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me on account of my official acts.
From time to time during the summer I have heard of his threats towards me and it is a matter of common notoriety that he has often swore publicly  that he would kill me. It was evidently his intention to kill me on this occasion. 

Bell came here from Arkansas about a year before the war was closed, partly to keep out of the rebel army and partly to save his negroes from being freed. His general character in the community is that of a brutal quarrelsome man who is always having difficulty with someone. He has given me as much trouble alone as the rest of the County.

I will give one little fact which will illustrate his character. While I was lying very ill with the fever and it was reported that I was dying, he drove his carriage past my home several times making all the noise he could, making faces and yelling. 

His trial here by the Civil Authorities would probably be as great a farce as previous ones. 

I would therefore most respectfully request that he may be sent to Austin and tried by a Military Commission