 
the  regions  they  raided,  except 
Demby,  the  son  of  a  watch-maker, 
of  Pine  Bluff,  who  went  there  in 
the  fifties,  from  the  East.  Catter- 
son  was  tall  and  fair,  a  saddler  by 
vocation.  Mallory  was  red-haired 
and  corpulent,  a  carpenter.  Wig- 
gins was  hard-featured,  premature- 


ly gray,  a  jeweller.  Anderson  and 
Lockhart,  I  have  been  told,  were 
expelled  by  Gen.  Blunt  from  the 
Union  Army,  and  found  their  way 
to  Sebastian  and  Scott  Counties. 

To  Lockhart,  the  Governor  is- 
sued orders,  Nov.  5,  1868,  to  raise 
militia  in  Scott  and  Montgomery 
Counties  and  unite  with  the  mili- 
tia of  Polk  and  Pike  Counties  at 
Murfeesboro,  in  Pike  County.  The 
order  reads :  *  What  forage  and 
supplies  you  need  obtain  without 
pressing,  if  possible,  giving  receipts 
to  owners  of  the  same,  to  be  col- 
lected at  this  place  (Little  Rock). 
But  if  you  cannot  obtain  it  volun- 
tarily, yo7i  must  press  and  receipt 
as  before.  Success  depends  upon 
promptness.' 

On  their  march  to  Murfreesboro 
the  militia  passed  through  Centre 
Point.  Demby  and  his  men  had 
raided  the  place  from  Montgom- 
ery County  during  the  war.  They 
entered  this  place  on  a  *  charge,' 
finding  citizens  on  the  streets, 
some  of  them  in  arms,  mistrustful 
of  the  object  of  this  sudden  ap- 
proach of  armed  men  in  time  of 
peace.  The  militia,  anticipating 
resistance,  began  an  indiscrimi- 
nate firing,  killing  some  citizens  of 
the  town,  and  wounding  others. 
They  took  any  and  all  property 
they  saw  proper  from  the  posses- 
sion of  those  who  were  obnoxious 
to  them  or  their  sympathizers.  In 
a  similar  manner  they  continued 
their  advance  southward,  through 
the  productive  valleys  of  the  Lit- 


86 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


tie  Missouri  and  Ouachita,  spread- 
ing terror  among  the  people. 
'  Gen.'  Catterson  assumed  com- 
mand of  them  upon  their  march. 
Dry-goods,  clothing,  horses,  mules 
and  anything  they  wished,  were 
appropriated  wherever  found  along 
the  line  of  march.  They  killed 
citizens,  and,  to  make  others  give 
up  money,  tortured  them  under 
revolting  circumstances,  and  took 
a  great  many  prisoners  whom  they 
sent  to  be  kept  in  the  penitentiary 
at  Little  Rock — chiefly  such  as 
were  likely  to  be  able  to  pay  for 
their  release.  His  Excellency,  the 
Commander-in-chief,  issued  to 
Gen.  Catterson,  among  others,  the 
following  autograph  order : 

"Executive  Office,  Dec.  ist,  1868. 
Gen.  Robert  F.   Catterson,  Commanding 
Southwest  District : 

Dear  Sir. — I  have  not  heard  from  you  offi- 
cially since  the  arrival  of  the  prisoners,  Nov. 
22d.  Judge  Searle  [one  of  his  appointees]  is 
sick,  and  cannot  hold  a  special  term  of  court, 
as  I  intended  [to  constitute  it  a  quasi  military 
court].  1  will  send  a  commission  to  Coolidge 
[a  member  of  the  House]  as  Justice  of  the 
Peace,  who,  I  believe,  claims  citizenship  in 
that  county  (?). 

"  The  prisoners  can  either  be  examined  be- 
fore him,  or  you  can  try  them  by  Alilitary 
Commission.  If  you  resort  to  the  latter  plan, 
you  had  better  select  the  worst,  and  dismiss 
those  who  are  least  culpable.  All  desperate 
characters  that  may  fall  into  into  your  hands, 
you  had  better  deal  with  summarily.  As  I 
remarked,  _j'02<r  approval  to  the  proceedings 
of  a  Military  Court  will  hejinal. 

"  From  information  received,  there  is  a  man 
called  Parson  Hunt,  in  Sevier  County,  who 
has  been   a  ring-leader  in  all  the  mischief 


done  in  that  county.     He  should  be  arrested 
and  summarily  dealt  with. 

"  Your  course  has  given  great  satisfaction 
here.  We  are  besieged  v/ith.  peace-delegations, 
I  listen  to  their  stories,  and  refer  them  to  you 
and  Mallory,  believing  that  you,  being  on  the 
ground,  can  act  more  wisely  than  I  can. 
Please  keep  me  posted  of  your  movements. 
"  Very  respectfully, 

(Signed)  "Powell  Clayton." 

I  copied  these  letters  from  the 
original  letter-book  of  the  Gover- 
nor, with  the  custodian's  permis- 
sion, and  the  following  orders, 
which  were  issued  by  the  Com- 
mander-in-chief: 

"  Little  Rock,  Dec.  3d,  1868. 
"  Brig.  Gen.  Sam.  W.  Mallory,  Command- 
ing District  Southwest : 

"  Sir, — I  send  you  a  list  of  men  who,  it  is 
believed,  belong  to  the  Ku-Klux.  And  some 
of  them,  if  is  believed,  have  engaged  in  the 
outrages  that  have  occurred. 

"  Have  marked  the  worst  cases.  If  you 
can  be  able  to  arrest  these  men,  from  some  of 
them,  doubtless,  you  will  be  able  to  elicit 
facts,  and  may,  possibly,  get  something  in  ref- 
erence to  Gen.  Fagan  and  John  H.  Burton. 

[The  list  appended  was  as  fol- 
lows, the  worst  cases  marked  with 
an  asterisk] : 

"  Dr.  W.  H.  Barry,*  Henry  Randle,*  (Mon- 
ticello) ;  Dr.  M.  C.  Reno,  (Hopkins  County, 
Texas) ;  James  Jeter ;  James  Hankins , 
Teacher  Richardson,  Chas.  Hopkins  (doubt), 
W.  R.  Tunnage,  Wm.  Tunnage,  sr.,  John  Dun- 
^ap.  Pink  Holland,  —  Whitman,  Geo.  Veasey, 
Chas.  Burks,  Frank  Bennett,  Dr.  Owens,  Eli 
Rogers,  D.  C.  Parker  (Marion),  Jim  Brooks,* 
Street  Hudspeth,*  Milton  Dabney  (Saline), 
Chas.  Boyd,*  (Cabin  Creek),  —  Boothman, 
(witness,  Grubb) ;  —    Hunnicut  (Bradley  Co.) 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


John  Folliard,  Robt.  S.  Bennett,  Nat.  Ham- 
mett,*  Fred.  Wells  (Marion),  John  Sweeny,* 
Street  Beatty,  Sam.  Gibson  (Bradley),  Martin 
Bradley." 


On  the  25th  of  December,  if 
the  Governor  sent  to  the  same 
officer  the  following  order,  (omit- 
ting a  few  lines  devoted  to  explicit 
directions)  it  reads  : 

"  Executive  Office,  Dec.  25th,  1868. 
"Gen.  S.  W.  Mallory,  Commanding  District 
Southwest : 

"  Sir, — I  am  instructed  by  the  Governor  to 
say,  that  as  soon  as  Gen.  Catterson  reaches 
you,  you  will  proceed  at  once  to  arrest  the 
parties  whose  names  have  been  sent  to  you, 
as  well  as  any  other  outlaws.  He  thinks  you 
can  surely  execute  many  of  them.  It  is  abso- 
lutely necessary  that  some  examples  be  made. 

*  *  *  It  may  be  desirable  to  have  the 
troops  kerey  by  the  first  of  January,  if  the 
thing  can  be  safely  done.  There  will  be  a 
large  Democratic  Convention  here  at  that 
time,  and  the  militia  may  be  needed  as  dele- 
gates. He  thinks  you  have  acted  wisely  in 
disbanding  the  colored  troops,  under  the  cir- 
cumstances   Very  respectfully  yours, 

•*  J.  H.  Barton,  Private  Secretary." 

(Some  of  the  negro  militia  had 
mutinied  and  threatened  Mallory's 
life.) 

Numerous  arrests  were  made 
under  this  order,  though  many  fled 
to  avoid  arrest.  What  disposition 
was  made  of  some  of  the  prisoners 
has  not  yet  been  made  known. 
Most  of  them  who  had  friends,  or 
were  themselves  able  to  pay  ran- 
soms, were  liberated.  Young 
Stokes  Morgan  was  disposed  of  in 
a  more  tragic  manner.  He  was 
accused  of  complicity  in  the  mur- 


der of  a  white  named  Dollar,  who 
had  been  lynched  at  Monticello 
for  deserting  his  family  and  living 
with  a  negro  woman.  Morgan 
could  have  proved  that  he  was  at 
Lacy,  thirteen  miles  south  of  Mon- 
ticello the  night  of  the  killing. 
But  he  took  no  pains  to  make  any 
defense.  He  was  tried  by  a  mili- 
tary commission  which  recom- 
mended his  discharge.  Catterson 
reversed  the  finding,  and  ordered 
him  to  be  hung.  He  was  sent  to 
the  penitentiary  at  Little  Rock, 
and  taken  back  to  Monticello  and 
hung. 

When  Catterson  and  Lockhart 
reached  Hamburg,  the  county-seat 
of  Ashley  County,  a  prosperous 
merchant  of  that  place,  Col.  A.  W. 
Files,  had  just  returned  from  New 
Orleans  with  a  large  stock  of  dry- 
goods  and  supplies.  The  entire 
stock  was  immediately  seized  by 
the  militia,  and  Files  taken  pris- 
oner. There  was  no  charge  against 
him.  There  were  ladies  in  the 
'  store '  when  he  was  arrested. 
Seeing  one  of  them  take  a  hand- 
kerchief from  her  pocket,  he  slip- 
ped into  it,  unseen,  a  roll  of  bills 
containing  seven  hundred  and  fifty 
dollars.  He  was  taken  in  charge 
by  four  men,  mounted,  who  march- 
ed him  on  foot  before  them  along 
a  road  leading  out  of  the  town  in- 
to the  woods.  It  was  the  19th  of 
December,  and  the  weather  was 
freezing  cold.  One  of  the  guards, 
a  man  named  Anderson,  rode  the 
prisoner's  mule  and  saddle,  which 


88 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


were  worth  two  hundred  and  fifty- 
dollars.  Col.  Files  was  afterwards 
a  guest  at  the  Anthony  House,  in 
Little  Rock,  and  gave  me  an  ac- 
count of  his  arrest.     He  said  : 

"He  felt  positively  certain  that  he  was  im- 
mediately to  be  killed  by  his  custodians.  He 
noticed  the  two  younger  men  of  the  party  were 
ordered  to  take  another  direction.  This  left 
only  two,  who  were  sufficient  to  dispatch  him, 
and  enjoy  between  them  a  shorter  division  of 
his  money.  He  had  retained  but  little  money 
(about  sixty  dollars)  in  his  pocket.  As  he 
stepped  briskly  before  the  mules  of  his  guard, 
in  the  mud  and  ice  of  the  lonely  road,  he  was 
prepared  at  any  moment  to  receive  their  shots 
in  his  back.  But  he  had  command  of  all  his 
faculties.  At  length  he  heard  Anderson  say, 
"  See  here,  sir  !  "  He  wheeled  instantly,  and 
resolved  to  do  his  utmost  Xo  flatter  his  would- 
be-executioners  into  sparing  his  life.  Ander- 
son had  his  pistol  partly  drawn.  Files  first 
addressed  him  with  perfect  coolness.  He  told 
him,  with  much  earnestness,  that  he  saw  from 
his  bearing  he  was  an  intelligent  and  coura- 
geous man  (?)  He  said  he  was  sure  a  brave 
man  could  not  have  it  in  his  heart  to  kill  one 
who  had  never  seen  him  before,  and  never 
done  him  any  harm.  Anderson  finally  let  his 
pistol  drop  back  into  the  scabbard.  The  other 
man  had  to  be  mollified.  He  was  more  surly. 
When  addressed  in  the  same  strain,  he  said 
he  had  been  in  rough  places  himself.  "But 
you  were  spared,"  said  his  prisoner,  "  or  you 
would  not  be  here."  They  agreed  that  if  he 
would  leave  the  State,  not  return  to  it,  so  that 
they  could  report  that  they  had  killed  himi 
and  let  no  one  know  it,  and  give  them  up  his 
money,  they  would  let  him  take  to  the  woods. 
He  handed  them  his  pocket-book.  They  be- 
lieved he  had  more,  and  one  drew  his  pistol; 
but  he  quickly  showed  that  his  pockets  were 
empty,  and  that  he  had  no  "belt  "  around 
him.     They  ordered  him  "  to  go."     He  ex- 


pected, when  he  turned,  to  be  shot.  They 
did  not  follow  him.  He  took  to  the  woods 
and  ran  over  logs  and  through  brakes 
until  exhausted.  Arriving  at  a  neighbor's,  he 
got  some  money  from  him.  He  sent  a  mess- 
age to  his  wife  that  he  was  not  killed,  and  not 
to  breathe  it.  But  she  did,  and  was  raided 
and  robbed  of  the  money  he  sent  her,  and  sev- 
en hundred  and  fifty  dollars  more. 

Detachments  of  Catterson's  com- 
mand raided  the  counties  on  the 
southwestern  border.  In  Sevier 
County,  Mr.  Brooks,  a  respectable 
citizen,  was  bound  in  his  own 
house,  and  he,  with  his  children, 
was  forced  to  witness  the  outrage 
of  his  wife  by  negroes.  One  of 
his  sons,  Allie  Brooks,  then  a  boy, 
now  a  promising  young  business 
man,  of  Nashville,  Ark.,  is  a  living 
witness  to  this  infamous  atrocity. 

On  the  Little  Missouri,  where  it 
runs  at  the  base  of  pine-crowned 
battlements  two  thousand  feet 
high  (the  ridge  called  the  Fodder 
Stack),  through  peaceful,  romantic 
valleys  that  had  never  been  dis- 
turbed by  the  war,  cruel  deeds 
were  performed  that  remind  us  of 
the  dark  ages.  One  poor  rustic 
was  repeatedly  hung  up  by  the 
neck  with  a  hair-rope,  until  life 
was  nearly  extinct,  to  make  him 
tell  what  he  did  not  know.  An- 
other, in  a  valley  called  '  Greasy 
Cove,"  on  the  Little  Missouri  Riv- 
er, a  romantic  glen  in  the  moun- 
tains (a  favorite  retreat  of  General 
Albert  Pike),!who  protested  against 
the  violent  entrance  of  his  premi- 
ses, was  hung  before  his  own  door. 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkajisas. 


89 


while  the  raiders  fiddled  and 
danced  within.  An  anusual  snow 
fell  during  the  night.  Their  host, 
next  morning,  was  there  swinging 
by  his  halter,  with  a  cone  of  snow 
upon  his  lifeless  head.  The  *  store  ' 
of  '  Old-man  '  Wimberly  was  rob- 
bed, and  he  brutally  maltreated. 

While  the  champions  of  '  free- 
dom* were  engaged  in  these 
achievements,  the  State  legislature 
assembled  at  Little  Rock,  in  '  ad- 
journed session,'  Nov.  17th,  1868. 
Our  old  friend,  the  military  par- 
son, representative  from  Phillips, 
reappeared  in  his  seat,  and  gave 
evidence  of  his  patriotic  ardor  in  a 
congratulatory  address  to  his  col- 
leagues upon  the  success  of  the 
militia  in  their  glorious  campaigns 
in  behalf  of  '  equal  rights  to  all.* 
He  thanked  God  that  the  rebel 
Philistines  had  again  been  visited 
with  '  the  lightning  of  His  terrible, 
swift  sword.'  In  no  age  does  it 
seem  that  man's  thought  can  trans- 
cend his  knowledge,  and  imagine 
a  Deity  that  shall  be  less  cruel 
than  himself!  He  introduced  a 
series  of  resolutions  that,  under  a 
suspension  of  the  rules,  were  unan- 
imously adopted,  without  amend- 
ment, as  follows : 

Resolved,  By  the  members  of  the  House  of 
Representatives  of  the  State  of  Arkansas,  the 
Senate  concurring.  That  the  establishment 
and  maintenance  of  peace,  the  security  of  prop- 
erty and  life  are  the  first  and  most  important 
objects  of  government. 

2d.  That  when  civil  authority  and  process 
fail  of  the  attainment  of  these  ends,  and  the 


magistracy  becomes  powerless,  the  military 
authority  and  power  should  be  invoked. 

3d.  Being  fully  persuaded  o{  the  precon- 
certed existence  of  widespread  lawlessness  and 
systematic  assassination  of  the  friends  of  the 
government,  State  and  National,  in  certain 
counties,  being  at  large,  defying  the  officers  of 
the  law,  we  do  therefore  most  earnestly  ap- 
prove and  indorse  the  recent  proclamation  of 
Governor  Powell  Clayton  declaring  martial 
law  in  said  counties. 

4th.  Believing  we  are  right,  and  calling  on 
Almighty  God  and  all  good  men  to  witness 
the  rectitude  of  our  motives,  for  ourselves  in- 
dividually and  on  behalf  of  our  several  con- 
stituencies, for  the  maintenance  of  the  State 
Government  and  the  active  enforcement  of  the 
laws,  "  we  pledge  our  lives,  our  fortunes  (!), 
and  our  sacred  honor." 

This  elaborate  screed  was  cop- 
ied from  the  instrument  I  have 
quoted,  which  declared  it '  barbar- 
ous '  to  incite  domestic  insurrec- 
tion, but  was  an  improvement  of 
the  original  by  introducing  the 
Almighty  in  this  distinguished  as- 
sociation. 

These  proceedings  proved  of 
little  avail  to  divert  attention  from 
the  atrocities  that  had  been  com- 
mitted. Murmurs  deep  and  loud 
began  to  come  from  the  specta- 
tors, among  whom  were  powerful 
Republican  leaders,  be  it  said  to 
their  honor. 

Senator  Pratt,  of  the  42d  Cong- 
ress, denounced  'the  corrupt  leg- 
islation and  venal  governments  of 
the  Southern  States.'  He  felt  im- 
pelled to  say,  in  view  of  what  was 
witnessed  there,  *  Had  the  Ku- 
Klux  outrages  been  directed  ag- 


90 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter    War:  a  History 


ainst  these  faithless  public  serv- 
ants they  would  have  been  rid  of 
them  and  nobody  would  have  com- 
plained.' Senator  Hale,  of  the 
same  Congress,  said,  *  Bad  men  in 
the  Southern  States  have  bought 
power  by  wholesale  bribery,  and 
enriched  themselves  by  open- 
handed  robbery.  Corruption  and 
anarchy  occupy  and  oppress  those 
unfortunate  states.'  And  Presi- 
dent Grant,  in  a  message  to  Cong- 
ress, deemed  it  necessary  for  the 
honor  of  the  Nation  that  the  Gov- 
ernment should  take  notice  of  the 
unexampled  condition  of  the 
Southern  States.  He  declared  his 
'  commisseration  for  the  condition 
of  these  unfortunate  Southern 
States.'  He  had  been  the  mag- 
nanimous victor  who  accepted  the 
surrender  of  the  Southern  armies 
upon  the  terms  of  liberality  that 
were  worthy  of  his  successes.  It 
doubtless  moved  him  to  see  them 
so  grossly  violated.  And  Grant 
proved  to  be  the  good  Samaritan 
that  showed  his  compassion,  after 
the  priests  and  Levites  had  looked 
on,  and  passed  by,  leaving  the  suf- 
ferers to  their  fate. 

On  the  24th  January  the  Gov- 
ernor sent  his  message  to  the  two 
houses  in  joint  session,  gravely 
congratulating  them  that  'they 
had  escaped  the  dangers  a)id 
perils  that  threatened  them,  and 
in  despite  of  the  efforts  that 
were  put  forth  and  intended  for 
their  destruction,  they  had  been 
enabled     to     assemble     together 


again  in  a  legislative  capacity.' 
He  proceded  to  give  the  num- 
ber of  '  assassinations  '  committed 
since  their  adjournment,  assuming 
them  all  to  be  '  political ! '  But 
in  so  studied  a  State  paper  he 
could  mention  eight  names  only  of 
the  killed,  including  James  Hinds, 
the  Congressman  elect,  shot  in 
May  or  June  ;  a  fewer  number  of 
killings  than  had  occurred  foryears 
in  the  same  time,  in  a  population 
of  nearly  a  million,  and  within  an 
area  of  fifty-four  thousand  square 
miles. 

He  made  the  following  state- 
ment in  regard  to  the  destruction 
of  the  arms  in  transitu,  purchased 
by  him  for  the  use  of  militia,  on 
the  '  Hesper,'  from  Memphis  : 

"  I  appointed  James  L.  Hodges,  agent  of 
the  State,  with  directions  to  proceed  North 
and  make  a  purchase  of  arms.  He  purchased 
4000  stands,  which  he  shipped  to  Little  Rock, 
[shipped  to  be  carried  to  Little  Rock],  but 
which  were  stopped  at  Memphis  by  a  combina- 
tion on  the  part  of  the  transportation  coni- 
panies.  On  the  12th  of  October  (1868),  I 
chartered  'the  Steamer  Hesper,  commanded 
by  Capt.  S.  Houston,  to  proceed  to  Memphis 
and  transport  the  arms  to  this  place.  He  left 
Memphis,  Oct.  15th.  When  about  twenty 
miles  below  that  city,  an  armed  band  of  men, 
disguised,  upon  the  Steam-tug,  Nettie  Jones, 
boarded  the  Hesper,  and  destroyed  or  carried 
away  the  arms  belonging  to  the  State. 

"This  piratical  party  was  fitted  out  at 
Memphis,  and  as  the  offense  was  committed 
upon  the  waters  of  the  United  States,  over 
which  the  State  has  no  jurisdiction,  you  are 
respectfully  recommended  to  memorialize 
Congress   for   the   amount  expended  for  the 


of  the  Reco7istriiction  Period  iti  Arkansas. 


91 


property  of  the  State  which  ivas  destroyed." 

Four  thousand  stands  of  arms 
were  more  than  were  furnished 
General  Taylor  for  the  invasion  of 
Mexico. 

This  incident  was  described  in 
the  dispatches  of  October  17th, 
from  Memphis,  as  follows — (Mem- 
phis, from  the  high  bluffs  of  Ten- 
nessee, overlooks  the  low-lying 
forests  and  cotton  plantations  of 
Arkansas ): 

"  Thursday  afternoon,  about  5  p.  m.,  the  tug, 
Nettie  Jones,  landed  below  Fort  Pickering,  on 
the  east  bank  of  the  Mississippi  River,  below 
Memphis.  She  had  scarcely  made  fast,  when 
about  one  hundred  men,  who  seemed  to  spring 
out  of  the  earth,  all  masked  and  armed, 
quietly  boarded  the  tug ;  took  possession  of 
the  pilot-house  and  engine-room ;  ordered  one 
of  their  number  to  cast  off,  and  putting  Cap- 
tain Ford  under  guard,  were  soon  steaming 
down  the  Mississippi.  On  approaching  Cat 
Island,  twenty-five  miles  down  the  river,  they 
ran  alongside  the  little  Steamer  Hesper,  at  the 
bank,  wooding.  The  Hesper  had  left  Mem- 
phis that  afternoon.  Capt.  Houston  and 
brother,  on  seeing  the  crowded  tug  bearing 
down  upon  their  craft,  made  rapid  strides  for 
the  woods.  The  maskers  sprang  upon  the 
Hesper;  placed  the  crew  under  guard,  and 
began  their  work.  Ammunition  boxes,  in  the 
hold,  were  brought  up,  and  gun  boxes  were 
broken  open ;  the  guns  broken,  and  all  thrown 
into  the  river.  The  boxes  were  seen  by  the 
people  on  the  Mayflower  floating  down  the 
current.  It  was  nine  o'clock  p.  m.  when  the 
raiders  crowded  back  upon  the  tug,  and  Capt. 
Ford  ordered  her  to  return  up  the  river.  At 
President's  Island  Chute  the  tug  was  run 
agroimd ;  the  raiders  were  taken  to  the  woods, 
on  the  Arkansas  side,  in  a  skiff,  six  at  a  time, 
and  Capt.  Ford  and  crew  were  left  to  the  con- 


trol of  their  vessel  about  3  o'clock  Friday 
morning.  He  says  the  performance  was  as 
quiet  as  a  funeral.  Where  the  raiders  went, 
after  landing,  neither  he  nor  any  one  has  been 
able  to  discover." 

This  dispatch  was  somewhat 
fanciful.  There  was  only  one  Ar- 
kansian  in  the  party — a  gallant 
Captain,  of  the  Adams  line  of 
Steamboats,  who  went  from  De- 
Vall's  Bluff  to  Clarendon  in  a  skiff, 
and  thence  overland  to  Helena, 
and  got  to  Memphis  in  time  to 
enlist  the  company  that  pursued 
the  Hesper.  Sympathizing  Mem- 
phians  performed  this  effectual 
coup  de  main. 

January  19th,  1869,  resolutions 
in  the  House  declaring  "the  re- 
storation of  civil  authority  to  be  a 
logical  deduction  of  the  necessity 
of  martial  law,"  were  opposed  by 
thirteen  members,  and  the  Gover- 
nor's proclamation  of  martial  law 
was  condemnedinstronglanguage. 
Speaker  Price  denounced  martial 
law  in  a  violent  speech,  but,  being 
public  printer,  and  threatened  with 
revocation  of  his  contract,  ex- 
plained, subsequently,  that  he  was 
inveighing  against  martial  law  in 
Conway  County,  while  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  was  in  session. 

January  22d,  Mr.  J.  B.  C.  Tur- 
man,  of  the  8th  District  {Repiibli- 
can),  submitted  resolutions,  which 
concluded  as  follows : 

Resolved,  By  the  General  Assembly  of  the 
State  of  Arkansas,  the  Representatives  of  the 
People,  That  Governor  Clayton  be  and  he  is 
hereby    instructed    to    revoke     martial     law 


92 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


throughout  the  State,  that  quiet  may  be  re- 
stored, and  the  right  of  a  free  people  be 
heard." 

The  resolution  lay  over,  under 
the  rules,  until  the  27th  of  Janu- 
uary,  when  it  was  called  up  by 
Mr.  Joseph  Brooks,  and  referred 
to  the  Committee  on  Militia. — 
There  it  enjoyed  a  final  repose. 
The  Reverend  Mr.  Brooks  at  this 
time  championed  all  extreme 
measures.  He  determined  that  he 
would  not  let  the  Governor  excel 
him  in  party  zeal.  He  claimed  to 
have  more  right  to  control  the 
party  than  Clayton,  believing  that 
he  had  organized  it  in  the  State — 
the  colored  wing  of  it. 

On  the  13th  of  March,  the  Sen- 
ate passed  the  resolutions  already 
adopted  by  the  House,  ratifying 
the  Fifteenth  Article  of  Amend- 
ments to  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States,  the  prime  object 
for  which  these  bodies  had  been 
called  into  existence  by  the  Mili- 
tary Bills  of  a  Rump-Congress. 
It  stands  appended  to  the  Consti- 
tution, as  a  regularly  adopted  arti- 
cle of  that  instrument: 

"The  right  of  citizens  of  the  United  States 
to  vote  shall  not  be  denied  or  abridged  on 
account  of  race,  color,  or  previous  condition 
of  servitude." 

"  To  hold  office,"  was  stricken 
out  of  the  Amendment  by  the 
Conference  Committee  of  the  two 
Houses  of  Congress. 

The  Fourteenth  Article,  which 
had  been  added  through  the  same 


expedient,  did  not  go  far  enough, 
in  providing  that  "  all  persons  born 
or  naturalized  in  the  United  States 
are  citizens^  Women  are  citizens ; 
but  citizenship  does  not  carry  with 
it  the  right  to  vote.  The  aborigi- 
nes are  supposed  not  to  be  subject 
to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  United 
States,  and  are  not  *  citizens.' 
They  were  the  proprietors  of  the 
continent  by  *  divine  right '  of 
original  colonization.  Our  pious 
white  ancestors  made  them  cap- 
tives, and  sold  them  as  slaves  be- 
tween the  colonies.  That  method 
of  evangelizing  them  proving  im- 
practicable (unprofitable),  they 
were  exiled  or  exterminated.  The 
remnants  of  that  race  cannot  vote 
under  either  article. 

With  this  crowning  labor  the 
legislature,  created  by  the  military 
bills  of  Congress,  bade  adieu  to 
the  authority  and  functions  usurp- 
ed by  them,  and  ended  under 
those  bills. 

The  legislature  had  passed,  Ap- 
ril 6th,  1869,  the  act  '  legalizing' 
all  proceedings  and  acts  had  by 
military  commissions,  or  done  in 
aid  thereof,  and  prohibiting  courts 
of  the  State  from  taking  jurisdic- 
tion, original  or  appellate,  of  such 
acts  ;  or  to  hold  any  person  for 
any  act  done  under  martial  law 
between  November  3d,  1868,  and 
April  1st,  1869. 

The  trouble  with  governments 
established  by  military  force  is 
that  this  same  force  is  two-edged. 
The  victors  quarrel  among  them- 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


93 


selves.  Arms  are  again  resorted 
to  to  settle  the  controversy.  This 
is  repeated  ad  infinitum ;  the  re- 
peated quarrels  can  only  be  set- 
tled by  force  of  arms.  Such  was 
the  condition  of  the  middle  ages. 
As  the  result  of  these  forceful 
measures  disaffection  arose  in  the 
ranks  of  the  invaders.  Then  the 
wisdom  of  the  Democratic  com- 
mittee in  urging  the  citizens  to 
qualify  and  vote  became  apparent. 
In  order  to  triumph  through  the 
strength  of  the  citizen  vote,  a  pow- 
erful element  in  the  Republican 
organization  began  to  form  a  fac- 
tion to  be  known  as  the  Liberal 
Republican  party.  Gen.  John  Ed- 
wards and  Hon.  Liberty  Bartlett 
were  among  the  chief  sponsors  of 
the  new  party,  *  Honest  John,'  as 
Edwards  was  called,  had  been  cer- 
tified a  member  elect  of  the  House 
of  Representatives  in  Congress  by 
the  Governor,  under  circumstances 
that  invited  serious  charges  ag- 
ainst the  Executive.  Yet  Edwards 
had  a  dagger  for  the  Governor, 
and  headed  a  call  for  a  convention 
of  the  '  Liberals  '  at  the  capital. 

A  few  days  before  it  met, 
through  Judge  Thomas  Bowen, 
representing  the  Clayton  adminis- 
tration, and  the  editor  of  the  Ga- 
zette, acting  for  the  Conservatives, 
it  was  agreed  that  there  should  be 
a  night-meeting  of  leaders  of  these 
respective  parties  in  the  Supreme 
Court  Library,  which  was  up-stairs 
in  the  east  wing  of  the  capitol. 
The   Governor  realized   that   the 


*  Liberals  '  must  be  headed  off  by 
concessions  more  captivating  than 
they  might  offer.  The  Conserva- 
tives were  distrustful  of  the  '  new 
swarm,'  and  readily  agreed  to  the 
proposed  conference,  which  was 
fixed  for  eight  o'clock,  p.  m. 
Leaders  were  duly  notified — ex- 
Judges  Watkins  and  English,  Mr. 
Garland  and  others — and  ready 
for  the  meeting.  But  just  before 
the  appointed  hour,  Judge  Bowen 
sought  the  editor  and  told  him, 

*  somebody  had  leaked,*  and  sug- 
gested that  those  who  had  been 
notified  had  better  appear  at  a 
concert  by  Brignoli,  to  be  given 
that  night,  in  order  that  their  pres- 
ence there  might  contradict  the  re- 
port,as  no  conference  could  be  held 
then.  So  the  Conservatives  were 
notified,  except  two,  who  could 
not  be  found.  They  were  engaged 
in  a  quiet  little  game  of  poker. 
A  majority  of  the  others  were  con- 
spicuous at  the  concert. 

Unaware  of  the  postponement, 
the  two  made  their  way  through 
dark  passages  to  the  place  of  meet- 
ing, and  very  naturally  indulged  in 
remarks  and  exclamations,  at  not 
finding  the  rooms  open  and  light- 
ed. Sharp  eyes  were  watching 
them  through  the  darkness  that 
enveloped  the  ancient  building, 
and  the  eager  ears  of  Hodges,  Cat- 
terson,  and  others,  were  listening 
from  behind  columns  and  but- 
tresses. That  the  Governor  knew 
of  this  appointment,  or  its  objects, 
no  one  could  assert,  positively,  ex- 


94 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


cept  Judge  Bowen.  The  Govern- 
or, Judge  Bowen,  and  their  fami- 
lies were  at  the  concert,  in  the  city 
hall,  ignorant  of  any  mishap  that 
had  resulted  from  the  postpone- 
ment of  the  preconcerted  meet- 
ing. 

The  next  morning,  the  Gover- 
nor was  met  at  the  entrance  of  the 
executive  office  by  '  Gen.'  Catter- 
son,  who  openly  took  him  to  task 
for  'arranging  a  meeting  with 
Democratic  leaders  for  turning 
over  the  State  to  the  Democracy.' 
The  Governor  promptly  respond- 
ed, that  he  was  *  a  liar.'  The  Gen- 
eral, with  laurels,  fresh  from  his 
campaign  against  the  paroled  pris- 
oners, dry  goods  stores,  and  corn- 
fields of  South  Arkansas,  retorted 
that  the  Governor  was  '  a  d — d 
liar.'  This  was  drawing  a  nice,  if 
profane,  distinction  of  epithets. 
The  one-handed  Executive  re- 
joined with  a  stinging  slap  upon 
the  General's  right  cheek.  The 
Governor  had  to  reach  upward  to 
strike  his  lank  lieutenant,  who  of- 
fered no  resistance.  The  drum- 
head 'General'  had  seen  old  men 
and  boys,  whom  he  had  ordered  to 
execution,  die^  uncomplainingly 
and  unresisting.  He  looked  a  vol- 
ume of  martial  law,  but  only  re- 
marked that  '  he  would  not  strike 
a  one-armed  man,'  and  went  his 
way,  with  the  print  of  Clayton's 
fingers  on  his  face. 

No  more  conferences  were  called 
in  the  Supreme  Court  library.  The 
Governor  took  the  more  fearless 


method  of  proposing  a  public 
speech,  in  which  his  offers  of  con- 
ciliation should  be  made  openly. 
Upon  being  serenaded,  one  even- 
ing, he  appeared  upon  the  steps 
of  the  capitol,  and  made  his  '  Oc- 
tober speech,'  designed  to  outbid 
the  '  Liberals  '  for  the  Democratic 
support. 

His  speech  was  'liberal'  beyond 
expectation.  He  declared  the  pe- 
riod had  arrived  when  the  Execu- 
tive should  be  shorn  of  his  extra- 
ordinary powers;  he  promised  to 
reduce  the  number  of  offices,  and 
announced  himself  in  favor  of  the 
removal  of  political  disabilities 
growing  out  of  participation  in  re- 
bellion !  These  were  tempting  of- 
fers. They  were  received  with 
some  misgivings  as  to  their  sincer- 
ity by  the  assembled  citizens,  but 
they  were  highly  effective.  They 
caused  the  Democracy  to  give  a 
very  cold  shoulder  to  the  Liber- 
als. The  liberal  movement  seemed 
killed. 

This  was  the  attitude  of  the  fac- 
tions during  the  months  of  No- 
vember and  December,  the  Gov- 
ernor taking  a  conciliatory  course, 
until  the  meeting  of  the  next  leg- 
islature, the  second  after  the  adop- 
tion of  the  constitution  of  1 868. 
It  met  on  the  2d  of  January,  1869. 
Tankersly,  imported  and  appointed 
from  Clark  County,  being  chosen 
Speaker  of  the  House ;  Lieuten- 
ant-Governor James  M.  Johnson 
being  ex-officio  President  of  the 
the  Senate. 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


95 


The  message  of  the  Governor, 
read  in  joint  session,  on  the  4th  of 
January,  was  fully  in  accordance 
with  his  'October  Speech.'  A 
person  to  represent  the  State  in 
the  Congress  of  the  United  States 
(as  Senator)  was  to  be  chosen  by 
that  General  Assembly.  The  Gov- 
ernor was  plainly  desirous  of  be- 
ing that  *  person.'  No  one  ven- 
tured to  oppose  him. 

On  the  loth  of  January  the  two 
houses  proceeded  to  nominate 
him,  and,  on  I  ith,  the  *  Honorable 
Powell  Clayton  received  in  joint 
session  of  the  two  houses,  a  ma- 
jority of  all  the  votes,  and  was  de- 
clared Senator  elect  for  the  term 
commencing  March  4th,  187 1,  and 
to  expire  March  the  4th,  1877." 

It  cannot  be  forgotten  that  the 
Rev.  Joseph  Brooks,  author  of  the 
'Almighty*  resolutions  of  the 
former  General  Assembly,  approv- 
ing the  Governor's  militia  policy, 
andhisson-in-law,Moses  Reed,  had 
been  representatives  from  the  pop- 
ulous negro  district  which,  em- 
bracing Phillips  County  on  the 
Mississippi,  and  Monroe  County  on 
White  River,  composed  the  nth 
Dist.  But  subsequent  to  the  ad- 
journment of  the  military  appoin- 
tees constituting  that  Legislature, 
both  of  those  politico-military  *  di- 
vines *  had  removed  to  Little 
Rock.  Mr,  Brooks,  as  soon  as  the 
duration  of  his  residence  at  Little 
Rock  would  permit,  announced 
himself  a  candidate  for  the  Senate 
from  the  Tenth  District.      There 


was  a  majority  of  negroes  in  this 
district,  and  there  was  the  faction 
headed  by  Catterson,  Hodges, 
Hartman,  and  others,  who  would 
support  him.  But  the  missionary 
of  Fairfield,  Iowa,  was  destined  to 
never /^i?/^  an  elective  office  again. 
He  certainly  believed  he  was  af- 
terwards elected  to  one  other — that 
of  Governor — and  he  offered  very 
strong  evidence  to  demonstrate  it. 

The  first  step  in  the  preparation 
of  his  canvass  was  the  establish- 
ment of  the  Arkansas  State  Jour- 
nal, an  extreme  Republican  organ, 
but  devoting  considerable  space 
to  colored  religious  revivals,  and 
affairs  of  the  A.  M.  E.  Church. 
Its  purpose  to  control  the  colored 
vote  of  the  district  needed  no  ad- 
vertisement. An  old  man  named 
Brayman  was  its  practical  or  im- 
practical manager,  but  Catterson, 
Hodges,  and  others  were  its  advi- 
sory board.  It  charged  the  Gov- 
ernor with  being  a  *  a  deserter  to 
the  Democracy.*  The  percussion 
of  the  Governor's  slap  in  the  face 
of  Catterson  struck  the  spark,  and 
the  Jonrnal  trained  the  guns  which 
startled  the  country  with  the  con- 
flict of  force  and  fraud  known  as 
the  '  Brooks  and  Baxter  War." 

The  election  for  one  Senator 
from  each  district  and  Represent- 
atives, was  to  be  held  throughout 
the  State  on  Tuesday,  the  8th 
of  November,  1870.  At  that 
election,  by  obtaining  'early*  pos- 
session of  the  polls  (  5  o'clock 
a.  m.),  and  securing  t/ieir  jut'ges: 


96 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


Foster,  Bates,  and  Krull,  in  the 
First  Ward;  Brayman,  Hol- 
land, and  Devine,  in  the  Third 
Ward,  in  Little  Rock  (negro 
strongholds)  ;  assisted  in  the  coun- 
try precincts,  by  George  N. 
Perkins,  colored,  and  Carter  Mc- 
Clelland, colored,  it  seemed  that 
Brooks  for  Senator,  and  Hodges 
and  Hartman  for  Representatives, 
would  defeat  the  Clayton  candi- 
dates, Willshire  Riley  for  the 
Senate;  Goad,  Pilkington,  and 
Chamberlain  for  the  House — some 
of  each  faction  supporting  How- 
ard, Whittemore,  and  House, 
Democrats.  There  was  but  one 
Senator  to  be  elected — Hon.  Ozra 
A.  Hadley,  holding  over.  These 
several  organizations  became 
known  as  the  'Brindle  Tails'  and 
*  Minstrels,'  respectively  —  names 
accepted  by  each,  and  used  to  dis- 
tinguish them  in  subsequent  pro- 
ceedings in  the  Legislature. 

Senator  Duffie  said  in  the  Sen- 
ate of  the  State : 

"  It  is  well  known  that  there  are  three  par- 
ties in  this  State :  The  State  Adminstration^ 
party  called  '  Minstrels  ; '  part  of  the  Repub- 
lican party  opposed  to  the  Minstrels,  popularly 
called  the  *  Brindle  Tails,'  and  the  Democratic 
party." 

Upon  the  assembling  of  the  leg- 
islature. Brooks  claimed  the  elec- 
tion over  Riley,  and  January  26th 
presented  his  credentials  in  the 
Senate  and  was  promptly  sworn  in 
by  the  Lieutenant-Governor,  John- 
son, presiding  over  that  body. 
But,  by  resolution  of  Senator  Mal- 


lory,  January  31st,  the  Secretary 
was  forbidden  to  enroll  Brooks' 
name.  On  the  2d  of  February, 
however,  he  was  conditionally  ad- 
mitted to  the  seat  by  resolution, 
reserving  to  Riley  the  right  to  con- 
test it.  The  Senate  chamber 
thenceforward  resounded  with  the 
eloquence  of  the  Reverend  orator 
in  maintaining  his  right  to  a  seat. 
On  the  8th  of  February,  the  Com- 
mittee on  Elections  made  their 
report  in  favor  of  Riley,  who  was 
seated,  and  Brooks  unseated  by 
the  adoption  of  the  report. 

Associate  Justice  John  McClure 
had  been,  by  the  Governor,  ap- 
pointed Chief  Justice,  vice  Will- 
shire resigned,  and  elected  to  Con- 
gress to  fill  vacancy  caused  by  the 
death  of  Hines. 

On  the  30th  of  January,  the 
Minstrel  (Clayton)  wing  of  the 
Republicans  presented,  in  the 
House,  resolutions  of  impeach- 
ment against  James  M.  Johnson, 
Lieutenant-Governor,  and  ex-offi- 
cio  presiding  officer  of  the  Senate, 
upon  the  grave  charge  that  he  had 
'  sworn  in  and  recognized  Joseph 
Brooks  as  a  Senator  elect  from  the 
Tenth  Senatorial  District.'  The 
accused  was  a  native  of  Madison 
County,  ex-Governor  Murphy's 
county,  formerly  known  as  Dr. 
Johnson,  a  citizen  Unionist,  who 
had  joined  the  Union  army  early 
in  the  war,  and  had  become  the 
colonel  of  a  brigade  of  Arkansas 
Federals,  and  a  trusted  officer  to 
the  close  of   the  war.      The   im- 


of  the  Reconstriictio7i  Period  m  Arka?isas. 


97 


peachment  was  not  seriously 
pressed  by  the  House.  It  was 
soon  postponed  indefinitely.  The 
faction  headed  by  Mr.  Brooks 
took  sides  with  the  Lieutenant 
Governor,  Johnson.  It  contained 
a  sufificient  number  of  Republi- 
cans in  the  House  to  pronounce  the 
efforts  of  the  Governor  to  deprive 
the  Lieutenant-Governor  of  his 
rightful  succession  to  the  office  of 
Governor,  by  proceedings  for  ob- 
taining from  the  Judges  of  the 
Supreme  Court  a  writ  to  restrain 
him  from  entering  the  office  of 
Governor,  as  *  revolutionary '  in 
its  purposes,  and  a  serious  of- 
fence, which  demanded  the  im- 
peachment of  the  Governor,  who 
had  not  yet  resigned,  to  accept 
the  office  of  Senator. 

Accordingly,  on  the  i6th  of 
February,  Mr.  W.  B.  Padgett,  of 
the  House,  from  Independence 
County  (Republican)  presented  a 
a  motion  *to  impeach  Gov.  Powell 
Clayton  of  high  crimes  and  mis- 
demeanors, and  to  suspend  him 
from  the  office  of  Governor.'  The 
motion  was  agreed  to — 43  ayes  to 
33  nays — and  managers  were  ap- 
pointed to  prepare  articles  of  im- 
peachment,'and  make  good  the 
same  at  the  bar  of  the  Senate.' 
The  motion  charged  him  with  con- 
spiring to  deprive  the  Lieutenant- 
Governor  of  the  office  to  which  he 
was  elected  by  the  people ;  that 
he  unlawfully  removed  certain 
officers  of  Clark  County ;  that  he 
encouraged  frauds  in  the  election 


of  Senators  and  Representatives 
from  the  Thirteenth  District,  com- 
posed of  Hot  Springs,  Polk,  Mont- 
gomery, and  Scott  counties;  that 
he  accepted  pecuniary  considera- 
tion for  issuing  railroad-aid  bonds 
of  the  State  issued  to  the  Mem- 
phis &  Little  Rock,  the  Little 
Rock  &  Fort  Smith,  and  the  Mis- 
sissippi, Ouachita  &  Red  River 
Railroad  Companies,  in  violation 
of  law;  that  he  committed  other 
high  crimes  ! ' 

On  the  17th  of  February  the 
House  refused  to  receive  a  mes- 
snge  from  him  as  Governor.  On 
the  same  day  it  agreed  to  a  motion 
for  '  the  impeachment  of  John 
McClure,  a  Justice  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  Arkansas  of  high  crimes 
and  misdemeanors,  and  to  suspend 
him  from  office  and,  to  appoint 
managers  to  prepare  articles  of 
impeachment  against  him,  and 
make  good  the  same,  at  the  bar  of 
the  Senate.' 

The  motion  specified  that  Judge 
McClure  had  '  conspired  with 
Powell  Clayton  and  others  to  de- 
prive J.  M.  Johnson  of  his  office 
of  Lieutenant  Governor;  that  he 
had  bargamed  for  pay  and  bribes 
to  influence  his  actions  and  decis- 
ions as  such  Justice  of  the  Su- 
preme Court,  and  issued  a  via7i- 
daimis  to  restrain  the  Lieutenant- 
Governor  from  acting  as  Governor 
when  the  office  should  be  vacated 
by  the  present  incumbent  (Clay- 
ton) ;  thereby  attempting  through 
one  department  to  interfere  with 


98 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


a.  coordinate    department   in   the 
discharge  of  its  lawful  functions.' 

The  vote  in  the  House  on  the 
motion  was  43  yeas,  33  nays — the 
Democrats  coalescing  with  the 
ultras,  or  Brooks  men. 

A  board  of  managers  was  ap- 
pointed, who  went  to  work  ear- 
nestly, prepared  articles  of  im- 
peachment, and  asked  for  author- 
ity from  the  Senate  to  cause  the 
attendance  of  witnesses.  They 
were  foiled  in  their  efforts  to  pro- 
cure witnesses,  and  asked  to  be 
discharged,  which  was  done  March 
2d,  and  a  new  board  appointed. 

March  the  4th  the  new  board 
reported  that  within  the  two  days 
they  had  been  unable  to  procure 
testimony  to  sustain  the  articles 
of  impeachment  against  the  Gov- 
ernor, and  moved  'that  further 
proceedings  be  suspended  and  the 
action  of  the  House  heretofore 
taken  be  dispensed  with,'  which 
report  was  adopted. 

Upon  the  adoption  of  the  re- 
port the  members  of  the  former 
board  of  managers  voted  '  no,' 
and  offered  their  written  explana- 
tion for  their  said  vote,  in  which 
they  say : 

"We  offered  to  furnish  the  new  board  with 
testimony  to  the  perpetration  of  frauds  by  the 
Gorernor  in  Hot  Springs  County,  and  advised 
said  board  of  testimony  [to  prove  charges]  in 
Memphis  and  New  York,  which  that  board 
declined  to  take  time  to  procure  ;  that  Senators 
absented  themselves  from  the  Senate  for  sev- 
eral days,  and  thereby  defeated  the  former 
board  from  securing  the  attendance  of  wit- 


nesses, and  adopted  rules  for  that  body  de- 
signed to  prevent  an  impartial  investigation 
of  the  charges  against  his  Excellency ;  and 
that  all  delays  of  the  former  board  were 
owing  to  the  action  of  his  Excellency  and  his 
friends  in  the  Senate. 

"In  our  opinion  said  cause  has  been  too 
hastily  dismissed.  We  do  not  believe  that 
the  rights  of  the  people  have  been  vindicated, 
or  the  innocence  of  Powell  Clayton  established. 
We  then  believed  he  was  guilty  of  the  charges 
preferred  against  him,  still  believe  it,  and  that 
ample  testimony  can  be  obtained  to  prove 
them." 

Which  was  signed : 

"D.  J.  Smith  (Republican),  Frank  M. 
Thompson  (Republican),  W.  B.  Padgett  (Re- 
publican), E.  A.  Fulton  (colored  Republican), 
Alex.  Mason  (Republican),  B.  B.  Battle  (Dem- 
ocrat)." 

Immediately  upon  the  adoption 
of  the  report  to  dispense  with 
the  impeachment  proceedings  ag- 
ainst him,  the  Governor,  or  Sena- 
tor elect,  addressed  a  communica- 
tion to  the  House  stating  that  from 
the  fact  that  '  a  coalition  had  been 
formed  of  a  few  Republicans  and 
the  entire  conservative  element, 
he  was  unwilling,  by  any  act  of 
his,  to  place  in  the  executive  chair 
the  leader  of  that  coalition '(Lieu- 
tenant-Governor Johnson),  and  his 
duty  compelled  him  to  decline 
the  position  of  United  States  Sen- 
ator to  which  he  had  been  elected. 

The  political  game  in  which 
these  two  factions  were  contend- 
ing with  each  other,  both  having 
a  right  to  bear  arms  and  exert 
'  force,'  was  becoming  interesting. 
Governor  Clayton  was  appealed  to 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


99 


not  to  leave  his  supporters  naked 
to  the  "  Brindles,"  by  permitting 
Johnson  to  succeed  him.  He 
must  not  resign  his  office  of  Gov- 
ernor until  Johnson  could  be  dis- 
posed of.  Now,  Johnson  was 
principally  actuated  by  a  desire  to 
benefit  Johnson  himself.  He  ac- 
cordingly accepted  from  the  Gov- 
ernor the  appointment  of  Secre- 
tary of  State  vice  R.  J.  T.  White, 
resigned,  and  upon  the  resignation 
by  Johnson  of  the  office  of  Lieu- 
tenant-Governor, Senator  Ozra  A. 
Hadley,  of  Little  Rock  (carpet- 
bagger), was  elected  President  of 
the  Senate.  This  was  considered 
a  master  stroke  by  the  "  Minstrels," 
and  secretly  approved  by  the 
"Brindles,"  as  the  Secretary  of 
State,  through  his  duty  to  canvass 
and  make  report  of  the  result  of  the 
general  State  elections,  was  a  most 
important  officer  in  that  era  of 
fraudulent  voting  and  false  returns. 
The  office  paid  better  than  that  of 
Lieutenant-Governor.  Nottillthen 
would  Clayton  vacate  his  seat. 

March  14th,  ten  days  there- 
after, a  new  election  for  Sena- 
tor was  agreed  upon  'to  fill 
the  vacancy  occasioned  by  his 
declination.'  He  was  renomina- 
ted, and  on  the  15th  March,  in 
joint  session  of  the  two  houses 
declared  duly  elected  Senator  to 
represent  the  State  in  the  Con- 
gress of  the  United  States,  and 
'to  fill  the  vacancy  occasioned  by 
the  declination  of  the  Honorable 
Powell  Clayton.' 


On  the  17th  IMarch  he  sent  in 
his  resignation  of  the  office  of 
Governor,  in  the  form  of  a  mess- 
age to  the  two  houses,  informing 
them  that  he  had  turned  ovex  to 
the  President  pro  tempore  of  the 
Senate  all  the  books  and  official 
records  of  the  office  of  Governor 
of  the  State  of  Arkansas.  The 
President  of  the  Senate  was  to  be 
the  acting  Governor  during  Clay- 
ton's unexpired  term  of  Governor. 

Senator  Clayton,  by  the  elec- 
tion of  Hadley  President  pro  tem- 
pore of  the  Senate,  and  acting 
Governor,  proposed  to  continue 
his  control  over  the  State  from  his 
seat  in  the  United  States  Senate. 

A  greater  number  of  Democrats 
than  ever  before  had  found  their 
way  to  seats  in  the  present  Legis- 
lature. They  were  on  the  alert, 
of  course,  to  encourage  divisions 
among  their  Republican  adversa- 
ries. They  coquetted  skilfvilly 
with  each  side,  while  they  loved 
neither.  The  power  of  their  votes 
was  manifested.  They  understood 
the  principle  of  the  maxim,  "  Di- 
vide et  zmpera."  They  thoroughly 
understood  that  they  held  the  bal- 
ance of  power. 

The  leaders,  among  them  were 
Messrs.  Robt.  A.  Howard,  of  Pu- 
laski County  (Chairman  Demo- 
cratic State  Central  Committee); 
J.  W.  House,  of  White;  J.  M. 
Pettigrew,  of  Franklin ;  J.  A.  Meek, 
of  Poinsett ;  W.  H.  Cate,  of  Craig- 
head ;  E.  P.  Watson,  of  Boone; 
J.    M.    Pittman,    of    Washington; 


The  Brooks  atid  Baxter   War:  a  History 


John  F.  Owen,  of  Benton ;  B.  B. 
Battle,  of  Hempstead;  John  J. 
Sumpter,  of  Hot  Springs — Demo- 
crats— aUied  with  Wm.  B.  Padgett, 
of  Independence ;  Frank  M. 
Thompson,  of  Columbia;  Alex. 
E.  Mason,  of  Calhoun ;  Moses 
Harvey,  of  Greene ;  E,  A.  Fulton 
(colored),  of  Drew — Republicans. 

J.  J.  Sumpter  had  been  counted 
out  by  the  frauds  charged  against 
the  Governor;  but  he  and  J.  F. 
Lane  were  seated  February  6th, 
and  the  three  sitting  Republican 
members  unseated  by  the  adoption 
of  the  minority  report  of  the  Com- 
mittee of  Elections  of  the  House, 
by  an  emphatic  majority. 

The  Governor,  at  his  first  elec- 
tion as  United  States  Senator,  had 
received  the  vote  of  many  Con- 
servatives. Their  support  was 
upon  the  principle  of  Grecian 
ostracism  of  those  who  were  dan- 
gerous to  the  State,  or  obnoxious 
to  the  people.  The  motive  that 
impelled  them  to  give  that 
support  was  not  exactly  the 
same  that  the  Athenian  avowed 
for  plumping  his  shell  in  favor  of 
banishing  Aristides — "because  he 
was  tired  of  hearing  him  called 
'The  Just.'"  Such  motive  was 
eloquently  disclaimed.  It  was 
declared  by  the  able  and  fearless 
young  member  of  the  House,  Mr. 
House,  from  White  County,  in  ex- 
planation of  his  vote  for  Clayton 
when,  upon  a  second  balloting  for 
United  States  Senator,  he  with- 
drew his  support  from  Clayton.     I 


preserved  a  copy  of  it,  and  will 
presently  insert  it  in  full. 

At  this  juncture  the  Governor 
sent  to  each  house  of  the  General 
Assembly  the  following  message: 

"  I  am  instructed  by  the  Governor  to  inform 
your  honorable  body  that  he  has  this  day, 
loth  March,  approved  and  signed  the  pro- 
posed amendment  to  the  [State]  Constitution, 
which,  if  adopted,  and  ratified  in  the  manner 
prescribed  in  Article  Thirteen,  shall  hereafter 
be  substituted  for  and  known  as  Article  Eight 
of  the  Constitution  of  the  State  of  Arkansas. 
"  Keyes  Danforth,  Act'g  Private  Secy." 

This  was  actual  compliance  with 
the  declaration  of  the  Governor's 
*  October  speech  *  in  front  of  the 
Capitol.  Danforth  had  been  Clay- 
ton's Adjutant  General,  an  office 
which  had  been  abolished  by  a 
bill  introduced  by  John  M.  Clay- 
ton. But  he  had  married  the 
handsome  daughter  of  the  acting 
Governor,  and  was  continued  in 
office  as  private  secretary  of  the 
acting  Governor. 

The  proposed  amendment  was 
actually  agreed  to  by  the  next 
succeeding  legislature,  and  sub- 
mitted by  act  of  Jan.  23,  1873,  and, 
being  ratified  by  the  people  March 
3,  1873,  was  substituted  for  and 
became  Article  Eight  of  Constitu- 
tion of  1 868.  This  Article  removed 
all  restrictions  upon  the  exercise  of 
the  elective  franchise,  except  for 
felonies  of  which  the  accused  had 
been  duly  convicted,  paupers,  in- 
sane persons,  etc. 
This  measure  was  by  far  the  most 


of  the  Reconstriictioti  Period  in  Arkansas. 


important  that  could  have  been 
demanded  by  the  people.  All 
needed  reforms  could  be  enacted 
by  their  true  representatives  after 
that.  Changes  in  the  election  laws, 
choice  of  their  own  county  officers 
(before  made  appointive  by  acts 
of  the  legislature),  and  ultimately 
those  made  the  subject  of  execu- 
tive appointment  could  be  accom- 
plished under  this  amendment  to 
the  constitution. 

The  explanation  of  the  Con- 
servative vote  for  Governor  Clay- 
ton for  Senator,  was  forcibly  and 
accurately  expressed  by  Hon.  J. 
W.  House,  Conservative  member 
from  White  County : 

"  I  desire  to  say,  that  heretofore  I  have  let 
the  record  explain  my  votes,  and  I  am  willing 
to-day  to  let  that  record  stand  as  a  living 
monument  in  all  time  to  come,  and  as  my  plat- 
form with  which  I  am  willing  to  stand  or  fall. 
I  did  not  explain  my  vote  cast  for  Governor 
Clayton  for  the  United  States  Senatorship,  be- 
cause my  constituents,  to  whom  I  am  alone 
responsible  in  my  representative  capacity,  will 
understand  my  reason  for  casting  that  vote. 

"It  was  not  because  I  approved  of  Gov- 
ernor Clayton's  administration.  God  forbid 
that  I  should  ever  approve  of  such  an  one !  It 
was  not  because  I  loved  Powell  Clayton,  but 
because  I  love  my  country  more ;  not  that  I 
expected  to  gain  any  favor  at  the  hands  of  his 
Excellency,  but  that  I  might  be  instrumental — 
that  I  might  lend  a  helping  hand  for  the  relief 
of  the  oppressed,  outraged  and  down-trodden 
people  of  the  State  of  Arkansas.  It  was  not 
that  I  expected  he  could  do  us  any  good  in  the 
United  States  Senate,  but  that  I  thought  he 
could  do  us  about  as  much  harm  in  that  body 
as  the  newsboys  in  the  streets  of  New  York 
City,  or  as  the  auctioneer  in  the  stock-yards  or 


market-places  of  Paris,  or  as  a  door-keeper  in 
the  House  of  Commons  of  the  Parliament  of 
Great  Britain. 

"At  that  time  I  believed  that  Governor 
Clayton  was  guilty  of  malfeasance  in  oftice; 
of  mal-administration ;  of  high  crimes  and 
misdemeanors,  and  I  am  more  thoroughly  con- 
vinced of  it  now.  I  cannot  say  positively  that 
he  authorized,  but  there  can  be  no  doubt  that 
he  approved  of  the  conduct  of  the  militia  in 
some  sections  of  the  country,  where  they 
robbed  and  plundered  the  best  citizens,  in- 
timidated others  and  drove  them  from  their 
workshops  and  other  places  of  business, 
while  other  honest,  quiet,  inoffensive  citizens, 
for  no  cause  whatever,  they  took  from  their 
bed-sides  and  families,  at  the  dark  hour  of 
midnight,  and  murdered  in  the  most  horrible 
manner,  without  jury  or  court.  And  to-day 
these  very  men,  whose  souls  are  blackened 
with  crime,  whose  hands  are  stained  with 
human  gore,  are  held  up,  as  I  believe,  by  his 
Excellency,  as  the  model  men  of  the  country, 
ready  to  do  the  same  inhuman  work  at  the 
mandate  of  their  master.  [Of  the  financial 
frauds  he  did  not  speak,  because  the  testi- 
mony was  wanting.] 

"  It  has  been  said  by  Republicans,  and 
even  by  Republican  journals  throughout  this 
State,  that  Governor  Clayton  came  down 
from  his  high  official  position,  that  he  aban- 
doned the  gubernatorial  chair,  for  a  time,  to 
manipulate  and  control  the  elections  for  his 
own  selfish  purposes,  in  order  that  he  might 
be  elected  to  the  United  States  Senate  ;  that 
hundreds  of  our  most  patriotic  citizens, 
whose  views  were  known  to  be  opposed  to 
Governor  Clayton's,  were  refused  registration 
for  no  legal  cause  whatever,  is  a  fact  too  well 
known  to  even  allude  to.  Then,  in  view  of 
the  fact  that  the  Governor  appointed  these 
officers,  and  they  have  not  even  been  rebuked 
by  him,  there  is  evidence  to  my  mind  that  the 
charges  are  not  false." 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter   War :  a  History 


The  trial  of  Chief  Justice  Mc- 
Clure  before  the  Senate,  composed 
of  his  coadjutors  in  the  movement 
against  the  Lieutenant-Governor, 
was  a  travesty  upon  impeachment 
proceedings.  Nothing  else  was  ex- 
pected. The  Governor  had  satis- 
fied the  difficulty  out  of  which  it 
grew,  by  making  the  Lieutenant- 
Governor,  Secretary  of  State.  The 
impeachment  was  on  the  bills, 
however,  and  public  curiosity,  en- 
couraged by  the  vanity  of  the  ac- 
tors, demanded  that  it  be  played 
out.  It  began  on  the  20th  of 
March.  Little  John  Whytock,  ap- 
pointed by  the  Governor,  presided 
as  Special  Chief  Justice.  The 
Great  Impeached,  having  opened 
the  spectacle  with  an  exhaustive 
*  statement '  (argument)  in  his  own 
behalf  (having  previously  filed  his 
'demurrer^  to  the  articles  of  im- 
peachment), and  pleaded  it  *in  bar' 
of  the  impeachment.  He  ex- 
plained, for  the  information  of 
those  who  were  not  lawyers,  "that 
the  filing  of  the  ^(?;//?^rr^^admitted 
all  the /<3:^/.s  stated  in  the  articles 
to  be  true.  The  charge  of  the  ar- 
ticles against  me  is,  that  I  tinlaxv- 
fully  issued  a  temporary  restrain- 
ing order  against  James  M.  John- 
son. The  question,  as  presented 
by  the  articles  and  demurrer,  there- 
fore, is,  can  an  officer  be  im- 
peached for  an  unlawful  act  which 
is  unaccompanied  with  either  an 
unlawful  intent  or  a  corrupt  in- 
tent?" He  cited  People  v.  Coon, 
from  15  Wal.,  which  held  that  the 


magistrate  must  be  charged  with 
a  corrupt  motive,  an  intent  to  pre- 
vent the  course  of  law  and  justice. 
Messrs.  Willshire,  Yonley,  and 
Gantt,  his  counsel,  multiplied 
precedents  in  support  of  this  posi- 
tion. "The  articles,"  they  said, 
"  were  bad  in  substance,  charging 
no  offense,"  etc. 

Mr.  C.  B.  Neill,  one  of  the  House 
managers,  in  support  of  the  arti- 
cles, argued,  that,  under  the  Con- 
stitution, Art.  vii.,  §2,  any  miscon- 
duct or  mal-administration  of  a 
civil  officer  render  him  liable  to 
impeachment  and  removal,  what- 
ever the  intent.  He  cited  the 
trial  of  Addison,  Judge,  Penn.  St. 
Reports,  and  Peck's  case,  to  show 
that  abuse  by  an  officer  of  the 
powers  of  his  office,  rendered  him 
liable,  regardless  of  the  intent. 

Upon  the  question  presented  by 
the  special  Chief  Justice,  'whether 
the  demurrer  to  the  articles  of  im- 
peachment exhibited  against  John 
McClure,  Chief  Justice  of  Arkan- 
sas, shall  be  sustained?*  the  Sen- 
ate voted  yeas,  nineteen;  nays, 
none.  Thereupon  his  friend  Why- 
tock, presiding,  announced,  *  He 
will  be  acquitted.'  He  admitted 
the  truth  of  the  charges,  but 
claimed  that  they  did  not  describe 
an  impeachable  offense.  The 
*  High  Court  of  Impeachment  * 
then  proceeded  to  vote  the  injured, 
but  innocent,  victim  of  Brindle- 
Tail  persecution  two  thousand  dol- 
lars of  the  people's  money  to  pay 
the  costs,  and  ordered  five  thou- 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkafisas. 


103 


sand  copies  of  the  report  of  the 
trial,  containing,  besides  the  pro- 
ceedings proper,  the  full  speeches 
of  the  eloquent  counsel,  to  be 
printed  by  the  contract  printers, 
of  whom  the  Chief  Justice  was 
one  ! 

The  Chief  Justice  had  been  an 
imposing  figure  during  these  his- 
torical and  sensational  events.  He 
read  an  elaborate  *  statement '  in 
his  own  defense,  which  is,  of 
course,  a  part  of  the  published 
proceedings.  His  flowing  beard 
hung  over  his  breast,  while  he 
boldly  defied  his  prosecutors.  The 
many  informal  impeachments 
brought  against  him  might  be 
cheerfully  dismissed  with  the  result 
of  this  last  arraignment.  They  were 
as  plenteous  and  gross  as  those 
rained  by  Prince  Hal  upon  Sir 
John  Falstaff.  Yet  many  wil- 
lingly have  entreated  for  him  as 
Falstaff  pleaded  for  himself :  *  No, 
my  good  lord,  banish  Peto,  banish 
Poins;  but  for  honest  Jack  Falstaff, 
quaint  Jack  Falstaff,  adroit  Jack 
Falstaff, — banish  him  and  banish 
all  the  world  ! ' 

And  now  that  Gov.  Clayton  had 
secured  his  seat  in  the  U.  S. 
Senate ;  that  the  Chief  Justice 
had  come  out  of  his  impeachment 
trial  '  acquitted ; '  now  that  the 
militiamen  from  Commander-in- 
chief  to  foot-burner,  had  been 
amnestied,  and  the  Rev.  Joseph 
Brooks  had  been  relegated  to  the 
Ku-Kluxes,  the  victims  were  for- 
gotten,   while    the   victors    were 


honored,  decorated,  rewarded. 
Success,  makes  the  hero;  failure, 
the  villain.  Saintly  capitalists,  in 
gilded  sanctuaries,  thanked  their 
God  that,  though  paroles  had  been 
violated,  prisoners  murdered,  wo- 
men and  children  terrorized,  fields 
and  folds  ravaged — yet  that  ends 
so  profitable  had  been  accom- 
plished! The  incompetent  colored 
wards  were  not  merely  emancipa- 
ted, but  enfranchised  to  be  made 
instruments  for  riveting  the  chains 
upon  white  labor.  States,  whose 
independence  had  been  granted  by 
the  King,  Lords,  and  Commons,  in 
Parliament  assembled,  had  been 
coerced  to  ratify  an  amendment 
that  gave  political  ascendency  to 
African  slaves  over  their  former 
owners ;  that  denied  the  right  of 
suffrage  to  the  remnants  of  the 
Aborigines  and  more  intelligent 
Mongolians.  Just  so  the  Church 
bestowed  the  consecrated  hat,  and 
title  of  '  Defender  of  the  Faith,' 
upon  the  cruel  Duke  of  Alva,  who 
could  count  his  executions  by  the 
thousands,  and  confiscations  by  the 
millions. 

Mr.  Lincoln,  if  he  had  lived, 
would  have  ennobled  his  tri- 
umph, and  perpetuated  his  party 
by  loftier  methods.  He  would 
have  reconciled  the  sections  by  a 
candid  appeal  to  justice — a  loving 
'  charity  for  all ;  malice  towards 
none.'  He  would  have  protected, 
instead  of  oppressed,  and  soothed 
rather  than  insulted.  He  would 
have  strictly  construed  the  funda- 


I04 


The  Brooks  a7id  Baxter   War:  a  History 


mental  law,  while  recognizing  the 
'importance  of  human  develop- 
ment in  its  richest  diversity.' 
When  he  fell  a  victim  to  the 
senseless  assassin  who  (with  the 
game  motive)  would  have  burned 
the  temple  of  Diana,  he  had  not  fin- 
ished his  life-work.  He,  alone, 
could  have  pacified,  restored  and 
reunited. 


Note. — That  Mr.  Lincoln's  utmost  wish 
was  the  restoration  of  the  Union,  as  it  was, 
(upon  conditions  that  were  the  inevitable  re- 
sults of  the  conflict),  is  conclusively  shown  in 
the  noted  peace-conference  at  Hampton 
Roads,  after  Sherman's  entry  of  Savannah. 
It  was  attended  by  Mr.  Lincoln  and  Mr. 
Seward,  his  Secretary  of  State,  on  behalf  of 
the  United  States,  and  by  Mr.  A.  H.  Stephens, 
Vice-President ;  John  A.  Campbell,  Assistant 
Secretary  of  War,  and  R.  M.  T.  Hunter, 
Senator,  of  the  Confederate  States.  The  last 
named  were  authorized  by  letter  of  Jefferson 
Davis  of  January  28,  1865,  brought  about  by 
Francis  P.  Blair.  The  meeting  was  on  board 
the  River  Queen  February  3,  1865. 

Mr.  Lincoln,  sustained  by  Mr.  Seward,  first 
stated  his  demands,  which  were  substantially 
according  to  the  following  subdivisions  : 

1.  As  to  restoration  of  the  Union,  it  could 
only  follow  the  disbanding  of  the  armies  of 
the  insurgents  and  permitting  the  national 
authorities  to  resume  their  functions.  He  ex- 
pressed it  as  his  opinion  that  thereupon  the 
Southern  States  ought  to  bt  and  would  be 
admitted  to  representation  in  the  Congress  of 
the  United  States,  but  could  not  enter  into 
any  stipulations  on  that  subject ;  that  when 
resistance  ceased  the  States  would  be  imme- 
diately restored  to  their  practical  relations 
within  the  Union. 

2.  Upon  the  subject  of  confiscation,  he 
said  the  confiscation  acts  left  the  control  en- 


tirely to  him,  and  he  could  state  explicitly, 

that  he  would  exercise    the  power  with  the 

utmost  liberality. 

3.     The    emancipation   proclamation,  he 

said,  was  a  judicial  question.  His  opinion 
was,  that  as  the  proclamation  was  a  war 
measure,  as  soon  as  the  war  ceased  it  would 
be  inoperative  for  the  future.  "  It  would  be 
held  to  apply  only  to  such  slaves  as  had  come 
under  its  operation,  while  it  was  in  active  ex- 
ercise " — "  that  he  would  leave  it  to  the  courts 
to  decide,  and  would  never  change  its  terms 
in  the  slightest  particular;  that  he  never 
would  have  interfered  with  slavery  in  the 
States  unless  he  had  been  driven  to  it  by  a 
public  necessity.  He  had  always  himself 
been  in  favor  of  emancipation,  but  not  im- 
mediate emancipation,  even  by  the  States. 
Many  evils  attending  this  appeared  to  him." 
He  went  on  to  say,  that  "  he  would  be  willing 
to  be  taxed  to  remunerate  the  Southern  peo- 
ple for  their  slaves.  He  believed  the  people 
of  the  North  were  as  responsible  for  slavery 
as  the  people  of  the  South,  and  if  the  war  ■ 
should  cease  with  the  voluntary  abolition  of 
slavery  by  the  States,  he  should  be  in  favor 
himself  of  paying  a  fair  indemnity  to  the 
owners.  He  could  mention  persons  whose 
names  (Horace  Greely  was  one)  would  cause 
astonishment,  who  were  willing  to  do  this,  if 
the  war  should  now  cease  with  the  abolition 
of  slavery,  and  were  in  favor  of  an  appropria- 
tion of  four  hundred  millions  for  that  pur- 
pose." But  on  this  subject  he  spoke  his  own 
mind  merely ;  could  give  no  asszirance. 

Mr.  Secretary  Seward  then  mentioned  the 
proposed  Thirteenth  Amendment  abolishing 
slavery,  introduced  in  Congress  a  few  days 
before  (having  been  voted  down  by  the  House 
at  the  preceding  session),  and  said,  as  it  may 
be  supposed  that  wily  statesman  was  capable 
of  saying,  diplomatically  :  "  If  the  South  will 
submit  and  agree  to  immediate  restoration, 
the  restored  States  might  yet  defeat  it,"  as 
without  some  of  them,   the  requisite  three- 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


:°5 


fourths  could  not  be  obtained  ;  intimating  that 
the  amendment  had  been  passed  by  Congress 
"under  the  predominance  of  revolutionary 
passion." — {^Stevens'  War  between  the  States  ; 
Catnpbetrs  Recollections.^ 

Gen.  Grant's  fidelity  and  magnanimity  were 
proven  on  this  historical  occasion.  He  paid 
no  heed  to  the  proposals  of  the  Confederate 
Commissioners,  that  he  and  Ge7i.  Lee,  during 
an  armistice,  should  agree  upon  a  peace  set- 
tlement. The  Commissioners  had  been  turned 
back  by  Mr.  Lincoln.  Maj.  Eckert,  the  Presi- 
dent's messenger,  had  reported  to  him  that 
they  did  "not  talk  right."  But  Grant,  hear- 
ing of  the  President's  refusal  to  receive  them, 
telegraphed  the  Secretary  of  War  February  i, 
1865,  a  dispatch,  which  was  immediately  seen 
by  Mr.  Lincoln,  and  decided  him  to  meet  the 
Commissioners  in  person.  The  dispatch  was 
as  follows : 

"I  am  convinced,  upon  conversation  with 
Messrs.  Hunter  and  Stephens,  of  their  sincere 
desire  to  restore  peace  and  union.  I  recog- 
nize the  difficulty  of  receiving  these  informal 
Commissioners,  but  am  sorry  that  Mr.  Lin- 
coln cannot  have  an  interview  with  the  two 
named,  if  not  ail  three,  now  within  our  lines. 
U.  S.  Grant,  Lieut.-Gen." — {House  Proceed- 
ings, Second  Session,  ^Sth  Congress.) 

This  was  about  two  months  before  the  Sur- 
render, when  Grant  had  the  Confederacy  in 
his  grasp,  and  he  would  thus  forego  the  tri- 
umph at  Appomattox. 

"  There  were  four  persons  present  at  the 
Conference  held  at  City  Point  on  the  28th  of 
March,  1 865.  They  were  Lincoln,  Grant, 
Sherman  and  Admiral  Porter.  It  was  before 
these  men  that  Lincoln  freely  discussed  the 
question  of  ending  the  war,  and  in  Sherman's 
Memoirs  he  says:  'Mr.  Lincoln  was  full 
and  frank  in  his  conversation,  assuring  me 
that  in  his  mind  he  was  all  ready  for  the  civil 
reorganization  of  affairs  at  the  South  as  soon 
as  the  war  was  over.*  Had  Lincoln  stopped 
with  the  general  assurance  of  his  purpose  to 


restore  the  South  to  civil  government,  it  might 
be  plausible  to  assume  that  Sherman  misin- 
terpreted his  expressions,  but  Sherman  adds 
the  following  positive  statement:  '  He  (Lin- 
coln) distinctly  authorized  me  to  assure  Gov. 
Vance  and  the  people  of  North  Carolina  that 
as  soon  as  the  rebel  armies  laid  down  their 
arms  and  resumed  their  civil  pursuits  they 
would  at  once  be  guaranteed  all  their  rights 
as  citizens  of  a  common  country ;  and  that 
to  avoid  anarchy  the  State  Governments  then 
in  existence,  with  their  civil  functionaries, 
would  be  recognized  by  him  as  the  Govern- 
ments de  facto  till  Congress  could  provide 
others.'  There  was  no  possibility  for  Sher- 
man to  mistake  this  expression  of  Lincoln. 
He  was  distinctly  instructed  to  assure  the 
Government  of  North  Carolina,  the  State  in 
which  Sherman's  army  was  then  operating, 
that  upon  the  surrender  of  the  insurgent 
forces  all  would  be  guaranteed  their  rights  as 
citizens,  and  the  civil  governments  then  in 
existence  would  be  recognized  by  Lincoln. 
There  was  no  chance  for  misunderstanding  on 
this  point. 

"He  refrained  from  emancipation  for 
eighteen  months  after  the  war  had  begun,  sim- 
ply because  he  believed  during  that  time  that 
he  might  best  save  the  Union  by  saving 
slavery,  and  had  the  development  of  events 
proved  that  belief  to  be  correct  he  would 
have  permitted  slavery  to  live  with  the  Union. 
When  he  became  fully  convinced  that  the 
safety  of  the  Government  demanded  the  de- 
struction of  slavery,  he  decided,  after  the 
most  patient  and  exhaustive  consideration  of 
the  subject,  to  proclaim  his  emancipation  poli- 
cy. It  was  not  founded  solely,  or  even  chiefly 
on  the  sentiment  of  hostility  to  slavery.  If  it 
had  been,  the  proclamation  would  have  de- 
clared slaveiy  abolished  in  every  Slate  in  the 
Union;  but  he  excluded  the  slave  states  of 
Delaware,  Maryland,  Tennessee  and  Missouri, 
and  certain  parishes  in  Louisiana,  and  certain 
counties  in  Virginia,  from  the  operation  of  the 


io6 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


proclamation,  declaring  in  the  instrument  that 
has  now  become  immortal,  'which  excepted 
parts  are  for  the  present  left  precisely  as  if  this 
proclamation  were  not  issued.' 

"But  while  he  was  compelled  to  accept 
the  issue  of  revolutionary  emancipation,  he 
never  abandoned  the  idea  of  compensated 
emancipation  until  the  final  overthrow  of 
Lee's  army  in  1865.  He  proposed  it  to  his 
cabinet  in  February  of  that  year,  only  to  be 
unanimously  rejected,  and  I  personally  know 
that  he  would  have  suggested  it  to  Stephens, 
Campbell  and  Hunter  at  the  Hampton  Roads 
conference  in  February,  1865,  had  not  Vice- 
President  Stephens,  as  the  immediate  repre- 
sentative of  Jefferson  Davis,  frankly  stated  at 
the  outset  that  he  was  instructed  not  to  enter- 
tain or  discuss  any  proposition  that  did  not 
recognize  the  perpetuity  of  the  Confederacy. 

"In  a  personal  interview  with  Jefferson 
Davis,  when  I  was  a  visitor  in  his  house  at 
Beuvoir,  Miss.,  fifteen  years  after  the  close  of 
the  war,  I  asked  him  whether  he  had  ever  re- 
ceived any  intimation  about  Lincoln's  desire 
to  close  the  war  by  the  payment  of  $400,- 
000,000  for  emancipated  slaves.  He  said  that 
he  had  not  heard  of  it.  I  asked  him  whether 
he  would  have  given  such  instructions  to 
Stephens  if  he  had  possessed  knowledge  of 
the  fact.  He  answered  that  he  could  not  have 
given  Stephens  any  other  instructions  than  he 
did  under  the  circumstances,  because,  as 
President  of  the  Confederacy,  he  could  not 
entertain  any  question  involving  its  dissolu- 
tion, that  being  a  subject  entirely  for  the  States 
themselves."  —  A.  K.  McCltire  in  Globe- 
Democrat. 

At  no  time  did  Mr.  Lincoln  indulge  any 
false  sentiment  or  make  any  false  pretense 
with  regard  to  the  estimate  he  held  of  the 
people  of  African  descent.  He  knew  them 
from  his  boyhood.  He  was  oj^posed  to  their 
forced  servitude  upon  principle.  But  recog- 
nized it  as  lawful,  only  stipulating  through  his 


fidelity  to  law,  that  it  should  be  confined  to 
the  States  in  which  it  existed,  until  the  people 
of  those  States  should  voluntarily  abolish  it. 
If  there  were  those  among  them  of  mixed 
blood,  who  displayed  mental  gifts  beyond  the 
average  powers  (and  he  did  not  deny  them 
mental  endowments),  he  understood  the  ab- 
normal developments  arising  from  a  blending 
of  the  species  which  did  not  apply  generally, 
and  announced,  '  There  is  a  physical  difference 
between  the  two  races  which,  in  my  judg- 
ment, will  forever  forbid  their  living  together 
on  a  footing  of  perfect  equality.'  He  repelled 
the  charge  that  his  party  favored  miscegena- 
tion. He  declared,  on  repeated  occasions, 
particularly  in  a  speech  at  his  home,  the  capi- 
tal of  Illinois :  '  There  is  a  natural  disgust  in 
the  minds  of  nearly  all  white  people  at  the 
idea  of  an  indiscriminate  amalgamation  of 
the  white  and  black  races.'  He  was  familiar 
with  their  history  and  that  of  their  ancestors. 
He  realized  that  they  remain  as  they  were 
before  the  thunder  of  Sinai  was  echoed  by 
Abba  Yared;  before  the  pyramids;  before 
Thebes  and  its  Prince  Memnon,  who  led  them 
in  hosts  to  the  support  of  the  cause  of  Troy. 
This  was  in  the  dawn  of  enlightenment, 
which  shone  thus  early  upon  a  part  of  Africa, 
many  tedious  ages  before  it  burst  across  the 
Atlantic,  upon  theAlleghanies  and  the  Andes, 
and  revealed  the  graces  of  drapery  and  re- 
ligion to  Pocahontas,  and  the  mysteries  of  bi- 
metalism  to  Montezuma  and  the  Incas. 

Mr.  Lincoln  had  always  dwelt  upon  the 
first  clause  of  the  Declaration  of  American 
Independence  :  "  We  hold  these  truths  to  be 
self-evident — that  all  men  are  created  (not 
born)  equal,  endowed  by  their  Creator  with 
certain  inalienable  rights,  and  among  these 
are  life,  liberty  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness." 

Rousseau's  Dii  Contrat  Social  expressed 
the  principle  quite  differently,  and  his  philoso- 
phy went  farther  than  Henry  George,  in  as- 
serting that  the  land,   as    the    air,    belongs 


of  the  Reconstrtictton  Period  hi  Arkansas. 


107 


equally  to  all.  He  taught  in  his  Contrat  So- 
cial and  his  Discours,  that: 

(i)  "All  men  are  born  free;  politically 
equal,  &iid.good ;  consequently,  it  is  their  nat- 
ural right  to  be  free,  equal,  and  good. 

(2)  "All  men  being  equal  by  natural  right 
none  can  have  any  right  to  encroach  on  an- 
other's equal  right.  Hence  no  man  can  ap- 
propriate any  part  of  the  common  means  of 
subsistence — that  is  to  say,  the  land,  or  any- 
thing that  the  land  proauces — without  the 
the  unanimous  consent  of  all." 

Now  the  truth  is,  that  human  beings  are 
*born '  helpless  infants,  and  are  under  tutelage 
until  'created,'  or  grown  to  be,  men.  Then 
they  acquire  their  'inalienable  rights.' 

Sir  Henry  Maine,  in  his  work  on  Ancient 
Law,  says  that  the  "  Strictly  judicial  axiom  of 
the  lawyers  of  the  Antonine  era,  Omnes  hom- 
ines natiiri  aquales  sunt,  after  passing 
through  the  hands  of  Rousseau,  and  being 
adopted  by  the  founders  of  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States,  returned  to  France  en- 
dowed with  vastly  greater  energy  and  dignity, 
and  that,  of  all  the  principles  of  1776,  it  has 
been  the  one  which  most  thoroughly  leavened 
modern  opinion." 

But  the  African  slave  was  supposed  not  to 
have  grown  to  manhood.  He  was  not  intend- 
ed to  be  included  in  the  Declaration,  if  the  Su- 
preme Court  of  the  Linited  States  (not  Chief 
Justice  Taney — bui  ine  Court)  understood  that 
instrument,  and  the  Constitution  framed  under 
it.  That  Court  said  in  the  Dred  Scott  case, 
as  showing  how  the  negro  was  regarded  in 
'76: 

"  It  is  difficult  at  this  day,  to  realize  the 
state  of  public  opinion,  in  relation  to  that 
unfortunate  race,  which  prevailed  in  the  en- 
lightened portions  of  the  world  at  the  time  of 
the  Declaration  of  Independence,  and  when 
the  constitution  was  framed  and  adopted. 

"They  had,  for  a  century  or  more,  been  re- 
garded as  beings  of  an  inferior  order,  unfit  to 


associate  with  the  white  race,  either  in  social 
or  political  relations." 

They  were  in  their  nonage.  They  will  not 
become  men,  in  a  republic,  until  they  can  take 
positions  in  regard  to  their  own  interests  in- 
telligently and  independently.  H. 


SIXTH    PAPER. 

"  O  from   his  masterful   sweep,  the   warning 

cry  of  the  eagle  ! — 
(Give  way  there,  all !     It  is  useless  ;  give  up 

your  spoils!) 
O  sarcasms,  propositions  !     (O    if  the  whole 

world  should  prove  indeed  a  sham, 

a  sell!)" 

—  Walt   Whitman. 

The  recommendation  of  the 
party  leaders,  that  all  Democrats 
qualify  under  the  franchise  clause 
of  the  State  Constitution,  produced 
an  immediate  split  in  the  Republi- 
can organization.  It  was  about  to 
widen  into  complete  disruption. 
Opponents  to  that  recommenda- 
tion, among  them  Gen.  Albert 
Pike,  had  been  technically  correct 
in  denying  the  validity  of  the 
military  bills  of  Congress  and 
State  Constitutions  enforced  under 
these  bills.  Imposed  upon  the 
Southern  States  by  the  "Supreme 
Power,"  the  sword,  they  yet  con- 
tained this  franchise  clause  to  re- 
deem them  from  absolute  despot- 
ism, under  which  all  who  were 
heretofore  citizens,  with  a  few  ex- 
ceptions, might  become  voters 

A  people  by  heredity  and  train- 
ing educated  to  self-government 
were  not  slow  to  perceive  that  the 
offer   contained    the    only  escape 


io8 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


from  the  perpetuation  of  Republi- 
can one-man  power.  Armed  with 
the  ballot  they  might,  with  hope, 
enter  a  contest  against  force  and 
fraud  and  encourage  tendencies 
in  government  that  elevate  and 
condemn  those  which  demoralize. 
It  was  a  question  of  free  institu- 
tions and  equal  citizenship  or  sur- 
render to  an  oligarchy  erected  and 
sustained  by  peculation  and  dis- 
honor. Any  great  moral  cause  will 
overcome  one  that  corrupts.  It  is 
a  universal  law  that  leads  us  to 
prefer  the  best. 

Liberty  Bartlett  and  John  Ed- 
wards issued  the  call  for  a  "  Liber- 
al Republican  "  Convention  as  an 
appeal  to  that  powerful  conserva- 
tive element  which  is  to  be  found 
in  all  communities  and  was  rapidly 
growing  under  the  committee's 
recommendation.  We  have  seen 
that  Powell  Clayton  and  Thomas 
M.  Bowen  had  realized  the  danger 
of  this  movement  and  taken  timely 
steps  to  out-bid  it.  Rice,  Brooks, 
Whipple,  Catterson  and  others 
were  not  to  be  so  readily  awak- 
ened. They  dreamed  of  a  "  loyal  " 
carpet-bag  oligarchy  founded 
upon  negro  suffrage.  They  en- 
tertained false  sentiments  and 
erroneous  estimates  in  regard  to 
the  negro.  They  did  not  then 
suspect  that  their  visions  were 
as  unsubstantial  as  if  they  had 
entered  a  zoological  garden  to 
hold  it  against  the  proprietors,  by 
liberating  the  animals.    Only  "  Ku- 


Kluxes "  could  save  them  from 
such  a  peril. 

Confident  of  their  strength,  they 
denounced  the  "  State  House  ring" 
as  meditating  a  betrayal  of  the 
party  to  the  Democracy  by  pro- 
posing liberal  measures.  They 
were  not  the  last  to  propose.  Not 
only  did  Catterson  charge  Clayton 
to  his  face  that  he  was  attempting 
"  to  sell  out  to  the  Democracy  " — 
the  same  maneuver  he  and  his 
confreres  attempted  a  few  years 
later;  but  Whipple  caused  Clayton 
to  be  indicted  by  a  United  States 
grand  jury  for  alleged  violations 
of  the  election  laws.  Rice,  Brooks, 
Whipple  and  Catterson  went  be- 
fore the  committee  of  the  House 
of  Representatives,  at  Washington, 
and  induced  it  to  report  against 
Edwards  who  had  received  Clay- 
ton's certifiate  of  election  ;  where- 
upon the  House  declared  Boles 
entitled  to  the  seat.  Affiliating 
with  James  M.  Johnson  and  other 
irreconcilables  (encouraged  by  the 
Democrats),  we  have  seen  how 
they  impeached  and  stigmatized 
Clayton  and  McClure.  They 
caused  an  investigation  of  the  cir- 
cumstances of  Clayton's  election 
to  the  Senate. 

Not  until  they  fell  under  the 
ban  of  the  President  and  the  re- 
proof of  the  Senate,  did  they  re- 
alize that  they  were  not  "the 
party  "  in  the  State — the  original 
patentees,  entitled  to  its  royalties. 
Then,  frantic  with  desire  for  self- 
preservation,  they  discovered   the 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


109 


growing  strength  of  the  conserva- 
tives. They  reluctantly  gave  up 
the  Union  Leagues  ;  but  not  until 
the  Union  Leagues  had  abandoned 
them.  Of  all  which  the  people 
were  well  informed. 

Senator  B,  F.  Rice  had  been 
elected  by  the  first  reconstruction 
Legislature  for  the  "  long  term." 
His  successor  would  not  be  elected 
until  1874.  He  took  sides  with 
Brooks,  Hodges  and  Whipple. 
Senator  Clayton,  his  newly  elected 
colleague,  made  him  the  object  of 
most  withering  denunciations  in 
speeches  reported  by  Pomeroy, 
and  whicharereproduced  in  thispa- 
per.  He  conducted  the  Senatorial 
investigation  against  Clayton, upon 
charges  of  improperly  securing  his 
election  to  the  Senate.  He  was  a 
lawyer  of  ability  and  was  admitted 
on  the  "ground  floor" — as  a 
charter  member  —  in  the  State 
Republican  organization  of  1869. 
Lawyers  are  said  to  be  necessary 
evils  In  the  reconstruction  of  a 
State,  one  lawyer  at  least  became 
an  indispensable  accessory.  He 
was  a  native  of  New  York  State, 
but  came  to  Arkansas  from  Texas. 
He  had  practiced  law  in  Kentucky 
before  going  to  Texas.  He  was 
a  large  man,  past  the  middle  age, 
with  a  large  head  on  stooping 
shoulders,  rather  rachitic  in  pose 
and  motion.  His  gray  eyes  flashed 
an  inquiring  glance  from  under 
shaggy  brows.  His  voice  v<jz.s  fine 
as  a  girl's,  with  the  quaver  of 
adolescence    or  old    age,  and    he 


repeated  his  phrases,  with  some- 
thing of  a  stammer. 

His  colleague.  Senator  Clayton, 
described  this  stammer,  and  gave 
a  history  of  the  cause  of  his  leav- 
ing Kentucky,  in  the  bitter  de- 
nunciations he  heaped  upon  him 
in  the  course  of  the  ensuing  cam- 
paign, or  "  Presidentiad,"  as  Walt 
"Whitman,  the  poet,  names  our 
quadrennial  presidential  elections. 
The  "  Presidentiad  "  of  1872  seem- 
ed a  poor,  blundering,  disappoint- 
ing "  Presidentiad  "  to  the  people 
of  Arkansas  at  the  time.  Di 
wieliora,  however,  for  when  its  re- 
sults were  all  realized,  it  was 
known  to  have  accomplished  their 
grandest  deliverance.  It  unfolded 
like  a  drama. 

Senator  Rice,  as  did  Mr.  Brooks, 
entertained  the  idea  that  ih.Q  f reed- 
men  would  be  everlastingly  grate- 
ful to  any  and  all  persons  who 
presented  themselves  as  Republi- 
cans, and  therefore  benefactors 
of  their  race.  He  believed  it 
would  be  inexcusable  stupidity  to 
train  without  them.  "  The  race  " 
was  the  fad  of  the  day.  The 
Brindles  were  especially  loud  in 
their  protestations  of  love  for  the 
freedmen,  and  were  continually 
pronouncing  the  shibboleths  of 
"  Brotherhood  of  men,"  "  Equality 
before  the  law,"  and  the  like.  It 
was  painful  to  witness,  in  the  face 
of  this  tender  solicitude,  the 
heartless  and  ungrateful  benefici- 
aries fall  away  from  their  benefac- 
tors in  mass  as  soon  as  it  became 


no 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


known  to  them  that  the  official 
heads  of  Brooks,  Catterson  and 
Whipple  had  fallen  into  the  Presi- 
dent's little  basket.  Grant  in- 
dulged no  fads. 

A  few  of  the  old-time  colored 
followers  of  Mr.  Brooks  seemed 
to  adhere  to  him — Jack  Agery, 
Tabbs  Gross,  Carter  McClellan, 
George  Perkins  and  Jerome  Lewis. 
But  "  Judge  "  Gibbs,  colored,  more 
politic  and  far-seeing,  said  "  those 
negroes  were  kept  for  decoys ;  a 
blind  duck  could  see  they  were 
painted  wood."  The  body  of  the 
colored  people  realized  that  their 
liberation  had  been  the  god-send 
of  circumstances,  the  deits  ex  ma- 
china  of  war,  and  that  their  once 
worshipped  gods  were  only  idols 
of  clay,  or  as  they  expressed  it, 
"  their  name  was  mud."  As  Da- 
gonet,  at  the  fountain  of  wine, 
so  they  drank  and  found  : 

"  The  cup  was  gold,  the  draught  was  mud." 

Under  the  new  system  of  pre- 
tended protection,  they,  with  all 
the  tillers  of  the  ground,  were 
doomed  to  mud  indefinitely.  They 
became  its  "mud-sills."  In  the 
land  of  cotton,  "simmon-seed  and 
sandy  bottom,"  they  were  the  base 
of  the  superstructure,  which,  by 
its  meretricious  splendor,  was 
dazzling  the  nations.  England, 
from  her  moated  castle,  like  a 
robber-baron  of  old,  forces  trade, 
and  levies  toll  upon  Asiatic  and 
African  "barbarians,"  yet  spares 
her  subjects  at  home  unequal  ex- 
actions. 


Prone  upon  the  freedmen  are 
their  former  owners,  almost  as 
helpless,  groaning  under  the 
weight  of  the  merchant.  Pressing 
upon  the  merchant  are  the  rail- 
roads and  their  magnates ;  and 
upon  them  rest  the  steel  and  iron 
and  other  manufacturers,  a  gi- 
gantic combination.  Forming  the 
cloud-capped  towers  of  the  super- 
structure are  the  millionaire  bank- 
ers and  brokers,  bondholders,  pen- 
sioners and  royalty-aping  Execu- 
tives and  their  ministers,  all  domi- 
nated by  the  money-lenders  of 
London  and  Paris  and  Frankfort. 
These  are  the  new  ozvners  of  the 
freedmen,  for  sale  again  under  the 
hammer  of  the  stock  exchanges. 

Rev.  John  Peyton  refused  to 
follow  Mr.  Brooks,  He  declared 
his  allegiance  to  the  "  ring." 

"  I  views  'em  all  as  rings,"  he 
said.  "  Mr.  Brooks  may  not  be  in 
it ;  but  Senator  Rice,  Mr.  Roots, 
Hodges  and  Weeks  is  a  nudder 
ring,  ov  coase.  De  State  House 
ring  is  'stained  by  de  gubment. 
De  gubment's  got  de  power. 
We'll  jess  do  what  hit  sez.  I  doan 
want  teh  be  a  prodigal  son,  an' 
eat  roas'n  eahs  behin*  de  fiel', 
when  I  ken  stay  in  de  house  an' 
git  meat  an'  mellassis." 

Mr.  Brooks  explained  that  he 
was  aware  of  the  disposition  of 
the  colored  people  to  attach  them- 
selves to  those  in  power.  He  so 
declared  in  the  first  speech  he 
made  after  he  was  voted  out  of  the 
State  Senate,  and  removed  from 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


his  Collector's  office.  He  deliv- 
ered it  at  the  City  Hall,  in  Little 
Rock,  March  2,  1872.  The  Dem- 
ocratic "organ"  called  it  "The 
First  Gun  of  the  Campaign."  Mr. 
Brooks  commenced  by  saying  : 

"  Parties  are  not  iron  bedsteads  [alluding  to 
that  of  the  fabled  Procrustes,  though  in  the 
ancient  legend,  it  was  the  individual,  and 
not  the  bed,  that  was  made  adjustable]  to  be 
shortened  or  lengthened  to  suit  the  circum- 
stances or  wishes  of  individuals.  The  rela- 
tion of  parties  to  the  people  are  analogous  to 
the  relations  of  man  and  Christian  Sabbath  ! 
Jesus  said  to  the  Phairsees,  '  Man  is  not 
made  for  the  sabbath ;  the  sabbath  is  made 
for  man,'  Man  was  made  first.  So  with 
parties.  The  people  are  not  made  for  party 
but  the  party  for  the  people.  All  parties  are 
mutable. 

"  Men  have  been  raised  to  power  in  Arkan- 
saw  who  had  710  Republican  principles  in 
i860,  although  in  Kansas,  [alluding  to  Clay- 
ton] at  that  time  and  place  of  creative  forces. 
Men  now  claim  to  belong  to  it  who  did  not 
believe  in  negro  suffrage  in  1866 !  We  raised 
some  such  to  power,  God  forgive  us  !  and  put 
them  on  the  Supreme  Court  bench,  and  in  the 
Executive  chair  !  Some  of  these  men  think 
they  own  the  party — keep  it  in  their  breeches 
pocket.  When  this  state  of  affairs  exists,  it 
becomes  the  duty  of  the  people  to  overthrow 
it. 

"  The  party  is  made  for  the  people,  not  the 
people  for  the  party.  The  Republican  party 
was  not  made  for  the  base  uses  to  which  it  is 
being  put  in  this  State.  The  men  who  organ- 
ized it,  built  it  up  for  the  vindication  of  holy 
principles,  and  sealed  it  with  their  blood  [on 
White  river,  where  he  was  wounded  and 
Hinds  killed]  that  the  people  might  be  bene- 
fited. 

"  Let  no  man  suppose  this  to  be  a  tirade 
agamst  party  organization,  or  against  the   Re- 


publican party.  When  I  hear  men  denounced 
for  stealing  levee  bonds,  for  getting  rich 
through  official  peculation,  I  do  not  think  7ny 
party  attacked. — [Both  were  always  equally 
impeccable].  A  few  of  us  went  to  Wash- 
ington in  December  last,  to  prosecute  the 
claims  of  the  Third  Congressional  District 
representation.  The  House  finally  judged 
the  evidence,  taken  before  Judge  Whytock,  to 
be  sufficient  to  eject  Edwards  and  seat  Boles. 
The  evidence  in  favor  of  Boles  was  over- 
whelming. We  showed  that  we  had  beat  the 
Clayton  clique,  notwithstanding  their  ballot- 
box  stuffing,  by  2100  votes.  And  yet  Boles 
did  not  get  the  certificate  from  the  Governor! 
We  spent  time  and  money,  not  ill-gotten 
money,  not  money  from  levee  bonds,  or  from 
railroad  aid  bonds.  Our  '  ring '  never  had  a 
State  aid  bond.  We  spent  time  and  money, 
and  it  panned  out  all  right.  Boles  was  given 
the  seat  that  Clayton  had  swindled  him  out 
of.  Not  even  poor,  contemptible  Snyder 
dared  say  'no  ',  when  the  vote  was  taken.  It 
was  unanimous  for  Boles  without  regard  to 
party.  I  believe  that  the  suspension  of  Cat- 
terson  and  Whipple  will  be  revoked,  and  the 
new  appointees  in  their  stead  will  not  be  con- 
firmed. 

[The  speaker  made  no  reference  at  that 
time  to  his  own  suspension  from  the  office  of 
Revenue  Collector  by  Grant]. 

"  Whipple  and  Wheeler  were  summoned  to 
Washington  to  testify  relative  to  '  Southern 
outrages.'  Their  testimony  made  it  incum- 
bent on  the  Senate  to  investigate  the  matter 
of  Clayton's  election  to  that  body.  Should 
the  Senate  not  see  fit  to  remove  him,  I  will 
try,  as  an  humble  citizen,  to  bear  the  fearful 
disgrace  to  the  State,  to  the  end  of  his  term. 

"  But  to  turn  to  the  future.  In  a  few  months 
we  shall  be  engaged  in  electing  a  President 
and  new  State,  county  and  municipal  oflficers. 
I  believe  we  shall  march  forward  in  the  appli- 
cation  of  the  great  principles  of  equality  ct 


112 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


all  men  before  the  law.  Look  at  the  '  Re- 
publican' Clayton's  organ,  and  its  parentheti- 
cal exclamation  points,  when  referring  to 
'honest  men  for  office.*  Just  as  women, 
sceptical  of  female  chastity,  are  by  common 
consent,  set  down  as  of  shaky  virtue,  so  we 
suspect  the  honesty  of  men  who  thus  scoff  at 
the  idea  of  political  virtue.  They  are  them- 
selves thieves !  *  *  * 

"We  are  in  favor  gf  a  fair  registration  and 
an  honest  count.  Such  men  as  the  *  accident- 
al' Governor,  [Hadley]  would  not  hesitate  to 
throw  out  Republican  voles  as  well  as  Dem- 
ocratic, to  forward  his  purposes.  Aye  !  it  has 
been  done  in  this  State.  It  has  been  said  by 
a  man  who  I  believe  is  in  this  audience,  that 
Hadley  will  count  himself  and  followers  in, 
next  fall.  Colored  men  have  been  thus  led  to 
support  Hadley,  and  join  the  ranks  of  Clay- 
ton, not  that  they  believe  in  him,  but  that 
they  feared  the  certainty  of  being  counted 
out,  left  out  in  the  cold.  I  do  not  wish  to  be 
considered  profane,  but  I  say  to  Hadley  and 
Clayton :  Count  nie  out  and  be  damned  1  *  *  * 

"No,  fellow-citizens,  the  man  who  receives 
the  nomination  of  this  clique  for  Governor  or 
any  office  will  be  beat !  If  J  was  nomi- 
nated for  an  office,  I  should  like  to  be  elected. 
I  will  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  thieves. 
This  is  a  fight  for  life  and  liberty  !  If  I  can- 
not be  elected  on  a  platform  of  honesty,  I 
won't  be  elected  at  all.  If  I  am,  it  will  be  on 
a  platform  hostile  to  the  present  thieving  in 
high  places ! " 

The  orator  was  at  his  best.  His 
powerful  voice,  always  audible  for 
squares  in  its  highest  cadences, 
shook  the  building  and  thrilled 
like  a  lion's  roar.  His  sallow, 
massive  features,  with  their  grim 
expressions,  suited  the  earnest- 
ness of  his  utterances.  The  audi- 
ence,   composed  mostly  of  Dem- 


ocrats, crowded  the  house  to  the 
walls,  and  from  the  rising  seats, 
cheered  him  with  ecstacies  of  de- 
light. There  were  many  "  Liberal 
Republicans"  in  the  crowd,  who 
wore  expressions  of  mingled  pleas- 
ure and  dismay.  The  ponderous, 
but  jovial  Toot  Dillon  shouted 
"give  'em  fits,  Parson!"  Tom 
Henneberry  and  Geo.  McDiarmid 
pressed  clear  to  the  platform,  and 
shouted  themselves  hoarse. 

The  war  of  the  factions  was  on. 
The  Liberals  had  burned  their 
bridges  ;  they  were  in  the  fight  to 
a  finish.  The  humblest  Democrat 
knew  that  it  meant  the  overthrow 
of  Republicanism.  Howard  and 
Nash,  of  the  Democratic  Central 
Committee,  ex-members  of  the 
staff  of  Gen.  Frederick  Steele ;  the 
former  prepared  for  the  bar  in  the 
law  office  of  Edwin  M.  Stanton, 
Lincoln's  Secretary  of  War;  look- 
ed on  from  the  back  benches,  with 
smiles  of  anticipated  triumph. 

The  newspapers  carried  on  the 
controversy  with  even  greater 
bitterness.  On  the  13th  March, 
1872,  "The  Journal,"  organ  of  the 
Brindles,  published  a  communica- 
tion signed  "  Arkansas,"  contain- 
ing specific  accusations. 

"  In  the  Clayton  investigation,  in  the  United 
States  Senate,  it  was  shown  that  when  the 
Lieut.  Governor,  [Johnson]  was  made  Secre- 
tary of  State,  and  got  out  of  the  way,  and 
Clayton  secured  his  own  election  to  the  Sen- 
ate, and  the  State  government  was  turned  over 
to  O.  A.  Hadley,  the  latter  carried  out  all  the 
plans,  and  made  good  all  the  eontracts,  entered 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


"3 


into  by  Clayton  to  secure  his  seat  in  the  Senate. 
McClure  drafted  and  had  charge  of  the  orig- 
inal levee  bill;  Stoddard  of  the  National 
Bank  and  his  friends  manipulated  the  bill 
through,  by  direct  bribery  and  open  bargain 
and  sale.  There  was  paid  $25,000  to  an  at- 
torney ;  $20,000  for  a  signature  to  the  bill ; 
$3,000  cash  and  $25,000  in  State  bonds  to  a 
Senator  for  advocating  it  An  Associate  Justice 
of  the  Supreme  Court  got  $35,000  for  obtain- 
ing State  aid  to  a  particular  railroad,  and  he 
did  not  '  divide.'  An  engineer  got  $5,000  for  a 
single  night's  work,  black-mailing  contractors 
on  another  road.  And  that,  in  almost  every 
case,  these  men  are  now  administerijtg  the 
laws,  and  filling  offices  under  the  Clayton- 
Hadley  administration ! " 

The  "  Minstrel  "  organ  retorted, 
"that  Brooks  got  ;^25,ooo  out  of 
the  Holford  bond  steal  for  advo- 
cating that  measure,  after  he  had 
for  a  time  pretended  to  oppose  it. 
And  being  so  bribed,  he  thence- 
forth became  the  champion  of  the 
Holford  bond  measure  on  the 
floor  of  the  House,  until  its  adop- 
tion. That  Rice  gobbled  all  the 
levee  bonds." 

William  G.  Whipple  had  been 
appointed  by  President  Grant 
United  States  Attorney  for  the 
Eastern  District  of  Arkansas,  vice 
Orville  Jennings,  deceased.  He 
claimed  descent  from  William 
Whipple,  "  one  of  the  signers  "  of 
the  Declaration  of  Independence. 
The  descendant  was  imbued  with 
but  little  of  the  catholicity  of  that 
instrument.  He  was  a  modern 
Saul  of  Tarsus,  had  a  rabid  hatred 
of  "rebels,"  and  was  a  fanatical 
idolater  of  any  "image  of  God" 


that  was  "  carved  in  ebony."  The 
intelligence  that  Clayton  was 
"about  to  sell  out  the  Republican 
party,  negroes  and  all  to  Dem- 
ocracy," moved  the  bowels  of  his 
compassion,  for  the  poor,  colored 
people.  As  law  officer  of  the 
United  States  Courts,  he  prepared 
the  indictment  against  Clayton, 
charging  Clayton  with  some  crim- 
inal interference  in  certain  election 
frauds  and  issuing  a  false  certifi- 
cate of  election  to  Edwards,  as 
Representative  in  Congress,  over 
Boles,  to  which  reference  was 
made  by  Brooks  in  his  City  Hall 
speech.  Through  the  efforts  of 
Brooks,  Rice  and  Whipple,  Ed- 
wards was  unseated  and  Boles  was 
declared  elected  by  the  Republi- 
can House  of  Representatives. 
Brooks,  "Whipple  and  Rice  also 
brought  accusations  against  Clay- 
ton, impeaching  the  fairness  of  his 
election  to  the  United  States  Sen- 
ate, with  such  earnest  confidence 
that  Clayton  was  driven  to  de- 
mand an  investigation  by  a  com- 
mittee of  that  body.  Catterson, 
the  United  States  Marshal,  acted 
with  them  also  against  Clayton. 
Judge  Dillon,  on  demurrer  de- 
clared the  indictments  against 
Clayton  insufficient.  The  Presi- 
dent thereupon  suspended  Brooks, 
Whipple  and  Catterson  from  office, 
and  nominated  others  in  their 
places.  They  had  entered  the  war 
against  Clayton,  had  lost,  and  suf- 
fered official  extermination  a  la 
Japanese,  as  a  consequence.  Grant 


114 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter    War:  a  History 


had  no  love  for  those  philanthrop- 
ists, pretended  negro-worshippers. 
Their  hypocrisy  had  brought  on 
a  cruel  war,  of  the  horrors  of  which 
he  had  himself  sickened,  although 
conducting  it  on  the  side  which 
they  encouraged  with  paper  pel- 
lets of  the  brain  and  windy 
words. 

The  Democrats  witnessed  the 
decapitations  of  the  "  faithful " 
with  half  suppressed  expressions 
of  pleasure,  though  they  had  no 
love  for  Clayton  or  his  man  Fri- 
day, Acting  Governor  Kadley.  So 
the  Gazette,  Democratic  organ, 
without  much  dissimulation,  could 
vilify  Hadley  for  any  cause,  and 
on  every  pretext.  He  had  written 
a  letter  to  Clayton,  doubtless  re- 
hearsed privately  by  him  and  Clay- 
ton, to  demand  of  the  President  the 
removal  of  Whipple  and  Catterson. 
The  Gazette  took  occasion  to  lay 
the  matter  before  the  public  in  the 
following  article : 

"  The  most  important  point  made  by  Act- 
ing Governor  Hadley  in  his  recent  villainous 
letter  to  Senator  Clayton,  May  15,  1872,  ask- 
ing the  removal  of  Whipple  and  Catterson,  is 
that  some  members  of  the  grand  jury  of  the 
United  States  court  were  Democrats,  or  those 
who  were  not,  were  personal  enemies  of  the 
ex-governor. 

"  It  may  not  be  inappropriate  to  publish  a 
list  of  that  grand  jury  which  found  the  indict  - 
ments,  (and  there  were  several)  against  Gov- 
ernor Clayton.     Here  they  are : 

"  J.  Clark  Wheeler,  Oscar  M.  Spellman, 
Anthony  Hinkle,  Joe  Demby,  Nathan  S. 
Rawlings,  John  Tatum,  W.  H.  Stanbury, 
Edward    Wheeler,    Edward    Stowell,    O.   S. 


Dillon,  Geo.  Kingsbury,  J.  W,  Beidleman, 
Geo.  E.  Blackburn,  William  Cook,  S.  S.  Sweet, 
Henry  Rudd,  T.  L.  Alder,  Fred  Kramer,  M. 
C.  Rerdell,  R.  F.  Sayward,  Jacob  Copeland. 
"  If  we  mistake  not,  two  only  of  the  above 
list  are  Democrats  (Cook  and  Sayward),  and 
Sayward  was  a  Union  soldier.  Cook  a 
neutral." 

Disaffection  in  the  party  grew 
apace. 

April  6th,  the  Republican  State 
Central  Committee  met  by  ap- 
pointment, and  the  Brindles  again 
reported  that,  "  On  counting  noses, 
they  had  five  members,  and  the 
Minstrels  had  only  four,  where- 
upon the  latter  withdrew.  Then 
the  Committee  proceeded  to  de- 
clare vacant  the  places  of  the  four 
seceders,  viz :  O.  A.  Hadley,  John 
McClure,  Geo.  S,  Scott  and  W. 
W.  Wilshire.  They  elected  in 
the  places  of  two  of  them,  Thomas 
Boles  and  E.  A.  Fulton  (colored).' 

This  action  was  followed  by  a 
grand  street  ovation,  in  front  of  the 
Metropolitan  Hotel,  in  which 
Joseph  Brooks,  Thomas  Boles, 
Gen.  Geo.  W.  McLane,  Logan  H. 
Roots,  John  A.  Williams  and  W. 
J.  Hynes  took  part,  pledgingthem- 
selves  to  support  the  action  of  the 
Committee,  and  denouncing  the 
*'  Minstrels  "  in  the  roundest  terms. 

The  Gazette  thus  describes  the 
conclusion  of  the  symposium: 

"  Ex.-Rev.  John  M.  Bradley,  at  the  close, 
mounted  the  goods-box  which  served  as  a 
rostrum.  He  began  a  speech  in  reply  to  the 
'  Brindle "  orators.  Some  one  from  a  third- 
story  window,  presumably  a  '  Brindle,'  threw 
an  earthenware  vessel  and  its  contents  upon 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


115 


the  revereud  orator,  dislodging  him  from  his 
Stand.  Mr.  Brooks,  seeing  that  Bradley  was 
unhurt,  said,  with  his  terrible  smile,  '  Let 
justice  be  done,  though  the  heavens  fall  I '  It 
was  the  only  attempt  at  humor  ever  made  by 
Mr.  Brooks.  The  crowd  jeered.  Bradley 
was  '  full,'  of  humor  at  least,  and  replied, 
'Buth — U's  falling  in  the  shape  of  washbowls 
when  devils  throw  them." 

The  bolting  committeemen  of 
the  Clayton  faction  called  a  meet- 
ing immediately,  with  six  members 
present.  They  proceeded  to 
organize  a  new  "  Republican  State 
Committee."  The  new  committee 
adopted  a  call  for  a  "  Republican  " 
State  Convention  at  Little  Rock, 
on  the  1 8th  May,  1872,  on  the 
basis  of  the  party  "vote  "  in  1870. 
The  call  announced,  that  it  was 
"  for  the  election  of  a  Republican 
State  Central  Committee,  and  to 
appoint  delegates  to  the  Republi- 
can National  Convention,  and  for 
such  purposes  only." 

The  old  Republican  Committee, 
now  composed  solely  of  Brindles, 
had  already  called  a  Republican 
State  Convention,  at  Little  Rock, 
on  the  22d  May,  1872,  for  the 
purpose,  as  announced  in  the  call, 
of  nominating  a  State  ticket  for  the 
coming  general  election,  and  ap- 
pointing delegates  to  the  Republi- 
can National  Convention. 

The  State  Journal  announced, 
April  nth,  that  Hon.  Joseph 
Brooks  and  Col.  John  A.  Williams, 
of  Pine  Bluff,  would  address  the 
people  at  various  appointments, 
mentioned,    in    South     Arkansas. 


They  challenged  "  The  advocates 
and  defenders  of  the  corruptions 
of  the  State  administration  and 
enemies  of  universal  suffrage,  uni- 
versal amnesty  and  honest  men 
for  office,  to  meet  them  as  these, 
at  such  appointments,"  No  one 
responded.  They  made  their  can- 
vass unopposed.  The  Gazette  of 
May  the  15th,  thus  comments  up- 
on the  result  of  that  canvass : 

"Judging  from  reports  received  from  South 
Arkansas,  the  canvass  of  Mr.  Brooks  has 
proven  unprofitable  to  him.  He  has  lost 
much  of  the  white  strength  of  the  Republi- 
cans in  that  section,  while  he  has  failed  to 
make  any  breach  among  the  colored  people. 
He  has  lost  the  strongest  support  he  had  in 
Columbia  county,  'The  Magnolia  Flower,' 
which  had  his  name  flying  at  the  head  of  that 
paper,  for  the  last  eight  months,  has  taken  it 
down  in  its  last  issue.  The  Archers,  Frank 
M.  Thompson  and  others,  were  great  cham- 
pions of  Mr.  Brooks.  That  they  should  go 
back  on  him,  is  significant. 

"  While  Mr.  Brooks  has  been  very  severe 
against  the  State  administration,  he  has  not 
said  one  word  against  the  meretricious  policy, 
of  the  national  administration.  Though  he 
and  Catterson  and  Whipple  had  their  official 
heads  cut  off  by  the  President,  for  the  stand 
they  had  taken  against  the  Clayton  party,  they 
have  palliated  the  conduct  of  the  President, 
and  thereby  failed  to  attract  to  their  support 
the  '  Liberal  Republican  '  element  of  the  State. 

"  Overlooking  this  element,  Mr.  Brooks  has 
made  a  fatuous  advance  to  the  colored  men. 
He  has  borrowed  Sumner's  civil  rights  idea, 
and  wasted  time  in  trying  to  impress  them 
with  the  notion  that  they  are  badly  treated, 
and  never  will  be  the  political  equals  of  the 
whites,  until  they  enjoy  social  equality  by  law 
of  Congress,  for  that  is  the  meaning  of  Sum- 


ii6 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter    War:  a  History 


ner's  bill.  The  negroes  turn  a  deaf  ear  to 
Brooks  as  an  apostate  from  their  cause;  but 
the  whites  listen  and  lose  confidence  in  him  as 
a  man  or  a  politician." 

There  is  no  doubt  but  that  these 
comments  threw  some  light  upon 
the  unexplored  pathway  Brooks 
had  chosen,  and  aided  him  in  de- 
termining his  subsequent  course. 
About  this  time,  all  was  not  placid 
in  the  current  events  upon  which 
the  "  Minstrel  "  organization  was 
being  borne.  Another  Minstrel 
daily  paper  was  talked  of.  It  was 
to  be  published  to  advance  the 
pretensions  of  Maj.  Gen.  Upham, 
who  had  gubernatorial  aspirations. 
Hadley's  party  fealty  was  openly 
questioned.  Of  Upham,  a  certain 
wing  had  no  fears.  Upham  did 
not  believe  in  conciliating  the 
whites.  He  was  in  favor  of  ignor- 
ing the  rebel  whites  entirely,  and 
exterminating  them.  Hadley  was 
said  to  be  meditating  a  sale  of  the 
party  for  the  price  of  a  seat  in  the 
Senatorial  chair  occasioned  by 
Senator  Rice  soon  to  be  vacated. 
But  McClure  said  he  was  promised 
the  seat  occupied  by  Rice,  if  a 
Republican  legislature  should  be 
elected.  And  every  means  had 
been  taken  to  secure  such  a  legis- 
lature. 

Also  at  this  time  there  loomed 
up  in  the  East  a  supposed  rail- 
road builder,  who  was  seemingly 
engaged  in  constructing  a  narrow- 
gauge  road  from  Helena,  on  the 
Mississippi  River,  to  White  River, 
somewhere.     It  was  never  ascer- 


tained precisely  where  it  would 
terminate.  It  was,  in  fact,  then 
but  "two  short  streaks  of  rust " 
that  ended  in  "moonshine."  The 
promotor  of  this  great  enterprise 
was  Mr.  Stephen  W.  Dorsey. 
He  had  been  educated  atOberlin, 
Ohio,  in  the  mixed,  or  colored 
college,  and  was  said  to  have  been 
a  janitor  and  rung  the  bell  of  that 
institution.  He  was  an  officer  in 
the  Union  army,  it  was  said,  and 
had  made  a  "  barrel  of  money." 
The  estimate  of  his  boodle  was  up 
in  the  millions.  He  attended  the 
meeting  of  the  legislature,  moved 
about  mysteriously  among  the 
members,  and  soon  had  them  un- 
der favor  to  him,  for  timely  ad- 
vances, quite  a  following  of  mem- 
bers of  all  parties.  And  so  it  was, 
that  neither  Hadley  nor  McClure 
was  elected  Senator.  But  this  is 
anticipating. 

The  Republican  (Minstrel)  Con- 
vention met,  occording  to  call,  at 
Little  Rock,  on  the  i8th  May,  and 
elected  the  following  delegates  to 
the  Philadelphia  convention:  Pow- 
ell Clayton,  O.  A.  Hadley,  W.  H. 
Grey  (colored),  delegates  at  large; 
Elisha  Baxter,  Stephen  W.  Wheel- 
er, J.  H.  Johnson,  First  District ; 
O.  P.  Snyder,  H.  A.  Millen,  T.  V. 
Rankin,  Second  District;  J.  M. 
Johnson,  H.  H.  White,  E.  J.  Searle, 
Third  District. 

In  reforming  their  State  Central 
Committee,  the  Minstrel  Conven- 
tion left  off  all  those  who  had 
seceded  and   sided   with  Brooks. 


of  the  Reconstr2ictio7i  Period  in  Arkansas. 


117 


It  appointed  an  Executive  Com- 
mittee, chosen  from  the  Central 
Committee,  viz :  Powell  Clayton, 
J.  T.  White,  D.  P.  Beldin,  E.  D. 
Ham  and  H.  B.  Robinson. 

It  became  apparent  that  the 
Brindles  were  organizing  to  co- 
operate with  the  Liberal  Republi- 
can party  in  support  of  any  ticket, 
that  might  be  nominated,  "  to  beat 
Grant,"  and  there  were  many  in- 
dications pointing  to  Horace 
Greeley,  of  the  Nezv  York  Tribune, 
as  the  head  of  such  a  ticket.  The 
movement  gave  little  uneasiness  to 
the  regular  Republicans.  Mr. 
Greeley,  like  Mr.  Brooks,  had  ex- 
haled himself,  as  it  were.  In  his 
exaggerated  enthusiasm  hereto- 
fore in  the  cause  of  abolition, 
now  the  negroes  were  freed,  there 
was  nothing  left  of  him,  which 
they  could  hope  to  profit  by.  His 
transitions  were  admitted  to  be 
sincere,  but  were  so  contradictory 
as  to  be  confusing.  A  protection- 
ist, Know-Nothing,  a  Son  of  Lib- 
erty, he  was  found  devoting  his 
great  powers  as  an  editor,  to  the 
support  of  policies  which  invited 
foreign  artisans  to  compete  with 
native  wage-workers  ;  to  measures 
which  levied  tribute  upon  slave 
labor  and  made  it  harder  on  the 
slave;  that  opposed  extension  of 
territory,  ostensibly  against  slav- 
ery, but  in  the  interest  of  Eastern 
capital  and  desire  of  control.  He 
venerated  the  institutions  of  the 
mother  country,  where  you  must 
not  fish,  and  poaching  is  punished 


by  transportation,  and  yet  whose 
policy  was  "free  trade,"  and  ac- 
quisition of  territory  in  every 
land  and  clime.  Was  it  that  his 
myopic  vision  would  not  let  him 
perceive  that  expansion  of  terri- 
tory and  commercial  rivalry  were 
the  safety-valves  of  a  Republic 
like  ours  ?  preventive  of  too  rapid 
immigration,  with  its  un-American 
tendencies?  Or  was  he  but  a 
servile  minister  to  the  wishes  of 
those  who  wielded  financial  and 
political  influence,  that  hesitated 
at  no  device  to  carry  their  mer- 
cenary ends? 

These  persons  abandoned  him 
the  instant  he  ceased  to  serve 
them.  Because  of  the  most  Chris- 
tian act  of  his  life,  he  was  dis- 
owned by  his  brother  philanthrop- 
ists, and  denounced  by  the  party 
which  he  had  labored  to  organize 
and  to  which  he  had  given  the 
vigor  of  his  manhood.  That  par- 
ty, like  the  Frankenstein  monster, 
terrorized  and  finally  destroyed 
him.  But  he  died  game,  and 
shouted  defiance  to  the  last,  as 
shown  by  the  following  letter : 

"New  York  Daily  Tribune,  May  23, 
1867.  By  these  Presents  Greeting :  To  Messrs. 
George  W.  Blunt,  John  A.  Kennedy,  John  O. 
Stone,  Stephen  Hyatt,  and  thirty  others,  mem- 
bers of  the  Union  League  Club:  Gentle- 
men— I  was  favored  on  the  i6th  inst.,  by  an 
official  note  from  our  ever-courteous  Presi- 
dent, John  Jay,  notifying  me  that  a  requisition 
had  been  presented  to  him  for  a  special  meet- 
ing of  the  club  at  an  early  day  for  the  purpose 
of  taking  into  consideration  t^ie  conduct  of 
Horace  Greeley,  a  member  of  the  club,  who 


ii8 


TJie  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


has  become  a  bondsman  for  Jefferson  Davis, 
late  chief  officer  of  the  Rebel  Govern- 
ment. *  *  * 

Gentlemen,  I  shall  not  attend  your  meeting 
this  evening.  I  have  an  engagement  out  of 
town,  and  shall  keep  it.  I  do  not  recognize 
you  as  capable  of  judging  or  even  fully  ap- 
preciating me.  You  evidently  regard  me  as 
a  weak  sentimentalist,  misled  by  a  maudlin 
philosophy.         *  *  *  * 

I  tell  you  here  that  out  of  a  life  earnestly 
devoted  to  the  good  of  human  kind  your 
children  will  select  my  going  to  Richmond 
and  signing  that  bail  bond  as  the  wisest  act, 
and  will  feel  that  it  did  more  for  freedom  and 
humanity  than  all  of  you  were  competent  to 
do,  though  you  had  lived  to  the  age  of  Me- 
thuselah. 

I  ask  nothing  of  you,  then,  but  that  you 
proceed  to  your  end  by  a  direct,  frank,  manly 
way.  Don't  slide  off  into  a  mild  resolution 
of  censure,  but  move  the  expulsion  which 
you  proposed,  and  which  I  deserve,  if  I  de- 
serve any  reproach  whatever.  All  I  care  is 
that  you  make  this  a  square  stand-up  fight, 
and  record  your  judgment  by  yeas  and  nays. 
I  care  not  how  few  vote  with  me,  nor  how 
many  vote  against  me,  for  I  know  that  the 
latter  will  repent  it  in  dust  ashes  before  three 
years  have  passed.         *        *        *        * 

I  give  you  fair  notice  that  I  shall  urge  the 
re-enfranchisement  of  those  now  proscribed 
for  rebellion  as  soon  as  I  shall  feel  confident 
that  this  course  is  consistent  with  the  freedom 
of  the  blacks  and  the  unity  of  the  republic, 
and  that  I  shall  demand  a  recall  of  all  now  in 
exile  only  for  participating  in.  the  rebellion 
whenever  the  country  shall  have  been  so 
thoroughly  pacified  that  its  safety  will  not 
thereby  be  endangered. 

And  so,  gentlemen,  hoping  that  you  will 
henceforth  comprehend  me  somewhat  better 
than  you  have  done,  I  remain  yours, 

Horace  Greeley," 


The  Liberal  Republican  Na- 
tional Convention  was  called  and 
assembled  at  Cincinnati,  on  the 
1st  day  of  May,  1872,  and  on  the 
3rd,  nominated  Mr.  Greeley  over 
Adams,  Chase  and  Turnbull,  for 
President,  and  B.  Gratz  Brown, 
for  Vice-President.  Arkansas  was 
represented  by  an  irregular  dele- 
gation, composed  of  Q.  K.  Under- 
wood, W.  M.  Fishback,  Ed.  Ban- 
croft, John  Kirkwood,  O.  S.  Dillon, 
R.  J.  Jennings,  John  F.  Owen, 
R.  J.  Rutherford,  C.  N.  Under- 
wood, A.  D.  Lindsley,  D.  W. 
Mason,  Bright  Herring  and  A.  D. 
Hawkins. 

The  platform  adopted  announc- 
ed 13  articles  of  faith,  of  which 
the  following  synopsis  is  given 
that  the  reader  may  understand 
references  which  were  afterwards 
made  to  it  by  Senator  Clayton  in 
his  terrific  Lewisburg  speech  re- 
ported later  on  in  this  history. 

I.  The  equality  of  all  men,  2. 
Perpetual  union  and  enfranchise- 
ment of  all  men.  3.  Immediate 
removal  of  political  disabilities  in- 
curred through  "rebellion."  4. 
Local  self-government  and  sub- 
ordination of  the  military  to  the 
civil  authority.  5.  and  6.  Civil 
Service  Reform.  7.  Federal  tax- 
ation not  to  interfere  with  any  in- 
dustry, leaving  questions  of  "  free 
trade"  and  "protection"  to  the 
decisions  of  the  people  of  the  Con- 
gressio7ial  Districts  {/)  8,  Main- 
tenance of  the  public  credit,  9, 
Resumption   of  sjiecie  payments. 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


IIQ 


10.  Gratitude  to  soldiers  and  sail- 
ors. II.  No  more  land  grants  to 
railroads.  12.  Peace  with  all  na- 
tions. 13.  Pledge  to  support  the 
platform  and  candidates,  regard- 
less, etc. 

The  nominations  gave  general 
satisfaction.  The  platform  was 
sufficiently  "liberal"  and  mean- 
ingless. The  Democrats  were  in- 
clined to  ally  themselves  with  the 
new  party.  They  saw  in  it  a  hope, 
an  opportunity,  to  realize  the  force 
of  the  motto,  "  Divide  et  itnpera." 
Mr.  Stephens  of  Georgia,  regarded 
it  "  The  best  avt^iue  of  relief 
from  the  oppressions  of  the  money 
power."  He  took  occasion  to 
criticise  the  course  of  Mr.  August 
Belmont  and  the  New  York  World 
for  opposing  Democratic  support 
of  Mr,  Greeley.  The  Democratic 
State  Committee  favored  the 
support  of  the  Cincinnati  plat- 
form and  nominees.  Mr.  A.  H. 
Garland,  and  ex-Chief  Justice 
English  warmly  advocated  it. 
Hon.  Geo.  C.  Watkins,  a  former 
Chief  Justice  of  Arkansas,  was 
especially  eager  that  no  Dem- 
ocratic nominations  be  made.  Mr. 
Watkins  was  a  learned  and  able 
lawyer  of  Little  Rock,  former 
partner  of  the  late  ex-Senator, 
Chester  Ashley.  He  was  a  Dem- 
ocrat of  the  old  school.  Being 
owner  of  large  estates,  he  felt 
practically  the  oppressions  of  the 
party  in  power  and  understood 
the  causes  of  them.  Nearly  all 
leading  statesmen  of  the  South,  on 


one  ground  or  another,  favored 
making  no  Democratic  nomina- 
tions. Only  Northern  Democrats, 
embittered  by  Mr.  Greeley's 
course  against  their  party  in  the 
past,  found  it  difficult  to  under- 
stand what  they  deemed  a  most 
mistaken  and  hopeless  inconsist- 
ency for  them  to  take  up  Mr. 
Greeley.*  The  wearer  knows  where 
the  shoe  pinches.  The  condition 
of  the  South  was  desperate.  Its 
only  hope  was  in  the  division  of 
the  Republican  party.  It  was  at 
the  point  of  exhaustion  and  turned 
to  any  hope  of  relief. 

The  Democratic  National  Ex- 
ecutive Committee,  whose  office 
was  and  is  merely  to  appoint  the 
time  and  choose  the  place  for 
holding  its  party  National  Con- 
vention, met  in  the  Art  Gallery  of 
its  Chairman,  Mr.  August  Belmont, 
on  Fifth  Avenue,  in  New  York 
City,  on  the  8th  of  May.  A  dowdy 
mulatto  girl  opened  the  front  door 
to  Gen.  Bate  (on  crutches)  mem- 
ber for  Tennessee,  and  to  the  mem- 
ber for  Arkansas.  This  poor  col- 
ored girl  had  evidently  received 
no  instructions.  Though  past  the 
appointed  hour,  the  two  Commit- 
teemen were  the  first  comers  and 
had  to  find  their  way  to  the  marble 
gallery  without  guidance.  Mr. 
Belmont  was  reported  to  be  a 
"several  times  millionaire,"  as  the 
phrase  is.  After  all  had  arrived 
he  limped  into  the  gallery  and 
made  his  way  to  a  center  table, 
and  without  other  greeting  than  a 


I20 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter    War:  a  History 


bow,  rapped  the  Committee  to 
order.  Mr.  Belmont  had  been 
lamed  in  a  duel  fought  over  some 
private  grievance.  The  gallery  was 
nothing  to  be  admired,  particularly 
with  cold  inhospitable  light  shin- 
ing down  upon  a  solitary  statuette 
and  a  few  paintings. 

"  Candidate  "  cities  for  holding 
the  convention  were  advotated  in 
well  chosen  words  by  their  re- 
spective representatives.  The 
member  for  Arkansas  seconded 
the  nomination  of  Baltimore  and 
made  bold  to  state  as  his  reason, 
that  the  convention  might  leave 
the  field  to  Greeley.  The  Chair- 
man and  Northern  members  gen- 
erally were  visibly  shocked  at  the 
proposal.  The  Chairman  said  that 
meeting  was  not  the  place  for 
nominating  candidates.  Out  of 
this  incident,  which  was  reported, 
grew  the  following  article  and 
correspondence  of  the  New  York 
World,  of  May  I2th: 

"  MR.    GREELEY    AND     THE     SOUTH." 

"We  understand  the  intolerable  oppression 
and  wholesale  robbery  under  which  the  South 
suffers,  and  make  allowance  for  the  asperity 
and  unreflecting  haste  with  which  an  impul- 
sive Southern  man  resents  any  Northern  op- 
position to  a  ticket  which,  in  his  estimation^ 
gives  promise  of  relief.  If  it  were  possible  to 
admit  that  the  endorsement  of  Mr.  Greeley  by 
the  Democratic  National  Convention  would 
free  the  Southern  States  from  Federal  tyranny, 
a  Southern  citizen  would  be  justly  incensed 
at  opposition  to  Mr.  Greeley  by  a  Northern 
journal  which  has  made  steady  profession  of 
friendship  for  the  South.     But  we  think  the 


member    from    Arkansas     misconceives    the 
whole  situation. 

"  The  Arkansas  Committeeman  has  a  ridi- 
culous overestimate  of  the  importance  and  in- 
fluence of  Mr.  Greeley.  He  does  not  seem  to 
understand  that  Mr.  Greeley  has  thrown 
away  the  great  ascendancy  he  once  had  over 
the  Republican  party.  His  peace  mission  to 
Niagara,  his  advice  to  President  Lincoln  to 
offer  $400,000,000  as  a  compensation  to  the 
Southern  slave  holders,  and  his  subsequent 
signing  the  bail  bond  of  Jefferson  Davis, 
estranged  so  many  of  Mr.  Greeley's  Republi- 
can friends  that  his  hold  on  the  party  is  re- 
duced to  nothing.  The  assumption  therefore, 
that  Mr.  Greeley  will  draw  off  a  large  Re- 
publican vote  is  a  mere  flight  of  fancy.  [The 
British  Parliament  voted  $5,000,000  to  com- 
pensate owners  of  slaves  in  Jamaica  emanci- 
pated.] 

"  Republicans  would  as  soon  vote  for  an 
out-and-out  Copperhead  Democrat  as  for  the 
foremost  signer  of  Jeff.  Davis'  bail  bond.  The 
politicians  who  speculate  on  the  Republican 
following  of  Mr.  Greeley  misappreciate  his 
recent  standing  in  the  Republican  party. 
Since  the  Union  League  Club  forbore  to  turn 
him  out  after  his  signature  of  Mr.  Davis' 
bond,  he  has  been  rather  tolerated  than  fol- 
lowed by  his  former  political  associates.  It  is 
a  great  and  grave  mistake  to  suppose  that  he 
has  any  considerable  Republican  following  in 
the  Northern  States,  when  he  steps  over  the 
party  traces.  To  be  sure,  Mr.  Greeley  is 
the  editor  of  what  has  been  a  powerful  party 
journal.  But  his  present  position  as  a  solici- 
tor ot  Democratic  votes  will  estrange  a  great 
part  of  his  old  subscribers. 

"  The  Tribune  has  forfeited  and  flung  away 
its  standing  as  a  Republican  organ.  Of  course, 
nobody  will  accept  it  as  a  Democratic  organ, 
and  it  is  hereafter  a  mere  newspaper,  and  the 
personal  organ  of  a  man  who  has  broken  his 
party  relations  in  his  aspirations  for  the 
highest  office. 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


121 


"Even  if  he  should  be  elected,  he  will  have 
sacrificed  the  Tribune!  The  Republicans 
will  not  tolerate  it  after  it  has  deserted  their 
party,  and  the  Democrats  will  regard  it  with 
no  favor  while  it  advocates  ideas  and  princi- 
ples which  they  have  always  repudiated.  The 
influence  of  a  great  journal  has  been  sacrificed 
to  the  personal  ambition  of  its  chief.  The 
member  from  Arkansas  prudently  expresses 
no  opinion  as  to  Mr.  Greeley's  hold  on  the 
negro  vote  of  the  South.  We  presume  that 
he  is  aware  that  the  Southern  negroes  will 
nearly  all  vote  for  Grant.  If  so,  what  possible 
advantage  can  Mr.  Greeley  have  in  the  South 
as  a  Democratic  candidate  ?  As  a  Democratic 
candidate  pure  and  simple,  no  man  in  the 
country  could  have  a  weaker  hold  on  the 
party.  If  he  can  draw  off  neither  negroes 
nor  white  Republicans  what  advantage  can 
there  be  in  adopting  him  as  a  Democratic 
candidate?  The  endorsement  he  has  thus  far 
received  in  the  North  are  not  Republican,  but 
Democratic  endorsements ;  but  it  is  prepos- 
terous for  Democrats  to  endorse  him  except 
on  the  supposition  that  he  will  bring  an  acces- 
sion of  strength  to  the  party.  Assuming  that 
the  negro  vote  will  be  given  to  Grant,  we 
cannot  imagine  what  would  be  gained  by  a 
Democratic  endorsement  of  Mr.  Greeley.  To 
be  sure,  he  favors  universal  amnesty ;  but  a 
President  can  do  nothing  to  promote  amnesty 
except  through  the  pardoning  power.  Presi- 
dent Jc'hnson  in  his  last  amnesty  proclama- 
tion carried  the  pardoning  power  to  its  utmost 
limit,  leaving  nothing  for  any  subsequent 
President  to  do. 

"  The  member  from  Arkansas  seems  to  for- 
get that  all  this  unrighteous  legislation  was 
advocated  by  ]\Ir.  Greeley  with  the  truculent 
vehemence  he  has  always  shown  in  such  mat- 
ters. Before  Southern  citizens  come  to  the 
strange  conclusion  that  their  salvation  de- 
pends on  Mr.    Greeley's  election,  they  had 

9 


better  ask  him  if  he  repents  of  his  strennous 
advocacy  of  all  the  measures  by  which  they 
are  so  grievously  oppressed.  He  has  done 
more  than  any  other  man  to  fasten  the  yoke 
upon  them  and  unless  he  recants  and  apolo- 
gizes, we  do  not  see  how  those  who  complain 
of  the  measures  can  expect  relief  from  their 
chief  instigator  and  advocate." 

In  answer  to  this  attack  upon  a 
well  matured  plan  and  purpose  of 
the  Southern  Democracy,  the 
member  of  the  Committee  sent 
the  editor  the  following,  which 
the  World  published : 

"  A      SOUTHERN       DEMOCRAT'S       IN- 
DORSEMENT  OF    MR.    GREELEY." 

"  To  the  Editor  of  the    World: 

Sir — If  your  object,  as  you  intimate  in  your 
Saturday's  issue,  is,  by  withholding  a  too 
ardent  support  of  the  nomination  of  Mr. 
Greeley,  to  avoid  drawing  the  bankers'  the 
office  holders'  "  syndicate  "  of  the  Republican 
party  from  their  hitherto  settled  purpose  of 
nominating  Grant,  your  course  might  be  com- 
mended as  patriotic  in  its  intentions,  if  slightly 
Machiavelian  in  its  method.  I  mi^ht  say 
that  the  end  at  least  to  be  attained  is  right- 
eous. But  that  such  a  plea  is  not  a  mere  pre- 
tence, which  conceals  a  deeper  design,  it  will 
be  difficult  to  conceive.  I,  a  Southern  Dem- 
ocrat, read  your  article  this  morning  warning 
the  Democratic  party  against  suicide,  and  say- 
ing: 'But  how  trivial  a  matter  is  the 
release  of  a  few  thousand  elderly  gentle- 
men from  disability  to  hold  office,  in  com- 
parison with  the  great  question  which  pene- 
trates the  very  roots  and  fundamental  structure 
of  our  Government?'  This  innuendo,  is  un- 
worthy \  of  the  World  in  many  respects,  as 
will  be  apparent  to  the  most  superficial  reader. 
It  is  chiefly  so  by  reason  of  the  utter  want  of 
familarity  it  betrays  with  the  matter  in  hand, 
viz.,  the  true  welfare  o-f  the  Democratic  party 


122 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


and  cf  the  condition  in  which  the  party  is  to 
be  found  to-day  under  the  powers  assumed  by 
the  office  holders'  syndicate  aforesaid,  of  co- 
ercing eighty-eight  votes  of  the  electoral  col- 
lege, the  vote  of  ten  of  the  States  of  the 
South.  This,  to  me  and  every  one  who  will 
see  how  it  affects  the  structure  of  the  Govern- 
ment, IS  at  this  time,  to  the  exclusion  of  the 
others,  *  the  great  question  '  which  penetrates 
to  the  very  roots  and  fundamental  structure  of 
the  Government.  In  comparison  with  it 
*  the  release  of  a  few  thousand  elderly  South- 
ern men  from  disability  to  hold  office '  is  a 
very  '  trivial  matter.'  I  speak  only  of  the 
power  which  Grant,  through  such  instrument- 
alities as  Clayton  and  others  of  those  South- 
ern States,  reserves  to  coerce  a  vote  that  will 
decide  the  contest.  But  beneath  this  consid- 
eration are  other  questions  of  the  preservation 
of  their  lives,  their  property,  and  their  most 
sacred  personal  and  private  rights,  by  the 
Southern  people  under  the  carpet-bag  tyran- 
nies from  which  they  suffer,  to  which  the  at- 
tention of  the  World  is  not  directed,  because 
the  World  cannot  feel,  or  commiserate  or 
hazard  a  tittle  of  its  own  local  interests  to  help 
to  relieve.  I  beg  of  you  however,  before 
again  indulging  similar  taunts  against  the  'un- 
fortunate elderly  gentlemen  '  who  can't  hold 
office  because  of  their  disabilities,  to  look 
carefully  to  the  Constitution  of  the  States  re- 
ferred to,  and  when  you  see  that,  by  those 
Constitutions  and  the  election  laws  under 
them,  the  present  Governors  of  those  States, 
without  interference  on  the  part  of  members  of 
their  own  party,  have  the  power  to  control  the 
ekctive  franchise  of  those  Stales  for  Grant  at 
their  pleasure:  the  power  to  declare  any 
county  under  martial  law  at  pleasure,  to  in- 
vade and  devastate  any  county  at  pleasure,  to 
exclude  the  vote  of  any  county  at  pleasure,  to 
review  and  cut  down  the  registration  in  any 
or  all  of  those  counties  at  pleasure,  and  then 
say  if  you   do  not  think  the  arbitrary  power 


thus  wielded  and  which  Mr.  Greeley  is  pledged, 
and  a  Greeley  ticket  in  each  State  will  help  to 
revoke,  in  your  practical  view  of  a  power  as 
affecting  the  result  of  the  election  by  eighty- 
eight  votes,  is  not  of  much  greater  importance 
than  the  'trival  matter'  of  releasing  a  few 
elderly  Southern  gentlemen  from  official  dis- 
abilities? 

From  a  letter  that  I  received  from  the 
Secretary  of  the  State  Central  Committee  of 
Arkansas,  I  will  quote  the  following  para- 
graphs: 'Judge  Watkins  offered  a  resolution 
in  committee  instructing  you  to  vote  against 
holding  a  National  Convention  in  case  the 
Cincinnati  nominations  proved  satisfactory. 
But  it  was  lost  by  a  tie  vote,  for  the  reason 
that  half  of  the  members  believe  you  were  not 
subject  to  instructions,  the  mover  at  last  com- 
ing to  the  same  conclusion.  The  policy  of 
non-action,  however,  I  believe  is  approved  by 
all.  In  Arkansas  we  want  to  be  perfectly 
free  to  choose  between  Greeley  and  Grant. 
That  being  the  condition,  both  factions  of  the 
Republicans  will  be  forced  to  count  the  con- 
servative vote  and  to  make  concessions  to  se- 
cure it.  Before  the  Legislature  is  over  I  think 
it  more  than  likely  that  Article  8  of  the  State 
Constitution,  under  the  head  of  '  Franchise,' 
and  which  disfranchised  by  letter  of  its  pro- 
vision only  about  10,000  but  was  taken  ad- 
vantage of  to  disfranchise  50,000,  at  the  last 
election,  will  be  a  dead  letter  if  there  is  no 
Democratic  National  nomination.  Otherwise, 
Capt  Hadley  (the  Governor  of  the  State,  a 
creature  of  Qayton)  will  appoint  whom  he 
pleases  as  electors.  The  situation  here  is 
precisely  what  it  was  in  Missouri  in  the  con- 
test that  resulted  in  the  election  of  Gratz 
Brown.' 

These  are  the  views  held  by  our  State 
Democratic  Central  Committee.  The  con- 
siderations to  the  World  may  not  seem  such 
'  trivial  matters  '  with  all  its  selfishness  and 
narrowness  of  view  confined  to  local  New 
York  State  politics. 


of  tJie  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkaftsas. 


123 


The  fling  at  the  few  thousand  elderly 
Southern  gentlemen,  I  fear  not.  Other 
reasons  for  supporting  the  Cincinnati  nomina- 
tions, not  hinted  at  are  eloquently  alluded  to  in 
the  speech  of  Governor  John  C.  Brown,  on 
accepting  the  nomination  for  re-election  by  the 
Democratic  State  Convention  which  met  at 
Nashville,  on  the  9th,  and  indorsed  the  Cin- 
cinnati nominations,  and  are  already  printed 
in  your  columns.  I  beg  you  to  refer  to  them. 
Gen.  Brown  is  one  of  the  few  Southern  gentle- 
men, though  a  Major-General  in  the  Confeder- 
ate army,  who  is  not  disfranchised,  thanks  to 
the  Senter  split  of  the  Republican  party  in 
Tennessee.  By  that  split  he  is  enabled  to  suc- 
ceed Senter,  and  the  State  of  Tennessee  nerved 
to  throw  off  the  curse  of  Brownlow  and 
Stokes,  and  their  ragged  militia,  and  free  to 
vote  in  the  coming  election,  but  not  until 
those  plunderers  have  saddled  it  with  a  debt 
of  many  millions.  This  debt  would  other- 
wise have  kept  on  increasing  until  this  day, 
as  it  is  daily  increasing  in  the  other  Southern 
States.  All  brokers  will  vote  against  the  Cin- 
cinnati movement  who  have  'margins'  on  de- 
posit for  'bearing'  by  multiplying  these 
Southern  securities. 

On  the  22d  May,  1872,  the 
Brindle  State  Convention  met  in 
Little  Rock,  at  the  call  of  B.  F. 
Rice,  James  L.  Hodges  and  G.  W, 
McDiarmid,  who  were  members  of 
the  former  Republican  State 
Central  Committee,  denominated 
"bolters"  by  the  Little  Rock  Re- 
ptiblicaUy  Clayton  organ.  From 
the  columns  of  that  paper,  the 
following  outline  of  the  proceed- 
ings   of  the   convention  is  taken. 

Robt.  F.  Catterson  (the  deposed 
Marshal)  was  elected  temporary 
chairman,  and  appointed  the  usual 
committees.     On  motion  of  W.  P. 


Grace,  of  Pine  Bluff,  the  conven- 
tion adjourned  until  the  next  day. 
On  the  23d,  the  convention  met 
pursuant  to  adjournment.  William 
G.  Whipple,  the  suspended  U.  S. 
Attorney,  as  chairman  of  the  com- 
mittee on  credentials  reported  the 
names  of  delegates  entitled  to 
seats  to  the  number  of  one  hun- 
dred and  thirty-five.  They  were 
mainly  the  old  organizers  who  had 
been  left  out  and  had  the  sharp- 
ened appetites  of  a  new  swarm. 
In  the  case  of  Zara  L.  Cotton,  of 
Montgomery  county,  Mr.  Whipple 
introduced  the  following  resolu- 
tion : 

Whereas,  said  Cotton  has  been  guilty  of 
outrageous  frauds  in  registration,  for  which  he 
has  been  indicted,  it  is  recomnlended  that  he 
be  excluded  from  the  convention. 

The  resolution  was  adopted. 
Cotton  had  been  indicted  at  the 
same  time  upon  the  testimony 
on  which  one  of  the  indictments 
was  found  against  Powell  Clayton, 
accusing  him  of  ordering,  and  Cot- 
ton as  Registrar,  corruptly  adding 
to  the  registration  list  several 
hundred  names  of  fictitious  elec- 
tors. It  was  a  favorable  opportu- 
nity for  Whipple  to  strike  back  at 
Clayton. 

The  committee  on  permanent 
organization  reported  John  A. 
Williams,  of  Jefferson,  for  Presi- 
dent, and  numerous  Vice-Presi- 
dents. When  the  President  had 
appointed  a  committee  on  resolu- 
tions, E.  A.  Fulton  of  Drew  county 
(colored),  moved   the   convention 


124 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


declare  Hon.  Joseph  Brooks  its 
nominee  for  Governor  of  Ark- 
ansas, which  was  carried  by  accla- 
mation. Thereupon  Mr.  Brooks 
declared  his  thanks  in  a  brief 
speech,  concluding  with  the  pledge 
to  the  convention  that  he  would 
zealously  join  the  members  of  the 
convention  in  making  an  active 
canvass  throughout  the  State  for 
Truth,  Justice  and  Good  Govern- 
ment. 

What  is  Truth  ?  asked  Pilate  of 
Christ.  What  is  Justice?  have 
asked  the  law-breakers  from  the 
first-born  of  Adam.  What  is 
Good  Government?  is  the  question 
which  man  has  been  asking 
through  all  the  centuries. 

Mr.  Blackwell  of  Jefferson, 
moved  that  H.  King  White  be  ex- 
cluded from  the  convention,  as  not 
duly  appointed  a  delegate.  After 
discussion,  the  mover  withdrew 
the  motion.  Mr.  Whipple  then 
read  the  majority  report  of  the 
committee  on  resolutions,  which 
resolutions  are  given  in  full.  Sub- 
sequent bitter  and  forcible  com- 
ments upon  them  could  not  be 
otherwise  understood. 

Whereas,  A  large  number  of  persons 
were  indicted  in  the  Federal  Courts  of  this 
State  for  most  flagrant  violations  of  the  elec- 
tion laws,  and  President  Grant,  upon  the  ap- 
plication and,  in  the  interest  of  such  indicted 
criminals  and  their  accessories,  suspended 
honest  and  efficient  officers  for  no  other  reason 
than  that  they  would  vigorously  enforce  the 
law;  and  allowed  such  indicted  criminals  to 
name  the  marshal  to  select  the  juries  by  which 


they  were  to  be  tried,  and  to  name  the  at- 
torney who  was  to  prosecute  them  for  their 
offenses,  whereby  the  criminals  were  turned 
loose  without  punishment  and  the  laws  tramp- 
led under  foot  and  fraud  and  crime  encour- 
aged; and  has  seen  fit  to  take  sides  with  and 
support  and  sustain  the  corrupt  State  House 
ring  in  their  iniquities  against  the  people  of 
this  State, 

And  Whereas,  It  is  now  evident  that  Gen. 
Grant  will  receive  the  nomination  for  Presi- 
dent by  the  convention  of  office-holders  to  be 
held  at  Philadelphia, 

Therefore  Resolved,  That  we  emphatically 
condemn  the  course  of  the  President  in  his  in- 
termeddling with  Arkansas  affairs  in  the  inter- 
est of  crime  and  disorder,  and  decline  to  send 
delegates  to  the  Philadelphia  convention. 

And  Whereas,  Horace  Greeley  and  B. 
Gratz  Brown  are  now  before  the  people  as 
Republican  candidates  for  President  and  Vice- 
President  upon  a  platform  which  we  heartily 
approve,  and  are  men  of  unquestionable 
ability,  integrity  and  patriotism,  and  have  for 
many  years  been  consistent  advocates  and 
champions  of  Republicanism  and  universal 
suffrage  and  universal  freedom, 

Therefore,  be  it  Resolved,  That  we  most 
cordially  indorse  the  nomination  of  the  said 
Horace  Greeley  and  B.  Gratz  Brown  and  the 
platform  upon  which  they  stand,  and  pledge 
ourselves  to  co-operate  with  the  friends  of  civil 
government  and  reform  throughout  the  land  in 
securing  their  election. 

And  Therefore,  To  the  end  that  a  free 
people  may  be  disenthralled  from  unjust  and 
unlawful  burdens  and  calamities,  which  are 
imposed  upon  them,  we  cordially  invite  all 
the  friends  of  free  government,  law  and  order 
and  justice  to  co-operate  with  us  in  \.\\&  fearful 
but  determined  conflict  which  a  wronged  and 
robbed  people  are  waging  in  response  to 
Greeley's  rallying  cry,  "Honest  men  for  office; 
thieves  to  the  rear! 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


125 


The  resolutions  were  signed,  J. 
E.  Bennett,  chairman,  W.  G.  Whip- 
ple, Joseph  Brooks,  A.  H.  Barrett, 
H.  Lewis,  J.  W.  Jackson,  T.  J. 
Hunt,  R.  L.  Glassick,  H.  S.  John- 
son, committee. 

Mr.  Daniel  Webster  of  the  com- 
mittee, offered  the  following  min- 
ority report : 

Resolved,  That  this  convention  approves 
the  national  administration  and  believes  it  the 
duty  of  the  Republicans  of  Arkansas  and  of 
the  United  States  to  adopt  the  decision  and 
support  the  nominees  of  the  National  Republi- 
can Convention. 

The  majority  report  was  adopted 
with  cheers  and  the  minority  re- 
port rejected  without  division. 
The  convention  forthwith  com- 
pleted the  ticket  of  State  officers 
as  follows  —  (all  Republicans  ex- 
cept Grace  and  E.  J  .  Brooks,  who 
were  not  Democrats). 

For    Lieut.  Governor,   D.   '  January '  Smith, 
of  Columbia. 

For  Sec'y  of  State,  E.  A.  Fulton  (colored),  of 
Drew. 

For  Auditor,  J.  R.  Berry,  of  Pulaski. 

For  Treasurer,  T.  J.  Hunt,  of  Sebastian. 
(Chosen  over  Logan  H.  Roots  and  Henry 

Page). 

For  Attorney-General  W.  P.  Grace,  of  Jeffer- 
son. 

For  Supt.  Pub.  Instruction,  Thomas  Smith,  of 
Pulaski. 

For  Associate  Justices  Supreme  Court,  William 
Harrison,  of  Jefferson  ;  John  Whytock,  of 
Pulaski. 

For  Supt.  Penitentiary,  Richard  Samuels  (col- 
ored), of  "Washington. 

For  Congressman  at  Large,  Wm.  J.  llynes. 


FOR   PRESIDENTIAL    ELECTORS   AT   LARGE. 

M.  L.  Rice,  of  Pulaski ;  Sidney  M.  Barnes. 

FOR   DISTRICT   ELECTORS. 

First  District — Geo.  W.  McLane. 
Second  District — ^R.  L.  Archer. 
Third  District— E.  J^  Brooks. 

A  State  Central  Committee  was 
appointed  as  follows : 

B.  F.  Rice,  chairman,  Geo.  Hay- 
cock, G.  W.  McDiarmid,  Logan 
R.  Roots,  Jas.  W.  Jackson,  J.  L. 
Hodges,  E.  A.  Fulton,  R.  C.  Kerns 
and  E.  H.  Vance,  and  the  con- 
vention adjourned. 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  fore- 
going resolutions  offered  no  more 
than  Clayton  had  done,  and  no 
greater  guarantees  of  sincerity 
than  the  action  of  bolting  the 
national  Republican  organization, 
except  declaring  for  Greeley 
against  Grant.  This  was  a  step  in 
the  right  direction,  but  as  the  Ga- 
zette pointed  out,  the  character 
and  overtures  of  this  faction  to  the 
negroes  and  their  political  anteced- 
ents weakened  confidence  in  their 
professions-  The  real  issue  behind 
all  the  party  pledges  and  parade, 
was,  whether  the  material  interests 
of  the  State  could  longer  bear 
negro  dojuination  ?  It  had  been 
tried  and  proved  a  carnival  of  cor- 
ruption and  ruin.  The  Clayton 
faction  represented  this  dread  ele- 
ment. It  could  not  be  endured. 
The  negro  was  the  mere  un- 
conscious force.  Like  dynamite 
he  was  used  destructively.  The 
Republican,  Clayton  organ  at 
Little  Rock,  published  many  scan- 


126 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


dalous  articles  against  the  mem- 
bers who  constituted  the  Brindle 
convention.  These  were  written 
and  issued  for  reading  at  the  Fed- 
eral capitol. 

Brooks  in  his  speeches,  retorted 
with  equal  vindictiveness,  and  said 
that: 

Price  and  McClure  (of  The  Republican'), 
were  never  Republicans;  they  were  thieves, 
border-ruffians  and  murderers ;  that  the  two 
named  had  been  copperheads,  and  Clayton  & 
Co.,  had  swindled  poor,  miserable  Mallory, 
until  he  did  not  have  money  to  pay  whisky 
bills;  that  Hadley  went  to  the  Democratic 
convention,  and  on  the  steamer  made  propo- 
sitions to  the  Democrats ;  and  Clayton  had 
bargained  with  the  Democracy,  through 
Chamberlain  ;  and  Garland  had  the  letter  con- 
taining the  stipulations,  and  he  (Brooks)  had 
seen  it. 

June  5,  1872,  the  Republican 
National  Convention  at  Philadel- 
phia nominated  General  Grant  for 
re-election,  by  acclamation,  and 
Henry  Wilson  for  Vice-President. 
The  platform  was  according  to 
the  following  synopsis : 

I.  Reduction  of  the  public  debt  and  settling 
threatened    difficulty  with    a  foreign    power. 

2.  Liberty  and  equality  must  be  established. 

3.  Approval  of  recent  (reconstruction)  amend- 
ments to  the  Constitution.  4.  Peace  abroad 
and  sympathy  for  those  who  fought  for  greater 
liberty.  5.  Civil  Service  Reform.  6.  Opposed 
to  further  grants  of  public  lands.  7.  Reve- 
nues to  be  raised  by  duties  on  foreign  impor- 
tations, thus  securing  remunerative  wages  to 
labor.  8.  In  favor  of  legislation  for  pension- 
ing soldiers  and  sailors.  9.  Rights  of  adopted 
citizens  to  be  guarded  and  urging  encourage- 
ment to  immigration.     10.  Abolishment  of  the 


franking  privilege  and  reduction  of  postage. 
II.  Protection  for  capital  and  a  just  share  for 
labor.  12.  Thanks  Congress  for  protecting 
the  ballot-box  in  the  lately  rebellious  regions. 
13.  Denounces  repudiation.  14.  Proposes  ad- 
mission of  women  to  wider  fields  of  usefulness. 
15.  Approves  Congressional  amnesty  to  late 
rebels.  16.  Disapproves  of  interference  with 
States  rights.  17.  Favors  measures  to  en- 
courage ship-building.  18.  Eulogizes  Grant, 
and  'starts  on  a  new  march  to  victory.' 

On  the  13th  June,  the  Senate 
Committee  at  Washington,  having 
charge  of  the  investigation  of 
Powell  Clayton,  unequivocally  ex- 
onerated him  from  the  accusations 
against  him.  The  committee  re- 
ported : 

In  our  opinion,  the  charges,  if  such  they 
can  be  called,  are  not  sustained.  The  testi- 
mony fails  to  impeach  the  Senator's  official 
conduct  or  character. 

On  the  19th  June,  1872,  the 
Democratic  State  Convention,  at 
the  call  of  Gordon  N.  Peay,  chair- 
man of  the  State  Central  Com- 
mittee, met  in  the  hall  of  the 
House  of  Representatives,  at  Lit- 
tle Rock.  W.  W.  Reynolds,  of 
Benton  county,  was  made  Presi- 
dent, and  appointed  the  necessary 
committees,  after  which  the  con- 
vention adjourned  to  the  next  day. 
The  next  day  the  convention  se- 
lected delegates  to  the  National 
Democratic  Convention,  at  Balti- 
more, and  elected  a  State  Central 
Committee,  viz.,  L.  A.  Pindall,  E. 
P.  Watson,  J.  T.  Trezevant,  D.  J. 
Jacoway,  Fay  Hempstead,  H.  F. 
Carrigan,  T.  F.  Dockery  and  John 
R.  Hampton. 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


127 


The  convention  adopted  the  fol- 
lowing resolutions : 

Whereas,  It  appears  to  us,  the  representa- 
tives of  the  Conservative  and  Democratic 
parties  of  Arkansas,  in  convention  assembled, 
that  the  majority  of  the  men  constituting  the 
State  administration  have  proved  themselves 
unworthy  the  high  trust  reposed  in  them  and 
have  taken  advantage  of  their  positions  to  rob 
and  plunder  the  people,  both  white  and  col- 
ored, and  have  by  their  peculations  in  railroad, 
levee  and  other  bonds  of  the  State  almost 
bankrupted  its  credit  abroad  and  at  home,  and 
have  used  fraud  and  unlawful  force  for  the 
purpose  of  retaining  power  against  the  will  of 
people. 

We  therefore,  Declare  it  to  be  our  opinion, 
that  it  is  absolutely  necessary  to  the  welfare  of 
the  people  that  a  radical  change  in  the  admin- 
istration of  the  affairs  of  the  State  and  many 
of  the  counties  should  be  effected. 

Resolved,  I.  That  the  best  policy  to  be 
pursued  by  the  people  to  make  certain  of  suc- 
cess in  the  coming  election  is  to  have  unani- 
mity of  action,  as  well  as  feeling,  on  the  part 
of  all  good  citizens  of  all  parties  who  favor 
reform  in  the  administration  of  the  affairs  of 
the  State  and  county  governments. 

2.  That  the  Chairman  of  each  Democratic- 
Conservative  County  Executive  Committee 
be  requested  to  put  in  operation  the  amend- 
ment to  the  enforcement  act  of  Congress  in 
regard  to  the  appointment  of  Supervisors  of 
registration  in  each  voting  precinct  of  their 
respective  counties. 

3.  That  delegates  be  appointed  to  the  Balti- 
more convention  called  to  meet  on  the  19th 
July  next,  and  they  are  instructed  to  vote  for 
the  ratification  of  the  nomination  of  Greeley 
*nd  Brown,  as  candidates  for  President  and 
Vice-President  of  the  United  States  in  the  en- 
suing election. 

4.  Fhat  we  endorse  theCincinnati  platform  ; 
and  also  the  platform  of  political  principles 


(?)  adopted  by  the  Reform-Republican  Con- 
vention which  met  at  Little  Rock,  May  22, 
1872.  ■  [Left  the  tariff  to  Congressional  Dis- 
tricts]. 

5.  That  it  would  be  unwise  and  inexpedient 
for  the  Democratic  party  to  nominate  a  State 
ticket  for  the  ensuing  election,  and  we  declare 
against  it.  [Stomach  for  the  '  Reform '  State 
ticket  too]. 

6.  The  State  Democratic  Executive  Com- 
mittee be  hereby  authorized  to  act  with  like 
committees  of  all  Reform-RepuVjlican  organ- 
izations in  this  State  opposed  to  the  present 
administration,  in  the  conduct  of  the  ensuing 
campaign. 

7.  That  we  earnestly  urge  the  organization 
of  the  Conservative  and  Democratic  parties  in 
all  election  districts  and  in  all  counties,  and 
the'using  of  all  honorable  means  to  secure  the 
election  of  county  officers  and  members  to  the 
General  Assembly ;  and  that  we  extend  a 
cordial  invitation  to  all  persons  opposed  to  the 
present  State  administration  to  unite  with  us  in 
said  organization ;  and  we  pledge  ourselves 
to  oppose  the  election  of  all  independent  can- 
didates for  any  of  said  offices  running  against 
the  regular  nominees.  We  append  hereto,  as 
part  of  this  report  the  platform  referred  to  in 
the  fourth  resolution. 

Geo.  p.  Smoote, 
D.  W.  Carroll, 
J.  T.  Bearden, 
T.  W.  Newton, 

Committee  on  Resolutions. 

The  resolutions  were  adopted 
without  division.  No  Democratic 
State  ticket  was  therefore  nomi- 
nated by  the  convention.  The 
action  and  tickets  of  the  national 
and  State  "  Liberal  Reform-Re- 
publican "  Conventions  were  ac- 
cepted and  indorsed.  In  the 
existing   state    of  affairs,   a  rump 


128 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


Congress,  representing  a  section, 
and  certain  class  interests,  held 
power.  Its  members  plumed  them- 
selves upon  their  liuinanity  in 
liberating  the  bodies  of  a  few  in- 
competent blacks,  while  riveting 
chains  upon  the  intelligent  labor  of 
all  the  people  for  their  material 
profit.  The  delusion  that  they 
were  Republicans  and  patriots  was 
too  appetizing  and  sweet!  They 
followed  instincts  which  we  all 
have  in  common  with  the  "beasts 
that  perish."  The  Executive  De- 
partment of  the  General  Govern- 
ment was  under  a  victorious  Gen- 
eral, who  had  risen  to  power 
through  strict  obedience  of  tiieir 
behests,  and  knew  no  other  guide. 
Titcre  was  no  hope  of  relief 
through  the  agency  of  a  free  elec- 
tion. The  victors  inevitably  quar- 
rel among  themselves  over  their 
ill-gotten  spoils. 

July  loth,  the  Republican  (Min- 
strel) State  Executive  Committee 
met  at  Little  Rock.  On  motion 
of  H.  King  White,  of  Pine  Bluff, 
(who  had  appeared  as  a  delegate 
to  the  Brindle  State  Convention, 
it  will  be  remembered),  it  was 
agreed  to  call  the  Minstrel  State 
Convention  on  the  2 1st  August, 
for  making  nomninations  of  State 
officers,  a  Congressman  for  the 
State  at  large,  and  Presidential 
electors.  The  committee  ap- 
pointed John  McClure,  J.  T.  White 
and  M.  C.  McCanany,  "  to  draft  an 
address  to  the  Republican  voters 
of  Arkansas."     The  convention  as 


well  as  the  address  had  been  antic- 
ipated with  much  interest.  This 
wing  or  faction  of  the  Republican 
party  in  the  State  was  in  control 
of  the  election  niacliinery.  Acting 
Governor  Hadley  had  the  power 
of  appointing  the  election  officers. 
J.  M.  Johnson,  as  Secretary  of 
State,  had  the  receiving  and  keep- 
ing the  returns  of  the  election. 
The  presiding  officer  of  the  Senate 
merely  went  through  the  form  of 
presenting  them  to  the  Legislature 
to  be  counted. 

The  hope  of  the  Democrats 
(and  conservatives,  as  many  old 
citizens  preferred  to  call  them- 
selves, from  a  feeling  of  ancient 
party  antipathy  to  "  democracy  ") 
in  the  coming  campaign  was  based 
upon  the  same  reasoning  that  led 
to  the  endorsing  by  the  national 
Democracy  of  the  nomination  of 
Horace  Greeley.  Mr.  Brooks  had 
ever  been  an  ultra  Republican. 
He  could  not  be  arraigned  upon 
any  charge  of  "  disloyalty."  He 
had  been  among  the  first  to  advo- 
cate negro  emancipation  at  the 
North,  and  negro  suffrage  in  Ark- 
ansas, and  could  consistently 
claim  to  be  the  champion  of  the 
negro  race  in  Arkansas.  But  more 
than  this,  he  was  familiar  with 
Republican  tactics  and  agencies 
white  and  black,  throughout  the 
State.  He  could  expose  their  of 
ficial  misdoings  and  it  was  claimed 
anticipate  or  thwart  their  party 
maneuvers.     This  he  promised  he 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


129 


would  do  fully  and  fearlessly  "  on 
every  stump   in  the  State." 

The  other  faction  expressed 
only  scorn  for  his  threatenings. 
They  were  the  regular  and  ac- 
credited representatives  of  the 
party  in  the  State  and  had  the  ear 
of  the  federal  administration  which 
was  in  the  acme  of  its  power.  Be- 
yond all  this,  they  were  in  control 
of  the  Union  League  of  the  State. 
The  wealthy  and  aristocratic 
gentlemen  who  composed  clubs  of 
this  order  in  the  Northern  cities 
would  have  been  astonished  to  be- 
hold a  meeting  of  their  order  in 
Arkansas  about  this  time.  They 
would  have  witnessed  a  secret  as- 
semblage of  black  men,  officered 
by  adventurers  of  their  own  race, 
ignorant  to  the  last  degree  of 
parliamentary  usages  and  of  many 
of  the  amenities  of  civilized  asso- 
ciation. They  were  dominated 
by  a  white  man,  or  a  few  white 
men,  acting  perhaps  as  secretary 
and  president  to  administer  oaths, 
take  down  names,  and  enact  the 
semblance  of  binding  them  to  the 
organization.  They  were  as  abso- 
lute as  Stanley  or  Emin  Pasha 
over  their  naked  followers. 

Acting  Governor  Hadley  was 
President  of  the  "State  Council  " 
of  the  League,  and  his  son-in-law, 
Keyes  Danforth,  was  its  secretary. 
It  was  all-powerful  for  controlling 
the  negro  electors.  It  was  under- 
stood among  them,  that  no  voters 
would  be  registered  by  the  elec- 
tion officers  who  were  not  members 


of  the  league.  Lodges  were  in- 
stituted and  paraphernalia  fur- 
nished by"  lecturers "  from  the 
State  Council.  The  chief  emblems 
were  the  Holy  Bible,  the  Declar- 
ation of  Independence  and  the 
American  flag;  by  which  use  of 
them,  all  three  were  desecrated. 
The  members  were  required  to 
take  the  following  oath  : 

I, ,  with  an  uplifted  hand,  in  the 

presence  of  God  and  these  witnesses,  do  sol- 
emnly swear,  without  reservation  of  any  kind, 
that  I  will  support,  protect  and  defend  the 
Constitution  and  government  of  the  United 
States  of  America,  one  and  indivisible,  and 
the  flag  thereof  against  all  enemies,  foreign 
and  domestic;  that  I  will  vote  only  for  those 
who  advocate  and  support  the  great  principles 
set  forth  by  this  league. 

And  I  further  promise  and  swear  that  I  will 
protect  and  defend  all  worthy  members  of  the 
Union  League  of  America,  and  will  never 
divulge  or  make  known  to  any  person  or  per- 
sons not  worthy  members  of  this  organization 
any  of  the  signs,  pass-words,  grips,  proceed- 
ings, designs,  debates  ox  places  of  meeting  of 
this  or  other  councils  of  this  organization, 
unless  authorized  to  do  so  by  competent  au- 
thority. 

And  I  farther  promise  and  swear  that  I  will 
aid  and  defend  the  workingmen  of  the  nation 
in  all  lawful  methods  to  secure  them  the  right 
to  labor  and  enjoy  the  fruits  of  their  labor, 
and  that  I  will  not  countenance  or  employ 
any  one  who  is  in  any  way  hostile  to  the  work- 
ingmen of  the  Nation, 

And  with  my  hand  on  the  Holy  Bible  and 
flag  of  the  United  States  of  America,  I  ac- 
knowledge myself  firmly  bound  and  pledged 
to  the  faithful  performance  of  this,  my  solemn 
obligation,  so  help  me  God! 

This  oath  is  taken  kneeling  with 


130 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


the  members  around  the  "  poor, 
bhnd  "  candidate  in  a  circle  with 
clasped  hands.  Then  after  the 
announcement :  "  That  this  circle 
of  freedom  must  never  be  broken 
by  treachery  under  the  penalty  of 
death,"  the  new  member  rises  and 
is  greeted  :  "  Hail  Brother,  worthy 
and  true  ! "  Meetings  are  ap- 
pointed to  be  held  weekly.  Of 
course,  the  power  of  the  council  at 
the  capital  is  exercised  without 
reserve  in  dictating  the  candidates 
to  be  voted  for  by  members  of  the 
league,  to  which  all  the  negroes 
in  the  State  have  belonged  at  one 
time  or  another.  It  can  be  seen 
that  no  writings  or  speeches,  even 
if  they  could  be  read  or  heard, 
would  penetrate  a  Kraal  like  this. 
John  C.  Calhoun  painted  this  scene 
more  than  fifty  years  ago. 

July  9,  1872,  the  Democratic 
National  Convention  met  at  the 
city  of  Baltimore,  in  Ford's  Opera 
House,  and  was  called  to  order 
by  August  Belmont,  Chairman 
Democratic  National  Committee. 

Mr.  Randolph,  of  Va.,  grand- 
son, of  Thomas  Jefferson,  eighty 
years  of  age,  was  made  temporary 
chairman,  and  Fred.  O.  Prince,  of 
Boston,  secretary.  After  the  com- 
mittee on  credentials  reported,  J. 
R.  Doolittle,  of  Wisconsin,  was 
elected  permanant  President  and 
the  usual  number  of  vice-presi- 
dents and  secretaries  appointed, 
when  the  convention  adjourned. 

On  reassembling  July  loth, 
the    report    of  the   committee   on 


resolutions  was  read  by  E.  O. 
Perrin,  of  New  York,  formerly  of 
Memphis.  Mr.  Barr,  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, explained  that  the  resolu- 
tions were  the  Cincinnati  platform 
of  the  Liberal  Republican  Con- 
vention exactly^  iwtJiing  added, 
nothing  excluded.  Mr.  Bayard  ob- 
jected to  going  before  the  country 
without  an  independent  expression 
of  principles.  He  was  interrupted 
and  voted  down  by  662  yeas  to  70 
nays.  The  vote  being  taken  on 
the  nominations  for  President, 
Horace  Greeley  received  686 
votes,  James  A.  Bayard  15,  Jere- 
miah Black  21,  Groesbeck  2 ;  for 
Vice-President,  Gratz  Brown  re- 
ceived 712  votes,  Stevens  of  Ken- 
tucky 6,  Jeremiah  Black  12.  An 
anti  -  Greeley  Democratic  meet- 
ing was  held  the  same  day  in 
Baltimore,  but  accomplished  noth- 
ing. Our  friend.  Col.  E.  Nat  Hill, 
participated  in  that  meeting. 

The  Democrats  and  Liberal  Re- 
publicans of  Little  Rock  ratified 
the  nomination  of  Greeley  and 
Brown  in  the  City  Hall,  July  i  ith. 
Joseph  Brooks,  R.  C.  Newton  and 
R.  A.  Howard  were  the  principal 
speakers. 

Mr.  Brooks  opened  his  cam- 
paign as  the  "  Reform  Republican" 
candidate  for  Governor,  with  a 
speech  in  the  State  House  yard, 
June  2 1  St.  As  yet  no  rival  candi- 
date had  been  announced,  and  he 
seems  to  have  made  the  appoint- 
ment chiefly  for  placing  himself 
on   the    Greeley  ticket,  and  as  a 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


131 


public  acceptance  of  the  nomina- 
tion ;  an  earnest  of  the  service  he 
proposed  to  render  in  the  cause  of 
"truth,  justice  and  good  govern- 
ment," It  was  no  task  for  him  to 
speak  at  any  time.  As  he  stood 
in  the  shade  thrown  by  the  quiver- 
ing leaves  of  the  ancient  cotton- 
wood,  and  his  thin  locks  were 
lifted  by  the  soft  breezes  of  the 
beautiful  summer  day,  he  seemed 
to  feel  a  fresh  pleasure  in  stirring 
up  the  animals  in  the  State  House 
garden. 

The  windows  of  the  ancient 
capitol  were  filled  with  these,  look- 
ing down  smilingly  and  com- 
placently. So  the  Philistines  may 
have  looked  on  the  blind  old  Sam- 
son as  he  made  "  sport  "  for  them. 
Judges  Bowen  and  McClure  smok- 
ed their  choice  Havanas  and 
made  merry  comments  from  the 
Supreme  Court  Library  windows. 
Bent.  Turner  and  Bill  Oliver  sat 
immediately  under  the  droppings 
of  the  stream  of  denunciation 
which  for  an  hour  or  more  was 
poured  against  their  faction. 

Mr.  Brooks  said,  with  the  fiercest 
energy  of  action  and  scornful  facial 
expression,  among  many  other 
bitter  things,  the  following  : 

Why  may  not  the  Liberal  Republicans,  in 
the  language  of  <7?<r  candidate,  'clasp  hands 
across  the  bloody  chasm  ? '  Why  may  they 
not,  seven  years  after  war  has  ended  and 
peace  resumed  its  sway  (?)  beat  their  swords 
into  pruning  hooks  ?  This  is  a  movement  to 
wipe  out  military   government   and  conduct 


government  unmixed  with  '  orders  from  these 
headquarters* 

I  have  no  desire  to  injure  the  individual 
who  is  running  the  machine,  but  I  do  wish  to 
see  the  machine  go  to  pieces!  I  wish  to  see 
that  the  people  are  no  longer  interfered  with, 
and  deprived  of  sacred  constitutional  (?) 
rights,  by  these  seven-by-nine  bob-tails,  such 
as  were  sent  to  Hot  Springs  with  orders  to 
regiiter  eight  hundred  voters  [for  which  Clay- 
ton had  been  arraigned]  whether  in  existence 
or  not,  and  to  some  other  county  to  register  a 
thousand,  '  to  meet  emergencies.' 

One  general  system  of  corrupt  employ- 
ment has  stained  this  State  administration 
from  head  to  foot.  It  has  administered  the 
financial  affairs  with  a  desperate  energy  and 
with  sleeves  rolled  up  to  the  elbows,  in  order 
to  make  a  complete  gobble.  The  county  of 
Jefferson,  where  the  chief  ruler  lives  [Clayton], 
incurred  before  the  war  the  annual  expendi- 
ture of  $9,000.  Now  these  guardians  of  its 
interests  spend  $100,000  yearly — to  make 
loose  change.  In  the  little  county  of  Van 
Buren,  the  tax  exceeds  the  entire  surplus  of 
the  county,  still  the  schools  and  other  ,  in- 
stitutions, destroyed  by  the  war,  are  not  re- 
built. 

I  need  not  assure  this  intelligent  audience 
that  our  judicial  officers  are  mere  creatures  to 
carry  out  the  wishes  of  these  rings,  and  our 
grand  and  petit  juries  are  a  mere  semi-annual 
put  up  job  in  the  interest  of  these  robbers.  I 
here  solemnly  promise  that  if  I  am  elected 
Governor,  I  will  cause  an  investigation  of 
these  crimes.  And  I  do  not  doubt,  if  I  can 
find  grand  juries  to  present  indictments  and 
attorneys  to  prosecute  the  perpetrators,  I  will 
fill  the  penitentiary  so  full  of  them  that  their 
legs  and  arms  will  be  sticking  out  of  the 
doors  and  windows! 

A  great  deal  has  been  attempted  to  be 
made  out  of  a  report  that  I  said  in  the  Legis- 
lature,  November    23,    1868,  that    Arkansas 


132 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


should  be  Republican,  or  I  would  make  it  a 
waste  and  howling  wilderness.  I  did  say,  in 
that  speech,  that  I  would  see  the  laws  obeyed 
and  crimes  punished  or  make  it  a  wilder- 
ness, and  I  hold  that  purpose  still  and  will 
carry  it  out,  if  I  am  elected  Governor. 

His  Democratic  auditors  and 
dissatisfied  Republicans  of  his  own 
party  greeted  these  bursts  of  "  for- 
cible "  denunciation  against  the 
men  in  power  with  loud  cheers  of 
amusement  and  encouragement. 
Some  had  misgivings,  arising  from 
the  style  and  excessive  audacity 
of  the  orator,  who  had  so  lately 
come  out  of  the  camp  of  the  men 
he  stigmatized.  The  State  House 
officials  jeered  and  affected  to  be 
amused  by  "  the  old  blatherskite," 
but  they  felt  the  necessity  of 
having  him  answered.  He  had 
appointments  in  Conway,  Perry 
and  Yell  counties,  following  close 
upon  this  speech.  Crowds  would 
assemble  at  his  appointments  to 
hear  this  abuse,  and  it  would  be 
well  for  the  opposition  to  meet 
him  and  demand  some  authority 
fer  these  gross  invectives.  He  had 
an  appointment  to  speak  at  Lewis- 
burg,  on  the  river,  above  Little 
Rock,  on  the  25th  June,  after 
speaking  at  some  previous  appoint- 
ments in  Yell  and  Perry.  Powell 
Clayton  was  the  principal  object 
of  his  severest  phillipics.  Now 
that  Clayton  had  extricated  him- 
self without  injury  to  his  party 
standing,  from  the  difficulties  of 
the  Senate  investigation  and  crim- 
inal prosecutions,  he  was  especially 


desirous  of  having,  at  least,  one 
debate  with  the  outspoken  Brindle 
chief.  Having  returned  from 
Washington,  he  quietly  got  ready 
to  intercept  ]\Ir.  Brooks  at  Lewis- 
burg,  in  Conway  county. 

The  Senator,  it  is  evident,  had 
carefully  prepared  himself,  and 
was  disciplined  by  the  senatorial 
investigation  in  the  kind  of  war- 
fare to  be  waged  and  material  and 
argument  to  be  employed.  He 
accordingly  went  up  to  Lewis- 
burg,  and  took  with  him  James  M. 
Pomeroy,  an  expert  stenographer, 
who  had  been  employed  in  report- 
ing the  debates  of  the  Constituti- 
onal Convention.  The  Senator 
was  accompanied  also  by  Henry 
M.  Cooper,  "  Gen."  A.  W.  Bishop, 
"  Col."  Nat  Hill  and  E.  B.  Blanks. 
He  had  faithful  supporters  among 
the  Republicans  of  Conway 
county.  Several  supporters  of 
Mr.  Brooks,  hearing  of  the  intend- 
ed meeting  also  went  up,  viz:  R. 
F.  Catterson,  James  L.  Hodges, 
M.  L.  Rice,  Barney  McKenna, 
Thos.  Fletcher  and  Capt.  Cutter, 
(whites),  Jack  Agery  Jerome 
Lewis  and  D.  McWhorter  (col- 
ored). 

The  place  of  speaking  was  in  a 
little  grove  on  the  table-land  that 
rises  from  the  Arkansas  river  near 
Lewisburg.  The  old  town  be- 
trayed signs  of  the  ravages  of  war 
and  lawless  havoc.  There  was  the 
road  and  tumble-down  worm  fence, 
along  which  old  man  Hopper  was 
conducted  to  his  death,  mounted 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


133 


and  guarded  by  Clayton's  militia 
— his  legs  tied  with  ropes  under 
his  horse's  belly.  And  there  in 
the  crowd  were  some  of  his  mur- 
derers. The  old,  weather-beaten, 
two-story  jail  with  its  iron-barred 
windows,  frowned  upon  its  dismal 
site,  amid  the  red  gullies,  deepen- 
ing as  they  descended  to  the  Ark- 
ansas River,  The  muddy  waters 
of  the  river  at  Lewisburg  swept 
around  a  black,  slaty  point,  which 
marked-the  town  landing.  In  the 
distance  across  the  river  were  the 
level  cotton  fields,  stretching  miles 
away  to  a  long,  blue  ridge,  called 
the  Petit  Jean  Mountain.  It  rose 
out  of  the  river  like  the  bastion  of 
gigaiaic,ancient  fortification.  The 
audience  was  in  keeping  with  the 
scene,  motley  as  to  race  and 
clothing,  yet  possessing  a  certain 
picturesqueness  and  poetic  remem- 
brance, for  one  who  recognized  in 
many  of  the  scarred  faces  under 
the  slouch  hats,  men  that  defended 
Vicksburg  and  followed  Stonewall 
Jackson  from  the  Shenandoah  val- 
ley to  the  Chickahominy  and  to 
Manassas. 

Mr.  Brooks  made  the  first 
speech.  He  repeated  his  scathing 
denunciations  of  the  State  admin- 
istration, its  frauds  of  finance, 
ballot-stuffings,  official  corruption 
and  burdensome  taxation.  He 
announced  himself  pledged  to 
those  reforms  which  the  Liberal 
Republican  party  proposed  to  in- 
augurate, such  as  honest  registra- 
tion, without   disfranchising  any- 


body, and  reduction  of  taxation. 
His  motto  was  "  Honest  men  for 
office,  thieves  to  the  rear  !  " 

He  referred  to  his  services  in 
the  cause  of  the  negro  race,  and 
to  Mr.  Greeley  as  their  first  and 
greatest  champion.  He  was  not 
actuated  by  desire  for  office,  but 
to  maintain  right,  and  put  down 
ivrong.  His  disapproval  of  the 
iniquities  of  the  State  administra- 
tion antedated  his  removal  from 
the  office  he  held  as  revenue  col- 
lector. He  appealed  to  Clayton 
to  bear  witness  that  an  office  ten- 
dered him  by  that  gentleman,  he 
had  declined.  He  then  went  into 
personal  criticisms  of  the  regis- 
trars who  had  been  appointed  re- 
cently by  the  State  administration 
and  asked,  From  such  a  planting 
what  fruitage  was  to  be  expected 
in  the  coming  election?  The 
Democrats  cheered  him  lustily  — 
those  same  Ku-Kluxes  who  kept 
their  eyes  on  the  assassins  of 
Hopper. 

Clayton  kept  his  eyes  upon  the 
speaker,  listened  intently  to  him, 
but  took  no  notice  of  his  appeal. 
He  stepped  to  the  stand  at  the 
conclusion  of  Brooks'  speech ;  with 
studied  dignity,  he  began  by  dis- 
cussing the  attitude  and  "plat- 
forms "  of  existing  parties ;  then 
he  answered  the  charges  against 
the  State  administration  by  the 
familiar  Tu  Qtioqiie,  and  concluded 
with  a  severe  yet  humorous  de- 
rision of  Mr.  Brooks  and  his  pre- 
tences and  impotency  for  good  or 


134 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


evil.  Senator  Clayton  said,  accord- 
ing to  the  stenographic  report 
made  by  Mr.  Pomeroy : 

I  was  accustomed  to  labor  from  my  boy- 
hood in  the  eighty-two-acre  farm  of  my  father, 
who  raised  a  family  of  ten  children.  I  am 
here  to  defend  that  party  which  had  made 
labor  honorable  and  rendered  it  possible  for 
the  colored  man  to  enjoy  the  fruits  of  his 
honest  toil.  It  could  not  be  denied,  that  al- 
though there  were  several  parties  in  the  field, 
the  great  fact  to  be  recognized  was  the  exist- 
ence of  only  two  great  political  parties.  This 
is  proved  by  the  platforms  of  the  parties 
themselves.  There  is  the  Cincinnati-Balti- 
more platform  which  I  call  the  platform  of  the 
old  Democratic-  Conservative-Ku-Klux-Abo- 
litionist — anything  to  beat  Grant  party. 

Now  I  will  give  you  my  interpretation  of 
the  first  article  of  that  platform.  '  We,  the 
secessionists  of  the  South,  the  copperhead 
Democrats  of  the  North,  the  Ku-Kluxes  of  the 
South,  the  Tammany  thieves  of  New  York, 
bow  our  heads  and  meekly  subscribe  to  this 
article  which  recognizes  the  equality  of  all 
men  before  the  law,  and  the  duty  of  the  gov- 
ernment to  mete  out  equal  and  exact  justice  to 
all  of  whatever  race,  color  or  persuasion.'  Now 
I  hope  very  much  that  my  Ku-Kluxs  friends 
are  in  earnest  in  subscribing  to  this  article 
and  I  am  willing  for  one  to  accept  their  re- 
pentance, but  as  to  them,  I  believe  the  good, 
old  Methodist  doctrine  of  a  reasonable  pro- 
bation should  be  applicable.  This  reminds 
me  of  the  difference  between  Greeley  and 
Grant  and  Brother  Brooks  and  myself.  My 
father  never  voted  the  Democratic  ticket.  But 
I  thought  I  was  wiser  than  he,  and  when  I 
came  of  age  I  acted  with  the  Democracy  for  a 
time. 

A  voice  from  the  audience  asked 
him  :  "  How  about  that  secession 
cockade?" 


The  man  that  said  that  is  a  liar!  The 
man  who  says  I  ever  wore  a  secession  cock- 
ade, or  any  other  kind  of  a  cockade,  is  an  un- 
mitigated, infamous,  damnable  liar!  I  have 
heard  that  before  and  other  lies  about  my  be- 
ing a  'border  ruffian,'  and  sending  colored 
men  back  into  slavery  from  Kansas.  They 
are  all  infamous  lies. 

Now,  as  I  said,  before  these  men  can  be 
trusted  it  should  be  known  to  a  certanity 
that  their  professions  are  not  a  mere  subter- 
fuge. 

As  to  the  second  article  of  that  platform, 
which  pledges  to  accept  the  amendments  to 
the  Constitution  and  to  maintain  the  Union  — 
when  I  remember  how  gallantly  some  of  them 
have  struggled  to  break  up  the  Union,  and 
that  the  Democracy  of  the  North  had  helped 
them,  and  Ku-Klux  clans  that  rose  so  promptly 
to  resist  the  amendments,  I  should  ask  a  better 
guaranty  than  mere  windy  words  of  a  political 
campaign. 

The  third  article  demands  the  immediate 
removal  of  all  political  disabilities,  and  uni- 
versal amnesty.  On  this  question  I  and 
Brother  Brooks  quarreled  two  years  ago.  I 
had  maintained  publicly,  fearlessly  in  October, 
187c,  that  the  time  had  come  for  removing 
disabilities.  He  contended  that  the  time  had 
not  come  to  even  think  of  it !  I  have  heard 
that  he  denies  using  this  language. 

Mr.  Brooks — I  never  used  it. 

I  have  come  prepared  to  prove  that  you 
did.  Here  are  two  reports  of  your  speech  at 
Butlerville,  which  contain  it.  One  the  Re- 
publicaii's  report;  one  the  Gazette's,  which 
substantially  agrees  with  the  Republican.  And 
furthermore,  there,  sitting  before  me,  is  the 
reporter  who  reported  your  speech  [referring 
to  Mr.  Pomeroy].  There  is  the  record  against 
you,  and  as  Artemus  Ward  has  truly  said,  'A 
record  is  a  mighty  onconvenient  thing.'  lam 
possessed  of  another  record  and  will  read  it 
as  proof  that  Mr.  Brooks  has  favored  the  con- 
fiscation of  lands  of  the  Southern  people.     As 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


135 


I  had  recommended  it  in  my  message,  as  Gov- 
ernor, the  Legislature  adopted  the  proposed 
amendment  to  the  State  Constitution  provid- 
ing for  the  complete  removal  of  political  dis- 
abilities that  Brother  Brooks  had  helped  with 
great  zeal  to  incorporate  in  the  Constitution. 
Meanwhile  h^  had  gone  up  and  down  trying 
to  make  the  colored  people  believe,  that  by 
this  measure  your  speaker  was  '  selling  out  the 
party  to  the  Democracy,'  and  inaugurating  a 
plan  for  putting  them  back  into  slavery  I  But 
the  following  Legislature,  when  the  people 
had  ratified  the  amendment,  went  to  work  and 
made  the  amendment  a  part  of  the  Consti- 
tution, which  was  a  speeder  and  more  efficient 
method  than  resohiiing  it  in  '  platforms,'  or 
vaguely  postponing  its  adoption,  according  to 
the  idea  of  Mr.  Brooks,  '  until  all  the  colored 
children  should  be  educated  iti  the  Yankee 
9chooh' 

I  was  in  favor  of  imposing  disabilities  as  a 
temporary  measure,  because  it  was  necessary 
to  accomplish  the  reconstruction  of  the  State, 
and  the  ex-Confederates  refused  to  help  me  in 
doing  so.  I  have  always  advised  a  liberal 
course.  Brooks,  Price  and  Hodges  thought 
differently  and  placed  these  disabilities  in  the 
Constitution. 

[Here  the  speaker  read  his  message  favor- 
ing the  removal  of  disabilities  and  the  re- 
duction of  the  number  and  salaries  of  officers] _ 

The  fourth  article  of  the  platform  of  the 
Democracy  in  favor  of  local  self-government 
is  as  old  as  the  government  itself,  and  I  cor- 
dially endorse  all  that  this  article  contains. 

The  fifth  article,  I  regard  as  too  general 
in  its  first  sentence  to  admit  of  discussion. 
The  remainder  of  the  article  throws  light  upon 
the  political  policy  of  its  authors.  It  attempts 
to  evade  the  great  issue  which  has  been  for 
many  years  the  most  important  that  has  ever 
engaged  the  attention  of  the  American  people. 
'Protection  for  American  industry'  is  one  of 
the  most  important  questions  that  this  gener- 


ation has  been  called  upon  to  consider.  If 
such  a  policy  is  right,  why  do  they  not  plant 
themselves  squarely  upon  it?  If  wrong,  why 
not  stand  squarely  against  it  ?  The  fact  is, 
that  the  men  who  went  to  Cincinnati  were 
drawn  there  by  hatred  of  Grant,  to  whom  the 
people  owe  a  debt  of  greatest  gratitude. 
From  such  a  heterogenous  conglomeration 
what  would  you  expect  but  contradiction  ? 

The  eighth  article  is  good,  in  favor  of  a 
speedy  return  to  specie  payments.     I  favor  it 

The  ninth  article  is  first  rate,  declaring 
gratitude  to  the  soldiers  and  sailors  and  their 
right  to  be  rewarded.  It  would  please  me  to 
believe  that  the  ex-Confederates,  who  fought 
them  so  gallantly,  remembered  with  gratitttde 
the  men  who  thrashed  them  ! 

The  tenth  article,  opposing  further  grants 
of  lands  is  a  principle  which  I  have  supported 
by  fighting  every  such  thing  as  often  as  it 
came  up  since  I  have  been  in  Congress.  The 
Brindles,  on  the  contrary,  have  voted  for 
every  one  of  these  schemes  and  made  money 
by  the  operation.  Rice  could  not  deny  that 
he  took  money  for  them,  or  that  he  took  the 
money  of  Kentucky  orphans,  who  %vere  his 
clients,  and  decamped  tvith  it  —  kept  it  seven 
years,  and  only  paid  it  back  after  he  had  been 
exposed. 

The  eleventh  article  referred  to  our  foreign 
policy.  Grant's  foreign  policy  met  every  re- 
quirement of  that  article. 

The  twelfth  article,  all  true  Republicans 
can  endorse.  He  could  amend  it  to  read  a 
little  stronger. 

The  speaker  then  read  the  Whip- 
ple resolutions  of  the  Liberal  Re- 
publican State  Convention,  which 
he  called  the  "  Brindle-tail  plat- 
form." 

For  cool,  unmitigated,  scientific  lying,  he 
would  commend  it.  It  is  true,  that  not  'a 
large,'  but  a  small  number  of  persons  had 
been  indicted  in  the  Federal  courts.     All  the 


136 


The  Brooki  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


rest  was  false  as  hell !  It  was  not  true  that 
certain  men  had  been  removed  by  the  Presi- 
dent '  in  the  interest  of  criminals.'  It  was  a 
lie !  It  was  not  true  that  the  men  removed 
were  honest  and  efficient. 

They  were  as  scurvy  a  set  of  knaves  and 
theives,  as  ever  plunged  their  hands  into  the 
public  treasury,  and  eluded  the  walls  of  the 
penitentiary  ;  and  he  would  show  this  to  be 
so,  before  he  got  through!     It  was  not  true 
that  they  were  removed  because  'they  would 
vigorously  enforce  the  law,'  but  it  was  because 
they  would  not  enforce  the  law  against  their 
pals,  whilst,  on  the  other  hand,  they  could  not 
sleep  at  night  for  scheming  to  oppress  honest 
men.     It  is  not  true  that  the  attorney  appointed 
in   the  place  of  Whipple  allowed  these  men 
who  were  indicted  to  go  free.     Whipple  was 
invited  to  prosecute  the  case  and  did  prose- 
cute it.     He  was  retained  and  when  the  court 
met.  Judge  Dillon,  and  not  that  Whipper- 
snapper  tried  the  case.     And  what  was  the 
result?    That   able    and  pure  judge  decided 
that  there  was  no  offense!    Then  they  raised 
the  cry,  that  'Clayton  was  afraid  of  investiga- 
tion.'    What   did  he  do  on  hearing  that  cry  ? 
He  invited  his  brother  senators  to  investigate, 
and  men  who  would  have  bowed  to  the  crack 
of  no  party-whip,   heard    testimony  for  four 
months.     Brooks  testified,  Rice  testified,  and 
McLane  and  the  balance  of  the  Brindle  crew, 
thirty-eight  witnesses.      And  what   was   the 
result  of  that  investigation  by  honorable  men  ? 
They  declared  '  the  testimony  fails  to  impeach 
the  Senator's  official  conduct  or  character.' 
That  committee,  upon  sworn  testimony,  and 
not  newspaper  articles  paid  for  by  Cairo  and 
Fulton  railroad  money,  summed  up  by  saying 
that  'This  charge  is  totally  and  entirely  un- 
sustained^ 

Your  speaker  will  not  say  that  the  State 
government  is  perfect.  The  question  was  not 
what  kind  of  government  the  people  should 
have,    but  whether  they   should  have    any 


government  ?  When  we  came  to  reconstruct 
the  government,  the  old  citizens  would  not 
take  a  hand.  The  negroes  and  carpet-baggers 
did  the  best  they  could.  If  it  were  in  my 
power  I  would  wipe  the  past  all  out  !  If  the 
State  government  is  imperfect,  no  men  are 
more  to  blame  than  Joseph  Brooks,  B.  F. 
Rice  and  James  L.  Hodges.  They  ran  the 
Constitutional  Convention.  I  had  no  hand 
in  it. 

It  came  out  in  evidence  at  Washington, 
that  this  man  Brooks  and  others  were  direc- 
tors in  the  Little  Rock  and  Helena  railroad 
company.  In  course  of  time,  the  Red  River 
and  Ouachita  railroad  company  wanted  more 
bonds  of  State-aid  than  had  been  awarded  it. 
So  the  latter  company  bargained  with  Brooks 
and  another  member  of  the  Helena  company 
for  their  State-aid  of  $25,000  in  State  bonds. 
They  got  it  from  the  Helena  company  !  and  I 
have  a  copy  of  Joseph  Brooks'  relinquish- 
ment over  his  ozun  signature.  He  gave  up 
the  bonds  issued  to  his  company,  to  be  con- 
verted into  money  by  the  other  company. 
Mr.  Rodgers  came  before  the  committee  and 
testified  to  these  facts.  They  are  not  hear- 
say. 

Rice,  Hodges,  Benjamin  and  other  prom- 
inent Brindle-tails,  have  taken  out  $350,000  of 
the  life-blood  of  the  Little  Rock  and  Fort 
Smith  railroad,  and  that  is  why  your  citizens 
of  Lewisburg  cannot  step  on  the  cars  to-day 
and  go  to  Fort  Smith.  That  money  has  gone 
in  a  way  that  might  be  guessed  at  by  looking 
at  Hodges'  beautiful  house  at  Little  Rock, 
upon  what  the  old  citizens  called  '  Robber's 
Bluff.'  These  men  have  destroyed  the  credit 
of  the  State  in  the  city  of  New  York.  They 
got  control  of  the  Cairo  and  Fulton  railroad 
franchise,  not  by  purchase,  for  they  did  not 
buy  it ;  and  when  Marquand  and  his  associates 
were  ready  to  buy  it,  the  latter  in  order  to  get 
rid  of  Rice  and  Brooks,  had  to  buy  iket>t  off, 
by  giving  them  over  $500,000!  After  the 
bargain  was  made,  and  the  time  fixed  for  pay- 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


137 


ment,  they  all  tramped  off  to  St  .Louis  to  re- 
ceive it.  They  were  too  well  acquainted  with 
each  other  to  trust  any  one  of  their  number, 
even  Parson  Brooks  with  such  a  missiott.  They 
knew  Rice  had  stolen  the  money  of  the  Ken- 
tucky orphans,  and  was  given  to  gambling. 
No  one  thought  of  trusting  Hodges.  So  they 
all  went  together !  After  setting  aside  $40,000 
to  be  placed  in  Ben.  Rice's  hands  for  political 
purposes,  and  after  paying  the  two  Rice's  their 
attorney's  salaries,  at  the  rate  of  $10,000  a 
year,  they  divided  the  balance  among  them- 
selves !  Rice  acknowledged  under  oath  that 
he  got  $40,000 ;  Brooks  got  about  $23,000. 

Brother  Brooks  need  not  try  to  keep  me 
answering  questions,  during  my  speech,  I  am 
too  old  for  him  to  play  that  trick  upon  me. 
Brooks  and  Hodges  and  Rice  are  the  men 
guilty  of  robbery  and  peculation  in  this 
State,  and  I  have  come  here  to  charge  them  to 
their  faces  that  they  are  thieves  a)id  scoun- 
drels, reeking  with  corruption  !  They  have 
stolen  not  only  $500,000  from  the  Cairo  and 
Fulton  railroad  company,  but  nearly  every- 
thing else  in  the  State.  All  these  charges  can 
be  sustained  by  evidence.  They  are  not  made 
merely  in  this  State,  but  have  been  made  be- 
fore their  faces  in  Washington,  where  Rice 
had  only  stammered  they  '  were  untrue.' 

I  have  pledged  my  honor  and  reputation 
as  a  Senator,  that  they  were  true,  and  chal- 
lenged Rice,  as  a  Senator,  to  demand  an  in- 
vestigation, as  I  have  done.  But  Rice  is  too 
smart  for  that !  But  I  have  something  to  say 
of  the  Brindle  candidate  for  Lieut.  Governor, 
'January'  Smith.  It  was  in  evidence  in 
Washington,  and  the  witness  was  a  Brindle- 
tail,  that  old  man  Smith  was  paid  $200.00  for 
his  support  of  the  levee  bill. 

James  L.  Hodges  interrupted 
the  speaker  by  saying,  "  It  is  not 
so." 

I  repeat  that  '  General '  McLane  testified 
to  what  I  have  said.     He  also  testified  that,  he 


himself  received  $20,000  for  assisting  in  lob- 
bying the  levee  bill  through.  Of  course  this 
was  for  his  services  as  'attorney.'  Pretty  good 
pay  for  an  attorney  doing  lobbyist's  work,  es- 
pecially such  an  attorney  as  McLane.  Fulton, 
the  colored  Brindle  candidate  for  Secretary  of 
State,  swore  in  Washington  that  he  received 
money  from  a  man  named  Townsend,  or 
*  Keno  Townsend,'  as  the  Journal  used  to 
call  him.  He  refused  to  testify  what  sum  was 
paid  him,  or  for  what,  on  the  ground  that  it 
would  criminate  him  !  The  Rices,  Hodgesi 
Catterson,  Whipple,  Brooks,  Whytock  were 
all  in  this  Cairo  and  Fulton  railroad  ring. 
They  are  a  nice  set  of  fellows  to  talk  of 
'  honest  men  for  office,  and  thieves  to  the 
rear ! ' 

I  had  interests  in  this  State  before  the 
most  of  these  statesmett  came  here.  I  had,  as 
John  M.  Bradley  would  say,  '  harnessed  my- 
self to  the  soil,'  and  'taken  my  chances' 
with  the  people  of  the  State.  At  first,  I  lost 
money,  but  I  stuck  to  it,  until  it  has  paid  well. 
Taxation  for  general  purposes  is  no  higher 
now  than  five  years  ago,  one-half  of  one  per 
cent.  The  additional  taxation,  of  one-fifth  of 
one  per  cent  Brooks  and  his  Ho  if  or  d  Bond 
enterprise  has  caused  us  to  pay  as  interest  on 
the  funded  debt.  I  believe  that  some  of  his 
ring  secured  money  for  that  job.  Gen.  Karney, 
of  Kansas,  told  the  speaker  that  he  had  loaned 
Rice  $25,000  to  be  repaid  in  funded  bonds  of 
this  State.  The  General's  partner  said  he 
had  the  bonds  now,  paid  by  Rice  on  the  loan 
■ —  and  is  liable  to  keep  them  a  lo7ig  time  ! 

And  now  let  me  conclude,  by  telling  you 
a  little  story,  or  fable,  by  way  of  illustrating 
what  we  have  seen  and  may  expect  to  see. 
There  was  once  an  old  brindle  bull,  which  had 
been  driving  the  small  game  into  the  lion's 
mouth,  by  bellowing  up  and  down ;  and  in 
turn  the  lion  permitted  him  to  graze  a  little, 
unmolested.  But  we  shall  not  let  the  old 
brindle  play  his   little  game  any  longer.     In 


10 


138 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


November,  we  will  strip  his  hide  off,  and  hang 
it  up  for  a  warning.  Or  else,  Grant,  who  is  a 
good  tanner,  will  tan  it.  And  Wilson,  who 
is  a  shoe?naker,  will  make  it  into  shoes,  so  that 
the  poor  Brindle  Democracy  can  have  shoes 
to  wear  on  the  rugged  trip  they  are  destined 
to  take  up  Salt  River. 

The  "  Klu-Klux "  Democracy 
could  but  admire  the  pluck  exhib- 
ited by  Clayton,  and  cheered  him 
generously.  The  negroes  seemed 
perplexed  at  the  antagonism  ex- 
hibited between  these  recognized 
leaders,  and  remained  silent.  Mr. 
Brooks  looked,  if  anything,  more 
sardonic  and  sallow  during  its 
delivery.  The  State  militiamen 
shouted  wildly.  Hodges  smarted 
severely  under  the  terrible  personal 
castigation  inflicted  on  him.  He 
was  a  short,  thick  man,  with  mut- 
ton-chop whiskers,  red  face  and 
tip-tilted  nose  —  a  living  embodi- 
ment of  the  "butcher"  in  English 
toy-books.  He  was  lessee  of  the 
penitentiary,  and  went  heavily 
armed  with  revolvers  and  stout 
hickory  stick.  He  panted  in  im- 
potent rage,  and  with  flushed 
cheeks  whispered  to  Brooks,  who 
repressed  him.  Brooks  made  a 
short,  formal  reply.  He  attempted 
to  be  humorous  at  the  Senator's 
expense  and  to  admire  the  adroit- 
ness with  which  he  shifted  blame, 
but  secured  for  himself  the  chief 
honors  and  profits,  "  all  the  same." 
Hodges  wanted  to  speak,  and 
Clayton  stood  silent  as  if  he  wished 
he  would,  but  Brooks,  McKenna 
and   others  dissuaded  him.     The 


combatants  separated  and  the 
crowd  dispersed. 

August  21,  1872,  the  Republican 
(Minstrel)  State  Convention  met 
in  the  Hall  of  the  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives, at  Little  Rock.  A. 
J.  Warwick,  Chancery  Judge,  was 
chosen  temporary  chairman,  and 
appointed  the  customary  commit- 
tees, when  the  convention  took  a 
recess  until  evening.  At  the  even- 
ing session.  Judge  Warwick  was 
made  President ;  Vice-Presidents 
were  chosen  for  each  Congres- 
sional district.  Senator  Clayton 
moved  the  appointment  of  a  com- 
mittee on  resolutions,  which  was 
carried.  The  President  appointed 
Powell  Clayton  and  five  others  as 
the  committee. 

It  was  moved  and  agreed  to, 
that  the  convention  now  go  into 
nominations  for  State  officers  on 
the  Republican  ticket. 

Judge  E.  D.  Ham  nominated 
Elisha  Baxter,  of  Independence 
county  ;  J.  A.  Lockhart  nominated 
Gen.  A.  W.  Bishop,  of  Pulaski; 
J.  F.  Bottsford  nominated  ex-Sen- 
ator Alex.  McDonald,  of  Pulaski ; 
Chas.  W.  Tankersley  nominated 
O.  A.  Hadley,  the  acting  Govenor. 

The  movement  of  the  Liberal 
wing  of  the  Republican  party  and 
its  alliance  with  the  old-citizen 
Democracy  was  admonitory  that 
carpet-bag  strangers,  (as  were  all 
who  had  so  far  been  put  in  nomin- 
ation, except  Elisha  Baxter)  should 
play  a  less  conspicuous  part  in  this 
campaign. 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


139 


The  opposition  combination  was 
too  formidable  to  be  trifled  with. 
So  Senator  Clayton,  who  really- 
wielded  omnipotent  power  in  his 
faction,  stated  that  he  had  been 
authorized  to  withdraw  from  nomi- 
nation for  Governor  the  name  of 
O.  A.  Hadley.  Asa  Hodges,  of 
Crittenden,  a  confidant  of  Clayton, 
stated  that  he  was  authorized  to 
withdraw  the  name  of  Alex.  Mc- 
Donald. Gen.  Bishop  himself  de- 
clined the  nomination,  and  moved 
that,  "  Elisha  Baxter  be  nom- 
inated, by  acclamation  the  candi- 
date of  the  Republican  Convention 
for  Governor,"  which  was  carried, 
although  without  much  cheering 
or  enthusiasm.  Judge  Baxter  was 
escorted  to  the  platform,  and  said  : 

You  must  accept  the  tribute  of  a  grateful 
heart.  It  is  to  Governor  O.  A.  Hadley  that  I  am 
more  indebted  for  occupying  this  position  than 
to  any  other  man  in  the  sound  of  my  voice. 
Had  he  not  fully  and  finally  determined  to 
withdraw,  I  could  never  have  been  nominated. 

I  see  many  faces  before  me  that  a  few 
years  ago  would  not  have  been  allowed  to 
come  into  this  hall.  I  saw  a  bill  passed  in 
this  hall,  in  1858,  requiring  all  persons  of  color 
to  give  bond  for  their  maintenance  or  leave 
the  State.  I  combatted  that  infamous  propo- 
sition on  the  floor  of  this  house.  Men  have 
come  to  me  and  said,  you  are  an  old  citizen, 
if  you  are  elected,  can  we,  as  carpet-baggers, 
or  we  as  colored  citizens,  rely  on  your  favor- 
able consideration  ? 

A  friend  of  mine  referred  to-day  to  the 
time  when  I  was  in  prison  here  for  treason 
against  the  Confederate  States.  No  feeling 
on  that  account  is  entertained  by  me.  I  am 
to  forgive  as  I  expect  to  be  forgiven.  Through 


the  agency  of  friends,  some  white  and  some 
colored,  I  was  enabled  to  escape.  May  my 
arm  drop  from  its  socket  if  ever  I  prove  rec- 
reant to  the  colored  people  of  Arkansas.  The 
infamy  which  I  see  heaped  upon  one  who 
has  pursued  such  a  course,  would  alone  serve 
to  deter  me.  Joseph  Brooks  claims  to  be  the 
candidate  of  a  party  or  parties  who  have  put 
him  forward  to  betray  the  Republican  party, 
and  the  colored  people  of  the  State. 

I  have  some  knowledge  of  law,  as  through 
the  kindness  of  Governor  Clayton  I  have  held 
a  position  in  the  judiciary  of  the  State.  I 
know  something  of  the  solemnities  of  a  con- 
tract. Mr.  Brooks'  contract  with  his  parties 
has  been  signed  and  sealed,  but  not  deliv- 
ered (?)  If  the  Republican  party  lives,  it  will 
never  be  delivered.  The  cry  of  this  eminent 
man,  is:  'Honest  men  for  office.'  I  should 
not  wish  to  see  any  man  occupy  any  office, 
however  small,  unless  he  is  a  hundred  times 
more  honest  than  I  believe  the  Rev.  Joseph 
Brooks  to  be ! 

I  intend  to  do  my  part,  and  I  think  we 
have  inaugurated  a  policy  that  will  result  in  a 
victory  of  the  Republican  party  of  20,000 
majority,  and  which  will  bury  Joseph  Brooks 
so  deep  that  the  intense  indignation  of  the 
people  will  never  reach  him.  ^I  will  sup- 
port Grant  and  Wilson,  and  will  not  vacate 
the  executive  office,  until  the  expiration  of  my 
term  of  office.     I  thank  you  for  the  honor. 

As  crude  as  were  the  notions  of 
his  auditors  of  forensic  propriety 
and  elegance,  this  short  speech  of 
acceptance  did  not  seem  to  im- 
press them  very  favorably.  They 
seemed  to  realize  that  the  man 
was    silly   enough    to   be   honest. 

Volney  V.  Smith  was  nominated 
for  Lieut.  Governor;  Jas.  M.  John- 
ston for  Secretary  of  State ;  Henry 
Page      for     Treasurer;     Stephen 


I40 


The  Bfooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


Wheeler  for  Auditor;  T.  D.  W. 
Yonley  for  Attorney  General ;  M. 
L.  Stephenson  and  E.  J.  Searle 
for  Associate  Justices ;  J.  C.  Corbin 
(colored)  for  Superintendent  of 
Public  Instruction;  H,  B.  Robin- 
son for  Superintendent  of  the 
Penitentiary,  and  John  M.  Bradley 
for  Congressman  at  Large  ;  W,  W. 
Willshire  for  Congress,  Third  Dis- 
trict. The  nomination  of  electors 
for  President  and  Vice-President 
of  the  United  States  was  confided 
to  the  Executive  Committee, 
which  subsequently  appointed  D. 
S.  Griffin,  W,  W.  Granger  and 
Thos.  Barnes,  Electors  at  Large ; 
W,  H.  Howes,  First  District ; 
Arthur  Hemmingway,  Second  Dis- 
trict, and  L.  G.  Wheeler,  Third 
District. 

Powell  Clayton,  chairman  of 
the  committee  on  resolutions,  pre- 
sented the  platform  as  prepared 
by  the  committee,  which  was 
adopted  without  change.  The 
platform  was : 

I.  Adhesion  to  principles  of  the  Republican 
party.  2.  Equality  of  all  men  before  the  law. 
3.  Free  Schools  ;  Superintendents  to  be  abol- 
ished, and  question  of  education  remitted  to 
the  local  authorities.  4.  Strict  enforcement  of 
the  registration  law.  [Union  League].  5. 
Removal  of  political  disabilities  [subject  to 
registration].  6.  The  exclusive  right  of  the 
States  to  determine  the  qualification  of  voters. 
[They  were  then  the  'State'].  7.  Reduction 
of  taxes  and  opposition  to  repudiation.  8. 
Exemption  of  personal  property  to  the  value 
of  $300.  9.  Repeal  of  State  law  creating 
Superintendent  of  Immigration.  10.  To  give 
to   the  people   the  right  to  elect  all  officers. 


11.  To  prohibit  collectors  and  treasurers  from 
buying  scrip,  and  require  payments  in  kind. 

12.  To  reduce  salaries  and  fees.  13.  To  make 
penitentiary  self-sustaining.  14,  To  reduce 
amount  of  exemptions.  15.  To  require  j/rzV^ 
investigation  as  to  the  means  employed  for 
procuring  the  law  funding  the  Holford  Bonds. 
16.  Eulogizing  Gov.  O.  A.  Hadley. 

The  Executive  Committee  ap- 
pointed was :  Powell  Clayton,  O. 
A.  Hadley,  J.  N.  Sarber,  S.  W. 
Dorsey,  at  Large ;  E.  R.  Wiley,  J. 
T.  White,  First  District ;  James 
Torrans,  Francis  Sawyer,  Second 
District;  John  McClure,  E.  D. 
Ham,  Third  District. 

The  "  Pope  county  war "  was 
about  this  time  disturbing  Gover- 
nor Hadley's  administration.  Its 
details  would  cover  many  pages. 
Pope  county  is  divided  from  Yell 
county  on  the  south  by  the  Ark- 
ansas River.  It  extends  north- 
ward into  the  mountains.  At  the 
foot  of  these  lies  Dover,  a  pretty 
village  formerly,  and  the  county- 
seat.  Hickox,  the  County  Clerk, 
issued,  on  his  own  motion,  an 
''  order,"  or  warrant,  for  the  arrest 
of  young  Poynter,  whose  father 
had  long  kept  tavern  at  Dover. 
Brown,  a  deputy  Sheriff,  in  execut- 
ing it,  was  shot  and  killed,  old 
man  Hickerson  always  said,  by 
Poynter.  Hickox  caused  the  Sher- 
iff, Dodson,  to  arrest  young  N.  J. 
Hale  and  his  father,  Joe  Tucker, 
and  Perry  West  as  the  murderers. 
Dodson,  Williams  and  Cloninger, 
militia  officers,  with  the  pretence 
of  taking   their   prisoners    under 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


141 


guard  for  examination  before 
Judge  W.  N.  May,  at  Dardanelle, 
across  the  river,  murdered  young 
Hale  and  Tucker,  in  the  night, 
about  six  miles  from  Dover.  Old 
man  Hale  and  West  escaped  in 
the  darkness.  The  party  was 
armed  with  rifles  recently  sent  to 
Williams'  company,  by  the  Gov- 
ernor. The  Governor  hearing  of 
the  killing,  said  he  would  have  re- 
moved Dodson,  but  was  powerless 
under  a  recent  decision  of  the 
Supreme  Court.  He  went  in  per- 
son to  Pope  county.  On  the  13th 
July  he  issued  to  Williams  an  order 
to  disband  his  company.  He 
issued  a  second  order  to  the  same 
effect,  as  follows : 

Little  Rock,  July  26, 1872. 
Maj.    T.   M.    Gibson,    Commanding    State 
Guard,  etc.. 

Sir  :  It  has  been  reported  to  me  that  a 
portion  of  the  arms  sent  Capt.  Williams' 
company,  has  been  placed  in  the  hands  of 
men  charged  with  the  assassination  of  Hale 
and  Tucker.  If  true,  you  will  cause  the  arms 
to  be  taken  away,  or  AVilliarns'  entire  com- 
pany to  be  disarmed,  and  the  storing  of  the 
arms,  if  this  will  restore  quiet,  etc. 

O.  A.    HADLEY, 
Commander-in-Chief. 
Edward  Saxton,  Capt.  &  A.  A.  G. 

Gibson  (who  was  one  of  Catter- 
son's  raiders)  either  could  not  or 
would  not  restore  quiet.  Then, 
having  sent  Gen.  Bishop,  the  Gov- 
ernor sent  Upham,  with  authority 
to  call  out  the  militia  and  to 
take  general  command.  He  finally 
sent  Lieut.  Grove,  with  a  detach- 


ment dressed  in  regular  United 
States  uniforms.  He  wrote  to 
Maj.  Gibson,  at  that  date  : 

I  am  satisfied,  from  what  /  have  seen  my- 
self, that  Cloninger  has  acted  in  gross  violation 
of  law.  I  hope  no  |means  will  be  spared  to 
bring  him  to  justice. 

No  steps  were  taken  to  arrest 
Cloninger,  who  had  robbed  all,  in- 
discriminately. 

On  the  4th  September  Gov. 
Hadley  received  the  following 
letter  from  Dodson,  at  Little  Rock, 
to  which  place  he  had  gone,  after 
the  events  related  in  his  letter,  as 
follows  :     [written  for  him  there]. 

Dear  Sir:  On  ist  September,  1872,  in 
company  with  W.  H.  Hickox,  the  County 
Clerk,  and  my  deputy,  John  H.  Williams, 
I  started  out  of  the  town  of  Dover,  Pope 
county.  At  a  distance  of  about  one  hundred 
yards  from  the  court  square  we  passed  twenty 
or  thirty  men  armed  with  revolvers.  At  a  point 
further  on  we  were  fired  upon  from  a  house 
occupied  by  one  Meecham  as  a  wood-shop, 
and  Capt.  W.  H.  Hickox  was  shot  through  his 
head  and  killed.  From  the  point  where 
Hickox  was  killed,  for  a  distance  of  a  quarter 
of  a  mile,  deputy  Sheriff  Williams  and  myself 
were  fired  upon  by  persons  secreted  in  houses, 
fence-corners  and  alleys,  and  in  our  rear  by 
the  persons  of  whom  mention  has  already 
been  made.  [Here  he  gives  an  account  of 
Gen.  Bishop's  visit  —  of  no  consequence]. 
Much  excitement  prevails  throughout  the 
county,  and  nearly  all  the  male  inhabitants 
thereof  are  under  arms  and  refuse  to  recognize 
the  forms  of  law  [as  observed  by  Dodson]. 

The  Governor  replied  to  his  let- 
ter the  same  day,  stating  that  Maj. 
Gen.  Upham  had  been  instructed 
to  assist  Jiini  in  the   enforcement 


142 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


of  the  civil  and  criminal  law,  and 
directing  him  to  place  himself  in 
communication  with  Upham.  Both 
letters  were  for  publication,  and 
appeared  the  next  day  in  the  Re- 
pjiblican. 

There  appeared  also  in  the  Re- 
publican, the  military  order  of 
Sept.  6th,  entitled,  "  Special  ord- 
ers. No.  128,"  in  four  paragraphs, 
assigning  Maj.-Gen.  Upham  to  the 
command  of  all  the  State  Guards 
and  enrolled  militia,  arid  ordering 
him  to  proceed  to  Pope  county. 
Signed  by  O.  A.  Hadley,  as  Com- 
mander-in-Chief, and  by  Edward 
Saxton,  Capt.  and  A.  A.  General. 
Dodson  returned  to  the  county 
v/ith  Upham  and  resumed  com- 
mand of  his  old  gang  of  maraud- 
ers, but  was  ordered  by  Upham 
not  to  enter  Dover.  Sept.  loth, 
Capt.  Williams  was  killed  while 
collecting  militia  for  Dodson. 

Upham,  himself,  did  not  seem 
to  approve  Dodson's  methods. 
The  mountain  militia  "appeared 
to  hesitate."  This  was  no  bed- 
quilt  raid  that  invited  them.  About 
the  loth  of  Nov.  as  Dodson  was 
boarding  the  train  to  leave  the 
county,  at  the  terminus  of  the  Fort 
Smith  and  Little  Rock  railroad, 
he  was  shot  to  death  by  a  party  of 
citizens  in  pursuit  of  him.  Tliey 
"removed  "  him,  if  the  Governor 
could  not.  They  meted  out  to 
him  the  doom  he  had  visited  upon 
many  others  —  a  leaden  summons 
and  summary  execution  by  the 
roadside.     Cloningcr  fled  to  Hot 


Springs.  There  he  was  torn  limb 
from  limb  in  the  machinery  of  a 
saw-mill  he  had  bought  and  was 
operating.  "  They  say,  blood  will 
have  bloody  said  Macbeth.  These 
disturbances  for  a  time  helped  the 
canvass  of  Mr.  Brooks,  so  lately  a 
militia  champion.  But  in  the  end 
they  taught  the  people  to  doubt 
both  sides,  and  rely  upon  them- 
selves. Credit  was  given  Governor 
Hadley  for  his  attempts  at  pacifi- 
cation. 

Brooks  and  Clayton,  not  far  from 
these  scenes,  were  engaging  in 
heated  discussions,  and  spoke  to- 
gether at  Van  Buren,  on  the  river 
above,  the  3  ist  of  August.  Brooks 
was  accompanied  by  Hynes,  the 
"  Reform  "  candidate  for  Congress 
at  large.  Since  the  last  Legisla- 
ture, an  additional  Representative 
in  Congress  was  allowed  the  State 
for  whom  no  district  had  been 
laid  off. 

Mr.  Hynes  was  about  30  years 
old.  He  had  some  connection 
with  the  press  at  the  Federal  Capi- 
tol, whence  he  was  sent  to  Ark- 
ansas, by  B.  F.  Rice,  to  become  a 
candidate  on  the  Brindle  ticket. 
He  was  an  Irishman,  and,  like  most 
of  his  countrymen,  was  a  fluent 
talker.  He  had  not  been  long  in 
the  United  States.  He  wore  side- 
whiskers,  with  a  retreating  chin. 
In  winter  he  had  appeared  in  drab 
overcoat  and  gaiters,  a  Mark  Med- 
dle, or  Oily  Gammon,  as  depicted. 
In  summer,  he  dressed  in  short 
seersucker  coat,  white  necktie  and 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


143 


high  silk  hat.  It  was  one  of  the 
reverses  of  the  time  that  this  callow 
foreigner,  who  did  not  have  a 
hundred  acquaintances  in  the 
State,  was  put  forward  to  occupy 
the  seat  once  filled  by  Yell  and 
Sevier,  Johnson  and  Hindman,  who 
were  qualified  by  long  training  and 
exceptional  ability.  This  was 
enough  to  show  the  contumacious 
disregard  in  which  the  people  and 
their  interests  were  held  by  these 
adventurers  of  both  factions.  He 
was  a  Catholic  also.  His  constit- 
uency (?)  were  protestants  and  ne- 
groes. 

There  was  a  large  crowd  to 
meet  the  speakers  at  Van  Buren. 
Mr.  Brooks  opened  the  discussion 
with  his  familiar  denunciations  of 
the  State  House  ring  and  determin- 
ation to  fill  the  penitentiary  with 
them.  Clayton  demanded  of  him 
whether  he  intended  his  remarks 
to  apply  to  him  personally.  The 
speaker  replied  that  he  did  not, 
unless  the  Senator  believed  they 
had  a  personal  application.  When 
Brooks  had  concluded,  Clayton 
rtplied,  laying  at  Brooks'  door 
most  of  the  troubles  that  beset 
his  administration  (!)  and  charged 
Brooks  with  being  the  father  of 
the  law  for  funding  the  Holford 
Bonds.  He  repeated  the  history 
of  the  Cairo  and  Fulton  railroad 
steal  by  Brooks,  Rice,  Hodges 
and  Whipple,  and  denounced  the 
Brindle  leaders  in  pretty  much  the 
same  language  employed  by  him 
at  Lewisburg,  and  concluded  with 


his  parable    of  the  "  Old  Brindle 
Bull." 

Hynes  followed  and  made  a  ter- 
rible expose  of  the  misdeeds  of 
Clayton  and  his  military  and  civil 
*'  myrmidons."  He  produced  re- 
cords and  gave  data  against  them 
with  telling  effect  and  an  audacity 
that  contrasted  with  the  somewhat 
guarded  criticisms  of  Mr.  Brooks. 
He  had  no  crevices  in  his  armor, 
since  he  had  just  put  it  on,  and 
was  bold  in  the  knowledge  that 
Clayton  could  make  no  counter- 
charges against  him.  He  would 
have  come  off  with  trophies,  if  he 
had  not  ventured  one  stroke  too 
many.  Clayton  listened  to  him 
calmly,  from  his  seat  in  an  open 
carriage  until  Hynes  repeated  the 
story  of  the  secession  cockade. 
The  Senator  immediately  sprang 
from  the  carriage  and  rushed  to- 
wards the  stand  upon  which  Hynes 
was  speaking.  Seeing  Clayton 
coming  at  him,  Hynes  jumped 
from  the  platform  and  ran  off  to  a 
place  of  shelter,  where  he  remained 
in  safety  until  Brooks  encouraged 
him  to  return,  and  led  him  back, 
panting  and  bareheaded,  to  the 
stand  again.  He  continued  his 
speech,  but  spared  any  further 
allusion  to  the  obnoxious  cock- 
ade. His  opponent  could  listen 
quietly  to  charges  of  official  cruelty 
and  corruption.  At  the  mention 
of  the  "  secession  cockade  "  he 
gave  way  to  ungovernable  rage. 
Why?  Because  the  former  com- 
mended him  for  positions  of  power 


144 


TJie  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


and  pelf.  The  wearing  of  the 
badge,  which  was  really  a  decor- 
ation of  everlasting  honor  to  its 
wearer,  would  have  disqualified 
him ! 

When  Hynes  concluded,  the 
Senator  denied  the  story  with 
characteristic  vehemence  ;  gave  a 
history  of  the  advent  of  Hynes, 
and  described  him  as  a  tool  and 
"henchman  of  as  scurvy  a  set  of 
knaves  as  had 'ever  eluded  the 
States'  prison."  He  said  that 
Brooks  knew  this  story  and  similar 
charges  to  belies,  and  yet  instigat- 
ed this  fellow  to  repeat  them. 

The  crowd  enjoyed  the  scene 
immensely  —  admired  Clayton's 
dash,  but  endeavored  to  encourage 
Hynes  to  badger  him  again. 
Hynes  was  indisposed  to  retort. 
He  wiped  his  silk  hat  with  his 
handkerchief,  adjusted  his  white 
necktie,  and  seized  the  first  oppor- 
tunity to  retire.  The  trio  spoke 
together  again  at  Fort  Smith,  and 
then  at  Greenwood,  in  the  hills 
southward.  Crossing  the  river  to 
Oliver  Springs,  they  spoke  again 
together.  Here  Mr.  Brooks  ad- 
mitted that  he  was  paid  ;^23,ooo, 
and  received  sundry  shares  of 
stock  for  his  interest  in  the  con- 
trol of  the  Cairo  and  Fulton  rail- 
road franchise,  but  refused  to  say 
how  much  stock  of  the  company 
he  received.  And  here  Hynes 
again  alluded  to  the  "  secession 
cockade,"  when  Clayton  denouced 
him  as  a  liar  and  damnable  scoun- 
drel.    Hynes  again  left  the  stand 


and  sought  protection  in  the  audi- 
ence. Gen.  Hugh  F.  Thomasson, 
of  Van  Buren,  was  present  and  en- 
couraged Hynes  to  take  the  stand 
again,  but  counseled  him  to  cease 
personalities.  Judge  Searle,  of  the 
Supreme  Court,  who  was  known 
by  the  sobriquet  of  "  Highland 
Piper  of  Hamelin,"  spoke  after 
Hynes,  and  reviewed  Brooks'  polit- 
ical record.  Before  he  concluded, 
Judge  Baxter,  Republican  candi- 
date for  Governor,  arrived.  He 
made  a  speech  characteristic  of 
an  old  citizen,  dignified,  and  avoid- 
ing personalities,  but  charging 
Brooks  with  betraying  the  poor 
black  people,  who  trusted  him. 

Thenceforward,  Brooks,  Hynes, 
and  Baxter  and  Clayton  conducted 
the  campaign  against  each  other. 
At  Fayetteville,  Sept.  5th,  Clayton 
spoke.  Brooks  shed  tears  at  this 
place,  in  narrating  a  case  of  black- 
mailing, as  he  termed  it,  under 
pretext  of  enforcing  the  United 
States  revenue  laws  by  the  Min- 
strels. He  told  how  an  old  Ger- 
man, at  Little  Rock,  was  robbed 
by  them  of  a  considerable  amount 
of  money.  Clayton  replied  and 
charged  Brooks  with  aspersing 
the  character  of  Southern  ladies. 
Brooks  jumped  up  and  declared 
the  charge  was  false.  Clayton  re- 
plied that  he  had  a  letter  in  his 
pocket  from  a  well-known  citizen, 
stating  that  he  heard  Brooks  say, 
"  There  is  not  a  virtuous  woman 
in  the  South."  Mr.  Brooks  did 
not   call   for   the   reading   of  the 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


145 


letter.  The  subject  was  one  unfit 
to  be  discussed  by  either  on  such 
an  occasion.  The  assertion  was 
preposterous  on  its  face.  lacha- 
Dwes,  before,  have  impeached 
the  chastity  of  women  they  never 
saw,  who  were  Imogens  of  purity. 

Baxter  and  Brooks  continued 
the  debate  through  Eastern  Ark- 
ansas, until  the  eve  of  election. 
It  is  due  to  this  history  to  record 
that  the  Republican  candidate  for 
gubernational  honors  took  no  part 
in  these  turbulent  scenes  —  was 
never  indecorous  in  word  or  act, 
as  became  his  antecedents.  Col. 
Thomas  Newcombe  was  not  more 
dignified  and  courteous  when  he 
stood  for  the  suffrages  of  his 
countrymen. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  the 
Brindle  State  Convention,  of  May 
22d,  invited  "  all  the  friends  of 
free  government,  law,  order  and 
justice  to  co-operate  in  the  fear- 
ful, but  determined  fight  which  a 
wronged  and  robbed  people  were 
waging  ill  response  to  Greeley's 
rallying  cry,  'Honest  men  for 
office :  Thieves  to  the  rear !' "  The 
Democratic  convention  of  June 
19th,  responded  by  resolving  that, 
"  There  must  be  unity  of  action  as 
well  as  feeling  on  the  part  of  all 
good  citizens,"  and  indorsed  "the 
platform  of  principles  (?)  adopted 
by  the  Reform  Republican  Con- 
vention of  May  22d,"  which  was  in 
no  sense  a  platform  of  principles, 
but  only  a  string  of  invectives 
against  Powell  Clayton.    It  author- 


ized the  Democratic  Executive 
Committee  to  act  with  the  com- 
mittees of  all  Reform  Republican 
organizations  opposed  to  the  pres- 
ent administration,  in  the  conduct 
of  the  ensuing  campaign. 

This  hope  of  "  unity  of  action  " 
proved  impracticable.  At  Xkio.  first 
conference  of  the  Pulaski  commit- 
tees, Democratic -Conservatives, 
and  "Reform"  Republicans,  the 
Reform  Republicans,  Senator  Rice 
being  their  spokesman,  put  the 
Democrats  decidly  "  to  the  rear," 
with  "the  thieves."  The  result 
was  the  Democrats  seceded  and 
threatened  to  nominate  their  own 
party  tickets  !  The  estrangement 
grew  until  it  resulted  in  a  meeting 
of  Democrats  in  convention,  to 
put  out  a  ticket  of  their  own,  and 
accordingly,  on  the  1st  of  October, 
1872,  the  Democratic  members  of 
the  Executive  Committee,  uniting 
with  a  committee,  calling  itself  a 
pure  "  Liberal  Republican"  com- 
mittee, put  in  nomination  a  purely 
Democratic  ticket,  with  Rev.  An- 
drew Hunter,  at  its  head,  who  was 
far  from  seeking  such  an  office. 
It  was  understood  that  Mr.  Hunter 
had  declared  his  acceptance  of 
this  nomination;  but  such  a  storm 
of  protest  assailed  him,  from  those 
who  considered  themselves  pledg- 
ed to  Mr.  Brooks,  that  Mr.  Hunter 
precipitately  signified  his  unwill- 
ingness to  continue  on  the  ticket. 
So  the  "  new  ticket "  was  with- 
drawn. October  loth,  in  an  ad- 
dress, specifying  the  causes  of  the 


146 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


movement,  and  withdrawal  of  the 
ticket,  signed  by  B.  F.  Dan- 
ley,  B.  D.  Turner,  John  M. 
Moore,  R.  H.  Johnson,  Solomon 
F.  Clark,  E.  H.  English,  J.  N. 
Smithee,  Geo.  A.  Gallagher,  E. 
Thuemmler,  "  Democratic  mem- 
bers Executive  Committee."  They 
were  men  of  the  highest  standing 
and  approved  integrity,  besides 
being  men  of  ability  and  political 
experience. 

The  address  stated,  among  the 
causes  that  inspired  the  nomin- 
ation of  the  Hunter  ticket,  the 
following  : 

At  the  same  time  that  the  new  ticket, 
with  Mr.  Hunter  at  its  head,  was  nominated 
by  the  Liberal  Republican  Committee  [not 
the  Reform  Republican  Committee  led  by 
Rice],  the  acting  Governor  of  the  State  agreed 
in  a  public  correspondeiice,  for  reasons  which 
we  are  led  to  conjecture  only,  without  exacting 
or  receiving  any  promise  or  pledge  from  the 
undersigned  or  their  friends,  io  require  a  fair 
registration  and  Just  cou7tt  in  the  cotning 
election,  and  issued  instructions  to  his  regis- 
trars in  accordance  with  such  agreement. 

It  is  not  denied  by  any  one  that,  with  such 
a  registration  from  whatever  motive  guaran- 
teed, which  was  the  most  we  hoped  to  obtain 
by  co-operation  with  Mr.  Brooks,  the  Demo- 
cratic-Conservative party  can  easily  elect  can- 
didates from  its  07un  party,  being  largely  in 
the  majority  in  this  State.  Neither  is  it  to  be 
claimed  with  truth,  that  co-operation  with 
Mr.  Brooks  will  bring  to  us  any  considerable 
accession  of  votes.  But,  we  assert  on  the  con- 
trary, that  such  co-operation  is  sure  to  drive 
from  the  opposition  to  radical  misrule,  a  large 
number  of  our  fellow-citizens.  By  these  con- 
siderations, we  were  actuated  in  advocating 
the  nomination  of  the  ticket. 


The  canvass  had  been  hurtful 
to  Brooks  and  his  Republican  con- 
freres with  such  men  in  the  State. 
He  had  organized  a  formidable 
support,  it  is  true,  from  the  large 
body  of  old  citizens  who  stickled 
for  the  name  "  conservative," 
through  traditional  hostility  to 
"  democracy."  This  class  of  citi- 
zens adhered  to  Brooks  with  a 
disinterested  tenacity  truly  won- 
derful. They  said,  we  have  formed 
this  association ;  it  has  been 
rather  unpalatable  to  us,  but, 

"  Returning  were  as  tedious  as  to  go  o'er." 
They  not  only  denounced  the 
Hunter  movement  as  ill-timed,  and 
a  hideous  mistake,  but  some  of 
them  impunged  the  motives  of 
the  Democrats  who  countenanced 
it.  They  charged  that  it  was  a 
betrayal  of  the  "  Reform  "  party, 
in  aid  of  the  Minstrels,  in  order 
that  these  Democratic  leaders 
might  receive  a  share  or  the  ivhole 
of  ;^  10,000  said  to  have  been  sent 
by  Grant  to  aid  the  Clayton  Repub- 
licans !  and  "  for  gold,  they  had 
been  bribed  by  Clayton  and  Had- 
ley  to  put  up  the  Hunter  ticket, 
really  in  the  interest  of  the  regular 
Republican  ticket."  In  the  ad- 
dress, withdrawing  the  Hunter 
ticket,  the  above  named  patriotic 
and  "  honorable  men,"  thus  ac- 
cused, replied  to  these  charges,  as 
follows : 

The  men  who  embarked  in  the  movement 
looking  to  the  election  of  the  ne^v  tickets 
could  never  be  actuated  by  such  consider- 
ations.    The   exigency   of  this   moment   pre- 


of  the  Recoiistruction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


147 


sented  a  '■'■golden  opportunity,"  which,  by 
means  of  such  groundless  slanders  has  been 
lost ;  a  tide  in  the  affairs  of  the  party  which 
would  have  led  to  a  brilliant  and  unequivocal 
success,  and  given  freedom  and  peace  to  our 
people,  has  been  neglected.  By  these  means 
our  candidates  were  driven  to  withdraw,  and 
the  movement  caused  to  be  abandoned  at  the 
very  threshold  of  a  rescued  State. 

There  may  have  been  in  the 
"  Hunter  movement,"  all  its  origin- 
ators claimed  for  it.  James  M. 
Pomeroy  and  E.  Thuemmler,  of 
the  [regular]  Liberal  Republican 
committee,  after  full  conference 
with  the  acting  Governor,  Hadley, 
in  which  they  at  least  were  confi- 
dent and  sincere,  communicated 
his  purpose  to  give  the  committee, 
which  should  place  a  Democrat 
in  nomination,  the  appointment  of 
all  registrars  and  election  judges 
in  the  coming  State  and  Presiden- 
tial election  !  This  proposition 
would  have  been  deemed  prepos- 
terous, without  ample  "assur- 
ances." 

The  Governor  had  it  in  his 
power  to  keep  his  word.  The 
Republican  detestation  of  Brooks 
was  unutterable.  They  were  de- 
termined that  he  should  never  be 
Governor.  His  threat  to  fill  the 
penitentiaries  with  them,  which 
was  amusing  to  Democrats,  may 
have  had  a  real  dread  for  some  of 
them.  The  Brooks  movement 
looked  so  formidable,  that  Clayton 
himself  may  have  meditated  an 
honorable  surrender  to  the  old 
party  of  which  he  had  once  been 


a  zealous  follower.  He  would  have 
preferred  Hadley  as  a  colleague  to 
Rice.  This  was  the  only  means 
of  having  him  such  without  com- 
mitting a  great  election  crime  that 
might  be  followed  by  revolution 
or  what  not ! 

Or  it  may  have  been  that  acting 
Governor  Hadley  conceived  that 
he  was  in  the  line  of  succession 
and  indulged  a  natural  aspiration 
to  go  from  the  gubernatorial  chair 
to  a  seat  in  the  Senate.  He  may 
have  been  truly  willing  to  give  the 
lawful  voters  of  the  Scate  their 
Legislature,  if  the  Legislature 
would  elect  him  Senator.  Perhaps 
Baxter,  the  candidate  for  Gov- 
ernor, in  his  speech  accepting  the 
nomination,  did  not  express  the 
entire  thought  in  his  mind  when 
he  declared  that  he  "owed  more 
to  Hadley  for  tae  position  he  then 
occupied,  than  to  any  other  man 
in  the  house."  The  great  French 
diplomat  said  that  words  are  not 
intended  to  express  the  thought. 
But  Baxter's  words  indicated  very 
clearly  that  to  Hadley's  self-denial, 
or  forced  repression,  he  owed  the 
nomination.  He  wished  to  an- 
nounce his  recognition  of  the  fact. 
It  did  not  prevent  Hadley  from 
turning  his  eyes  to  a  seat  in  the 
United  States  Senate,  which  was 
then  exercising  unlimited  control 
—  a  great  imperial  parliament, 
omnipotent  —  a  constitution  to  it- 
self. The  sceptical  said  he  was 
only  double-dealing  for  the  benefit 
of  Baxter   and  his  faction.     This 


148 


77/,?  Brooks  a?id  Baxter   War:  a  History 


kind  of  treachery  was  character- 
istic of  his  confreres  (a  very  cheap 
quality,  possessed  largely  by  in- 
ferior races  of  men),  but  Hadley's 
general  course  did  not  indicate  it, 
and  the  ends  to  be  accomplished 
did  not  call  for  it. 

The  Brooks  people  seemed  mad- 
dened by  the  Bourbon  defection, 
as  they  called  it,  and  prosecuted 
the  canvass  without  any  qualms. 

Under  the  pretended  "  election  " 
laws,  framed  to  meet  the  recon- 
struction acts,  the  result  of  the 
ballot  was  easily  determined  "  by 
the  will  of  the  commander,''  If 
Pomeroy  and  Thuemmler  had  been 
duped,  their  illusion  sprang  from 
the  only  reasonable  hope  —  which 
was  to  get  the  appointment  and 
control  of  election  officers.  Martial 
law  had  been  only  nominally  re- 
voked. As  a  minion  of  martial 
law,  which  he  had  gloried  in  caus- 
ing, Brooks  was  but  thistle-down 
before  the  breath  of  the  "  district 
commander,"  Mr.  Greeley,  in  a 
government  truly  free,  had  been  a 
recognized  "  power,"  but  now  that 
he  defied  the  victorious  armies 
which  he  had  not  called  in  being, 
he  became  an  object  of  contempt 
to  his  old  associates  and  mistrust 
to  his  nezu  ones. 

The  day  appointed  for  the  elec- 
tion came  round.  The  mockery 
of  a  registration  had  been  faintly 
observed,  and  was  followed  by  the 
performance  which  men  called 
"an  election."  What  it  really 
was,  is  described  in  the  depositions 


of  a  large  number  of  witnesses, 
read  before  the  committee  of  Con- 
gress, of  which  Hon.  Luke  E. 
Poland,  of  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives was  chairman,  sent  to 
inquire  into  the  condition  of 
affairs  in  the  State  of  Arkansas. 
In  the  report  of  that  committee : 
43d  Congress,  2d  Session,  Report 
2d,  page  97,  is  the  deposition  of 
William  F.  Grove,  an  ex-Union 
soldier  and  Lieutenant  of  State 
Guards,  ordered  to  Pope  county, 
by  Governor  Hadley.  He  testi- 
fied, among  other  experiences,  to 
the  following : 

I  first  went  to  Pope  county,  on  the  6th  of 
September,  1872.  I  went  there  as  First  Lieut, 
of  State  Guards.  The  Guards  had  been 
ordered  to  Pope  county  by  the  Governor.  I 
was  in  charge  of  the  company.  I  was  com- 
missioned as  such  by  Governor  Hadley.  When 
we  arrived  at  the  end  of  the  raihoad  (Perry 
Station)  we  found  about  two  hundred  and  fifty 
militia.  Captain  Stuart,  Circuit  Superintendent 
of  Schools,  seemed  to  be  in  charge  of  the 
militia.  The  greater  portion  of  said  militia 
looked  to  be  pretty  hard  cases.  Next  morn- 
ing we  went  into  Russellville.  The  citizens, 
what  were  left  of  them,  seemed  very  glad  to 
see  us,  as  they  thought  my  detachment  to  be 
'  regular  soldiers.'  They  said  that  if  we  were 
regular  soldiers  we  would  take  no  part  on 
either  side,  but  would  preserve  peace.  My 
detachment  was  uniformed  in  regular  United 
States  uniform.  We  kept  up  the  impression 
for  three  or  four  weeks  that  we  were  regular 
soldiers.  On  Sunday  evening  I  was  ordered 
by  Gen.  Upham,  to  take  three  men,  together 
with  Mr.  J.  B.  Erwin,  of  Russellville,  and  go 
to  Dover,  the  county-seat  (eleven  miles  north, 
at  the  foot  of  the  mountains).  On  arriving 
in   sight  of  Dover,   I  saw   quite  a  number  of 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


149 


armed  men  drawn  np  in  the  street,  embat- 
tled farmers,  and  on  arriving  in  town  found 
there  betweeq  seventy  and  eighty  men.  I 
asked  them  why  they  were  armed  ?  They 
told  me  that  Dodson  (sheriff  of  the  county, 
by  appointment  of  the  Governor)  had  threat- 
ened to  kill  some  of  them,  and  burn  the 
town.  I  asked  them  if  they  had  any  idea  that 
he  would  kill  any  of  them,  or  burn  their  town 
down  ?  They  said  they  did ;  that  he  had  al- 
ready partially  carried  out  one  threat  by  kill- 
ing Hale  and  Tucker.  I  stayed  with  them 
until  about  ten  o'clock  at  night.  Their  state- 
ments were,  that  so  long  as  Dodson  and  his 
men  were  in  arms,  they  purposed  to  do  the 
same,  for  the  reason  that  they  had  applied  to 
the  Governor  for  protection  and  he  had  re- 
fused it;  and  the  only  hope  they  had  of 
saving  their  lives  and  property  was  by  de- 
fending it  themselves.  If  Gen.  Upham  would 
disband  Dodson's  militia,  they  were  ready  and 
willing  to  lay  down  their  arms.  All  they 
wanted  was  peace  in  the  county  ;  and  if  any 
of  them  were  charged  with  any  crime,  they 
were  willing  to  surrender  themselves  to  Gen. 
Upham  or  myself.  I  then  returned  to  Russell- 
ville  and  reported  to  Gen.  Upham.  On  the 
next  Sunday  my  detachment  was  moved  up 
to  Dover,  also  Dodson,  with  his  militia  [un- 
der cover  of  the  supposed  regulars]  up  to 
within  five  miles  of  Dover,  where  they  re- 
mained about  two  weeks.  Then  they  were 
also  moved  into  Dover.  His  force  was  about 
two  hundred  and  fifty  men.  The  people  all 
along  had  expressed  fears  that  if  Dodson 
came  into  the  town  of  Dover  he  would  burn 
the  town.  There  was  more  trouble  in  the  town 
on  account  of  this  militia  than  there  had 
been  before.  They  broke  into  several  stores 
and  smokehouses,  robbed  beehives,  henroosts, 
etc.  They  were  camped  in  the  town  about 
one  month.  Before  they  were  disbanded  reg- 
istration was  concluded.  He  claimed  to  be 
there  to  protect  the  registrar.  The  registrar's 
name  was  John  Martin.     I  offered  to   protect 


him;  in  fact  he  needed  no  protection.  Gen. 
Upham  also  offered  to  protect  him. 

Dodson  and  Frank  Hickox  [the  clerk  by 
gubernatorial  appointment]  were  present  with 
the  registrar  during  the  whole  of  the  registra- 
tion. I  should  have  stated  that  during  the 
registration  at  Russellville  [near  the  Arkansas 
river]  when  the  registration  commenced 
[there]  one  company  of  Dodson's  militia  went 
down  there  for  the  purpose  of  protecting  the 
registrar.  I  was  present  in  Russellville  dur- 
ing the  latter  part  of  the  first  day's  registra- 
tion, and  the  citizens  expressed  a  good  deal  of 
dissatisfaction  at  the  way  it  was  being  con- 
ducted. A  good  many  of  them  who  had  al- 
ways before  (since  reconstruction)  been  reg- 
istered, were  refused  ;  the  registrar  assigning 
no  reasons  whatever  for  so  refusing. 

I  was  present  during  the  whole  of  the 
registration  at  Dover.  I  noticed  that  when 
citizens  came  in  to  register,  on  making  appli- 
cation to  the  registrar  he  would  ask  them,  'if 
they  had  listed  their  property.*  If  they  said 
no,  he  would  tell  them  '  to  step  inside,  that 
Mr.  Frank  Hickox  would  attend  to  them.' 
The  registrar  would  then  ask  Dodson,  '  if  they 
were  all  right?'  Meaning  by  that,  as  I  un- 
derstood it,  would  they  vote  all  right?  If 
Dodson  said  no,  when  the  man  returned  from 
inside'  to  register,  the  registrar  would  tell 
him  that  he  could  not  register  him.  When 
I  speak  of  Dodson,  I  mean  E.  W.  Dodson, 
who  was  then  the  sheriff  of  Pope  county.  A 
great  many  others  were  refused  registration 
by  him,  the  registrar,  saying  it  was  sufficient 
for  them  to  know  that  he  would  not  register 
them.         ***** 

Dodson's  militia  were  at  Dover  duiing 
the  whole  time  of  the  registration,  and  nearly 
in  full  force  all  the  time  —  about  two  hundred 
and  fifty  men.  Dodson  was  present  in  the 
room  with  the  registrar  all  the  time.  He  had 
more  to  say  and  do  about  the  registration  than 
Martin  himself.  I  don't  know  that  there  was 
a  single  man  of  the  militia  but  was  registered. 


15° 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


I  do  not  know  how  many  were  registered,  but 
almost  every  man  voted  that  was  registered. 
Dodson's  militia,  with  their  arms,  were  in  and 
about  the  Courthouse  where  the  registration 
took  place  all  the  time  of  the  registration. 
They  had  one  room  of  the  Courthouse  as  a 
guardhouse.  There  were  some  of  them  pres- 
ent in  the  clerk's  office  where  the  registration 
was  had  all  the  time  during  the  registration 
and  during  the  sitting  of  the  board  of  re- 
visers. The  citizens  that  desired  to  register 
had  to  pass  through  the  militia  to  get  to  the 
registrar.  The  registration  continued  in 
Dover  ten  days ;  in  Russellville  six  days. 
That  was  the  only  registration  had  in  the 
county,  and  the  only  places.  The  county 
judge,  it  was  claimed,  had  divided  the  county 
into  two  districts,  the  northern  and  southern 
districts.  There  was  no  record  ever  made  of 
the  order  on  the  records  of  the  county.  [Grove 
was  afterwards  appointed  county  clerk].  He 
told  me  it  was  so  divided  for  registration  pur- 
poses only,  and  that  the  intention  was  to  have 
the  voting  done  at  the  various  precincts  in 
the  county.  But  there  was  no  election  held 
at  any  other  places  than  Dover  and  Russell- 
ville. *  *  * 

A  day  or  two  before  the  election,  reports 
came  into  Russellville,  that  the  militia  were 
again  collecting,  and  that  they  were  going  to 
come  to  the  polls  armed.  On  the  day  before 
the  election  Dodson  came  into  Russellville 
and  swore  that  he  would  have  enough  armed 
men  in  there  next  day  to  run  the  election  as 
he  damned  pleased.  He  also  said  that  he  was 
sheriff  of  the  county  and  that  he  proposed  to 
conduct  that  election.  There  were  armed 
men  about  the  county.  On  the  morning  of 
the  election  Dodson's  men  came  into  Russell- 
ville, in  companies,  in  military  order,  fully 
armed.  [Witness  states  how  he  disarmed 
them]. 

Dodson's  militia  were  around  the  polls  all 
day.     I    should   think  there   were   some   one 


hundred  and  thirty  or  forty.  They  were 
crowded  around  the  polls  all  the  time,  and 
any  person  coming  up  to  vote  had  to  pass 
through  them.  I  myself  was  about  the  polls 
all  day.  My  force  was  in  the  town,  but  none 
of  them  were  permitted  to  go  near  the  polls 
armed.  We  were  there  for  the  purpose  of 
protecting  the  citizens  in  their  right  to  vote. 

During  the  counting  of  the  votes,  the  day 
after  the  election,  I  noticed  Captain  Herriott, 
one  of  the  judges  of  the  election,  who  took 
the  ballots  out  of  the  ballot-box  and  put  them 
into  a  hat-box,  which  he  held  between  his 
knees.  He  would  then  take  the  ballot  from 
the  hat-box,  and  unfold  the  ballot  and  pass  the 
same  to  Mr.  Walker,  another  of  the  judges, 
who  then  read  it  off,  and  passed  it  back  to 
Captain  Herriott.  Herriott  would  then  drop 
the  ballot  into  a  basket  which  sat  upon  the 
floor,  between  his  feet.  Sometimes,  instead  of 
dropping  the  ticket  into  the  basket,  he  would 
drop  it  back  into  the  hat-box  [to  be  counted 
the  second  time].  This  hat-box  had  the  bot- 
tom torn  in  such  a  way  that  by  pressing  upon 
it  a  little,  a  person  could  thrust  his  hand 
through.  During  the  counting,  Captain  Her- 
riott would  pick  out  the  Baxter  tickets,  which 
could  be  easily  told  from  the  Brooks  tickets, 
by  being  on  different  paper,  and  keep  pressing 
some  of  the  tickets  down,  when  they  would 
fall  through  into  the  basket.  The  bottom  of 
the  hat-box  was  so  torn  that  he  could  press 
the  parts  of  the  bottom  apart,  and  pass  his 
hand  through,  which  he  did  occasionally,  and 
when  he  did  so,  he  took  tickets  out  of  the 
basket.  They  counted  two  nights  and  one 
day. 

A  few  extracts  from  depositions 
of  witnesses,  residing  in  different 
localities,  will  sufficently  expose 
the  trick  of  "  registration  :  " 

John  R.  Lofton,  of  Jackson  county,  sworn 
and  examined  by  the  Poland  committee,  stated, 
p.  280.     What  do  you  think  about  registration 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkansvs. 


151 


in  your  county  ?  A.  I  know  that  registration 
was  conducted  in  such  a  manner  as  to  prevent 
a  good  many  Conservative  voters  from  reg- 
istering; as  nearly  as  I  can  judge,  there  must 
have  been  at  least  five  or  six  hundred  legal 
voters  prevented  from  registering. 

Jordan  E.  Cravens,  sworn  and  examined. 
I  reside  in  Johnson  county,  p.  282.  The 
vote  of  the  county  would  have  stood,  at  the 
election  in  1872,  about  1,000  for  the  Reform 
ticket  and  about  200  for  the  Republican  or 
Minstrel  ticket,  as  it  was  known.  There  were 
from  300  to  700  each  day  standing  around, 
seeking  to  register,  but  the  registrars  got 
through  with  only  about  one  hundred  in  three 
days. 

James  Coffin,  p.  385,  sworn,  states,  I  re- 
side in  Lawrence  county.  When  the  registra- 
tion in  my  county  was  completed  there  were 
only  207  names  in  the  book,  although  the 
personal  tax  list  of  the  county  for  the  year 
showed  something  like  1,017  rot  ers.  At  the 
election  in  1872,  acting  under  the  construction 
placed  upon  the  enforcement  act  of  Congress, 
all  voters  who  had  been  deprived  of  their 
franchise,  except  those  207,  voted  at  side- 
polls. 

The  "side-polls"  were  employ- 
ed as  the  despairing  make-shift  of 
the  Reform  Republican  Commit- 
tee to  resist  the  arbitrary  methods 
(which  had  returned  to  plague  the 
inventor)  of  Joseph  Brooks.  The 
act  of  Congress,  of  May  31,  1870, 
authorizing  a  commissioner  of 
election,  and  in  towns  of  20,000 
inhabitants  a  supervisor  or  super- 
visors. The  act  provides  that  when 
a  law  of  a  State  or  Territory,  re- 
quires anything  to  be  done  by  the 
citizen,  as  a  prerequisite  to  vote, 
the  offer  of  the  citizen  to  perform 
the  act,  he  being  prevented,  shall 


be  deemed  and  held  a  performance 
—  the  citizen  being  otherwise 
qualified,  shall  be  entitled  to  vote, 
was  construed  to  mean,  shall  have 
his  vote  counted.  But  as  Mr. 
Brooks  would  say,  "under  orders 
from  these  headquarters,"  it  "  did 
not  pan  out." 

The  depositions  of  a  great  num- 
ber of  witnesses,  p.  37  et  seq.,  who 
voted  at  the  side-polls,  after  be- 
ing refused  by  the  election  officers 
in  Sebastian  county  (Fort  Smith), 
are  in  the  following  form : 

E.  H.  Devany,  being  duly  sworn,  says:  I 
reside  at  Fort  Smith,  Upper  township,  Se- 
bastian county.  I  registered  as  a  voter  in  said 
township,  in  1872.  I  offered  to  vote  at  the 
polls  of  said  township,  on  the  5th  of  Novem- 
ber, 1872,  and  was  refused.  I  made  the  affi- 
davit required  by  the  enforcement  act,  and 
again  offered  to  vote,  and  was  refused.  I  then 
voted  at  the  side-polls.  I  voted  for  Joseph 
Brooks,  for  Governor.  The  ballot  I  cast  at 
the  side-polls  was  the  same  I  offered  to  vote 
at  the  regular  polls. 

J.  P.  Kilgour,  sworn,  stated,  p.  36 :  I  re- 
side in  Crawford  county.  I  was  present  at 
the  polls  in  Van  Buren,  in  said  county,  at  an 
election  held  November  5,  1872,  for  State  and 
county  officers.  At  noon  the  polls  were  closed 
to  allow  the  election  officers  to  get  dinner,  in 
a  room  in  the  second-story.  A  ballot-box  had 
been  prepared,  containing  just  the  number  of 
votes  that  were  in  the  ballot-box  used  by  the 
judges  and  clerks  of  election.  The  judges 
took  the  ballot-box  up-stairs.  At  the  head  of 
the  stairs,  the  regular  ballot-box  was  changed 
for  the  one  that  had  been  stuffed.  This  was 
all  done  in  my  presence.  Nearly  all  the 
ballots  cast  in  the  forenoon  were  cast  by 
friends  of  Joseph  Brooks.  The  friends  of 
Baxter  refrained  from  voting  until  the  after- 


152 


TJie  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


noon  All  the  ballots  in  the  substituted  box 
were  for  Elisha  Baxter,  for  Governor,  They 
were  the  ballots  counted  by  the  judges  [as 
east]  when  the  polls  closed  at  night. 

Joseph  Spears,  sworn,  stated,  p.  loo: 
About  the  ist  of  October,  1872,  as  a  member 
of  the  State  Guards,  I  went  to  Pope  county. 
On  election  day,  Dodson's  militia  came  to 
Russellville  armed  —  from  one  hundred  and 
fifty  to  two  hundred  of  them.  [Then  states 
how  Lieut.  Grove,  his  commanding  officer,  in- 
duced them  to  place  their  arms  in  a  room  he 
provided  for  them].  While  I  was  standing 
around  the  polls,  I  saw  a  great  many  of  Dod- 
son's men  vote.  I  was  at  both  polls  during 
the  day  (the  regular  and  side-poll).  Lieut. 
Fowler  of  the  Guard,  on  going  to  supper,  told 
me  to  go  and  see  where  the  ballot-box  v/as. 
He  told  me  he  wanted  me  to  find  the  box  and 
keep  my  eyes  on  it,  and  see  that  it  was  not 
disturbed.  I  went  to  the  house  indicated.  I 
pushed  the  door  of  a  back  room  open,  and  as 
I  stepped  in  saw  an  officer  of  the  election^ 
Captain  Herriott,  with  his  hands  in  the  ballot- 
box.  I  know  it  was  Herriott,  for  I  saw  him 
after  he  was  killed.  The  man  that  led  me 
into  the  room,  was  a  one-eyed  man,  but  I  did 
not  know  his  name.  I  know  it  was  the  ballot- 
box,  for  I  had  seen  the  box  during  the  day 
when  the  officers  of  the  election  were  putting 
ballots  into  it. 

All  the  witnesses  testfied  that 
the  negroes  all  voted  the  green- 
back, or  Baxter  ticket.  They  saw- 
no  colored  voter  cast  the  white 
ballot,  or  Brooks  ticket. 

These  are  specimens  of  the  man- 
ner of  holding  the  "  elections," 
shown  to  the  Poland  committee, 
occupying  several  hundred  closely 
printed  pages.  On  the  i8th 
November,  the  Reform  Central 
Campaign  Committee  issued  their 


announcement,  that  despite  frauds, 
force,  etc.,  by  election  officers, 
the  entire  State  ticket,  headed  by 
Hon.  Joseph  Brooks,  had  been 
triumphantly  elected.  On  Novem- 
ber 27th,  their  organ.  The  State 
Journal,  published  a  table  of  "  cor- 
rected returns  of  the  election," 
claiming  that  the  vote  for  Brooks 
and  his  ticket  footed  up  a  total  of 
15,390.  It  conceded  to  the  Bax- 
ter, or  Minstrel  ticket,  a  doubtful 
total  of  13,267. 

On  the  same  day  a  mass-meet- 
ing of  the  Reform  party  was  held 
at  Little  Rock,  and  adopted  the 
following  resolutions : 

Whereas,  The  party  in  power  in  this  State 
has  in  the  last  election,  committed  the  most 
flagrant  and  shameless  frauds  ever  perpetrated 
in  any  country,  and  are  yet  perpetrating  frauds 
in  the  forging  and  manipulating  of  returns 
and  certificates  of  election,  and 

Whereas,  Notwithstanding  these  frauds,  the 
Reform  State  ticket,  and  a  majority  of  both 
branches  of  the  Legislature  have  been  tri- 
umphantly elected,  therefore,  be  it. 

Resolved,  i.  That  we  congratulate  the 
people  of  the  State,  etc. 

Resolved,  2.  That  in  order  to  cotisolidate 
the  Reform  party  and  increase  its  tcsefulness, 
it  is  deemed  advisable  to  call  a  State  Con- 
vention of  said  party  early  in  January,  to 
which  end  the  President  of  this  meeting  is 
directed  to  appoint  a  committee  of  seven  to 
issue  the  appropriate  call,  and  take  such  other 
.steps  as  may  be  deemed  necessaiy  in  reference 
thereto. 

Resolved,  3.  That  all  delegates  to  said  con- 
vention be  requested  to  collect  and  bring  up 
all  evidences  of  fraud  in  the  late  election  in 
their  respective  townships  and  counties. 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


153 


Its  president  appointed  as  such 
committee :  Maj.  John  S.  Duffie, 
Col.  W.  A.  Crawford,  Col.  L.  C. 
Gause,  Hon.  B.  F.  Rice,  Hon.  E. 
A.  Fulton,  Gen.  James  F.  Fagan 
and  Col.  S.  W.  Williams. 

The  Reform  party  believed  that 
Brooks  was  elected,  with  their  en- 
tire ticket,  by  a  very  large  majority. 
Under  the  enforcement  act  of  Con- 
gress, they  claimed  the  votes  of- 
fered and  rejected  at  the  official 
polls,  together  with  those  that  were 
counted,  authorized  them  to  in- 
stall their  officers.  It  was  stated 
that  they  proposed  to  install 
Brooks  as  Governor,  in  the  State 
House,  unless  forcibly  prevented. 
In  that  case,  they  would  organize 
a  State  government  in  some  other 
place  at  the  Capital. 

Reciting  the  foregoing  resolu- 
tions, the  committee,  on  the  21st 
December,  1872,  issued  a  call  for 
a  convention  of  the  Reform  party 
to  meet  at  Little  Rock,  on  the  4th 
day  of  January,  1873.  The  call 
contained  the  following  rule  as  to 
representation  : 

Each  county  shall  be  entitled  to- one  vote 
in  the  convention  for  every  one  hundred  votes 
cast  in  the  county,  in  the  late  election  for  the 
candidates  of  the  Reform  party  and  for  every 
fraction  of  one  hundred,  fifty  or  over,  and  one 
vote  for  every  one  hundred  persons  unlawfully 
disfranchised,  and  fraction  of  fifty  or  over. 
The  counties  can  send  as  many  delegates  as 
they  see  proper  and  all  will  have  a  voice  in 
the  convention. 

The  committee  urge  upon  the  friends  ot 
the  reform  movement  to  hold  mass  county 
conventions   for   the  purpose  of  having  their 

n 


respective  counties  fairly  and  fully  represented 
The  committee  respectfully  suggest  that  con- 
ventions in  the  different  counties  be  held  on 
or  before  the  2ist  December,  1872. 

John  S.  Duffie, 
J.  F.  Fagan, 
B.  F.  Rice, 
E.  A.  Fulton. 

W.  A.  Crawford,  L.  C.  Gause 
and  S.  W.  Williams,  of  the  com- 
mittee, did  not  sign  the  call.  It 
will  be  seen  that  fifteen  per  cent 
of  all  the  voters  of  the  State,  not 
acting  with  the  Republican  party, 
were  invited  to  the  Capital.  Most 
of  them  had  served  in  one  or  other 
of  the  armies  in  the  civil  war. 
Col.  W.  M.  Fishback  headed  a 
large  party  from  Sebastin  county, 
and  walked  twenty  miles  before 
getting  transportation  to  the  Capi- 
tal, to  install  Brooks,  he  said,  as 
Governor,  on  the  day  fixed  by 
law.  The  Colonel  had  accepted 
the  command  of  a  regiment  during 
the  war  of  Arkansas  Federals,  but 
beyond  wearing  the  eagles  on  his 
shoulders  a  few  days,  did  not  enter 
the  actual  service.  He  had  been 
preferred  for  other  than  military 
duties  and  was  a  candidate  for 
various  civil  offices.  There  was 
great  excitement  all  up  the  Ark- 
ansas River,  and  an  unusual  move- 
ment of  citizens  in  the  direction 
of  the  Capital. 

The  convention  met  in  O'Hara's 
Hall,  passed  resolutions  and  issued 
an  address.  The  public  proceed- 
ings gave  the  impression  that 
practical  steps  of  vital  importance 


154 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


were  soon  to  be  taken.  But  the 
appearance  of  Federal  troops  at 
the  arsenal,  and  many  indications 
that  the  Minstrels  would  be  sus- 
tained by  the  central  power,  caused 
the  most  zealous  to  postpone  any 
immediate  actioji  that  may  have 
been  meditated. 

In  the  meantime  the  National 
candidate  of  the  Liberal  Republi- 
can party  had  died  on  the  Hudson 
river.  His  death  being  hastened 
by  exposure  in  the  campaign  and 
disappointment.  He  had  been  in 
earnest.  He  desired  the  accomp- 
lishment of  greater  ends  than  per- 
sonal preferment.  His  last  words 
were:  "  It  is  done;"  and  it  was. 
The  restoration  of  the  Union  soon 
followed.  He  not  only  clasped 
hands  across  the  chasm,  but  leaped 
into  it. 

The  coolness  with  which  the 
"Minstrels"  treated  these  demon- 
strations seemed  ominous  of  their 
determination  to  hold  the  offices. 
It  was  plain  that  the  Reformers 
would  like  to  proceed  to  take  pos- 
session forcibly,  but  feared  the 
silent  man  at  the  Federal  Capital, 
who  had  sent  a  regiment  to  "  have 
peace,"  and  who  represented  the 
Republican  party  of  the  "  Nation." 
The  Greeley  movement  which 
Brooks  espoused  had  been  pro- 
jected "  to  beat  him.'* 

The  Minstrels  quietly  took  steps 
to  prevent  any  violent  demonstra- 
tions. These  precautions  are  de- 
scribed in  the  testimony  (given 
afterwards)  of  the  following  wit- 


nesses   before    the    Poland    com- 
mittee : 

John  McClure,  a  witness  before  the  Poland 
committee  stated  in  answer  to  questions  by 
Mr.  Wilshire,  p.  214  of  the  report  of  that 
committee : 

Q.  With  reference  to  the  apprehended 
danger  of  a  separate  government  being  estab- 
lished here  (Little  Rock),  by  the  organization 
of  another  Legislature,  outside  of  the  State 
House,  or  in  the  State  House,  state  if  you 
know,  whether  Mr.  Hadley,  the  then  acting 
Governor  of  the  State,  was  not  apprehensive 
of  some  danger?    A.  I  think  he  was. 

Q.  Do  you  know  that  he  made  an  arrange- 
ment with  the  proper  authorities  at  Washing- 
ton to  have  a  regiment  of  United  States  sol- 
diers come  here  in  order  to  preserve  the  peace 
at  the  installation  of  the  new  government? 
A.  I  do  not  know. 

Q.  State  what  you  know  about  it?  A. 
My  impression  is,  that  some  representation 
was  made  to  the  President  that  there  was 
likely  to  be  difficulty  here.  Who  made  it — 
whether  it  was  made  by  Gov.  Hadley,  or 
through  other  influences,  I  do  not  know.  I 
only  know  that  a  regiment  of  United  States 
soldiers  came  here  about  that  time. 

By  Mr.  Ward.  Do  you  know  whether 
the  troops  which  were  stationed  at  the  door  of 
the  State  House  were  State  or  United  States 
troops?  A.  They  were  State  troops,  known 
as  the  Governor's  Guard.  They  were  uni- 
formed— they  had  Zouave  jackets. 

D.  P.  Upham  sworn  and  examined  by  Mr. 
Rice,  p.  291.  Q.  Were  you  in  command  of 
the  militia  of  this  State  at  the  time  of  the  as- 
sembling of  the  Legislature  on  the  6th  Jan- 
uary, 1873?    A.    I  was. 

Q.  State  whether  the  State  House  was  under 
your  charge  as  commander  of  the  militia  at  that 
time,  and  for  a  few  days  previous  to  the  as- 
sembling of  the  Legislature ;  how  and  whose 
instance  did  you  take  charge?     A.  Yes.     Un- 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


155 


der  a  special  order  from   the  Governor,  Mr. 
Hadley.     I  have  a  copy  of  the  order  here. 

[Special  Order,  No.  144]. 
Adjutant  General's  Office, 
Little  Rock,  Dec.  29,  1872 
Major  General   D.    P.   Upham   is    hereby 
ordered  to  furnish  a  sufficient  force  of  State 
troops  to  duly  protect  and  preserve  the  Capitol 
building  of  this  State.    General  Upham  will 
confer  and  act  in  conjunction  with  the  Hon, 
James   M.  Johnson,  Secretary  of  State  and 
custodian  of  public  buildings. 

By  order  of  the  Commander-in-Chief. 
Keyes  Danforth, 
Adjutant  General. 

Q.  Did  you  consult  with  Mr.  Johnson  ?  A. 
Yes.  I  reported  to  him,  at  once,- on  receiv- 
ing the  order.  Q.  Was  there  a  military  force 
placed  there  ?  A.  Yes.  Q.  What  were  the 
instructions  of  Johnson  in  relation  to  the  mat- 
ter? A.  I  think  he  gave  me  an  idea  of  what 
he  thought  was  necessary  to  protect  the  build- 
ing by  making  an  explanation  of  what  he 
feared  might  take  place.  There  had  been  a 
State  Convention  called  at  the  House  of 
Representatives  by  the  Conservative  party,  I 
believe.  I  do  not  recollect  exactly  whether 
that  convention  was  to  assemble  on  the  Fri- 
day or  the  Saturday  before  the  meeting  of  the 
Legislature.  It  was  thought  they  proposed  to 
get  possession  of  the  hall  and  hold  it  if  they 
wanted  to. 

Q-  On  what  day  did  you  take  charge  of 
the  Capitol  with  themihtia?  A.  On  the  same 
day  that  I  got  the  order — the  29th  December, 
1872.  Q.  Did  you  hold  it  from  that  time 
until  the  Legislature  assembled  ?     A.  Yes. 

Q.  Was  the  State  militia  in  possession  at 
12  o'clock,  when  the  members  of  the  Legisla- 
ture assembled  ?  A.  I  think  there  were  some 
of  them  there  about  that  time.  I  placed  a 
door-keeper  at  the  door  of  each  hall,  after  the 
members  commenced  to  come. 


Q.  Under  order  from  whom  did  you  place 
the  door-keepers  ?  A.  By  no  one's.  I  did  not 
think  the  bayonets  of  the  State  militia  looked 
very  well  to  be  stationed  at  the  door  as  mem- 
bers were  coming  in,  and  I  withdrew  them,  and 
put  a  door-keeper  at  each  door. 

Q.  You  had  soldiers  about  there,  on  hand  ? 
A.  Yes,  there  were  plenty  of  them  within  the 
building. 

Q.  What  direction  did  the  Secretary  give 
you  about  permitting  men  to  pass  into  the  halls» 
and  what  were  your  directions  to  the  door- 
keepers? A.  I  think  his  instructions  were 
only  to  allow  those  persons  to  enter  who  had 
the  tickets  which  he  issued. 

Q.  Did  the  door-keepers  observe  that  rule 
as  far  as  you  know  ?  Yes.  I  was  present  my- 
self. 

Q.  After  the  Legislature  met  and  organized, 
what  did  you  do  with  the  militia?  A.  They 
were  all  withdrawn  from  there  before  the 
organization. 

Q.  But  they  were  about  the  building  ?  A. 
Yes.     They  were  in  the  armory. 

Q.  How  many  soldiers  were  there  in  and 
around  the  State  House  grounds  at  the  time 
the  Legislature  assembled  ?  A.  About 
twenty-five  I  should  say. 

Q.  Were  there  any  other  soldiers  on  hand 
at  any  other  place  in  the  city  ?     A.    No,  sir. 

Q.  Was  a  whole  company  out,  or  picked 
men  from  a  company  ?  A.  Picked  men  from 
a  company. 

By  Mr.  Howard.  Q.  From  whom  did  the 
Governor,  or  the  Secretary  of  State,  or  those 
from  whom  you  got  your  orders,  anticipate 
trouble  ?  Was  it  not  from  Brooks  and  his 
friends  ?  A.  I  do  not  know  who  else  it  could 
have  been. 

On  the  31st  December,  1872, 
Judge  William  M.  Harrison,  former 
Associate  Justice  of  the  Supreme 
Court,  who  had  been  a  candidate 


156 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


for  re-election,  on  the  Brooks 
ticket,  filed  his  bill  in  the  United 
States  Court,  at  Little  Rock,  set- 
ting out  such  candidacy,  and  that 
Bearden,  Searle  and  Stephenson, 
were  severally  candidates  for  the 
like  office,  and  that  acting  Gov. 
Hadley  and  James  M.  Johnson, 
Secretary  of  State,  had  confeder- 
ated to  use  their  power  to  defeat 
him  in  violation  of  the  election 
laws  and,  in  short,  caused  him  to 
be  counted  out,  by  depriving  citi- 
zens of  the  right  to  vote,  among 
whom  were  persons  so  deprived 
on  account  of  race  and  color  and 
former  condition  of  servitude,  con- 
trary to  the  act  of  Congress,  ap- 
proved May  31,  1870,  filling  many 
pages  with  its  charges  and  aver- 
ments. It  concluded  with  the 
prayer : 

That  defendants  severally  answer  the 
premises,  and  bring  into  court  and  file  the  lists 
in  their  possession,  together  with  all  returns, 
etc.,  copies  of  all  instructions  to  registrars, 
county  clerks  and  election  judges ;  that  said 
James  M.  Johnson  be  required  to  send  mess- 
engers to  procure  returns  from  counties  that 
had  made  none,  and  a  general  supervisor 
and  the  supervisors  heretofore  appointed  by 
the  court  be  required  to  make  returns  of  said 
general  election  to  this  court.  That  said  M. 
L.  Stephenson  be  enjoined  from  exercising 
the  duties  of  Associate  Justice  of  said  Supreme 
Court  of  Arkansas,  until  the  further  order  of 
the  court,  and  that  E.  J.  Searle  be  enjoined 
from  exercising  the  duties  of  Associate  Justice 
of  said  court  after  the  expiration  of  the  term 
imder  which  he  held  by  previous  election, 
and  that  Ozra  O.  Hadley  and  James  M. 
Johnson,  be   enjoined  from   in   any  manner 


altering,  obliterating,  defacing  or  destroying 
any  of  said  election  returns  or  memoranda  of 
the  same,  until  further  order  of  the  court,  and 
be  required  to  bring  into  court  all  the  original 
ballots  cast  in  said  election  ;  and  during  the 
pendency  of  these  proceedings  that  James  M. 
Johnson  be  compelled,  by  the  order  and 
mandamus  of  the  court  to  grant  plaintiff 
access  to  all  official  papers  in  his  office,  apper- 
taining to  said  election,  and  for  all  further  and 
proper  relief.  Complainant's  solicitors  were 
A.  H.  Garland,  U.  M.  Rose,  M.  L.  Rice,  M. 
W.  Benjamin,  Gallagher  and  Newton. 

Upon  his  bill  thus  presented  is 
made  the  following  indorsement : 

Temporary  restraining  order  prayed  for 
in  this  bill  is  refused.  The  motion  for  in- 
junction pendente  lite  will  be  heard  by  the 
Judge  at  Chambers,  on  Monday  next,  at  10 
o'clock,  A.  M.,  upon  complainants  giving  to 
respondents  four  days'  notice  of  the  hearing, 
accompanied  by  one  copy  of  the  bill. 

Henry  C.  Caldwell, 

Dec.  24,  1872.  District  Judge. 

While  Judge  Harrison  submit- 
ted himself  to  the  law's  delays, 
the  more  practical  and  speedy  so- 
lution of  the  questions  involved,, 
if  there  were  any  questions,  was 
adopted  by  the  energetic  measures 
of  the  faction  in  power,  as  related 
by  McClure  and  Upham  above. 

A  prophetic  quiet  characterized 
the  action  of  the  State  House 
party  during  these  feverish  dem- 
onstrations of  their  opponents. 
They  were  by  no  means  asleep,  as 
the  testimony  above  reported  goes 
to  show.  They  were  using  all 
necessary  precaution  to  have  their 
ticket  counted  in,  when  the  two 
houses  of  the   General  Assembly 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


157 


should  meet  to  declare  the  result 
of  the  election  as  to  the  officers. 
The  Constitution  made  it  the  duty 
of  the  joint  session  to  announce 
the  persons  elected,  according  to 
law.  They  had  the  State  armory 
and  militia.  They  had  not  only 
the  sympathies  of  the  federal  ad- 
ministration, but  Governor  Hadley 
had  gone  to  Washington  and  pro- 
cured an  order  of  the  War  De- 
partment, granting  a  regiment  of 
United  States  soldiers  in  Little 
Rock,  at  the  Arsenal  grounds,  for 
the  undisguised  purpose  of  "pres- 
erving the  public  peace."  We 
know  what  preserving  peace 
means,  under  arbitrary  power. 
"Order  reigns  in  Warsaw,"  is  the 
announcement  of  the  victorious 
despot. 

Before  the  curtain  falls  upon  the 
comedy  let  us  look  behind  the 
scenes  a  moment  into  the  Minstrel 
camp,  through  the  testimony  of 
the  veracious  Col.  E.  Nat  Hill, 
who  explains  some  mysteries  of 
the  burletta.  In  his  answers  be- 
fore the  Poland  committe,  July 
27,  1874,  he  gave  the  following 
testimony.  He  is  as  "good  as  a 
chorus."  Questioned  by  Mr.  Rice, 
p.  241 : 

Q.  Did  you  participate  to  any  extent  in  the 
election  in  this  State  in  1872  ?  A.  I  was  said 
to  have  taken  a  tolerably  prominent  part  in  it. 

Q.  What  was  your  political  position  in  that 
election?  A.  I  was  a  Democrat,  but  refused 
to  accept  the  nomination  of  Mr.  Greeley  and 
Mr.  Brooks  as  the  Democratic  candidates,  and 
I  canvassed  against  both  of  them. 


Q.  Were  you  here  when  the  returns  from 
the  different  counties  were  coming  in?  A. 
Yes,  I  was  here  at  the  time  when  all  the  re- 
turns were  coming  in.  Some  of  the  returns  I 
saw,  and  I  had  a  statement  of  the  returns 
every  day,  either  from  Mr.  Johnson,  Secretary 
of  State,  or  Mr.  Baxter,  or  some  other  one  of 
the  leading  members  of  the  party  ;  generally 
from  Mr.  Johnson,  who  was  in  my  room  every 
day. 

Q.  About  the  time  the  returns  were  coming 
in,  was  Mr.  Baxter  here  ?  A.  He  was.  He 
occupied  the  second  room  from  mine  in  the 
hotel. 

Q.  You  and  he  were  together  very  fre- 
quently? A.  Not  a  day  passed  that  he  was 
not  in  my  room  or  I  in  his. 

Q.  You  were  also  very  intimate  with  Sec- 
retary Johnson  ?  A.  Yes,  I  had  a  room  in 
the  hotel  which  was  a  common  place  of  meet- 
ing for  all  the  politicians  in  the  city.  They 
came  there  every  night — the  Baxter  politicians 
and  some  of  the  Bourbon  Democrats.  I  oc- 
cupied room  No.  49,  and  Mr.  Baxter  room 
No.  50. 

Q.  When  the  returns  came  in  did  you 
make  any  estimates  of  the  results  as  they  came 
in  ?  A.  These  estimates  were  made  every  day 
as  the  returns  came  in.  Each  county  was  put 
down  on  the  lists  we  had,  and  the  returns  from 
each  county  were  added  to  the  list,  and  calcu- 
lations were  made  as  to  how  the  vote  stood. 

Q.  Did  they  finally  get  all  the  counties,  so 
as  to  ascertain  the  vote  before  the  meeting  of 
the  Legislature?  A.  There  were  some  counties 
from  which  no  official  returns  ever  came.  Re- 
ports, but  no  official  returns,  came  from  the 
counties  of  Scott,  Green,  Poinsett  and  John- 
son. We  added  these  to  the  lists,  but  not  to 
be  counted,  simply  to  show  how  the  whole 
matter  stood.  These  reports  were  published 
in  the  newspapers  here. 

Q.  In  what  newspapers?  A.  In  the  Journ- 
al; that  was  Brooks'  organ  in  the  canvass. 


158 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


Q.  Have  you  a  copy  of  that  paper?  A.  I 
have  [produces  the  table  referred  to  already 
in  the  text],  thus  giving  a  majority  for  Brooks 
of  2,123,  after  having  been  doctored  by  their 
commissioners,  Asa  Hodges,  McDonald,  Wil- 
shire,  Montgomery  and  others. 

Q.  How  does  it  foot  up  ?  A.  It  foots  up 
majorities  for  Brooks,  15,390;  majorities  for 
Baxter,  13,267. 

Q.  Counting  all  the  counties,  did  it  come 
out  as  it  does  here  ?     A.  Nearly. 

Q.  "WTiat  parties  went,  so  far  as  you  know  ? 
A.  Mr.  Wilshire  went  up  in  his  district ;  Mr. 
McDonald  went  to  Fort  Smith,  although  I 
understood  his  business  was  to  see  Judge 
Storey;  Mr.  Hodges  went  to  his  district:  Mr. 
Montgomery  to  the  northeastern  part  of  the 
State,  it  was  said. 

Q.  What  counties  were  thrown  out  in  order 
to  allow  Mr.  Baxter  to  be  elected?  A.  Sev- 
eral townships  in  Van  Buren  county ;  I  be- 
lieve all  of  Johnson  and  Conway,  except  one 
or  two  precincts.  Green,  Poinsett  and  Scott 
were  entirely  thrown  out. 

Q.  After  "  doctoring "  the  returns,  it  re- 
quired all  these  counties  to  be  thrown  out  in 
order  to  get  Baxter  ahead  ?  A.  I  believe  it  did. 

Q.  After  the  Legislature  was  organized 
there  was  a  bill  introduced  known  as  the  "  rail- 
road steal  bill."  Do  you  know  anything  about 
that  ?  A.  I  know  when  and  how  the  bill  was 
introduced. 

Q.  Can  you  state  briefly  the  effect  of  the 
provisions  of  that  bill  ?  A.  Yes  ;  the  State  had 
loaned  its  bonds  to  certain  railroads  to  the 
amount  of  between  eleven  and  twelve  millions. 
There  had  been  issued  over  five  millions.  It 
was  a  bill  to  release  the  railroads  from  any 
liability  for  those  bonds,  with  the  understand- 
ing that  no  further  issue  of  bonds  should  be 
made.  That  was  the  consideration  for  the 
State  releasing  the  railroads  —  that  they  would 
not  call  for  any  more  bonds.  For  my  part,  I 
think  the  railroads  are  not  liable  on  the  bonds. 


Q.  Was  there  any  squabble  about  the  bill? 
A.  Yes.  Baxter  called  me  into  his  roonl  and 
handed  me  an  election  bill  which  he  said  was 
an  infamous  one.  I  told  him  of  the  railroad 
bill.     He  was  very  much  opposed  to  it.  *  *  * 

By  Mr.  Wilshire.  Q.  Whom  did  you 
favor  for  Governor  in  the  election  of  1872? 
A.    I  preferred  Mr.  Baxter  to  Mr.  Brooks. 

Q.  Did  you  and  Baxter  and  Johnson,  at  any 
time  after  the  returns  were  all  in,  get  the  re- 
turns all  together  and  foot  them  up  and  ascer- 
tain that  Baxter  was  not  elected  ?  A.  I  think 
we  did. 

Q.  State  when  and  where  that  was,  and 
what  the  result  of  that  footing  was  ?  A.  The 
result  of  the  footing  was,  according  to  my  re- 
collection, that  Mr.  Brooks  was  elected  by 
about  seven  hundred  votes,  counting  no  side- 
polls,  and  leaving  off'  Scott,  Green  and  Poinsett 
counties. 

This  much  of  the  witnesses  testi- 
mony is  pertinent  at  this  stage.  J. 
M.  Johnson,  the  Secretary  of  State, 
was  interrogated  as  to  this  point, 
professing  to  be  friendly  also  to 
Baxter,  and  siding  with  him  in 
subsequent  conflicts.  The  witness 
was  questioned  by  Gov.   Baxter : 

Q.  If  you  ever  made  an  exhibit  of  any- 
thing appertaining  to  the  election  returns  to 
me  in  presence  of  Nat.  Hill,  or  any  other  per- 
son, state  when  it  was.  A.  On  one  occasion, 
just  after  you  came  to  the  hotel,  I  told  the 
clerks  to  take  down  the  sum  total  of  the 
election,  as  for  instance  that  Baxter  received 
so  and  so;  Brooks  so  and  so;  Johnson  so  and 
so  ;  Fulton  so  and  so,  all  the  way  down.  I 
did  not  go  to  the  office  to  look  at  it  myself.  It 
was  just  on  a  piece  of  paper.  I  went  into 
your  room.  My  recollection  is  that  Judge 
McClure  was  sitting  in  your  room.  I  do  not 
recollect  Nat  Hill  being  there  at  all.  I  said  to 
you,  '  I  reckon  you  want  to  see  how  the  thing 
stands.    This  is  substantially  the  way  the  boys 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


159 


tell  me  it  is.'  I  stated  that  I  had  not  added 
up  the  columns  myself,  but  they  had  hastily 
done  so;  that  it  was  substantially  correct.  I 
do  not  know  whether  you  or  Judge  McClure 
took  hold  of  the  paper  first,  but  my  recol- 
lection is  that  both  of  you  looked  at  it. 

Q.  Did  you  make  any  other  or  further 
exhibit  of  the  condition  of  the  vote  to  me? 
A.    I  have  no  recollection  of  it. 

Q.  State  which  of  your  clerks  made  out 
that  statement?  A.  I  do  not  recollect  that. 
They  were  both  in  there.  I  think  it  was  Mr. 
Curry  who  made  it  up,  but  I  am  not  positive. 

Perhaps  the  most  "  willing " 
witness  to  his  own  participation  in 
theracy  proceedings  of  this  "elec- 
tion "  and  subsequent  organization 
of  the  Legislature  to  decide  the 
official  general  result,  was  Judge 
W.  J.  Warwick,  questioned  by  Mr. 
Rice,  p.  237.  So  much  of  his 
testimony  as  will  illuminate  these 
transactions  is  given  here.  The 
selection  of  parts  of  the  testimony 
of  witnesses  is  not  for  "  garbling  " 
their  statements.  That  only  is 
given  which  bears  upon  the  point 
of  present  interest.  Inadmissible 
statements,  as  to  mere  surmises 
and  opinions  of  a  witness,  or  vague 
rumors  are  omitted,  not  being  evi- 
dence in  any  tribunal. 

Q.  Where  do  you  reside,  etc.  ?  A.  I  re- 
side in  Little  Rock.  I  am  at  present  Judge  of 
the  Chancery  Court  of  Pulaski  county. 

Q.  Were  you  elected  to  the  Legislature  of 
1872?    A.    I  was. 

Q.  Did  you  sit  as  a  member  of  the  Legis- 
lature which  organized  on  the  first  Monday  in 
January,  1873?     A.    I  did,  in  the  lower  house. 

Q.  What  precincts  were  you  at  on  the  day 
of  election  ?  A.  I  was  in  the  city  of  Little 
Rock,  and  about  all  the  precincts. 


Q.  Do  you  know  about  one  of  the  judges 
having  his  poll-books  a  little  mixed  up  ?  A. 
At  the  request  of  Mr.  Fitch  (registrar  for 
Pulaski  county)  I  went  into  the  Circuit  Court 
room,  and  found  the  poll-books  and  the  bal- 
lots and  the  judge  himself  very  considerably 
muddled.  He  asked  me  to  straighten  the 
thing  out  for  him.  I  looked  over  the  muddle 
and  left  the  room  in  disgust,  giving  him  no  ad- 
vice at  all.  [The  witness  himself  was  addicted 
to  getting  very  'considerably  muddled']. 

Q.  And  you  actually  left  the  room  in  dis- 
gust at  the  condition  in  which  you  found 
Saxton's  papers  and  himself?  A.  Yes.  I 
think  it  was  the  second  day  after  the  election. 
Q.  You  ran  on  the  Baxter  ticket,  did  you 
not?  A.  Yes,  or  Baxter  X2X\.  oii  my  ticket — 
I  don't  know  which. 

Q.    Was  Saxton  veiy  drunk  ?     A.   Yes,  sir. 
Q.    He  had  the  papers  out  there  ?     A.  Yes. 
Q.    What  do    you    know    of   his    having 
changed  the  ballots,  or  anything  on  that  sub- 
ject ?    A.    He  told  me  he  had  changed  them, 
and  that  he  could  not  make  them  correspond. 
Q.    How  did  he  say  he  had  changed  them? 
A.    He  was  one  of  our  fellows,  and  I  suppose 
he  had  changed  them  from  Brooks  to  Baxter. 
He  had  the  ballots  out  in  two  or  three  different 
piles  —  greenback  tickets    and  white  tickets, 
or  one  kind  and  another,  and  he  was  trying  to 
make  them  correspond  with  his  returns. 

Q.  What  kind  of  ballots  were  they?  A. 
He  had  all  kinds  of  ballots  up  there  —  green 
tickets  and  white  tickets.  My  recollection  is, 
that  he  was  at  a  loss  how  to  fix  it  up  so  as  to 
give  the  Bourbons  enough  votes  for  a  Rep- 
resentative. 

Q.  Was  not  Saxton  at  one  time  the  private 
secetary,  or  acting  as  such  for  Governor  Clay- 
ton, when  he  was  Governor,  and  afterwards  for 
Governor  Hadley,  who  succeeded  Governor 
Clayton  ?  A.  I  cannot  say.  I  know  that  he 
was  in  the  office  of  both  of  them,  but  whether 
he  was  private  secretary  or  not,  I  am  not 
able  to  state. 


i6o 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


Q.  Do  not  this  and  White  county  vote  to- 
gether in  the  same  district?    A.    Yes,  sir. 

Q.  And  did  not  Brooks  carry  these  two 
counties  largely?  A.  Brooks  carried  this 
(Pulaski)  county  by  a  small  majority —  i8o,  as 
far  as  returns  show.  He  carried  White  county 
by  a  thousand  or  fifteen  hundred  votes. 

Q.  Then  the  district  went  for  Brooks  ? 
A.    Yes,  by  i,6oo  or  i,8oo  majority. 

Q.  With  the  two  tickets  for  the  Legislature 
—  your  ticket  and  the  Reform  ticket,  would 
not  your  ticket  have  been  beaten  ?  A.  I  sup- 
pose there  is  no  doubt  about  it.  In  that  rep- 
resentative district,  out  of  six  members  elected 
to  the  lower  house,  two  Bourbon  candidates 
were  elected,  and  four  on  our  ticket  were 
elected. 

Q.  Was  there  any  chance  for  the  Bourbon 
ticket  to  be  elected  ?  A.  I  never  thought 
there  was. 

Q.  Did  they  make  the  canvass  as  if  they 
thought  they  would  be  elected  ?  A.  House, 
of  White  county,  made  the  canvass  as  if  he 
thought  he  would  be  elected.  I  was  laughing 
in  my  sleeve  at  the  simplicity  of  the  young  man. 

Q.  Was  not  John  M.  Harrell  a  candidate 
for  the  Legislature  on  the  Bourbon  ticket  ?  A. 
He  was.  He  did  not  claim  to  be  a  Republi- 
can ?    A.    No,  sir,  he  was  a  Democrat. 

Q.  (By  Wilshire).  Do  you  know  any  ar- 
rangement between  Mr.  Harrell  and  any  mem- 
ber of  the  party  on  whose  ticket  you  were  a 
candidate?    A.    I  do  not. 

Q.  (By  Rice).  You  were  a  tolerably  active 
man  in  the  Legislature  ?  A.  As  active  as  my 
constitution  admits  of. 

Q.  Some  of  the  witnesses  spoke  of  a|resolu- 
tion  (of  Furbush),  on  the  subject  of  contested 
elections.  Were  there  many  Brooks  men  who 
contested  seats  there?  A.  My  recollection 
is  that  about  one-half  of  the  seats  in  the 
lower  house  were  contested. 

Q.  The  contestants  were  mostly  Brooks 
men?  A.  Mostly.  There  were  some  Re- 
publican contestants. 


Q.  Most  of  the  Republicans  got  on  John- 
son's  roll  ?     A.    Yes,  sir. 

Q.  And  a  good  many  Brooks  men  who 
claimed  to  have  been  elected  were  left  off  the 
roll,  and  contested  their  seats  ?    A.    Yes. 

Q.  It  has  been  stated  that  there  was  an  un- 
derstanding at  the  commencement  that  no 
member  was  to  be  unseated.  What  do  you 
know  about  such  an  arrangement?  A.  I  can- 
not say  that  there  ever  was  a  positive  arrange- 
ment to  that  effect.  When  the  lower  house  was 
organized,  we  (I  mean  the  Republicans),  had 
an  active  working  majority  in  it.  There  were  a 
number  of  Democrats  whose  seats  were  con- 
tested, and  a  number  of  Republicans  whose 
seats  were  contested.  Mr.  Tankersley's  dsitrict 
was  contested,  and  so  was  Mr.  Sarber's;  and  so 
was  Mr.  Turner's,  A  large  number  of  the  con- 
testants for  seats,  if  investigated  would  have 
been  against  Republicans. 

Q.  The  contests  would  have  succeeded? 
A.    That  I  cannot  say. 

Q.  But  if  they  had  succeeded,  it  would 
have  been  against  the  Republicans  ?  A.  Yes. 
There  was  no  agreement,  but  there  was  a 
quasi  utiderstanding  between  Mr.  Tankers- 
ley,  Mr.  Sarber  and  myself  at  the  beginning 
(perhaps  at  my  own  suggestion)  that  if  all 
these  seats  were  contested,  it  would  take  up 
one-half  of  the  time  of  the  Legislature  to  de- 
termine them,  and  might  perhaps  develop  some 
things  which  we  did  not  care  to  have  developed 
at  that  time.  But  my  own  reason  for  it,  was 
that  these  contests  would  take  up  one-half  or 
two-thirds  of  the  time  of  the  Legislature 
There  was  a  quasi  understanding  that  we 
would  do  all  we  could  to  prevent  any  change 
being  made  in  the  complexion  of  the  house, 
whether  by  Republicans  or  Democrats. 

Q.  You,  Sarber  and  Tankersley  were  all 
Republicans?    A.    Yes. 

Q.  And  the  majority  of  the  house  were 
Republicians  ?  A.  Yes.  The  seat  of  Mr. 
Sumpter,    a   Democrat,     from     Hot   Springs 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


i6i 


county  was  contested,  and  I  think  we  gave 
him  to  understand  at  the  beginning  that  he 
need  not  have  any  apprehension,  as  we  did 
not  propose  to  have  any  changes  made  in  the 
organization  of  the  house. 

Q.  That  house  was  organized  on  the  list 
furnished  by  the  Secretary  of  State?     A.    Yes. 

Q.  The  members  went  in  under  passes? 
A.     I  believe  we  all  had  passes. 

Q.  Nobody  else  was  allowed  in  at  the 
preliminary  organization?     A.   No,  sir. 

Q.  And  afterwards  you  and  Tankersley  and 
Barber  had  a  quasi  understanding  that  no 
contests  would  be  allowed  to  succeed  and  no 
changes  would  take  place  in  the  body?  A.  I 
think  7ve  had  that  understanding  before  we 
went  in. 

Q.  That  you  would  go  on  the  roll  and  no 
changes  of  members  should  be  made?  A. 
Yes,  sir. 

Q,  And  you  gave  Sumpter  to  understand 
that  that  was  the  fact  ?  A.  My  recollection 
is  that  Sumpter  was  given  to  understand  that 
that  would  be  the  case. 

Q.  When  the  resolution  to  that  effect  was 
adopted  afterwards  was  it  not  voted  for  by 
Republicans  and  Democrats  almost  unani- 
mously ?  A.  My  recollection  is  that  there 
was  no  dissenting  vote. 

Q.  The  understanding  was  made  before 
you  organized?    A.     Yes. 

The  General  Assembly  was  re- 
quired to  meet  every  two  years, 
on  the  first  Monday  in  January. 
To  it  was  committed  by  the  Con- 
stitution the  duty  of  opening  and 
publishing  the  returns  of  the  elec- 
tion for  Governor,  Lieutenant  Gov- 
ernor, Secretary  of  State,  Treas- 
urer, Auditor,  Attorney  General 
and  Superintendent  of  Public  In- 


struction and  declaring  the  result. 
This  was  exclusive  of  any  other 
power  or  tribunal — Art.  vi.  Sec.  9. 
All  contested  elections  for  Gov- 
ernor were  required  to  be  decided 
by  joint  vote  of  both  houses,  over 
which  the  President  of  the  Senate 
should  preside.  The  contestant 
was  required  to  present  a  petition 
to  the  General  Assembly,  stating 
the  grounds  of  his  contest  and 
praying  for  leave  to  introduce 
proof.  Thereupon,  if  leave  should 
be  granted  by  a  majority  of  the 
whole  vote  of  both  houses,  a  joint- 
committee  was  required  to  be  ap- 
pointed to  take  testimony  on  be- 
half of  each  party  to  the  contest, 
with  power  to  send  for  witnesses 
and  authorize,  by  warrants  issued 
to  justices  of  the  peace,  to  take 
depositions  of  witnesses,  at  a  time 
and  place  in  the  warrant  specified, 
on  reasonable  notice  to  the  op- 
posing party.  The  committee  was 
required  to  report  the  facts  to  the 
two  houses,  which  in  joint  session 
were  authorized  to  decide  the  con- 
test by  a  vote  upon  call  of  the 
yeas  and  nays,  to  be  taken  and 
entered  upon  the  journal  of  each 
house. 

It  remained  to  be  seen  whether 
upon  the  returns  presented  the 
General  Assembly  would  be  gov- 
erned by  the  law,  their  oaths  and 
duty  to  the  people,  or  boldly  vio- 
late and  defy  them  in  the  determi- 
nation to  exercise  their  arbitrary 
will  and  for  their  own  personal 
ends. 


l62 


Tlie  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


Note — The  Democratic  Convention,  after 
the  proceedings  above  had  June  5,  1872, 
agreed  to  a  committee,  of  which  Judge 
Thomas  B.  Hanley,  of  Phillips,  was  chair- 
man, to  confer  with  a  like  committee  of 
"iBrindles"  for  reforming  the  State  ticket, 
with  which  there  was  great  dissatisfaction  on 
part  of  Democrats. 

The  committee  of  this  conference  met  not 
long  after  the  adjournment  of  the  convention 
and  agreed  to  the  following  substitutions  of 
candidates  on  the  Brindle  ticket  of  May  22d : 
For  Associate  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court, 
instead  of  John  Whytock,  substituted  the 
name  of  John  T.  Bearden  ;  for  Attorney  Gen- 
eral, instead  of  \y.  P.  Grace,  substituted  Ben 
T.  DuVal ;  for  Presidential  electors  at  large, 
instead  of  M.  L.  Rice  and  S.  M.  Barnes,  sub- 
stituted R.  C.  Newton  and  J.  E.  Cravens  ;  for 
District  electors,  instead  of  G.  W.  McLane, 
R.  L.  Archer,  J.  H.  Demby  and  E.  J.  Brooks, 
substituted  J.  H.  Fleming,  Poindexter  Dunn, 
George  P.  Smoote  and  Walter  O.  Lattimore. 

The  vote  in  the  election  of  1872,  in  Boone 
County,  hereto  appended,  is  a  fair  criterion  of 
the  vote  in  Northern  Arkansas : 

OFFICIAL   ELECTION    RETURNS  OF  BOONE 

COUNTY. 

Presidential  Electors. 

*Jordan  E.  Cravens 717 

*Robert  C.  Newton 717 

*James  H.  Fleming 717 

*Poindexter  Dunn 717 

*George  P.  Smoote      717 

*Walter  O.  Lattimore 717 

f D.  S.  Griffin 209 

f  W.  W.  Granger 208 

f Thomas  H.  Barnes 208  " 

f W.  H.  Howes 203 

fArthur  Hemmingvvay 204 

f  L.  G.  Wheeler 206 


Governor. 

*Joseph  Brooks 721 

f  Elisha  Baxter 202 

Lieutenant  Governor. 

*Daniel  J.  Smith 728 

fV.  V.  Smith 197 

Secretary  of  State. 

*Edward  A.  Fulton 697 

f  James  M.  Johnson , . . .  197 

Auditor. 

*James  R.  Berry 740 

fStephen  Wheeler 185 

Treasurer. 

*Thomas  J.  Hunt   : 729 

f  Henry  Page 197 

Attorney   General. 

*Benjamin  T.  DuVal 733 

fT.  D.  W.  Yonley 195 

Superintendent  Public  Instruction, 

*Thomas  Smith 731 

tj.  C.  Corbin 195 

Judges  Supreme  Court. 

*William  M.  Harrison 732 

*John  T.  Bearden 732 

f  M.  L.  Stephenson  200 

fE.  J.  Searle 196 

Superintendent  Penitentiary. 

nVilliamL.  Cook ' 718 

f  H.  R.  P.obinson 193 

Congressman  at  Large. 

*William  J.  Hynes 737 

f  John  M.  Bradley 193 

jw.  D.  Padgett i 

Congressman   Third  District. 

*Thomas  M.  Gunter 746 

fW.  W.  Wilshire 186 

*Reform.     fMinstrel.      ^Independent 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkatisas. 


163 


SEVENTH    PAPER. 

"  Is  there,  among  the  greedy  band 
Who  've  seized  on  power  with  harpy  hand 

And  patriot  worth  assume, 
One  on  whom  public  trust  can  rest? 
One  fit  to  wear  Elisha's  vest 
And  cheer  a  people's  gloom  ?  " 

—  George  Catming. 

The  "  Minstrels  "  in  possession 
of  the  State  House  and  control  of 
the  machinery  of  government,  had 
no  idea  of  vacating  the  one  or  re- 
linquishing the  other.  Their 
haughty  confidence  suggested  the 
conquering  power  of  the  central 
government.  It  was  evident  they 
based  reliance  on  the  President 
and  their  ability  to  sway  his  action. 
They  bade  defiance  to  the  num- 
bers and  representations  of  the 
"  Reformers."  The  negro  mania 
of  the  North,  so  long  depended 
upon  to  sustain  the  power  of  Con- 
gress, had  not  abated  a  whit  with 
time.  Again  it  was  appealed  to, 
upon  the  theory  that  an  armed 
force  in  the  "rebellious  States"  was 
required  to  protect  the  freedmen. 

Not  in  drunken  orgie,  but  with 
deep,  religiojis  fervor,  they  pro- 
claimed, like  Parson  Jones,  in 
Cable's  "Old  Creole  Days  :  "— 
"  The  tiger  and  the  huffier  shell  \[q 
down  together."  It  was  the  right- 
eous thing  to  send  a  regiment  of 
U.  S.  Infantry  to  occupy,  at  that 
juncture,  the  United  States  Ar- 
senal, at  Little  Rock  for  the  pro- 
tection of  the  freedmen.  That 
sentiment  continued  to  exist,  co- 


temporaneously  with  a  commercial 
"  protection."  We  behold  Ruth- 
erford B.  Hayes,  upon  accepting 
the  conditions  of  securing  the  Pres- 
idency, lifting  up  his  voice  in  la- 
mentation for  "the  poor  freed- 
men." We  exterminate  the  In- 
dians, and  slaughter  the  Chinese, 
but  piously  cherish  (for  voting 
purposes)  the  tariff-taxed  negro — 
through  hatred  of  his /t^rw^r  mas- 
ter, who  resisted  unconstitutional 
legislation. 

The  Reform  County  Convention 
met  in  a  private  hall  in  the  city. 
It  appointed  a  large  body  of  dele- 
gates to  the  State  Convention 
which  met,  January  the  5th,  in  the 
same  hall.  The  State  Convention 
organized  temporaly  but  failed  to 
induce  the  members  elected  to  the 
legislature  on  the  Brooks  ticket  to 
unite  with  them  in  the  formation 
of  a  separate  government.  They 
realized  that  the  object  of  the 
convention  was  completely  frus- 
trated. Those  who  were  elected 
as  Democrats  to  the  Legislature, 
after  viewing  the  convention,  ac- 
cepted the  passes  of  Secretary  of 
State,  as  we  have  seen,  and  recog- 
nized the  Clayton-Hadley  Legis- 
lature as  the  legitimate  body. 
The  Reform  Convention  beheld 
this  betrayal  with  unspeakable  in- 
dignation. After  two  days  in 
secret  session,  the  convention 
adopted,  as  the  result  of  its  de- 
liberations, a  resolution  in  open 
session,  "That  it  was  impracti- 
cable to    inauETurate    Mr.    Brooks 


164 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


Fishback,*  from  the  same  place, 
as  Governor,  at  the  prese?it  time." 
Mr.  James  Brizzolara,  of  Fort 
Smith,  an  impulsive  son  of  Italy, 
advocated  immediate  installation, 
"  if  he  had  to  do  it  himself."  Mr. 
Fishback  said,  "since  blame  must 
be  visited  somewhere,  in  explana- 
tion of  insurmountable  difficulties, 
he  attributed  the  defection  "  en- 
tirely to  the  course  of  the  Little 
Rock  Gazette." 

The  convention  adjourned,  after 
appointing  a  "  State  Central  Com- 

*[Col.  Fishback,  twenty  years 
after  the  occurrences  here  men- 
tioned, in  a  speech  at  the  State 
House  at  Little  Rock,  in  1892, 
when  a  candidate  for  Governor  of 
the  State,  thus  referred  to  his  ad- 
vocacy of  Brooks :  ] 

In  1872  we  elected  Joseph  Brooks  Gov- 
ernor, zve  Democrats,  by  about  25,000  major- 
ity. We  heard  that  the  RepubUcan  party  in- 
tended to  resist  his  instalment.  A  number  of 
us  in  Fort  Smith — I  made  my  will — started  to 
Little  Rock  and  walked  fifteen  or  twenty 
miles  of  the  way,  to  install  Brooks  at  the 
point  of  the  bayonet  if  necessary.  We  heard 
that  Gen.  Grant  intended  to  interfere,  and  of 
course  we  acquiesced. 

We  had  voted  for  Brooks,  not  because  he 
was  Joseph  Brooks,  but  because  he  promised 
to  relieve  us  from  reconstruction  and  restore 
power  to  the  people.  Subsequently  we  found 
that  Joseph  Brooks  was  going  to  take  up  re- 
construction where  Powell  Ctayton  left  it  off, 
and  that  Baxter  was  the  man  to  release  us  of 
reconstruction.  We  would  have  been  false  to 
our  country  if  we  had  failed  to  sustain  Bax- 
ter, as  we  did.  H. 


mittee,"  of  which  James  L.  With- 
erspoon  was  made  the  chairman. 
This  committee  was  created  and 
vested  with  powers  distinct  from 
the  Democratic  State  Central 
Committee.  An  analysis  of  the 
composition  of  the  convention 
will  show  that  its  members  were 
not  all  Democrats.  They  were  a 
gathering  somewhat  like  that 
which  went  to  David  in  the 
cave  of  AduUam.  Its  leaders  were 
Joseph  Brooks,  militia  champion; 
R.  F.  Catterson,  the  drum-head 
general;  B.  F.  Rice,  Texan  emi- 
gree;  his  brother,  the  railroad  at- 
torney, and  J.  L.  Hodges,  peniten- 
tiary lessee.  It  appointed  a  com- 
mittee "to  prepare  an  address  to 
the  people,"  as  was  usual.  It 
adopted  the  fallowing  resolution : 

Whereas,  Latta  and  Sumpter,  of  Hot 
Springs ;  Cunningham,  of  Izard ;  Wright,  of 
Carroll ;  Matheny,  of  Fulton ;  Parrish,  of 
Desha  ;  Brown,  of  Prairie  ;  Thrower,  of  Ouach- 
ita; Gilbreath,  of  Scott;  Breidenthal,  of 
Washington ;  Pindall,  of  Chicot ;  McVeigh, 
of  Mississippi  and  Askew,  of  Columbia,  re- 
form members  elected  to  the  General  Assem- 
bly, have  disregarded  the  wishes  of  their  con- 
stituents in  joining  with  and  organizing  a 
"Minstrel"  Legislature,  and  failing  to  par- 
ticipate in  the  inauguration  of  Hon.  Joseph 
Brooks  as  Governor, 

Be  it  Resolved,  That  they  are  hereby  placed 
upon  the  roll  of  infamy. 

Appended  also  were  other  reso- 
lutions condemning  "their actions 
as  disgraceful ; "  holding  up  the 
persons  named  "to  public  scorn," 
denouncing  them  as  "  unworthy  of 


of  the  Reco7istructio7i  Period  in  Arkansas. 


165 


further  association  with  the  Re- 
form Party,"  and  requesting  Re- 
form journals  to  pubHsh  the  reso- 
lutions. And  this  was  the  "lame 
and  impotent  conclusion." 

Mr.  Jacob  Frolich  (who  had 
taken  a  trip  to  Canada  to  evade 
the  pursuit  of  Clayton's  milita,  but 
returned  and  was  conducting  his 
paper,  the  Searcy  Record),  said  of 
the  convention,  editorally :  "  It  is 
reported,  and  no  doubt  correctly, 
that  the  Brindle  Reform  Conven- 
tion was  the  grandest  failure  of  the 
season.  Were  all  the  money  taken 
away  from  Wall  Street,  New  York, 
it  could  not  look  blanker  than  did 
The  Select  Few's  phizes  on  the  day 
that  the  Democratic  members  of 
the  Legislature  refused  to  have  any 
thing  to  do  zviih  them,  either  in  ac- 
cepting their  modus  operandi,  or 
political  association.  It  shows 
that  the  bone  and  sinew  of  the 
country  does  not  relish  brindle 
steak,  even  when  well  seasoned." 

The  address  prepared  by  the 
committee  of  the  Reform  Conven- 
tion was  not  published  until  the 
23d  of  January,  but  expressed  the 
more  sober  view  of  the  committee 
by  declaring  that  "the  members 
of  the  Legislature  who,  by  grace  of 
Clayton,  had  been  permitted  to  sit 
in  the  Legislature,  had  made  a  fatal 
mistake  ;  but  the  committee  would 
concede  they  were  not  prompted  by 
corrupt  motives,  but  acted  upon 
what  they  believed  to  be  their  duty 
to  their  constituents."  The  ad- 
dress was  signed  by  J.  L.  Wither- 


spoon,  J.  S.  Duffie,  Granville  Wil- 
cox, Wm.  Glass,  M.  L.  Rice  and 
W.  M.  Fishback. 

Mr.  Fishback,  in  1862,  had  ed- 
ited the  "  Unconditional  Union,"  a 
newspaper,  in  Little  Rock,  op- 
posed to  the  Southern  movement 
and  thenceforward  acted  with  the 
Republican  party.  But  he  now 
espoused  the  Greeley  movement. 
He  had  too  much  political  sagaci- 
ty to  lend  himself  to  unqualified 
aspersion   of  citizens. 

A  bill  in  chancery  to  decide  a 
contest  for  the  office  of  Governor 
of  Louisiana  was  filed,  at  this 
time,  in  Judge  Durrell's  court, — 
similar  to  Judge  Harrison's  suit 
against  Stephenson  and  Searle. 
It  contained  the  averment,  which 
Harrison's  case  did  also,  that  per- 
sons otherwise  qualified  had  been 
deprived  of  their  right  to  vote, 
"  by  reason  of  race,  color,"  etc. 
This  averment,  Judge  Durrell 
claimed,  gave  his  court  jurisdic- 
tion under  the  enforcement  act  of 
Congress.  He  granted  an  injunc- 
tion which  excluded  the  "  Re- 
form "  legislature  of  McEnery 
from  the  hall  they  rented.  He 
was  eventually  sustained  by  Gen. 
Grant,  the  President,  who  issued 
a  proclamation  and  gave  military 
orders  to  disperse  the  McEnery 
government  and  install  that  of 
Kellogg.  This  action  proceeded 
on  the  theory  which  inspired 
"Posson Jones's"  wild  "dictum," 
that  "  the  buffler  shell  lie  down 
with  the  tiger."     It  was  modified, 


i66 


TJie  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


to  be  sure,  so  as  to  admit  the  ly- 
ing dozvn,  on  the  part  of  the  buf- 
falo, inside  of  the  tiger,  after  being 
swallowed.  This  remedy,  which 
was  grounded  on  deprivation  of 
right,  on  account  of  race,  was 
available  by  one  party,  but  denied 
to  the  other.  It  could  not  be 
pleaded  by  Brooks,  who  had  no 
negro  following. 

The  two  houses  of  the  General 
Assembly  of  Arkansas,  as  organ- 
ized for  the  State-house  ring,  by 
James  M.  Johnson,  met  at  the 
State  House  and  proceeded  to 
declare  themselves  ready  for  busi- 
ness on  the  6th  of  January,  1873. 
At  half  past  three  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon,  they  met  in  joint  ses- 
sion in  the  Representatives'  hall  to 
count  the  returns  for  Governor,  al- 
ready so  carefully  counted,  but 
supposed  to  be  for  the  first  time 
laid  before  them  by  the  President 
of  the  Senate.  He  was  required 
by  law  to  receive  the  returns  and 
keep  them  until  so  counted.  He 
received  them  from  the  Secretary 
of  State ;  necessarily,  it  seems, 
since  the  presiding  officer  of  the 
Senate  had  been  only  that  day 
chosen  pro  tein.,  until  the  per 
son  elected  Lieutenant  Governor 
could  be  ascertained. 

The  manner  of  the  organization 
of  these  bodies  was  dramatic,  and 
will  be  best  described  by  wit- 
nesses who  were  present  as  mem- 
bers, and  who  afterwards  testified 
to  the  facts  of  such  organization 
before  the  Poland  Committee   of 


the  43d  Congress,  appointed  to 
investigate  affairs  in  Arkansas. 
John  M.  Clayton  (a  brother  of 
Powell  Clayton),  who  was  Presi- 
dent of  the  Senate,  and  Benton 
Turner,  among  the  (recognized) 
members  of  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives, testified  before  the  Po- 
land Committee,  Little  Rock,  Ark., 
July  20,  1874. 

John  M.  Clayton,  recalled,  ex- 
amined by  Mr.  Rice  (p.  193) : 

Q.  Were  you  in  the  Senate  when  it  was 
organized  on  the  first  Monday  in  January, 
1873?     A.     I  was. 

Q.  A  portion  of  the  Senators  held  over 
from  the  previous  session  ?     A.     Yes. 

Q.  One-half  of  the  Senators  are  elected 
every  two  years.  They  all  hold  for  four 
years  ?     A.     Yes. 

Q.  You  were  a  new  member  at  that  time? 
A.     Yes. 

Q.  Who  organized  the  Senate?  A.  Sen- 
ator Beldin,  of  Hot  Springs,  a  former  mem- 
ber, called  the  Senate  to  order  and  nominated 
Senator  Torrans  for  temporary  chairman. 
Senator  Torrans,  being  elected,  read  over  the 
list  of  new  members  as  returned  by  the  Sec- 
retary of  State.  They  were  sworn.  I  was 
elected  President  pro  tern,  and  the  other  offi- 
cers were  elected  by  the  same  vote. 

Q.  The  former  Secretary  of  the  Senate 
did  not  organize  that  Senate?  A.  No,  sir; 
Senator  Beldin  called  it  to  order. 

Q.  How  was  it  ascertained  who  the  new 
members  were?  A.  Senator  Torrans  s>aid 
he  found  the  list  on  the  President's  stand — 
placed  there,  I  suppose,  by  the  Secretary  of 
State. 

Q.  And  they  were  sworn  in  then?  A. 
That  is  my  recollection.  They  were  sworn 
by  Judge  Underwood. 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


167 


Q.  How  did  the  new  Senators  get  into  the 
room?     A.     They  walked  in. 

Q.  Was  there  any  pass  required?  A. 
Yes,  I  believe  tickets  were  given  us  by  the 
Secretary  of  State.     I  had  forgotten  that. 

Q.  \Yho  distributed  those  passes?  A. 
The  Secretary  of  State,  I  believe. 

Q.  Were  any  other  persons  allowed  in  ex- 
cept those  who  had  passes?     A.     I  think  not. 

Q.  You  had  the  thing  all  to  yourselves, 
and  went  in  and  organized  ?    A.     Yes. 

Q.  Did  not  Wishard  contest  his  seat?  A. 
Yes  ;  he  contested  the  seat  of  Hanks. 

Q.  Was  he  not  summarily  ruled  out,  on 
technical  grounds,  without  the  merits  being 
gone  into  ?  A.  Yes.  He  was  ruled  out  on 
the  technical  ground  that  he  had  not  con- 
formed to  the  statute  and  given  the  notice  of 
contest  in  time. 

[Similar  questions  as  to  P.  H.  Wheat.] 

Q.  Was  the  present  Secretary  of  State  the 
Secretary  of  State  previous  to  that  election  ? 
A.    Yes. 

Q.  Was  he  a  candidate  for  Secretary  of 
State  at  that  election  ?    A.     He  was. 

Q.  And  was  declared  elected  at  that  elec- 
tion? A.  He  was.  His  name  is  James  M. 
Johnson. 

Q.  Were  you  at  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives when  it  organized  ?  A.  No,  I  was  in 
the  Senate.  Both  houses  organized  at  12 
o'clock. 

Examined  by  Mr.  Wilshire  : 

Q.  How  long  did  you  act  as  president 
pro  te»i.1  A.  I  acted  for  one  day  only. 
The  Lieutenant  Governor  was  sworn  in  and 
took  his  seat  on  the  night  of  the  first  day,  V. 
V.  Smith. 

Q.  Were  you  not  president  pro  tetn.  of 
the  Senate  at  the  time  of  the  counting 
up   and  announcing   the  vote  for  Governor? 


A.  Yes.  That  was  done  on  the  first  day. 
It  was  done  before  the  vote  for  Lieutenant 
Governor  or  other  officers  was  counted.  The 
law  requires  that  the  vote  for  Governor  shall 
be  counted  in  the  presence  oi  both  houses.  As 
to  the  other  executive  officers,  the  vote  is  re- 
quired to  be  counted  only  in  the  presence  of 
the  Senate. 

Q.  State  who  received  the  largest  vote  as 
declared  by  this  convention — Mr.  Baxter  for 
Governor,  or  V.  V.  Smith  for  Lieutenant  Gov- 
ernor ?  A.  I  do  not  recollect.  My  impres- 
sion is  that  it  was  about  the  same.  The  re- 
turns will  show  that. 

Q.  The  two  bodies  in  joint  session  deter- 
mined only  the  vote  for  Governor?  A.  Only 
the  vote  for  Governor. 

Benton  Turner,  returned  as 
member  of  the  House  from  Con- 
way County,  was  examined  with 
others  as  to  the  organization  of 
that  body.  Question  by  Mr. 
Rice,  after  introducing  in  evidence 
a  section  of  the  act  of  July,  1868. 
"  Sec.  54.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of 
the  Secretary  of  State,  on  the 
first  day  of  each  regular  session 
of  the  General  Assembly,  to  lay 
before  each  house  a  list  of  the 
members  elected  agreeably  to  the 
returns  in  his  office." 

Q.  Were  you  returned  as  member  of  the 
Legislature  in  1S73,  as  supposed  to  have  been 
elected  at  the  election  in  1872  ?     A.     Yes. 

Q.     Did  you  sit  in  that  body  ?     A.     Yes. 

Q.  Were  you  present  when  the  House  was 
organized  ?     A.     Yes. 

Q.  What  military  force  had  possession  of 
the  hall  of  the  House  of  Representatives  then, 
the  city  police  or  State  militia?  A.  I  am 
inclined  to  think  there  were  some  of  both. 


i68 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


Q.  Are  you  sure  there  were  some  of  the 
State  militia,  and  if  so,  under  whom?  A. 
My  understanding  was  that  Col.  Main  had 
charge  of  the  squad  of  State  militia.  I  never 
talked  to  Col.  Main  in  regard  to  it. 

Q.  Did  you  go  in  immediately  when  the 
doors  were  opened  ?     A.     Yes. 

Q.  How  did  you  succeed  in  getting 
through  the  armed  men?  A.  We  had 
passes. 

Q.  From  whom?  A.  I  am  not  positive 
now  who  distributed  the  tickets.  I  do  not 
know  whether  they  were  handed  me  by 
Cooper  or  Tankersly. 

Q.  Who  first  went  into  the  House?  A. 
I  think  Tankersly  and  Sarber  and  myself. 

Q.  Who  put  Tankersly  in  nomination  as 
temporary  chairman  ?  A.  I  am  not  positive 
whether  it  was  Sarber  or  myself.  It  was  one 
or  the  other. 

Q.  How  soon  was  that  after  you  went  in  ? 
A.     It  was  immediately  on  getting  inside. 

Q.  On  your  going  down  the  aisle?  A. 
Yes ;  before  we  got  to  the  chairman's  stand. 

Q.  And  whoever  made  the  nomination 
put  the  vote  and  declared  it  carried  ?  A. 
Yes ;  the  motion  was  put  and  carried  and  the 
declaration  made  before  Tankersly  got  to  the 
stand. 

Q.  He  went  to  the  stand  in  a  good,  fast 
walk,  did  he  not  ?    A.     Yes. 

Q.  What  was  done  in  the  organization  of 
the  House — how  did  it  proceed?  A.  It  pro- 
ceeded in  the  regular  way.  A  caucus  had 
agreed  upon  a  full  organization  after  the  tem- 
porary organization.  We  had  a  caucus  pre- 
vious to  going  in,  at  12  o'clock  on  the  6th  of 
January,  and  we  had  agreed  upon  our  organi- 
zation of  the  House,  and  then  we  proceeded 
to  organize  in  the  regular  way. 

Q.  Did  the  clerk  of  the  prior  House  ap- 
ne.ar  and  organize  it  ?    A.     Yes ;  the  clerk 


of  the  House  of  Representatives  in  1871. 
His  name  was  Richards. 

Q.  What  did  he  do  towards  organizing? 
A.  He  came  in  with  the  roll,  framed  by  the 
Secretary  of  State,  I  think. 

Q.  What  was  the  prima  facie  case  on 
which  you  all  acted  in  there?  A.  The  cer- 
tificate of  the  Secretary  of  State. 

Q.  You  mean  the  roll  of  the  Secretary  of 
State?     A.     Yes,  sir. 

Q.  How  many  in  that  body  were  elected 
on  the  ticket  with  Brooks  ?  A.  My  recol- 
lection is  that  there  were  thirty-six.  The  en- 
tire number  of  members  was  eighty-two. 
There  were  thirty-six  of  them  elected  on  the 
ticket  on  which  Brooks  ran. 

Q.  Did  they  go  in  at  the  same  time  with 
the  rest  of  you  ?  A.  I  think  all  of  them  went 
in  at  the  same  time,  with  the  exception  of  two 
or  three.  I  think  two  or  three  absented 
themselves  for  a  day  or  two.  They  were  not 
absent  more  than  two  or  three  days. 

Q.  Was  there  any  talk  here  of  organizing 
a  separate  Legislature  of  men  who  claimed  to 
be  elected  on  the  Brooks  ticket?  A.  That 
was  my  understanding. 

Q.  Where  had  they  proposed  to  organize  ? 
A.  My  understanding  was  they  proposed  to 
set  up  an  outside  government.  I  never  under- 
stood that  they  themselves  had  arrived  at  a 
definite  conclusion  as  to  the  place  at  which 
they  would  open,  whether  at  Fletcher  & 
Hotze's  hall,  or  O'Hara's. 

Q.  By  some  means,  that  fell  through  ?  A. 
Yes. 

Q.  After  you  organized,  what  action  was 
taken  in  regard  to  any  question  of  contest — 
to  general  action  on  the  subject  of  any  con- 
test ?  A.  After  the  House  had  been  perma- 
nently organized,  committees  were  appointed. 
I  was  on  elections.  There  were  several  con- 
tests presented  for  the  consideration  of  the 
committee.      I   think  that  perhaps  one  case 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


169 


was  disposed  of.  The  report  of  the  commit- 
tee was  based  on  the  technical  ground  of 
want  of  notice  as  required  by  our  statutes. 
There  was  then  a  resolution  offered  by  some 
member,  declaring  all  members  then  sitting, 
members  of  the  Legislature,  and  it  was  passed 
almost  unanimously  by  Democrats  and  Re- 
publicans. I  do  not  know  whether  such  a  res- 
olution is  on  the  journal  or  not. 

Q.  Such  a  resolution  was  offered,  that  the 
members  then  sitting  should  be  declared 
members  of  the  House?  A.  Yes,  and  that 
there  should  be  no  further  contests  enter- 
tained. That  was  a  resolution  of  the  House. 
We  had  been  discussing  the  Pindall  matter,  and 
all  the  contests  came  up  on  this  want  of  notice. 
The  committee  came  in  and  made  a  report, 
on  which  there  was  considerable  discussion. 
During  the  discussion  this  resolution  was 
offered,  I  think  by  Mr.  Furbush  (colored  mem- 
ber), and  it  was  adopted  almost  unanimously. 
The  Election  Committee  never  entertained 
another  contest,  or  had  another  meeting  after 
that. 

Q.  Was  Secretary  Johnson  a  candidate  for 
Secretary  of  State  at  the  election  of  1872? 
A.    He  was. 

Q.  He  was  elected,  if  elected  at  all,  at  the 
same  election  with  you  ?     A.    He  was. 

Questioned  by  Mr.  Wilshire. 

Q.  You  were  not  sure  whether  it  was  you 
or  Mr.  Sarber  who  put  Tankersley  in  nomina- 
tion? A.  I  am  not  positive  in  regard  to  that. 
The  understanding  was,  that  we  should  nomi- 
nate him  as  soon  as  we  got  in.  Mr.  Tankers- 
ley  started  up  the  aisle,  and  before  he  got  to 
the  chairman's  stand,  he  was  declared  elected. 

Q.  And  there  was  nobody  there  at  the  time, 
except  you  and  Sarber  and  Tankersley  ?  A. 
Other  members  were  coming  along,  but  we 
entered  first,  and  before  Tankersley  could 
reach  the  Speaker's  chair,  he  was  nominated 

12 


and  declared  elected.  Our  friends  were  all 
right  at  the  door,  and  were  coming  immedi" 
ately  as  fast  as  they  could  get  in.  Of  course 
they  could  not  all  get  in  at  the  same  moment. 
As  soon  as  we  were  inside  the  nomination 
was  made,  and  Tankersley  proceeded  right 
down  the  aisle. 

Q.  Then  there  could  not  have  been  many 
members  in  besides  you  three,  if  you  were  the 
first  to  enter?  A.  By  the  time  the  thing  was 
through,  there  were  probably  twenty  members 
or  more  in  the  hall. 

Q.  Was  there  a  quorum  present  ?  A.  I 
reckon  that  is  questionable. 

Q.  You  stated  that  there  was  a  caucus — 
of  what  party  ?  A.  It  was  the  caucus  of  the 
Republican  party. 

Q.  How  many  Republican  members  were 
present  at  that  caucus?  A.  I  think  every 
Republican  member  of  the  House. 

Q.  A  quorum  of  the  House  was  present  at 
that  caucus  ?    A.     Yes. 

Q.  This  organization,  which  you  speak  of 
was  made  through  an  arrangement  entered 
into  in  caucus  of  a  majority  of  the  House? 
A.  Yes ;  the  organization  was  made  under 
the  understanding  adopted  at  that  caucus. 

January  6th,  the  committee  from 
the  House  of  Representatives,  hav- 
ing announced  that  body  ready  to 
receive  the  Senate  to  canvass  the 
election  returns  for  Governor,  the 
Senate  proceeded  to  the  Hall  of 
Representatives,  where  the  follow- 
proceedings  were  had : 

Halt,  of  the  House  of  REPRESENTAxrvEs,  1 
Jan.  6th,  1873,  half-past  3  o'clock  p.m.  J 
The  President  of  the  Senate  called  the  joint 
session  to  order  and  ordered  the  call  of  the 
roll.  The  Secretary  of  the  Senate  called 
the  roll  of  Senators,  and  the  following 
Senators  answered  to   their  names :     Askew, 


lyo 


TJie  Brooks  a?id  Baxter   War:  a  Histoiy 


Beavers,  Beldin,  Brooker,  CaralofT,  Clayton 
Coit,  Dawson,  Dooley,  Dugger,  Elliott, 
Frierson,  Gallagher,  Goad,  Hanks,  Hodges, 
Holland,  Howard,  McChesney,  Ratcliffe, 
Thomas,  Torrans,  White  of  Phillips,  WTiite  of 
Pulaski. 

The  Clerk  of  the  House  of  Representatives 
called  the  roll  of  Representatives,  and  the  fol- 
lowing members  answered  to  their  names: 
Berry  C.  E.,  Berry  J.  H.,  Beardsley,  Brown 
N.,  Brown  C.  F.,  Bridenthal,  Chapline,  Cor- 
bell,  Cleveland,  Coit,  Copeland,  Chapman, 
Crowley,  Cunningham,  Davie,  Erwin,  Eagle, 
Fox,  Furbush,  Foster,  Gist,  Gilbreath,  Gos- 
sett,  Grissom,  Hawkins  A.  M.,  Hawkins  O. 
S.,  Hawkins  M.,  Havis,  Hynds,  Harley, 
Johnson  A.,  Johnson  J.  H.,  Joyner,  Kings- 
ton, Kent,  Lee,  Lynn,  Latta,  Murphy  J.  M., 
Murphy  W.,  McLeod,  Marshall,  McGehee, 
Merritt,  Miller,  McVeigh,  Matheny,  Mitchell, 
Nunn,  Page,  Pindall,  Parrish,  Rawlins,  Reed, 
Robertson  W.,  Robertson  H.  H.,  Sarber, 
Shingley,  Sheppard,  Spears,  Stephenson  J. 
S.,  Stephenson  A.,  Strong,  Sumpter,  Stewart, 
Turner,  Thrower,  Thomasson,  Tillar,  Thorn- 
burg,  Warwick,  White,  Wheat,  Walker,  Wil- 
liams, Wright,  Mr.  Speaker  Tankersly. 

A  quorum  of  each  house  being  present. 
Senator  J.  M.  Clayton,  President  pro  tent., 
said  : 

'*  Gentlemen  of  the  General  Assembly: 
The  day  and  hour  having  arrived  for  counting 
the  returns  for  Governor,  the  Secretary  of  the 
Senate  will  read  over  the  returns  and  the 
proper  tellers  will  count  out  all  the  votes  cast 
for  every  person  voted  for  as  Governor." 

The  Secretary  of  the  Senate  then  read  the 
returns,  which,  when  footed  up,  resulted  as 
follows:  Elisha  Baxter,  41,684;  Joseph 
Brooks,  38,726;  A.  Hunter,  i  ;  Joseph  Brook, 
50;  Baxter,  li;  E.  Baxter,  113;  Brooks,  133; 
U.  S.  Grant,  i ;  William  Byers,  i ;  A.  H.  Gar- 
land, I. 


The  presiding  officer  announced  that  "  Eli- 
sha Baxter,  having  received  a  greater  number 
of  votes  than  any  other  candidate,  was  duly 
elected  Governor  of  the  State  of  Arkansas, 
for  and  during  the  term  prescribed  by  the 
Constitution." 

A  committee  composed  of  Sen- 
ators and  Representatives  was  ap- 
pointed to  notify  the  Governor- 
elect  of  the  result  of  the  canvass, 
and  learn  his  pleasure.  The  com- 
mittee returned,  and  Elisha  Bax- 
ter coming  in  was  introduced  to 
the  joint  Assembly  and  delivered 
his  inaugural  address.  When  he 
had  concluded  his  address  the 
oath  of  office  of  Governor  was  ad- 
ministered to  him  by  Chief  Justice 
McClure  ;  and  the  joint  Assembly 
dissolved.  Thus  the  Minstrel  fac- 
tion retained  its  hold  upon  the 
machinery  of  the  State  govern- 
ment, and  their  newly-chosen  ex- 
ecutive was  inaugurated. 

The  delegates  to  the  reform 
convention  adjourned  subject  to 
call  of  their  State  central  commit- 
tee. The  "Minstrels"  were  jubi- 
lant and  the  "Brindles"  corre- 
spondingly unhappy,  the  carpet- 
bag element  among  them  still 
meditating  measures  for  over- 
throwing their  rivals  and  retriev- 
ing their  fallen  fortunes.  They 
urged  the  maintenance  of  their 
State  and  County  organizations, 
and  held  themselves  in  readiness 
to  seize  every  opportunity  that 
might  afford  a  hope  of  a  success- 
ful assertion  of  their  right  to  the 
offices  to  which  their  candidates 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


171 


had  been  undoubtedly  elected. 
"The  select  few,"  as  Frolich  de- 
nominated them,  never  despaired. 
On  the  nth  of  January  the  de- 
murrer to  Judge  Harrison's  com- 
plaint, modelled  after  that  filed  by 
Kellogg  against  McEnery,  was 
argued  before  Judge  H.  C.  Cald- 
well, U.  S.  District  Judge.  He 
sustained  the  demurrer,  on  the 
ground  of  want  of  jurisdiction  of 
the  courts  of  the  United  States  to 
hear  and  determine  a  contest  for 
a  State  office.  He  announced  the 
maxim  that  it  was  a  fair  presump- 
tion, that  a  cause  is  withojit  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  courts  of  the 
United  States,  until  the  contrary 
appears,  being  courts  of  limited 
jurisdiction.  This  proposition  he 
argued  to  be  sustained  by  IV. 
Dallas  Reports,  8  ;  VH.  Cranch, 
32;  Id.  506;  III.  Blatchford,  84; 
I.  Dillon,  341.  The  23d  section 
of  the  enforcement  act,  he  held  to 
confer  jurisdiction  only  in  case  of 
a  denial  of  the  right  of  a  citizen  to 
vote,  "  on  account  of  race,  color 
or  previous  condition  of  servi- 
tude." As  counsel  had  frankly 
stated  they  had  not  been  able  triith- 
fiilly  to  allege  denial  of  right  to 
vote  on  that  ground,  the  injunc- 
tion and  writs  and  relief  prayed 
for  would  be  denied,  and  com- 
plainant be  remitted  to  the  courts 
of  his  State,  in  which  exclusive 
jurisdiction  over  cases  of  contest- 
ed election  for  State  offices,  ex- 
cept some  enumerated  o-ffices,  was 


vested  from  the  origin  of  the  con- 
stitution. 

At  the  election,  in  joint  session 
of  the  General  Assembly,  for  U.  S. 
Senator  to  succeed  B.  F.  Rice,  the 
Democrats  at  first  voted  solidly 
for  A.  H.  Garland,  thirty-five  votes: 
the  Republicans  dividing  upon  T. 
M.  Bowen  and  Stephen  W.  Dor- 
sey,  giving  the  former  twenty  votes 
and  the  latter  forty-three,  Alex. 
McDonald  five,  and  W.  W.  Wil- 
shire  one.  On  the  1 8th  of  January, 
the  Democrats  changed  to  Dorsey, 
except  Senators  Askew  and  Frier- 
son  ;  Representatives,  J.  H.  Berry, 
Cote,  Cunningham,  Foster,  Har- 
ley,  Matheny,  Pindall,  Thrower 
and  Tillar,  who  continued  to  vote 
for  Garland ;  and  Beavers,  Gossett 
and  Thomasson,  who  voted  for 
"  Little  "  David  Walker,  and  Par- 
rish,  who  voted  for  R.  C.  Newton ; 
fifty-two  votes  being  necessary  to 
a  choice.  Dorsey  was  elected, 
receiving  eighty-seven  votes.  Gar- 
land eleven.  Walker  three,  and 
Newton  one.  Dorsey  was  repu- 
ted to  be  a  "boodle"  candidate, 
but  this  seems  to  have  been 
largely  on  paper.  He  conferred 
on  Mr.  Garland  the  appointment 
of  attorney  of  his  paper  railroad, 
from  Helena  inland.  But  Clayton 
believed  that  Garland  was  still 
bent  upon  a  seat  in  the  Senate 
and  would  be  his  rival  ultimately. 

(On  the  loth  of  February,  the 
Republican  elections  for  President 
and  Vice-President  of  both  Arkan- 
sas and   Louisiana  fo«"  the  candi- 


172 


TJie  Brooks  arid  Baxter   War:  a  History 


dates  of  both  parties,  were  reject- 
ed at  Washington,  because  of 
alleged  irregularities.  Thus  four- 
teen votes  of  the  electoral  college 
were  counted  out.  But  they 
would  not  have  changed  the  re- 
sult, it  was  so  largely  in  favor  of 
the  reelection  of  Grant.) 

The  Helena  World  of  Feb.  7th 
said  of  the  election  of  Dorsey  to 
the  United  States  Senate  : 

"  S.  A.  Dorsey  has  been  in  our  State  about 
two  years,  all  told.  About  half  of  that  time 
he  was  not  a  denizen,  his  family  remaining  in 
his  cherished  home,  Oberlin,  Ohio.  He  is  un- 
known to  the  people  of  Arkansas.  He  came 
here  to  promote  his  railroad  interests.  He 
obtained  State,  County  and  City  aid,  under  the 
most  solemn  pledges.  By  trickery,  hocus-pocus 
and  legerdemain,  the  gauge  of  the  road  was 
changed  from  standard  to  narrow  gauge,  as 
adopted.  To-day  we  have  a  wheelbarrow 
road  from  Helena  westward,  costing  nothing 
in  comparison  with  the  one  he  professed  to 
come  here  to  construct." 

March  the  3d,  the  election  upvon 
the  constitutional  amendment  re- 
sulted in  its  adoption,  by  a  large 
majority. 

The  candidates  for  Congress,  on 
the  Conservative  ticket,  Gunter 
and  Gause,  were  importuning  Gov- 
ernor Baxter  for  certificates  of 
election.  They  had  received  none 
from  Governor  Hadley,  who  pre- 
tended to  canvass  the  election, 
and  merely  proclaimed  the  result 
of  the  vote  in  the  case  of  Gause 
and  Gunter,  Democrats.  Hadley 
had  proclaimed  Snyder,  Minstrel, 
elected  over  Bell,  and  Hynes,  Re- 


former, over  Bradley,  and  issued 
these  two  certificates  of  election, 
which  entitled  them  to  seats.  The 
others  had  given  notice  of  con- 
tests to  their  opponents,  Wilshire 
and  Asa  Hodges,  Minstrels.  Gun- 
ter's  notice  was  served  and  pub- 
lished in  the  papers  March  12th, 
and  that  of  Gause  March  14th, 
Governor  Baxter  declined  to  issue 
the  certificates.  He  remitted  the 
contestants  to  Congress.  Hodges 
really  abandoned  his  case  by  re- 
maining in  the  State  Senate. 

On  the  31st  of  March,  Mr.  Ben- 
ton Turner,  claiming  to  represent 
Conway  County  in  the  House,  in- 
troduced the  following  bill,  which 
immediately  became  a  cause  of 
discord  that  revived  the  dormant 
antipathies  of  the  factions,  and 
produced  results  of  far-reaching 
and  of  incalculable  moment.  It 
was  designated  the  "  Railroad 
Steal  Bill,"  but  was  entitled  by  its 
introducer : 

An  Act  Amendatory  of  and  Supplementary 
to  An  Act  to  Aid  in  the  Construction  of 
Railroads ;  approved  July  isi,  iS68 : 

Whereas,  In  pursuance  of  the  above  enti- 
tled act,  the  State  issued  her  bonds  amount- 
ing to  $5,200,000,  and  the  Railroad  Commis- 
sioners have  power  to  add  $6,200,000  to  the 
amount  so  issned  when  road-beds  of  railroads 
shall  be  prepared  for  iron  ;  and 

IVhereas,  Bonds  have  been  issued  to  rail- 
road companies  to  the  amount  of  $1,000,000 
for  road-beds  upon  which  no  iron  has  yet 
been  placed ;  and 

IVhereas,  Said  railroad  companies  have 
become   otherwise   indebted   to  the    State  in 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


173 


their  present  condition,  not  completed  or  fully 
equipped,  and  without  iron  rails  or  ballast  are 
of  no  security  or  value  to  the  State ;  and 

Whereas,  To  complete  said  roads,  and  to 
limit  further  issue  of  State  bonds  and  to  in- 
duce said  railroad  companies  to  release  the 
State  from  the  further  issue  of  bonds,  etc. 

Section  i.  Be  it  therefore  enacted,  that  any 
railroad  company  which  has  received  the 
bonds  of  the  State  of  Arkansas  to  aid  in  the 
construction  of  its  road,  or  become  otherwise 
indebted  to  the  State,  which  shall  deliver  to 
the  Treasurer  of  the  State,  certificates  of  full 
paid  stock  of  such  company  not  liable  to  as- 
sessment, equal  in  amount  to  the  bonds  which 
have  been  issued  to  said  company,  or  other 
indebtedness,  and  any  railroad  company  now 
existing  or  which  has  been  or  shall  be  organ- 
ized by  purchase  or  otherwise,  are  authorized, 
by  a  vote  of  the  majority  of  the  directors  of 
said  company,  to  issue  and  deliver  to  the 
Treasurer  of  the  State  the  amount  of  stock 
herein  indicated,  which  when  tendered  and 
delivered  by  said  company  shall  release  the 
same  from  the  payment  of  the  principal  of 
said  bonds  delivered  to  said  company  and  the 
interest  or  tax  due  thereon  and  from  any  and 
all  liability  to  the  State  arising  out  of  the  de- 
livery of  said  bonds  to  said  railroad  company 
under  and  by  virue  the  provisions  of  An  Act 
entitled  An  Act  to  Aid  in  the  Construction  of 
Railroads,  and  for  any  other  indebtedness ; 
and  that  the  treasurer  shall  execute  and  deliver 
in  the  name  and  behalf  of  the  State  a  receipt 
for  said  stock,  and  discharge  said  railroad 
company  from  the  payment  of  said  bonds, 
interest  or  tax  due  thereon,  and  any  other  in- 
debtedness for  which  said  stock  was  delivered. 

Provided,  That  any  railroad  company  shall 
be  entitled  to  the  provisions  and  benefits  of 
this  section  whenever  the  board  of  directors 
or  a  majority  thereof  of  said  company  shall, 
within  ninety  days  from  the  passage  of  this 
act,  file  with  the  board   of  railroad  commis- 


sioners written  acceptances  of  the  provisions 
of  this  act  and  a  release  of  the  State  from  a 
further  issue  of  bonds  and  of  the  right  to  de- 
mand the  same. 

Sec.  2.  Be  it  further  enacted,  that  any  and 
all  demands  which  may  be  declared  upon  said 
railroad  stock  delivered  to  the  State,  shall  be 
paid  to  the  treasurer  of  the  State  and  shall  be 
set  apart  as  a  separate  fund,  to  be  applied  by 
him  exclusively  to  the  payment  of  the  inter- 
est on  said  bonds  and  to  their  redemption 
when  they  become  due. 

Sec.  3.  Be  it  further  enacted,  that  the 
shares  of  stock  held  and  acquired  by  the 
State  in  the  said  railroads,  in  pursuance  of 
the  provisions  of  this  act,  shall  have  the  same 
rights  as  the  shares  of  other  stockholders,  and 
none  others ;  and  the  Governor  shall  desig- 
nate an  agent  to  vote  the  said  stock  at  all 
meetings  of  the  stockholders. 

Sec,  4.  That  a  tax  of  three  mills  on  the 
dollar  is  hereby  levied  on  all  the  real  2.'^^ per- 
sonal property  in  the  State,  subject  to  taxa- 
tion, for  the  purpose  of  creating  a  fund  for  the 
payment  of  interest  on  said  bonds  and  the  re- 
duction of  the  principal.  And  it  is  hereby 
ordered  and  declared,  that  the  taxes  collected 
under  and  in  pursuance  of  the  levy  herein 
made,  shall  be  collected  in  lawful  money  of 
the  United  States,  and  used  for  no  other  pur- 
pose than  the  payment  of  such  interest  and 
principal  of  the  same. 

Sec.  5.  That  this  act  shall  take  effect  and 
be  in  force  from  and  after  its  passage,  and  all 
acts  or  parts  of  acts  inconsistent  herewith  are 
hereby  repealed. 

[Mr.  Pindall  (Democrat)  of  Chicot,  upon  the 
first  reading,  moved  that  the  bill  be  rejected, 
in  order,  he  said,  "  to  test  the  sense  of  mem- 
bers as  to  this  gigantic  steal." 

White  of  Crawford  (Republican),  voted 
with  the  Democrats  to  reject.  Pindall's  mo- 
tion was  voted  down,  ayes  only  29,  nays  41. 


174 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


Turner,  the  reputed  author  of  the  bill,  had 
been  declared  elected  member  for  Conway 
county,  where  negroes  were  the  principal 
electors.  There  were  great  numbers  of  them 
on  the  plantations  along  the  Arkansas  River. 
He  had  been  originally  Sheriff  of  the  county, 
appointed  by  Clayton.  He  was  an  avowed 
political  wrecker,  and  loud-mouth  supporter 
of  all  measures  of  oppression  and  extortion, 
of  unlimited  gall,  a  modern  Ancient  Pistol- 
He  had  been  chosen  to  introduce  the  bill  by 
its  real  framers,  who  preferred,  for  obvious 
reasons,  to  remain  in  the  background.] 

The  introduction  of  the  bill  to  re- 
lease the  indebtedness  of  the  rail- 
road companies,  and  tax  the  peo- 
ple in  currency  to  pay  interest  on 
the  bonds,  aroused  the  public  in- 
dignation and  alarm.  It  was  re- 
garded as  indicating  the  com- 
mencement of  a  new  era  of  spoli- 
ation, exceeding  anything  yet 
inaugurated.  The  motion  of  Pin- 
dall  sounded  the  alarm.  The  Dem- 
ocratic newspapers  caught  it  up 
immediately.  The  Gazette  of  Lit- 
tle Rock  thus  commented  upon  its 
introduction  and  the  refusal  of  the 
House  to  postpone  it : 

THE  BIG  STEAL. 
"  At  last,  the  big  railroad  steal,  or  the 
measure  donating  to  the  railroad  companies 
and  bondholders  $5,200,000  of  the  bonds  of 
the  State,  has  been  introduced  into  the  House. 
Benton  Turner,  a  carpet-bagger  of  the  deepest 
dye,  who  never  earned  a  dollar  in  Arkansas 
by  the  sweat  of  his  brow,  and  who  is  supposed 
to  represent  Conway  County,  is  the  fitting  in- 
strument through  which  the  measure  was 
launched  into  the  House  yesterday.  It  seems 
that  all  the  Republican  members  of  the  House, 
save  one  or  two,  have  already  been  secured  in 


support  of  the  measure.  A  motion  to  reject 
the  bill  was  voted  down  by  the  Republicans 
except  Mr.  White  of  Crawford  voting  for  the 
motion.  The  bill  not  only  makes  a  present  of 
the  bonds  to  the  railroad  companies  (for  every 
one  knows  that  the  stock  of  the  companies, 
which  is  to  be  delivered  under  it  is  worthless), 
but  it  levies  a  tax  on  the  people  of  three  mills 
in  currency  on  the  dollar,  to  pay  the  interest. 

"  We  believe  that  every  vote  given  for  the 
bill  has  hetn purchased,  in  one  way  or  anoth- 
er. Its  supporters  should  be  held  up  to  pub- 
lic scorn  and  contempt  for  all  time  to  come. 
The  tax  to  be  imposed  by  it,  suppose  only 
$5,000,000  bonds  have  been  issued,  and  the 
taxable  property  is  $100,000,000,  will  be  $300- 
000  annually  in  currency.  The  depreciated 
State  scrip  in  the  hands  of  the  people  not  re- 
ceivable. 

"All  roads  which  had  been  built  or  equipped 
through  aid  of  the  bonds  of  the  State,  owed 
the  State  interest  on  them  at  8  percent. /^r 
annum,  and  this  was  a  lien  on  the  road-beds 
and  tangible  property.  The  bill  was  drawn 
to  release  them  from  this  lien  and  interest  and 
taxes  due  by  them  to  the  State.  It  will  dis- 
charge not  only  that  accruing  on  the  bonds 
issued  under  the  act  in  aid  of  the  railroads, 
but  interest  on  money  loaned  years  before  the 
passage  of  that  act — $94,000  advanced  as  in- 
terest on  the  bonds  issued  to  the  Fort  Smith 
and  Little  Rock  Railroad,  and  $44,000  accrued 
interest  on  the  Memphis  and  Little  Rock 
Railroad. 

The  entire  expenses  of  the  State 
Administration  prior  to  reconstruc- 
tion had  at  no  time  exceeded  One 
Hundred  and  Fifty  Thousand  Dol- 
lars. Here  was  to  be  added,  in 
one  measure,  not  called  for  (and 
proposing  to  violate  the  Constitu- 
tion) a  tax  of  double  that  sum. 
The  Constitution  required   a  vote 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


175 


of  the  people  at  the  ballot  box  to 
authorise  a  loan  of  State  credit 
(Art.  X.  Sec.  6).  If  loaned,  by 
vote  of  the  people,  it  required  the 
same  authority  to  revoke  the  con- 
tract, or  modify  it,  in  order  to  cre- 
ate out  of  it  a  new  indebtedness. 
A  similar  attempt  in  Missouri 
was  declared  invalid  by  the  Su- 
preme Court  of  that  State.  Dur- 
ing the  agitation  of  this  nefarious 
measure  attempts  were  made  to 
commit  Governor  Baxter  in  its 
favor;  and  that  appearing  to  fail, 
to  create  the  belief  "  that  he  had 
pledged  himself  to  it,  but  had  be- 
come alarmed  at  the  public  oppo- 
sition,  and   refused   to  fulfill  his 

pledge."(?) 

The  attitude  of  the  Governor 
towards  this  bill  was  the  great 
controlling  cause  of  the  alienation 
of  such  influential  leaders  of  his 
party  as  Chief  Justice  McClure, 
Asa  Hodges,  H.  M.  Cooper,  Ste- 
phen Wheeler,  John  M.  Clayton, 
and  finally,  as  a  sequence,  Senator 
Powell  Clayton. 

The  Poland  investigation  into 
the  causes  of  the  alienation  of  the 
Claytons,  McClure  &  Co.,  goes 
into  the  subject  at  great  length, 
and  fully  develops  the  fact,  that 
McClure's  dislike  of  Baxter  grew 
out  of  his  final  opposition  to  this 
measure,  and  refusal  to  be  the 
mere  instrument  of  "a  ring"  of 
political  wreckers,  rather  than 
Governor  of  his  State  which  he 
had  sworn  and  pledged  himself  to 
his  neighbors  to  be,  according  to 


the  best  of  his  ability,  in  conform- 
ity to  law.  Powell  Clayton  was 
drawn  into  the  alienation  by  Mc- 
Clure. 

Chief  Justice  McClure,  at  the 
same  time  that  he  was  a  judge  of 
the  court  of  last  resort  in  the 
State,  had  an  interest  in,  and  fre- 
quently wrote  for,  the  Little  Rock 
Republican,\.h.Q  "Minstrel"  organ. 
To  show  that  he  did  not  regard 
these  several  occupations  as  in- 
compatible or  conflicting,  there  is 
his  testimony  on  oath  preserved 
in  the  Congressional  records  of  the 
Senate  investigation  of  the  meth- 
ods of  the  election  of  Senator 
Clayton  to  a  seat  in  that  body,  pp. 

344.  345- 

Questioned,  by  Mr.  Barnes,  as 

to  his  receiving  levee  bonds,  in  any 
transaction,  McClure  declined  to 
ansiver. 

Interrogated  by  Senator  Nor- 
wood. 

Q.  What  was  the  consideration  for  those 
bonds?    A.     For  the  bonds  I  received? 

Q.     Yes.     A.     My  services. 

Q.  Your  services  in  what  way?  ^\^lat 
were  'your  services  connected  with  ?  A.  In 
the  passage  of  the  bill ! 

He  was  then  the  Chief  Justice 
of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
State. 

Questioned  by  Senator  Clayton. 

Q.  I  am  interested  to  ask  you,  if  you  did 
not  at  one  time,  while  you  were  Judge  of 
the  Supreme  Court,  receive  for  your  services 
as  a  judge,  the  sum  of  $3,000  in  money  from 
Milton  L.  Rice,  of  the  City  of  Little  Rock? 
A.     No,  sir. 


176 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


Q.  Neither  directly  nor  indirectly?  A. 
Neither  directly  nor  indirectly.  Right  there 
I  want  to  make  a  statement.  I  was  connected 
with  the  Little  Rock  Republican.  [He  was 
Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  from  the  adop- 
tion of  the  Reconstruction  Constitution  until 
the  Constitution  of  1874  displaced  it.]  Mil- 
ton Rice,  as  the  President  of  the  Cairo  &  Ful- 
ton Railroad  Co.,  came  to  me  and  had  a  con- 
versation. In  that  conversation  he  desired  to 
ascertain  of  me,  if  I  could  control  the  columns 
of  the  Republican  from  attacking  the  Cairo  & 
Fulton  Railroad,  as  they  were  about  submit- 
ting propositions  to  the  different  counties  to 
vote  county  aid.  I  said  to  Mr.  Rice,  that  I 
did  not  know  whether  I  could  or  not,  that  I 
would  ascertain.  I  satisfied  myself  upon  that 
point,  that  I  could  control  the  paper  to  such 
an  extent  that  articles  would  not  appear  against 
the  railroad.  I  went  to  Rice  and  so  stated  to 
him.  Mr.  Rice  then  proposed  to  pay  me  $2,ocx) 
in  money  and  $12,000  in  paid-up  stock  of  the 
company  in  the  event  that  I  would  control 
the  paper  to  that  extent.  I  said  I  would  not 
give  him  a  picayune  for  the  Cairo  &  Fulton 
stock.  He  then  said  he  would  pay  me  $6,000 
in  money  to  keep  the  Republican  from  at- 
tacking the  road.  I  said  I  would  take  it. 
Very  well.  There  were  no  writings  about  it 
of  either  the  one  or  the  other.  Mr.  Rice  as- 
sured me  upon  his  personal  honor  that  the 
$6,000  should  be  paid.  I  controlled  the  col- 
umns of  the  newspaper  in  accordance  with 
my  agreement.  After  the  work  had  been  per- 
formed and  the  election  was  over,  I  went  to 
Mr.  Rice  one  day  and  told  him  I  wanted  some 
money.  He  went  off  on  a  tangent  and  said 
that  I  had  gone  to  a  party  by  the  name  of 
Smith,  and  some  other  parties  down  there, 
who  were  to  make  a  contract  for  that  road 
and  had  prevented  his  making  that  contract ; 
that  Hodges  and  Benjamin  and  others  were 
growling  and  refused  to  pay  the  $6,000.  I 
then  said  to  Mr.  Rice  that  I  had  notliing  to 
do  with  Hodges,  Benjamin  or  Senator  Rice, 


or  with  the  railroad,  one  way  or  the  other; 
that  he  had  pledged  me  his  pergonal  honor 
for  the  payment  of  that  $6,000  in  the  event 
that  I  should  do  as  I  agreed,  and  I  had  done 
strictly  as  I  had  agreed  to  do.  Said  I :  "  Mr. 
Rice,  you  can  pay  this  or  not."  Said  he: 
"Whatever  I  pay  I  will  have  to  pay  out  of  my 
own  pocket,  as  Hodges  and  others  refuse  to 
contribute  to  the  payment."  He  then  gave 
me  a  check  on  the  Merchants'  National  Bank 
for  $600  and  his  acceptance  for  $2,400. 

Q.     That  made   $3,000?     A.     That  made 
$3,000.     The  other  $3,000  I  did  not  get. 

Senator  Clayton's  object  in 
drawing  out  this  testimony  can 
only  be  inferred.  If  it  was  to 
sTiow  the  peculiar  methods  of  the 
Rice  and  Cairo  &  Fulton  people, 
it  was  more  remarkable  as  the 
transaction  of  a  judge  of  the  Su- 
preme Court.  The  Senator  con- 
fined it  to  a  period  "while  the 
witness  was  a  judge  of  the  Su- 
preme Court."  The  transaction 
was  in  no  way  connected  with  the 
judicial  office. 

The  newspaper  McClure  had 
thus  controlled  for  the  Cairo  & 
Fulton  railroad  people,  the  Repub- 
lican, was  the  outspoken  advocate 
of  the  railroad  bond  bill.  Mr. 
Wilshire  had  published  an  article 
in  the  Gazette  of  April  8th,  de- 
nouncing the  bill,  in  which  he 
said :  *'  I  have  heard  it  whis- 
pered that,  if  the  Governor  should 
veto  the  bill,  articles  of  impeach- 
ment would  be  preferred  against 
him.  If  such  is  the  policy  of  the 
bond  thieves  then  I  say,  'lay  on, 
McDuff!"  " 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


177 


To  this  the  Republican  rephed : 

This  one-man  power  was  given  to  the  exec- 
utive to  hold  the  Republican  party  in  power. 
No  man  in  the  executive  chair,  before  this 
time,  ever  threatened  to  use  it  to  carry  out 
his  personal  wishes. 

The  Representatives  who  voted  for  the  bond 
bill  were  elected  by  the  same  votes  and  ap- 
pliances which  elected  Judge  Baxter  and 
Judge  Wilshire  (claiming  a  seat  in  Congress). 
They  are  the  men  to  whom  the  latter  are  in- 
debted for  their  present  position.  If  it  be 
true  that  the  Representatives  do  not  represent 
their  constituents,  what  assurances  have  we 
that  Gov.  Baxter  and  Judge  Wilshire  are  the 
favorites  of  the  people.  Our  impression  is 
that  the  less  said  upon  this  subject  the  better. 
From  what  we  know  of  the  last  canvass,  we 
should  advise  either  Gov.  Baxter  or  Judge 
"Wilshire  not  to  court  a  very  rigid  examina- 
tion into  the  title  to  their  offices." 

The  bill  having  passed  the 
House,  went  to  the  Senate,  where 
it  was  amended  by  striking  out 
the  three-mill  tax,  or  any  special 
tax,  to  pay  interest  on  the  bonds. 
It  was  then  returned  to  the  House 
for  concurrence  in  the  amend- 
ment. 

Upon  this  the  Little  Rock  Re- 
pnblicaii,  controlled  by  McClure, 
said : 

The  bill  will  now  go  to  the  House,  where 
it  will  pass,  and  from  there  to  the  Governor, 
who  will  veto  it.  From  the  executive,  it  will 
come  back  to  the  House,  where  it  will  also 
pass,  and  become  a  law.  The  fight  against 
the  bill  by  the  executive  and  his  friends  will 
be  bitter  and  strong.  We  understand  that  the 
entire  official  patronage  of  the  executive  de- 
partment is  to  be  used  to  defeat  the  bill. 


We  say,  stand  firm!  The  Governor's  ap- 
pointments need  confirmation  by  the  Senate. 
The  vote  of  that  body  yesterday,  in  the  face 
of  the  Governor's  hostility  to  the  bill,  shows 
that  the  appointing  power  is  not  altogether  in 
his  hands.  Attempts  to  pay  for  men's  votes 
by  appointments  to  office  will  not  be  con- 
sented to  by  the  Senate. 

Down  with  the  one-man  power  !  It  is  time 
a  lesson  was  taught  the  men  who  would  thwart 
the  will  of  the  party.  We  say,  strike  at  the 
root,  and  never  cease  striking  until  this  con- 
tumacy and  pig-headedness  has  been  taught 
its  first  lesson. 

"  One-man  power!  "  It  was  he 
that  contrived  it.  "  How  soon  the 
whirligig  of  time  brings  in  his 
revenges." 

In  the  Senate,  fourteen  Repub- 
licans voted  for  the  bill.  Seven 
Republicans  and  all  the  Demo- 
crats voted  against  it.  The  seven 
Republicans  were  Dooley,  Duke, 
Elliott,  Good,  McChesney,  White 
(colored)  of  Phillips,  and  White 
(colored)  of  Pulaski. 

Upon  the  Congressional  investi- 
gation of  affairs  in  Arkansas,  the 
following  testimony  was  elicited 
on  the  subject  of  the  contest  over 
this  shameful  measure : 

E.  N.  Hill,  having  been  sworn, 
examined  by  Mr.  Rice,  p.  446. 

Q.  Was  there  a  great  squabble  on  the  bill? 
A.  Before  the  bill  was  ever  introduced,  I  was 
passing  one  day  from  my  room  in  the  Metro- 
politan Hotel,  and  going  by  Governor  Baxter's 
room,  he  called  me  in  and  handed  me  an  elec- 
tion bill,  I  think  it  was, — a  printed  bill  which 
he  said  was  a  very  infamous  one.  I  did  not 
like  it,  myself.      I  think  his  principal  objec- 


178 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


tion  to  it  was,  that  it  would  make  Lieutenant 
Governor  Smith  the  appointing  power,  instead 
of  himself.  There  were  several  other  objec- 
tionable features  in  it.  After  we  finished  talk- 
ing about  tnat  bill,  I  told  him  that  a  railroad 
bill  would  be  introduced  in  a  short  time,  and  I 
gave  him  a  sketch  of  its  provisions.  We 
talked  about  it  for  some  time.  ■  He  was  very 
much  opposed  to  the  bill.  I  had  learned  its 
provisions  from  Mr.  Sam  Tate,  of  Memphis, 
and  from  conversations  with  Alex.  McDonald. 
These  gentlemen  were  very  much  interested  in 
its  passage. 

Q.  And  Baxter  was  opposed  to  it?  A. 
Yes. 

Q.  Did  he  afterwards  change  his  mind  or 
his  action  on  that  ?  A.  There  was  a  great 
dispute  in  the  Legislature  about  the  bill,  and 
it  raised  a  great  deal  of  talk.  I  believe  that 
the  original  bill  passed  the  House  at  one  time 
by  a  small  majority.  I  think  Mr.  Baxter 
said  he  would  veto  it.  I  know  that  he  was 
very  much  opposed  to  its  passage,  and  that  it 
was  the  cause  of  political  difficulty  between 
himself  and  some  leading  Republicans.  The 
bill  was  amended,  but  the  amendment 
made  very  little  change  in  the  nature  of  the 
bill.  A  very  strong  effort  was  made  to  get 
Gov.  BaAter  to  withdraw  his  opposition  to  it. 
Going  to  my  room  one  night,  between  eleven 
and  twelve  o'clock,  I  understood  before  I 
went  up  stairs  that  a  gentleman  was  in  Bax- 
ter's room  endeavoring  to  get  him  to  sign 
that  bill.  [This  is  inaccurate,  as  the  bill 
would  not  be  ready  for  his  signature  after  the 
amendment  by  the  Senate,  until  submitted  to 
the  House  again.]  I  mean  the  amended  bill 
which  was  to  be  presented  the  next  day.  I 
had  heard  the  gentleman  was  authorized  to 
offer  Gov.  Baxter  some  pecuniary  reasons  for 
withdrawing  all  opposition  to  the  bill.  [The 
Gentleman  was  Asa  Hodges,  of  Crittenden 
county,  opposite  Memphis,  and  Sam  Tate,  of 
Memphis,  and  the  Memphis  and  Little  Rock 


Railroad  Company's  agents  had  doubtless 
started  and  talked  of  a  purpose  to  corrupt  the 
Governor.]  As  I  passed  Gov.  Baxter's  door, 
the  two  gentlemen  were  standing  together. 
I  did  not  stop  to  listen  to  the  conversation, 
but  I  heard  Baxter  say:  "You  can  tell  them 
that  I  will  not  oppose  the  bill  if  these  things 
are  all  made  up  right." 

Q.  You  did  not  know  what  "  these  things  " 
were?  A.  I  did  not,  only  by  what  I  had 
been  told. 

Q.  Do  you  know  what  the  parties  were 
prepared  to  put  up  as  "  these  things  " — that 
$25,000  was  ready  to  be  given  Baxter  if  he 
would  withdraw  his  opposition  to  the  bill? 
A.     I  had  heard  some  such  talk  as  that. 

Q.  And  Baxter's  remark  to  this  man  was 
made  on  the  subject  of  that  railroad  bill?  A. 
I  suppose  it  was.  (?)  I  had  been  informed 
that  the  gentleman  had  gone  there  to  consult 
him  with  reference  to  it.  I  had  been  in- 
formed by  the  man  who  sent  him. 

Q.  Was  the  bill  revived  the  next  day? 
[Col.  Hill's  answer  to  this  last  question  shows 
his  imaginings  to  have  been  unworthy  of  him, 
and  that  he  did  not  know  enough  about  the 
bill  to  form  a  correct  idea  of  a  conversation 
in  regard  to  it.]  A.  The  bill  was  brought 
into  the  Senate  next  morning  in  an  amended 
form !  [The  amendment,  as  we  have  seen, 
was  a  Senate  amendment,  and  it  had  to  go 
thence  to  the  House.  Mr.  Rice  should  not 
have  cross-examined  his  witness  so  closely.] 

Q.  For  some  reason  or  other,  the  thing 
fell  through,  and  Baxter  still  opposed  the 
bill?  A.  Yes.  He  still  opposed  it,  and  it 
did  not  pass. 

It  is  due  to  Gov.  Baxter  to  give 
his  version  of  the  circumstances 
attending  this  transaction  and 
similar  ones.  In  his  letter,  writ- 
ten to  the   New  York  Herald,  in 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


179 


May,    1874,    and   which    was    in- 
spired by  later  events,  he  said : 

I  had  scarcely  been  installed,  when  the 
Chief  Justice  and  his  friends  began  a  series  of 
demands  in  partial  or  total  violation  of  every 
pledge  upon  the  strength  of  which  I  had  been 
elected  to  office  *  *  *  in  short,  I  had  to 
choose  between  being  their  tool  or  their  en- 
emy. 

I  may  name,  among  the  measures  of  which 
they  attempted  to  compel  my  approval,  the 
subsidy  bill,  by  which  certain  railway  com- 
panies were  to  be  released  from  payment  to 
the  State  on  account  of  bonds  issued  to  them 
for  the  construction  of  their  respective  lines, 
about  $6,000,000:  the  metropolitan-police 
bill,  which  proposed  to  constitute  the  State  a 
metropolis,  the  police  of  which  should  have 
power  to  arrest  without  warrant  any  citizen  of 
the  State,  and  drag  him  for  trial  at  the  capital ; 
an  election  bill  concentrating  in  the  hands  of 
three  men,  designated  a  board  of  canvassers, 
and  having  for  their  chairman  the  Lieutenant 
Govenor,  not  alone  the  power  of  appointing 
judges  and  clerks  of  election,  but  also  the 
supervision  and  review  of  all  proceedings  and 
rettirns  of  election  ;  a  triumvirate,  which  could 
have  held  the  liberties  of  the  people  in  the 
perpetual  grasp  of  a  clique.  When  it  was  dis- 
covered that  I  could  not,  and  would  not  lend 
my  influence  or  give  my  consent  to  measures 
such  as  these,  persuasion  and  intimidation 
gave  place  to  attempted  bribery  and  kindred 
propositions  of  a  most  disgusting  character. 

After  the  adjournment  of  the 
Legislature,  there  was  a  calm 
on  the  surface  of  political  affairs 
in  Little  Rock,  The  Republican 
studiously  withheld  all  further  crit- 
icism of  the  executive.  It  even 
paid  him  "mouth  honor"  which 
the  reader  knew  to  be  "  breath." 


and  it  repressed  any  number  of 
curses,  not  loud,  but  deep.  Attor- 
ney General  Yonley  was  mani- 
festly perturbed  in  spirits.  He 
took  long  aimless  walks,  and 
chewed  up  many  handfuls  of  pea- 
nuts. His  partner,  Mr.  Whipple, 
wore  a  most  somber  aspect.  There 
were  flittings  to  and  fro  between 
their  offices  and  the  State-house  ; 
the  occupants  of  which  all  held 
authority  by  the  same  warrant  that 
Baxter  held,  but  who  would  be 
glad,  in  some  way,  to  question  his 
authority.  The  Rices  and  Mc- 
Clure  had  become  companionable. 
The  two  newspaper  organs  were 
billing  and  cooing.  On  May  i  ith, 
the  Little  Rock  Gazette,  published 
the  following  pararaph  entitled  : 

WHAT  DOES  IT  MEAN  ? 

There  is  a  rumor  current  that  the  Attorney- 
General  will  file  an  application  before  the  Su- 
preme Court,  at  its  meeting  on  Monday,  for  a 
writ  of  Quo  IVarranio  against  Governor 
Baxter.  If  he  is  not  entitled  to  the  office  of 
Governor,  by  reason  of  the  election  frauds 
in  November,  neither  is  the  Attorney-Gen- 
eral, nor  the  Lieutenant-Governor,  nor  Asso- 
ciate Justices  Searle  and  Stephenson,  claim- 
ing positions  under  that  electiom,  to  entitle 
them  to  consider  such  application. 

Notwithstanding  public  expect- 
ation, no  such  action  was  taken. 
Nearly  a  month  elapsed.  On  June 
the  3d,  the  Secretary  of  the  State 
Central  Committee  of  the  Demo- 
cratic party,  at  the  office  of  the 
committee  (his  law  office),  received 
a  visit  from  Governor  Baxter.    The 


i8o 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


Governor,  who  had  never  before 
entered  his  office,  informed  him 
that  notice  that  application  on  the 
relation  of  Joseph  Brooks  to  test 
the  vaHdity  of  the  Governor's 
election,  would  be  presented  to 
the  Supreme  Court  the  next  day, 
and  he  would  have  to  employ 
counsel  to  represent  him.  He 
said  the  movement  was  absurd,  as 
the  court  would  have  no  jurisdic- 
tion, but  the  issuance  of  such  a 
writ  would  cause  trouble  and 
should  be  prevented  if  possible. 
He  asked  the  Secretary  to  oppose 
the  filing,  or  demur  to  the  jurisdic- 
tion for  him  at  the  time  notified. 
The  Secretary  reflecting  upon  the 
importance  of  the  proceedings, 
and  the  character  of  the  Judges 
of  the  Court,  promptly  assured  the 
Governor  that  the  matter  was  of 
such  momentous  importance  to 
him,  and  to  the  State,  it  should 
be  represented,  with  the  greatest 
care,  and  by  the  ablest  and  most 
experienced  counsel.  The  Gov- 
ernor replied  with  a  smile,  that  he 
trusted  the  Court,  and  did  not  think 
that  it  would  have  any  difficulty  in 
arriving  at  a  just  conclusion.  His 
nonchalence    was    astonishing. 

And  then  several  of  the  leading 
members  of  the  bar  were  men- 
tioned. It  was  argued  that  it 
would  be  unwise  to  entrust  the 
destiny  of  the  State  and  people  to 
any  who  were  known  to  have  had 
transactions  with  the  members  of 
either  wing  of  the  Republican  par- 
ty, however  harmles-s  such  trans- 


actions may  have  been.  Then  ex- 
Judges  English  and  Compton  were 
named.  They  had  been  Judges 
of  the  Supreme  Court,  and  were 
lawyers  of  experience  and  ability. 
Judge  Gregg,  an  old  citizen,  and 
the  soundest  lawyer  on  the  bench, 
had  a  high  regard  for  Judge  En- 
glish. "  Be  it  so,"  said  the  Gov- 
rnor,  "  if  they  will  accept  the  em- 
ployment." 

The  Secretary  accompanied  him 
back  to  the  State-house  and,  on 
the  way,  hinted  that  it  might  be 
well  to  employ  an  armed  guard  for 
himself  and  his  books  and  papers 
in  future.  The  Governor  laughed 
at  what  he  deemed  an  exaggerated 
idea  of  the  danger  threatened. 
The  Secretary  proceeded  to  seek 
the  two  ex-judges.  He  found 
Judge  English  at  McNair's  barber- 
shop, and  went  with  him  to  his 
office  over  Risen's  store  (Tucker's 
corner).  Judge  English  fully  ap- 
proved the  idea  of  an  armed  guard, 
and  Captain  John  C,  Peay  was 
agreed  upon  as  the  commander. 
Judge  Compton  accepted  the  em- 
ployment. Governor  Baxter  con- 
sented to  the  protection  of  the 
militia,  and  Captain  John  C,  Peay 
and  his  company,  composed  of  the 
first  young  men  of  the  city,  were 
that  night  quartered  in  the  Execu- 
tive wing  of  tJie  capitol. 

The  argument  in  this  quo  war- 
ranto proceedings  lasted  until  noon 
of  the  5th  of  June,  That  after- 
noon, Judge  Lafayette  Gregg  de- 
livered   an    oral    decision    of  the 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


i8i 


Court,  which  held  that  the  writ 
should  not  issue,  on  the  ground 
that  the  Court  had  tio  jiirisdiction 
of  such  a  contest ;  that  the  juris- 
diction was  in  the  General  Assem- 
bly alone.  The  reasons  for  the 
opinion  would  be  given  thereafter 
in  writing.  The  Chief  Justice, 
McClure,  announced  that  in  proper 
time  he  would  file,  in  writing,  the 
reasons  which  compelled  him  to 
dissent  from  the  decision  of  a  ma- 
jority of  the  Court,  which  he  did. 
The  case  is  reported  in  29  Ark. 
These  proceedings,  and  the  prompt 
action  of  the  Governor,  produced 
a  tremendous  sensation  in  the 
city  and  all  parts  of  the  State  to 
which  they  were  communicated. 
Offers  of  aid  and  armed  support 
came  to  the  executive  from  all  quar- 
ters and  from  men  of  all  parties. 
Senators  Clayton  and  Dorsey, 
who  were  in  New  York,  before  a 
decision  was  announced  by  the 
Court,  telegraphed  their  disappro- 
val of  the  application  for  quo  zvar- 
ranto,  and  their  sympathy  with 
the  Governor.  Clayton's  dispatch 
was  as  follows : 

New  York,  June  3d,  1873. 
His  Excellency  Elisha  Baxter  : 

Quo  Warranto  proceedings  against  you 
have  been  inaugurated  without  my  knowledge 
or  approval,  and  are  in  my  opinion  unwise 
and  highly  detrimental  to  the  interests  of  the 
State.  '  My  judgment  did  not  approve  your 
late  action  (calling  on  the  military)  because  I 
did  not  believe  that  such  a  move  was  seriously 
contemplated,  and  even  if  contemplated,  I 
regard  the  calling  out  of  the  militia  as  prema- 


ture. Nor  would  I  now  advise  any  show  of 
force,  unless  a  forcible  attempt  should  be 
made  to  oust  you.  I  believe  you  are  the  legit- 
imate Governor  of  Arkansas ;  and  as  much  as 
I  regret  to  see  our  State  disgraced  abroad  by 
distractions  at  home,  I  hope  you  will  stand 
firm,  regardless  of  results. 

Powell  Clayton. 

Jack  Agery,  Brooks'  colored 
friend,  said  on  hearing  this  dis- 
patch :  "  Clayton's  got  his  eye 
on  a  seat  for  second  term  in  de 
Senate.  But  if  he  sticks  to  Bax- 
ter, Brooks  will  set  down  on  dat 
eye  yit." 

Senator  Dorsey's  dispatch  of 
the  same  date,  also  from  New 
York,  was  brief  and  unequivocal : 

To  Governor  Elisha  Baxter: 

You  have  the  unqualified  support  of  my- 
self and  friends.  The  revolutionary  proceed- 
ings instituted  will  not  be  sustained  by  the 
people.  S.  W.  Dorsey. 

The  dispatch  of  Senator  Clay- 
ton, embodying  the  lecture  to 
Baxter  upon  having  called  on  the 
military  to  guard  the  executive 
office  was,  to  say  the  least,  un- 
reasonable. It  was  as  impracti- 
cable as  to  counsel  an  Arkansas 
River  planter  not  to  erect  his  levee 
against  a  flood  until  his  fields 
should  be  overflowed.  Clayton, 
under  the  circumstances,  would 
have  dissolved  the  court.  Arkan- 
sas securities  must  have  immedi- 
ately gone  down  in  Wall  street 
several  points.  Senator  Dorsey's 
dispatch  was  more  direct  and 
frank.     He   condemned    the   quo 


l82 


The  Brooks  mid  Baxter   War:  a  History 


warranto  proceedings  for  displac- 
ing the  executive  by  a  co-ordinate 
department  in  violation  of  all  pre- 
cedent and  the  provisions  of  the 
constitution,  as  "  revolutionary." 
It  was  revolutionary,  conceived  in 
z,  spirit  of  disregard  for  law  and 
contempt  of  the  decision  of  the 
Legislature  (alone  having  authori- 
ty), which  had  just  passed  upon 
the  right  of  Brooks  to  contest  the 
election. 

The  propriety  of  calling  in  mili- 
tary aid  had  been  considered  by 
Gov.  Baxter.  His  office,  in  the 
\7est  wing  of  the  capitol,  was  ac- 
cessible at  all  times  to  any  and  all 
who  might  see  proper  to  enter. 
The  Sheriff  of  the  county,  Col. 
William  S.  Oliver,  upon  whom 
devolved  service  of  the  process  of 
the  Supreme  Court,  was  a  partisan 
of  McClure  &  Co.,  and  bold  to  ut- 
ter recklessness  in  the  perform- 
ance of  a  congenial  service.  Had 
the  court  ordered  the  writ  oi ouster 
contemplated  by  the  proceedings 
instituted,  or  other  process  for 
securing  the  possession  of  the  ex- 
ecutive office,  Oliver  would  have 
been  in  the  executive  office  with 
his  force  in  an  instant,  and  the 
Governor  been  compelled  to  con- 
tend for  possession  from  without. 
The  Governor,  as  commander-in- 
chief,  had  a  right  to  protect  his 
office  by  a  military  guard  when  he 
was  thus  menaced  by  revolution- 
ary and  unlawful  proceedings. 
Clayton,  himself,  would  not  have 
hesitated  a  moment,  and  would,  in 


a  similar  case  against  him,  have 
sworn  out  an  affidavit  against  the 
Attorney-General  and  caused  his 
arrest  under  the  statute  against 
treasonable  conspiracy  and  usur- 
pation of  authority. 

The  decision  of  the  court  gave 
great  satisfaction  to  citizens,  as 
an  assurance  that  it  was  the  end 
of  official  contests ;  that  an  era  of 
tranquility  had  arrived  at  last. 
They  sought  to  express  their  grati- 
fication in  a  serenade  to  the  Gov- 
ernor on  the  evening  of  the  9th  of 
June,  in  the  State-house  yard. 
There  was  a  large  crowd  in  attend- 
ance. The  Governor  responded 
by  an  earnest  appeal  in  justifica- 
tion of  such  action  as  he  had 
deemed  it  necessary  to  take,  claim- 
ing it  to  be  solely  for  the  public 
welfare.  After  a  brief  history  of 
the  events  leading  up  to  the  ap- 
plication {ox  quo  zvarranto,  and  his 
precautions  to  prevent  violence, 
he  said : 

Under  these  circumstances,  and  with  a 
knowledge  of  many  of  the  more  secret  move- 
ments and  declarations  of  those  bad  men,  who 
had  been  urged  to  violent  extremes,  by  being 
thwarted  in  their  many  efforts  to  rob  and 
plunder  the  people,  I  felt  fully  justified  by 
every  rational  consideration  not  only  to  for- 
tify and  defend  myself  against  these  desper- 
ate intrigues,  but  to  put  myself  in  a  position 
that,  if  need  be,  I  might  meet  force  with  force, 
and  repel  violence  with  violence. 

It  is  a  source  of  great  happiness  \p  me  to 
know  that  I  was  not  only  spared  the  sorrow 
and  humiliation  of  an  actual  conflict,  with  all 
its  attendant  evils,  but  still  more  so  that  in 
my  efforts  to  strengthen  the  executive  arm  I 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


183 


was  supported  by  the  ready  response  of  my 
most  worthy  fellow-citizens  of  all  parties  and 
colors,  and  was  not  driven  to  the  necessity  of 
inflicting  the  slightest  injury  to  any  interest, 
or  of  interfering  with  the  forms  of  law,  or 
disturbing,  in  the  least  degree,  the  ordinary 
currents  of  social  peace  and  order. 

None  but  his  enemy  or  an  inter- 
ested schemer  hesitated  to  com- 
mend his  course.  It  had  been  a 
negative  action,  it  is  true,  but  was 
borne  with  firmness  and  courage. 
He  had  been  in  great  peril  but  his 
success  in  the  crises  thus  formed, 
seemed  to  augur  a  triumphant 
vindication.  These  difficulties 
were  thought  to  be  at  an  end. 
The  two  organs  gave  forth  angry 
mutterings  and  vague  threats. 

Ordinarily,  the  decision  of  a 
court  of  the  dignity  of  an  Appell- 
ate Court  of  a  State  is  supposed 
to  be  certain  and  final,  unless 
modified  or  overruled  upon  formal 
petition  and  notice.  Four  of  the 
five  Judges,  Gregg,  Bennet,  Searle 
and  Stephenson  had  agreed  in  de- 
ciding that  this  Court  had  no  jur- 
isdiction in  a  contest  for  the  office 
for  Governor.  The  Chief  Justice, 
McClure,  openly  dissented  from 
this  opinion.  It  is  difficult  to  be- 
lieve that  officials  occupying  their 
positions,  would  "descend  to  jug- 
gling and  yield  to  intrigue,  before 
they  could  conveniently  reduce 
their  decision  to  writing,  and  cause 
it  to  be  entered  upon  the  record. 
The  history  of  the  travails  of  the 
Court  in  finally  delivering  its  opin- 
ion is  both  amusing  and  humiliat- 


ing. If  some  of  them  were  not 
the  tools  of  political  bosses,  they 
were  belied. 

The  fact  is,  the  Court  was  about 
to  adjourn  when  the  application 
for  quo  warranto  was  attempted  to 
be  filed.  It  decided  against  its 
jurisdiction,  and  adjourned  with- 
out putting  the  decision  in  writing. 

Judge  M.  L.  Stephenson  was 
one  of  the  Supreme  Judges  who 
sat  in  the  quo  ivarranto  case, 
though  claiming  his  election  at 
the  same  election  and  by  the  same 
returns  relied  on  by  Baxter.  His 
testimony  will  fully  explain  the 
views  of  those  whose  interests  or 
positions  led  them  to  consider  the 
subject  of  those  legal  controver- 
sies. Upon  them  turned  the  des- 
tiny of  the  State.  Gov.  Baxter 
afterwards  charged  him  with  be- 
traying him. 

M.  L.  Stephenson,  sworn  and 
examined  by  Mr.  Rice  (report  of 
Poland  Investigation,  p.  266) : 

Q.  State  your  residence  and  occupation? 
A.  I  reside  in  Helena,  Arkansas.  I  am  a 
lawyer. 

Q.  Were  you  formerly  Justice  of  the  Su- 
preme Court  ?     A.     I  was. 

Q.  Were  you  present  on  the  bench  when 
the  quo  warranto  case  of  Brooks  and  Baxter 
was  introduced  ?    A.     I  was. 

Q.  What  question  was  submitted  to  the 
Court  in  that  case?  A.  The  Attorney  Gen- 
eral filed  an  information,  or  rather  asked 
leave  of  the  Court  to  file  an  information,  in 
the  nature  of  a  quo  warranto,  on  the  relation 
of  Joseph  Brooks  against  Elisha  Baxter. 
[The  Attorney  General  did  not  appear  in  the 
name  of  the  State.] 


1 84 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter    War:  a  History 


Q.  Was  the  question  made  by  Attorney 
General  Yonley  as  to  how  much  was  before 
the  Court:  and  was  an  announcement  made 
by  the  Chief  Justice  as  to  what  the  Court 
would  hear  and  decide  in  the  progress  of  the 
case?  A.  My  recollection  is  not  very  dis- 
tinct upon  those  matters.  My  recollection  is, 
however,  that  at  the  opening  of  the  case  it 
was  proposed  by  Mr.  Baxter's  counsel  to  ar- 
gue the  merits  of  the  case  touching  the  juris- 
diction of  the  Court  to  hear  and  determine 
such  a  suit.  I  think  Mr.  Yonley,  who  ap- 
peared for  Mr.  Brooks,  objected  to  that  ques- 
tion as  premature. 

Q.  Did  he,  Yonley,  only  appear  for  Mr. 
Brooks,  or  did  he  appear  as  Attorney  Gen- 
eral? A.  He  appeared  as  Attorney  General. 
The  suit  was  filed  on  the  relation  of  Mr. 
Brooks. 

Q.  Did  he  file  it  as  Brooks's  private  attor- 
ney, or  as  Attorney  General  ?  A.  As  Attor- 
ney General,  as  a  matter  of  course.  On  that 
point  the  Court  retired  for  consultation.  My 
recollection  is  that  when  we  retired  into  the 
consultation  room  a  vote  was  taken  as  to  what 
question  the  Court  should  hear.  The  first 
vote  was  taken  as  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
Court  to  hear  and  determine  such  a  case.  It 
was  decided  that,  as  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
Court  to  hear  a  contested  election  case,  the 
Supreme  Court  had  no  such  jurisdiction. 

Q.  What  was  the  announcement  made  by 
Chief  Justice  McClure  ?  A.  After  that  we 
agreed  that  the  questions  which  should  be 
submitted  would  be  on  the  motion  of  the  At- 
torney General  for  leave  to  file.  That  was 
the  motion  to  be  heard. 

Q.  What  was  the  announcement  of  the 
Chief  Justice  as  to  the  question  which  the 
Court  would  try  ?  A.  I  am  not  prepared  to 
say  what  the  announcement  of  the  Chief  Jus- 
Mce  was. 

Q.    What    did    the    Court    decide  to   an- 


nounce?    A.     The  Court  decided  that  the  At- 
torney General  would  not  have  leave  to  file. 

Q.  Who  made  that  announcement?  A. 
Judge  Gregg,  on  behalf  of  a  majority  of  the 
Court. 

Q.  Was  that  entered  as  the  judgment  of 
the  Court  ?  A.  I  never  saw  the  record,  but 
I  presume  it  was.  The  records  were  under 
control  of  the  Chief  Justice. 

Q.  Who  was  to  draw  up  the  opinion? 
A.  The  oral  announcement  was  made  on  the 
last  day  of  the  session,  in  the  afternoon.  The 
Court  was  ready  to  adjourn,  and  would  have 
adjourned,  but  for  that  business,  which  was 
presented  at  the  heel  of  the  term.  I  think  we 
extended  the  term  one  or  two  days  for  the 
purpose  of  hearing  and  disposing  of  that  case. 
When  the  oral  announcement  was  made  by 
Judge  Gregg  it  was  agreed  among  those  mem- 
bers of  the  Court  who  concurred  in  the  opin- 
ion, that  we  would  file  no  written  opinion  at 
that  time  ;  that  each  of  the  concurring  judges 
was  to  write  up  his  views,  and  that  at  the 
November  sitting  one  of  the  judges  would  de- 
liver the  opinion  of  the  majority  of  the  Court 
in  writing. 

Q.  Was  it  understood  that  you  were  to 
meet  and  agree  upon  the  opinion  when  you 
got  together  at  the  next  meeting.  A.  Yes ; 
we  were  to  meet  on  the  20th  November  and 
then  submit  our  views. 

Q.  You  adjourned  with  that  understand- 
ing?    A.     Yes. 

Q.  Was  there  ever  any  consultation  after- 
wards in  the  entering  up  of  the  opinion  as 
was  then  contemplated?  A.  The  proceed- 
ings were  afterwards  somewhat  irregular. 
[Witness  here  narrated  the  whereabouts  of 
the  Judges  in  their  summer  vacations,  and 
their  return,  at  the  urgent  request  of  Governor 
Baxter,  to  consider  matters  of  great  public 
importance.  Judges  in  those  days  wandered 
about     everywhere,     traveling     on     railroad 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


^85 


passer,.]  On  our  arrival  here  I  was  informed 
by  several  gentlemen  who  were  my  friends 
and  the  friends  of  Governor  Baxter,  that  a 
suit  was  pending  in  the  Pulaski  Circuit  Court 
(I  may  have  known  that  before  I  went  away) 
of  the  same  nature  of  the  one  that  had  been 
decided  in  the  Supreme  Court,  and  that  it  was 
apprehended,  nnless  the  opinion  of  the  Su- 
preme Court  was  reduced  to  writing  and  put 
on  file,  Judge  Whytock  (of  the  Pulaski  Cir- 
cuit Court,  a  Clayton  appointee — now  in  sym- 
pathy with  Brooks),  would  take  jurisdiction 
of  the  case,  on  the  plea  that  he  did  not  know 
what  the  opinion  of  the  Supreme  Court  was, 
and  render  some  kind  of  judgment  in  it.  So 
it  was  considered  of  great  importance  that  the 
opinion  of  the  Supreme  Court  in  the  quo  war- 
warranto  case  should  be  reduced  to  writing 
and  placed  on  file,  so  as  to  be  authoritative  on 
Judge  Whytock's  court.  I  understood  that 
Judge  Gregg  had  been  also  written  to  to  come 
to  the  capital.  The  difficulty  then  was  how  to 
get  the  concurring  members  together  for  con- 
sultation, and  to  reduce  the  opinion  to  writ- 
ing. It  was  agreed  that  we  should  correspond 
with  Judge  Gregg,  and,  if  he  were  not  able  to 
come,  that  we  would,  by  mail,  interchange 
views  and  arrive  at  a  conclusion. 

Q.  When  did  you  first  see  this  opinion 
(producing  the  opinion  on  the  quo  warranto 
case)?  A.  I  wrote  to  Judge  Gregg  and  he 
submitted  his  views.  He  drafted  that  opin- 
ion and  sent  it  down  here. 

Q.  When  was  that  ?  A.  That  was  in  the 
early  part  of  September,  I  think.  Perhaps 
the  opinion  as  perfected  was  not  received 
until  the  latter  part  of  September.  It  took 
some  time  in  correspondence. 

Q.     Had  he  signed  the  opinion  ?     A.    Yes. 

Q.  Go  on  and  state  what  you  know  about 
the  slip  of  paper  which  is  annexed  to  it ; 
where  it  was  written,  and  by  whom  ?  A.  I 
was  very  intimate  with  Judge  Caldwell — Judge 


of  the  U.  S.  District  Court — who  was  a  warm 
friend  of  Governor  Baxter.  When  I  got 
Judge  Gregg's  opinion,  I  took  it  up  to  Judge 
Caldwell,  and  showed  it  to  him,  or  raiher  read 
it  to  him.  He  made  some  suggestions  about 
it.  The  particular  objections  which  he  had  to 
the  opinion  was  that  no  where  in  it  was  there 
an  epitomized  statement  of  the  case  in  short 
form,  so  that  the  public  and  everybody  inter- 
ested would  readily  grasp  it.  He  suggested  a 
change,  or  that  there  be  interpolated  at  the 
end  of  the  opinion  a  summarized  statement  of 
the  points  contained  in  it.  He  met  Judge 
Searle  and  myself  in  the  library  of  the  Su- 
preme Court  the  next  morning.  I  sat  down 
and  embodied  what  I  conceived  to  be  Judge 
Caldwell's  ideas,  telling  him,  however,  that  I 
thought  they  were  all  in  the  opinion  already. 
He  admitted  that  they  were,  but  said  they 
were  not  in  such  concise  form  as  they  could 
be  understood  generally  by  the  public.  Ht 
was  not  exactly  satisfied  with  what  I  had 
written,  and  he  wrote  himself  a  statement  of 
what  he  conceived  ought  to  go  to  the  public, 
and  in  that  Judge  Searle  and  myself  agreed. 
It  was  substantially  what  the  opinion  was.  I 
copied  it  in  my  own  handwriting,  and  when 
I  wrote  to  Judge  Gregg  I  sent  it;  perhaps  I 
mentioned  Judge  Caldwell's  name,  and  asked 
him  if  it  met  his  views  to  copy  it  in  his  own 
handwriting  and  send  it  to  me  with  authority 
to  add  it  to  his  opinion.  He  did  so,  and  I 
appended  it  to  his  opinion.  That  is  the  his- 
tory of  the  fly-leaf. 

Q.  Had  you  signed  the  opinion  before 
that  was  appended?     A.     No,  sir. 

Q.  Had  Judge  Searle?  A.  I  think  he 
had.  I  think  he  signed  it  with  the  under- 
standing that  it  should  go  in.  I  know  that 
he  was  present  when  it  was  sent  to  Judge 
Gregg,  and  we  agreed  that  if  he  should  con- 
cur and  send  it  down  it  would  be  apjiended  to 
the  opinion. 

(After  some  testimony  to  the  friendly  rela- 


i86 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


tions  of  Judge  Caldwell  to  Baxter.)  Q.  Was 
the  wording  of  the  opinion,  the  so  drawing  it 
as  to  attempt  to  exclude  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
Circuit  Court  influenced  in  any  way  by  the 
desire  to  prevent  martial  law  ?  A.  There  is 
no  question  but  that  the  intention  of  framing 
the  decision  was  that  the  Circuit  Court  should 
not  take  jurisdiction. 

By  Mr.  Wilshire. 

Q.  Judge  Caldwell  wrote  the  addendum  as 
being  the  summary  of  the  opinion?  A.  Yes. 
I  do  not  think  he  desired  to  add  anything 
new  in  the  opinion.  As  he  stated,  it  was  a 
general  summary,  and  such  a  one  as  the  pub- 
lic could  grasp  without  difficulty.  I  do  not 
deny  that  on  reflection,  he  did  suggest  the 
language,  "neither  this,  nor  any  other  court" 
[can  exercise  jurisdiction  in  a  case  of  contest 
for  the  Governor's  office]. 

Q.  Would  you  have  filed  the  opinion 
whether  Governor  Baxter  had  disbanded  the 
militia  or  not?  A.  I  think  that  in  all  proba- 
bility I  would. 

Q.  Do  you  'know  of  any  positive  demand 
being  made  upon  Gov.  Baxter,  or  statement 
made  to  him,  that  unless  he  disbanded  the 
militia,  that  opinion  would  not  be  filed'?  A. 
I  do  not  personally.  I  only  know  from  state- 
ments of  Governor  Baxter  himself  in  regard 
to  it.  He  told  me  that  the  reason  he  complied 
with  that  demand  was,  that  he  was  threatened 
that  unless  he  disbanded  the  militia,  he  could 
not  have  the  benefit  of  the  opinion. 

Q.  Did  he  say  that  the  threat  came  from 
any  member  of  the  Court?  A.  No,  sir;  he 
made  the  above  statement,  after  the  disband- 
ment  of  the  militia.  He  said  the  person  who 
made  the  threat  said,  "  I  am  not  authorized 
by  any  member  of  the  Court  to  make  the 
statement,  but  I  believe  that  will  be  the 
case." 

Q.     Do  you  know  who   that  person  was? 


A.  I  know  who  Governor  Baxter  said  it  was, 
but  I  have  my  own  opinion  whether  it  was 
said  or  not. 

Q.  Who  was  it  that  Governor  Baxter  said 
told  him  so?  A.  He  said  it  was  Senator 
Clayton.  Judge  Caldwell  and  Senator  Clay- 
ton were  the  only  two  persons  who  went  to 
Baxter  about  it. 

THE    FLY    LEAF. 

"  Under  the  constitution,  the  determination 
of  the  question  as  to  whether  a  person  exerci- 
sing the  office  of  Governor  has  been  duly 
elected  or  not  is  vested  exclusively  in  the 
General  Assembly  of  the  State,  and  neither 
this  nor  any  other  court  of  the  State  has  juris- 
diction to  try  a  suit  in  relation  to  such  a  con- 
test, be  the  mode  or  form  what  it  may,  whether 
at  the  suit  of  the  Attorney  General,  or  on 
relation  of  the  claimant  through  him,  or  by  an 
individual  alone  claiming  a  right  to  the 
office.  Such  issue  should  be  made  before  the 
General  Assembly.  It  is  their  duty  to  decide, 
and  no  other  tribunal  can  determine  that 
question. 

(  Signed.)  "  L.  Gregg. 

"  M.  L.  Stephenson. 
"  E.  J.  Searle." 

April  15,  1874.  by  a  remarkable 
coincidence,  the  anniversary  of 
the  mustering  out  of  Upham,  and 
the  reorganization  of  the  militia 
under  Wilshire  and  Newton,  little 
John  Whytock,  de  facto  Judge  of 
the  Pulaski  Circuit  Court,  called 
up  the  usurpation  case  of  Brooks 
against  Baxter,  at  the  instance  of 
Whipple,  Benjamin  and  Burton, 
attorneys  of  Brooks,  in  the  ab- 
sence of  the  attorneys  of  Baxter, 
and  caused  to  be  entered  the  fol- 
lowing judgment: 


of  the  Recofistriiction  Period  i?t  Arkansas. 


187 


"The  demurrer  filed  by  the  defendant  to  the 
complaint  of  the  plaintiff,  having  heretofore 
been  submitted  to  the  Court,  and  taken  under 
advisement,  and  the  Court  being  sufficiently 
advised  of  the  law  arising  thereon,  overrules 
the  said  demurrer,  and  the  said  defendant_/at7- 
ing  to  answer,  and  there  being  no  answer  to 
said  complaint,  the  same  is  taken  for  con- 
fessed (!) 

"  It  is,  therefore,  ordered  and  adjudged,  that 
Joseph  Brooks,  named  in  the  complaint,  and 
plaintiff  in  this  action,  is,  and  he  is  hereby 
declared  to  be  entitled  to  the  said  office  of  Gov- 
ernor  of  Arkansas,  and  all  books,  papers  and 
other  appurtenances  thereto  belonging  by  vir- 
tue of  the  election  in  said  complaint  men- 
tioned. 

"  It  is  also  further  ordered  and  adjudged,  that 
the  said  plaintiff  recover  of  the  said  defendant 
the  sum  of  two  thousand  two  hundred  and 
eighteen  dollars  with  interest  thereon  at  the 
rate  of  six  per  cent,  per  annuni,  from  this 
date,  until  paid,  also  his  costs  in  this  behalf 
expended,  for  which  he  may  have  execution." 

Laymen  as  well  as  lawyers,  will 
perceive  the  clandestine  nature, 
as  well  as  the  unjust  character  of 
this  judgment.  It  was  rendered 
upon  technical  "  confession"  and 
false  statements  that  the  case  was 
submitted.  It  was  made  final 
without  warning  to  the  defendant 
or  his  attorneys.  It  gave  recovery 
for  certain  sums  of  money,  without 
proof,  or  inquest  of  damages,  and 
expresses  the  interest  to  be  re- 
covered thereon.  Its  phraseology 
is  prophetic  of  its  futility.  In  the 
very  wording  of  the  judgment, 
justice  was  heard  interpolating  her 
reversal  of  it.  This  judgment  was 
followed   by  motions   of  Baxter's 


counsel,  one  to  correct  the  entry 
which  was  granted,  another  to 
amend  the  judgment  so  as  to 
show  the  cause  had  not  been  sub- 
mitted, another  to  set  aside  the 
judgment,  which  were  overruled.^ 
which  order  denying  defendant 
leave  to  amend  the  record  entry, 
that  it  may  show  that  said  cause 
was  not  submitted  by  defendant 
or  his  counsel,  and  to  set  aside,  the 
plaintiff  prayed  an  appeal  to  the 
Supreme  Court — where  no  action 
could  be  had  immediately. 

Meanwhile,  as  Governor  Baxter 
states  in  his  Herald  letter : 

By  an  extraordinary  coincidence  Mr.  Brooks 
and'  his  friends  were  convenient  to  the  scene 
of  the  judgment.  Without  awaiting  the 
issue  of  the  writ  of  ouster,  and  upon  the 
overruling  of  the  demurrer,  no  moment  of 
time  being  given  for  the  filing  of  an  an- 
swer on  the  merits  of  the  case,  these  gen- 
tlemen procuring  a  mere  copy  of  the  min- 
utes of  the  judge's  action,  and,  by  a  second 
coincidence,  yf«^/«_^'-  the  Chief  fustice  close 
by,  had  Mr.  Brooks  secretly  sworn  as  GoV' 
ernor.  The  party  proceeded  without  delay  to 
the  executive  office,  where,  as  I  have,  in  a 
public  proclamation  remarked,  the  traditions 
of  the  American  people  would  have  rendered 
it  absurd  to  place  an  armed  guard  or  even  a 
vidette,  Mr,  Brooks,  in  person,  with  an  armed 
force  of  a  dozen  or  twenty,  took  possession  of 
my  room,  and  I  was  permitted  the  alternative 
of  forcible  and  unseemly  ejection,  or  of  such 
arrest  or  punishment  as  he  might  see  fit  to  in- 
flict. Before  I  could  take  measures  to  reoccu- 
py  the  State  House  it  was  filled  with  armed 
desperadoes, 

"Traditions    of    the   American 
people"    is   an    eloquent    phrase. 


i88 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


The  friend  who  advised  the  policy 
of  the  first  guard  on  the  State 
House  to  protect  Baxter  from 
wanton  interference  in  the  per- 
formance of  his  duty  to  the  people, 
begged  him  never  to  disband  it 
wholly,  as  long  as  there  were  rev- 
olutionary menances  against  his 
authority  and  the  safe  keeping  of 
the  public  archives. 

But  the  Governor  felt  safe  in 
the  hands  of  the  eminent  counsel 
in  whose  hands  he  had  placed  his 
case,  'va.  the  guarantees  of  his  en- 
emies and  the  protection  of  the 
courts.  His  attorneys  testified 
before  the  Congressional  Com- 
mittee in  explanation  of  the  tak- 
ing of  the  "snap-judgment,"  as 
follows : 

E.  H.  English,  sworn  and  examined  by  Mr. 
Howard : 

Q.  Were  you  one  of  the  attorneys  of  Gov- 
ernor Baxter  in  the  case  in  the  Pulaski  Circuit 
Court  of  Brooks  against  Baxter?  A.  Yes  : 
Mr.  Compton  and  myself  were  the  attorneys 
in  that  case  and  no  one  else. 

Q.  Were  you  present  in  the  Circuit  Court, 
Judge  Whytock's  court  on  the  morning  of  the 
day  when  the  U.  S.  Circuit  Court  was  to  meet 
in  Little  Rock  ?  A.  No,  sir  ;  I  did  not  have 
any  knowledge  that  Judge  Whytock's  court 
was  to  meet. 

,  Q.  Were  you  present  at  any  time  when 
Judge  Whytock  made  a  statement  in  reference 
to  the  session  of  his  court  during  the  session 
of  the  U.  S.  Circuit  Court  ?  A.  Yes :  on  the 
Saturday  before  the  meeting  of  the  U.  S.  Cir- 
cuit Court,  I  was  present  when  Judge  Why- 
tock made  his  statement  from  the  bench.  He 
said  that  eases  in  which  counsel  were  con- 
cerned who  had  business  in  the  U.  S.  Court 


would  be  passed  over  for  the  week  and  would 
not  be  called, — that  was  the  substance  of  his 
statement, —  and  that  any  members  of  the  bar 
who  had  business  in  the  U.  S.  Court  were  at 
liberty  to  go  there  and  he  would  not  call  their 
cases  during  their  absence. 

Q.  Was  that  statement  confined  to  jury 
cases  ?  A.  I  have  no  recollection  of  any  qual- 
ification of  the  general  remark. 

Q.  And  that  was  on  the  Saturday  prior  to 
the  week  in  which  the  decision  was  given  by 
Judge  Whytock  in  the  Brooks-Baxter  case? 
A.     Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Did  you  have  any  notice  prior  to  the 
rendition  of  that  judgment  that  that  case 
would  be  taken  up  for  determination?  A. 
No,  sir;  none  whatever.  I  had  no  knowledge 
that  the  case  had  been  taken  up  until  judgment 
had  been  rendered.  Mr.  Green  came  into  the 
United  States  Court  and  informed  me  that 
judgment  had  been  rendered,  and  that  Brooks 
was  in  possession  of  the  State  House.  That 
was  the  first  knowledge  that  I  had  that  the 
case  was  to  be  taken  up  or  had  been  taken 
up. 

By  Mr.  Rice. 

Q.  Was  not  that  case  submitted  on  de- 
murrer while  you  were  present?  A.  I  un- 
derstood it  was  submitted  on  Monday. 

Q.  Was  not  that  published  in  both  the 
papers  of  the  city  ?  A.  I  never  saw  it.  I 
have  understood  since  then  that  there  was  a 
notice  of  it  in  the  Republican,  but  I  did  not 
see  the  Republican.  There  was  no  one  in 
court  authorized  to  submit  it ;  for  Mr.  Comp- 
ton and  myself  were  the  only  attorneys  of 
record  in  the  case.  There  had  been  other 
counsel  in  the  United  States  Court,  but  we 
were  specially  retained  in  that  case,  with  the 
understanding  that  no  one  else  was  to  be 
counsel  in  the  case. 

Q.  You  were  not  only  the  only  attorneys  of 
record,  but  were  the  only  attorneys  who  took 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


189 


any  action  in  the  case  ?  A.  It  was  the  dis- 
tinct understanding  that  we  were  the  only 
counsel  in  that  case  in  the  Supreme  Court  and 
in  the  Circuit  Court.  Mr.  Compton  and  my- 
self had  an  understanding  with  Gov.  Baxter 
that  we  were  the  only  counsel,  and  that  we 
were  to  get  whatever  fees  were  paid. 

Q.  What  position  do  you  hold?  A. 
Temporarily,  a  position  as  Chief  Justice  of 
the  Supreme  Court,  commissioned  by  Gov. 
Baxter.     [Commissioned  after  these  events.] 

F.  W.  Compton,  sworn  and  ex- 
amined by  Mr.  Howard: 

Q.  Were  you  counsel  in  the  case  of  Brooks 
against  Baxter,  in  the  Pulaski  Circuit  Court? 
A.     I  was. 

Q.  Did  you  ever  submit  or  consent  to  the 
submission  of  the  demurrer  in  that  case  ?  A. 
I  never  did. 

Q.  When  did  you  first  know  of  the  de- 
cision ?  A.  A  short  time  after  Gov.  Baxter 
was  ejected  from  the  executive  office.  I  knew 
nothing  of  the  rendition  of  the  judgment  up 
to  that  time. 

Q.  Or  of  the  pretended  submission  of  the 
case?  A.  I  saw  it  in  one  of  the  papers,  the 
Republican,  I  think.  I  had  been  at  Camden 
very  sick.  After  my  return  home  I  went  to 
none  of  the  courts.  I  was  not  able  to  do  so. 
I  saw,  however,  a  few  days  prior  to  the  de- 
cision, an  announcement  in  the  Republican 
that  the  demurrer  had  been  submitted.  I 
thought  perhaps  Judge  English  had  been 
there.  I  paid  no  attention  to  it,  and  did  not 
go  into  court  at  all,  and  knew  nothing  of  the 
judgment  until  after  it  was  rendered.  Before 
I  went  to  Camden  I  had  a  conversation  with 
Mr.  Whipple.  I  was  anxious  that  there  might 
be  some  disposition  of  the  case,  and  Mr. 
Whipple  promised  me  that  he  would  have  it 
dismissed.  On  my  return  from  Camden  I  as- 
certained that  it  had  not  been  dismissed.     I 


saw  Mr.  Whipple  again,  and  asked  him  why 
it  had  not  been  dismissed.  He  said  he  did 
not  like  to  take  the  responsibility;  but  that 
some  time  or  other  it  would  be  taken  up  and 
dismissed  on  demurrer,  and  he  would  let  it  go 
off  that  way. 

He  tells  of  other  suits  of  a  simi- 
lar nature  that  had  been  dis- 
missed. 

Examined  by  Mr.  Rice  : 

Q.  A  case  can  be  submitted  on  demurrer 
without  consent,  can  it  not?  A.  It  is  usual 
in  the  practice,  so  far  as  I  know  anything 
about  it,  where  a  demurrer  is  filed,  the  other 
side  has  notice.  At  least  it  is  a  rule  among 
the  lawyers.  They  do  not  take  up  a  demur- 
rer and  submit  it  when  the  counsel  on  the 
other  side  is  absent.  I  know  of  no  such 
practice. 

Q.  Did  counsel  not  bring  it  up  once  in 
court?     A.     Not  so  far  as  I  know. 

Q.  You  do  not  know  the  fact  that  it  stood 
upon  call  for  submission?  A.  I  do  not  I 
had  not  been  attending  court. 

Q.  What  position  do  you  hold  now  ?  A. 
I  am  one  of  the  Justices  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  State,  appointed  and  commis- 
sioned by  Gov.  Baxter. 

Gov.  Baxter,  in  his  testimony 
in  regard  to  that  case,  when  ques- 
tioned by   Mr.  McClure,  said: 

Q.  Why  did  not  your  counsel  answer  after 
the  demurrer  was  overruled  ?  A.  My  delib- 
erate opinion  is,  that  it  was  because  there  was 
a  clandestine  agreement  between  yourself. 
Judge  Whytock  and  others  to  prevent  me 
from  having  an  opportunity  to  do  so. 

Q.  Upon  what  facts  do  you  make  that 
statement  ?  A.  I  make  it  generally  from  the 
characters  of  the  men  and  the  instances 
which  occurred. 


190 


The  Brooks  mid  Baxter  War:  a  History 


Q.  State  the  character  of  the  men  on 
which  you  formed  your  deliberate  opinion  ? 
A.  I  do  not  care  to  do  that.  I  do  not  want 
to  be  personal. 

Q.  You  made  no  attempt  to  appeal  ?  A. 
I  made  an  attempt,  by  prohibition,  to  have 
the  decision  opened  up.  .Failing  in  that  the 
town  became  a  military  cavip,  and  I  deter- 
mined to  fight  it  out  on  that  line.  I  think  I 
would  have  appealed,  but  for  the  interference 
of  the  military. 

Gov.  Baxter,  in  his  testimony, 
also  stated  in  regard  to  counsel 
employed  in  his  case  : 

Mr.  Whytock  refers  to  Mr.  "Williams  (Sam. 
W.)  as  havu.g  been  present  in  the  Court  at 
the  time  the  demurrer  was  submitted,  and 
says  he  was  generally  informed  that  Mr. 
"Williams  was  employed  by  me  in  that  case. 
I  desire  to  say  that  I  never  employed  Mr. 
Williams  in  my  life  to  do  anything.  Mr. 
Williams  and  I  have  been  always  friends  and 
acquaintances  for  twenty  years,  but  I  never 
employed  him,  and  he  had  no  authority 
whatever  to  speak  for  me  in  that  case. 

It  is  too  much  the  case  in  Arkansas,  of  late 
years,  that  men  decide  cases  on  reports  and 
rumors  and  hearsays,  and  frequently  decide 
them  without  going  into  the  court  house ;  as  I 
verily  believe  this  case  was  decided.  But,  so 
far  from  not  intending  to  answer  the  case  on 
its  merits,  I  have  always  intended  and  so  in- 
structed my  attorneys,  to  answer  on  the  merits 
of  the  case,  and  to  have  an  answer  prepared 
denying  the  allegations  of  the  complaint.  I 
did  not  intend  to  give  them  the  opportunity 
of  saying  that  I  was  unwilling  to  answer  on 
the  merits.  I  say  now,  generally,  on  this  sub- 
ject, that  it  has  been  my  understanding  that 
the  only  tribunal  on  earth  which  has  a  right  to 
decide  between  Brooks  and  myself  is  the  Leg- 
islature of  Arkansas.  I  have  given  him  two 
opportunities  to  decide   the   question  before 


the  Legislature,  but  I  was  not  willing  that  par- 
tisan courts  should  interfere  and  decide,  and 
I  do  not  intend  that  they  shall  do  so. 

But,  as  witnesses  in  their  testi- 
mony allude  to  the  case  in  the 
Pulaski  Circuit  Court,  upon  "w^hich 
the  Supreme  Court  decision  was 
thought  to  have  an  important 
bearing,  it  will  be  rendered  more 
intelligible  to  give  first  a  summa- 
ry of  the  proceedings  in  the  Pu- 
laski Circuit  Court.  It  was  upon 
the  disposition  of  that  case  that 
the  Reformers  and  their  new  al- 
lies claimed  the  authority  to  eject 
Baxter  and  take  forcible  posses- 
sion of  the  State  House.  The 
following  is  a  rescript  of  the  prin- 
cipal steps  taken  in  the  Pulaski 
Circuit  Court,  at  Little  Rock. 
The  suit  had  been  instituted  im- 
mediately after  the  failure  of  the 
qtio  warranto  proceedings. 

Monday,  June  16,  1873. 
Court  met  pursuant  to  adjournment.  Hon- 
orable John  Whytock,  Judge,  presiding. 

Joseph  Brooks,  Plaintiff,  1  ^  1  •  ^  ^ 
•'  g  (   Complamt  at 

Elisha  Baxter,  Defendant.]       ^^'^' 

Comes  the  complainant  by  Messrs.  Whip- 
ple, Benjamin  and  Burton,  and  by  leave  of  ♦hf* 
Court  files  his  complaint  herein,  which  said 
complaint  is  in  words  and  figures  as  follows, 
to  wit : 


Joseph  Brooks,  Plaintiff, 

vs. 
Elisha  Baxter,  Defendant. 


Complaint  at 
Law. 


Joseph  Brooks  brings  this  his  complaint 
against  Elisha  Baxter,  and  thereupon  respect- 
fully shows  this  Court: 

1.  That  on  the  fifth  day  of  November,  1872, 
at  a  general  election  duly  held  on  that  day  in 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


191 


the  State  of  Arkansas,  pursuant  to  the  Consti- 
tution and  laws  of  said  State  for  the  elec- 
tion, among  other  officers  that  of  the 
Governor  of  said  State,  for  the  term  of  four 
years  from  the  first  day  of  January,  1873,  the 
said  plaintiff  received  the  highest  number  of 
legal  votes  cast  at  said  election  for  the  office 
of  Governor  as  aforesaid;  the  said  plaintiff, 
then  and  there,  received  for  said  office  a  large 
number  of  legal  votes,  duly  and  regularly 
cast,  to-wit:  more  than  forty-five  thousand 
legal  votes  so  cast  as  aforesaid ;  and  the  said 
defendant,  then  and  there,  receiving  a  smaller 
number  of  votes,  to-wit:  less  than  thirty 
thousand  votes  for  said  office ;  and  at  wliich 
said  election  no  other  candidates  for  said  office 
of  Governor,  as  aforesaid,  received  more  than 
twenty-five  votes. 

2.  That  at  the  time  of  said  election,  saM 
plaintiff  had  attained  the  age  of  twenty  one 
years,  etc.  (stating  his  legal  qualifications). 

3.  That,  the  plaintiff  is  entitled  to  exercise 
said  office  and  to  be  installed  therein,  and 
placed  in  possession  thereof. 

4.  That,  on  the  seventh  day  of  January, 
1873,  the  said  defendant  usurped  the  said  of- 
fice of  Governor,  and  has  ever  since  unlaw- 
fully exercised  the  same,  and  withheld  the 
same  from  the  said  plaintiff. 

5.  That,  since  the  said  usurpation,  the  said 
defendant  has  received  a  salary,  fees,  and 
emoluments  pertaining  to  said  office  amount- 
ing to  a  large  sum  of  money,  to  wit,  to  the 
sum  of  three  thousand  dollars. 

6.  Wherefore  the  plaintiff  demands  judg- 
ment with  costs: 

(i).  That  the  said  defendant  is  not  entitled 
to  said  office,  and  that  he  be  ousted  therefrom : 

(2).  That  said  plaintiff  is  entitled  to  the 
said  office  and  to  assume  the  duties  of  the 
same,  and  to  be  installed  therein,  and  placed 
in  posession  thereof  on  taking  the  oath  pre- 
scribed by  law. 


(3).     That  he  may  have  judgment  for  the 
salary,  fees  and  emoluments  aforesaid. 
(4).     And  for  all  their  proper  relief. 
M.  W.  Benjamin, 
R.  A.  Burton, 
Wm.  G.  Whipple, 

Attorneys  for  Plaintiff. 

State  of  Arkansas,  \ 
County  of  Pulaski,  j  ^^' 

I,  Joseph  Brooks,  say  that  I  believe  the  facts 
and  matter  stated  in  the  foregoing  complaint 
to  be  true.  (Signed)    Joseph  Brooks. 

Subscribed  and  sworn  to  before  me  this  l6th 
June,  1873.  W.  F.  Blackwood, 

Clerk  Circuit  Court. 

The  filing  was  indorsed  "  Filed  in  open 
Court  June  i6th,  1873,"  and  summons  issued 
this  17th  June,  1873,  and  returned  served  on 
defendant  by  W.  S.  Oliver,  Sheriff,  the  same 
day. 

There  were  no  further  proceed- 
ings, in  this  case,  at  that  term  of 
the  Pulaski  Circuit  Court,  in  view 
of  this  action  of  the  Supreme 
Court  in  the  quo  tvarranto  case. 
The  Supreme  Court  decision,  it 
was  inferred,  would  be  filed  and 
would  control  the  Circuit  Court  in 
the  determination  of  the  usurpa- 
tion suit,  in  that  subordinate  trib- 
unal. But,  at  the  October  term, 
upon  the  arrangement  entered  in- 
to by  Clayton  that  the  Supreme 
Judges  would  file  their  decision, 
Baxter  having  disbanded  his  mili- 
tia in  pursuance  of  that  arrange- 
ment, there  was  yet  no  decision  of 
the  Supreme  Court  made  of  rec- 
ord. Baxter's  attorneys  saw  prop- 
er to  enter  a  demurrer  in  the  case 
in  the  Pulaski  Circuit  Court.     So 


192 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter   War :  a  History 


at  the  October  term,  1873,  of  the 
Circuit  Court  they  filed  the  follow- 
ing demurrer  to  the  plaintiff's 
(Brooks')  complaint  on  the  8th 
October. 

The  defendant  demurs  to  the  complaint 
herein,  because  it  appears  upon  the  face  of  the 
complaint,  that  the  Court  has  no  jurisdiction 
of  the  subject  of  this  action. 

Wherefore  the  defendant  prays  judgment 
that  the  plaintiff  be  debarred  from  maintain- 
ing said  action. 

At  a  subsequent  day  of  the  term, 
the  cause  was  continued  on  mo- 
tion of  the  plaintiff.  Brooks.  The 
case  now  stood  upon  demurrer, 
which  is  held  to  confess  the  truth 
of  the  allegations  of  the  com- 
plaint, but  if  overruled,  the  de- 
fendant may  then  answer  and  deny 
the  truth  of  the  matter  alleged — a 
perilous  attitude,  until  the  answer 
is  filed. 

The  statute  under  which  the  at- 
torneys of  Brooks  brought  this  ac- 
tion, in  the  Circuit  Court  (it  being 
remembered  that  Whipple  was  the 
partner  of  Yonley,  the  Attorney 
General,  who  instituted  the  quo 
tvarranto  proceedings),  was  con- 
tained in  Gantt's  Digest  of  the 
Statutes  of  Arkansas,  in  force  at 
the  time,  and  is  still  the  law. 

Section  5745.  In  lieu  of  the  writs  of  scire 
facias  and  quo  warranto,  or  of  an  information 
in  the  nature  of  a  quo  warranto,  actions  by 
proceedings  at  law  may  be  brought  to  vacate 
or  repeal  charters,  and  prevent  the  usurpa- 
tion of  an  office,  or  franchise. 

Section  5748.      Whenever  a  person  usurps 


an  office  or  franchise,  to  which  he  is  not  enti- 
tled by  law,  an  action,  by  proceedings  at  law, 
may  be  instituted  against  him,  either  by  the 
State,  or  the  party  entitled  to  the  office  or 
franchise,  to  prevent  the  usurper  from  exer- 
cising the  office  or  franchise. 

Section  5752.  Where  a  person  is  adjudged 
to  have  usurped  an  office  or  franchise,  he 
should  be  deprived  thereof  by  the  judgment 
of  the  Court,  and  the  person  adjudged  entitled 
thereto  reinstated  therein,  but  no  one  shall  be 
adjudged  entitled  thereto  unless  the  action  is 
instituted  by  hini.  And  this  court  shall  have 
power  to  enforce  its  judgment  by  causing  the 
books  and  papers  and  all  other  things  pertain- 
ing to  the  office  or  franchise,  to  be  surrendered 
by  the  usurper,  and  by  preventing  him  from 
further  exercising  or  using  the  same,  and  may 
etiforce  its  orders  by  fine  and  imprisonment 
until  obeyed. 

Section  5753.  Declares  the  usurper  liable 
for  fees  and  emoluments  to  the  person  entitled 
to  the  office  or  franchise. 

The  Brooks  lawyers  contended 
that  denial  of  jurisdiction  by  the 
Supreme  Court  in  the  quo  war- 
ra7ito  proceedings  would  «<?^  apply 
to  a  case  brought  in  an  inferior 
court  under  this  statute  against  a 
usurper,  even  if  the  decision  of  the 
Supreme  Judges  had  been  prop- 
erly signed  and  entered  of  record; 
that  the  case  in  the  Circuit  Court 
could  not  be  disposed  of  on  de- 
murrer, since  the  fact  of  a  previous 
contest  decided  between  the  par- 
tics  must  be  made  to  appear  in  the 
pleading -^.s  a  barhy  way  of  answer. 

The  Baxter  lawyers  took  the 
ground  that  the  statute  was  opera- 
tive in  the  cases  of  other  offices 
than  that  of  Governor  of  the  State, 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


193 


but  not  operative  in  a  contest  for 
the  office  of  Governor.  The  com- 
plaint showed  a  gubernatorial 
contest ;  the  Constitution,  which 
was  higher  than  the  statute,  gave 
exclusive  )wx\s6.\cWow  of  such  a  con- 
test to  the  General  Assembly. 
The  decision  of  the  Supreme 
Court,  if  properly  entered,  would 
declare  that  neither  that  "  7ior  any 
Court  in  the  State"  had  jurisdic- 
tion to  determine  a  contest  for  the 
office  of  Governor,  and  would  be 
binding  on  all  the  courts  of  the 
State.  Judge  Gregg's  opinion  did 
not  go  to  the  extent  of  saying 
that  "  no  other  court  could  exer- 
cise jusisdiction." 

Governor  Baxter  was  examined 
by  Senator  Clayton  afterwards, 
before  the  Congressional  Commit- 
tee. He  testified  as  follows,  p. 
424: 

Q.  In  your  letter  to  the  New  York  Herald, 
I  see  that  you  speak  of  a  person  who  assumed, 
as  you  say,  to  be  an  agent  of  mine.  I  infer 
that  he  must  have  been  at  Little  Rock  about 
the  time  I  was  here?     A.  No,  previously. 

Q.  Do  you  intend  to  convey  the  idea  that 
this  person  visited  you  previously  to  my  arri- 
val in  Little  Rock  ?    A.  Yes. 

Q.  Did  that  person  show  you  any  author- 
ity from  me  ?     A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Did  you  consider  that  he  really  had 
any  authority  to  speak  for  me?  A.  He  spoke 
as  if  he  was  speaking  for  you  and  Senator 
Dorsey,  and  I  understood  him  to  include  other 
prominent  men  in  Little  Rock  and  Washing- 
ton City. 

Q.  Had  you  any  reason  from  my  past  in- 
tercourse with  you  to  judge  that  that  person 


spoke  by  authority  from  me  ?  A.  Only  this  : 
that  the  crisis,  as  between  you  and  myself  and 
other  politicians  was  approaching  a  point 
where  I  suppose  you  did  not  feel  at  liberty  to 
speak  to  me  on  a  matter  of  that  sort  as  you 
had  done. 
****** 

Q.  Give  me  the  name  of  that  person  who 
assumed  to  be  my  agent  ?     A.  Asa  Hodges. 

Q.  And  the  time  ?  A.  I  do  not  recollect 
the  time,  but  it  was  during  his  visit  to  Little 
Rock,  some  time  preceding  your  visit  in  com- 
pany with  Senator  Dorsey. 

Q.  I  have  also  seen  it  stated  in  some  papers 
that  another  reason  for  the  rupture  between 
yourself  and  me  was  because  you  declined  to 
issue  bonds  to  me?  A.  I  never  considered 
that  as  a  reason  for  our  unfriendly  relations. 

Q.  Did  you  ever  decline  to  issue  bonds  to 
me  ?     A.  Never  to  you. 

Q.  Did  I  ever  make  application  for  bonds 
to  you  ?    A.  No,  sir. 
****** 

Elisha  Baxter  recalled.    Exam- 
ined by  Mr.  Wilshire  : 

Q.  State  what  it  was  that  produced  the  feel- 
ing of  disrespect  which  you  entertained  to- 
ward the  Legislature  ?  A.  It  was  their  general 
bad  conduct. 

Q.  Was  there  any  combination  formed  by 
a  portion  of  the  Republican  members  which 
you  regarded  as  dishonorable  ?  A.  Yes,  two 
of  the  members  of  the  House  told  me  that 
eleven  of  them  had  combined  with  the  view  of 
preventing  the  passage  of  any  bill  unless  they 
pleased  to  allow  it  to  go  through.  That  was 
one  instance.  I  understood  them  to  mean, 
though  they  did  not  say  it  in  so  many  words, 
that  they  had  combined  to  let  nothing  go 
through  unless  they  were  paid  for  it 

Q.  Do  you  know  that  there  was  an  effort 
made  to  pass  a  bill  for  the  purpose  of  paying 


194 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


claimants  for  militia  services  in  the  militia 
operations  of  1868?  A.  I  do  not  know  that 
it  was  ever  introduced.  I  know  that  it  was 
talked  of  a  good  deal  by  members.  They 
seemed  to  be  willing  to  act  in  a  manner  which 
I  thought  most  disreputable  and  dishonor- 
able. Governor  Hadley  once  told  me  in  a 
conversation  complaining  of  my  course,  and 
which  I  attempted  to  explain  to  him,  that 
"he  did  not  object  to  my  politics,  but  I 
should  let  the  boys  make  some  money." 
Judge  McClure,  on  one  occasion,  speaking  of 
what  is  here  termed  the  "  railroad  steal  bill," 
said  that  "they"  (he  did  not  say  who)  after 
some  reflection  and  conversing,  "  had  a  pool 
of  $1,300,000  in  bonds  made  up  for  the  pur- 
pose of  carrying  that  measure,  and  that  they 
intended  to  carry  it."  Mr.  Asa  Hodges  once 
proposed  to  me  that  he  would  blackmail  Sen- 
ator Dorsey  $10,000  in  my  favor  for  my  sup- 
port of  him  for  Senator. 

Mr.  Asa  Hodges,  interrupting:  "That  is  a 
lie !" 

Mr.  Baxter:     "You  are  another  liar,  sir!" 

Mr.  Ward,  chairman,  called  both  gentlemen 
to  order. 

Mr.  Baxter :  Mr.  Hodges  has  sworn  false- 
ly against  me  to-day,  and  I  claim  the  right  to 
say  so.  Mr.  Asa  Hodges,  on  another  occa- 
sion, when  I  was  speaking  of  the  inconveni- 
ence of  bringing  my  family  to  town  and  sug- 
gesting a  State  executive  mansion,  proposed 
to  me  that  he  had  a  fine  house  which  would 
answer,  and  which  he  would  sell  for  $20,000. 
That  he  would  get  through  an  appropriation 
for  $30,000  or  $50,000,  and  I  should  have  the 
balance.  Mr.  Hodges  was  a  member  of  the 
State  Senate.  I  could  tell  a  great  many  in- 
stances of  the  kind,  but  these  are  the  promi- 
nent ones. 

By  ex-Chief  Justice  McClure: 

Q.  I  would  like  you  to  state  the  names  of 
the  two  members  of  the  Legislature  who  repre- 


sented that  there  were  eleven  of  them  in  com- 
bination ?  A.  One  of  them  was  Mr.  Joce- 
lyn,  a  representative  from  Chicot,  I  believe. 
The  other  was  Jacob  Chapline. 

Q.  Did  they  state  the  names  of  the  other 
nine  members  ?     A.     They  did  not. 

Q.  When  was  this  ?  A.  It  was  during 
the  Legislature  of  ^'J'^. 

McClure  had  never  ceased  to 
ridicule  Baxter's  assertion  that  he 
would  be  the  Governor  of  the 
State,  not  of  a  party,  as  hypocrit- 
ical and  quixotic. 

The  testimony  which  Asa 
Hodges  offered  to  the  Congress- 
ional Committee,  and  which  Bax- 
ter denounced  as  false,  was  as  fol- 
lows : 

I  wish  to  state  that  if  Gov.  Baxter  under- 
stood me  as  representing  myself  as  the  agent 
of  Senators  Dorsey  and  Clayton  for  the  pur- 
pose of  interviewing  him  on  any  subject,  he 
was  mistaken.  I  made  no  such  representa- 
tion and  did  not  intend  to  convey  any  such 
idea  to  him.  A  good  deal  transpired  between 
Gov.  Baxter  and  myself  on  that  occasion.  I 
stated  to  Gov.  Baxter  that  at  the  request  of 
Senators  Clayton  and  Dorsey  I  had  called  to 
see  him  for  the  purpose  of  inquiring  whether 
or  not  he  desired  that  they  should  secure  an 
appointment  for  Mr.  Brooks,  in  order  to  get 
him  out  of  the  way  in  the  contest.  He  said 
that  he  had  desired  that  Mr.  Brooks  should 
have  an  appointment  of  some  kind  or  an- 
other, but  had  become  indifferent  about  it. 
He  had  thought  at  one  time,  he  said,  of  going 
to  Washington  to  assist  in  procuring  such  an 
appointment,  but  he  had  concluded  to  have 
nothing  more  to  do  with  it.  A  good  deal  took 
place  between  us  which  it  is  not  necessary  to 
now  detail.  During  the  conversation,  how- 
ever, he  said  he  had   grown  sick  and  tired  of 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


195 


being  Governor  of  the  State,  and  that  a  propo- 
sition had  been  made  to  him  to  take  a  Fed- 
eral judgeship  and  a  competency  and  resign  ; 
that  he  had  thought  of  doing  it,  but  that  it 
had  become  necessary,  in  order  to  vindicate 
himself,  to  decline  the  proposition,  and  to 
serve  out  his  time  as  Governor. 

I  said  to  him  that  I  had  no  doubt  that  if  he 
desired  he  could  still  get  that  judgeship,  pro- 
vided there  was  a  vacancy.  As  to  making 
him  a  proposition  to  give  him  a  judgeship 
and  a  competency,  it  never  entered  into  my 
head.  I  had  only  one  idea  in  going  to  see 
him,  and  that  was  for  the  purpose  of  getting 
his  assistance  in  procuring  an  appointment 
for  Mr.  Brooks,  so  that  we  might  get  Brooks 
out  of  the  State,  and  prevent  any  future 
trouble  in  a  contest  and  in  the  suit  then 
pending  in  court.  I  had  no  idea  of  making 
any  proposition  to  him,  and  did  not  intend  to 
be  so  understood.  He  said  to  me:  "You 
know,  Hodges,  I  have  said  to  you  on  one  or 
two  occasions,  that  I  have  no  objection  to 
making  money,  if  I  can  make  it  in  such  a  way 
as  I  will  not  be  caught  at  it,"  or  "will  not 
criminate  myself,"  or  something  to  that  effect. 

Mr.  Baxter,  interrupting:  That  is  false.  I 
never  said  any  such  thing. 

Mr.  Hodges:  On  one  or  two  occasions 
you  have  made  statements  of  that  kind  to  me. 
We  continued  our  general  conversation  and  I 
bade  him  good  morning  and  left  him. 

Mr.  Baxter  (to  the  Committee):  My  con- 
versation with  Mr.  Hodges  about  the  money 
matter  was  this :  I  said  that  I  was  as  anxious 
to  make  money  as  any  man,  and  that  I  needed 
it,  but  that  I  would  not  consent  to  make  it  un- 
less I  could  do  it  honorably.  In  regard  to  the 
matter  touching  Mr.  Brooks,  I  have  been  fre- 
quently asked  if  I  did  not  wish  Mr.  Brooks  to 
get  a  Federal  appointment,  and  I  believe  Mr. 
Dorsey  will  do  me  the  justice  to  say  that  I 
wrote  a  letter  to  him  on  the  subject,  saying 
that  while   I   was   willing   that    Mr.   Brooks 


should  have  an  appointment,  I  did  not  choose 
to  take  any  part  in  it  myself.  I  ask  Mr. 
Dorsey  whether  I  did  not  write  to  him  to  that 
effect? 

Mr.  Dorsey :     Yes,  sir. 

The  position  of  Governor  Bax- 
ter, at  this  juncture,  would  have 
discouraged  many  men.  Those 
who  had  placed  him  in  power  had 
fallen  away  from  him  like  leaves 
in  autumn.  Their  methods  of  se- 
curing his  election  had  necessari- 
ly reflected  upon  and  made  him 
an  object  of  suspicion  to  a  large 
body  of  the  people,  who  had 
been  bred  to  expect  fairness  in 
popular  elections.  The  leaders 
and  partisans  of  Mr.  Brooks  pub- 
licly pronounced  him  to  be  as  un- 
scrupulous as  his  associates,  and 
a  willing  recipient  of  their  corrupt 
practices.  As  a  Republican,  Dem- 
ocrats mistrusted  him,  or  prudence 
dictated  they  should  hold  them- 
selves aloof.  Mr.  Sayler,  one  of 
the  Congressional  Committee, 
said,  when  Baxter  was  testifying 
before  them : 

Q.  The  thing  that  puzzles  me  about  the 
whole  affair  is  that  there  seems  to  have 
been  in  some  way  an  almost  entire  overturn. 
They  very  men  who  elected  Baxter,  or  who 
counted  him  in,  seem  to  be  now  the  men  who 
are  opposed  to  him,  or  to  whom  he  is  opposed ; 
while  the  men  who  opposed  Brooks,  seem  now 
to  be  in  Brooks'  favor.  How  is  this  to  be  ex- 
plained ?     What  is  the  secret  of  this  thing  ? 

If  Mr.  Sayler  had  read  Gover- 
nor Baxter's  letter  in  the  New 
York  Herald^  and  dispatches  sent 
that  paper  prior  to  the   publica- 


196 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


tion  of  that  letter,  supported  as 
they  were  by  the  testimony  which 
was  daily  offered  to  the  Commit- 
tee, he  was  certainly  wanting  in 
penetration  and  understanding, 

McClure,  Liberty  Bartlett,  Coo- 
per, Stephenson  and  John  M. 
Clayton  testified,  that  they  dis- 
owned him  nozv,  and  "  ceased  to 
regard  him  as  a  good  Republican, 
when  he  began  to  appoint  Demo- 
crats to  office."  When  Cooper 
was  asked  to  state  whether  Dem- 
crats  of  the  House,  of  which  he 
was  clerk,  were  appointed  to  of- 
fice by  Governor  Baxter  he  an- 
swered : 

I  made  a  list  of  them,  which  I  now  have 
here.  McVeigh  was  appointed  Prosecuting 
Attorney  for  the  Mississippi  Circuit;  Robert- 
son was  appointed  County  Superintendent  of 
Public  Instruction  for  Calhoun  County ;  Lynn 
was  appointed  Assessor  for  Jackson  County; 
Latta  was  appointed  Prosecuting  Attorney  for 
the  Fifteenth  District.  I  think  Harley  was  ap- 
pointed Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction 
for  Dallas  County. 

By  Mr.  Ward. 

Q.  Those  appointments  were  made  by 
Baxter,  after  he  became  Governor?  A.  Yes, 
sir. 

By  Mr.  Rice. 

Q.  Can  you  tell  what  Republican  members 
of  the  Legislature  were  appointed  by  him  ? 
A.  Yes,  sir,  I  have  got  a  list  of  them:  Chas. 
F.  Brown  was  appointed  Treasurer  of  St. 
Francis  County ;  Corbell  was  appointed  Sher- 
iff of  Howard  County ;  Coit  was  appointed 
Circuit  Clerk  of  Ouachita  County  :  Copeland 
(colored)  was  appointed  Sheriff  of  Crittenden 


County ;  Davis  was  appointed  Assessor  of 
Sebastian  County  ;  Fox  was  appointed  Circuit 
Judge  ;  Grissom  was  appointed  Assessor  of 
Phillips  County  ;  O.  S.  Hawkins  was  appointed 
Clerk  of  Howard  County ;  Havis  was  ap- 
pointed Assessor  of  Jefferson  County;  J.H. 
Johnson  was  appointed  Assessor  of  Woodruff 
County ;  McGehee  was  appointed  Prosecut- 
ing Attorney  of  the  Tenth  District,  I  think ; 
Merritt  was  appointed  Assessor  of  Bradley 
County ;  Millen  was  appointed  Supervisor  of 
Ouachita  County;  Nunn  was  appointed  As- 
sessor of  Van  Buren  County  ;  Page  was  ap- 
pointed Circuit  Clerk  of  Hempstead  County; 
Robinson  was  appointed  Assessor  of  Monroe 
County ;  Sheppard  was  appointed  Prosecuting 
Attorney  of  the  Pope  Circuit ;  Shepherdson 
was  appointed  Assessor  of  Hempstead  Coun- 
ty ;  Kent  was  appointed  Circuit  Judge ;  J.  M. 
Murphy,  Supervisor  of  Pulaski  County ;  Mc- 
Leod,  Sheriff  of  Dorsey  County ;  Marshall, 
Supervisor  of  Howard  County ;  Stewart,  As- 
sessor of  Lee  County ;  Turner,  Sheriff  of 
Faulkner  County ;  Warwick,  Chancellor  of 
Pulaski  County;  A.  M.  Hawkins,  Supervisor 
of  Little  River  County;  Furbush  (colored), 
Sheriff  of  Lee  County;  Kingston  was  ap- 
pointed Circuit  Judge.  I  think  there  were  28 
Republicans  and  5  Democrats  appointed  to 
office,  by  Baxter,  out  of  the  Legislature. 

Governor  Baxter,  in  answer  to 
the  question  asked  by  Mr.  Sayler 
of  the  Congressional  Committee, 
said  : 

Judge  McClure  says,  speaking  of  me,  "  He 
commenced  the  appointment  of  Democrats  to 
office."  In  regard  to  that  I  desire  to  say  this : 
A  good  portion  of  the  time  that  we  were  can- 
vassing, Senator  Clayton  \yas  with  me.  In  the 
northwest,  I  came  across  a  young  man  who 
was  partly  raised  in  my  own  county,  a  prom- 
ising young  lawyer,  up  there.  I  suggested  to 
Senator  Clayton  that  if  he  thought  it  would 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arka7isas. 


197 


not  work  injury  to  the  cause,  I  would  like  to 
appoint  that  young  man,  Mr.  Peay,  Prosecu- 
ting Attorney,  and  he  consented  to  it.  Of 
course  I  was  not  compelled  to  ask  his  con- 
sent, but  I  did  ask  it.  I  also  told  him  that  as 
my  own  successor  as  Judge,  if  I  were  elected 
Governor,  I  would  appoint  Mr.  Butler,  to 
which  he  consented.  I  also  told  him  I  would 
appoint  Mr.  Harrell,  Prosecuting  Attorney  of 
this  circuit,  a  pleasant  affable  gentleman, 
although  a  Democrat,  and  to  that  Senator 
Clayton  also  consented.  With  these  excep- 
tions, I  do  not  know  that  I  had  appointed 
other  Democrats  to  office,  at  least  until  the 
breach  had  become  widened  between  us. 
These  were  consented  to  by  Senator  Clayton, 
who  was  the  representative  man  of  the  Repub- 
lican party  here.  I  will  say  further  that  before 
finally  making  these  appointments,  I  called 
the  Republican  Senators  together  and  sug- 
gested to  them  that  I  intended  to  appoint 
these  men.  As  I  now  remember,  every  Re- 
publican Senator  was  present  except  Mr. 
Duke,  and  he  was  absent  from  town.  I  did 
not  name  them  all.  There  was  no  dissent  at 
all  expressed.  Thereupon  I  sent  in  the  name 
of  Mr.  Butler  for  Judge  of  the  Circuit  Court, 
and  so  far  as  I  know  he  was  unanimously 
confirmed  by  the  Senate.  Judge  McClure 
says  that  "he opened  upon  me  in  his  paper." 
So  far  as  I  know,  when  Judge  McClure  did 
open  upon  me  in  his  paper,  I  had  not  made  a 
Democratic  appointinent. 

The  war  on  Gov.  Baxter  was 
waged  because  he  did  not  act 
upon  ex-Gov.  Hadley's  hint,  when 
the  latter  said  :  "  Baxter,  I  have 
no  objection  to  your  politics,  but 
you  should  let  the  boys  make 
some  money."  What  money? 
The  money  that  was  to  be  wrung 
from  the  hard  hands  of  an  impov- 
erished people,  by  such  measures 


as  the  railroad  steal  bill?  The 
farmers  of  Arkansas,  white  and 
black,  women  and  children,  were 
working  barefooted,  living  upon 
insufficient  diet,  already  plundered 
to  destitution.  Yet  their  scanty 
stock  and  stores  were  to  be  fur- 
ther taxed  to  release  great  corpo- 
rations from  indebtedness,  and 
interest  thereon  at  eight  per  cent, 
of  millions,  and  to  pay  interest  on 
bonds  sold  by  such  promoters  as 
Josiah  Caldwell,  in  New  York  and 
London,  for  fifty  or  sixty  per  cent 
of  their  face  value,  in  order  that  a 
horde  of  idle  strangers,  without 
right,  or  merit,  should  live  in  vi- 
cious indulgence. 

Baxter  stood  alone,  exposed  to 
the  temptations  of  Dorsey,  the 
deluding  suggestions  of  Asa 
Hodges,  the  object  of  the  con- 
temptuous vituperation  and  men- 
aces of  the  Republica?i,  and  super- 
cilious criticism  of  the  Gazette. 

The  people  were  slowly  realiz- 
ing Baxter's  attitude.  They  were 
asking :  Where  now  stands  the 
"  Reformer  "  Brooks,  our 

"  Boanerges   with  his   threats   of  doom,  and 
loud-lunged  anti-Babylonianism?  " 

Cheek  by  jowl  with  "  the  thieves  " 
with  whom  he  threatened  to  fill 
the  jails  and  penitentiaries  "  until 
their  legs  and  arms  should  stick 
out  of  the  windows."  The  first 
plan  of  this  strange  coalition  of 
Brooks  and  McClure  was  the  le- 
gitimate and  apparently  feasible 
one  of   reopening   the    contest  of 


198 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


Brooks  before  the  General  Assem- 
bly. This  movement  was  inau- 
gurated, accordingly,  on  the  19th 
of  April,  when  Representative 
Thrower,  Democrat,  of  Ouachita 
County,  presented  to  the  House 
the  petition  of  Joseph  Brooks, 
asking  the  right  to  contest  the 
seat  of  Elisha  Baxter  as  Governor 
of  the  State.  This  step  gave  a 
serious  aspect  to  the  state  of  af- 
fairs, and  set  people  to  thinking. 
The  public  conclusion  in  regard 
to  it  was  expressed  in  the  Gazette's 
article  of  the  22d  of  April,  entitled 
"  Governor  Baxter's  fight  with  the 
Ring."  The  article  read  as  fol- 
lows : 

People  living  outside  of  the  Capital  and  not 
acquainted  with  the  inside  workings  of  the 
ring  politicians  of  this  city,  can  hardly  form  a 
conception  of  the  nature  of  the  fight  which 
Gov.  Baxter  is  making  against  the  ring  of 
desperate  political  plunderers  who  have  con- 
trolled this  State  in  the  name  of  Republican- 
ism for  the  last  five  years.  The  announce- 
ment that  he  would  be  impeached  if  he  should 
veto  the  railroad  bond  release  bill,  and  other 
Kindred  measures  for  wrecking  the  property 
and  crushing  the  liberty  of  the  people  of  this 
State,  has  developed  the  secret  of  the  ani- 
mosity of  the  most  powerful  "ring"  that  ever 
cursed  a  State. 

The  bringing  on  of  the  petition  of  Joseph 
Brooks,  asking  to  contest  the  right  of  Baxter 
to  the  executive  office  is  a  movement  on  the 
part  of  the  very  men  who  put  Baxter  in  that 
position,  and  who  lately  denounced  Brooks  in 
ttie  vilest  terms. 

Representative  McVeigh,  in  op- 
position to  the  motion  to  receive 


the  petition,  made  a  truly  eloquent 
speech : 

At  whose  wish  is  this  contest  now  asked 
to  be  allowed  ?  Not  by  the  Democrats,  all  of 
whom  had  most  strongly  urged  Mr.  Brooks 
not  to  bring  the  subject  into  the  House  at  this 
late  day.  No !  The  patrons  of  this  move- 
ment are  the  very  men  who,  in  the  late  can- 
vass, had  exhausted  the  vocabulary  of  bill- 
ingsgate for  epithets  of  abuse  and  reproach  to 
lavish  upon  the  present  petitioner.  The  men 
who  now  favor  this  measure  are  those  who 
loudly  swore  that  Baxter  was  elected  by  a 
most  decided  majority  ;  men  who  with  a  kind 
of  imperial  authority  declared  that  no  investi- 
gation should  take  place, hvX  made  the  claim 
of  the  "  Old  Brindle  Bull"  a  subject  of  their 
sneers  and  witticisms. 

Hence  we,  on  this  side  of  the  House,  are 
found,  almost  to  a  man,  opposing  the  petition 
as  unwise  and  inopportune.  We  all  know, 
from  the  evidence  of  our  senses,  that  a  tre- 
mendous pressure  has  been  brought  to  bear 
against  Governor  Baxter,  to  force  him  to  ap- 
prove certain  measures  destructive  of  the  ma- 
terial interests  of  the  people  of  this  State. 
We  have  found  him  firm  and  immovable,  un- 
dismayed by  threats  of  impeachment  or  cJf 
being  dismissed  by  this  Assembly  from  office. 

Cunningham,  of  Izard,  made  an 
able  speech  against  it. 

The  request  to  present  the  peti- 
tion was  rejected  by  a  vote  of  63 
to  9  —  many  of  the  Minstrels, 
knowing  the  temper  of  the  House, 
voted  with  the  Democrats  against 
it  upon  the  call  for  the  ayes  and 
nays. 

On  the  27th  of  April,  about 
midnight,  as  the  Legislature  was 
about  to  dissolve,  the  Senate 
passed     the       Railroad      Release 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


199 


(steal)  Bill,  in  an  amended  form, 
leaving  off  the  provision  requiring 
a  levy  of  three  mills  in  currency. 
It  was  immediately  sent  to  the 
House  where  its  authors  were  con- 
fident of  its  passage.  But  the 
House,  about  half  an  hour  previ- 
ous to  adjornment,  took  the  bill 
up  and  defeated  it.  And  so  this 
infamous  measure  was  killed. 

In  his  testimony  before  the  Po- 
land Committee,  Governor  Baxter 
corrects  an  amusing  misapplica- 
tion of  language  used  by  Brooks, 
his  oppenent  in  the  gubernatorial 
canvass.  He  said,  '*  Mr.  Burton 
quotes  me  as  saying  that  the  pen- 
itentiary should  be  filled  so  full  of 
McClure,  Clayton  &  Co.,  that  their 
legs  would  stick  out  of  the  win- 
dows. It  was  Mr.  Brooks  who 
made  that  remark,  and  repeated  it 
frequently." 

Mr.  Burtofi:  "  That  was  a  typo- 
graphical mistake  in  my  testimo- 
ny.    I  meant  Brooks,  not  Baxter." 

Gov.  Baxter,  in  his  examination 
before  the  Congressional  Commit- 
tee, was  asked  by  Mr.  Howard  : 

Q.  Do  you  know  whether  at  any  time 
during  the  difficulties  instigated  by  Mr. 
Brooks  and  his  friends,  Mr.  Brooks  made  any 
statement  in  regard  to  what  he  would  do  if 
he  succeeded  in  his  attempt  to  get  possession 
of  the  government.  I  call  your  attention  to 
a  public  statement  made  over  Mr.  Brooks' 
signature  and  published  in  the  New  York 
Herald^.  A.  I  never  had  any  direct  com- 
munication with  Mr.  Brooks  since  November, 
1872,  either  written  or  verbal. 


before  the  Congressional  Commit- 
tee, alluded  to  the  great  embar- 
rassment which  omission  to  file 
and  enter  the  decision  on  the 
qtio  warranto  proceedings  caused 
him. 

Examined  by  Senator  Clayton. 

Q.  I  wanted  you  to  disband  the  militia ;  to 
muster  all  out — Democrats  and  Republicans  ? 
A.    Yes. 

Q.  On  the  ground,  first,  that  the  militia 
was  unnecessary ;  second,  that  the  disband- 
ment  of  the  militia  would  produce  a  feeling 
among  Republicans  that  the  militia  was  not  in 
the  hands  of  men  who  would  persecute  them  ? 
A.  Yes,  you  talked  a  good  deal  in  that  way, 
but  you  finally  demanded  it  of  me. 

Q.  Demanded  it  in  that  way:  that  the 
thing  I  proposed  to  have  done  could  not  be 
done  unless  that  (disbandment)  was  done? 
A.  You  finally  demanded  it  of  me  with  an 
oath.  You  said  that  it  must  be  done,  or  that 
I  would  never  have  the  benefit  of  the  quo  -war- 
ranto decision  ! 

Q.  How  could  I  say  that,  when  the  decis- 
ion had  been  rendered?  A.  It  had  been 
rendered,  but  it  had  not  been  filed. 

Q.  Could  that  have  affected  the  quo  war- 
ranto decision  ?  A.  I  think  that  the  judges 
would  have  refused  to  file  it,  and  there  would 
have  been  no  evidence  of  it.  I  thought  it  im- 
portant to  have  the  decision  spread  upon  the 
record.  I  say,  however,  in  the  main,  that  you 
have  treated  me  kindly  until  this  thing  com- 
menced. *  *  *  But  I  vvill  tell  you 
frankly  (and  I  hope  you  will  excuse  me,  for  I 
am  under  oath)  that  I  never  did  think  the  ar- 
rangements (to  have  decision  filed,  as  the 
consideration  of  his  disbanding  the  militia) 
was  sincerely  entered  into,  and  I  do  not  think 
so  yet. 


Gov.  Baxter,  in    his   testimony         There    nowhere  appears  in  the 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


records  any  testimony    of  Judge 
Whytock  or  Mr.  Whipple. 

Senator  Clayton  appeared  vol- 
untarily before  the  Poland  Com- 
mittee of  Congress  and  testified 
as  follows,  p.  452  : 

I  desire  to  say,  that  I  never  authorized  any 
person — Mr.  Hodges  or  any  one  else — to  make 
a  proposition  of  the  character  alluded  to  in 
Governor  Baxter's  statement  as  published  in 
the  New  York  Herald. 

Questioned  by  Mr.  Baxter. 

Q.  Do  you  know  that  Mr.  Hodges  never 
made  such  a  statement?  A.  I  do  not  know 
anything  about  that.  He  says  he  did  not.  I 
only  desire  to  say,  that  every  proposition  of 
that  character  by  which  I  was  approached 
looking  toward  your  resigning,  or  getting  out 
of  the  office  of  Governor,  I  always  set  aside 
as  a  thing  not  to  be  thought  of  at  all. 

This  was  all  the  testimony  of- 
fered before  the  Poland  Commit- 
tee by  Powell  Clayton,  p.  211. 

John  McClure  testified,  at  con- 
siderable length  before  the  com- 
mittee. After  testifying  that,  as 
Chairman  of  the  Republican  State 
Central  Committee,  and  for  the 
use  of  the  Little  Rock  Republican, 
he  had  obtained,  at  the  office  of 
Governor  Hadley,  from  time  to 
time  returns  of  the  election  of 
1872  and  on  that  point  only,  here 
omitted,  he  was  asked  the  follow- 
ing question  by  Mr.  Rice,  p.  212  : 

Q.  It  was  your  understanding  that  there 
was  an  effort  made  on  the  part  of  the  Brooks 
men,  to  get  the  men  who  were  elected  on  the 
same  ticket  with  Brooks,  those  who  were  re- 
turned and  those  who  were  not  certified  by 


Johnson,   to  make   a   separate  organization? 
A.     Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Was  it  the  effort  of  yourself  and  others 
who  supported  Baxter,  to  prevent  that  ?  A. 
We  did  not  desire  anything  of  the  sort. 

Q.  You  very  strongly  desired  that  it  should 
not  occur  ?     A.     Yes. 

Q.  Do  you  know  any  means  through 
which  the  bottom  dropped  out  of  that  move- 
ment? A.  There  was  a  little  coquetting  on 
that  subject  between  some  Democrats  and 
myself. 

Q.  That  coquetting  I  want  to  get  at.  State 
all  about  it  ?  A.  I  do  not  know  that  I  can 
state  all  about  it.  I  had  a  good  many  conver- 
sations as  to  the  policy  which  should  prevent 
the  organization  of  two  Legislatures.  How  it 
was  to  be  brought  about  I  do  not  remember 
exactly,  but  I  recollect  Smithee  coming  to  me 
about  it. 

Q.  Who  was  he  ?  A.  He  was  connected 
with  the  Gazette.  I  believe  he  is  some  kind 
of  a  State  officer  now,  through  appointment  of 
Governor  Baxter.  The  Gazette  was  at  the 
time  opposing  two  legislative  organizations. 
The  congressional  certificates  had  not  been 
issued,  either  to  Gunter  or  Gause  (Democrats), 
or  to  Wilshire  and  Hodges  (Republibans),  by 
Governor  Hadley.  Smiihee  said  he  wanted 
Gause  and  Gunter  to  have  their  certificates : 
said  if  they  could  get  their  certificates,  this 
proposition  of  making  an  outside  organization 
of  the  Legislature  by  the  Brooks  men  would 
be  defeated.  Well,  that  was  something  tang- 
ible, I  asked  about  how  many  of  the  Brooks 
men  he  could  control.  My  impression  is 
that  he  said  something  between  from  eighteen 
to  twenty-three. 

Q.  You  mean  that  eighteen  or  twenty-three 
members,  who  Johnson,  the  Secretary  of  State, 
had  put  on  ihe  roll,  could  be  taken  into  your  or- 
ganization ?  A.  Yes,  Democrats,  I  call  them. 
Smithee   seemed   to   have   some  idea   in  his 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


head  that  if  I  could  stave  over  the  issuing  of 
the  certificates  during  Hadley's  term,  Cause 
and  Gunter  would  have  no  difficulty  in  get- 
ting their  certificates  from  Baxter  after  his 
inauguration.  I  said  I  thought  that  could  be 
done.  A  night  or  two  before  Hadley's  term 
was  to  expire,  Smithee  and  Gause  came  to  me 
in  a  room  in  the  Metropolitan  Hotel,  or  at  all 
events  we  three  were  there  together.  Mr. 
Smithee  seemed  exercised  about  a  conversa- 
tion he  had  had  with  Governor  Hadley.  He 
said  he  was  afraid  that  Hadley  was  going  to 
issue  the  certificates  for  Congress  before  he 
went  out  of  office. 

Q.  To  whom  was  he  going  to  issue  them  ? 
A.  To  Wilshire  and  Hodges.  I  told  him  I 
did  not  think  there  was  any  danger  of  that.  I 
said,  I  will  go  and  see  Hadley  about  it.  I 
have  no  idea  that  he  is  going  to  do  it,  but  I 
will  go  and  see  him. 

Q.  Did  you  succeed  in  hedging  over  Had- 
ley's giving  the  certificates  ?  A.  Hadley  did 
not  give  the  certificates. 

Q.  Did  they  furnish  the  eighteen  or  twen- 
ty-three men  whom  they  agreed  to  have  go 
into  your  Legislature?    A.     They  all  went  in. 

Q.  They  took  the  thing  from  us  (Reform- 
ers) ?    A.     They  burst  the  thing  up. 

Q.  And  that  explains  the  falling  through 
of  the  proposition  for  a  separate  organization 
of  the  Legislature  ?  A.  I  do  not  know  that 
that  explains  it.  I  am  only  stating  what  I  do 
know. 

This  evidence  discloses  the  vigi- 
lant action  of  the  Democrats  to 
secure  their  rightful  representa- 
tion in  the  National  Legislature, 
Baxter,  however,  refused  to  issue 
the  certificates.  Judge  McClure 
continued  his  testimony  as  to  the 
returns,  on  cross-examination  by 
Mr,  Wilshire,   and  on  that   point 

14 


his    testimony    is    omitted     here. 
The  cross-examination  was  con- 
tinued : 

Q,  With  reference  to  the  apprehended  dan- 
ger of  a  separate  government  being  established 
here  by  the  organization  of  another  Legislature 
outside  the  State  House  or  elsewhere,  state, 
if  you  know,  whether  Mr.  Hadley,  the  then 
acting  Governor,  was  not  apprehensive  of  the 
same  danger?     A.     I  think  he  was, 

Q.  What  do  you  know  about  an  arrange- 
ment to  have  a  regiment  of  U.  S,  Soldiers  sent 
here  to  preserve  the  peace  at  the  installation 
of  the  new  government?  A.  My  impression 
is  that  some  representation  was  made  to  the 
President,  that  there  was  likely  to  be  difficulty 
here. 

Q.  Who  made  it, — whether  Governor  Had- 
ley or  some  other  influences?  A.  I  do  not 
know.  I  only  know  that  a  regiment  of  U,  S, 
soldiers  came  here  about  that  time.  (More 
questions  and  answers  about  the  troops). 

Q.  Were  you  connected  with  any  newspa- 
per at  that  time,  if  so,  in  what  capacity?  A. 
I  was  president  of  the  Little  Rock  Printing  & 
Publishing  Company,  which  was  publishing 
the  Little  Rock  daily  and  weekly  Republican. 

Q.  Were  you  the  editor  of  that  paper  at 
that  time?  A.  I  do  not  know  that  I  was 
really  its  editor,  but  I  wrote  a  good  many  ar- 
ticles for  it. 

Q.  Did  you  not  write  editorials  for  that 
paper,  at  the  time  of  the  organization  of  the 
Legislature,and  for  some  time  afterwards,stat- 
ing  it  as  your  opinion  that  Mr.  Baxter  was 
elected.  A.  I  am  offering  a  reward  for  any 
editorial  in  which  I  ever  announced  the  fact 
that  Baxter  was  elected. 

Q.  Did  not  editorials  of  that  character  ap- 
pear in  that  paper?  A.  That  may  have  been 
so,  but  I  liad  no  supervision  over  the  general 
editorials  of  the  paper,      I  wrote  when  I  felt 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


like  it.  If  I  did  not  supply  editorials,  some- 
body else  did,  and  I  did  not  see  them  until  I 
saw  them  in  print. 

Q.  Did  you  contribute,  or  think  you  con- 
tributed toward  inducing  Mr.  Hadley  not  to 
issue  certificates  of  election  (to  Congress)  of 
Asa  Hodges  and  myself?  A.  I  do  not  know 
about  that. 

Q.  Did  you  ever  have  a  conversation  with 
him  on  the  subject  ?  A.  I  had  a  conversa- 
tion with  Hadley,  in  which  I  stated  to  him 
that  if  these  certificates  were  withheld,  Smithee 
had  said  he  would  do  what  I  have  already 
stated. 

Q.  Do  you  not  think  that  the  non-issuance 
of  those  certificates  by  Mr.  Hadley  was  the 
result  of  your  information  and  advice,  that  you 
might  capture  these  Democratic  members  of 
the  Legislature  ?  A.  It  may  have  been,  or  it 
may  not  have  been. 

Q.  What  do  you  think  about  it?  A.  I 
would  not  be  surprised  if  that  had  something 
to  do  with  it. 

By  Mr.  Ward  (member  of  the 
committee) : 

Q.  Did  Hadley  issue  the  certificates  at  all? 
A.     No,  sir,  not  in  these  two  cases. 

Witness  was  then  asked  about 
Baxter's  appointment  of  Demo- 
crats to  office,  but  named  fewer 
such  than  had  been  named  already 
by  Mr.  Baxter  in  his  testimony. 
He  was  re-examined  by  Mr.  Rice 
as  to  the  military  around  the  State 
House  when  Baxter  was  inaugur- 
ated. 

Q.  Do  you  mean  that  you  would  not  dis- 
approve of  it  now,  as  a  political  move  ?  A. 
It  was  rumored  at  that  time  that  Mr.  Brooks' 
friends  were  likely  at  any  moment  to  make  a 
raid  on  the  State  House,  and  to  take  it  for  the 


purpose  of  organizing  the  Legislature  in  the 
Capitol.  In  order  to  prevent  a  thing  of  that 
kind,  I  thought  it  a  matter  of  precaution,  I 
would,  under  similar  circumstances,  again 
put  a  guard  over  the  State  House  to  hold  it. 

This,  with  a  few  additional  an- 
swers to  Mr.  Rice's  questions, 
which,  eliciting  nothing  positive, 
completed  the  testimony  of  Judge 
McClure  before  the  committee. 
The  ex-chief  justice  was  not  ex- 
amined as  to  the  disposition  of  the 
orders  of  the  State  Supreme  Court 
in  the  quo  ivarranto  case,  or  as  to 
administering  the  oath  of  office  to 
Mr.  Brooks. 

Soon  after  the  oath  of  office 
was  administered  by  McClure  to 
Brooks,  upon  the  snap  judgment 
of  Whytock,  Brooks,  with  a  body- 
guard of  his  immediate  friends, 
entered  the  executive  office,  where 
Gov.  Baxter  was  seated,  attended 
only  by  his  son.  Brooks,  Catter- 
son,  James  L.  Hodges,  Toot  Dil- 
lon, a  son  of  Mr.  Brooks,  and  An- 
derson, short-hand  reporter,  en- 
tered together  at  one  door,  while 
a  larger  party,  unseen  by  Baxter, 
filled  a  room  that  communicated 
with  the  Governor's  private  office. 
Oliver  and  Cutter  made  their  way 
to  the  empty  armory.  Mr.  Brooks 
addressed  Baxter  in  a  severe  tone, 
informing  him  that  he  had  quali- 
fied as  Governor  before  the  Chief 
Justice,  and  had  come  to  enter 
upon  the  discharge  of  his  duties 
as  Governor.  He  demanded  the 
books  and  papers  of  the  office,  as 
a  right  which  he  only  might  exer- 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


203 


cise,  and  forbade  the  removal  of 
anything  pertaining  to  the  office. 
Catterson  said  that  he  would 
be  at  liberty  to  leave  the  office 
unmolested,  unless  he  offered  re- 
sistance, in  which  case  force  would 
be  used  to  expel  him,  or  to  place 
him  in  military  custody.  The 
retiring  Governor  confronted  this 
unexpected  intrusion  calmly.  As 
he  rose  from  his  seat  he  said  that 
he  was  alone,  he  had  ho  means  of 
resistance,  and  could  only  protest 
against  this  lawless  invasion  of  the 
office  of  the  State  executive. 
There  was  nothing  left  but  for 
him  to  retire  and  submit  to  force 
and  violence,  against  which  he 
had  been  guaranteed  by  repeated 
assurances  of  the  men  who  were 
now  putting  Mr.  Brooks  forward, 
when  all  lawful  means  had  failed. 
He  submitted  to  indignity  for  the 
present,  but  to  such  violent  usur- 
pation of  his  office  he  would  never 
submit  willingly.  Accompanied 
by  his  son,  he  passed  out  of  the 
State-house  yard  and  walked 
slowly  down  Markham  street  to 
the  Anthony  House.  No  one 
meeting  him  would  have  supposed 
that  anything  unusual  had  hap- 
pened to  him. 

Before  night,  as  he  has  testi- 
fied, "  the  city  was  an  armed 
camp."  The  "Minstrels"  and 
"Brindles"  collected  all  their 
"forces"  in  the  State  House  and 
acted  in  unison  to  convert  it  into 
a  military  stronghold,  "  Gen."  Cat- 
terson   taking   military  command 


under  "  Gov."  Brooks.  The  mi- 
litia General  Newton,  and  subor- 
dinates, heretofore  appointed  by 
Baxter,  immediately  mustered  the 
regularly  organized  "forces"  in 
the  city,  and  issued  orders  to  those 
of  adjacent  counties  to  march  with 
least  possible  delay  and  place 
themselves  under  the  Governor's 
command  at  the  State  Capital. 
The  Governor,  under  escort  of  the 
students  of  St.  John's  College,  a 
military  institute  in  the  city,  first 
took  up  headquarters  at  the  col- 
lege, but  subsequently  returned  to 
the  Anthony  House,  which  was  in 
the  second  block  east  of  the  State 
House. 


EIGHTH    PAPER. 

"  O,  you  poor  cat's-paws  of  spite, 
Ain't  there  'nough  things  for  to  fight? 
Ain't  there  rust,  an'  tempest,  an'  blight — 

Ain't  tliere  misery  sore  an'  deep? 
Ain't  there  ignorance  an'  wrong 
An'  what  woes  to  them  belong 
But  that  you  must  fight  each  other  'bout 
A  brindle  calf  and  sheep?" 

—  Wilt  Cartel07u 

"  A  spy — a  spy,"  were  the  words 
he  heard,  and  turned  quickly  to 
learn  whence  they  emanated.  He 
saw  that  there  were  a  number  of 
armed  cadets  in  the  hall — but  all 
of  them  wore  an  expression  of 
lamb-like  innocence.  He  was  a 
"long  time  citizen" — an  old  set- 
tler, and  yet  not  old  in  years,  and 
had  for  a  companion  a  dapper 
youth  who  was  a  stranger.     They 


204 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


had  been  up  to  the  recitation 
room  of  St.  John's  College  to  call 
on  Gov.  Baxter.  As  they  were 
about  to  pass  out  through  the 
gothic  doorway,  which  was  the 
main  entrance  to  the  building,  the 
cadets,  standing  guard,  barred 
their  exit  with  locked  bayonets. 
It  was  then  that  the  words  were 
spoken  that  excited  the  citizen's 
attention. 

"Wot  t'  'ell,"  asked  he  of  Maj. 
Peay,  who  commanded  the  cadets. 
"Say,  wot's  the  kids'  racket?" 

"  They  have  orders  not  to  let 
you  pass,"  said  the  officer,  firmly 
but  blandly. 

"  T'  'ell !"  exclaimed  the  citizen 
with  a  puzzled  look.  "  I'll  see 
wot  ails  'em,"  and  turned  back  up 
stairs,  leaving  the  young  stranger 
below. 

He  saw  the  Governor  still  quiet- 
ly conversing  with  Gen.  Newton, 
seated  on  a  plain,  unpainted 
"  form,"  or  school-bench,  too  nar- 
row for  a  seat  of  a  person  of  the 
Governor's  proportions,  and  too 
low  to  be  comfortable.  It  was 
the  only  piece  of  furniture,  except 
a  few  others  like  it,  and  the  Gov- 
ernor and  the  General  were  the 
only  persons  he  then  saw  in  the 
room :  chilly  with  its  bare  floor, 
bare,  plaster  walls  and  broken 
window-panes. 

"  Governor,  they  stopped  us  at 
the  door,"  said  the  citizen.  "  The 
kids:  they  said  they  had  or- 
ders." 

*'  Go    down,"    interposed     Gen, 


Newton,  seriously,  "and  tell  them 
to  let  you  out,  both  of  you." 

With  some  question  in  his  mind 
how  this  simple  message  would  be 
received,  but  without  another 
word,  the  citizen  went  down.  He 
repeated  the  order  that  had  been 
given  him.  Without  further  par- 
ley he  and  his  companion  were 
permitted  to  pass  out. 

At  the  foot  of  the  high  steps 
leading  from  the  college  entrance, 
the  citizen  hesitated,  and  saying 
to  the  young  man,  "Wait  here  a 
minute,  I  wish  to  see  the  mug  and 
ask  him  what  worked  the  kids," 
he  went  back,  and  seeking  the 
commandant,  addressed  him  : 

"  Sav !  give  us  the  tip  about  the 
'spy!''" 

"Oh,"  said  the  Major.  "The 
word  was  passed  that  your  friend 
was  a  spy  from  the  State-house 
crowd,  and  then  I  got  orders  not 
to  let  him  out  without  an  investi- 
gation." 

"And  I  am  a  chump?"  asked 
the  citizen,  sarcastically. 

"  No,  it  seems  you  are  not,  as 
you  got  out,"  replied  the  Major, 
laughing. 

The  citizen  and  his  companion 
passed  on  across  the  campus  to 
the  entrance  of  the  United  States 
Arsenal  grounds,  in  the  city  sub- 
urbs. In  the  arsenal  the  State 
•arms  were  stored — fifteen  hundred 
stands  of  rjfles,  perhaps  some  can- 
non. It  lay  some  few  hundred 
yards  west  of  the  college,  was  sur- 
rounded    by    spacious     grounds, 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


205 


filled  with  noble  trees,  which  were 
putting  on  Nature's  passementerie 
of  opening  buds  and  stamenifer- 
ous  tassels.  It  was  drizzling  rain. 
The  visitants  chose  their  way- 
through  the,  grounds  for  the  sake 
of  the  protection  the  trees  af- 
forded against  the  shower.  There 
were  a  few  United  States  infantry- 
men lounging  about  the  barracks, 
and  a  sentinel  at  the  front  gate. 
A  city  hack  was  standing  at  the 
gate,  and  this  the  two  pedestrians 
were  lucky  enough  to  procure  to 
take  them   back  to  town. 

The  youth  was  the  telegraphic 
reporter  of  the  New  York  Herald. 
Him  the  citizen  had  found  and  en- 
gaged to  send  his  first  "special" 
to  the  Herald,  giving  an  account 
of  Baxter's  expulsion  from  the  ex- 
ecutive office,  as  the  citizen  should 
frame  it.  The  youth  declined,  at 
first,  unless  the  Governor  himself 
should  write  it.  But  he  compro- 
mised on  being  assured  that  he 
should  see  the  Governor,  and  be 
requested  by  him  to  send  it  writ- 
ten as  the  citizen  should  instruct 
him.  He  was  fancifully  attired, 
had  been  seen  moving  among  the 
Brooks  people,  perhaps,  by  some 
of  the  college  "kids,"  and  was 
mistrusted  by  them.  Hence  the 
cry  he  had  heard  in  the  college 
corridor.      He  did  not  speak  of  it. 

When  the  two  reached  a  room 
where  there  were  writing  materi- 
als, gas  and  fire,  which  the  humid 
day  rendered  comfortable,  they 
addressed  themselves  at  once   to 


formulating  the  dispatch.  The 
citizen  wrote  and  the  reporter 
copied.  It  was  not  long  until  the 
citizen  saw  it  in  the  hands  of  the 
right  man  at  the  office  of  the  tele- 
graph company,  which  was  close 
at  hand. 

About  dark  the  citizens  were 
aroused  by  music  and  shouting  at 
the  Anthony  House.  It  was  the 
return  of  Gov.  Baxter  and  Gen. 
Newton  to  the  Anthony  House 
from  St.  John's  College.  Files  of 
the  cadets  marched  in  front  and 
rear  of  his  carriage.  Citizens  fell 
in  behind  it  and  formed  a  rapidly- 
increasing  escort  until  the  pro- 
cession reached  the  old  hotel. 
The  gathering  crowd  greeted  the 
Republican  official  as  he  alighted 
with  cheers  and  cries  of  "  Hurrah 
for  Baxter;"  "Good-bye,  Old 
Brindle;"  "Down  with  Clayton 
and  Poker  Jack;"  "Theives  to 
the  rear,"  and  the  like.  Conserv- 
atives, who  had  been  zealous  sup- 
porters of  Brooks,  now  came  up 
to  Baxter,  congratulated  him  on 
his  fidelity  to  his  duty,  and 
pledged  him  personal  and  mate- 
rial aid. 

They  said  it  had  come  to  a 
question  of  enslavement  and  im- 
poverishment under  negro  rule,  or 
American  citizenship,  growth  and 
enterprise.  These  were  to  be  ut- 
terly struck  down  by  a  system 
which  proposed  riot  in  oppres- 
sion, vice  and  crime. 

On  the  i6th  of  April,  just  pre- 
vious to   his   moving  his  quarters 


2o6 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


from  St.  John's  College,  Gov. 
Baxter  proclaimed  the  existence 
of  martial  law  in  the  County  of 
Pulaski  [at  the  seat  of  government] 
through  the  following  proclama- 
tion : 

Whereas,  An  armed  rebellion  exists  in  the 
County  of  Pulaski  against  the  State  Govern- 
ment, and  it  becomes  necessary  to  employ  all 
the  force  at  my  disposal  to  suppress  it,  there- 
fore, by  authority  vested  in  me  by  lav^r,  I 
hereby  proclaim  the  existence  of  martial  law 
within  the  said  county,  and  command  all  per- 
sons capable  of  military  duty  to  assist  in  the 
putting  down  of  said  rebellion. 

During  the  time  that  martial  law  shall  thus 
prevail,  every  infringement  of  the  rights  of 
peaceable  and  well-disposed  persons  will  be 
severely  punished,  by  whomsoever  it  may  be 
committed.  The  utmost  respect  shall  be  paid 
by  all  persons  to  citizens  not  in  arms,  and  to 
their  property,  and  to  that  of  the  Federal 
Government. 

In  testimony  whereof,  I,  Elisha  Baxter, 
Governor  of  the  State  of  Arkansas,  do  hereto 
set  my  hand  and  private  seal,  i/ie  seal  of  said 
State  not  now  being  accessible  to  the  Gov- 
ernor of  the  State. 

Done  at  Little  Rock,  this  i6th  day  of  April, 
1874.  ELISHA  BAXTER, 

Governor  of  Arkansas  and  Com.-in-Chief. 

The  reporter  had  copied  the 
telegraphic  message  to  the  Herald 
in  his  own  hand  from  slips  rapidly- 
written  by  the  citizen,  so  that  the 
latter  had  his  own  copy.  He  read 
it  over.  He  said  to  himself,  "  I 
believe  this  presents  the  main 
points^ of  the  imbroglio.  It  will 
reach  the  President  and  his  cabi- 
net through    the    Herald,  to-day. 


It  will  be  the  first  consistent  ver- 
sion to  reach  him,  and  will  cause 
the  first  impression.  Then  let  them 
telegraph,  petition,  send  delegates 
as  often  as  they  please.  The  situ- 
ation is  parallel  with  the  Louisi- 
ana experiment.  McEnery  was 
dispersed,  and  Kellogg,  the  un- 
speakable, recognized.  He  rep- 
resented the  party  machine," 

The  following  is  the  dispatch  to 
the  New  York  Herald,  which  that 
paper  contained  in  its  issue  of  the 
15th  of  April,  1874,  and  was  read 
in  Washington  at  breakfast  the 
same  day.  The  dispatch  had 
hardly  been  transmitted  when  Gov. 
Baxter  took  military  possession  of 
the  telegraph  office  and  placed 
the  management  in  control  of  a 
chief  chosen  from  among  the 
operators.  This  step  followed  so 
soon  upon  citizen's  visit  as  to  seem 
to  have  been  suggested  by  it. 

Little  Rock,  Ark.,  April  15,  9  r.  m. 
In  the  case  of  Brooks  vs.  Baxter,  in  the 
nisi  prius  court  of  the  Little  Rock  circuit, 
brought  last  summer,  stating  that  Baxter  was 
a  usurper,  Circuit  Judge  Whytock,  at  ten 
o'clock  this  morning,  overruled  the  demurrer 
of  plaintiff  as  to  jurisdiction  and  issued  a  writ 
of  ouster.  This  occurred  in  the  absence  of 
Gov.  Baxter's  counsel.  Chief  Justice  McClure 
immediately  administered  the  oath  of  office  to 
Brooks,  and  soon  after  Sheriff  Oliver  served 
a  writ  on  Gov.  Baxter  at  the  executive  office. 
He  was  accompanied  by  Brooks  and  an 
armed  guard.  Brooks  demanded  possession 
of  the  office,  was  refused,  and  then  declared 
himself  in  forcible  possession.  Brooks' 
friends  had  possessed  themselves  of  the  Capi- 
tol, and  had  broken  into  the  State  armory  and 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


207 


seized  guns  and  ordnance.  Brooks  sent  word 
to  say  he  could  not  see  your  correspondent 
yet.  The  Capitol  halls  are  filled  with  ex- 
cited groups.  Gov.  Baxter,  on  leaving  the 
State  House,  went  to  the  Anthony  House  and 
held  a  consultation  with  his  friends  and  coun- 
sel, then  drove  to  St.  John's  College,  on  the 
outskirts  of  the  city.  The  Brtioks  party  are 
jubilant  and  defiant.  It  is  asserted  that  the 
couj)  d'etat  was  planned  by  Messrs.  Clayton 
and  Dorsey,  when  here  at  Easter,  after  failing 
to  agree  with  Gov.  Baxter  regarding  the  man- 
agement of  the  fall  elections.  Brooks  has 
revoked  all  Baxter's  militia  appointments, 
commissioned  R.  F.  Catterson  Adjutant  Gen- 
eral and  Jack  Brooker  Major  General.  I 
went  to  Baxter's  headquarters,  in  St.  John's 
College,  at  three  o'clock.  The  entrance  was 
guarded,  Baxter  said  to  your  correspondent 
that  he  would  act  vigorously ;  that  he  had 
plenty  of  arms  at  his  disposal  at  the  United 
Stales  Arsenal.  Baxter  is  organizing  the 
militia.  Gen.  Robert  C.  Newton  will  call  out 
the  militia.  There  will  probably  be  blood- 
shed if  the  Government  allows  them  to  fight 
it  out.  The  State  House  and  grounds  are 
well  guarded  to-night,  over  300  Brooks  men 
under  arms.  There  is  great  excitement  here, 
and  the  people  from  the  country  are  arriving 
in  masses. 

Joseph  Brooks,  who  claims  as  the  Reform 
candidate   to   have  been  elected  Governor  in 

1872,  took  the  oath  of  office  about  eleven 
o'clock  this  morning  before  Chief  Justice  Mc- 
Clure,  and  within  five  minutes  from  that  time 
seized  forcible  possession  of  the  Governor's 
office  and  ejected  the  regular  Republican  offi- 
cial, Elisha  Baxter,  who  by  the  returns  of  the 
election  and  the  General  Assembly  was  de- 
clared  and  installed  as   Governor    January, 

1873.  About  one  year  ago  Brooks  com- 
menced suit  in  the  Circuit  Court  of  Pulaski 
County  against  Baxter  as  an  usurper  of  the 
office  of  Governor.  This  was  shortly  after 
the  Attorney    General   had   commenced   suit 


against  Gov.  Baxter  by  quo  warranto  in  the 
Supreme  Court,  and  after  the  latter  court  had 
rendered  a  decision  that  the  courts  of  the 
State  had  no  power  to  decide  a  contested  elec- 
tion for  the  ofifice  of  Governor.  By  the  State 
constitution  it  is  provided  that  the  Legislat- 
ure, in  joint  session,  shall  canvass  the  returns 
for  Governor,  and  announce  the  candidate 
elected,  and  all  contests  for  Governor  shall 
be  decided  by  that  body.  The  Legislature, 
in  1873,  canvassed  the  returns  and  declared 
that  Mr.  Baxter  was  elected.  Subsequently 
that  body  rejected  the  petition  of  Brooks  to 
contest  Baxter's  election.  Nothing  more  was 
thought  of  the  matter  particularly  until  a  few 
days  ago,  when  the  attorneys  of  Gov.  Baxter 
desired  that  the  "usurpation"  case  in  the 
Circuit  Court  of  Brooks  vs.  Baxter  be  taken 
up  on  demurrer  at  an  early  day,  with  the  ob- 
ject of  disposing  of  the  same.  An  under- 
standing was  then  had  that  the  demurrer 
should  be  submitted  and  argued  next  week, 
no  day  being  agreed  upon,  as  the  United 
States  Court  was  in  session.  On  Monday, 
during  the  absence  of  the  attorneys  of  Gov. 
Baxter,  Mr.  Whipple,  the  attorney  of  Brooks, 
arose  and  stated  that  it  had  been  agreed  be- 
tween himself  and  the  counsel  of  Gov.  Baxter 
that  a  demurrer  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Cir- 
cuit Court  should  be  submitted.  This,  al- 
though in  the  absence  of  Gov.  Baxter's  attor- 
neys, was  thought  nothing  of  at  the  time. 
Yesterday  morning,  about  eleven  o'clock, 
when  there  were  but  few  in  the  courtroom  and 
neither  of  the  Governor's  counsel  present, 
Circuit  Judge  Whytock  announced  his  de- 
cision, overruling  the  demurrer.  None  of 
Baxter's  counsel  being  present  to  answer, 
plead  over  or  move  for  an  appeal,  he  then 
rendered  final  judgment  and  a  writ  of  ouster 
was  issued  out  of  said  inferior  court  against 
Baxter,  then  in  charge  of  the  office,  in  favor  of 
Brooks,  claimant.  In  five  minutes  from  that 
time  an  armed  mob,  headed  by  Brooks  en- 
tered the  Governor's   office   demanding  pos- 


2o8 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


session.  The  Governor  declined  to  yield, 
whereupon  forcible  possession  was  taken  and 
guards  placed  at  all  the  entrances  to  the  office. 
In  the  meantime,  Gen.  Catterson,  who  claimed 
to  act  as  Brooks'  Adjutant  General,  in  the  same 
building  took  possession  of  about  one  hun- 
dred stand  of  arms,  Adjutant  General  Strong, 
of  Gov.  Baxter's  staff,  refusing  to  give  up  the 
keys,  although  surrounded  by  armed  men. 
Baxter  refused  to  be  ejected  except  by  force, 
when  some  of  Brooks'  men  took  hold  of  him 
and  led  him  out.  Since  that  time  Brooks  has 
had  possession  of  the  State  House.  Gov. 
Baxter  has  established  his  headquarters  at 
St.  John's  College.  The  greatest  excitement 
prevails  throughout  the  city. 

The  dispatch  was  mistaken  in 
saying  a  writ  of  ouster  had  been 
issued.  Gen.  Catterson,  as  Brooks' 
Adjutant  General,  took  military- 
possession  and  ejected  the  occu- 
pants of  the  executive  office  by 
armed  force  without  any  writ. 

The  following  dispatch  was 
sent  by  Gov.  Baxter  to  the  Presi- 
dent : 

Little  Rock,  Ark.,  April  15,  1874. 
To  the  President  of  the  United  States: 

I  have  been  advised  by  public  rumor  that 
in  the  State  Circuit  Court  for  this  county,  in  a 
long-pending  case  brought  by  Joseph  Brooks 
for  the  office  of  Governor  of  this  State,  a  de- 
murrer to  the  complaint  was  overruled  and 
an  immediate  judgment  of  "ouster"  against 
me  given.  This  was  done  in  the  absence  of 
counsel  for  me  and  without  notice,  and  im- 
mediately thereafter  the  circuit  judge  ad- 
journed his  court.  The  claimant  has  taken 
possession  of  the  State  buildings  and  ejected 
me  by  force.  I  propose  to  take  measures  im- 
diately  to  resume  possession  of  the  State 
property  and  to  maintain  my  authority  as 
rightful  Governor  of  the  State.     Armed  men> 


acting  under  this  revolutionary  movement, 
are  now  in  charge  of  the  government  armory 
and  Capitol  buildings.  I  deem  it  my  duty  to 
communicate  this  state  of  affairs  to  the  Presi- 
dent. I  trust  the  revolutionary  acts  may  be 
settled  without  bloodshed,  and  respectfully 
ask  the  support  of  the  general  government  in 
my  effort  to  maintain  the  rightful  govern- 
ment of  the  State  of  Arkansas,  and  that  the 
commander  of  the  United  States  Arsenal  at 
this  post  be  directed  to  sustain  me  in  that 
direction.  I  respectfully  request  a  reply  to 
this  communication  at  an  early  moment. 
ELISHA  BAXTER, 
Governor  of  Arkansas. 

Gen.  Catterson  now  walked  the 
State  House  as  military  comman- 
der. Gen.  Upham  was  his  Assistant 
Adjutant  General,  par  nobile  fra- 
triim.  Rev.  Mr.  Brooks,  now  Gov- 
ernor and  Commander-in-chief, 
on  taking  possession  April  i6th 
of  the  office,  issued  his  first  proc- 
lamation as  Governor  and  Com- 
mander-in-chief, which  is  here 
reproduced,  except  the  introduc- 
tion, which  goes  into  the  facts  of 
his  election,  petition  of  contest, 
suit  and  judgment  against  Baxter 
for  the  office,  which  are  now  fa- 
miliar by  repeated  mention.  His 
spcond  paragraph  began  : 

Being  in  the  office,  it  is  fair  that  I,  to  some 
extent,  define  my  future  policy,  which  adher- 
ents of  Elisha  Baxter  will  no  doubt  misrepre- 
sent, for  the  purpose  of  advancing  personal 
interest  and  gratifying  their  ambition. 

For  my  political  tenets,  I  respectfully  refer 
you  to  the  platform  of  the  Reform  Party,  on 
which  I  was  a  candidate  in  1872.  From  the 
principles  there  enunciated  I  have  not  departed, 
and  God  helping  me,  I  never  will !    *     *     * 


of  the  Reconstructioti  Period  in  Arkansas. 


209 


Efforts  no  doubt  will  be  made  by  designing 
men  to  convey  the  impression  that  it  is  the 
duty  of  the  people  to  rally  to  the  standard  of 
a  man  who,  no  doubt,  will  claim  he  is  Gov- 
ernor of  Arkansas,  that  you  all  know  was  not 
elected,  and  who  has  not  more  right  or  claim 
to  the  office  than  any  one  of  you  have,  that 
was  not  a  candidate,  for  the  purpose  of  plac- 
ing that  man  again  in  the  executive  c>ffice 
{sic).  I  say  frankly  to  you  that  all  such  at- 
tempts will  lead  to  strife  and  bloodshed,  for  I 
shall  resist  and  suppress  the  action  of  all 
mobs  that  may  assemble  together  under  the 
banner  or  at  the  call  of  Elisha  Baxter!  No 
man  in  the  State  can  more  deeply  regret 
strife  and  bloodshed  than  myself.  But  feel- 
ing as  I  do  that  self-government,  rather 
than  self-aggrandizement,  is  in  the  issue,  I 
shall  employ  every  means  to  maintain  its 
supremacy. 

Elisha  Baxter  forced  me  from  the  legislat- 
ure to  the  courts,  and  thus  far  I  have  patiently 
borne  with  the  law's  delay,  at  all  times  feel- 
ing that  justice  would  be  done  me.  By  the 
judgment  of  a  court  of  competent  jurisdiction 
I  am  in  the  executive  office.  When  it  is  ad- 
judicated that  I  am  not  there  legally,  I  will 
bow  my  head  in  silence  to  the  decree  of  the 
court,  be  it  what  it  may.  The  power  that 
Elisha  Baxter  used  to  force  me  into  the  courts, 
I  will  use  to  make  him  respect  and  abide  its 
decrees.  To  one  and  all  I  say,  keep  quiet 
and  pursue  your  different  vocations  \your  ser- 
vices are  not  needed  at  the  capital  to  preserve 
either  peace  or  good  order.  Should  the  time 
come  when  they  will  be  needed  you  will  be 
notified  in  due  time  through  proper  chan- 
nels. 

JOSEPH  BROOKS. 
Governor  of  Arkansas. 

Gov.  Baxter  also  issued  a  proc- 
lamation "  to  the  people,"  from 
his  headquarters  at  the  Anthony 


House.      The    following   extracts 
will  show  its  bearing  : 

Executive  Office,         1 
Little  Rock,  April  16,  1874./ 
To  the  People  of  Arkansas  : 

******* 

An  insurrection,  organized  in  the  interest  of 
certain  parties,  disappointed  in  an  attempt  to 
secure  the  influence  of  the  executive  for  pro- 
posed frauds  in  the  approaching  election  has 
effected  the  seizure  of  the  capitol,  and  now 
attempts  to  usurp  the  functions  of  government. 
The  momentary  success  of  this  insurrection, 
as  far  as  regards  the  occupation  of  the  build- 
ing, has  been  owing  to  that  security  which 
the  political  traditions  of  the  American  peo- 
ple give  to  legitimate  government  in  time  of 
peace. 

The  armed  sentries  and  loaded  cannon 
which,  for  the  moment,  support  the  usurpa- 
tion within  the  precincts  of  the  State  House 
had  ftot  beeji  dee?ned  requisite  to  the  mainte- 
nance of  a  recogjiized  government.  The  oc- 
cupation of  the  building,  unexpected  and 
forcible,  could  not  at  the  instant  be  success- 
fully resisted.  Aversion  to  unnecessaiy 
bloodshed  has,  for  a  few  hours,  withheld  the 
arm  of  the  State  Government  from  the  imme- 
diate vindication  of  its  rights  and  dignity. 

Forbearance  has  seemed  only  to  embolden 
the  impudence  of  the  handful  of  insurgents. 
Forbearance  therefore  is  at  an  end !  General 
Order  No.  i,  from  headquarters  of  the  mili- 
tia of  Arkansas,  of  date  correspondent  with 
that  of  this  proclamation,  declares  martial  law 
in  the  County  of  Pulaski.  It  is  due  the  people 
of  the  State  that  the  circumstances  which 
have  rendered  necessary  this  course  of  action. 

[Here  Gov.  Baxter  enters  at 
length  in  his  version  of  the  facts 
and  law  attending  the  efforts  and 
failure  of  Mr.  Brooks  to  establish 
his  claims,  and  continues  :  ] 


The  Brooks  afid  Baxter   War:  a  History 


In  pursuance  ol  a  plot,  already  matured,  in 
anticipation  of  the  decision  of  the  Circuit 
Court,  the  conspirators,  forgetting  in  their 
haste  that  no  -writ  of  ouster  had  been  issued, 
betook  themselves  to  the  room  where  the 
Chief  Justice  (the  sole  dissenter  from  the  de- 
cision of  the  Supreme  Court  in  the  matter) 
awaited  them,  by  appointment,  and  then, 
armed  with  his  attestation  to  Mr.  Brooks' 
oath  of  office,  proceeded  forcibly  to  eject 
from  the  State  House  the  chief  magistrate  of 
the  commonwealth. 

An  appeal  lies  of  course  to  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  State.  That  court  has  already, 
in  a  case  involving  the  point  in  issue,  deter- 
mined that  the  court  has  no  authority  to  de- 
cide the  validity  of  election  of  any  executive 
officer  of  the  State. 

It  need  hardly  be  remarked  that,  pending 
an  appeal,  the  effect  of  the  judgment  of  the 
Circuit  Court  of  Pulaski  County  is  suspended, 
and  that  the  undertaking  to  sustain  the  en- 
forcement of  that  judgment  pending  the  ap- 
peal is  without  color  of  law  or  moral  pallia- 
tion. The  forcible  ejection  of  the  chief  mag- 
istrate from  the  premises  was  followed  by 
pre-arranged  and  prompt  summons  to  armed 
desperadoes  to  bar  all  access  to  the  State 
House  of  its  legitimate  occupants.  Mr. 
Brooks  has  issued  a  paper  entitled  "  a  procla- 
mation," in  which  he  distinctly  announces  his 
intention  of  bloodshed. 

The  executive  of  the  State  has  but  one  obli- 
gation to  perform — that  to  which  he  is  bound 
alike  by  his  duty  as  a  citizen  and  his  official 
oath.  The  authority  of  the  law  will  be  im- 
diately  and  effectively  asserted,  peaceably  if 
it  may  be,  but  asserted  in  any  event.  The 
government  purposes  to  occupy  the  Capitol. 
As  Governor  of  Arkansas  I  appeal  to  the  peo- 
ple of  the  State  to  support  the  government  of 
the  State  against  shameless  usurpation.  Un- 
der the  solemn  obligations  of  my  oath  of  of- 
fice I  renew  my  promise  to  be  true  to  them. 


I   ask  from  them  the  support  which  they  owe 
to  their  chief  magistrate. 

ELISHA  BAXTER, 
Governor  of  Arkansas. 

These  pronunciamentoes  were, 
perhaps,  proper  enough  to  be  pub- 
lished, through  a  "  decent  respect 
for  the  opinions  of  mankind;"  but 
either  "  governor  "  might  have  ad- 
vanced his  cause  by'asking  Feder- 
al interposition  under  the  Federal 
constitution  and  statutes  to  aid 
him  in  resisting  "domestic  vio- 
lence," as  was  soon  intimated  to 
them  in  answer  to  their  informal 
dispatches,  by  the  Attorney  Gen- 
eral of  the  United  States. 

Article  IV.  Section  4  of  the 
Constitution  declares,  "  that  the 
*^  United  States  shall  guarantee  to 
every  State  in  this  Union  a  repub- 
lican form  of  government,  and 
shall  protect  each  of  them  against 
invasion,  and,  on  application  of 
the  Legislature,  or  of  the  Executive 
(when  the  Legislature  cannot  be 
convened)  against  domestic  vio- 
lence.'' The  statutes  prescribe  the 
manner  of  invoking  the  assistance. 

The  Attorney  General  reminded 
both  of  the  claimants  that  their 
applications  were  not  in  form. 
He  then  referred  them  both,  flip- 
pantly, to  the  courts.  He  used  the 
word  "courts"  in  its  restricted 
sense.  He  momentarily  forgot 
that  a  judicial  sentence  may  be 
pronounced  by  other  arbiters  than 
courts  by  authority  of  the  sover- 
*  eign.  The  earliest  notion. was, 
that   a  judgment   should   be  pro- 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


nounced  by  the  king  himself  upon 
the  facts  of  each  case.  It  was 
supposed  to  be  by  direct,  divine 
inspiration.  Long  development 
of  jurisprudence  has  reversed 
that  conception.  It  is  "  not  a 
transient,  sudden  order  from  a 
superior  to,  or  concerning  a 
particular  person ;  but  something 
permanent,  uniform,  universal," 
according  to  England's  greatest 
law-writer. 

The  Attorney  General  perfunc- 
torily refers  the  two  "governors" 
to  the  decision  of  the  State  courts 
for  a  settlement  of  their  dispute  ! 
It  provoked  a  universal  howl  of 
derision,  that  a  complication  so 
serious,  which  had  been  wickedly 
brought  on  by  the  paltering,  and 
even  the  conspiracies,  of  so-called 
courts,  should  be  left,  by  the  At- 
torney General  to  the  solution  of 
"  the  courts  !" 

Department  of  Justice,         \ 
Washington,  April  i6,  1874.  J 

Hon.  Elisha  Baxter,  Little  Rock,  Ark.: 

I  am  instructed  by  the  President  to  say  in 
answer  to  your  dispatch  to  him  of  yesterday, 
asking  for  the  support  of  the  general  govern- 
ment to  sustain  you  in  your  efforts  to  main- 
tain the  rightful  government  in  the  State  of 
Arkansas,  that  in  the  first  place,  your  call  is 
not  in  conformity  with  the  constitution  and 
laws  of  the  United  States.  In  the  second 
place,  that,  as  the  controversy  relates  to  your 
right  to  hold  a  State  office,  its  adjudicacion, 
unless  a  case  is  made  under  the  so-called  en- 
forcement act,  belongs  to  the  State  courts.  (?) 
If  the  decision  of  which  you  complain  is  erro- 
neous, there  appears  to  be  no  reason  luliy  it 
may  not  be   reviewed  (!)  and   a  correct  de- 


cision  obtained   from    the  Supreme  Court  of 
the  State. 

GEORGE  H.  WILLIAMS, 

Attorney  General. 

This  same  legal  luminary,  the 
same  day,  as  if  writing  from  his 
landau,  in  answer  to  requests  from 
each  of  the  contending  "  govern- 
ors "  to  the  President  for  leave  to 
withdraw  the  State  arms  from  the 
United  States  Arsenal,  in  which 
they  had  been  deposited  by  the 
State,  telegraphed  as  follows  : 

Department  of  Justice,     \ 
Washington,  April  16,  1874.  J 
Hon.  Joseph  Brooks,  Little  Rock,  Ark.: 

I  am  instructed  by  the  President  to  say  in 
answer  to  your  dispatch  to  him  of  yesterday, 
asking  that  the  United  States  commanding 
officer  at  the  arsenal  be  instructed  to  deliver 
the  arms  in  his  custody  belonging  to  the 
State  to  you,  or  hold  them  subject  to  your  or- 
der, that  he  declines  to  comply  with  your  re- 
quest, as  he  is  not  advised  that  your  right  to 
hold  the  office  of  Governor  has  been  fully  and 
finally  decided  by  the  courts  of  Arkansas  ! 
GEORGE  H.  WILLIAMS, 
Attorney  General. 

What  relief  could  be  expected 
from  the  Supreme  Court  of  Ark- 
ansas ? 

Let  us  turn  a  moment,  while 
the  military  preparations  of  each 
side  are  being  perfected,  to  learn 
the  composition  of  that  court  and 
true  attitude  of  its  members,  as 
shown  by  their  testimony  before 
the  Poland  Committee,  when  they 
were  willing  to  tell  the  truth  in 
the  hope  of  preserving  the  hold  of 
their  party  upon  the  power  of  the 
State ;  and  which  discloses  their 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


true  inwardness  toward  Baxter 
and  his  cause  when  pretending  to 
decide  upon  it  as  Judges.  That 
court  was  composed  of  John  Mc- 
Clure,  Chief  Justice,  formerly  of 
Ohio,  appointed  by  Gov.  Clayton, 
1868,  term  not  expired  ;  Lafayette 
Gregg,  old  citizen,  Arkansas  Fed- 
eral, supposed  to  be  elected  1868, 
term  not  expired ;  John  E.  Ben- 
nett, carpet-bagger,  appointed  by 
Gov,  Clayton,  1870;  M.  L.  Steph- 
enson, of  Illinois,  supposed  to  be 
elected  1 872,  on  the  Baxter  ticket ; 
Elhanan  J.  Searle,  of  Indiana,  sup- 
posed to  be  elected  in  1872,  on 
Baxter's  ticket. 

John  McClure,  from  the  begin- 
ning, boldly  favored  the  quo  war- 
ranto proceedings,  and  was  for 
displacing  Baxter  with  the  Lieu- 
tenant-governor, and  finally  with 
Brooks.  Lafayette  Gregg,  in  his 
testimony  before  the  Poland  Com- 
mittee (p.  186),  deposed : 

By  Mr.  Rice :  Q.  Did  you  concur  in  the 
memorandum  fiy-leaf  amenameni  made  to  your 
opinion  (in  the  Yonley  quo  warranto  case,  in 
the  Supreme  Court)?  A.  The  objection  which 
I  had  to  adding  it  was,  that  it  seemed  to  me  to 
savor  more  of  dictum  than  of  legal  ruling. 
On  that  ground  I  had  some  objection  to  it. 
I  did  not  think  it  was  announcing  any  incor- 
rect principles  of  law,  but  I  thought  it  was 
rather  dictum,  as  the  matter  then  stood  be- 
fore the  court;  but  as  my  brother  judges 
(Stephenson  and  Searle)  insisted  upon  it,  and 
as  I  had  not  an  opportunity  of  communicat- 
ing with  them  in  person  (in  the  vacation, 
when  the  memorandum  was  sent  to  him),  I 
consented  to  insert  that  paragraph, 

Q.     The   question   before  the   court  was  a 


motion  for  a  petition  for  a  qtio  warranto^ 
A.   Yes. 

Q.  And  this  dictum,  or  whatever  it  was 
termed,  which  was  added  to  this  opinion,  is  a 
decision  that  710  court  has  jurisdiction  of 
the  controversy?  A.  It  is  an  assertion  to 
that  effect.         *         *         * 

Q.  Do  you  regard  that  now  as  law,  or  as 
dictum?  A.  I  regard  it,  in  the  main,  as  dic- 
tum. That  was  my  opinion  at  the  time,  and 
is  yet.  I  think,  however,  that  the  substance 
of  the  opinion  conveys  the  same  meaning  as 
there  is  in  that  paragraph :  but  I  looked  on 
that  as  dictum. 

John  E.  Bennett  testified  before 
the  committee  (p.  256)  as  follows : 

Q.  Were  you  on  the  bench  at  the  time  the 
petition  was  filed  for  quo  warranto  against 
Elisha  Baxter  by  the  Attorney  General?  A. 
Yes. 

Q.  Did  you  concur  in  the  opinion  (deny- 
ing jurisdiction  to  issue  the  writ)  rendered 
thereon,  and  would  you  have  signed  it  had  it 
been  submitted  to  you  ?     A.     No,  sir. 

Q.  Were  you  corresponded  with  in  refer- 
ence to  coming  here  earlier  than  the  meeting 
of  the  court,  for  any  purpose?     A.     No,  sir. 

Q.  Were  you  not  telegraphed  to  or  written 
to?     A.     No,  sir. 

Marshall  L.  Stephenson  testified 
before  the  Poland  Committee  (p. 
268)  as  follows : 

Q.  Did  you  consider  that  you  had  before 
you  in  that  case  (the  Brooks-Baxter  quo 
warranto  case)  any  question  as  to  the  juris- 
diction of  the  Circuit  Court?  A,  We  no 
doubt  at  that  time  intended  to  confine  the  de- 
cision strictly  to  the  case  before  us. 

Q.  What  made  you  depart  from  that  inten- 
tion ?  A.  The  reason  that  actuated  me  was 
to  jireserve  the  peace  and  avert  any  imiiend- 
ing  danger  in  the  State. 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


Q.  What  do  you  know  as  to  Judge  Gregg  be- 
ing actuated  by  the  same  feeling?  A.  I  had 
a  letter  from  Judge  Gregg,  but  I  dislike  to 
produce  it  without  first  having  a  conversation 
with  him,  as  the  matter  is  one  of  private  cor- 
respondence between  Judge  Gregg  and  my- 
self. 

Q.  It  was  on  this  public  subject?  A.  Yes. 
I  wrote  to  him  and  explained  the  reason  why 
it  was  desired  to  have  the  opinion  and  the 
appendix  both.  Several  letters  passed  be- 
tween us.  Judge  Gregg  said  that  while  he 
desired  so  to  restrict  himself  as  not  to  strike 
down  any  other  case  that  might  be  pending* 
still  he  agreed  with  us,  that  if  iht  Jly-leaf 
would  bridge  over  the  emergency,  he  was 
willing  to  have  it  go  on  file. 

Q.  Was  not  the  case  of  Berry  against 
Wheeler  (Wheeler  was  elected  on  the  ticket 
with  Baxter)  also  pending  in  Judge  Why- 
tock's  Court  ?     A.     Yes. 

Q.  Was  not  Judge  Gregg  an  intimate 
friend  of  Berry  (who  ran  for  Auditor  on  the 
ticket  with  Brooks)  ?     A.     I  believe  he  was. 

Q.  You  were  present  at  the  trial  of  the 
case  of  Brooks  vs.  Whytock,  on  the  man- 
damus? A.  Yes  (in  Brooks'  military  en- 
campment). 

Q.  Was  that  case  duly  considered  ?  A. 
It  was  considered  as  much  as  any  other  case. 
We  had  already  exhausted  the  subject  of  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  court  in  the  quo  warranto 
case,  and  there  was  but  a  single  point  pre- 
sented which  at  all  involved  the  question  of 
jurisdiction.  We  agreed  on  that  very  readily. 
The  case  was  as  well  considered  as  if  we  had 
taken  a  month  over  it.  We  already  had  our 
minds  made  up  about  it. 

Q.  What  point  in  the  mandamus  case  was 
it  which  you  regarded  as  not  being  involved 
in  the  quo  zvarranto  case  ?  A.  My  views 
about  that  were  that  the  two  questions  were 
altogether  different.      There  was  no  conflict 


between  the  quo  warranto  and  the  mandatnus 
cases.  No  one  who  has  examined  the  legal 
points  in  the  two  opinions  can  believe  there  is 
any  conflict  between  the  two  opinions. 

Q.  The  point  was,  that  the  kind  of  case 
pending  in  Judge  Whytock's  Court  was  not 
the  kind  of  case  that  was  involved  (governed) 
by  the  a'zV/a  in  the  quo  warranto  case?  A. 
I  do  not  conceive  that  there  was  any  dicta  in 
the  quo  warranto  case.  It  was  stated  by  the 
Attorney  General  that  the  object  in  the  qtio 
7uarranto  case  was  to  contest  the  election  as 
between  Brooks  and  Baxter.  In  the  man- 
damus case,  which  we  considered  on  the 
pleadings  (in  Judge  Whytock's  Court,  exhib- 
ited with  the  petition  for  mandamus)  Mr. 
Baxter  confessed  himself  a  usurper !  (Tech- 
nically, he  means,  unless  he  answered  over,  or 
had  an  opportunity  to  answer,  and  refused.) 
He  had  gone  into  the  Circuit  Court,  and  by 
demurrer  acknowledged  that  he  was  a  usurper. 
That  was  the  charge  (usurpation)  made 
against  him  by  Brooks.  (And  it  was  practi- 
cally made  in  the  quo  warranto  case,  as  well.) 
Instead  of  answering  to  that,  he  demurred 
and  confessed  himself  a  usurper.  The  rec- 
ord came  to  the  Supreme  Court  in  that  atti- 
tude, and  it  was  not  for  the  Supreme  Court  to 
go  outside  of  the  papers  in  the  case  in  order 
to  ascertain  the  truth  or  falsity  of  the  state- 
ment. He  was  judged  by  the  record  which 
he  presented  to  the  Supreme  Court,  and,  in 
that  regard,  there  is  a  great  difference  between 
a  contest  for  office  and  a  suit  brought  against 
a  usurper  of  an  office.  They  are  entirely  dis- 
tinct, and  have  always  been  so  at  common 
law.  There  is  a  distinct  and  separate  remedy 
for  each.  The  suit  was  brought  against  Bax- 
ter as  a  usurper,  and  he  came  in  and  con- 
fessed, by  his  demurrer,  that  he  was  a 
usurper.  In  that  attitude  he  stood  in  the  Su- 
preme Court  at  the  time  the  decision  was 
made.  The  only  way  that  Gov.  Baxter  could 
remedy  that,  at  that  time,  was  by  revolu- 
tion. 


214 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


The  mandamus  case  was  an- 
other moot  case,  made  within  the 
military  lines  of  the  State  House 
after  Judges  Bennett  and  Searle 
had  taken  refuge  there,  as  herein- 
after narrated,  and  joined  the 
Chief  Justice  and  Judge  Stephen- 
son there.  Brooks  made  a  requi- 
sition on  Wheeler  (the  Auditor) 
for  money.  Wheeler  drew  an 
Auditor's  warrant  for  the  money 
on  Page,  Treasurer,  who  denied 
that  Brooks  was  Governor,  and 
refused  to  pay  the  warrant. 
Brooks,  as  Governor,  petitioned 
for  a  writ  of  mandamus  to  the 
Treasurer  to  compel  payment. 
The  Supreme  Court  granted  the 
writ,  recognizing  Brooks'  author- 
ity, as  Governor,  to  have  the  war- 
rant paid.  It  so  ruled  on  the 
ground  that  the  Pulaski  Circuit 
Court  had  awarded  the  office  to 
Brooks,  in  his  suit  against  Baxter 
for  usurpation,  although  it  had 
previously  held  that  no  court  of 
the  State  had  jurisdiction  to  de- 
cide the  title  to  the  office  of  Gov- 
ernor. It  was  a  case  made  in 
camp.  It  might  be  called  "mar- 
tial law" — otherwise  camp  " dic- 
ttan." 

The  Chief  Justice  himself, 
though  dissenting  in  the  giio  zvar- 
ranto  case,  immediately  afterwards 
was  in  favor  of  prohibiting  all 
proceeding  to  oust  Wheeler,  Au- 
ditor, and  the  award  of  the  office 
to  Berry,  candidate  for  Auditor, 
who  was  on  the  ticket  with  Brooks 
in  the  election.     He  said :    "  I  in- 


cline to  the  opinion  that  the  juris- 
diction of  the  Legislature,  as  to  the 
officers  named  with  the  Governor 
(in  the  constitution,  sec.  19,  art.  6, 
among  whom  was  the  Auditor)  is 
exclusive,  and  could  not  be  dele- 
gated to  or  conferred  on  the  Cir- 
cuit Court,  even  if  the  General 
Assembly  had  so  enacted  in  ex- 
press terms."  This  was  the  court 
to  which  the  United  States  Attor- 
ney General  remitted  the  people. 
Gen.  Newton  placed  ex-Confed- 
erate Generals  T.  J.  Churchill  and 
T.  P.  Dockery  in  immediate  com- 
mand of  the  volunteers,  making 
the  last  named  Military  Governor 
of  the  city.  With  such  arms  as 
they  could  procure,  and  they 
seemed  abundantly  supplied,  a 
complete  chain  of  sentinels  was 
established  to  command  all  ap- 
proaches to  the  State  House,  also 
to  guard  the  street  crossings  for 
several  blocks  in  its  vicinity.  At 
the  same  time  the  Brooks  men 
had  assembled  in  the  State  House 
in  considerable  numbers.  The 
upper  rooms  of  the  entire  build- 
ing were  filled  with  armed  men. 
In  front  of  the  west  wing  there 
was  a  cannon  placed — one  of  the 
12-pound  pieces  of  artillery 
brought  out  of  the  State  House 
armory,  which  Baxter  had  impro- 
vised— and  in  position  in  rear  of 
the  building  was  another  piece  of 
artillery,  each  manned  by  a  suffi- 
cient force.  A  force  of  riflemen 
manned  the  walls  of  the  State- 
house  yard.     Sentinels,  with  bay- 


of  the  Reconstructio7i  Period  in  Arkansas. 


215 


onets,  stood  guard  over  the  Gov- 
ernor's and  Secretary  of  State's 
offices.  It  became  a  belief  with 
many  of  the  colored  leaders,  from 
reading  Clayton's  and  Dorsey's 
indorsements  of  Brooks  that  the 
"  old  Brindle  "  was  in  the  lead  at 
last,  and  would  be  recognized  by 
Congress.  They  now  eagerly 
filled  the  ranks  of  the  State-house 
party.  Both  parties  applied  to 
the  United  States  officer  in  charge 
for  delivery  to  them  of  the  1,500 
stands  of  arms  in  the  United  States 
Arsenal  belonging  to  the  State. 
That  officer  referred  them  to  Gen. 
Emory,  his  senior  officer  in  com- 
mand, who  was  absent  in  New 
Orleans,  and  who  had  not  been 
heard  from.  Copies  of  an  "  Opin- 
ion "  of  the  Attorney  General, 
Yonley,  were  distributed  through 
the  State  House,  showing  Brooks 
clearly  entitled  to  recognition  as 
de  facto  Governor. 

Friday's  Republican  published 
the  following  telegrams  under  the 
display  head  "Congratulatory:" 

Washington,  April  15,  1874, 
To  Governor  Joseph  Brooks  : 

Accept  congratulations  upon  the  final  tri- 
umph of  the  popular  will.  Republican  gov- 
ernment has  vindicated  itself  in  your  regard 
in  the  overthrow  of  usurpation. 

Wm.  J.  HYNES, 

THOS.  M.  GUNTER, 

L.  C.  CAUSE, 

M.  L.  BELL. 

These  gentlemen  were  in  Wash- 
ington as  contestants  for  seats  in 
Congress,  to  which  probably  all 


were  truly  elected.  The  next  two 
dispatches  were  from  citizens  who 
were  moved  by  public  spirit  alone, 
and  who  knew  Brooks  personally: 

Helena,  Ark.,  April  16.  1874. 
Hon.  Joseph  Brooks,  Governor  of  Arkansas: 
We  congratulate  you  on  the  final  triumph 
of  your  right  to  the  office  of  Governor,  and 
perseverence  in  vindicating  the  rights  of  the 
people,  M.  T.  SANDERS, 

L.  H.  MANGUM. 

Texarkana, -April  16,  1874. 
Governor  Joseph  Brooks : 

Many  citizens  in  town  to-day.  They  say, 
"Amen  !  Brooks  is  the  man  we  elected." 

W.  H.  CAYCE. 

Then  in  Saturday's  Republican, 
the  1 8th,  were  published  the  fol- 
lowing dispatches  from  the  two 
United  States  Senators : 

Washington,  April  16,  1874. 
Governor  Joseph  Brooks  : 

The  President's  action  is  in  full  accord 
with  your  views.  We  rely  on  your  maintain- 
ing your  vantage  ground,  which  you  must 
hold  at  any  cost.  Our  position  here  is  that 
the  courts  must  determine  the  question,  and 
no  collusion  will  be  allowed  to  interfere. 

POWELL   CLAYTON, 
S.  W.  DORSEY. 
Everything  here  perfectly  satisfactory,  and 
the     authorities     understand     the     situation. 
Maintain  your  position,  and   we   will   take 
care  of  affairs  here. 

S.  W.  DORSEY. 

From  Helena  there  were  dis- 
patches same  date  from  M.  T. 
Sanders  again,  and  Austin  Bar- 
row, Sheriff  of  Phillips  County: 
"  What  action  do  you  wish  me  tc 
take?" 


2l6 


The  Brooks  ajid  Baxter   War:  a  History 


From  Pine  Bluff,  of  same  date, 
the  following  encouraging  con- 
gratulatory message,  offering  as- 
sistance : 

Governor  Joseph  Brooks: 

Dispatches    say  you   are  Governor,  at  last. 
Stand  by  your  rights — the  people  will  sustain 
you.     Considerable  excitement,  but  abating. 
A.  A.  C.  ROGERS, 
W.  P.  GRACE, 
W.  D.  JOHNSON. 

From  Hot  Springs  came  over 
the  wires  the  salute  of  a  hundred 
guns  to  "  Old  Joe": 

Hot  Springs,  April  17,  1874. 
Gen.  R.  F.  Catterson  : 

The  people  here  are  much  pleased  with  the 
change.  They  fired  one  hundred  guns  last 
night  in  honor  of  "Old  Joe." 

W.  P.  WALSH. 

Those  clever  politicians,  Chas. 
W.  Tankersley  and  D.  C.  Casey, 
sent  congratulatory  telegrams 
from  Arkadelphia,  which  pledged 
"  The  people  to  stand  by  Brooks 
as  the  rightful  occupant  of  the  ex- 
ecutive chair."  Dispatches  num- 
erously signed  from  Marianna,  as- 
suring Brooks  of  hosts  of  friends, 
and  from  Furbush  (colored).  Sher- 
iff, offering  one  hundred  men. 
From  Camden  C.  Thrower,  J.  L. 
Bragg,  B.  Fulcomb  and  D.  Mc- 
Kavanaugh  sent  assurances  of 
support.  From  Hot  Springs  W. 
P.  Walsh  telegraphed,  "  Waiting 
your  orders." 

These  continued  and  additional 
messages  filled  a  column  of  the 
Rep^iblican  from  day  to  day.  On 
the  20th  Poindexter  Dunn  pledged 


250  men  from  St.  Francis  County. 
C.  W.  Tankersley  and  L.  H.  Man- 
gum  proffered  themselves.  A 
mass  meeting  was  held  at  Fort 
Smith  and  adopted  resolutions 
assuring  sympathy  and  support, 
presented  by  leading  citizens — 
Judge  Thomas  Marcum,  P.  T.  De- 
vany,  W.  W.  Griffith,  Henry 
Reutzell,  Maj.  John  T.  Humphreys, 
Col.  Hugh  L.  Rogers,  Jos.  Eberle 
and  Col.  W.  M.  Fishback.  Also  a 
mass  meeting  at  Dardanelle,  pre- 
sided over  by  T.  M.Gibson,  of  Clay- 
ton's militi,  sent  encouragement. 
The  columns  of  the  Gazette 
teemed  likewise  with  messages  of 
encouragement  to  Gov.  Baxter  : 
Helena,  April  16,  1874. 
To  J.  N.  Smithee : 

Almost  every  one  here  is  for  Baxter.  The 
excitement  is  very  high.  People  are  crazy  for 
news.     Keep  us  posted. 

Editors  "  Independent." 
Helena,  April  17,  1874. 
To  £.  D.  Boyd: 
Nearly  every  man  for  Baxter. 

C.  A.  OTEY. 
Pine  Bluff,  April  16,  1874. 
To  Gov.  E  lis  ha  Baxter : 

Old  Jefferson  all  right.  We  will  furnish 
1,000  men,  if  necessary,  to  reinstate  you. 

H.  KING  WHITE, 
FERD.  HAVIS, 
A.  J.  WHEAT, 
D.  A.  ROBINSON. 
Augusta,  April  16,  1874. 
Gen.  R.  C.  Newton  : 

What   is   our   duty?     We   are   ready  to  re- 
spond. L.  M.  RAMSUR, 
A.  C.  PICKETT, 
J.  T.  TREZEVANT. 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


217 


Pine  Bluff,  April  17,  1874. 
To  Gov.  Elisha  Baxter  : 

We  are  coming,  Father  Elisha,  with  a  few 
hundred  more.  IRA  McL.  BARTON. 

Hope,  April  16,  1874. 
To  Maj.-Gen,  R.  C.  Newton  : 

Will   be   with   you   at   the  earliest  possible 
moment.     All  for  Baxter. 

DAN.  W.  JONES. 

The  Little  Rock  Bar,  April  i6th, 
except  the  attorneys  representing 
Brooks,  at  a  meeting  of  which  A. 
H.  Garland  was  president  and  J. 
M.  Moore,  secretary,  numbering 
thirty  citizens,  subscribed  a  reso- 
lution declaring  "the  act  of  the 
Circuit  Court  in  rendering  a  judg- 
ment in  the  case  of  Brooks  vs. 
Baxter,  when  the  case  had  not 
been  set  for  trial,  involving  juris- 
diction which  had  been  twice  con- 
sidered by  the  Supreme  Court 
and  declared  to  be  not  within  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  Circuit  Court, 
wholly  null  and  void,  not  a  judi- 
cial act,  and  afforded  no  color  for 
the  revolutionary  proceedings 
based  upon  it." 

And  the  same  day  there  was 
issued  an  address  "  urging  the 
people  to  sustain  Baxter,  and,  cost 
what  it  may,  to  rally  at  the  Capi- 
tal and  aid  in  the  maintenance  of 
Baxter  in  power  and  authority." 
The  signers  were  Francis  A.  Terry, 
R.  C.  Newton,  John  E.  Reardon, 
John  Green,  Sam  W.  Williams, 
W.  E.  Woodruff,  John  C.  Peay, 
Chas.  A.  Carroll,  R.  H.  Rottaken, 
J.  V.  Zimmerman,  P.  Van  Patten, 
Z.  P.  H.  Farr,  Thos.  W.  Newton, 

15 


Newman  Erb,  Thos.  H.  Walker, 
Thos.  Fletcher,  A.  H.  Rutherford, 
Geo.  L.  Basham,  Sol.  ¥.  Clark, 
A.  D.  Jones,  U.  M.  Rose,  J.  L. 
Witherspoon,  F.  W.  Compton, 
Dick  Gantt,  John  M.  Moore,  E. 
H.  English,  A.  H.  Garland,  J.  W. 
Martin,  Geo.  A.  Gallagher,  F.  M. 
Parsons,  S.  C.  Faulkner,  John 
Fletcher,  T.  J.  Churchill,  James 
M.  Pomeroy,  R.  H.  Johnson,  J 
W.  Reyburn,  John  D.  Adams,  W 
A.  Crawford,  T.  P.  Dockery,  J 
N.  Smithee,  Geo.  S.  Morrison 
John  Kirkwood,  Gordon  N.  Peay 
S.  R.  Cockrill. 

The  Baxter  pickets  were  with- 
drawn from  Markham  street,  be- 
yond Louisiana  street,  ahd  inter- 
communication between  Markham 
east  of  Louisiana  street  during  the 
following  day  was  obstructed. 
No  one  could  pass  without  per- 
mission. The  State-house  party 
had  sentinels  all  around  the  State 
House,  and  held  Markham  street 
west.  Companiesof  United  States 
infantry  were  placed,  one  at  the 
corner  of  Fourth  and  Main  streets 
(U.  S.  Court  House),  another  at 
the  corner  of  Third  and  Center, 
with  instructions  "  to  interfere  with 
no  one,  but  to  prevent  conflicts  " 
between  opposing  citizens.  The 
State-house  "garrison"  had  a 
large  quantity  of  supplies  carried 
into  their  lines  in  the  afternoon, 
and  continued  actively  barricad- 
ing their  ground.  The  Baxter 
men  had  possession  of  the  tele- 
graph   office.      Maj.-Gen.    R.    C. 


2l8 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter    War:  a  History 


Newton  commanded  one  division, 
Maj.-Gen.  T.  J,  Churchill  another 
division  of  the  Baxter  forces;  Col. 
B.  F.  Danley  was  Adjutant  Gen- 
eral of  the  latter.  The  headquar- 
ters of  the  Baxter  army  was  the 
Anthony  House,  from  the  bal- 
cony of  which  the  United  States 
army  flag  floated  gracefully. 
Government  bunting  floated  from 
all  corners  of  the  State  House. 
Maj.  Frank  Strong,  ex-Federal 
oflicer,  acted  as  Gov.  Baxter's 
Adjutant  General  and  deputy  Sec- 
retary of  State.  There  was  no 
truth  in  a  statement  that  United 
States  soldiers  had  been  ordered 
into  the  State  House;  they  had 
only  been  extended  on  State 
street,  nearer  to  the  State  House. 
Baxter  men,  under  orders,  took 
forcible  possession  of  the  arms 
and  munitions  belonging  to  deal- 
ers in  fire-arms.  One  or  two  firms 
had  large  stores  of  them  within 
Baxter's  lines,  and  refused  to  sell 
upon  requisition  without  the 
money  paid.  These  men  made 
complaint  to  Brooks,  and  thereby 
lost  the  full  price  of  their  wares 
ultimately. 

Sentinels  were  regularly  posted 
and  walked  their  rounds  all  night. 
All  night  their  challenges  might 
be  heard.  No  shots  had  yet  been 
exchanged  on  the  i8th,  although 
both  sides  had  been  heavily  rein- 
forced by  volunteers  from  the 
country.  Telegrams  of  encour- 
agement poured  in  to  Baxter,  but 
were  no  loncrer  delivered  to  Brooks 


if  received  at  the  telegraph  office. 
Brooks  had  a  wire  and  instrument 
of  his  own.  Resolutions  of  county 
and  city  meetings  were  sent  to 
encourage  their  several  cham- 
pions, 

A  special  to  the  St.  Louis  Dis- 
patch, of  the  1 8th,  stated  that  the 
entire  delegation  from  Arkansas 
waited  on  the  President  and  re- 
quested him  to  recognize  Brooks. 
"  The  decision  was  emphatic  not 
to  interfere  in  the  Arkansas  im- 
broglio. Grant  remarked,  coldly, 
that  he  should  follow  the  prece- 
dent set  in  Louisiana."  The  Dis- 
patcJi  contained  the  following: 

The  situation  in  Arkansas  caused  much 
talk  here  this  morning.  Groups  of  Senators 
and  Representatives  discuss  it  in  all  its  bear- 
ings. Said  Carpenter :  "  The  government 
should  keep  its  hands  off.  No  more  Louisi- 
ana, if  the  Republican  party  is  wise."  Said 
Butler :  "  It  is  dog  eat  dog.  Baxter  has 
no  backbone,  and  Brooks  no  conscience. 
Neither  is  true."  Morton  said :  "  I  see  no 
cause  for  this  violent  action  on  the  part  of 
Brooks.  It  bears  revolution  on  its  face.'' 
[Morton  then  had  more  influence  with  Con- 
gress and  Grant,  than  all  his  Cabinet.]  Said 
Thurman :  "  What  a  commentary  on  recon- 
struction !  Ten  years  after  the  war,  here  is  a 
State  in  a  condition  of  insurrection,  because 
two  bad  and  mercenary  factions  are  fighting 
over  the  property  of  a  helpless  people." 

The  people  generally  were 
aroused.  The  excitement  of  the 
situation  was  intense  in  localities 
accessible  to  the  capital  and  rapid- 
ly extended  to  those  more  remote. 
All  minds  agreed  that  the  imme- 
diate destiny  of  the  State  depend- 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


219 


ed  upon  the  result.  Each  one  of 
the  opposing  parties  was  daily  in- 
creased in  numbers  by  the  people 
who  flocked  to  the  capital  from  all 
directions.  The  State  House 
stands  upon  the  elevated  south 
bank  of  the  Arkansas  River,  which 
is  in  the  third-class  of  rivers;  here 
flowing  eastward.  The  front  of 
the  building  faces  Markham  Street, 
which  runs  parallel  with  the  river, 
one  square  south.  The  Union  De- 
pot for  the  railroads  then  center- 
ing at  Little  Rock  was  at  the  west- 
ern limit  of  the  town  on  the  same 
side  of  the  river.  Passengers  by 
the  Cairo  &  Fulton,  Fort  Smith  & 
Little  Rock,  Memphis  &  Little 
Rock  Railways  got  off  there  ;  those 
from  the  north  side,  after  the  trains 
had  crossed  the  new  iron  bridge 
near  that  depot.  The  steamboat 
landing  was  near  the  eastern  limit 
of  the  town,  and  passengers  could 
enter  that  part  of  the  town  by 
crossing  on  the  ferry-boat.  Pass- 
engers by  the  river  were  landed 
there.  The  old  Anthony  House 
was  in  the  second  block  east  of 
the  State  House.  Recruits  for 
Brooks  came  up  from  the  south  to 
the  Union  Depot  and  those  com- 
ing from  the  north  and  west  land- 
ed there  after  crossing  the  bridge. 
Many  negroes  were  recruited  in 
the  counties  south,  along  the  line 
of  the  Cairo  &  Fulton  Railroad. 
Tankersly,  from  Clark,  headed  a 
detachment  of  negroes.  Coblentz 
and  Gill  brought  down  squads  of 
negroes   from    Lewisburg.     Man- 


gum  and  Sanders  were  accompan- 
ied by  a  few  whites  from  Lee  and 
Philips  Counties  on  the  Mississip- 
pi River,  and  crossed  the  bridge. 
Baxter's  forces  were  mainly  re- 
cruited, at  first,  by  small  com- 
panies of  whites,  who  got  off  at 
the  ferry,  or  came  round  to  the 
east  of  the  town.  Brooks  had  the 
assistance  of  State  Auditor 
Wheeler  and  Treasurer  Page,  who 
had  gone  over  to  him,  and  issued 
certificates  of  indebtedness  for 
meeting  expenditures.  By  the 
19th  April,  the  numbers  which  had 
entered  the  camps  of  the  oppos- 
ing parties,  swelled  to  the  propor- 
tions of  armies.  It  was  a  situation 
fraught  with  danger.  Reckless 
men  went  about  the  streets  with 
arms,  ready  for  a  conflict,  which 
nothing  but  the  presence  of  the 
United  States  forces  prevented. 

A  little  after  daylight,  Saturday 
morning,  the  i8th,  "Gen."  Ira 
McL.  Barton  and  Col.  H.  King 
White  came  up  the  river,  on  the 
steamboat  "  Mary  Boyd,"  from 
Pine  Bluff,  with  three  hundred 
negroes,  as  reinforcements  for  Bax- 
ter. They  were  accompanied  by 
Mayor  Holcombe  of  Pine  Bluff, 
«.  Maj.  C.  G.  Newman,  of  the  Pine 
Bluff  P/r.fj',  and  other  leading  citi- 
zens. With  brass  band  and  flying 
colors,  they  marched  from  the 
landing  to  the  headquarters  of 
Gov.  Baxter,  who  greeted  them 
from  the  balcony  of  the  hotel. 
Soon  after  Col.  Dan.  Jones 
marched  in  from  the  south  with 


220 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


a  good  following  from  Howard 
and  Hempstead  Counties,  and 
about  lo  o'clock  a.  m.  another  de- 
tachment of  citizens  of  Saline 
county,  under  Col.  Crawford,  ar- 
rived to  array  themselves  under 
the  standard  of  Baxter.  These 
arrivals  created  the  greatest  com- 
motion, as  they  were  greeted  with 
shouting,  singing  and  music  of 
brass  bands.  The  Pine  Bluff  con- 
tingent first  sung  to  the  giving  out 
of  one  of  their  number,  five  hun- 
dred throats  joining  in  the  chorus, 
the  following  song  and  chorus  : 

Do  you  see  that  boat  come  round  the  ben'? 

Good-bye,  my  lover,  good-bye; 
She's  loaded  down  with  Baxter  men  ! 

Good-bye,  my  lover,  good-bye. 

This  was  heard  by  the  negroes 
of  the  Brooks  camp,  who  broke 
out  with  emulating  cheers  and 
songs.  But  the  "poetry"  and 
"music"  of  the  Baxter  choristers 
took  the  day,  and,  during  the 
"war,"  the  song  was  sung  on  ev- 
ery occasion,  until  unpoetic  hearts 
began  to  wail : 

Oh  for  the  day  that  soon  shall  send, 
That  boat  again  around  the  bend! 

Good-bye,  my  lover,  good-bye. 

But  the  song  and  the  men  were 
most  cheerfully  endured'  by  the 
Baxter  camp. 

Gen.  Newton's  staff  consisted  of 
Brig. -Gen.  J.  M.  Pomeroy,  Chief 
of  Staff;  Col.  Beall  Hempstead, 
A.  A.  Gen.;  Maj.  Albert  Belding, 
Ass't  A.  A.  Gen.;  Col.  H.  H.  Rot- 
taken,  Insp.  Gen.;  Col.  A.  Syberg, 


Chief  of  Artillery;  Lieut. -Col.  S. 
B.  Reardon,  A.  D.  C;  Lieut. -Col. 
W.N.  Portis,A.  D.C.;  Lieut. -Col. 
S.  O.  Smith,  A.  D.  C;  Col.  John 
Ainslee,  Q.  M.  Gen.;  Maj.  T.  S. 
Alden,  Ass't  Q.  M.  Gen.;  Lieut. 
Col.  George  A.  Davis,  A.  Com. 
Gen.;  Rosco  G.  Jennings,  Surg. 
Gen.,  with  rank  of  Colonel. 

Capt.  Sam  Houston,  the  same 
who  was  in  command  of  the  Hes- 
per  when  she  was  overtaken  by 
the  tug  Nettie  Jones,  below  Mem- 
phis, on  the  Mississippi  River, 
when  he  was  relieved  of  "  those 
arms,"  intended  for  Clayton's 
militia,  had  now  attached  himself 
to  the  fortunes  of  Baxter.  He 
was  a  passionate,  resolute  man, 
who  expressed  himself  in  language 
the  most  unrestrained.  In  going 
near  the  lines  of  the  Brooks  party, 
some  of  his  former  political  asso- 
ciates resolved  to  make  him  a 
prisoner.  A  squad  was  sent  to 
arrest  him.  He  made  violent  re- 
sistance, and  the  guard  were  about 
to  fire  on  him  when  Lieut.  Fow- 
ler came  up  with  reinforcements 
and  took  him  to  the  guard-house. 
Mr.  Geo.  R.  Brown,  as  reporter 
for  "  two  papers,  both  daily,"  was 
several  times  arrested  as  a  proba- 
ble "  spy  "  in  both  lines,  and  made 
involuntary  visits  to  the  guard- 
houses of  both  armies. 

The  arrival  of  Barton  and  King 
White,  with  their  colored  bat- 
talion, their  tumultuous  reception 
and  the  effect  produced  on  the 
negroes,    created     much     excite- 


of  the  ReconstructioJi  Period  in  Arkansas. 


ment  in  the  city.  That  night  Col. 
Rose,  commanding  the  United 
States  regulars,  placed  guards  at 
the  corner  of  Markham  and  Main 
streets,  the  corner  immediately 
west  of  the  Anthony  House,  upon 
complaints  of  Brooks  that  citizens 
were  being  deprived  of  their  lib- 
erty and  property.  The  same 
evening  Mayor  Kramer  received 
a  dispatch  from  the  Attorney 
General  denying  the  Mayor's  re- 
quest that  United  States  soldiers 
be  detailed  to  act  in  aid  of  the 
city  police.  The  Attorney  Gen- 
eral stated  that  the  President  had 
instructed  the  officer  commanding 
the  United  States  detachment  at 
Little  Rock  to  prevent  bloodshed, 
as  all  he  could  do  under  the  cir- 
cumstances. Brooks'  operators 
tapped  the  telegraph  wires  in  front 
of  the  State  House. 

The  next  morning  Gov.  Brooks 
issued  another  proclamation  "  To 
the  People  of  Arkansas,"  in  words 
and  figures  following)  omitting  the 
customary  announcement  of  his 
authority): 

I  desire  to  avoid  bloodshed  and  a  destruc- 
tion of  private  property,  but  while  this  is  so, 
I  cannot  sit  idly  by  and  see  the  private  prop- 
erty of  citizens  (arms)  taken  without  compen- 
sation by  an  armed  mob,  and  peaceful  citi- 
zens halted  and  maltreated  within  sight  of  the 
capitol !  In  the  interest  of  peace  and  good 
order,  I  request  and  command  all  persons 
who  may  have  been  deluded  into  rallying  to 
the  standard  of  the  pretender  to  lay  down 
their  arms  and  return  to  their  homes  within 
twenty-four  hours. 

If  this  injunction  be  disregarded,  I  shall  be 


compelled  to  take  such  measures  as  will,  in 
my  opinion,  result  in  suppressing  disorder 
and  in  restoring  the  peace  atid  quiet  of  the 
State.  I  do  not  want  to  be  placed  under  the 
necessity  of  proclaiming  martial  law,  believ- 
ing as  I  do  that  life  and  property  can  be  bet- 
ter protected  under  the  civil — but  if  my  re- 
quest is  disregarded,  those  disobeying  must 
not  complain  of  what  is  in  store  for  them,  or 
of  the  punishment  that  may  be  meted  out. 

In  testimony  whereof,  I  have  hereunto  set 
my  hand  and  caused  the  great  seal  of  the 
State  to  be  affixed  at  the  City  of  Little  Rock, 
this  i8th  day  of  April,  A.  D.  1874. 

JOSEPH  BROOKS, 
Governor  of  Arkansas. 
By  the  Governor : 

Edward  Curry, 
Secretary  of  State,  ad  interim. 

The  "  call  upon  the  militia  of 
the  State,"  supposed  to  be  referred 
to  by  Gov.  Brooks,  was  the  "  Or- 
der No.  I,"  of  April  17th,  of  Gen. 
T.  P.  Dockery,  as  Military  Gov- 
ernor of  the  City,  calling  on  "all 
male  citizens,  between  the  ages 
of  18  and  45,  to  report  for  duty  at 
his  headquarters,"  at  southeast 
corner  of  Markham  and  Scott 
streets  (old  Ashley  mansion).  It 
was  by  the  orders  of  Gen.  Dock- 
ery that  the  gun  stores  of  Linzel 
and  of  Wm.  Dabbs  and  J.  F. 
Trumpler  were  placed  under 
guard  and  some  of  their  guns 
taken. 

Lieut.  Groves,  on  duty  at  the 
State  House,  ventured  down  Mark- 
ham street  to  this  corner,  which 
is  east  of  the  Anthony  House,  and 
was  arrested  and  taken  before 
Gen.  Newton.     On  proof  that  he 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


was  in  the  employ  of  the  United 
States,  he  was  released.  John 
(known  as  Jack)  Brooker,  lately 
United  States  Revenue  Collector, 
wandered  over  the  line  and  was 
arrested  by  Dockery's  men.  He 
was  a  daring  man,  of  the  ultra 
Republican  school.  He  pleaded 
his  government  employment,  and 
was  released.  It  was  afterwards 
known  that  he  was  one  of  Gov. 
Brooks'  "  colonels "  among  the 
first  appointments,  in  command 
of  a  regiment  at  the  State  House. 
Dan  O'Sullivan,  City  Collector, 
and  Maj.  Anderson,  stenographer 
at  the  State  House,  were  also  in- 
carcerated in  Dockery's  bastile  an 
hour  or  two,  but  were  released. 

On  the  19th,  the  Hallie^  stern- 
wheel  steamer,  Ed.  Bowlin,  mas- 
ter, was  pressed  into  service  on 
Saturday  night  and  sent  to  Pine 
Bluff  for  "troops."  Capt.  Sam 
Houston  was  detailed  to  command 
her.  It  would  have  been  fortu- 
nate for  the  ill-fated  captain  if  his 
arrest  of  the  day  before  had  been 
prolonged  until  the  end  of  the 
siege.  Dick  Brugman  ran  the 
Baxter  outposts  from  Fourche 
dam,  east  of  the  city,  with  a  large 
band  of  negroes  for  the  State- 
house  camp.  At  4:30  P.  M,  the 
United  States  troops  were  sta- 
tioned as  follows :  Company  C, 
corner  of  Louisiana  and  Fourth 
streets;  Company  I,  divided  and 
stationed  at  United  States  Court 
House  ;  corner  of  Main  and  Fourth 
streets,  and  at  the  Western  Union 


Telegraph  office,  Maj.  Rosecranz 
in  command.  The  United  States 
military  guarded  the  telegraph  of- 
fice, complaints  having  been  made 
by  a  young  man  sent  from  Wash- 
ington City  to  subpoena  witnesses 
in  the  Storey  case,  and  some  "  mer- 
chants," that  their  dispatches  were 
vised  by  a  Baxter  "censor." 
Postmaster  General  Cresswell  is- 
sued the  following  order  to  Post- 
master Pollock  in  regard  to  letters: 

Washington,  April  17,  1874. 
Letters  addressed  to  Gov.  E.  Baxter,  or 
Elisha  Baxter,  Governor,  should  be  delivered 
to  said  Baxter.  Letters  addressed  to  Gov. 
Brooks,  or  Brooks,  Governor,  should  be  de- 
livered to  Brooks.  Letters  addressed  "  Gov- 
ernor of  Arkansas,"  you  will  hold  until  fur- 
ther orders. 

JOHN  A.  J.  CRESSWELL, 

Postmaster  General. 

Gov.  Baxter,  on  the  19th  inst , 
telegraphed  to  the  President,  com- 
plaining of  the  interference  of  the 
United  States  military.  In  the 
dispatch  he  went  over  the  circum- 
stances of  his  expulsion  from  the 
State  House  and  the  attitude  of 
the  courts,  but  concluded  thus: 

The  people  are  coming  to  my  aid,  and  are 
ready  to  restore  me  at  once.  In  making  this 
organization  I  am  obstructed  by  the  interfer- 
ence of  the  United  States  in  displacing  my 
guards  from  the  telegraph  office  ;  and  now  it 
is  apprehended  that  there  will  be  further  in- 
terference. Such  interference  breaks  me 
down,  and  prevents  any  effort  on  my  part  to 
restore  the  State  government  and  to  protect 
the  people  and  their  rights.  I  beg  you  to 
modify  any  order  to  the  extent  of  such  inter- 
ference, and  leave  me  free  to  act  as  the  legiti- 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


223 


mate  Governor  of  the  State.  In  the  interest 
of  peace,  and  these  people  who  are  flocking 
here  to  my  support  by  the  hundreds,  I  beg  of 
you  to  remove  the  United  States  troops  back 
to  the  arsenal  and  permit  me  to  restore  the 
legitimate  government,  which  I  will  do 
promptly,  if  the  United  States  troops  will  not 
interfere. 

I  have  been  thwarted  and  delayed  thus 
long,  and  in  fact  ejected  from  my  office  be- 
cause of  the  fact  that  /  had  heretofore  dis- 
banded the  militia  of  the  State. 

On  the  20th  inst.,  as  a  large  re- 
inforcement for  Baxter  of  white 
citizens  from  Pope,  Johnson  and 
adjoining  counties,  under  com- 
mand of  Hale,  Russell,  Ben  Young 
and  Harry  Poynter,  veterans  of 
the  Pope  County  war,  were  leav- 
ing the  train  of  the  Fort  Smith  & 
Little  Rock  Railroad,  on  the  north 
side  of  the  river,  the  engine  sud- 
denly started  and  threw  Capt. 
John  B.  McConnell,  Clerk  of  John- 
son County,  on  the  rails,  between 
the  car  wheels.  Two  wheels 
passed  over  his  body  lengthwise, 
killing  him  instantly.  This  acci- 
dent cast  a  gloom  over  the  city, 
where  he  was  well  known.  He 
was  the  first  Democrat  elected 
Clerk  of  his  county  after  recon- 
struction, and  was  popular  with 
all  classes.  His  remains  were 
taken  home  for  interment. 

The  same  day,  about  5  o'clock 
p.  M.,  the  commander  of  the  Uni- 
ted States  soldiers  moved  the  de- 
tachment on  post  at  the  Gazette 
office  to  the  foot  of  Louisiana 
street,  only   a   block   east  of  the 


State  House.  He  ordered  also 
two  pieces  of  artillery  from  the 
arsenal  and  placed  them  in  posi- 
tion at  the  corner  of  Louisiana 
and  Second  streets.  This  move- 
ment caused  considerable  excite- 
ment, which  was  increased  by  a 
statement  that  the  Brooks  forces 
were  preparing  to  attack  the  Bax- 
ter camp.  A  company  of  Baxter 
men  was  quickly  formed  across 
Markham  street  east  of  Main. 
Col,  King  White,  mounted  on  his 
cream-colored  horse,  moved  out 
his  large  force  of  colored  men, 
yelling  wildly,  to  Second  street. 
and  formed  them  on  the  east  side 
of  Main.  Gens.  Newton,  Church- 
ill, Barton,  Portis  and  Ben  Danley, 
also  mounted,  with  their  respect- 
ive staffs,  were  promptly  on  the 
ground  excitedly  giving  orders 
and  placing  other  companies  in 
position.  The  scene  glittered 
with  bayonets,  and  was  luridly 
warlike. 

Observing  this  demonstration, 
which  it  seemed  was  unexpected 
to  him,  Col.  Rose,  the  Federal 
commander,  ordered  six  men  to 
get  horses  at  Davis'  livery  stable, 
on  Scott  street,  and  go  to  the  ar- 
senal for  more  artillery.  As  one 
of  the  soldiers,  William  Harring- 
ton, was  mounting  his  horse,  the 
animal  turned  suddenly  and  threw 
the  man,  his  foot  catching  in  a 
tug-chain.  In  this  manner  he  was 
dragged  by  the  horse  at  a  rapid 
gait  up  Scott  to  Markham,  and 
down    Markham   to    Rock,  where 


224 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


the  man  was  thrown  against  a 
dray  and  severely  injured.  He 
was  thought  at  first  to  be  mortally 
wounded,  but  eventually  recov- 
ered. 

Just  at  this  time  the  steamer 
Hallie  arrived  at  the  wharf  from 
Pine  Bluff,  with  500  more  negroes 
(reported  for  Baxter),  in  charge 
of  Ferd.  Havis,  and  a  company  of 
white  men  under  John  H.  Thomas. 
They  marched  from  the  wharf  up 
Markham  street  with  drum  and  fife, 
colors  flying,  yelling  like  wild  cats, 
eager  to  join  the  expected  melee. 
Not  a  Brooks  man  was  to  be  seen. 
The  State-house  party  were  igno- 
rant of  what  was  going  on,  and 
expected  themselves  to  be  at- 
tacked, and  were  all  in  position 
behind  their  breastworks — stood 
there  all  night.  The  same  day 
ex-Auditor  W.  R.  Miller,  Judge 
J.  W.  Butler,  Senator  McChesney 
and  Maj.  Carroll  Woods,  with  a 
company  of  whites,  arrived  from 
Batesville.  Baxter  men  along  the 
line  of  the  Cairo  &  Fulton  railroad 
took  forcible  possession  of  the 
train — thirteen  at  Hope,  twenty- 
five  at  Arkadelphia  and  eight  at 
Malvern — all  armed.  Superin- 
tendent Dudley  was  aboard,  and 
said  to  Conductor  Brown  :  "  Five 
men  were  enough  to  take  a  train 
at  Gad's  Hill,  with  felonious  pur- 
pose. These  men,  with  their  ideas 
of  duty,  would  be  irresistible." 
The  men  from  Malvern  had  their 
tickets. 

Telegraphic  offers  of  men  were 


still  pouring  in  to  both  sides. 
Poindexter  Dunn  offered  Brooks 
500  men  from  Forrest  City ;  Cope- 
land,  from  Marion,  offered  Baxter 
reinforcements,  and  Thornburg, 
from  Walnut  Ridge,  assured  him 
that  old  Lawrence  was  for  Baxter, 
and  asked  him  to  say  how  many 
men  he  wanted.  Gen.  Wilshire 
telegraphed  from  Washington,  the 
19th  inst.,  to  Baxter:  "The  law- 
yers, in  and  out  of  Congress,  be- 
lieve you  right.  Be  prompt. 
Don't  fail."  And  Sol.  Meyer 
telegraphed  to  King  White,  from 
Pine  Bluff:  "  Can  you  use  a  com- 
pany of  Yehudians  (Jews)  ?" 

Col.  Sleeper  came  down  with  a 
reinforcement  from  Conway  Coun- 
ty for  Baxter.  A  company  of 
negroes  from  Campbell  Township, 
under  Capt.  Sol.  Miller,  went  into 
Brooks'  camp  about  dark.  Dur- 
ing the  day  the  Baxter  pickets  ar- 
rested Sheriff  E.  A.  Nickels,  of 
Hot  Springs  County,  and  Benton 
Turner,  of  Conway  County  for- 
merly, now  Sheriff  of  Faulkner. 
All  had  quieted  down  by  dark, 
and  by  midnight  war  had  closed 
his  fiery  eyes. 

On  the  20th  inst.  the  United 
States  House  of  Representatives 
reported  to  have  appointed  a 
special  committee  to  visit  Arkan- 
sas and  inquire  into  affairs  there. 

Several  detachments  of  citizens 
arrived  on  the  morning  trains  as 
reinforcements  for  Baxter;  a  large 
one  from  Searcy,  White  County. 
At  7  p.  M.  a  truce  was  agreed  upon 


of  the  Recotistruction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


225 


by  all  the  parties  until  9  a.  m.  the 
next  day.  The  Federal  comman- 
der then  withdrew  his  guard  which 
had  been  stationed  at  the  inter- 
section of  Markham  and  Louisi- 
ana streets,  a  block  east  of  the 
State  House  and  nearly  opposite 
the  City  Hall,  The  two  pieces  of 
artillery  were  in  position  at  the 
United  States  Court  Room,  then 
being  on  the  corner  of  Main  and 
Fourth  streets.  Another  United 
States  company  was  quartered  in 
the  City  Hall,  where  they  slept. 
The  Brooks  men  occupied  the 
State  House  and  Benjamin  block, 
opposite.  Baxter  occupied  room 
No.  10,  in  the  Anthony  House, 
which  was  surrounded  by  a  strong 
guard.  Many  of  his  men  occupied 
the  Waite  block,  opposite,  and 
Adams  block,  east  of  the  Anthony 
House.  Others  occupied  the 
Odd  Fellows'  block,  east  of  the 
Waite  block ;  some  were  at  the 
Conway  House,  on  Scott  street, 
and  others  at  the  Ditter  block 
and  in  the  Cleburne  Engine  House 
— all  within  a  circle  of  two  blocks 
radius. 

It  was  reported  that  an  addi- 
tional force  of  United  States  reg- 
ulars was  expected  on  the  train 
from  St.  Louis,  at  noon.  Nearly 
all  business  houses  were  closed  in 
the  district  occupied  by  the  "  com- 
batants." A  military  order  was 
issued  by  Gov.  Baxter  for  the 
"corps  commanders  of  the  Ark- 
ansas State  Guard  "  to  report  their 
numbers  forthwith  to  Gen.  New- 


ton, and  assigning  Col.  Ed.  W. 
Thompson  to  duty  as  chief  of 
staff.  "  Gen."  Pomeroy  was  ar- 
rested by  Oliver,  of  the  Brooks 
camp,  and  released  during  the  day. 
Moses  Reed,  brother-in-law  of 
Brooks,  was  arrested  by  the  Bax- 
ter men  and  discharged  during  the 
day. 

About  5  p.  M.  Col.  King  White 
turned  out  his  brigade  of  negro 
braves  for  a  parade.  Mounted  on 
his  clay-bank  horse,  and  headed 
by  a  band  of  music,  he  marched 
them  from  the  Ditter  block,  cor- 
ner of  Markham  and  Rock  streets, 
west  on  Markham  to  Scott,  out 
south  on  Scott  to  Ninth,  thence 
to  Rock,  and  again  on  Markham 
to  the  Anthony  House,  where 
he  halted,  the  band  and  right 
resting  on  Main  street.  Colonel 
Rose,  in  command  of  the  Federal 
troops,  appeared  mounted  on  a 
white  horse  in  the  center  of  Main 
street.  In  all  the  upper  stories  of 
the  buildings  were  armed  men 
and  citizens  of  the  Baxter  side. 
When  halted,  fronting  the  An- 
thony House,  Col.  White's  "brig- 
ade" gave  "three  cheers  for  Bax- 
ter." 

Gov.  Baxter  came  out  on  the 
balcony  and  made  them  the  follow- 
ing address : 

Soldiers — I  am,  in  point  of  fact,  too  un- 
well to  address  an  audience.  My  health,  for 
a  number  of  weeks,  has  been  such  as  to  al- 
most disqualify  me  for  business.  But  there  is 
an  emergency — there  is  an  insurrection — the 
government    has    been   seized — the   archives 


226 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter    War:  a  History 


are  in  the  hands  of  the  insurgents.  I  have 
called  you  here  for  the  purpose  of  asserting 
not  the  rights  of  Elisha  Baxter,  but  the  rights 
of  the  sovereign  citizens  of  the  State  of  Ark- 
ansas. (Great  cheering.)  The  seizure  of  the 
archives  was  effected  without  my  ever  having 
been  served  with  process  of  court.  I  am 
making  preparations.  I  intend  to  assert  my 
right  as  far  as  respects  the  government  func- 
tions of  the  Executive  to  govern  the  State  of 
Arkansas  (Hurrah  for  Baxter.  Thieves  to 
the  rear  \). 

I  have,  however,  to  say,  that  it  is  a  well- 
known  fact  in  military  service,  that  officers 
and  commanders  cannot  give,  in  advance,  to 
the  troops  or  to  the  country,  a  detailed  ac- 
count of  their  proposed  operations.  They 
are  necessarily  military  secrets;  there  are 
matters  which  must  necessarily  be  kept  quiet  ; 
and  you  will  not  expect  of  me  on  an  occasion 
as  public  as  this  to  detail  my  plans  of  opera- 
tions. 

Col.  White,  interrupting  at  this 
point,  asked:  "Just  tell  us 
whether  you  are  going  to  have  us 
take  that  State  House,  or  not?" 

Gov.  Baxter  replied  : 

I  ask  you,  gentlemen,  to  be  patient  and 
quiet ;  conduct  yourselves  orderly,  as  good 
soldiers — such  as  I  know  you  to  be — and  in 
due  time  proper  orders  will  be  given  you  to 
assert  the  rights  of  the  State  (immense  cheer- 
ing)- 

Soldiers !  I  would  fain  address  you  at 
greater  length,  but — and  I  say  without  any 
resort  to  this  as  a  subterfuge,  in  order  to 
shirk  the  labor  of  a  speech — I  am  physically 
unable  to  address  you  longer.     Thank  you ! 

The  Governor  started  to  go  in, 
when  he  was  requested  by  a  gen- 
eral officer  to  resume  his  position 
for  a  moment.     Then  Col.  White, 


addressing   him    from    the  street, 
said : 

Gov.  Baxter — I  did  not  come  here,  of 
course,  to  make  a  speech.  I  came  here  to 
assist  in  reinstating  what  I  consider  to  be  the 
legally  constitufed  authorities  of  the  State  of 
Arkansas.  I  have  brought  with  me  here  a 
number  of  colored  men.  It  has  been  said, 
sir,  that  these  colored  men  will  prove  treach- 
erous to  you.  I  now  ask  these  colored  men, 
in  your  presence,  and  in  the  presence  of  this 
assemblage,  whether  ive  shall  stand  firm  to 
Elisha  Baxter?  (Immense  cheering,  and 
cries,  "  We  will ;  try  us  !") 

I  am  here.  Gov.  Baxter,  for  the  purpose,  if 
necessary,  of  surrendering  my  life  to  reinstate 
the  lawful  authority  of  the  government  of  this 
State.  Furnish  us  simply  with  the  means — 
give  us  the  authority — pronounce  the  order — 
and  I  will  guarantee  to  you,  sir,  that  in  twen- 
ty-five minutes  from  the  time  the  order  is 
written,  Joseph  Brooks  will  either  be  in  hell  or 
the  archives — [what  else  he  said  was  com- 
pletely drowned  in  the  frenzied  shouts  of  the 
men.]  I  have  a  force  here  of  men  who  will 
fight,  sir ;  summoned  from  their  fields — taken 
from  their  plows,  every  one  of  them.  They 
are  anxious  to  go  home,  but  I  say  to  you  now, 
as  I  have  said  to  you  before,  let  it  take  us  one 
day  or  one  year,  the  colored  people  com- 
manded by  myself  and  Col.  Havis,  and  the 
other  and  subordinate  officers  of  this  com- 
mand will  stand  by  you  until  you  are  the 
recognized  Governor  of  the  State  of  Arkansas. 
(Enthusiastic  cheering.) 

This  is  all  I  have  to  say,  sir.  I  know  that 
you,  in  your  good  judgment,  and  the  officers 
commanding  us,  in  good  and  proper  time  will 
give  us  the  order.  All  we  ask  is  that  the 
time  and  those  orders  will  soon  come.  (Great 
cheering  and  shouts  "  Hurrah  for  King 
White.") 

Gov.  Baxter  replied : 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


227 


Col.  White — I  wish  to  say  in  response  to 
your  remarks  that  for  one,  I  have  never  for 
one  instant  doubted  the  patriotism  and  loy- 
alty of  these  colored  men  who  stand  before 
me  (cheers).  I  well  know  that  attempts  have 
been  made  to  change  their  sentiments  and 
attitude ;  but  in  the  midst  of  it  all  they  stand 
as  firm  as  the  Rock  of  Gibraltar.  (Amen  ! 
laughter  and  cheers.)  And  allow  me  to  say 
to  you  now,  that  in  consequence  of  the  con- 
dition of  my  health,  I  must  be  permitted  to 
exhort  you,  in  conclusion — be  patient,  conduct 
yourselves  orderly,  and  have  no  fears  for  the 
consequences. 

The  Governor  retired  from  the 
balcony  amidst  enthusiastic  cheer- 
ing. If  this  was  a  preconcerted 
tableau  vivant,  or  posing  for  effect, 
it  was  about  as  impressive  a  one 
as  could  have  stirred  men's  blood, 
and  declamation  such  as  men's 
ears  have  very  seldom  listened  to. 
Col.  White's  men  were  well  fed  ; 
they  were  lodged  with  compara- 
tive comfort,  and  cared  little  about 
returning  to  those  "fields  ^nd 
those  plows."  If  Brooks'  follow- 
ers were  endeavoring  to  induce 
them  to  betray  their  leader  and 
desert  Baxter,  they  undertook  an 
impossibility. 

It  seems  to  have  completely  be- 
wildered Col.  Rose,  the  Federal 
commander,  who  had  heard  and 
witnessed  it  all  from  his  position 
on  his  white  horse  in  the  center 
of  the  street,  twenty  steps  from 
the  band.  At  the  conclusion  of 
Gov.  Baxter's  remarks  the  band 
struck  up.  Col.  White  rode  to- 
ward the  band,  on  the  right  of  his 
line,  and   gave   the   order    "  right 


face,"  intending  only  to  counter- 
march the  command  back  down 
Markham  street  to  quarters  in  the 
Ditter  block,  as  he  afterwards  de- 
clared. But,  as  he  was  about  to 
give  the  order  to  march,  Col. 
Rose  rode  abruptly  through  the 
band,  as  it  was  playing,  his  horse 
striking  against  some  of  the  musi- 
cians. He  excitedly  asked  Col. 
White  if  he  intended  to  march  his 
men  further  up  the  street  (in  the 
direction  of  the  State  House),  to 
which  question  Col.  White  an- 
swered :  "  I  had  not  so  intended, 
sir;  but  I  wish  to  warn  you,  that 
I'll  not  permit  you  to  ride  over 
the  men  of  my  command,  if  you 
are  an  officer  of  the  United  States." 
Capt.  Rose  replied,  warmly,  that 
his  men  must  keep  their  place, 
and  he  "must  keep  his  place." 
Col.  White  retorted  :  "  You  are 
an  officer  of  the  United  States 
army  and  ought  to  be  a  gentle- 
man. I  am  a  gentleman,  and, 
whether  you  are  or  not,  I'll  not 
permit  you  to  ride  over  my  men, 


nor  over  me,  sir 


On  hearing  this  remark,  it  is 
said  by  witnesses,  Col.  Rose 
drew  his  pistol  and  made  a  gest- 
ure or  feint  of  striking  at  Col. 
White ;  that  White  struck  the  pis- 
tol up  with  his  hand,  and  it  was 
discharged  in  the  air  above  his 
head.  Col.  Rose  denies  that  he 
had  any  arms  except  his  saber, 
and  consequently  could  not  have 
drawn  a  pistol.  Col.  White  main- 
tains that  Rose  had  a  pistol  and 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


drew  it;  that  he  (White)  struck  it 
up,  when  it  was  discharged  with  a 
loud  report,  and  that  a  negro  on 
the  sidewalk  also  fired  a  pistol  at 
one  of  the  two  officers,  which  he 
could  not  say. 

These  reports  of  fire-arms  (noth- 
ing could  have  so  effectually  con- 
duced) caused  the  wildest  excite- 
ment. An  indiscriminate  firing 
began  immediately  between  the 
Brooks  men  standing  on  the  oppo- 
site corners,  and  in  the  windows 
of  the  Metropolitan  Hotel,  and 
Baxter  men  on  the  south  side  of 
the  street,  extending  in  the  direc- 
tion of  the  Anthony  House.  Min- 
nie balls  filled  the  air,  and  the 
crack  of  the  rifles  was  followed 
by  the  crashing  of  glass.  About 
two  hundred  of  White's  braves 
"vverc  without  arms,  and  they 
speedily  disappeared,  taking  shel- 
ter in  the  stores  or  down  the  alley 
west  of  the  Anthony  House. 
Shots  from  Springfield  and  Win- 
chester rifles  rained  upon  the  west 
end  and  front  of  the  Anthony 
House.  The  balcony  upon  which 
Baxter  stood  when  he  addressed 
the  line  of  soldiers  a  few  minutes 
earlier  was  ploughed  by  bullets 
from  army  rifles.  Mr.  David  F. 
Shall,  a  wealthy  real  estate  man 
and  old  and  respected  citizen  of 
Little  Rock,  was  sitting  in  a  win- 
dow of  the  Anthony  House  office 
with  his  back  out  of  the  window, 
which  was  near  the  pavement, 
conversing  with  some  one  in  the 
office.     One  of  the  rifle-balls  (from 


the  Metropolitan  Hotel,  it  is  sup- 
posed, from  all  indications)  struck 
the  back  of  his  head,  another  his 
side,  and  caused  his  death  in 
less  than  an  hour.  The  shower 
of  bullets  that  fell  from  the  same 
direction  was  intended  doubtless 
for  Baxter. 

Mr.  Shall  was  not  engaged  as 
a  combatant,  but  was  a  conserva- 
tive and  sympathizer  in  the  Bax- 
ter movement.  He  left  a  large 
estate.  A  mother  and  sister  sur- 
vived him  to  mourn  his  untimely 
end. 

Col.  Wm.  A.  Crawford  received 
a  glancing  shot  in  the  head,  and 
Col.  Dan  Jones  was  hit  and  slight- 
ly wounded.  One  of  White's  col- 
ored men  received  a  ball  in  the 
foot,  and  another  was  hit  on  the 
arm.  O'Sullivan,  an  editor  and 
Brooks  man,  was  shot  from  an 
alleyway,  with  a  rifle,  the  ball 
passing  through  both  legs,  break- 
ing them.  It  was  at  first  thought 
his  legs  would  have  to  be  ampu- 
tated, but  that  was  not  done  fortu- 
nately, for  he  ultimately  recovered. 
A  chambermaid  at  the  Anthony 
House,  in  the  panic  caused  by  the 
firing,  jumped  out  of  a  second 
story  window  and  broke  her  leg. 

At  the  opening  of  the  fire  Col. 
Rose  wheeled  his  horse  and  rode 
to  the  City  Hall,  in  the  direction 
of  the  State  House.  He  quickly 
formed  his  men  in  line  across 
Markham  street.  They  took  the 
trucks  of  the  hook  and  ladder  fire 
company  and  erected  them  into  a 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arka?isas. 


229 


barricade  across  the  street  and 
placed  behind  it  two  pieces  of  ar- 
tillery, promptly  brought  from  the 
corner  of  Main  and  Fourth  streets 
(U.  S.  Court-room).  He  also 
placed  a  piece  in  position  at  the 
corner  of  Second  and  Louisiana 
streets,  pointing  to  Markham 
street,  along  which  he  anticipated 
the  Baxter  men  would  march  to 
the  State  House,  and  made  ready 
for  action.  Gen.  Newton  rode  up 
and  down  the  Baxter  lines,  form- 
ing his  men  on  different  streets 
and  giving  them  directions.  A 
general  engagement  of  the  Baxter 
men  on  one  side  and  United  States 
soldiers  and  Brooks  men  on  the 
other  seemed  inevitable.  A 
strong  party  of  resolute  Baxter 
men  ("veterans  of  the  Pope  Coun- 
ty War")  rapidly  advanced  under 
the  river  bluff,  beyond  IV'Iain  street, 
in  the  direction  of  the  State  House, 
intending  to  enter  the  building 
from  the  rear  if  the  action  went 
on,  and  only  awaited  the  advance 
of  the  main  column  and  sound  of 
firing.  After  a  half  hour's  sus- 
pense, it  was  evident  that  there 
would  be  no  more  fighting. 
Crowds  again  appeared  on  the 
streets  (without  arms),  making  in- 
quiries and  telling  incidents  of  the 
skirmish,  but  there  were  no  more 
demonstrations  of  hostilities  that 
day.  The  United  States  detach- 
ments stood  to  their  arms  behind 
the  hook  and  ladder  barricade, 
and  by  their  field-pieces  at  the 
street  corners  for  an  hour  or  more 


in  grim  expectancy.  Looking  at 
the  ground,  the  streets,  hotels, 
and  calculating  the  close  proxim- 
ity of  the  antagonists,  one  could 
fancy  the  slaughter  that  would 
have  been  the  consequence  of  a 
general  engagement  there.  Be- 
sides loss  of  life,  there  would  have 
been  doubtless  a  fearful  confla- 
gration and  great  destruction  of 
property.  So  ended  the  seventh 
day.     All  was  quiet  at  nightfall. 

Tom  Jones,  of  Mr.  Gibbs'  book 
store,  saw  the  meeting  of  Colonels 
White  and  Rose,  and  the  first  shot 
fired.  He  thus  relates  the  inci- 
dent in  the  Repiiblicanoi  the  22d: 

Col.  Rose  rode  forward  to  Mr.  (Col.)  White, 
and  in  doing  so  ran  over  one  of  the  colored 
members  of  the  band.  The  colored  man  at 
the  head  of  the  Baxter  men  then  drew  up  his 
musket  and  fired  at  Col.  Rose,  but  did  not  hit 
him.  A  moment  after,  a  shot  was  fired  at  the 
corner  of  Scott  street,  east  of  the  Anthony 
House,  and  the  firing  became  general. 

Rev.  Gillem,  a  colored  divine, 
while  forcing  his  way  through  a 
glass  door  of  Ober  &  Co.,  oppo- 
site the  Anthony  House,  to  clear 
the  way  for  the  combatants  dur- 
ing the  firing,  was  badly  cut  with 
glass  on  the  face,  hands  and  arms. 
Mr.  Castleberg  was  cut  with  glass 
in  the  same  doorway.  A  colored 
man,  a  stranger  in  the  city  and 
not  connected  with  either  side, 
had  an  ear  taken  off  by  a  bullet. 
James  Hill,  a  colored  hack-driver, 
was  shot  in  the  thigh.  The  Uni- 
ted States  flag  in  front  of  Baxter's 
headquarters  was  pierced  by  sev- 


23° 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


eral  bullets.  All  was  quiet  at 
nightfall.  Strong  guards  of  Bax- 
ter men  were  placed  at  the  corner 
of  Main  and  Markham  streets,  and 
the  pickets  along  the  line  strength- 
ened generally.  A  large  part  of 
the  force  of  Col.  King  White, 
those  who  were  unarmed,  were 
sent  down  the  river  to  their  homes. 
H.  King  White  was  the  most 
conspicuous  figure,  next  to  Brooks 
and  Baxter,  who  took  part  in  the 
Brooks  and  Baxter  War.  He  has 
been  criticised  in  consequence, 
but  seemed  careless  of  what  oth- 
ers thought  of  his  actions  in  mat- 
ters of  either  public  or  private  in- 
terest in  which  he  became  en- 
listed. He  was  about  twenty-eight 
years  of  age  in  1874,  tall,  raw- 
boned,  red-haired  and  freckled. 
He  was  a  Kentuckian  by  birth, 
and  had  early  training  in  war  un- 
der Gen.  John  Morgan,  the  fam- 
ous Confederate  cavalry  leader. 
He  married  in  Pine  Blufif  soon  after 
the  surrender,  a  granddaughter  of 
ex-Gov.  Roane,  was  a  nephew  of 
Rev.  T.  C.  Trimble,  Episcopal 
clergyman  of  that  place,  who  had 
served  as  a  chaplain  in  the  Con- 
federate army.  He  allied  him- 
self with  Powell  Clayton  in  the 
early  days  of  reconstruction,  and 
was  made  prosecuting  attorney  of 
his  district  by  Clayton,  entering 
with  apparent  zest  into  the  organi- 
zation of  the  Republican  party  in 
his  county,  the  large  majority  of 
whom  were  negroes.  He  ac- 
quired   an   ascendency   over    the 


people  of  that  race  in  Arkansas, 
He  was  a  member  of  the  Minstrel 
(Clayton)  State  Central  Commit- 
tee when  the  fight  was  commenced 
on  Baxter.  He  refused  to  join  his 
former  confreres  in  that  fight,  and 
when  he  heard  that  Brooks  had 
taken  forcible  possession  of  the 
State  House,  he  instantly  tendered 
his  services,  by  telegram,  to  Bax- 
ter, and  commenced  organizing 
the  negroes  to  go  with  him  to  the 
State  Capital  to  reinstate  the  Gov- 
ernor. He  is  a  man  of  unusual 
strength  of  intellect  and  origin- 
ality ;  full  of  resources,  energy 
and  audacity.  He  is  so  frank  and 
fearless  in  his  manner  with  men 
that  he  controls  them  by  sheer 
force  of  will  and  dash — he  runs 
over  them,  as  it  were,  if  he  can. 
If  he  finds  he  cannot,  bows  to  the 
inevitable,  fend  follows  with  them 
or  withdraws,  as  his  interests  may 
appear  to  him.  He  is  a  ready  and 
impressive  speaker  and  skillful  de- 
bater at  the  bar  or  in  the  party 
convention. 

After  the  excitement  was  all 
over  Gov.  Baxter  sent  the  follow- 
ing telegraphic  dispatch  to  Presi- 
dent Grant : 

To  the  President  of  the  United  States  : 

As  I  cannot  move  my  troops  to  assert  my 
claims  to  the  office  of  Governor  without  a  col- 
lision with  the  United  States  troops,  which  I 
will  not  cause  under  any  circumstances,  I  pro- 
pose to  call  the  Legislature  together  at  an 
early  day  and  leave  them  to  settle  the  ques- 
tion, as  by  law  they  alone  have  the  jurisdiction. 
But  to  do  this  the  members  of  the  Legislature 


of  the  Reconstritction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


231 


must  have  assurances  of  protection  from  you 
and  a  guaranty  that  they  may  meet  in  safety. 
This  will  be  a  peaceable  solution  of  the  diffi- 
culty, and  I  will  readily  abide  the  decision  of 
the  Legislature.  ELISHA  BAXTER, 

Governor  of  Ark. 

This  was  a  capital  thought.  It 
was  as  simple  as  the  discovery  of 
America  by  Columbus,  wafted  by 
trade  winds ;  yet  thoughtful  and 
comprehensive.  That  body,  it 
will  be  remembered,  contained 
the  twenty -eight  men  whom  the 
Brooks  convention  placed  on  a 
"roll  of  infamy."  That  body 
voted  down  the  "  railroad  steal 
bill"  of  McClure  &  Co.,  and  re- 
jected Brooks'  petition  for  a  con- 
test against  Baxter. 

In  a  short  time  Gov.  Baxter  re- 
ceived from  the  President,  himself, 
the  following  dispatch : 

Washington,  April  22,  1874. 
Hon.  Elisha  Baxter,  Little  Rock  : 

I  heartily  approve  any  adjustment  peacea- 
bly of  the  pending  difficulty  in  Arkansas — by 
means  of  the  legislative  assembly,  the  courts 
or  otherwise — and  I  will  give  all  the  assist- 
ance and  protection  I  can  under  the  Constitu- 
tion and  laws  of  the  United  States  to  such 
modes  of  adjustment.  I  hope  that  the  mili- 
tary forces  will  be  now  disbanded. 

U.  S.  GRANT, 

President. 

Thereupon  Gov.  Baxter  imme- 
diately called  a  meeting  of  the 
Legislature  in  extra  session  to  meet 
at  Little  Rock  May,  A.  D.  1874, 
signed  by  him  and  countersigned 
by  J.  M.  Johnson,  Secretary  of 
State,  but  still  over  the   Govern- 


or's przT^a^e  seal,  "the  seal  of  State 
not  being  at  present  accessible." 

The  Republican  of  the  23d  con- 
tained a  misspelled  copy  of  Bax- 
ter's proclamation  for  an  extra 
session,  with  types  having  the  ap- 
pearance of  being  pied,  without 
inserting  or  publishing  separately 
the  President's  dispatch  to  Bax- 
ter. But  an  editorial  article  in 
the  paper  of  that  issue  alludes  to 
it  in  the  following  terms  : 

The  grave  change  in  the  situation  yester- 
day toward  night  was  manifest  to  every  one 
on  the  streets.  The  telegram  of  the  Presi- 
dent, though  brief,  and  not  at  all  dictatorial, 
produced  its  effect.  Where  but  a  few  minutes 
before  its  receipt,  had  been  armed  men  not  at 
all  inclined  to  show  how  one  can  love  his 
neighbor  as  himself,  but  a  few  minutes  after- 
wards were  cheering,  if  not  cheerful  individu- 
als, who  proclaimed  "  this  cruel  war  is  over," 
and  they  went  home  on  foot  and  otherwise  at 
once.  There  was  only  a  small  guard  left 
about  Gov.  Brooks  and  Mr.  Baxter  to  insure 
their  safety,  etc.,  from  that  class  who  do  not 
know  what  law  is,  and  never  respect  it. 

Forty-five  Federal  soldiers, 
armed,  came  down  on  the  Cairo 
&  Fulton  railroad  "via  Columbus, 
from  Humboldt,  Tenn.,  under 
Lieut.  Noble,  of  the  Sixteenth 
U.  S.  Infantry,  to  reinforce  Col. 
Rose.  Col.  A.  C.  Pickett  and 
Judge  McCurdy,  with  a  company 
to  reinforce  Baxter,  attempted  to 
get  on  the  same  train,  but  were 
prevented,  by  the  aid  of  this  force, 
from  taking  passage  without  pay- 
ing their  fare.  They  waited  for 
the  next  train. 

The    Secretary  of  State,  J,  M. 


232 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter    War:  a  History 


Johnson,  having  arrived  in  Little 
Rock  after  a  short  visit  to  his 
home  in  Madison  County  (elected 
over  Fulton,  the  colored  candi- 
date, by  a  large  majority),  whose 
title  to  his  office  was  never  ques- 
tioned, went  into  the  State  House 
the  22d  inst.  to  take  his  place  in 
his  office,  but  was  refused  permis- 
sion to  take  charge  of  the  office 
or  the  papers.  Gen.  Upham,  be- 
fore admitting  him,  demanded 
that  he  send  his  card  to  Gov, 
Brooks,  who,  hearing  the  conver- 
sation, came  out  to  meet  him. 
Johnson  desired  of  him  to  know 
if  he  recognized  him  as  Secretary 
of  State,  to  which  Brooks  replied 
that  he  did  not,  after  his  action  of 
signing  Baxter's  proclamation 
calling  an  extra  session  of  the 
Legislature.  Col.  Johnson  retorted 
that  he  was  not  aware  that  Judge 
Whytock  had  decided  that  he  was 
not  Secretary  of  State,  and  asked 
by  what  right  he  was  denied  ad- 
mission. "  Military  necessity," 
replied  Gov.  Brooks.  Thereupon 
the  Secretary  retired  and  made 
application  in  writing  for  the 
books  and  records  of  his  office. 
He  received  no  reply.  He  ap- 
pointed Hon.  A.  H.  Garland  his 
deputy. 

A  large  body  of  negroes  the 
same  day  went  into  the  Brooks 
camp  from  Forrest  City.  W.  P. 
Walsh  and  Geo.  Prichard  arrived 
with  a  few  "  colored  troops  "  and 
went©  into  Brooks'  lines.  The 
"river  news"  of  the  daily  papers 


of  that  date  also  chronicle  that 
"  the  steamer  Clarksville  left  for 
Memphis  Wednesday  afternoon, 
taking  with  her  to  Pine  Bluff  Col. 
H.  King  White's  colored  troops." 
On  the  24th  Col.  White  tele- 
graphed Gov.  Baxter  from  Pine 
Bluff  that  he  had  organized  200 
zuhite  men,  armed  and  mounted, 
ready  to  move  whenever  he  should 
receive  orders.  And  the  same 
date  Gov.  Baxter,  through  A.  H. 
Garland  and  E.  W.  Thompson 
presented  to  John  McClure,  for 
the  consideration  of  Mr.  Brooks, 
propositions  in  five  paragraphs, 
summarized  as  follows  : 

1.  That  all  troops,  of  either  side,  be  dis- 
missed to  their  homes,  except  a  body-guard 
for  each  contestant. 

2.  That  hostilities  cease  and  disputes  be 
submitted  to  a  competent  tribunal. 

3.  That  no  person  be  molested  for  anything 
done  during  the  disturbances. 

4.  That  Col.  Page  (Treasurer)  furnish  trans- 
portation to  departing  troops. 

5.  That  citizens  having  business  with  the 
State  offices  be  admitted  peaceably,  without 
molestation,  to  such  office. 

To  this  proposition  Gov.  Brooks 
replied  in  an  article  of  nearly  a 
column,  as  published  in  the  Re- 
publican, beginning : 

Hons.  A.  II.  Garland  and  E.  M.  Thompson: 
Gentlemen — The  propositions  submitted 
by  yourselves  on  behalf  of  Elislia  Baxter,  to 
me  through  Judge  McClure,  have  been  re- 
ceived. You  assume  at  the  outset  that' the 
question  of  who  is  the  legal  and  rightful  Gov- 
ernor has  not  been  decided  by  competent  au- 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


233 


thority.     (He  then  sets  forth  all  the  grounds 
of  his  clahn  to  the  office.) 

If  Elisha  Baxter  proposes  to  resort  to 
peaceful  means  to  enforce  his  rights,  he  does 
not  need  even  a  company  of  armed  men  at 
the  capital,  and  if  he  proposes  to  assert  his 
pretended  rights  by  force,  I  must  and  will,  of 
necessity,  place  myself  in  condition  to  repel 
attack.         *         *         * 

I  have,  through  Col.  Henry  Page,  one  of 
my  aides-de-camp,  been  furnishing  transpor- 
tation to  such  persons  from  the  country  as 
have  been  induced  to  come  here  to  depose 
the  legal  Governor,  who  on  learning  the  facts, 
desired  to  return  to  their  homes.  You  can 
say  to  one  and  all  of  Elisha  Baxter's  follow- 
ers, that  Col.  Page  will,  at  any  time,  on  appli- 
cation, furnish  transportation  to  such  as  may 
desire  the  same. 

Persons  desiring  to  transact  business  with 
any  of  the  offices  of  the  State,  including  the 
Executive  office,  need  have  no  fears  in  going 
to  the  State  House  of  being  interrupted  or 
disturbed.  JOSEPH  BROOKS, 

Governor  of  Ark. 

On  Monday  the  26th  inst.,  after 
a  twenty-four-hour  truce,  all  was 
quiet  along  the  contending  lines. 
Both  sides  published  offers  of  rein- 
forcements. The  preparations  for 
the  combat  continued.  In  the 
Brooks  camp  there  was  drilling 
and  throwing  up  breastworks 
around  the  State-house  yard. 
These  preparations  were  closely 
watched  by  and  known  to  the 
other  side.  The  material  of  which 
the  Brooks  army  was  composed 
was  pretty  well  understood:  sev- 
eral hundred  intrepid  white  men, 
under  the  lead  of  brave  and  expe- 
rienced officers  from  both  armies 

16 


of  the  late  war,  and  a  great  many 
negroes. 

That  day,  for  covering  and  aid- 
ing an  assault  when  it  should  be 
decided  that  one  was  to  be  made, 
the  Baxter  men  hauled  up  to  Scott 
street  and  repaired  the  old  sixty- 
four-pounder  that  had  stood  on 
the  river  bank  near  the  Kramer 
school-house,  where  it  had  been 
spiked  by  the  Confederates  on  the 
evacuation  of  the  city,  having 
formed  part  of  the  battery  of  the 
gallant  Capt.  John  T.  Trigg,  who 
was  unable  to  move  it  off,  and  after- 
wards known  as  "  Lady  Baxter." 
Gov.  Baxter,  on  the  same  day,  sent 
the  President  the  following  dis- 
patch : 

On  the  19th  of  this  month,  as  Governor  of 
this  State,  I  telegraphed  you  that  there  was  an 
armed  insurrection  against  the  legal  govern- 
ment of  this  State,  and  made  requisition  upon 
you  for  aid  to  suppress  it,  and  to  prevent  do- 
mestic violence.  I  have  just  now  been  ad- 
vised that  you  never  received  that  requisition. 
I  now  take  occasion  to  say  that  an  armed 
insurrection  exists  in  this  State  against  the 
lawfully  constituted  authority  thereof,  and  as 
the  Legislature  cannot  meet  until  the  nth  day 
of  May,  I  call  upon  you  for  aid  to  protect  the 
State  from  domestic  violence. 

ELISHA  BAXTER, 

Governor  of  Ark. 

On  the  28th  H.  King  White,  at 
Pine  Bluff,  now  promoted  Briga- 
dier General,  telegraphed  General 
Newton  that  he  had  1,300  men 
enrolled;  would  send  200  around 
to  Little  Rock  on  Thursday. 
Signed,  "  H.  King  White,  Briga- 
dier General  Commanding." 


234 


TJie  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


The  Brooks  men  showed  no 
disposition  to  cease  hostilities. 
Two  thousand  Springfield  rifles 
and  13,000  rounds  of  ammunition 
were  shipped  to  Brooks  from  St. 
Louis,  through  purchases  by  Geo. 
W.  McDiarmid,  paid  for  out  of 
the  State  treasury,  i.  e.,  on  the 
State's  credit.  The  arming  of 
militia  to  fight  over  the  property 
of  the  wretched  people  of  Arkan- 
sas would  pay  their  former  State 
expenditure.  This  will  give  an 
idea  of  the  luxury  of  war,  when 
rulers  of  old  contended  for  the 
prey  that  official  power  still  sug- 
gests. Financial  schemes  of  gain 
are  an  improvement  on  the  older 
method — not  so  hazardous  to  life 
and  limb.  "The  patent  drill"  of 
office,  the  poet  Lowell  suggested, 
as  the  better  method  of  modern 
civilization.  Modern  civilization, 
like  the  ancient,  has  only  to  be 
"scratched"  to  disclose  the  sav- 
age under  the  skin. 

The  Republican  of  the  27th 
stated  that  Col.  Page  had  already 
furnished  transportation  for  over 
four  hundred  of  Baxter's  men  re- 
turning to  their  homes,  but  in  the 
same  column  relates  the  arrest  of 
an  Eastern  correspondent  while 
viewing  the  "big  gun"  in  the 
Baxter  lines;  also  published  the 
following  telegram  from  Pine 
Bluff,  of  April  25th,  entitled, "  How 
is  This  ?"  : 

Jefferson  County  is  under  martial  law  by 
command  of  Brig.-Gen.  White,  of  Baxter's 
forces.     Sheriffs   ofhce,   with   tax-books   and 


funds  taken  possession  of  under  protest. 
Drew,  Lincoln  and  Bradley  counties  all  right 
for  Brooks.     (Signed  by  the  Sheriff.) 

J.  F.  VAUGHN. 

After  this  telegram  came  the 
following : 

Pine  Bluff,  April  25,  1S74. 
John  M.   C lay 1 071 : 

King  White  has  taken  possession  of  the 
court  house  and  telegraph  office. 

GEORGE  HAYCOCK. 

Pine  Bluff,  April  25,  1874. 
Martial    law    is    declared    in    Pine    Bluff. 
Drums  beating  up  and  down  the  street. 

J.  W.  M.  MURPHY. 

Pine  Bluff,  April  27,  5:35  p.  m. 
King  While  with  an  armed  force  in  the 
court  house.  Barton  has  issued  a  circular 
order  assuming  command  of  the  Eastern 
District  of  Arkansas.  Clay  and  Rice  with 
thirty  men  here  from  Lincoln.  Say  they  are 
going  to  reinforce  Baxter. 

F.  K.  LYMAN. 

In  his  testimony,  afterwards, 
before  the  Poland  Committee, 
Gov.  Baxter  denied  that  he  had 
ever  authorized  martial  law 
throughout  the  State  or  in  Jeffer- 
son County : 

I  did  declare  martial  law  in  Pulaski  County, 
and  attempted  to  enforce  it.  I  did  enforce  ic 
as  best  I  could,  and  would  do  so  again  under 
similar  circumstances.  I  want  to  say  once  for 
all,  that  I  think  it  unmanly  for  those  gentle- 
men to  complain  about  arrests,  and  about 
this  man  being  taken  and  that  man  being 
taken  during  a  state  of  war.  I  understand  a 
state  of  war  to  mean  freedom  to  make  arrests 
and,  if  necessary,  to  kill  men. 

This  leads  me  to  speak  something  by  way 
of  explanation  of  a   separate   declaration   of 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


235 


martial  law  in  Jefferson  County.  Although 
some  of  my  own  friends  have  attempted  to 
explain  il,  they  never  have  explained  it  so  far 
as  I  know.  As  a  fact,  during  "  the  troubles  " 
(I  do  not  know  what  else  to  call  them)  I  was 
on  one  occasion  very  unwell.  I  believe 
(though  my  physicians  never  told  me)  that  I 
was  under  the  influence  of  opiates.  A  number 
of  distinguished  gentlemen  (who  were  re- 
quired by  my  physicians  not  to  disturb  me), 
without  any  sort  of  communication  with  me, 
in  consultation  by  themselves,  in  a  separate 
room  (as  I  understand  the  case),  concluded 
that  it  would  be  better  to  have  martial  law 
declared  throughout  the  State.  Some  one  of 
them  drew  up  a  proclamation  of  martial  law. 
I  think  Gen.  Newton,  the  Major  General  com- 
manding, was  present.  At  least  that  is  the 
way  I  understood  it.  He,  assuming  that  I 
would  sign  the  proclamation,  telegraphed  to 
King  White,  in  Jefferson  County,  that  martial 
law  was  declared  throughout  the  State.  "When 
this  proclamation  was  brought  for  my  signa- 
ture I  declined  to  sign  it. 

The  Republican  of  April  25th, 
published  the  following  as  a  "  full 
roster"  of  military  officers  in  com- 
mand of  Gov.  Brooks'  State  Mili- 
tia, furnished  by  Adjt.-Gen.  Up- 
ham : 

Major  General,  commanding 
State  Militia,  R.  F.  Catterson ; 
Commandant  of  the  Post,  Lee  L. 
Thompson;  Brigadier  General,  O. 
S.Dillon;  Adjutant  General,  D. 
P.  Upham ;  Chief  of  Artillery,  Col. 
Edwin  Bancroft;  Surgeon  Gen- 
eral, Thomas  Smith;  Asst.  Quar- 
termaster General,  M.  L.  Andrews; 
Ordnance  officer,  Maj.  Geo.  M. 
French ;  Captain  Brigade  Surgeon, 
Jas.  A.  Dibrell,  Jr.;  Major  Brigade 


Surgeon,  David  H.  Dungan  ;  Asst. 
Surgeon,  A.  F.  Kaufman ;  Quar- 
termaster, Henry  Rudd ;  Capt. 
and  Asst.  Quartermaster,  Moses 
Reed ;  Capt.  and  A.  A.  G.  Staff"  of 
Gen.  Lee  L.  Thompson,  John  S. 
Duffie  ;  Aide-de-Camp,  W.  B.  Mor- 
gan ;  Capt.  1st  Reg.  Light  Artil- 
lery, Jas.  A,  Bridgman ;  2d  Lieut. 
Battery,  W.  E.  Hinman. 

The  officers  of  the  First  Regi- 
ment State  Militia,  are  :  ,Col.  John 
Brooker,  Lieut. -Col.  A.  S.  Fowler, 
Maj.  J.  D.  Sibbald,  Maj.  J.  A.  Sib- 
bald  on  staff  of  Gen.  Catterson ; 
Captains  George  N.  Perkins  (col.), 
Wm.  H.  Rector  (col.),  Jesse  But- 
ler (col.),  Isaac  Gilliam  (col.),  J. 
K.  Barnes  (w.),  Henry  K.  Pink- 
ney  (w.),  Ed.  F.  Stowell  (w.)  Neal 
Brown  (coL),  Chas.  Goerte,  com- 
missioned Captain  of  the  Gover- 
nor's Guard. 

While  under  the  excitement  of 
news  of  King  White's  reign  of 
terror  in  Jefferson,  the  Brooks 
people  heard  heavy  firing  in  the 
neighborhood  of  the  Union  Depot. 
About  2  A.  M.  the  30th  of  April, 
Gen.  T.  J.  Churchill  with  a  party 
of  Baxter  men,  including  his  aide- 
de-camp  Terry,  Ed.  Doyle,  Booker 
Worthen,  Henry  Brooking,  Frank 
Timms,  Fred.  Syberg,  Eustace 
Officer,  J.  M.  Pomeroy  and  E. 
Conway,  marched  to  the  depot  to 
protect  an  expected  arrival  of 
Baxter  reinforcements.  A  de- 
tachment of  Brooks  militia,  com- 
manded by  Col.  W.  S.  Oliver,  was 
sent  out  of  the  State    House   to 


236 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


reconnoiter  their  movements. 
George  Counts,  in  advance,  was 
fired  upon  by  the  Baxterites,  vi^ho, 
finding  themselves  outnumbered, 
took  refuge  in  a  saloon  near  the 
depot.  Col.  Oliver,  of  the  Brooks 
militia,  surrounded  the  house  and 
demanded  their  surrender.  Pom- 
eroy  made  his  escape  on  horse- 
back. Gen,  Churchill  was  par- 
oled. The  others  were  kept  in 
the  guard-house  a  few  hours  and 
released.  But  something  must  be 
done  at  the  State  House. 

April  30th  Gen.  Jas.  F.  Fagan, 
having  been  appointed  by  Gov. 
Brooks  to  the  command  of  the 
Arkansas  militia,  published  an  ad- 
dress "to  the  people  of  Arkansas," 
in  which  he  upheld  the  claim  of 
Brooks  to  be  the  legally  chosen 
Governor  of  Arkansas,  and  issued 
the  following  orders : 

[General  Order  No.  i.] 
Headquarters  Ark.  Militia  Forces,") 
Little  Rock,  April  30,  1874.     j 
By  order  of  Gov.  Joseph  Brooks,  Comman- 
der-in-chief, I  hereby  assume  command  of  the 
militia  forces  of  the  State  of  Arkansas. 

J.  F.  FAGAN, 
Major  General  Commanding. 

[General  Order  No.  2.] 
Headquarters  Ark.  Militia  Forces,") 
Little  Rock,  April  30,  1874.      / 

The  following  officers  are  assigned  for  duty 
on  the  Staff  of  the  Major  General  command- 
ing militia  forces  of  the  State  of  Arkansas: 

Brig  -Gen.  Dandridge  McRea,  Chief  of 
Staff;  Lieut.-Col.  D.  M.  Kavanaugh,  A.  A.  G.; 
Col.  Bob  Newell,  Inspector  General;  Col. 
Poindexter  Dunn,  Aide-de-Camp  ;  Col.  John 
D.  McCabe,  Aide-de-Camp ;  Col.  M.  L.  Rice, 


Judge  Advocate ;    Col.  John  S.  Duffie,  Quar- 
termaster; Col.  Dan  O'Sullivan,  Chief  Com- 
missary ;  Maj.  E.  B.  Blanks,  A.  A.  Q.  M. 
By  order  of  J.  F.  FAGAN, 

Maj.  Gen.  Commanding. 
C.  Thrower,  Col.  and  A.  A.  G. 

A  lengthy  and  able  address  "to 
the  people  of  Arkansas,"  in  sup- 
port of  Gov.  Brooks,  was  issued 
the  same  day  by  well-known  citi- 
zens of  Arkansas,  viz. :  J.  G. 
Frierson,  Geo.  M.  Wright,  J.  D. 
McCabe,  W.  R.  Cody,  Jordan  E. 
Cravens,  M.  T.  Sanders,  H.  W. 
McMillen,  R.  B.  Carl  Lee,  Ben  T. 
DuVal,  D.  McRae,  J.  F.  Fagan, 
W.  F.  Rapley,  L.  H.  Mangum, 
Lee  L.  Thompson,  V.  B.  Izzard, 
P.  Dunn,  E.  B.  Blanks,  M.  Ander- 
son, D.  Breidenthal,  C.  Thrower, 
J.  C.  McCauley,  D.  M.  Kavanaugh, 
J.  T.  Humphreys,  M.  L.  Bell,  L. 
C.  Gause,  T.  M.  Gunter  and 
others. 

Congratulatory  telegrams  were 
sent  to  Brooks,  May  5th,  from  H. 
B.  Stuart,  J.  W.  Miller,  R.  D. 
Hearne  and  G.  W.  Reed,  of  Arka- 
delphia ;  W.  H.  Barry,  of  Monti- 
cello ;  R.  H.  Dedman,  of  Prince- 
ton, Elias  Harrell,  of  Madison 
County. 

The  case  of  Brooks  vs.  Page, 
application  for  mandamus  to  Page 
to  pay  warrant  issued  on  requi- 
sition of  the  Governor,  was  tried 
before  McClure,  Ch.  J.,  and  Ste- 
phenson and  Searle.  Governor 
Brooks'  attorneys  were  his  Gener- 
als, Mangum  and  McRae,  M.  T. 
Sanders,  C.  Thrower,  A.  A.  G.  of 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkatisas. 


237 


Gen.  Fagan,  and  W.  G.  Whipple, 
Gantt  &  Kimball,  Benjamin  & 
Barnes.  Page,  to  protect  himself, 
he  declared,  required  an  order  of 
the  court,  and  denied  Brooks'  offi- 
cial authority  to  make  the  requi- 
sition. A  replication  by  Brooks 
set  up  the  Whytock  decision. 
Attorney  General  appeared  for 
the  State  and  submitted  his  briefs 
in  the  qiiozvarranto  cases  of  Brooks 
vs.  Baxter  and  Wheeler  vs.  Berry. 
The  court  decided  that  Brooks 
had  been  awarded  the  office  le- 
gally by  Whytock's  Circuit  Court 
judgment,  in  these  words  : 

The  only  question  that  we  deem  it  neces- 
sary to  notice,  is:  Did  the  Circuit  Court 
have  the  jurisdiction  to  render  the  judgment 
in  the  case  of  Brooks  vs.  Baxter.  We  feel 
some  delicacy  about  expressing  an  opinion 
upon  the  question  propounded,  but  under  the 
pleadings,  it  has  to  be  passed  upon  incident- 
ally, if  not  absolutely,  in  determining  whether 
the  relator  is  entitled  to  the  relief  asked ;  for 
his  right  to  the  office,  if  established  at  all,  is 
established  by  the  judgment  of  the  Circuit 
Court  of  Pulaski  County.  We  are  of  opinion 
that  the  Circuit  Court  had  jurisdiction  of  the 
subject  matter,  and  its  judgment  appears  to 
be  regular  and  valid. 

Havmg  arrived   at   these   conclusions,  the 
demurrer  is  overruled,  and  the  writ  of  man- 
damus will  be  awarded  as  prayed  for. 
JOHN  INIcCLURE, 
JOHN  E.  BENNETT, 
E.  J.  SEARLE, 
M.  L.  STEPHENSON. 

If  Baxter  was  a  usurper,  so  were 
the  two  Judges  elected  on  the 
ticket  with  him — Searle  and  Ste- 
phenson. 


No  hesitation  about  signing 
nozv,  even  under  the  excitement 
of  *'  war's  alarums."  No  occasion 
for  a  "fly-leaf."  Perhaps  no  air- 
drawn  "fly-leaf"  passed  across 
the  mental  vision  of  Stephenson 
or  Searle  in  signing  their  names 
to  the  foregoing  "  record."  They 
fancied  it  a  record.  It  could  not 
rightfully  be  considered  one  un- 
der the  circumstances. 

Dispatches  to  Gov.  Brooks  were 
received,  April  27th,  from  W.  O. 
Lattimore,  E.  B.  Harrison,  H.  C. 
Bottefur,  T.  J.  Hunt,  L.  D.  Flani- 
gan  and  John  Springer,  sent  from 
Fayetteville,  assuring  him  of  their 
sympathy  with  his  cause,  and 
other  dispatches  from  R.  L. 
Archer  at  Camden,  J.  A.  Barnes 
at  ElDorado,  tendering  "troops." 
News  was  sent  him  also  from  Pine 
Bluff  that  King  Wliite  had  ar- 
rested but  released  to  report  again 
Mallory,  Kenyon  and  Silverman, 
just  returned  from  Little  Rock, 
and  had  taken  C.  H.  Rice,  a 
wealthy  planter,  prisoner,  and 
captured  Prigmore,  and  that  he 
was  watching  for  other  Brooks 
men  expected  down  by  steamer. 

Col.  John  A.  Williams,  who 
testified  before  the  Poland  Com- 
mittee that  he  was  "  eminently  a 
civilian,"  was  also  arrested  on  tivo 
warrants  ordered  by  Gen.  White. 
One,  he  testified,  was  issued  by  a 
magistrate,  charging  "treason,  by 
giving  aid  and  comfort,"  and  the 
other  "  squarely  charging  treason." 
He  demanded  bail  and  it  was  fixed 


2 -.8 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter   War :  a  History 


at  ^3,000  on  the  first,  but  denied 
altogether  on  the  second !  Wil- 
liams wished  to  appear  as  coun- 
self  or  Vaughan,  the  Sheriff,  Prig- 
more,  the  Clerk,  and  Murphy,  also 
under  arrest.  He  said  the  war- 
rants were  in  King  White's  hand, ' 
with  which  he  was  familiar.  Mur- 
phy was  rich,  and  he  and  White 
were  great  friends  personally. 
Murphy  was  sometimes  called 
"  Coal-oil  Johnny."  He  followed 
the  lead  of  Col.  Williams,  and  was 
active  in  behalf  of  Brooks. 

April  30th  the  dispatches  from 
Pine  Bluff  contained  information 
that  King  White  had  left  there 
with  200  men ;  that  he  went  down 
the  river  on  the  "Hallie"  to  at- 
tack Murphy,  who  was  collecting 
a  force  for  Brooks  on  the  planta- 
tions around  New  Gascony. 

Dispatches  from  Pine  Bluff,  of 
May  1st,  described  an  engage- 
ment on  the  30th  of  April  at  New 
Gascony,  on  the  Arkansas  River, 
below  Pine  Bluff,  in  which  King 
White,  of  the  Baxter  forces,  sur- 
prised and  put  to  rout  a  company 
of  Brooks  recruits  (negroes)  col- 
lected there  by  Col.  J.  M,  Murphy, 
of  the  Brooks  forces.  Murphy's 
men  were  at  Cornerstone  church, 
about  one  hundred  and  twenty  in 
number,  having  assembled  for  pa- 
rade. White  had  come  down  on 
a  steamboat  from  Pine  Bluff,  and 
pressing  horses,  had  mounted  his 
men,  whites  and  some  negroes, 
fully  armed,  and  charged  the 
Brooks  new  levies,  who  retreated 


behind  a  fence  and  returned 
White's  fire  until  their  ammunition 
was  expended.  Nine  of  Murphy's 
men  were  killed  (?)  and  thirty 
wounded.  Vandesande  was  badly 
beaten  over  the  head.  Murphy 
was  hit  in  the  head.  Surgeons 
were  sent  from  Pine  Bluffto  care  for 
thewounded.  Three  or  four  of  Col. 
White'smenwerewounded.  Mur- 
phy was  taken  prisoner  and  lodged 
in  White's  bastile  at  Pine  Bluff. 
Johnny  boasted  that  he  was  "  self- 
made,"  but  White  said  he  "  put  a 
head  on  him." 

On  Sunday  night.  May  3d,  as 
the  Memphis  train  reached  Ar- 
genta,  having  on  board  the  two 
Associate  Judges,  John  E.  Ben- 
nett and  E.  J.  Searle  (they  were 
returning  to  make  a  quorum  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  State) 
Capt.  Williams,  of  the  Baxter 
forces,  since  Sheriff  of  Hempstead 
County,  boarded  the  train  with  an 
armed  escort.  After  a  short  par- 
ley he  took  the  Judges  prisoners 
and  hurried  them  across  the  river 
in  skiffs,  but  where  they  were 
taken  could  not  be  learned. 
Traces  of  them  were  found  at  St. 
John's  College,  after  which  all 
traces  were  lost.  Their  arrest  and 
disappearance  created  the  great- 
est excitement  in  the  State  House. 
It  was  believed  by  the  Brooks 
people  that  the  Judges  had  been 
taken  into  the  woods  south  of  the 
city  and  assassinated. 

On  the  morning  of  the  4th  of 
May,  Mr.  Eugene  M.  Bennett,  of 


of  tJie  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


239 


the  Merchants'  National  Bank,  re- 
ceived from  his  father,  Judge  Ben- 
nett, through  Gen.  W.  D.  Blocher, 
of  the  Baxter  army,  the  following 
note  in  his  father's  hand  : 

I  suppose  you  know  that  Judge  Searle  and  I 
were  captured  in  Argenta  last  night.  I  am  alive 
and  well  treated.  Please  telegraph  yourmother. 
Do  not  know  when  I  shall  be  released. 

May  the  4th  Gen.  D.  McRae,  of 
White  County,  arrived  and  went 
upon  duty  as  Chief  of  Staff  of 
Gen.  Fagan.  Brig.-Gen.  Mangum 
was  commissioned  and  assigned 
to  the  command  of  the  first  brig- 
ade, comprising  all  the  troops 
south  of  Markham  street,  includ- 
ing those  in  the  Benjamin  block. 
Gen.  Ed.  J.  Brooks,  of  the  Second 
Arkansas  Infantry  of  Fort  Smith, 
was  commissioned  Brigadier  Gen- 
eral and  assigned  to  the  command 
of  the  second  brigade,  which  in- 
cluded the  troops  in  and  around 
the  State  House.  Brooks  received 
large  reinforcements  during  the 
day.  About  9  o'clock  that  night 
the  Baxter  guards  were  doubled, 
and  no  one  was  allowed  to  pass 
up  or  down  IMarkham.  All  hack- 
men  were  ordered  off  the  stand 
at  the  Metropolitan  corner.  At 
10  o'clock  Company  C,  U.  S.  In- 
fantry was  called  out  at  the  City 
Hall,  west  of  the  Metropolitan 
Hotel,  and  formed  across  IMark- 
ham street,  and  at  midnight  Com- 
pany I,  U.  S.  Infantry,  was  sta- 
tioned at  the  corner  of  Louisiana 
and  Second  streets.     The  people 


were  out  in  crowds  after  midnight, 
and  great  excitement  prevailed 
without  apparent  cause.  It  pro- 
ceeded from  uneasiness  caused  by 
resentment  at  the  capture  of  the 
two  Judges. 

A  writ  of  habeas  corpus  was  sued 
out  and  served  on  Gen.  Churchill, 
commanding  him  to  produce  the 
bodies  of  E.  J.  Searle  and  John  E. 
Bennett,  the  missing  Judges. 
Gen.  Churchill  returned  that  they 
were  not  in  his  custody,  and  he 
had  no  knowledge  of  their  where- 
abouts. Col.  Page,  upon  request 
of  Chief  Justice  McClure,  pro- 
duced the  piece  of  paper  found 
by  him  in  a  room  in  St.  John's 
College,  which  he  pronounced  the 
writing  of  Judge  Bennett.  It  was 
as  follows : 

At  St.  John's  College,  May  3,  1874. 
Hon.  Elisha  Baxter,  Governor,  Little  Rock  : 
Upon    the   arrival  of  the   Little  Rock  and 
Memphis — 

That  was  all.  C.  H.  Noble, 
Lieutenant  U.  S.  Infantry,  stated 
in  a  note  to  Judge  IMcClure,  that 
the  unfinished  note  sent  by  him  to 
Col.  Page,  was  found  in  the  room 
of  Cadet  Wilson.  Young  Wilson 
described  the  two  persons  who 
were  brought  to  his  room  the  night 
of  the  3d,  so  as  to  leave  no  doubt 
that  they  were  the  missing  Judges. 
On  the  5th  inst.,  passengers  from 
Benton,  Saline  County,  brought 
news  that  the  two  Judges  were  at 
the  hotel  in  Benton  under  guard; 
that   they   arrived   at    Benton  on 


240 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter    War:  a  History 


horseback,  under  the  guard  of  fif- 
teen or  twenty  Baxter  men,  who 
left  them  under  a  smaller  guard. 

Col.  John  C.  Wright,  ex-Con- 
federate, was  commissioned  by 
Gov.  Brooks  Brigadier  General  of 
militia  in  Union,  and  R.  B.  Smith 
Brigadier  General  in  Ouachita, 
Nevada,  Dallas  and  Calhoun. 
News  came  from  Fayetteville  that 
Lieut.-Col.  Fowler,  of  Brooks' 
forces  had  taken  106  stands  of 
arms  found  in  the  Arkansas  In- 
dustrial University,  of  which  Judge 
Gregg  was  a  director  or  trustee, 
and  would  land  them  in  the  State 
House.  The  following  telegram 
was  received  from  Pine  Bluff: 

S  €71  at  or  Dooley  : 

Vansande  is  out  of  danger.     King  White, 
with  Savage  and  Stevens,  arrived  here  to-day. 
FRED.  K.  LYMAN. 

The  Gazette  declined  to  publish 
the  address  of  Gause,  Bell  and 
Gunter,  the  Brooks  sympathizers 
at  Washington  City.  Col.  Cad 
Polk,  of  Helena,  declined  to  fol- 
low Fagan  into  the  Brooks  camp. 
The  Republican  retorted  that 
"  there  was  another  instance  of 
such  refusal,  viz.,  the  4th  of  July, 
1863,  at  Helena."  Fagan  was 
under  Holmes  in  that  assault  on 
Curtis'  breastworks.  Whether 
Polk  was  in  Fagan's  command 
there  or  not,  it  is  certain  that  he 
led,  if  he  did  not  follow  the  com- 
manding officers  on  that  day. 

The  missing  Judges  made  their 
escape  at  Ten-mile  Creek,  west  of 


Little  Rock,  while  being  guarded 
by  two  men,  coming  in  the  direc- 
tion of  Little  Rock.  They  had 
been  taken  from  St.  John's  Col- 
lege by  Maj.  Walter  Watkins  and 
four  men  the  night  of  the  4th  of 
May ;  arrived  at  Mr.  Roland's  farm- 
house, near  Benton,  and  break- 
fasted the  next  morning.  They 
remained  at  Roland's  until  8  p.  m. 
Monday,  under  a  guard  in  charge 
of  Lieut.  Summerhill,  who  in- 
formed them  that  he  was  ordered 
to  remove  them  to  Benton,  "  as  a 
force  of  United  States  soldiers 
was  in  search  of  them."  Asked 
to  show  his  orders,  he  produced 
them  to  the  Judges.  They  read 
as  follows : 

To  the  Armed  Guard  071  the  Benton  Toad: 

You  will  immediately  remove  your  com- 
mand, and  those yoti  have  in  charge  back  to- 
ward Benton.  WM.  A.  CRAWFORD, 

Brigadier  General. 

Col.  A.  H.  Rutherford,  an  old 
citizen  of  the  vicinity,  at  their  re- 
quest, accompanied  the  prisoners 
to  Benton,  with  their  guard. 

On  the  way  they  met  Gen. 
Crawford,  who  took  them  to  Ben- 
ton and  lodged  them  in  Pack's 
hotel.  The  sheriff,  Thompson, 
went  to  see  them  at  the  hotel  and 
offered  to  discharge  them,  but 
they  "  did  not  desire  to  accept  his 
proffered  kindness,  as  they  pre- 
ferred to  be  released  by  the  au- 
thority that  placed  them  under 
arrest ;  that  in  the  present  excite- 
ment their  release  otherwise  might 


of  the  Reco7istriictio7i  Period  in  Arkansas. 


241 


endanger  property  and  life  ;  they 
believed  they  would  be  protected 
in  there  personal  safety  there,  and 
would  not  if  they  should  go  on 
the  train."  One  sound  conclusion 
though  an  interested  one.  They 
were  called  on  by  Col.  Jabez  M. 
Smith,  a  prominent  lawyer,  and 
by  him  it  was  suggested  that 
Sheriff  Thompson  accompany 
them,  with  a  posse  to  Scott's,  on 
the  road  to  Little  Rock,  for  that 
night.  The  Sheriff  and  the  Lieu- 
tenant started  with  them  from 
Benton  Tuesday  night.  On  arriv- 
ing at  the  forks  of  the  road  the 
Lieutenant  hesitated  to  meet  the 
Federal  soldiers  who  were  sup  ■ 
posed  to  be  seeking  them,  and 
proposed  to  the  Sheriff  that  he 
release  them  then  and  there, 
which  they  did,  Summerhill  giv- 
ing up  his  pistol  to  Judge  Ben- 
nett in  assurance  of  his  good  faith 
and  the  Sheriff  riding  back  to  Ben- 
ton. At  Ten-mile  Creek,  meeting 
an  armed  force,  Judge  Bennett 
became  frightened  and  escaped 
with  Summerhill's  pistol  into  the 
woods.  Searle  halted  the  com- 
mand and  found  it  to  be  a  body 
of  Federal  soldiers,  under  com- 
mand of  Lieut.  Morrison,  in  search 
of  them.  Bennett  was  all  night 
traveling  the  ten  miles  to  Little 
Rock,  but  got  in  about  daylight. 

May  5th  Gen.  Mangum,  of  Hel- 
ena, former  Adjutant  General  of 
Pat  Cleburne,  now  Brigadier  Gen- 
eral of  First  Brigade  in  the  Brooks 
army,  issued  his  Order  No.  i,  on 


assuming  command.  He  assigns 
various  officers  to  duty  and  con- 
cludes with  paragraph 

V.  In  assuming  command,  I  would  impress 
upon  the  officers  and  men  the  importance  of 
strict  obedience  to  orders.  Our  efficiency  as 
soldiers  depends  upon  it.  We  have  taken  up 
arms  to  enforce  the  laivs  and  to  preserve 
peace,  not  to  make  war.  But  if  the  issue  of 
war  be  forced  upon  us,  I  rely  upon  your 
bravery  and  patriotism  to  meet  it  like  men. 
L.  H.  MANGUM, 

Brigadier  General. 

Brooks  received  most  encour- 
aging telegrams  from  E.  A.  War- 
ren, Texarkana;  J.  W.  Spaulding, 
Greenwood;  Prof.  James  Mitchell, 
of  Boonsboro  ;  J.  E.  Bennett,  of 
Fort  Smith,  who  telegraphed  that 
"the  Democracy,  excepting  the 
bourbons  of  Sebastian,  would  sus- 
tain him  to  the  bitter  end." 

May  the  7th  the  steamboat 
Hallie,  under  command  of  Capt. 
Sam  Houston  as  naval  comman- 
der, her  proper  captain,  Ed.  Bow- 
lin,  and  with  Capt.  Welch's  com- 
pany of  forty  men,  Baxter  forces, 
on  board,  was  ordered  by  Gen. 
Newton  to  proceed  up  the  river 
and  intercept  and  capture  if  pos- 
sible Col.  Fowler,  with  his  raft  or 
flatboat,  coming  down  the  river 
with  guns  he  had  taken  from  the 
Arkansas  Industrial  University. 
Welch's  company  mustered  about 
forty,  and  was  composed  of  the 
first  young  men  of  the  city,  though 
indifferently  armed.  Will  Terry, 
Worthen  and  Curran  were  officers 
also  of  the  company.     The  Hallie 


242 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


left  about  3  o'clock  a.  m.,  and,  in 
passing  the  State  House,  was 
fired  upon.  Gen.  Fagan  became 
aware  of  the  object  of  the  Hallie  s 
mission,  and  in  a  short  time  had 
caused  six  companies  of  Brooks' 
First  Arkansas  militia,  viz.:  Com- 
pany A,  Capt.  Aiken  ;  Company 
B,  Capt.  Stowell;  Company  C, 
Capt.  Pinckney  ;  Company  I,  Capt. 
Cox;  th^  Governor's  Guard,  un- 
der Capt.  Chas.  Goerte,  and  Capt. 
Gibbons'  independent  company, 
all  under  command  of  Col.  Jack 
Brooker,  to  be  put  on  board  the 
train  going  to  Fort  Smith,  with 
orders  to  leave  the  train  and  form 
on  the  north  bank  of  the  river,  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Palarm  Creek, 
which  the  railroad  crosses  near 
the  river  at  the  Boyle-Danley 
place,  and  prevent  the  further 
passage  of  the  steamboat  up  the 
river.  The  channel  of  the  river 
flows  near  the  northern  bank  there. 
The  militia  got  into  position  near 
the  river  protected  by  the  undu- 
lations of  the  bank  and  logs 
placed  in  position,  while  the  Hal- 
lie  had  stopped  below  to  wood  at 
the  Natural  Steps,  on  the  opposite 
shore.  Lieut.  Grove  was  sent 
down  the  river  a  distance  to  hail 
the  steamer,  and  as  she  came  up 
order  those  in  command  of  the 
boat  to  proceed  no  further,  but 
return  to  Little  Rock.  When  the 
steamer  got  under  way  and  ap- 
proached him  within  hailing  dis- 
tance and  "slowed  up"  at  his 
signal,   he    delivered    his    orders. 


Capt.  Houston,  who  was  on  deck, 
answered  him  with  his  character- 
istic brusqueness,  and  signaled  the 
pilot  to  go  ahead.  The  Baxter 
men,  suspecting  an  ambuscade,  as 
no  one  had  appeared  but  Grove, 
went  into  position  behind  the  bul- 
warks of  thick  plank  that  had  been 
erected  around  the  bow  of  the 
boat,  forming  a  horse  shoe,  one 
side  of  which  only  afforded  pro- 
tection. It  was  well  they  did  so, 
for  as  they  neared  the  bank 
chosen  for  the  ambush,  they  re- 
ceived a  murderous  fire  from 
Brooks'  men,  armed  with  the 
latest  and  best  improved  army 
rifles.  It  riddled  the  six-foot 
sheathing  of  the  pilot  house  into 
a  sieve,  severely  wounded  the 
pilot,  Capt.  John  Meyers,  in  the 
breast,  knee  and  calf  of  the  leg, 
pierced  the  head  of  Capt.  Hous- 
ton, killing  him  instantly.  A  shot 
pierced  the  breast  of  Frank  Timms, 
one  of  the  Baxter  men,  who  was 
passing  forward  from  the  engine 
room.  Bascom  Lee,  another  Bax- 
ter man,  was  severely  wounded  in 
the  knee,  and  Ed.  Houston,  brother 
of  Capt.  Houston,  and  a  negro 
roustabout,  name  unknown.  The 
balls  cut  the  steam-pipe  and  dis- 
abled the  steamer  so  that  she  re- 
mained half  or  three-quarters  of 
an  hour  under  fire.  Capt.  Welch 
and  company  returned  the  fire  un- 
til the  steamboat  was  carried  by 
her  momentum  and  the  wind  three- 
quarters  of  a  mile  from  the  place 
of  attack,  and  their  ammunition 


of  the  Reconstniction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


•^AZ 


was  exhausted.  They  mortally 
wounded,  of  the  Brooks  militia, 
Jack  Blackford  (colored)  of  Com- 
pany B,  Coleman  (colored)  of 

Company  C,  and  inflicted  slight 
wounds  on  several  others. 

The  steamer  was  carried  or 
drifted  against  the  south  bank  of 
the  river,  though  there  it  is  pretty 
wide,  and  the  military  went  ashore. 
The  mate  tied  up  her  pipe  so  as 
to  steam  over,  and  deliver  her  to 
the  attacking  party.  Capt,  Goerte 
and  Lieut.  Bell,  of  Brooker's  com- 
mand, w^ere  placed  in  charge  of 
her  and  took  her  to  Little  Rock, 
where  they  tied  her  up  to  the 
land  under  the  guns  of  the  State 
House.  Drs.  Dibbrell  and  Dun- 
nigan  were  summoned  and  took 
charge  of  the  wounded.  The 
corpse  of  young  Timms  was  taken 
home  by  relatives,  and  Bascom 
Lee  speedily  cared  for.  The  killed 
were  buried  with  imposing  cere- 
monies. 

Col.  Brooker  and  his  command 
returned  by  railroad  to  Little 
Rock,  but  did  not  march  at  once 
to  the  Fort  Smith  Junction,  where 
he  anticipated  meeting  a  force  of 
Baxter  men.  He  remained  awhile 
in  position  behind  temporary 
breastworks  of  rocks  on  the  de- 
clivities of  Big  Rock  until  in- 
formed that  he  could  reach  the 
bridge  without  opposition.  His 
fortifications  remained  as  he  left 
them  years  after  the  occasion. 

The  Baxter  men  who  had  been 
on   board   the   Hallie  made  their 


way  down  the  south  bank  to 
Cabin  Point,  where  they  crossed 
over  to  the  north  bank  and  got 
into  the  city  through  Argenta, 
about  noon  of  the  9th.  E.  W. 
Rector,  Esq.,  a  young  law  student, 
one  of  the  party,  gives  the  follow- 
ing account  of  their  adventures: 

Capt.  Welsh  and  the  men  of 
his  command,  after  the  boat  had 
landed  or  drifted  to  the  south  side 
of  the  river,  went  ashore,  and 
were  soon  aware  that  a  body  of 
cavalry  had  passed  along  the  river 
bank,  and,  for  fear  of  capture, 
took  a  by-path  that  led  through 
a  defile  in  the  hills.  Their  ammu- 
nition had  all  been  shot  out. 
They  reached  Maynard's  in  time 
for  supper  and  were  most  hospit- 
ably entertained.  After  supper, 
as  Mr.  Rector  was  somewhat  ac- 
quainted with  the  country,  they 
made  him  guide  and  pushed  on 
down  the  south  side  until  opposite 
his  father's  plantation  at  Cabin 
Point ;  they  all  crossed  the  river, 
thirty-five  or  forty  of  them,  in  a 
single  canoe,  two  at  a  time,  and 
camped  by  a  spring  branch  of 
White  Oak  Bayou,  near  Old  Jack 
Smith's  house,  a  leader  of  the  ne- 
groes in  that  locality.  At  the 
McCann  place,  on  White  Oak, 
they  were  furnished  with  break- 
fast by  Mr.  John  Collins,  who  had 
been  a  proprietor  of  the  Anthony 
House  for  rhany  years.  Every- 
thing was  done  that  could  minis- 
ter to  their  comfort.  After  break- 
fast, they  marched  along  the  roads 


244 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


and  railroad  track  until  they 
reached  the  Clendennin  place,  op- 
posite Little  Rock.  There  a  scout 
of  cavalry  sent  by  Gen.  Churchill 
met  and  escorted  them  into  the 
Baxter  camp. 

A  good  portion  of  Saturday, 
May  9th,  the  Baxter  men  were 
throwing  up  fortifications  on  the 
river  bank  between  Main  and 
Scott  streets.  After  dark  single 
shots  were  fired  into  the  Baxter 
lines  while  the  Baxter  men  were 
placing  the  big  gun  nearer  the 
river.  About  3  o'clock  Sunday 
morning  a  party  of  Baxter  men 
fired,  from  the  Red  Mill,  at  Stone- 
wall Jackson  (colored),  on  guard, 
and  thus  brought  out  the  Brooks 
guard  on  the  Hallie,  near  there. 
During  the  melee,  Baxter  men, 
who  had  crossed  in  skiffs,  scuttled 
the  steamer  Hallie,  which  sank  to 
the  cabin  deck.  Trains  on  the 
Fort  Smith  &  Little  Rock  Railway 
stopped  running  on  account  of 
armed  parties  forcing  passage. 

Gen.  King  White  arrived  with 
a  company  of  mounted  men  and 
a  company  of  foot  at  noon  Satur- 
day and  reported  several  hundred 
men  fully  armed  coming  on  be- 
hind with  ammunition  and  com- 
missaries. About  6  p.  M.  Aiken's 
company,  on  guard  at  the  sunken 
steamer,  were  withdrawn,  and  a 
guard  of  Federal  infantry  placed 
over  her  by  Lieut.  Noble.  Col. 
Bancroft,  of  Brooks'  artillery,  gave 
notice  to  the  citizens  of  Argenta 
that  unless  they  prevented  firing 


across  the  river  into  the  Brooks 
encampment,  he  would  shell  the 
town!  John  Blackford,  of  Capt. 
Stowell's  Company,  Brooks'  mil- 
itia, killed  in  the  fight  at  Palarm, 
was  buried  Saturday,  the  9th,  at 
5  P.  M.,  with  the  honors  of  war. 
On  Sunday  morning  Drs.  Dibbrell 
and  Dungan  reported  the  Brooks 
wounded  in  the  hospital,  in  the 
Benjamin  block,  Geo.  Wilson,  shot 
through  the  lung;  Geo.  Aiken, 
through  the  thigh,  and  Wm.  Wil- 
kins,  whose  leg  was  amputated, 
doing  well. 

Col.  Fowler's  flat  with  the  Fay- 
etteville  needle-guns,  having  been 
towed  down  by  steamer  Danville, 
reached  the  State  House  Sunday 
night.  Gen.  Bishop,  President  of 
the  University,  went  through  the 
formality,  at  Fayetteville,  of  serv- 
ing a  writ  of  replevin  for  the  guns 
on  Col.  Fowler,  and  summoning 
him  to  the  June  term  of  the  Wash- 
ington Circuit  Court.  Col.  Fowler 
paid  no  attention  to  the  writ  of  re- 
plevin, but  kept  the  guns  and  pur- 
sued his  journey  with  them.  The 
State  arms  in  the  arsenal  (1600 
stand)  were  taken  to  pieces  by  the 
Federal  commander  and  secreted. 

About  2  o'clock  White's  cavalry 
crossed  the  river,  supported  by  the 
Lonoke  company,  Captain  Eagle, 
and  threw  out  a  line  along  the 
Cairo  &  Fulton  railway,  to  attack 
the  Brooks  force  covering  the 
landing  of  the  Danville,  with  the 
Fayetteville  needle  guns  and  sup- 
plies.     Brooks   men    crossed  the 


of  the  Reconstruction  Pe7-iod  i?i  Arkansas. 


245 


bridge  to  meet  them.  About  8:30 
the  firing  was  rapid  on  both  sides 
and  the  river  bank  lined  with  citi- 
zens watching  the  skirmish.  Col. 
Rose  dispatched  a  company  to 
Baring  Cross,  west  of  Argenta, 
and  quartered  them  in  the  railroad 
shops.  A  Rodman  gun  was  planted 
at  foot  of  Louisiana  street,  com- 
manding the  low-lying  level  of 
Argenta.  About  noon  a  large 
force  of  Baxter  men  got  off  at  the 
junction  from  Newport.  The  only 
casualty  reported  was  one  colored 
man  of  the  Brooks  camp  killed, 
two  wounded  on  the  Brooks  side 
and  four  on  the  Baxter  side.  The 
Baxter  men  held  possession  of  the 
Fort  Smith  &  Little  Rock  Rail- 
road shops,  from  which  the  Brooks 
men  tried  to  drive  them.  The 
workmen  who  remained  in  the 
shops  lay  on  the  floor  to  avoid  the 
bullets. 

News  of  the  arrest  was  received 
on  the  9th  of  Gen.  Brizzolara  with 
eight  men,  at  Spadra  on  the  6th, 
whither  they  were  sent  to  seize 
the  steamboat  Robert  Semple,  be- 
longing to  G.  A.  Meyers.  The 
owner  obtained  a  warrant,  which 
was  served  on  Brizzolara  by  an 
armed  posse,  the  boat  protected, 
and  the  would-be  takers  released. 

On  the  9th  of  May  some  Baxter 
men  attempted  to  capture  Lieut. 
Summerhill,  who,  after  releasing 
the  captured  Judges,  had  deserted 
to  the  Brooks  camp.  As  he  and 
Sam  Williams  (of  Lewisburg)  and 
two  colored  men  were  eoine  into 


Gleason's  Restaurant,  under  the 
Metropolitan  Hotel,  Summerfield 
ran,  and  they  fired  at  him  and  hit 
Williams  in  the  head,  killing  him 
instantly. 

The  United  States  Infantry  was 
called  out  at  the  sound  of  the  fir- 
ing, and  formed  across  the  street 
in  front  of  the  City  Hall,  behind 
the  movable  barricade  of  the  fire- 
trucks.  Two  Rodman  guns,  from 
the  arsenal,  were  placed  in  battery 
at  the  corner  of  Markham  and 
Louisiana,a  few  feet  behind  or  west 
of  the  line  of  infantry.  Brooks  men 
covered  the  roof  of  the  Benjamin 
block  with  arms,  prepared  to  par- 
ticipate if  there  was  a  charge  by 
the  Baxter  men.  During  the  ex- 
citement a  lady  at  breakfast  at  the 
Anthony  House  fainted  while  in 
conversation  with  Mr.  Garland, 
who  was  acting  as  Baxter's  Assis- 
tant Secretary  of  State,  and  who 
assisted  the  lady  to  her  room.  The 
United  States  Regulars,  Saturday 
night,  were  stationed  in  the  front 
and  rear  of  the  City  Hall,  on  the 
corner  of  Main  and  Third  and 
corner  of  Main  and  Fourth.  Great 
cheering  in  the  Baxter  lines  at  the 
arrival  of  reinforcements  for  Bax- 
ter from  Lonoke. 

The  following  dispatch  from  the 
United  States  Attorney  General 
to  each  of  the  "Governors"  was 
received  at  Little  Rock,  May  9th : 

Washington,  D.  C,  May  9,  1874. 
It  is  agreed,  this  May  9,  1S74,  at  Washing- 
ton, D.  C,  between  the  respective  attorneys  and 
agents  of  Joseph  Brooks  and  Elisha  Baxter, 


246 


Tlie  Brooks  and  Baxter    War:  a  History 


claimants  for  the  office  of  Governor  of  the  State 
of  Arkansas,  that  on  account  of  the  conflicting 
claims  of  the  parties  and  the  division  of  senti- 
ment among  the  people  of  said  State,  that  the 
Legislature  of  the  State  shall  be  called  by  the 
said  Brooks  and  Baxter  to  meet  in  extra  session 
on  the  fourth  Monday  of  May  A.  D.,  1874,  at 
12  o'clock  noon,  at  the  usual  place  of  meeting 
in  the  State  House,  each  to  issue  a  separate 
call  forthwith  for  that  purpose,  and  the  Legis- 
lature so  called  shall  be  permitted  to  meet 
without  molestation  or  hindrance  by  either  of 
said  parties  or  their  adherents. 

That  they  shall  receive  and  entertain  a  com- 
munication from  Mr.  Brooks,  setting  forth  spe- 
cifically the  ground  for  his  claim  to  the  office 
of  Governor,  as  well  as  his  reason  for  contest- 
ing Baxter's  right  thereto.  That  they  shall  in- 
vestigate the  falcts  and  allegations  so  set  forth 
by  BrookS;  and  such  investigation  shall  be 
conducted  in  the  manner  prescribed  by  the 
Constitution  and  laws  of  the  State,  giving  to 
both  parties  a  full  and  fair  hearing  upon  such 
competent  and  relevant  testimony  as  either 
may  offer.  That  the  Legislature  shall  deter- 
mine in  the  manner  prescribed  by  law  which 
of  the  contestants  received  at  the  November 
election,  1872,  a  majority  of  the  legal  votes, 
and  declare  the  result,  and  the  parties  shall 
abide  that  action. 

Brooks  and  Baxter  shall  each  relieve  from 
duty  and  send  home  all  his  troops,  retaining 
only  so  many  as  each  may  think  necessary  as 
a  body  guard  at  Little  Rock,  not  exceeding 
one  company.  All  warlike  demonstrations  are 
to  forthwith  cease,  and  both  parties  are  to  keep 
absolute  peace  and  refrain  from  any  interfer- 
ence with  each  other  or  their  adherents  until 
the  contest  is  finally  decided  by  the  Legislature, 
or  the  national  government  has  taken  action 
thereon.  That  until  the  determination  by  the 
General  Assembly  as  to  who  was  legally  elected 
Governor,  on  a  contest  to  be  made  before  that 
body  by  Joseph  Brooks,  the  question  as  to 


which  of  the  contestants  has  the  legal  right  to 
exercise  the  functions  of  the  office  of  Governor 
must  at  his  discretion  be  determined  by  the 
President  on  the  applications  heretofore  made 
to  him  by  the  respective  contestants;  that  the 
Legislature  shall  receive  from  each  claimant 
to  the  office  such  communications  as  either 
may  send  it  until  the  contest  for  the  office  is 
finally  decided  by  the  General  Assembly. 

I  submit  the  foregoing  plan  of  adjusting  the 
difficulties  in  Arkansas  to  the  claimants  for 
Governor,  it  having  been  agreed  to  by  all  their 
friends  and  attorneys  here,  subject  to  approval, 
and  I  have  to  say  that  the  President  earnestly 
desires  its  adoption  by  both  parties. 

GEO.  H.  WILLIAMS, 

Attorney  General. 

Joseph  Brooks,  in  his  dispatch 
of  the  loth  of  May,  accepts  this 
extraordinary  and  impracticable 
suggestion  of  the  Attorney  Gen- 
eral. 

Elisha  Baxter,  instead  of  accept- 
ing it,  issued  the  following  brief 
address  to  his  "troops,"  declining 
to  be  a  party  to  it,  without  giving 
any  reasons: 

Executive  Office,  State  of  Ark.,  1 
Little  Rock,  May  11,  1874.     J 
Citizen  Soldiers: 

The  Little  Rock  Republicait  of  this  date 
publishes  a  proposition  of  Mr.  Brooks'  friends, 
submitted  to  me  through  the  Attorney  General, 
I  have  to  say  to  you  that  I  have  declined  the 
proposition. 

ELISHA  BAXTER, 
Governor  of  Arkansas. 

Rice  and  Burton  made  formal 
arguments  before  the  Attorney 
General  in  favor  of  Brooks,  sub- 
mitted in  writing. 

Hon.  U.  M.  Rose,  at  the  request 


of  tlie  Reconstriictio7i  Period  in  Arkaiisas. 


247 


of  the  Baxter  men  and  the  Gov- 
ernor, went  to  Washington  to 
present  the  Baxter  side  of  the 
controversy.  His  ability  and  ex- 
perience as  a  lawyer  is  unexcelled. 
He  was  perfectly  familiar  with  the 
law  and  the  facts  in  the  case.  By 
his  unimpassioned  but  incisive  ar- 
gument of  a  case  he  was  eminently 
fitted  to  present  such  a  case  to  a 
trained  judicial  officer  or  tribunal, 
and  no  doubt  greatly  aided  the 
Attorney  General  in  obtaining  the 
clear  understanding  of  the  subject 
displayed  in  the  opinion  of  that 
officer  subsequently  rendered. 

On  the  I  ith  of  May  Mr.  Brooks 
sent  his  ultimatum  to  the  Attorney 
General,  which  was  that  the  Pres- 
ident must  recognize  either  Baxter 
or  him,  upon  this  case  as  made  07i 
the  papers. 

On  the  I  Ith  of  May  Governor 
Brooks  telegraphed  the  President 
of  the  United  States  that  he  had 
consented,  and  was  willing  to 
make  a  joint  call  with  Baxter  of 
the  Legislature,  and  let  the  quo- 
rum noiv  in  existence  pass  upon 
the  question  as  to  whether  there 
were  vacancies  in  the  districts 
claimed  to  be  represented  by  7icw 
members;  but  that  he  could  not 
recognize  the  body  as  organized, 
and  now  within  the  Baxter  lines. 
That  the  question  of  the  authority 
of  that  body  could  only  be  deter- 
mined by  the  courts  of  tlie  State. 

This  presented  the  original  dif- 
ficulty of  the  validity  of  the  de- 
cisions of  the  courts  of  the  State. 


That  had  been  already  disposed 
of  by  the  Attorney  General's 
opinion,  written,  but  not  yet  sent 
to  Arkansas.  Again,  on  the  14th, 
the  day  before  the  opinion  of  the 
Attorney  General  was  dispatched 
to  him.  Gov.  Brooks  sent  another 
dispatch  to  the  President,  setting 
out  seven  paragraphs:  i.  His 
election  by  the  people.  2.  The 
judgment  of  the  Circuit  Court. 
3.  His  installation  under  that  judg- 
ment. 4.  The  judgment  of  the 
Supreme  Court,  recognizing  the 
judgment  of  the  Circuit  Court. 
5.  That  he  had  the  recognition  of 
every  branch  and  member  of  the 
State  government,  except  that  of 
the  Secretary  of  State.  6.  That 
the  Circuit  Court  judgment  had 
gone  up  on  an  appeal,  and  would 
be  decided  in  a  few  days  (inside 
his  military  lines).  7.  He  was  will- 
ing to  submit  the  legality  of  his 
election  as  proposed  in  his  (the 
President's)  suggestion  of  the  9th 
inst.  (the  Attorney  General  made 
that  proposition),  which  Baxter 
had  rejected. 

These  dispatches  were  super- 
fluous, and  must  have  been  hurtful 
to  him.  They  remind  us  of  the 
ancient  description  of  the  sup- 
ports of  the  earth — first  an  ele- 
phant standing  on  a  tortoise,  and 
the  tortoise  on  the  sea. 

At  II  o'clock.  May  I2th,  Col. 
John  S.  Duffie,  who  had  captured 
a  Baxter  picket  at  corner  of  Scott 
and  Third,  narrowly  escaped  shoot- 
ing by  a  Baxter  squad  under  Ben 


.48 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  JTistory 


J.  Johnson,  and  was  only  saved  by 
the  intervention  of  Federal  sol- 
diers. The  same  day  the  steamer 
Robert  Semple  arrived  from  up 
the  river,  and  was  reported  to  be 
loaded  with  Baxter  men.  Detach- 
ments of  Brooks  militia  were  or- 
dered to  the  boat  on  the  south 
side  of  the  river,  just  above  the 
bridge.  Detachments  of  Baxter 
men  reaching  the  same  locality, 
skirmishers  were  deployed  by  each 
side  and  firing  commenced.  The 
militia  occupied  the  old  rifle  pits 
near  the  Union  depot.  Baxter's 
men  were  in  positions  on  Fifth, 
Sixth  and  Seventh  streets,  further 
south,  under  Gens.  Churchill  and 
Blocher.  Gen.  White,  with  his 
cavalry,  occupied  a  position  be- 
hind the  Penitentiary  and  on  the 
hills  of  the  Deaf  Mute  Asylum, 
overlooking  the  depot  and  ex- 
tending to  Capital  Hill  southward. 
For  two  or  three  hours  the  firing 
between  the  Baxter  men  and  the 
militia  was  very  heavy,  rendering 
it  unsafe  for  pedestrians  and  fright- 
ening families,  whose  houses  were 
struck  with  bullets.  About  4 
o'clock  Col.  Clayton  took  com- 
mand of  the  right  wing  of  Brooks' 
militia,  when  a  resolute  attack  was 
made  by  the  Baxter  men  on  the 
Fort  Smith  company,  at  the  cor- 
ner of  Spring  and  Second  streets. 
Company  I,  United  States  In- 
fantry, went  from  Arch  street  over 
to  Broadway  on  a  double  quick, 
but  the  Baxter  men  had  retired 
and  the  fight  was  over.     At  the 


Hornibrook  residence  the  fight 
was  also  lively.  Gen.  Blocher  en- 
gaged at  close  quarters  a  party  of 
Brooks'  militia.  Thomas  Gillem, 
of  Brooks'  militia,  and  Berryman, 
of  the  Baxter  forces, were  wounded 
and  at  the  request  of  Mrs,  Horni- 
brook carried  into  her  residence. 
A  hack  soon  came  with  a  white 
flag  for  Berryman.  Capt.  Carr 
had  his  horse  killed.  Cannon  pur- 
chased in  Texas  for  the  Baxter 
forces  were  looked  for  on  the  train 
from  Texas. 

The  extraordinary  session  of  the 
General  Assembly  met  on  the  i  ith 
within  Baxter's  lines,  in  the  Ditter 
block.  In  the  Senate  there  were 
Askew,  Beavers,  Bunn,  Duke, 
Frierson,  Hanks,  McChesney,  Rat- 
cliffe,  Scott,  Pollard  and  Jones, 
which  was  not  a  quorum.  In  the 
House  were  Pindall  (acting  as 
Speaker),  Arnold,  Barton,  Beas- 
ley,  Boswell,  Burton,  Carter, Coffin, 
Conway,  Cleveland,  Crowell,  Davis 
L.  W.,  Davis  S.  F.,  Duffie,  Eagle, 
Erwin,  Files,  Foster,  Galbreath, 
Gest,  Gassett,  Hawkins,  Hixon, 
King,  Johnson  B.  W.,  Johnson  C. 
C,  Johnson  L.  L.,  Joyner,  Lester, 
Mitchell,  McClellan,  McGuire, 
Montgomery,  Pindall,  Preston, 
Reed,  Sumpter,  Thompson,  Tillar, 
Walker,  Wheat.  On  motion  of 
Mr.  Sumpter  that  pages  be  ap- 
pointed, Masters  J.  J.  Wheat,  John 
Petit  and  Walter  James  were  made 
pages. 

Early  in  the  morning  of  the  13th 
of   May,  the    looked    for    Parrott 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  ift  Arkansas. 


249 


guns,  two  twelve-pounders  brought 
up  from  Galveston  by  Maj.  Wood- 
ruff, were  received  by  a  sufficient 
force  of  Baxter  men  and  escorted 
to  a  position  on  Scott  street,  near 
"  Lady  Baxter,"  the  big  siege  gun. 

Fifteen  Baxter  men,  among 
whom  were  Gen.  Meyers  (of  Spa- 
dra,  owner  of  the  Robert  Semple), 
were  captured  by  Brooks'  militia. 
Col.  Sam  W.  Williams  and  Gen. 
James  Pomeroy,  made  a  visit  to 
Brooks'  headquarters  to  obtain 
their  release.  They  were  ulti- 
mately released.  Street  fights  and 
pistol-shooting  at  the  corner  of 
Main  and  Markham  caused  a  gen- 
eral rally  to  arms  on  both  sides. 

On  the  13th  Messrs.  Dunnagan 
and  McCabe  being  sworn,  took 
their  seats  as  Senators,  and  that 
body  having  now  a  quorum,  the 
General  Assembly  was  organized  ; 
and  after  some  preliminary  busi- 
ness adjourned  to  the  14th,  at  lO 
o'clock  A.  M. 

On  the  14th  the  Legislature 
passed  a  joint  resolution  request- 
ing the  President  of  the  United 
States  to  put  the  Legislature  in 
possession  of  the  legislative  halls, 
and  that  the  "public  property  of 
the  State-house  square  "  be  placed 
under  control  of  that  body. 

All  these  steps  were  in  the  right 
direction.  They  were  powerful 
to  demonstrate  the  illogical  posi- 
tion of  the  parties  claiming  pos- 
session of  the  executive  office, 
rejecting  other  officers  and  shap- 
ing judicial  decisions  to  suit  them. 


The  course  of  events  was  casting 
an  ominous  shadow  for  Mr.  Brooks. 
On  the  15th  of  May  the  Attorney 
General  submitted  his  opinion  in 
the  Arkansas  case.  Let  it  be 
carefully  read  in  the  light  of  events 
related  in  these  pages.  It  will  be 
interesting  to  every  one  who  has 
followed  the  movements  of  the 
actors  in  this  modern  play — con- 
taining so  much  that  is  of  deep 
meaning,  and  yet,  withal,  more 
comical  than  anything  in  its  line 
since  the  days  of  Hudibras. 

The  following  is  the  opinion  of 
the  Attorney  General : 

Department  of  Justice,  \ 

Washington,  May  15,  1874.  J 
The  President : 

Sir — Elisha  Baxter,  claiming  to  be  Gov- 
ernor of  Arkansas,  and  Joseph  Brooks  also 
claiming  to  be  Governor  of  that  State,  and 
each  made  application,  etc.  [Stating  the 
conflicting  claims  and  the  provisions  of  the 
Constitution  of  the  State  then  in  force  govern- 
ing the  canvassing  of  election  returns  and 
contests  for  the  office  of  Governor,  what  was 
done  under  it,  the  decision  on  quo  warranto, 
the  snap  judgment  of  Whytock  and  expulsion 
of  Baxter  by  Brooks  from  the  Executive  of- 
iice.] 

Section  IV.  article  4  of  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States  is  as  follows:  "The 
United  States  shall  guarantee  to  every  State 
in  this  Union  a  republican  form  of  govern- 
ment, and  shall  protect  each  of  them  against 
invasion,  and  on  application  of  the  Legislature 
or  the  Executive  (when  the  Legislature  cannot 
be  convened),  against  domestic  violence." 

When  in  pursuance  of  this  provision  of  the 
Constitution  the  President  is  called  upon  by 
the  Executive  of  a  State  to  protect  it  against 
domestic  violence,  it  appears  to  be  his  duty  to 


250 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter    War:  a  History 


give  the  required  aid,  and  especially  when 
there  is  no  doubt  of  the  e\idence  of  the  do- 
mestic violence.  But  when  two  persons, 
each  claiming  to  be  Governor,  make  calls  re- 
spectively upon  the  President,  under  said 
clause  of  the  Constitution,  it,  of  course,  be- 
comes necessary  for  him  to  determine,  in  the 
first  place,  which  of  said  persons  is  the  con- 
stitutional Governor  of  the  State.  That  sec- 
tion of  the  Constitution  (1868)  of  Arkansas 
(sec.  19  of  art.  6)  heretofore  cited  is  decisive 
of  this  question  as  between  Baxter  and  Brooks. 
According  to  the  Constitution  and  laws  of  the 
State  the  votes  for  Governor  were  counted  and 
Baxter  declared  elected  and  was  at  once  duly 
inaugurated  as  Governor  of  the  State.  There 
is  great  difficulty  in  holding  that  he  usurped 
the  office  into  which  he  was  inducted  under 
these  circumstances. 

Assuming  that  no  greater  effect  is  to  be 
given  to  the  counting  of  the  votes  in  presence 
of  the  General  Assembly  than  ought  to  be 
given  to  a  similar  action  by  a  board  of  can- 
vassers, yet,  when  it  comes  to  decide  a  ques- 
tion of  contest,  the  General  Assembly  is  con- 
verted by  the  Constitution  into  a  Judicial 
body,  and  its  judgment  is  as  conclusive  and 
final  as  the  judgment  of  the  Supreme  Court 
of  the  State. 

******* 

But  the  tribunal  is  not  special  if  the  courts 
have  concurrent  jurisdiction  over  the  subject. 
Brooks  appears  to  claim  that  when  a  contest 
for  Governor  is  decided  by  the  General  As- 
sembly, the  defeated  party  may  treat  the  de- 
cision as  a  nullity  and  proceed  de  novo  in  the 
courts.  This  makes  the  constitutional  pro- 
vision as  to  the  contest  of  no  effect,  and  the 
proceedings  under  it  an  empty  form.  When 
the  House  of  Representatives  dismissed  the 
petition  of  Brooks  for  a  contest,  it  takes  the 
State  offices  therein  enumerated  out  of  the 
purview  of  section  525  of  the  digest  of  State 
statutes  and  establishes  a  special   tribunal  to 


try  these  contested  election  cases  to  which 
they  are  parties.  The  jurisdiction  of  this  tri- 
bunal is  exclusive.  (15  Ohio,  114;  28  Penn., 
9 ;  35  lb.  263  ;  44  lb.  332.)     *         *         * 

Since  the  foregoing  was  written  I  have  re- 
ceived a  telegraphic  copy  oi  'w\iz.\. purports  to 
be  a  decision  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Arkan- 
sas, delivered  on  the  7th  inst.  Upon  a  requi- 
sition of  Brooks  the  Auditor,  WTieeler,  drew  his 
warrant  upon  the  Treasurer,  Page,  for  the  sum 
of  $1,000,  payment  of  which  was  refused. 
Brooks  then  applied  to  the  Supreme  Court 
for  a  writ  of  mandamus  upon  the  Treasurer, 
who  set  up  by  way  of  defense  that  Brooks 
was  not  Governor  of  the  State.  The  Court 
says : 

"The  only  question  we  deem  it  necessary 
to  notice  is,  did  the  Circuit  Court  have  juris- 
diction to  render  judgment  in  the  case  of 
Brooks  vs.  Baxter?  We  feel  some  delicacy 
about  expressing  an  opinion  upon  the  ques- 
tion propounded,  but  under  the  pleadings  it 
has  to  be  passed  upon  incidentally  if  not  ab- 
solutely in  determining  whether  the  relator, 
Brogks,  is  entitled  to  the  relief  asked  ;  for  his 
right  to  office,  if  established  at  all,  is  estab- 
lished by  the  judgment  of  the  Circuit  Court 
of  Pulaski  County.  W'e  are  of  opinion  that 
the  Circuit  Court  had  jurisdiction  of  the  sub- 
ject matter,  and  its  judgment  appears  to  be 
regular  and  valid.  The  writ  of  mandamus 
will  be  awarded  as  prayed  for"  (to  Brooks  as 
having  right  to  make  a  requisition  as  Gov- 
ernor). 

To  show  the  value  of  this  decision,  it  is 
proper  that  it  must  be  taken  as  a  decision  of 
that  body  on  questions  presented  in  the  peti- 
tion. It  is  not  of  any  consequence  whether  or 
not  the  General  Assembly  has  in  fact  decided 
the  contest,  if  the  exclusive  jurisdiction  to  do 
so  is  vested  in  that  body  by  the  Constitution 
and  laws  of  the  State. 

Doubtless  the  makers  of  the  constitution 
considered  it  unsafe  to  lodge  in  the  hands  of 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


251 


every  Circuit  Court,  of  the  State  the  power  to 
revolutionize  the  Executive  at  will,  and  their 
wisdom  is  forcibly  illustrated  by  the  case  un- 
der consideration,  in  which  a  person  who  had 
been  installed  as  Governor  according  to  the 
Constitution  and  laws  of  the  State,  after  an 
undisturbed  incumbency  of  more  than  a  year. 
is  deposed  by  a  Circuit  Judge,  and  another 
person  put  in  his  place  upon  the  unsupported 
statement  of  the  latter  that  he  had  received  a 
majority  of  votes  at  the  election. 

Summing  up  the  whole  discussion,  the  Su- 
preme Court  of  Arkansas  say  in  the  case  of  the 
Attorney  General  against  Baxter : 

"  Under  this  Constitution  the  determination 
of  the  question  as  to  whether  the  person  exer- 
cising the  office  of  Governor  has  been  duly 
elected  or  not  is  vested  exclusively  in  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  of  the  State,  and  neither  this 
nor  any  other  State  Court  has  jurisdiction  to 
try  a  suit  in  relation  to  such  contest,  be  the 
mode  or  form  what  it  may,  whether  as  the  suit 
of  the  Attorney  General,  or  on  the  relation  of 
a  claimant  through  him,  or  by  an  individual 
alone  claiming  a  right  to  the  office.  Some 
effort  has  been  made  to  distinguish  this  case 
from  that  of  Brooks  vs.  Baxter,  in  the  Circuit 
Court,  by  calling  the  opinion  a  dictum ;  but 
the  point  presented  to  and  decided  by  the 
Supreme  Court  was,  that  in  a  contest  for  the 
office  of  Governor  the  Jurisdiction  of  the 
General  Assembly  was  exclusive,  which  of 
course  deprived  one  court  as  much  as  another 
of  the  power  to  try  such  a  contest. 

The  case  of  Berry  and  Brooks  are  exactly 
alike.  That  the  Circuit  Court  should  have 
rendered  a  judgment  for  Brooks  under  these 
circumstances  is  surprising,  and  it  is  not  too 
much  to  say  that  it  presents  a  case  of  judicial 
insubordination  which  deserves  the  reproba- 
tion of  every  one  who  does  not  wish  to  see 
public  confidence  in  the  certainty  and  good 
faith  of  judicial  proceedings  wholly  destroyed. 

Chief  Justice  McClure,  in  the  Berry  case. 


declared  his  opinion  that  "As  to  all  matters  of 
contested  elections  for  the  offices  of  Governor, 
Lieutenant  Governor,  Secretary  of  State,  Aud- 
itor, Treasurer,  Attorney  General  and  Super- 
intendent of  Public  Instruction,  I  am  of  opinion 
that  it  can  only  be  had  before  the  General 
Assembly.  I  think  a  writ  of  prohibition  ought 
to  go  to  prohibit  the  Circuit  Court  from  enter- 
taining jurisdiction  of  that  portion  of  Berry 
against  \Yheeler  that  has  for  object  a  recovery 
of  the  office."     *     *     * 

Take  the  provisions  of  the  Constitution  and 
the  two  decisions  of  the  Spureme  Court  and 
the  conclusion  irresistibly  follows  that  the 
judgement  of  the  Circuit  Court  is  void.  A 
void  judgment  hurts  nobody. 

I  should  make  the  following  statement :  On 
the  20th  of  April  Brooks  made  formal  appli- 
cation to  the  President  for  aid  to  suppress 
domestic  violence,  which  was  accompanied hy 
a  paper  signed  by  Chief  Justice  McClure  and 
Justices  Searle  and  Stephenson,  stating  that 
they  recognized  Brooks  as  Governor.  To  this 
paper  is  appended  also  the  name  of  Page,  the 
respondent  in  the  above  named  proceeding 
for  mandamus.  Page,  therefore,  did  not  re- 
fuse to  pay  the  warrant  of  the  Auditor  because 
he  did  not  recognize  Brooks  as  Governor,  but 
the  object  of  his  refusal  evidently  was  to  create 
such  facts  as  were  necessary  to  make  a  case  for 
the  Supreme  Court.  Accordingly  the  plead- 
ings were  made  up  by  the  parties,  both  of 
whom  were  on  the  same  side  in  the  contro- 
versy (had  declared  to  the  President  that  they 
recognized  Brooks),  and  the  issue  so  made 
was  submitted  to  Judges  virtually  pledged  to 
give  the  decision  wanted,  and  there  within  the 
military  encampment  of  Brooks  they  hurriedly 
but  with  delicacy,  they  say,  decided  that 
Brooks  is  Governor,  a  decision  in  plain  con- 
travention of  the  Constitution  and  laws  of  the 
State,  and  in  direct  conflict  with  two  other  re- 
cent decisions  of  the  same  Court  deliberately 
made.     I  refrain  from  comment.     More  than 


252 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


once  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States 
has  decided  that  it  would  not  hear  argument 
of  a  case  made  up  in  this  way,  and  a  decision 
obtained  under  such  circumstances  is  not  re- 
garded as  authority  in  any  respectable  tribunal. 

He  recommended  to  the  Presi- 
dent immediate  action. 

On  the  14th  of  May  the  Senate 
met  in  the  Ditter  block  at  10 
o'clock,  and  elected  J,  G.  Frier- 
son,  of  Pocahontas,  President  over 
Askew.  Mr.  Askew  gave  notice 
that  at  an  early  day  he  would  in- 
troduce a  bill  for  the  purpose  of 
calling  a  Constitutional  Conven- 
tion. The  same  day  and  hour  the 
House  met  in  the  same  building 
and  elected  James  H.  Berry 
Speaker. 

On  the  14th  of  May  the  Gov- 
ernor sent  in  to  the  House  his 
message,  stating  that  as  Executive 
of  the  State  he  had  called  the 
Legislature  to  assemble  in  extraor- 
dinary session.  He  referred  to 
the  existing  contest  between 
claimants  for  the  Executive  office, 
and  the  successive  steps  taken  in 
it.  His  call  upon  the  people  to 
suppress  an  armed  insurrection 
had  been  responded  to  promptly, 
but  in  his  efforts  to  re-possess  the 
State  House  he  had  been  thwarted 
by  Federal  troops  intervening  to 
prevent  bloodshed,  and  had  ap- 
pealed to  the  National  authorities, 
in  accordance  with  law  to  prevent 
domestic  violence.  That  the 
President  had  responded,  favoring 
the  meeting  of  the  Legislature  and 
guaranteeing    it    protection.     To 


it  then  is  submitted  the  question, 
who  is  Governor  of  Arkansas,  un- 
der the  general  election  held  Nov. 
5,  1872?  He  invited  its  attention 
to  the  absolute  necessity  of  call- 
ing a  State  Constitutional  Con- 
vention. 

Since  war  is  now  over,  and  the 
misunderstanding  between  those 
who  took  sides  in  it  is  corrected 
and  explained,  it  will  throw  much 
light  upon  a  labyrinth  of  difficulty 
through  which  the  President,  his 
cabinet,  and  legislators  had  to 
grope  for  months,  to  publish  in 
this  work,  for  the  first  time,  the 
letter  of  Col.  John  S.  Duffie,  who 
was  an  original  Reformer,  and 
high  in  the  Reform  councils,  and 
a  quartermaster,  with  the  rank  of 
colonel,  in  the  Brooks  army.  He 
makes  the  whole  matter  as  simple 
as  any  mysterious  course  of  events 
can  be  made,  by  a  principal  actor, 
when  theories  have  failed  and 
logic  has  become  useless  for  want 
of  the  true  premise  from  which  to 
make  a  deduction.  The  follow- 
ing is  his  letter : 

Washington,  D.  C,  March  5,  1882. 
Dear  Friend — I  have  been  requested  to 
furnish  such  facts  as  I  am  in  possession  of 
relative  to  inside  history  of  the  Brooks-Baxter 
war. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  Brooks  favored 
re- enfranchising  the  disfranchised  white  peo- 
ple of  the  State.  That  upon  that  platform  he 
was  nominated  by  the  Liberal  Republican 
party,  and  the  Democratic  party  supported 
him.  He  was  elected  by  about  15,000  majority. 
It  was  given  out  that  the  Democratic  and  Lib- 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


253 


eral  Republican  parties  would  hold  a  mass 
meeting  on  the  day  of  the  inauguration.  The 
Republicans,  fearing  that  the  intention  was  to 
put  Mr.  Brooks  in  by  force,  sent  to  Washing- 
ton, D.  C,  and  got  a  regmient  of  Federal 
troops,  and  had  soldiers  stationed  in  and 
about  the  Capitol  grounds  on  that  day,  conse- 
quently we  could  do  nothing  but  submit. 

On  the  night  after  the  inauguration  a  mass 
meeting  was  held  in  Little  Rock,  and  a  series 
of  resolutions,  carefully  prepared  by  a  few 
gentlemen,  were  introduced  by  myself.  They 
were  unanimously  adopted.  Among  other 
things,  they  declared  that  Brooks  was  elected, 
etc.,  and  provided  for  a  central  committee  with 
three  members  from  the  Democratic  party — 
Gen.  James  F.  Fagan,  Col.  Lee  Thompson  and 
myself;  and  three  from  the  Liberal  Republican 
party — Hon.  B.  F.  Rice  (I  have  forgotten  the 
names  of  the  other  two).  Said  committee  was 
instructed  to  use  all  lawful  means  to  oust  Mr. 
Baxter  from  and  install  Mr.  Brooks  in  the 
gubernatorial  office.  The  committee,  in  con- 
ference with  Mr.  Brooks,  decided  to  bring  suit 
in  the  Pulaski  Circuit  Court  for  the  office. 
Judge  Whytock  presiding.  Matters  went  on 
so  for  about  two  years.  Finally  the  stalwart 
Republicans  became  dissatisfied,  and  our  com- 
mittee began  to  have  frequent  conferences  with 
Mr.  Brooks. 

The  agreement  between  the  committee  and 
Mr.  Brooks  was  that  Mr.  Brooks  should  call 
the  Legislature  together  as  soon  as  he  was 
recognized  as  Governor  and  recommend  a  Con- 
stitutional Convention,  and  that,  if  possible,  we 
should  have  such  convention  frame  a  new  Con- 
stitution and  have  an  entire  new  election  of 
officers,  and  that  Mr.  Brooks  was  to  run  on 
the  Liberal  ticket  for  Governor.  Mr.  Brooks 
was  entirely  willing  to  this  arrangement — in- 
deed, seemed  anxious  to  go  before  the  people 
in  this  way  for  vindication.  He  believed  and 
the  committee  believed  he  would  be  trium- 
phantly elected,  and  I  am  still  of  the  opinion 


that  such  would  have  been  the  case  had  the 
Democrats  permitted  us  to  carry  out  the  pro- 
gramme. 

Qui  meetings  were  in  the  upper  story  of  the 
old  kitchen  of  the  Bebee  building,  just  in  front 
of  the  State  House,  and  as  we  had  no  gas,  we 
were  sometimes  nearly  in  the  dark.  It  looked 
gloomy  enough,  but  wc  meant  business.  We 
were  trying  to  perform  the  duty  entrusted  to 
us  by  the  mass  meeting  heretofore  spoken  of 
The  decision  had  not  yet  been  rendered  by 
Whytock.  //  was  being  held  for  other  devel- 
opments. 

When  Mr.  Brooks  received  absolute  assur- 
ance from  the  United  States  Senators  at  Wash- 
ington that  he  would  be  sustained,  Hon.  B.  F. 
Rice  was  charged  with  the  duty  of  getting 
Judge  Whytock  to  render  a  decision  on  a  cer- 
tain day.  Hodges  was  to  swear  out  a  warrant 
against  Baxter  for  usurping  office,  and  Bax- 
ter was  to  be  arrested  and  confined  in  the 
Secretary  of  State's  office  for  a  few  days,  so 
t^hat  the  other  side  could  have  no  nucleus 
around  which  to  rally.  McClure  was  to  swear 
in  Brooks,  and  I  believe  that  Captain  Cutter 
(I  am  not  certain  about  that)  was  to  seize  the 
State  armory.  So,  on  the  14th  day  of  April, 
1874,  the  revolution  was  inuagurated.  Rice 
got  the  decision  from  Whytock,  the  armory 
was  seized.  Brooks  was  sworn  in,  but  Hodges 
somehow  failed  to  be  on  hand  with  his  war- 
rant— so  Baxter  was  permitted  to  go.  This  I 
looked  upon  as  a  great  oversight,  and  a  few 
days  afterward  I  insisted  that  Mr.  Baxter 
should  be  taken,  and  offered  to  do  it.  I  could 
have  easily  done  so  with  a  little  dash  and  pre- 
cipitation, but  Mr.  Brooks  thought  it  not  ad- 
visable to  take  the  risk.  He  assured  me  he 
had  absolute  assurance  from  Washington  that 
he  would  be  recognized  by  the  President,  and 
that  under  the  circumstances  we  could  afford 
to  wait. 

The  matter  of  calling  the  Legislature  to- 
gether was   discussed    in   the   Brooks  camp, 


254 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter   IVar:  a  History 


but  it  was  generally  agreed  that  as  we  were 
looked  upon  as  a  revolutionary  party,  it 
would  be  wiser  to  wait  until  Brooks  was  rec- 
ognized, but  it  was  our  full  intention  to  have 
the  Legislature  called  as  soon  as  he  was  rec- 
ognized ;  and  had  he  been  recognized,  that 
programme  would  have  been  carried  out. 

As  you  know,  Lee  Thompson  was  ap- 
pointed a  General  and  was  in  command  of  the 
forces  in  the  State-house  grounds.  I  was 
Post  Adjutant,  and,  of  course,  had  a  knowl- 
edge of  everything  that  was  going  on  in  the 
Brooks  camp,  and  for  a  considerable  time  on 
the  outside.'because  I  continued  to  board  at 
Mr.  Lange's,  on  Main  street,  and  most  of  the 
boarders  there  were  Baxter  men.  I  was  aft- 
erwards appointed  by  Gen.  Fagan  Quarter- 
master, with  the  rank  of  Colonel. 

I  will  now  go  back  to  give  a  little  account 
of  Gen.  Fagan's  connection  with  this  matter, 
as  a  great  many  unkind  and  unjust  things 
have  been  said  about  him  in  connection 
therewith.  Fagan  was  at  nearly  all  the  com- 
mittee meetings  we  had,  and  was  always 
earnest  and  positive  in  that  part  of  the  pro- 
gramme that  the  Legislature  was  to  be  called 
soon  after  Mr.  Brooks'  accession  to  the 
throne,  and  that  we  were  to  have  a  new  Con- 
stitution and  a  new  election.  Gen.  Fagan 
did  not  take  up  his  quarters  in  the  State 
House  immediately  after  the  inauguration  of 
the  revolution,  because  it  was  thought  he 
could  do  more  good  and  perhaps  prevent 
bloodshed  by  remaining  outside.  Fagan  was 
very  much  opposed  to  any  actual  hostilities, 
because  he  knew  that  the  Brooks  camp  was 
well  organized,  well  armed  and  ammuni- 
tioned, and  that  an  attack  by  the  Baxter  men 
would  have  been  an  absolute  failure  and  cer- 
tain death  to  a  good  many  of  his  friends. 
That  the  Baxter  men  misunderstood  the  situa- 
tion in  this  respect  was  evident  from  the  fact 
that  the  Gazette  constantly  asserted  that 
Brool*s  did  not  have  more  than  two  or  three 


hundred  half-armed,  ragged  negroes  to  sup- 
port him.  This  was  not  at  all  true.  He  had 
several  companies  of  the  bravest  and  most 
desperate  white  men  in  the  State,  besides  a 
regiment  of  negroes  and  an  artillery  com- 
mand. 

Vou  will  remember  that  breastworks  were 
thrown  up  in  the  State-house  yard.  This  was 
done  at  the  instance  of  Gen.  Fagan,  and  be- 
fore he  took  command  of  the  Brooks  forces, 
because,  he  said:  "The  excitement  at  the 
Anthony  House  was  so  high  that  they  were 
almost  certain  to  make  an  assault  on  the  State 
House  unless  something  was  done  to  prevent 
it."  Gen.  Catterson  was  in  for  a  fight,  and 
said:  "Let  them  come;  we  can  clean  them 
out  in  fifteen  minutes."  But  Fagan  said: 
"  No ;  they  are  my  friends,  and  everything 
must  be  done  that  is  possible  to  prevent  a 
collision,  and  by  letting  them  see  that  the 
Brooks  camp  is  thoroughly  prepared,  is  the 
best  way  to  prevent  it." 

I  have  not  the  lime  to  detail  all  this  confer- 
ence. It  was  sharp  and  angry,  but  Fagan 
carried  his  point.  The  breastworks  were 
thrown  up  at  the  instance  of  Fagan,  not  for 
the  protection  of  the  Brooks  men  but  for  the 
protection  of  the  Baxter  men. 

This  is  inside  history.  Fagan  never  would 
have  taken  command  of  the  Brooks  forces 
had  the  Baxter  men  let  him  alone,  but  he  was 
so  abused  by  them  that  he  was  forced  to  take 
an  active  part  either  on  one  side  or  the  other, 
and  considering  his  previous  connection  with 
the  matter,  his  duty  was  plain. 

It  occurs  to  me  that  I  have  said  all  that  is 
necessary  to  say. 

A  review  of  this  matter  is  simply  this: 

We,  Fagan,  Thompson,  Rice,  Duffie  and 
the  other  members  of  the  committee  were  in- 
structed to  put  Mr.  Baxter  out  and  put  Mr. 
Brooks  in,  and,  when  the  pear  was  ready  to 
be  squeezed,  we  made  a  contract  with   Mr. 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in   Arkansas. 


!55 


Brooks  that  he  was  to  be  put  in  the'  guberna- 
torial chair  on  condition  that  we  were  to  have 
a  new  Constitution  and  a  new  election.  We 
did  what  the  people  had  instructed  us  to  do, 
and  more.  Mr.  Brooks  would  certainly  have 
carried  out  the  programme  had  he  been 
properly  supported,  but  the  men  who  in- 
structed us  to  do  this  thing  went  back  on  us 
at  the  critical  moment. 

Your  friend,  • 

JOHN  S.  DUFFIE. 

May  14th  a  company  of  White's 
cavalry  made  a  reconnoisance  into 
the  southern  part  of  the  city,  and 
returned  about  I  p.  m.  Another 
company  of  the  same  command  at 
9:15  was  scouring  the  hills  west  of 
the  city,  and  were  watched  by 
Gen.  Newton  and  the  officers  of 
the  Baxter  army,  with  field  glasses, 
from  the  roof  of  the  Adams  block. 
At  1:20  a  company  of  Baxter  in- 
fantry marched  up  Scott  street  and 
united  with  the  cavalry.  A  com- 
pany of  Baxter  cavalry  at  the  same 
time  was  scouting  in  Argenta, 
north  of  the  river,  and  rode  up  to 
Baring  Cross  by  way  of  the  junc- 
tion. The  Baxter  Parrott  guns,  at 
foot  of  Scott  street,  were  wreathed 
with  roses  by  young  girls.  The 
usual  afternoon  street  skirmish 
was  omitted,  and  all  was  quiet  at 
midnight. 

May  15th,  about  9  a.  m.,  the 
Brooks  encampment  was  rein- 
forced by  detachments  from  Fort 
Smith,  under  Gen.  Sarber,  and 
from  Dardanelle,  under  Col.  Gib- 
son. At  1 1  a.  m.  a  squad  of  Bax- 
ter men  ran  a  few  Brooks  men  into 


their  camp,  firing  a  number  of 
shots.  At  12:30  two  Baxter  men 
at  Baring  Cross  amused  them- 
selves by  firing  rifle  shots  at  the 
State  House,  which  the  Brooks 
men  at  the  State  House  returned, 
At  2  p.  M.  Lieut.  Noble,  with  a 
guard  of  Federal  soldiers,  crossed 
the  river  on  the  steamer  Darda- 
nelle, at  the  foot  of  Louisiana 
street  and  meeting  five  Baxter 
men,  were  told  by  the  Baxter 
squad  that  they  were  sent  to  arrest 
the  men  who  fired  on  the  State 
House. 

The  great  cheering  and  joyful 
demonstrations  which  pervaded 
the  part  of  the  city  within  the 
Baxter  lines,  about' 5  p.  m.,  was 
heard  throughout  the  city  and  at 
the  State  House.  It  excited  the 
most  intense  curiosity.  It  was 
kept  up  for  hours,  and  caused  the 
presumption  that  intelligence  of 
some  important  kind  had  been 
received. 

At  6  p.  M.  Gens.  Poindexter 
Dunn  and  Ed.  J.  Brooks,  with  a 
flag  of  truce,  carried  a  sealed  com- 
munication to  Governor  Baxter's 
headquarters.  The  excitement  at 
the  Anthony  House  was  so  great 
and  the  cheering  so  vociferous 
that  the  Brooks  Generals  halted  at 
the  door  and  proposed  to  retire 
unless  respected.  Gen.  Newton 
thereupon  ordered  Capt.  Welch's 
company  and  a  company  of  col- 
ored men  on  duty  to  preserve 
order.  The  Brooks  messengers 
were  assured  that  the  demonstra- 


256 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter   War:  a  History 


tions  were  made  by  the  citizens  and 
not  the  soldiery.  Gens.  Churchill 
and  Rottaken  escorted  the  Brooks 
Generals  out  of  their  lines  to  the 
Federal  barracks  on  the  neutral 
grounds. 

These  demonstrations,  after  a 
month  of  excitement  and  terror  to 
citizens  and  exertions  and  sac- 
rifices of  armed  men  on  both  sides, 
were  caused  by  the  first  author- 
itative order  looking  to  a  suspen- 
sion of  hostilities.  It  had  been 
anticipated  by  telegrams  received 
during  the  afternoon  and  the  day 
before.  Mr.  Garland  threw  away 
his  dress-coat  in  the  excitement. 

At  3  p.  M.,  on  the  15th,  on  the 
reassembling  of  the  Senate,  in  the 
Ditter  block,  after  the  roll  was 
called,  the  Secretary  read  the  fol- 
lowing dispatch  from  the  President 
of  the  United  States : 

Department  of  Justice,  "(^ 
May  15,  1874.     J 

To  J.  G.  Frierson,  President  pro  tern.,  and 
James  H.  Berry,  Speaker  pro  ietn.,  Little 
Rock : 

The  following  proclamation  is  sent  to  you 
for  publication. 

GEORGE  H.  WILLIAMS, 

Attorney  General. 

BY  the  president  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF 
AMERICA — A  PROCLAMATION. 

Whereas,  Certain  turbulent  and  disorderly 
persons  pretending  that  Elisha  Baxter,  the 
present  Executive  of  Arkansas,  was  not  elected, 
have  combined  together  with  force  and  arms 
to  resist  his  authority  as  such  Executive  and 
other  authorities  of  said  State;  and, 

Whereas,  said  Elisha  Baxter  has  been  de- 
clared duly  elected  by  the  General  Assembly 


of  said  State,  as  provided  in  the  Constitution 
thereof,  and  has  for  a  long  period  been  exer- 
cising the  functions  of  said  office,  into  which 
he  was  inducted  according  to  the  Constitution 
and  laws  of  said  State  and  ought  by  its  citi- 
zens to  be  considered  as  the  lawful  Executive 
thereof;  and. 

Whereas,  It  is  provided  in  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States  that  the  United  States 
shall  protect  every  State  in  the  Union  on  ap- 
plication of  the  Legislature,  or  of  the  Executive 
when  the  Legislature  cannot  be  convened, 
against  domestic  violence  ;  and, 

Whereas,  The  said  Elisha  Baxter,  under 
Section  4  of  Article  IV.  of  the  Constitution  of 
the  United  States  and  the  laws  passed  in  pur- 
suance thereof,  has  heretofore  made  applica- 
tion to  protect  said  State  and  the  citizens 
thereof  against  domestic  violence ;  and, 

Whereas,  The  General  Assembly  of  said 
State  was  convened  in  extra  session  on  the 
nth  instant,  pursuant  to  a  call  made  by  the 
said  Elisha  Baxter,  and  both  houses  thereof 
have  passed  a  joint  resolution  also  applying 
to  me  to  protect  the  State  against  domestic 
violence ;  and. 

Whereas,  It  is  provided  in  the  laws  of  the 
United  States  that  in  all  cases  of  insurrection 
in  any  State,  or  of  the  obstruction  to  the  laws 
thereof,  it  shall  be  lawful  for  the  President  of 
the  United  States,  on  application  of  the  Leg- 
islature of  said  State,  or  of  the  Executive 
when  the  Legislature  cannot  be  convened,  to 
employ  such  part  of  the  land  and  naval  forces 
as  shall  be  judged  necessary  for  the  purpose  of 
suppressing  such  insurrection  or  causing  tha 
laws  to  be  duly  executed;  and, 

Whereas,  It  is  required,  whenever  it  may 
be  necessary  in  the  judgment  of  the  President 
to  use  the  military  forces  for  the  purpose  afore- 
said, he  shall  forthwith,  by  proclamation, 
command  such  insurgents  to  disperse  and  re- 
tire peaceably  to  their  respective  homes  within 
a  limited  time  ; 


of  the  Reconstruction  Period  in  Arkansas. 


257 


Now,  therefore,  I,  Ulysses  S.  Grant,  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States,  do  hereby  make 
pioclamation  and  command  all  turbulent  and 
disorderly  persons  to  disperse  and  return 
peaceably  to  their  respective  abodes  within 
ten  days  from  this  date,  and  hereafter  to  sub- 
mit themselves  to  the  lawful  authority  of  said 
Executive  and  the  other  constituted  authorities 
of  the  State,  and  I  invoke  the  aid  and  co- 
operation of  all  good  citizens  to  uphold  the 
law  and  preserve  public  peace. 

In  witness  whereof,  I  have  hereunto  set  my 
hand  and  caused  the  seal  of  the  United  States 
to  be  affixed.  Done  at  the  City  of  Washington, 
this  fifteenth  day  of  May,  in  the  year  of  our 
Lord  eighteen  hundred  and  seventy-four  and 
of  the  Independence  of  the  United  States  the 
ninety-eighth.  U.  S.  GRANT. 

By  the  President. 

HAMILTON  FISH, 

Secretary  of  State. 

Senator  Brown  moved  that  the 
Chaplain  offer  up  a  special  prayer 
of  thanksgiving  at  the  next  meet- 
ing of  the  Senate,  in  gratitude  to 
God  for  this  solution  of  the  trou- 
bles, which  was  adopted. 

May  1 8th.  Monday,  the  Repub- 
lican,  in  its  first  issue  after  the 
President's  proclamation,  in  its 
leader,  says,  that  the  action  of  the 
President  instead  of  being  based 
upon  the  "hard  rock  of  unques- 
tioned law,"  was  exercised  solely 
upon  the  opinion  of  the  Attor- 
ney General  George  H.  Williams, 
of  Oregon,  which  it  "  did  not  hesi- 
tate to  declare  is  such  an  opinion 
as  would  disgrace  any  fifth-class 
lawyer  now  practicing  at  the  Little 
Rock  bar,"  and  devotes  a  column 
and  over  to  a  review  of  the  opinion. 


Senators  John  M.  Clayton,  R. 
A.  Dawson  and  Lovejoy,  and  C. 
E.  Berry,  Scott  Thompson  and 
Neal  Brown  (the  last  three  col- 
ored) of  the  House,  were  con- 
spicuous actors  in  the  army  of  the 
"  insurgents  "  who  came  under  the 
authority  of  the  President's  proc- 
lamation. Upon  offering  to  pass 
through  the  Baxter  guards  on 
Markham  street,  they  were  stop- 
ped and  referred  to  Gen.  Newton. 
Thereupon  they  addressed  the  fol- 
lowing note  : 

Little  Rock,  May  16,  1874. 
To  Maj.r-Gen.  R.  C.  Neivton  : 

The  undersigned  members  of  the  Legislat- 
ure this  morning  attempted  to  pass  through 
your  lines  for  the  purpose  of  taking  their  seats 
in  that  body  and  were  stopped  by  your  guards 
and  turned  back.  We  desire  to  know  if  this 
was  done  by  your  orders. 

JOHN  M.  CLAYTON, 
R.  A.  DAWSON, 
and  others. 

They  also  dispatched  the  fact 
to  Senators  Clayton  and  Dorsey. 

Gen.  Newton  immediately  sent 
back  word  that  free  passage  was 
ordered  to  all  members  of  the  Leg- 
islature, and  assigned  Inspector 
General  Rottaken  to  conduct  them 
to  the  halls  of  the  Legislature. 

And  then.  May  the  i6th,  the 
commanding  officers  met  to  ar- 
range the  cartel  for  the  surrender 
of  the  Brooks  forces.  After  the 
usual  preliminaries,  hospitalities 
were  extended  by  the  Baxter  civic 
and  military  chiefs  and  accepted 
with  the  best  grace  by  the  Brooks 


258 


The  Brooks  and'  Baxter    War:  a  History 


leaders,  the  following  arrange- 
ment was  agreed  upon  and  signed 
by  the  respective  general  com- 
manders : 

[General  Orders  No.  lo.] 
Headquarters  Ark.  State  Militia,"! 
Little  Rock,  May  i6,  1874.      | 
I.     The   following  arrangements    between 
the  Major  General  commanding  and  Gen.  Fa- 
gan,   commanding  the   opposing  forces,  will 
be  respected  by   the  officers   and   soldiers  of 
this  command.  R.  C.  NEWTON, 

General  Commanding. 
Little  Rock,  May  16,  1874. 
Agreement  by  and  between  Maj.-Gen.  Rob- 
ert C.  Newton,  commanding  Arkansas 
State  forces,  under  Gov.  Baxter,  and 
Maj.-Gen.  James  F.  Fagan,  commanding 
forces  under  Hon.  Joseph  Brooks,  arrang- 
ing terms  for  the  transportation  to  their 
homes  of  the  forces  on  both  sides,  by 
which  it  is  mutually  agreed  : 

1.  That  in  obedience  to  the  proclamation 
of  President  U.  S.  Grant,  of  the  15th  inst.,  the 
Brooks  forces,  under  command  of  Maj.-Gen. 
J.  F.  Fagan,  shall  be  dispersed  as  herein- 
after particularly  agreed  on,  and 

2.  That  the  State  forces  under  command 
of  Maj.-Gen.  R.  C.  Newton,  to  such  extent 
and  as  rapidly  as  the  disposing  of  Gen.  Fa- 
gan's  forces  quietly  to  their  homes  will  jus- 
tify will  be  moved  \.o  their  respective  counties, 
and  used  in  the  military  service  for  no  other 
purpose  than  the  preservation  of  the  public 
peace,  and  the  protection  of  all  persons 
against  violence,  without  regard  to  politics  or 
color  or  any  participation  in  the  recent 
troubles  in  the  State. 

3.  That  all  men  and  officers  under  com- 
mand of  Maj.-Gen.  Fagan  are  to  retain  their 
private  arms  and  their  private  property. 

4.  That  the  command  of  Brig.-Gen.  Ed.  J. 
Brooks,  from  Fort  Smith  and  the  upper  Ark- 


ansas River,  shall  be  allowed  to  retain  their 
private  arms  and  twenty-four  stands  of  State 
arms,  the  latter  to  be  receipted  for  by  Gen. 
Brooks,  and  delivered  to  him  by  an  officer  to 
be  designated  by  Gen.  Newton,  the  command 
to  start  to-day  by  Steamer  Robert  Semple, 
under  a  white  flag. 

5.  That  all  the  men  of  Brooks'  forces  liv- 
ing eastward,  on  the  line  of  the  Memphis  Sa 
Little  Rock  Railroad,  shall  be  sent  by  train; 
shall  start  to-night,  or  as  soon  thereafter  as 
possible,  under  charge  of  their  officers,  the 
train  to  be  under  a  white  ilag. 

6.  That  all  the  Brooks  forces  from  Pine 
Bluff  or  down  the  Arkansas  River  shall  be 
sent  by  boat  as  soon  as  transportation  can  be 
furnished. 

7.  That  the  mounted  men  of  the  Brooks 
forces  may  be  retained  if  desirable  or  neces- 
sary until  the  unmounted  forces  have  dis- 
persed. 

8.  That  the  members  of  the  Brooks  forces 
living  in  Pulaski  County  shall  be  sent  to  their 
homes  by  companies  under  discreet  officers  as 
rapidly  as  possible. 

g.  That  all  men  of  the  Brooks  forces  in- 
cluded in  this  agreement,  who  have  been  act- 
ing as  enlisted  men,  under  command  of  their 
officers,  are  assured  that  full  protection  shall 
be  given  them,  and  that  they  will  be  per- 
mitted to  return  to  their  homes  and  vocations 
and  shall  not  be  molested  for  acts  done  un- 
der the  orders  of  their  officers,  nor  shall  offi- 
cers going  to  their  homes  with  or  without 
troops  be  molested. 

10.  That  all  public  arms  and  munitions  of 
war  now  in  the  hands  of  the  Brooks  forces, 
except  those  above  mentioned  as  being  al- 
lowed temporarily  to  Gen.  E.  J.  Brooks,  shall 
be  deposited  in  the  armory  at  the  State  House, 
unless  Maj.-Gen.  Newton  shall  allow  other 
portions  thereof  to  be  used  by  either  side 
pending  the  removal  of  the  troops  from  the 
immediate  scene  of  hostilities. 


of  the  Reconstruction  Feriod.  in  Arkansas. 


259 


II.  Transportalion  hereinbefore  referred 
to  shall  be  furnished  by  the  State  of  Ark- 
ansas. 

Signed  in  duplicate  the  date  above  men- 
tioned. 

R.  C.  NEWTON, 
Major  General  Commanding. 

J.  F.  FAGAN, 
Major  General  Commanding. 

The  Robert  Semple  left  on  the 
i6th  of  May  with  eighty-eight 
men  of  the  Brooks  army  for  Fort 
Smith  and  the  upper  river.  The 
"  Semple  "  floated  a  white  flag. 

The  Brooks  followers  from  the 
east  left  that  night  on  trains  un- 
der white  flags.  Within  a  day  or 
two  all  Brooks'  men  had  departed 
the  capital.  Gov.  Baxter  again 
took  possession  of  the  Executive 
office,  escorted  by  the  military. 
The  Legislature  vacated  the  Bit- 
ter block,  and  met  in  their  usual 
places  in  the  State  House,  as  soon 
as  they  could  be  prepared  for 
them. 

And  this  was  the  end  of  the 
war.  By  it  the  people  of  Arkan- 
sas were  relieved  from  the  impo- 
sitions of  a  cancerous  oligarchy  of 
amateurs  in  political  economy,  if 
they  were  not  merely  criminal 
wreckers  and  plunderers  by  de- 
sign or  instinct.  The  military  or- 
ganization of  the  State  was  kept 
up  for  a  period  until  the  bill  which 
was  passed  by  the  Legislature  call- 
ing a  Constitutional  Convention 
went  into  effect.  There  were  no 
more  military  conflicts  of  any  mo- 
ment, only  some  slight  clashings 


of  the  civil  with  the  military  au- 
thority, and  some  police  duty  for 
the  military.  Many  of  the  leaders 
of  those  who  were  "  dispersed  " 
by  the  President  as  "insurgents," 
went  away.  Others  acquiesced, 
good  humoredly,  and  remained, 
cheerfully  resuming  their  peaceful 
occupations  with  as  much  or 
greater  success  than  when  engag- 
ing in  Statecraft. 

The  Constitutional  Convention 
was  called,  and  with  much  learn- 
ing and  labor  devised  the  Consti- 
tution under  which  we  now  live. 
Under  it  the  Hon.  A.  H.  Garland, 
who  by  his  services  and  continued 
attention  contributed  so  much  to 
the  happy  consummation,  was 
elected  Governor,  and  Democrats, 
generally,  to  fill  the  important 
places  in  all  the  departments  of 
the  State  government.  He  was 
then  chosen  Senator  of  the  United 
States,  and  J.  H.  Berry,  the 
Speaker  of  the  House  of  the  extra 
session  which  called  the  Constitu- 
tional Convention  succeeded  him 
as  Governor. 

The  greatest  military  figure  of 
the  war  was  Gen.  Robt.  C.  Newton. 
He  was  under  40  years  of  age,  and 
a  native  of  Little  Rock.  He  had 
been  educated  at  Bardstown,  Ky. 
His  father,  Col.  Thos.  W.  Newton, 
was  a  much  beloved  citizen  of 
Little  Rock — the  only  "whig"  in 
politics  ever  elected  to  Congress 
from  any  Arkansas  district.  Gen. 
Newton  was  a  lawyer — an  able 
one — and  had  seen  service  during 


26o 


The  Brooks  and  Baxter    War:  a  History 


the  civil  war  as  Adjutant  General 
of  Maj.  Gen,  T.  C,  Hindman,  when 
that  brave  officer  was  in  command 
of  the  entire  Trans-Mississippi  dis- 
trict. The  State  troops  were  sub- 
sequently by  Governor  Flanigan 
placed  under  command  of  Gen. 
Newton. 

There  was  never  in  history  an 
act  of  purer  disinterestedness  and 
patriotism  than  when  Gen.  Newton 
offered  his  services  to  Gov.  Baxter. 
It  was  at  once  his  indorsement, 
without  compensation,  promised 
or  expected,  and  pledge  for  the 
faithful  administration  of  the  re- 
sponsible office  held  under  adverse 
circumstances  by  that  gentleman. 

Gen.  Newton,  by  his  knowledge 
of  the  people  of  the  State  and 
their  needs,  by  his  character  for 
spotless  integrity  and  sound  judg- 
ment and  courage,  invited  to  Gov. 
Baxter's  standard  the  support 
of  many  of  the  strongest  and  pur- 
est men  in  the  State.  By  his  vig- 
ilance and  practical  discernment, 
he  selected  the  surest  material  for 
success  in  maintaining  the  Baxter 
government,  and  by  his  wisdom 
and  temperate  control,  or  guid- 
ance, he  directed  a  most  difficult 
and  perilous  movement  to  a  glo- 
rious success. 

He  might  have  been  the  nom- 
inee of  his  party  for  the  office  of 
Governor,  as  the  successor  of  Gov. 
Baxter,  if  he  had  not  thought  that 
gentleman  entitled  to  succeed  him- 
self. Although  Gov.  Baxter  de- 
clined the  nomination,  which  the 


Democratic  party  would  have 
given  him.  Gen.  Newton  would  not 
consent  to  be  mentioned  in  that 
connection.  He  firmly  refused  the 
nomination  by  his  party  conven- 
tion at  Clarksville  as  a  candidate 
for  Representative  in  Congress  of 
the  Third  District,  which  was  ten- 
dered, but  which  he  declined  in 
favor  of  Gen,  Wilshire,  who,  he 
said,  had  earned  it  by  his  splendid 
services  in  the  Baxter  cause,  and 
being  a  Northern  man  and  an  ex- 
Union  soldier,  would  be  enabled 
when  elected  to  render  the  party 
and  the  State  still  further  benefits. 
Such  was  the  magnanimous  char- 
acter and  unselfish  action  of  the 
hero  of  the  Brooks  and  Baxter  war. 
No  man  was  ever  better  loved. 

The  Brooks  leaders  had  the  en- 
dorsement of  the  Democratic  party 
originally;  were  sustained  by  the 
flower  of  the  party,  until  their 
coalition  with  those  who  were  re- 
garded as  only  schemers  for  the 
plunder  and  enslavement  of  the 
people. 

There  were  great  abilities  ex- 
erted and  splendid  work  done  by 
the  leaders  of  the  opposing  fac- 
tions of  the  Republican  party  in 
that  conflict.  Their  division  among 
themselves  produced  the  usual  re- 
sult of  such  quarrels,  which  are  the 
subject  of  illustrations  in  all  times, 
of  song  and  fable,  by  yEsop,  La- 
fontaine,  Boileau  and  Pope : 

There  take  (said  Justice),  take  ye  each  a  shell. 
We  thrive  at  Westminster  ox\  such  fools  as  you. 
'Twas  a  fat  oyster — live  in  peace — adieu. 


APPKNDIX. 


THE  RESIGNATION  OF  COMMAND  OF  THE  STATE  FORCES  BY  GEN.  R.  C. 
NEWTON,  AND  APPOINTMENT  BY  GOV.  BAXTER  OF  GEN.  T.  J.  CHURCHILL 
IN    HIS    STEAD. 

Before  the  Congressional  Committee,  July  28,  1874,  Gen.  Newton,  in  his  usual  lucid  and 
frank  manner,  made  the  following  statement  of  the  cause  of  his  resignation  (Poland  Report, 
p.  445)- 

By  Mr.  McClure  :  Q.  What  position  did  you  hold  in  the  State  government  prior  to  your 
appointment  to  civil  office  ?  A.  Immediately  preceding  that  I  did  not  hold  any  position.  A 
few  days  before  that  I  had  resigned  my  position  as  Major  General  of  the  Arkansas  State 
militia. 

Q.  What  led  to  that  resignation  ?  A.  In  the  first  place  the  war  was  over,  and  while  I 
was  disbanding  the  armies,  two  armies  at  once,  and  doing  the  best  that  I  could  not  to  cause  any 
bloodshed,  farther  than  had  been  shed,  all  the  time  assisted  by  and  assisting  Gen.  Fagan  in 
doing  so;  and  while  those  troops  were  in  that  state  in  the  midst  of  a  town  which  had  not  been 
subject  to  the  discipline  of  a  camp;  the  Legislature  of  the  State  of  Arkansas  took  upon  itself 
to  admit  to  their  respective  houses  men  who  had  been  in  open  insurrection,  as  I  considered  it, 
against  the  legitimate  government  of  the  State,  and  (if  there  is  anything  in  the  term  treason) 
who  had  been  guilty  of  treason.  I  had  learned  once  to  know  what  that  was,  because  I  had  tried 
it.  And  in  the  face  of  these  armies  those  men  were  enabled,  by  the  action  of  the  Legislature,  to 
walk  right  down  through  my  lines  and  in  the  presence  of  the  troops  enter  the  legislative  halls — 
some  of  them  as  Senators,  and  some  as  Representatives.  My  men  complained  of  that.  I  was 
holding  them  in  hand  for  purposes  of  peace,  until  not  only  the  other  side  could  get  way,  but 
until  I  could  afford  to  send  them  away,  too,  and  let  the  Legislature  go  into  the  State  House  and 
there  sit  as  any  other  Legislature  would  do.  But  this  was  done  in  the  presence  of  the  troops. 
I  issued  an  address  to  them,  which  on  its  face  will  show  that  it  was  principally  for  the  purpose 
of  discipline  and  maintaining  peace  among  them.  Without  any  knowledge  on  my  part,  Gov. 
Baxter,  as  I  understand,  sent  a  message  to  the  Legislature  on  the  subject.  It  turned  out  after- 
wards that  he  addressed  it  personally  to  the  presiding  officers  of  the  respective  houses  of  the 
General  Assembly,  disavowing  any  knowledge  of  my  address  before  it  was  issued.  As  an  order 
had  been  issued  some  time  before  that  giving  me  control  of  military  matters,  I  thought  this 
action  was  interfering  with  my  part  of  the  government.  So  I  wrote  the  Governor  to  that  effect. 
He  told  me  that  he  had  disavowed  any  knowledge  of  my  address,  and  that  under  the  circum- 
stances he  could  not  sustain  it,  for  the  reason  that  he  had,  so  far  as  the  Legislature  was  con- 
cerned, removed  his  proclamation  of  martial  law,  and  because  that  address  was,  in  his  opinion, 
a  violation  of  his  removal  of  martial  law.      As  I  did  not  approve  that  view,  and  as  he  ought  to 

(26i) 


262  Appendix. 

have  notified  me  before  taking  his  action,  I  tendered  my  resignation,  the  war  being  over  and 
there  being  no  use  in  my  staying  any  longer,     *     *     * 

By  Mr.  Wilshire:  Q.  Look  at  what  purports  to  be  an  address  to  the  soldiers  made  by 
you,  printed  on  page  22  of  the  published  testimony  before  this  committee?  A.  A  copy  of  this 
pamphlet  was  given  to  me  to-day,  and  I  read  this  address  in  it.  It  is  substantially  the  address 
as  issued  by  me.  I  suppose  it  is  taken  from  a  newspaper  publication.  There  are  some  mis- 
takes in  the  newspaper  publication,  but  the  address  is  substantially  the  same. 

GEN.  Newton's  address. 

Headquarters  Arkansas  State  Guard,") 
Little  Rock,  May  19,  1874.     / 

Soldiers — You  have  been  directly  insulted  by  the  two  houses  of  the  General  Assembly, 
who  have  seen  fit  to  reward  your  patriotism,  your  splendid  discipline  and  valor  by  admitting  to 
the  halls  of  legislation  those  who,  even  before  the  dispersion  of  the  insurgent  forces,  knocked 
for  admittance,  but  who,  the  very  day  before  thus  applying  to  be  recognized  as  Legislators, 
boasted  through  the  public  press  of  the  glory  of  meeting  you  on  the  battle-field. 

While  such  men,  your  enemies  in  arms,  are  thus  allowed  in  your  very  presence  a  voice  and 
vote  in  making  laws  to  govern  you  who  have  so  admirably  deported  yourselves  when  assembled 
for  the  vindication  of  legitimate  government  in  our  State ;  and  when  John  M.  Clayton,  as  a 
Senator,  and  Brig.  Gen.  L.  L.  Thompson,  as  a  Representative,  and  lesser  ones  in  position  and 
influence,  who  have  been  known  to  be  in  arms  against  the  Baxter  government,  are  permitted  to 
make  laws  governing  the  recognition  of  your  services  and  the  matter  of  your  compensation,  it  is 
calculated,  I  know,  to  arouse  indignation.  I  can  but  caution  you  to  observe  the  same  discipline, 
and  conduct  yourselves  in  the  soldierly  manner  as  heretofore.  Hoping  that  as  time  makes  all 
things  right,  those  to  whom  is  committed  the  gathering  of  the  fruits  of  your  triumph  will  not 
through  sentimentality  throw  away  all  the  results  of  your  victory. 

R.  C.  NEWTON, 
Major  General  Commanding. 


On  the  1 8th  of  May  the  Governor  issued  the  following  proclamation,  revoking  martial  law: 

Executive  Office,  State  of  Arkansas,! 
Little  Rock,  May  18,  1874.     / 

Whereas,  On  the  l6th  day  of  April,  1874,  martial  law  was  by  me  proclaimed  in  Pulaski 
County,  in  consequence  of  the  existence  of  an  armed  insurrection,  under  the  authority  vested  in 
me  as  Governor  by  the  Constitution  and  laws  of  the  State,  and  on  the  nth  day  of  May,  1874, 
said  proclamation  was  revoked  in  so  far  as  not  to  interfere  with  the  meeting  and  proceedings 
of  the  Legislature ;  and. 

Whereas,  The  armed  insurrectionists  are  now  dispersing,  and  many  person*  are  at  large  who 
are  notoriously  guilty  of  treason  against  the  State  of  Arkansas,  and  it  is  not  desirable  to  pro- 
ceed against  them  by  military  law  ; 

Now,  therefore,  \,  Elisha  Baxter,  Governor  of  Arkansas,  do  hereby  further  revoke  said  pro- 
clamation of  martial  law,  so  far  as  to  permit  the  arrest  and  detention,  by  criminal  process  from 
the  civil  magistrates,  of  all  persons  charged  with  treason  against  the  State  in  the  late  insurrec- 


Appendix.  263 

tion  ;  but  nothing  in  this  proclamation  shall  interfere  with  the  carrying  out  of  any  and  all  mili- 
tary orders  from  the  headquarters  of  the  State  of  Arkansas,  or  any  legitimate  military  authority. 
I  testimony  whereof,  witness  my  hand  and  the  seal  of  the  State,  etc. 

ELISHA  BAXTER,  Governor. 
Attested  by  J.  M.  JOHNSON,  Secretary  of  State. 


On  the  19th  instant  Gov.  Baxter  took  possession  of  the  Executive  office  with  appropriate 
ceremonies.  He  rode  in  a  carriage  with  his  private  Secretary  and  other  friends,  under  an 
escort  of  cavalry,  infantry  and  artillery.  He  resumed  his  former  chair  to  the  firing  of  the  sixty- 
four-pound  gun  called  "Lady  Baxter,"  stationed  on  the  bank  of  the  river,  in  rear  of  the  Metro- 
politan Hotel.  After  which  the  two  garlanded  Parrott  guns  were  fired  100  rounds,  in  the  space 
east  of  the  Slate  House.  The  doors  of  the  State  House  were  then  closed  by  Gen.  Newton,  and 
the  keys  turned  over  to  Col.  Rottaken,  after  the  removal  from  their  offices  of  Treasurer  Page 
and  Auditor  Wheeler.  Attorney  General  Yonley's  resignation  was  tendered  and  accepted,  and 
J.  L.  Witherspoon  appointed  in  his  stead. 

House  resolutions  of  the  Legislature,  charging  Senators  Clayton  and  Dorsey  with  conspir- 
ing to  overthrow  the  State  government,  and  in  pursuance  of  such  conspiracy  did  use  their  official 
positions  to  corrupt  the  judiciary  of  the  State — -to  wit:  M.  L.  Stephenson  and  others — and  as 
unfit  persons  to  represent  the  State  in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  and  requesting  them  to 
resign,  on  the  23d  of  May  were  reported  by  Mr.  Sumpter,  of  the  Committee  on  Federal  Rela- 
tions, recommending  their  passage.  On  the  28th  instant  they  were  adopted — 39  ayes,  4  noes. 
Noes — Chapline,  Scott,  L.  L.  Thompson  and  Williams. 

The  same  body,  on  the  26th  instant,  had  presented  articles  of  impeachment  against  John 
McClure,  Chief  Justice;  J.  E.  Bennett,  E.  J.  Searle  and  M.  L.  Stephenson,  Associate  Justices ; 
W.  H.  Gray,  Commissioner  of  Immigration ;  George  A.  Kingston  and  John  Whytock,  Circuit 
Judges ;  W.  S.  Oliver  and  Benton  Turner,  Sheriffs  of  their  respective  counties,  and  sundry 
Clerks  and  Supervisors  of  counties,  for  treason,  etc. 


The  repeated  accusations  against  W.  G.  Whipple  and  John  Whytock  of  procuring  and 
rendering  the  "snap  judgment"  of  the  Pulaski  Circuit  Court  in  favor  of  Brooks  for  the  office  of 
Governor,  against  Baxter,  as  a  usurper,  was  denied  by  them  in  the  following  newspaper  card, 
published  in  the  'Republican  of  the  26th  of  May : 

A   CARD  TO   THE  PUBLiC. 

Our  purpose  in  presenting  this  card  to  the  public  is  to  correct  certain  misrepresentations 
respecting  the  proceedings  in  the  case  of  Brooks  vs.  Baxter,  in  the  Circuit  Court,  which  have 
been  made  and  repeated  in  the  Gazette,  and  the  dispatches  of  one  of  its  editors,  as  agent  of  the 
Associated  Press,  and  re-echoed  to  some  extent  by  the  press  of  the  country.  To  the  following 
statement  of  the  proceedings,  as  they  occurred,  we  invite  the  perusal  of  the  people,  challenging 
the  inventor  or  inventors  of  the  false  representations  and  their  copyists  to  deny  and  disprove 
any  portion  of  it. 


264  Appendix. 

The  action  was  begun  in  June,  1873.  The  defendant,  Baxter,  appeared  by  counsel,  Judge 
E.  H.  English  and  Messrs.  Compton,  Martin  and  Bishop,  and  filed  demurrer  in  October,  1873, 
by  which  proceeding  they  raised  the  single  question  as  to  whether  tlie  Court  had  jurisdiction  of 
the  case.  Brooks  proceeded  to  take  testimony  by  depositions,  in  the  usual  manner,  upon  due 
written  notice  served  personally  on  Baxter  in  each  case,  which  depositions  have  been  returned, 
filed  and  belong  to  the  papers  in  the  case.  These  depositions  show  on  their  face  a  majority  of 
several  hundred  votes  for  Brooks,  over  and  above  the  majority  upon  which  Baxter  was  (as  is 
now  admitted  on  all  hands)  counted  in. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  last  term  of  the  Circuit  Court  the  Clerk,  as  required  by  law, 
in  setting  the  pending  cases  for  trial,  set  this  case  for  the  2d  of  March  last.  We  understand 
and  believe  that  it  was  subject  to  be  called  up  and  submitted  upon  any  day  between  that  time 
and  its  actual  submission  on  the  13th  of  April,  just  one  month  and  eleven  days  atcer  it  was  set 
for  trial. 

On  Monday,  April  13th,  and  at  a  regular  session  of  the  Court,  at  which  the  usual  business  was 
for  hearing  and  disposition  (save  only  jury  trials),  the  case  was  called  up  by  Mr.  Whipple,  one 
of  the  plaintiff's  attorneys,  and  submitted.  The  Court  had  previously  announced  that,  as  the 
United  States  Court  was  to  sit  during  the  week,  no  case  requiring  the  empaneling  of  a  jury 
would  be  called  during  the  week,  except  by  consent  of  both  parties ;  but  that  in  every  other 
respect  the  business  would  progress  as  usual.  We  understand  that,  according  to  the  rules  and 
practice  of  the  courts  of  the  State,  the  plaintiff  was  entitled  to  submit  the  case  just  when  we  did. 
Moreovei-,  there  was  an  understanding  between  the  attorneys  of  both  sides  that  the  demurrer 
might  be  submitted  at  any  time. 

The  record  of  the  submission  was  read  in  open  court  on  the  morning  of  Tuesday,  the  ensu- 
ing day.  Each  of  the  morning  papers  of  Tuesday  contained  a  notice  of  the  submission  under 
the  usual  head  of  proceedings  of  Courts.  We  are  informed  and  believe  that  the  attention  of 
Gov.  Baxter  was  called  to  the  fact  of  this  proceeding  on  Tuesday,  in  the  Executive  office,  by  J. 
N.  Smithee,  one  of  the  editors  of  the  Gazette. 

We  are  informed  and  believe  that  the  attention  of  Baxter's  counsel  was  drawn  to  the  same 
fact. 

The  decision  of  the  Court  was  delivered  on  Wednesday,  the  15th  day  of  April.  The 
decision  was  reserved  during  the  whole  session  of  about  two  hours,  to  enable  some  one  at  least 
of  Baxter's  counsel  to  attend  and  take  steps  in  the  case.  Just  before  the  close  of  the  sitting, 
the  Court,  in  ruling  upon  the  other  cases,  reached  the  case  of  Brooks  vs.  Baxter,  and  announced 
that  he  supposed  the  case  would  be  taken  to  the  Supreme  Court  in  any  event;,  that  it  involved 
the  question  of  salary,  which  had  not  been  decided,  and  proceeded  then  in  affirmance  of  his 
original  decision  made  in  the  case  of  Berry  vs.  Wheeler,  to  sustain  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Court 
by  overruling  the  demurrer  to  the  jurisdiction,  at  the  same  time  announcing  that  the  defendant 
could  plead  over,  if  he  desired. 

Upon  this  Mr.  Whipple  moved  for  final  judgment,  stating  as  grounds  therefor,  that  the 
case  was  then  subject  to  the  call  of  the  plaintiff,  as  it  had  been  for  more  than  a  month ;  that  it 
had  been  pending  nearly  a  year;  that  the  defendant  had  already  had  a  reasonable  time  to 
determine  whether  to  file  a  plea  to  the  merits ;  that  the  defendant  and  his  friends  had  never 
seemed  to  court  inquiry  and  investigation  into  the  result  of  the  election,  and  suggested  that  the 


Appendix.  265 

defendant  would,  of  course,  appeal  to  the  Supreme  Court.  At  this  point,  Col.  S.  W,  Williams, 
a  well-known  friend  of  Baxter,  remarked  to  the  Court,  as  amicus  curia,  that  the  defendant 
could  not  appeal  until  there  was  a  final  judgment  rendered. 

Besides,  Judge  Allen,  of  the  law  firm  of  Wilshire  &  Allen,  who,  as  we  are  informed  and 
believe,  had  been  retained  as  attorneys  for  Baxter  in  the  case,  was  present  at  this  time  and 
made  no  application  for  time  to  plead.  In  this  State  of  the  case,  the  Court  announced  that  as 
an  appeal  would  undoubtedly  be  taken,  he  would  let  judgment  go  with  the  privilege  of  a  writ  of 
supersedeas,  if  desired. 

On  the  following  day  Judges  English  and  Compton  appeared  in  court  and  filed  a  motion 
to  set  aside  the  judgment.  But  neither  of  them  offered  to  plead  over,  nor  filed  nor  offered  any 
defense  to  the  action,  nor  made  any  showing  of  merits.  The  motion  lay  over  one  day,  under 
the  rules,  and  afterwards  went  by  default,  the  defendant's  attorneys  positively  refusing  to  prose- 
cute it.     And  thus  the  proceedings  were  closed  and  perfected  in  the  Circuit  Court. 

We  again  solicit  the  careful  attention  of  the  public  to  this  statement,  and  challenge  and 
defy  contradiction  of  the  material  portions  of  it 

WM.  G.  WHIPPLE, 
M.  W.  BENJAMIN. 

Little  Rock,  May  23,  1874. 

So  far  as  the  foregoing  statements  relate  to  what  occurred  in  the  Circuit  Court,  they  are 
correct.  JOHN  WHYTOCK. 


COL.  WILLIAMS    ANSWERS    COL.  WHIPPLE. 

Col.  Sam  W.  Williams,  an  old  and  eminent  member  of  the  bar  of  the  Supreme  Court,  and 
who  was  often  appointed  Special  Judge  of  that  Court,  upon  substantial  repetition  of  this 
statement  years  afterwards,  thus  replied  to  it : 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Gazette: 

I  read  in  this  morning's  paper  a  most  singular  letter  from  Col.  W.  G.  Whipple.  Well,  it 
disclosed,  if  nothing  more,  exceedingly  bad  memory  in  Whipple.  It  contained  two  false  state- 
ments to  one  truth.  Perhaps,  in  charity,  I  should  attribute  it  to  Whipple's  old  age  and  failure 
of  memoiy  from  great  lapse  of  time.  It  is  true  that  Brooks  was  generally  voted  for  by  the 
Democrats  in  1872,  on  a  ticket  with  Democrats;  it  is  true  that  all  the  ticket  headed  by  Brooks 
was  elected.  But  it  is  true,  also,  which  Whipple  does  not  state,  that  the  party  with  which  he  is 
now  identified  counted  Brooks  and  all  Democrats  on  his  ticket  out,  and  dismissed  his  contest 
from  the  Legislature,  the  only  tribunal  having  jurisdiction.  It  is  also  true,  but  Whipple  does 
not  state  it,  that  after  Baxter's  inauguration,  he  administered  the  government  honestly,  and  Clay- 
ton's crew  fell  out  with  him;  therefore.  Brooks  had  a  proceeding  instituted  against  Baxter  for 
usurpation  of  office  under  a  statute  which  applied  to  inferior  officers,  made  his  peace  with  Clay- 
ton, and  a  scheme  was  concocted  to  give  it  effect — that  was  done  by  the  snap  judgment  and 
ouster  of  Baxter.  It  was  supposed  that  Clayton,  then  in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  could 
induce  President  Grant  to  recognize  Brooks,  who  was  a  bitter  Republican,  and  the  disfranchis- 
ing clause  of  the  Constitution  of  1868  would  be  enforced  in  all  its  rigors,  notwithstanding  the 
Democrats  voted  for  Brooks  on  the  pledge  from  him  that  the  white  people  should  be  enfran- 

18 


266  Appendix. 

» 
chised.  Had  he  gotten  the  office  under  election,  instead  of  snap  judgment,  a  Legislature  of 
Democrats  and  Democratic  State  officers,  in  the  main,  would  have  gone  in  with  him.  But  when 
he  struck  hands  with  Clayton  and  proposed  to  go  in  without  the  Democratic  accompaniments, 
every  well-informed  Democrat  in  the  State  understood  the  situation;  and  as  Minstrels  (Clay- 
tonites)  had  made  us  take  Baxter  when  he  suited  i^em,  we  proposed  to  hold  him  against  revo- 
lution and  rebellion  when  he  suited  us.  Col.  Whipple  first  says,  untruly,  that  I  was  one  of 
Baxter's  counsel,*  and  yet,  further  on,  seems  to  forget  what  he  had  just  written,  and  writes  that 
I  "  injected  myself"  into  the  case,  and  that  the  judgment  was  by  default.  Why,  such  talk  is  the 
merest  drivel.  Col.  Whipple  knows  that  I  delivered  the  opinion  of  the  Supreme  Court  in  the 
case  afterwards,  which  quashed  the  whole  thing  for  want  of  jurisdiction  in  the  Circuit  Court, 
and  that  I  could  not  have  been  of  counsel.  I  never  was,  in  any  form,  Baxter's  counsel  in  the 
case.  The  opinion  is  found  on  page  173,  29th  Ark.  He  says  there  was  a  default,  yet  the 
counsel  neglected  the  case ;  and  yet  says  I,  as  one  of  the  counsel  of  Baxter,  was  present  and 
directed  the  Court  how  to  render  judgment  by  default  against  my  own  client.  He  does  not  say 
this  in  so  many  words,  but  that  is  the  inevitable  inference  from  his  letter.  He  has  a  wonderful 
bad  memory — if  nothing  worse  ails  him.  I  feel  confident  that  he  knew  of  this  agreement,  and 
I  know  Whytock  did.  Judge  Whytock,  the  Clerk  of  the  Court,  and  perhaps  the  Sheriff,  and 
myself  were  absolutely  all  who  were  present.  And  yet  Col.  Whipple  talks  as  though  this  snap 
judgment  was  taken  in  the  presence  of  the  whole  bar.  It  was  a  fact  that  an  agreement  had 
been  made  the  week  before  to  the  effect  that  the  Court  was  to  do  nothing.  Judge  Whytock 
knew  it,  and  I  had  every  reason  to  believe  that  Whipple  did,  for  this  reason,  to  wit :  The  mem- 
bers of  the  bar,  which  Whipple  calls  partisan,  drew  up  a  statement  of  facts  on  the  day  (in  the 
afternoon)  that  the  snap  judgment  was  taken,  which  set  up  the  particulars  of  the  agreement,  and 
that  Baxter  should  have  had  the  right  to  answer  over,  which  was  denied  by  the  snap  judgment 
of  that  morning ;  and  that  the  snap  judgment  was  taken  in  violation  of  the  agreement  and  the 
the  rules  of  practice.  This  was  signed  by  E.  H.  English,  A.  H.  Garland,  U.  M.  Rose,  Sol  F. 
Clark,  F.  W.  Compton  and  about  thirty  or  forty  others,  and  went  into  the  Poland  report  to  Con- 
gress afterwards.  And  during  all  that  time,  nearly  a  year,  not  a  word  or  line  did  I  ever  see  from 
Whipple  denying  its  truth.  And  yet,  after  years  of  silence,  when  many  of  the  actors  are  dead, 
Whipple  proposes  to  push  this  protest  aside  with  a  waive  like  this :  "  The  protest  of  a  portion 
of  the  bar  of  Little  Rock,  signed  during  the  excitement  of  the  crisis  by  none  but  parasans,  is 
of  but  little  value  to  impartial  history." 

A  thing  that  Whipple  did  not  dare  to  deny  then  before  the  world  and  Poland's  Committee 
is  to  be  waived  aside,  and  his  denial,  after, the  lapse  of  eighteen  years  of  silence,  is  to  be  taken 
as  impartial  history,  if  we  take  Whipple's  standard  of  judgment.  But  this  much  of  it  (notwith- 
standing his  lapse  of  memory,  fconscience  or  something  else)  he  admits — that  he  took  judgment 
in  the  absence  of  Baxter's  counsel,  and  without  giving  him  time  to  appeal  to  the  Supreme  Court. 
He  does  not  deny  my  statement  that  in  less  than  an  hour  after  the  snap  judgment  a  civil  war 
was  begun,  which  he  must  have  foreseen. 

What  is  the  use  of  splitting  hairs?  Is  there  any  reputable  and  fair-minded  lawyer,  un- 
blinded  by  prejudice  and  partisan  rage,  who  would  have  done  such  a  thing  as  Whipple  admits 
he  did,  even  where  the  value  of  a  hog  was  involved,  much  less  the  peace  and  good  order  of  the 
people  of  the  State  of  Arkansas?     It  was  not  "  a  judgment  by  default,"  for  Baxter  had  inter- 


«This,  the  Gazette  explains,  was  from  the  compositor  dropping  the  word  "not,"  in  Whipple's  card. 


Appe?idix.  267 

posed  a  demurrer,  which  Whytock  had  overruled,  and  on  that  morning  Whipple  stated  that  it 
was  his  understanding  that  Baxter's  counsel  intended  to  rest  on  the  demurrer  and  appeal  to  the 
Supreme  Court.  I  was  innocent  enough  to  suppose  that  everything  would  proceed  in  decency 
and  order.     *     *     * 


On  the  26th  of  May  the  Judiciary  Committee  of  the  House  reported  a  substitute  for  a 
general  amnesty  bill,  granting  : 

Section  i.  A  free  and  full  pardon  to  all  non-commissioned  officers  and  privates  duly 
enlisted  in  the  armed  forces  of  Joseph  Brooks,  for  all  acts  done  or  committed  against  the 
criminal  laws  of  the  State,  under  orders  of  their  superior  officers. 

Sec.  2.  Excepted  Brooks  and  persons  holding  any  legislative,  executive  or  judicial  office, 
who  aided  in  his  insurrection. 

An  amendment  to  include  Joseph  Brooks  in  the  general  amnesty  was  adopted,  and  the 
bill  passed  by  a  vote  of  59  ayes,  4  noes.     The  Senate  concurred. 

May  27th,  the  House  of  Representatives,  in  Congress,  passed  a  resolution  by  a  vote  of  129 
to  84  to  appoint  a  committee  of  five  to  investigate  affairs  in  Arkansas,  of  which  Hon.  Luke  E. 
Poland  was  chairman. 

The  Legislature  having  passed  resolutions  of  thanks  to  the  officers  and  soldiers  who  had 
sustained  Gov.  Baxter,  and  called  a  State  Constitutional  Convention,  stood  adjourned,  in 
accordance  with  previous  resolution,  until  December  7,  1874. 


ARKANSAS    AFFAIRS. 

House  of  Representatives,  430  Congress,  2d  Session,  \   Report 

February  19,  1875.      )   No.  249. 

Recommitted  to  Select  Committee  on  Arkansas  Affairs  and  ordered  to  be  printed. 

Mr.  Poland,  from  the  Select  Committee,  recommended  to  the  House  the  following 
resolution : 

Resolved,  That  the  report  of  the  Select  Committee  on  the  condition  of  affairs  in  the  State 
of  Arkansas  be  accepted.  And  in  the  judgment  of  this  House  no  interference  with  the  existing 
government  in  that  State  [under  the  Constitution  of  1874,  A.  H.  Garland  being  then  Governor] 
by  any  department  of  the  United  States  is  advisable.     The  resolution  was  adopted. 

The  House  Committee  on  Elections,  of  the  same  Congress,  Report  No.  264,  part  2, 
reported: 

Resolved,  That  Lucian  C.  Gause  is  not  entitled  to  a  seat  as  Representative  in  the  Forty- 
third  Congress,  from  the  First  Congressional  District  in  the  State  of  Arkansas. 

Resolved,  That  Asa  Hodges  is  entitled  to  a  seat  as  Representative  in  the  Forty-third  Con- 
gress from  the  First  Congressional  District  in  the  State  of  Arkansas. 

The  same  committee  reported  in  favor  of  Snyder  against  Bell,  Report  No.  1 1 ;  and  in  favor 
of  Gunter  against  Wilshire,  Report  No.  260. 


268  Appendix. 

Ex-Judge  John  McClure  created  a  sensation  in  his  party  in  1888,  by  favoring  the  exclusion 
of  negroes  from  the  Lincoln  Club,  of  the  City  of  Little  Rock.  In  a  letter  to  the  Pine  Bluft 
Commercial,  January,  1889,  he  explains  his  position  on  that  subject  by  the  following  logical 
(and  humorous)  and  able  argimient: 

In  the  Lincoln  Club  address,  I  said:  "My  interest  in  the  breaking  of  the  'solid  South,' 
and  the  success  of  the  Republican  party  is  greater  than  my  love  for  the  negro  or  any  other 
race.  I  want  to  see  the  party  prosper.  I  want  to  see  the  negro  have  all  the  rights  the  law 
gives  him,  but  I  am  not  disposed  to  cling  to  him  at  the  expense  of  party  success."  I  take  this 
opportunity  to  repeat  what  I  then  said.  I  do  this  not  because  I  have  any  prejudice  against  the 
negro ;  not  because  I  do  not  feel  friendly  toward  him ;  not  because  I  contemplate  joining 
hands  with  the  Democracy  in  the  crusade  they  make  against  him,  but  because  his  conduct  in 
the  past  has,  as  I  conscientiously  believe,  prevented  a  disintegration  of  the  white  vote.  If  I 
believed,  which  I  do  not,"  that  the  Republican  party  could  be  restored  to  power  in  this  State  by 
yielding  control  of  it  to  the  negro,  it  is  possible  that  he  might  furnish  as  good  an  administration 
as  has  the  Democratic  party,  but  I  demand  something  better.  He  might  equal  the  defalcations 
of  Democratic  Treasurers;  he  might  equal  the  Democracy  in  stuffing  and  stealing  ballot  boxes; 
he  might  equal  Gov.  Hughes  and  his  militia  ;  he  might  let  crime  run  riot  throughout  the  State ; 
he  might  allow  the  white  men  to  be  run  out  of  the  negro  counties  in  the  State  and  prevent  their 
return,  but  I  am  not  anxious  for  that  species  of  government,  nor  am  I  in  favor  of  the  repeal  of 
the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  amendments  to  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States.  I  am  in 
favor  of  their  enforcement 

APPLICATION  OF  AMENDMENTS. 

The  negro  may  well  be  accorded  all  the  rights  and  privileges  granted  by  the  fourteenth  and 
fifteenth  amendments  without  the  fear  of  "  negro  domination."  The  fault  lies  with  the  States, 
as  well  as  the  remedy.  The  fear  of  "  negro  domination  "  grows  out  of  the  fact  that  the  negro 
may  hold  office,  but  this  right  does  not  grow  out  of  anything  contained  in  the  Constitution  of 
the  United  States. 

In  the  case  of  Cruikshanks  vs.  United  States,  92  U.  S.  542,  it  is  said :  "  Under  the  four- 
teenth amendment  each  State  had  the  power  to  refuse  the  right  of  voting  at  its  elections  to  any 
class  of  persons ;  the  consequence  being  a  reduction  of  its  representation  in  Congress  in  the 
proportion  which  such  excluded  class  should  bear  to  the  whole  number  of  its  male  citizens 
over  the  age  of  twenty-one  years.  This  was  understood  to  mean  and  did  mean  that  if  one  of 
the  late  slave-holding  States  should  desire  to  exclude  its  colored  population  from  the  right  of 
voting  at  the  expense  of  reducing  its  representation  in  Congress  it  could  do  so." 

In  the  case  of  the  United  States  vs.  Reese,  92  U.  S.  214,  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
States  said:  "The  fifteenth  amendment  does  not  confer  the  right  of  suffrage  upon  any  one. 
It  prevents  the  States  of  the  United  States  from  giving  preferences  in  this  particular  to  one 
citizen  of  the  United  States  over  another  on  account  of  race,  color  or  previous  condition  of 
servitude." 

The  first  section  of  the  fourteenth  amendment  declares  that :  "  All  persons  born  or  natur- 
alized in  the  United  States  and  subject  to  the  jurisdiction  thereof,  are  citizens  of  the  United 
States  and  the  State  wherein  they  reside." 

Citizenship  does  not  confer  the  privilege  of  voting.     The  Constitution  does  not  say  you 


Appendix.  269 

shall  not  disfranchise  a  negro,  but  it  prevents  his  disfranchisement  on  account  of  race,  color  or 
previous  condition  of  servitude.  You  may  disfranchise  him  if  he  does  not  have  property  of  a 
certain  value.  You  may  disfranchise  him  if  he  is  not  a  believer  in  the  Protestant  religion. 
You  may  disfranchise  him  if  he  was  born  in  France,  Italy,  England  or  any  foreign  country. 
You  may  disfranchise  him  because  he  cannot  read  Greek  and  Hebrew ;  but  if  you  disfranchise 
him  for  any  of  these  reasons,  you  must  at  the  same  time  disfranchise  the  white  men  who  fall 
within  the  same  provisions. 

A  woman  is  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  yet  she  cannot  vote.  A  male  foreigner,  twenty- 
one  years  of  age,  who  has  declared  his  intention  to  become  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  but 
who  has  not,  and  may  never  take  out  his  final  papers,  who  shall  have  resided  in  the  State  for 
one  year,  the  county  six  months  and  the  township  one  month  before  an  election,  has  a  right  to 
vote,  yet  he  is  not  a  citizen  of  the  United  States. 

THE   QUESTION    IN    CONGRESS. 

Nor  does  citizenship  or  the  right  to  vote  carry  with  it  the  right  to  hold  office,  by  reason  of 
anything  contained  in  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States.  The  question  whether  the  States 
should  be  inhibited  from  denying  to  persons  the  right  to  hold  office  "on  account  of  race,  color 
or  previous  condition  of  servitude,"  was  before  Congress,  and  it  refused  to  take  it  away  from 
the  States.  That  power  belongs  to  the  States  to-day.  There  may  be  some  provision  in  the 
Constitution  or  laws  of  the  State  giving  them  the  right  to  hold  office,  but  there  is  nothing  in 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  which  inhibits  the  State  from  doing  it.  If  there  is  a 
desire  to  do  it,  the  State  can  do  it.  If  the  Democratic  party  of  the  South  shall  deem  it  prudent 
to  do  so,  it  can  deprive  the  negro  from  holding  office  without  antagonizing  the  Constitution  of 
the  United  States.  It  can  settle  the  "race  problem"  and  get  rid  of  the  fear  of  "negro  domi- 
nation," if  it  wants  to.     The  question  is  not  one  of  power,  but  one  of  policy. 

I  have  said  the  question  was  not  one  of  power,  but  one  of  policy,  and  for  the  purpose  of 
showing  this,  let  me  call  your  attention  to  the  history  of  the  enactment  of  the  fifteenth  amend- 
ment. On  the  nth  of  January,  1869,  the  House  Committee  reported  a  proposed  amendment, 
to  be  known  as  No.  15,  to  that  body  for  adoption.  On  the  15th  of  the  same  month  a  Senate 
Committee  introduced  another.  I  place  them  in  parallel  columns  so  you  can  see  at  a  glance 
the  difference  between  them  : 

HOUSE.  SENATE. 

The  right  of  any  citizen  to  vote  shall  not  be  The  right  of  citizens  of  the  United  States 

denied  or  abridged  by  the  United  States,  or  to  vote  and  hold  office  shsW  not  be  denied  or 

any  State,  by  reason  of  race,  color,  or  previous  abridged  by  the  United  States,  or  any  State, 

condition  of  slavery  of  any  citizen,  or  class  of  on  account  of  race,  color  or  previous  condition 

citizens,  of  the  United  States.  of  servitude. 

Right  at  the  threshold  you  will  see  that  the  respective  houses  started  out  with  different 
propositions — the  House  proposition  only  inhibiting  the  States  from  denying  the  rig/it  to  vote, 
while  the  Senate  proposition  wanted  to  inhibit  them  from  denying  not  only  the  right  to  vote  but 
the  rig/it  to  hold  office. 

The  House  proposition  was  passed  on  the  30th  of  January,'  1869,  and  sent  to  the  Senate  on 
the  3d  of  February,  1869.  The  Senate  amended  the  House  proposition  by  striking  out  the  whole 
of  it  and  inserting  in  lieu  thereof  the  Senate  proposition.  This  action  on  the  part  of  the  Senate 
indicates  that  the  Senate  desired  to  protect  the  negro  in  the  right  to  hold  office. 


270  Appendix. 

On  the  17th  of  February,  1869,  the  Senate  passed  its  own  proposition  and  sent  it  to  the 
House.  Mr.  Logan  moved  to  amend  the  Senate  proposition  by  striking  out  the  words  "  and 
hold  office."  This  amendment  was  rejected.  Mr.  Bingham,  of  Ohio,  moved  to  amend  it  by 
inserting  after  the  word  "color"  the  words  "  nativity,  property,  creed." 

These  amendments  were  adopted,  and  as  thus  amended  the  Senate  proposition  passed  the 
House.  As  then  amended  and  passed  by  the  House  it  read  as  follows:  "The  right  of  citizens 
of  the  United  States  to  vote  and  hold  office  shall  not  be  denied  or  abridged  on  account  of  race, 
color,  nativity,  property,  creed  or  previous  condition  of  servitude." 

The  Senate  refused  to  concur  with  the  House  amendments,  and  a  committee  of  conference 
was  appointed  by  both  houses.  The  House  appointed  Boutwell,  Bingham  and  Logan,  and  the 
Senate  appointed  Conkling,  Edmunds  and  Stewart.  Five  of  the  committee  signed  the  following 
report:  "That  the  House  recede  from  their  amendments  and  agree  to  the  resolution  of  the 
Senate,  with  an  amendment  as  follows — strike  out  the  words  'and  hold  office,'  and  that  the 
Senate  agree  to  the  same."  Both  houses  adopted  the  report  of  the  Conference  Committee,  and 
passed  the  proposed  amendment,  and  as  passed  it  read  as  follows :  "  The  rights  of  citizens  of 
the  United  States  to  vote  shall  not  be  denied  or  abridged  by  the  United  States,  or  by  any  State, 
on  account  of  race,  color,  or  previous  condition  of  servitude." 

VOTING  AND  OFFICE-HOLDING. 
From  the  amendments  proposed,  it  appears  that  both  houses  of  Congress  were  of  opinion 
that  the  right  to  vote  did  not  carry  with  it  the  right  to  hold  office.  Now,  it  appears  that  the 
House  did  not  desire  to  place  any  limitations  upon  the  States  which  would  deprive  them  of  the 
right  and  power  of  determining  what  class  or  character  of  persons  should  hold  office.  It  equally 
appears  that  the  Senate,  ffom  the  beginning,  wanted  to  secure  both  the  right  to  vote  and  hold 
office  to  the  negro.  Another  thing  appears,  from  the  rejection  of  the  Bingham  amendment  to 
the  Senate  proposition,  and  that  is  that  the  States  should  continue  to  possess  the  right  to  exclude 
persons  from  the  right  to  vote  upon  the  ground  of  "nativity,  property  or  creed."  Under  the 
House  amendment  of  the  Senate  proposition  the  States  were  free  to  prescribe  an  educational^ 
quaUfication,  but  were  inhibited  from  withholding  the  right  to  vote  or  hold  office  on  account  of 
'nativity,  property  or  creed."  In  some  of  the  States  a  property  qualification  was  required,  in 
others  nativity  was  a  ground  of  disqualification,  and  in  others  the  elector  must  be  of  the  Pro- 
testant faith.  Bingham's  amendment  reached  this  class,  but  it  was  stricken  out  by  the  Confer- 
ence Committee,  so  that  now  the  only  persons  affected  or  protected  by  the  Fifteenth  Amendment 
are  negroes  and  persons  of  Africati  blood. 

We  are  now  confronted  with  this  proposition :  First,  the  proposed  amendment  to  the  Con- 
stitution, as  originally  introduced  and  passed  by  each  House,  related  to  negroes,  and  negroes 
alone.  Second,  as  amended  in  the  House,  an  attempt  was  made  to  make  it  extend  to  and  pro- 
tect a  class  of  white  men  who  were  denied  the  right  to  vote  because  of  their  nativity,  property 
or  creed.  This  class  were  mostly  found  in  the  New  England  States  and  the  State  of  New  York. 
This  was  the  question  presented  to  the  Conference  Committee.  If  the  Senate  agreed  to  the 
House  amendments,  then  the  negroes  and  the  white  class  of  whom  I  have  spoken  were  entitled 
to  vote  and  hold  office,  if  the  States  adopted  the  amendment. 

OPPOSING    OFFICE-HOLDING. 

That  Logan  was  opposed  to  the  negro  holding  office  in  the  condition  he  then  was  is 
evidenced  by  his  motion  to  strike  out  the  words  "and  hold  office"  from  the  Senate  proposition, 


Appendix.  271 

for  this  was  done  before  Bingham  offered  his  amendment.  An  examination  of  the  record 
shows  that  Bingham  voted  for  the  Logan  amendment.  Thus  it  appears  that  two  members  of 
the  House  Conference  Committee  were  opposed  to  giving  the  negro  the  right  to  hold  office  in 
his  then  condition.  Boutwell,  the  other  member  of  the  House  Committee,  voted  against  the 
Bingham  amendment.  When  the  Conference  Committee  met,  the  differences  which  the  House 
members  had  to  settle  between  themselves  was  the  striking  out  the  words  "and  hold  office" 
and  "nativity,  property,  creed."  They  agreed,  Boutwell  agreeing  to  strike  out  the  words  "and 
hold  office"  if  Logan  and  Bingham  would  strike  out  "nativity,  property,  creed."  In  this 
Stewart  of  Nevada  and  Conkling  of  New  York,  of  the  Senate  Committee,  agreed,  but  Edmunds 
of  Vermont  would  not  sign  the  report  of  the  committee. 

Something  had  to  be  done  for  the  protection  of  the  negro,  as  there  remained  but  three  or 
four  days  of  the  session.  With  the  ballot  he  had  a  voice  in  who  should  make  the  laws  and 
who  should  execute  them,  even  if  he  did  not  have  the  right  to  choose  one  of  his  own  race  to 
perform  those  functions.  This  is  a  power  before  which  all  politicians  bow.  The  Senate, 
rather  than  allow  the  session  to  expire,  yielded  the  right  to  hold  office  and  passed  the  proposed 
amendment.  It  cared  nothing  about  the  Bingham  amendment,  because  it  had  voted  down  an 
amendment  of  that  character  before  its  proposition  was  sent  to  the  House. 

SENATORIAL    OPINION. 

In  opposing  the  report  of  the  Conference  Committee,  Mr.  Edmunds  said:  "You  are  say- 
ing to  him  (the  negro),  'You  have  the  rights  of  manhood,  you  have  the  rights  of  equality,  but 
you  shall  exercise  these  rights  in  choosing  some  one  of  us  to  rule  over  you  instead  of  some  one 
of  your  fellow-citizens  whom  you  prefer.'  I  suppose  some  vague  fear  fills  the  mind  of  some 
trembling  convert  to  liberty  that  this  people  will  not  be  satisfied  to  give  the  negro  the  right  to 
run  against  themselves  for  some  office,  but  are  willing  to  confer  on  him  the  boon  of  voting  for 
them."  This  language  would  not  have  been  used  if  Senator  Edmunds  had'  thought  the  right 
to  vote  had  carried  with  it  the  right  to  hold  office.  He  would  not  have  used  it  if  he  thought 
the  language  of  the  fifteenth  amendment  or  any  other  constitutional  provision  inhibited  the 
States  from  denying  the  negro  the  right  to  hold  office  "  on  account  of  race,  color  or  previous 
condition  of  servitude." 

Senator  Wilson,  of  Massachusetts,  said:  "  Do  not  tell  me,  sir,  that  the  right  to  vote  carries 
with  it  the  right  to  hold  office.  It  does  no  such  thing,  No  man  in  the  world  has  a  right  to  hold 
an  office.  The  people  have  a  right  to  vote,  and  they  have  a  right  to  put  terms  and  conditions 
to  the  offices  they  make.  I  believe,  however,  that  if  the  black  men  have  the  right  to  vote,  they 
and  their  friends,  in  the  struggle  of  the  future,  will  achieve  the  rest.  Therefore,  I  am  willing 
now  to  give  them  the  right  to  vote,  if  I  cannot  get  for  them  the  right  to  be  voted  for." 

Senator  Morton  said :  "  We  are  liable  to  this  charge,  which  will  now  be  made,  and  the 
force  of  which  we  can  hardly  avoid — that  we  are  willing  the  negro  shall  vote,  provided  they 
vote  for  white  men,  but  the  officer  must  be  reserved  for  white  men." 

Senator  Stewart,  who  was  a  member  of  the  Senate  Conference  Committee,  said :  "  I  have 
labored  to  have  the  right  to  hold  office  inserted  in  the  amendment,  because  I  was  willing  to  do 
the  whole  right,  but  that  was  impossible,  and  now  I  want  to  secure  to  all  men  the  right  to  pro- 
tect themselves  by  the  ballot.  It  will  place  in  the  hands  of  the  black  man  a  rod  of  power  before 
which  all  politicians  quail." 


272  Appendix. 

Senator  Morrill,  of  Vermont,  said :  "  I  would  much  prefer  some  different  amendment  from 
this,  and  yet  I  am  not  prepared  to  say  that  this  does  not  go  as  far  as  would  be  acceptable  to  a 
majority  of  the  people." 

The  last  person  who  addressed  the  Senate  before  the  report  of  the  Conference  Committee 
was  adopted  was  Fowler,  of  Tennessee,  who  said :  "  I  suppose  this  report  will  be  concurred 
in.  I  simply  wish  to  say,  before  the  vote  is  taken,  that  my  understanding  of  the  proposition  as 
it  now  stands  is  that  it  decides  by  an  amendment  to  the  Constitution  that  the  Constitution  does 
not  guarantee  to  all  citizens  of  the  United  States  the  right  to  hold  office." 

I  have  gone  into  this  matter  at  some  length,  but  with  one  purpose  in  view,  and  that  was  to 
ascertain  whether  Congress  by  the  Fifteenth  Amendment  intended  to  inhibit  the  States  from 
denying  to  persons  the  right  to  hold  office  "on  account  of  race,  color  or  previous  condition  of 
servitude."  If  it  has  not,  then  the  way  is  open  to  get  rid  of  what  the  South  calls  the  "race 
problem." 

There  is  little  or  no  objection  to  the  negro  voting.  Fault  is  found  not  from  the  fact  that 
he  can  use  the  ballot,  but  the  manner  in  which  he  uses  it. 

THE    SOLUTION. 

Take  from  him  the  power  to  elevate  the  ignorant  and  vicious  of  his  race,  and  the  fear  of 
negro  domination  disappears.  Take  from  him  that  power,  and  you  have  furnished  him  an  in- 
centive to  select  between  men  who  are  candidates  for  office,  and  in  which  he  will  not  be  con- 
trolled by  race  sympathy.  Under  such  surroundings  negro  doi?tination  and  the  fear  of  it  will 
be  a  thing  of  the  past.  He  would  then  become  a  powerful  factor,  and  one  which  the  whites 
would  seek,  and  which  they  cannot  now  seek  and  will  not  seek,  because  of  the  existence  of  this 
fear.  The  white  vote  will  divide  itself  under  such  surroundings,  and  he  who  can  convince  the 
negro  he  is  his  best  friend  will  get  his  support.  He  will  thus  create  allies  among  those  who  are 
now  opposed  to  him,  who  will  have  more  influence  for  his  protection  than  one  of  his  own  race. 
Under  such  conditions  men  would  champion  his  cause,  not  because  they  love  him,  but  to  further 
their  political  ambition.  Under  such  conditions,  the  people  who  are  now  indifferent  as  to 
whether  his  vote  is  counted  or  not  would  have  an  interest  in  seeing  it  was  counted.  Under  such 
conditions  they  would  have  a  voice  in  choosing  the  men  who  make  and  administer  the  laws, 
whereas  they  now  have  no  such  voice.  Under  such  conditions  the  voice  of  their  representative 
could  be  heard  in  the  halls  of  Congress,  whereas  it  is  not  now  heard. 

I  am  aware  of  the  fact  that  this  sounds  like  a  cold-blooded  proposition,  but,  in  my 
opinion,  it  would  bring  peace.  I  am  not  saying  it  is  proper  or  that  it  is  just.  I  am  dealing 
with  a  condition  and  not  a  theory.  I  am  not  responsible  for  the  fact  that  tlie  great  bulk  of  the 
white  people  of  the  South  are  in  one  party.  It  is  a  misfortune  that  they  are,  and  I  am  only 
speaking  of  a  method  which  might  remedy  the  evil.  I  am  treating  of  two  evils  which  exist, 
and  one  of  which  the  Democratic  party  is  responsible  for.  If  it  would  forget  the  loss  of 
the  "Lost  Cause;"  if  it  would  present  any  other  issue  to  the  country  than  the  negro;  if  it 
would  turn  the  attention  of  the  members  of  its  party  to  Statecraft  and  developing  a  higher 
civilization ;  if  it  would  abandon  that  policy  which  existed  in  China  when  the  Chinese  wall 
was  built;  if  it  would  make  a  fight  for  progress;  if  it  would  do  anything  but  live  upon  the 
memories  of  the  dead  past,  I  think  the  race  problem  would  adjust  itself;  but  it  will  not.  The 
'•  race  problem"  is  the  only  thing  now  which  furnishes  that  party  with  cohesion.     The  cohesion 


Appendix.  273 

of  public  plunder  is  as  nothing  in  comparison  to  it.  Hence,  the  "race  problem"  will  continue 
until  it  is  settled.  The  negro  is  not  strong  enough  to  settle  it  in  his  own  favor ;  the  white  men 
of  the  Democratic  party  are.    Will  they  do  it? 

By  allowing  the  negro  the  ballot  you  retain  representation  for  him ;  by  prohibittng  him 
from  holding  office  you  get  rid  of  the  fear  of  "negro  domination"  and  settle  a  perplexing 
question.  You  establish  that  for  which  the  Democratic  party  contends,  this  country  should  be 
controlled  by  the  "  Caucasian  race."  You  have  either  to  give  up  representation  in  the  electoral 
college  and  Congress  based  upon  inhabitants,  or  concede  to  the  negro  the  ballot,  and  protect 
him  in  its  exercise.  The  Democratic  party  must  elect  which  of  the  two  propositions  it  will 
accept.     As  I  am  not  of  counsel  for  that  party,  I  have  no  advice  to  give  it. 

For  years  the  people  of  this  country  have  been  trying  to  discover  a  passage  to  the  North 
Pole.  For  years  the  people  of  this  country  have  been  attempting  to  solve  a  "race  problem." 
The  Arctic  explorers  have  been  looking  for  a  "Northwest  passage;"  the  whole  people  of  the 
South  have  been  looking  for  something  of  that  kind.  I  do  not  say  I  have  discovered  it,  or  that 
it  will  lead  to  a  settlement  of  the  controversy.  It  is  an  untried  proposition.  It  may  lead  to  a 
settlement  if  the  mariners  of  the  Democratic  party  will,  while  cruising  around  the  headwaters 
of  Salt  River,  see  if  the  route  is  practicable.     I  am,  sir,  respectfully,  etc., 

JOHN  McCLURE. 


[Negro  domination  could  be  just  as  well  established  through  agencies  of  white  men,  if  not 
better,  than  through  incompetent  blacks.] 


XABIvB  OF  CONTTKNTPS. 


Paper  I.  Page^ 

Return  of  Confederates  to  Little  Rock;  they  are  disfranchised  by  the  Constitution 
of  1864;  Gov.  Murphy  denounces  them  as  "rebels;"  boasts  his  loyalty;  suppres- 
sion of  a  newspaper  by  the  Federal  military  for  questioning  it ;  the  paper  released 
and  told  to  "  pitch  into  him,"  at  will 3-19 

Paper  II. 

Movement  of  citizens  for  relief  from  political  disfranchisement — Gen.  William 
Tecumseh  Sherman  addresses  a  "People's  Convention" — Chief  Justice  Yonley,  of 
the  State  Supreme  Court,  reads  decision  declaring  disfranchising  acts  unconstitu- 
tional— The  Legislature  following  is  largely  Democratic ;  it  is  declared  illegal  by 
the  Reconstruction  Acts  of  Congress,  passed  over  President's  veto 19-35 

Paper  III. 

Military  orders  enforcing  the  Reconstruction  Acts ;  Negroes  enfranchised  under 
them — Republican  party  organized,  composed  principally  of  negroes — Constitu- 
tional Convention  elected  and  adopts  a  Constitution  sent  out  from  Washington — 
Democrats  refuse  to  take  the  oath  and  vote  in  the  election  of  a  Constitutional 
Convention — Veto  message  of  Andrew  Johnson 35~5^ 

Paper  IV. 

Reconstruction  Constitution  adopted — Powell  Clayton  elected  Governor,  Rice  and 
McDonald  United  States  Senators — Measures  of  Clayton's  administration — Elec- 
tion and  Assessment  laws  by  the  Republican  Legislature — Democrats  resolve  to 
take  the  oath  accepting  negro  suffrage  and  vote ;  discuss  the  subject  among  them- 
selves— Early  differences  between  Brooks  and  Hinds  and  the  Clayton  "ring" — 
Appearance  of  the  Ku-Kluxes — Clayton  prepares  to  declare  martial  law 50-67 

Paper  V. 

Movements  of  militia  under  Clayton's  appointees — Invasion  of  Fulton  County  by 
Missouri  raiders,  under  Monks,  who  are  sworn  in  as  Arkansas  State  Militia  by 
Sheriff  Spears — They  kill  Bunch — Are  driven  out  of  the  State  by  rumors  of  armed 
rising  of  the  people  and  writ  of  habeas  corpus,  issued  by  Judge  Elisha  Baxter — 
Correspondence  and  order  of  Gov.  Clayton  approving  action  of  Spears  and  direct- 
ing militia  movements — Horrors  of  militia  raids — Brooks  lauds  militia  perform- 
ances— Legislature  honors  Monks — Opposition  to  martial  law  in  the  Legislature — 
The  Governor  and  Lieutenant-Governor  fall  out  with  each  other — Impeachment 
of  Lieutenant-Governor  for  swearing  Brooks  as  Senator — Impeachment  of  Gov. 
Clayton  and  Chief  Justice  McClure — Lieutenant-Governor  appointed  Secretary  of 
State  and  difficulties  adjusted — Clayton  elected  United  States  Senator — Hadley 
made  Acting  Governor — War  on  Gov.  Hadley's  administration  by  Brooks,  Rice 

and  others 67-107 

(274) 


Table  of  Contents.  275 

Paper  VI.  Page. 

Presidential  campaign  of  1872 — Horace  Greeley  and  rise  of  the  Liberal  Republi- 
can party — Brooks'  and  John  A.  Williams'  campaign  against  the  Clayton  admin- 
istration— Party  calls  for  opposition  conventions  of  Republicans — Horace  Greeley 
nominated  for  President  at  Cincinnati — Brooks  and  followers  indorse  Greeley  and 
Platform — Liberal  Republican  ticket  nominated  with  Brooks  their  candidate  for 
Governor — Republican  party  renominates  President  Grant — The  Clayton  wing 
indorses  Grant,  and  nominates  a  ticket  with  Elisha  Baxter  for  Governor — Clayton 
and  Brooks  meet  in  fierce  debate  at  Lewisburg,  Van  Buren,  Greenwood,  Oliver 
Springs  and  Fayetteville' — Baxter  proclaimed  elected  by  one  wing,  Brooks  by  the 
other — Election  frauds — Pope  County  War — Gov.  Hadley's  order  for  military  to 
guard  the  State  House 107-162 

Paper  VH. 

Organization  of  the  Republican  Legislature  under  protection  of  the  military — 
"  Convention  "  of  the  Reformers  (Brooks  men)  at  the  Capital,  intending  to  form  a 
separate  State  government — Pass  resolutions  denouncing  members  of  Legislature 
elected  on  Reform  ticket  for  entering  Clayton's  (Republican)  Legislature — Baxter 
declared  elected  Governor  in  joint  session  of  the  Legislature — Reorganizes  the 
militia  by  appointing  Gen.  Newton  (Democrat)  to  command  Second  Division, 
Wilshire  (Republican)  to  command  the  First — His  course  dissatisfies  Republican 
leaders — They  and  the  Reformers  combine  against  him — He  guards  himself  with 
company  of  militia — Yonley,  Attorney  General,  goes  before  the  Supreme  Court 
with  application  for  a  writ  of  quo  zvarranto  against  Baxter  on  the  relation  of 
Brooks — Court  orally  declares  against  its  jurisdiction  in  such  contest,  but  monkeys 
with  its  written  decision — Suit  in  Pulaski  Circuit  Court  brought  against  Baxter  as 
usurper — Renders  snap  judgment,  and  under  it  Brooks  is  sworn  in  by  Chief  Jus- 
tice McClure,  and  accompanied  by  armed  adherents,  fires  Baxter  from  the  Execu- 
tive office — Brooks  takes  possession  of  State  House  and  proclaims  himself  Gov- 
ernor      163-203 

Paper  VHL 

Baxter  surrounds  himself  with  militaiy  at  St.  John's  College — Issues  proclamation 
and  declares  martial  law  in  Pulaski  County — Senators  Clayton  and  Dorsey  tele- 
graph Brooks  sympathy — Both  sides  call  for  "  troops,"  which  respond  promptly — 
United  States  military  ordered  by  Grant  to  prevent  bloodshed — D^ily  skirmishes 
and  alarms — Col.  King  White,  with  band  of  negroes  from  Pine  Bluff,  arrives — He 
parades  the  city — Shots  are  fired  and  Maj.  Shall  killed — Hallie  steams  up  the 
river  to  intercept  arms  for  Brooks  coming  down  the  river — She  is  fired  into  by 
Col.  Brooker's  men  and  Capt.  Houston  and  Frank  Timms  killed — The  Supreme 
Judges  kidnapped  by  Baxter  men — Baxter  calls  the  Legislature — President  Grant 
approves  the  call — Opinion  of  Attorney  General  George  Williams — Proclamation 
of  Grant  dispersing  the  Reformers 203-260 


276 


Table  of  Co7itents. 


Appendix.  Page. 
Resignation  of  Gen.  Newton  and  appointment  of  Gen.  Churchill  in  his  stead  as 
Commander  of  State  Guard — Gen.  Newton's  statement  of  the  cause  of  his  resigna- 
tion— His  address  to  the  soldiers — Gov.  Baxter's  proclamation  of  amnesty  to 
non-commissioned  officers  and  privates  of  Brooks'  forces — Amnesty  act  of  Gen- 
eral Assembly,  including  Joseph  Brooks— Newspaper  card  of  Messrs.  Whipple, 
Benjamin  and  Whytock,  explaining  "snap  judgment" — Statement  of  Col.  S.  W. 
"Williams  as  to  the  same— Letter  of  ex-Judge  McClure  as  to  true  status  of  the 
negro  under  the  Fifteenth  Amendment — Poland  report  accepted  by  Congress- 
Congressional  contests  settled  by  Congress '  261-273 


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