North Arkansas Times

Batesville, Arkansas

October 10, 1868

Page 3

Fulton County Troubles

The Batesville Republican has immortalized itself in chronicling the thrilling events that have recently transpired in North Arkansas, and its Little Rock namesake has won for itself the brazen opinions of its party for the very able manner in which it has endeavored t forward the purposes of the enemies of peace, good order and good government. We have no new information to add. We consider theirs briefly. First, Simpson Mason was killed. Simpson Mason was a Union man! And he fell a martyr to “rebel” persecution! Simpson Mason was a thief, a robber, a murderer and an outlaw, as well as registrar, essential qualifications for nearly any radical. But no matter, we will admit for the argument that he was a loyal man. The Republican proceeds:

The news of Mason’s death spread rapidly over the country and was not long in penetrating the southern border of Missouri, where the deceased had many warm friends and old army companions residing, among them was Col. William Monks, between whom and Capt. Mason there has for many years existed the strongest ties of friendship. As soon as Monks learned of the murder of his friend, and that the murderer’s were still at large, he assembled together a squad of about sixty men, friends and acquaintances of the deceased , and crossed the state line, on which Fulton county borders, and set to work to ferret out and apprehend the guilty parties. He began his operations, we believe, on Friday, the 25^th ult., and had on the following day succeeded in arresting several persons, all of whom were released, with the exception of four men whose names were Bryant, Bush, Baker and Tracy.

That this Colonel! William Monks and Simpson Mason were old boon companions, there is little doubt. They were kindred spirits and have been closely allied for years on terms of that sort of intimacy and sympathy that common danger and common ventures never fail to inspire. So the patriotic Missouri border-ruffian assembles “about sixty” more of the same sort and properly, “sets to work to ferret out and apprehend the guilty parties.: Suppose this desperado, Monks, had really been a good and truly-loil man, as the radicals would have it appear, what business has he leaving another State to “ferret out” anything, and how very bad it mush have appeared to the peaceful inhabitants along the line of his march to see “about sixty men,” fully armed and equipped, proceeding to the seat of war, even though they might all have been saints. Having duly arrived, Bryant, Bush, Baker and Tracy are arrested by these self-contained arbiters of the peace and defenders of the law from another State. But a handsome feature in the radical account is the very delicate joint communication of Elisha Baxter, loyal judge of the Third Judicial District, and E.W. Thomson, (with a p.) loyal Prosecuting Attorney for the same who merely happened to be at the county seat of Fulton – holding court. – The letter is addressed to “Colonel William Monks,” and in the course of it this appears:

“We ask you most earnestly, as officially representing 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 imperil the lives and homes, and property of all good citizens of this state.”

After which follows:

“We are Colonel, very respectfully your obedient servants,

Elisha Baxter

Judge Third Judicial Circuit

E.W. Thompson

Prosecuting Attorney

Why did not the “very respectful obedient servants” of the “Colonel” command that thieving scoundrel to disperse his crowd of highway men and take steps to secure from the governor of Missouri their arrest, trial and punishment, in the event the peace officers of Arkansas should fail to do so? What will the civilized world think of the head of the judiciary for the Third District for this “very respectfully!” pandering to a lawless band of robbers, thieves and murderers?

But the prettiest part of the radical account may be gathered from the following:

His honor, the Judge, after counseling and enjoining upon all to remain quiet and permit the law of the land to be enforced, did the only thing which the emergency of the case required, to issue a writ of habeas corpus in behalf of the prisoners held by Monks.

Thus the bloody mission of this radical Missouri cut-throat and his murderous band is mildly met by the embodiment and essence of the law and loyalty in the person of the radical Judge Baxter, by a writ of habeas corpus for the prisoners in their custody!

But the climax in the ascending scales of radical brutality is found in the following:

As soon as the officer dispatched by Judge Baxter (with the writ of habeas corpus) arrived and served the writ on Monks the latter immediately turned over the two remaining prisoners to the Sheriff of Fulton county, who proceeded on his way to Salem with a small posee to guard the prisoners. They had not gone more than two miles, however, when several armed men rushed from the brush and resoned the prisoner, Bush, from the sheriff’s custody. It is reported that Bush’s body has since been found only a short distance from the road, riddled with bullets.

Now the murdered Bush was a “rebel.” So the “several armed men who rushed out from bush” to rescue him from his “loyal” escort mush have been “rebels” too. Query. Who then murdered Bush? If the radical account was not so serious, we could only liken it to John Phoenix, with his nose inserted in the judge’s mouth to hold him down. - Little Rock Gazette

North Arkansas Times-101068c.doc