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The Press and Times of the 20th inst. publishes an extract from a letter addressed to Capt. Kirk, commanding a company of "loyal militia" stationed at Jackson, in which the writer says:
"We are in a dangerous condition.  The Union men of this end of of the county are expecting to be assaulted every night.  I am especially in great danger.  We have a clan of desperadoes, cut throats and outlaws, here amongst us who are backed up by the citizens of the county.  If there is not something done for us we shall be compelled to leave the country.  I should have come to Jackson myself before now, but my friends advised me not to go, saying I would not be able to get there if I started.  They had men to follow me to Nashville-fellows who belong to this gang of outlaws, and their business was, doubtless, to kill me on the way.  Captain, we want some fifty men stationed at this end of the county right away.  The negroes are beginning to leave here-some go every day rather than stay here and be cursed and whipped by these bad men.  We need more troops in the county, at least five or six hundred men.  The rebels are completely organized, and I believe they intend to make a break upon us soon."
Here is a fellow who appears to have been scared out of his wits, if he ever had any, and yet he does not give a single fact to justify his scare.
Capt. Kirk has a word to say of Madison county, in a letter to Gen. Cooper, and here it is: [[handwritten note]] Medlin [[handwritten note]]
"General:  The Rebels in this county are behaving very badly.  No Union man, black or white, can live here in peace and safety.  Several prominent Republican citizens of the county are now hiding away from home in order to save their lives.  Several colored men have come to me lately covered with blood and in great distress from the beatings received at the hands of some of these outlaws.  Several have been whipped nearly to death.  I have sent many of them to the officer of the Freedmen's Bureau, but have experienced little or no relief.  Please give me some instructions how to proceed with these Rebels who are beating the darkies here.  I shall want ammunition, General.  Three thousand rounds would be acceptable.  I will take good care of it and if necessary make good use of it.
The Captain must have been frightened from the lusty manner in which he calls for "more ammunition."  On the succeeding day he gives further evidences of his fright in another letter to Gen. Cooper, from which the following is extracted:
"Since writing you last night I have learned the Rebels killed three negroes last evening.  They were found secreted in the bushes.  Two of them were tied together.  The Rebels here are acting worse than they were during the war.  They are taking every pistol and gun away from the negroes which they brought home with them from the Federal service.  There are a least 1000 armed men in this place of the Conservatives.  Guns and pistols are fired all night long.  Send us the ammunition I spoke of before, we are going to have trouble here."