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Letter from Sumpter,

SUMPTER, TEXAS, Oct. 23rd 1867. 
DEAR SENTINEL: - The gloom that hangs over everything in our county is almost appalling. Corn crops have, as a general thing been quite light, while the cotton crop amounts to almost nothing. Registration, we believe has finally closed in our county, with the following result, to wit: Whites 231, blacks 194, rejected applicants, white of course, 169, leaving the white voters with a majority of 37. Since our last communication, we noticed an editorial in the Sentinel, setting forth that something had been published in the gallant and immortal Goddin's famous sheet at Livingston, written by the Bureau agent of Trinity co. H.S. Johnson, concerning the report made by us of a political meeting, held in this place sometime in July. Now sir, we feel ourself under obligations to you for your good opinion of us, and do most heartily assure you, that you shall never be deceived in us, and further that every communication sent by us to you, we hold ourself personally responsible for. We say to you further, that everything that was written by us, concerning that meeting was either said or done on that occasion, notwithstanding what may have been written tot he contrary by said Johnson. We have been quietly waiting, thinking that we would get a change to see the article published by the furious Goddin and composed by the heroic Johnson, but have failed so to do; and now we feel that it is nothing more than justice to ourself and to the Sentinel, that we come out in our own vindication; and as Johnson has been pleased to assail to us, so unjustly too, we are highly gratified, to embrace the present opportunity of assailing him. We have no doubt but that the citizens of this county have had to endure as great oppressions, and perhaps greater than those of any other county in the entire South. Nor have any people more patiently borne oppression than the citizens of our county. But many of them now say, that they have patiently borne these outrages until forbearance has ceased to be virtue. In order to make himself more secure and carry out his tyrannical measures to a better advantage, he has armed and equipped a large company of negroes on Trinity river who are the dread and terror of the peaceable inhabitants of that vicinity. In your editorial, you say that from the extreme radical sentiments of our Bureau, that it would naturally lead one to suppose, that he had been imported from the region of Massachusetts Bay. Now sir, in answer to that, we have to say, that we have been informed that he was born and brought up on Southern soil, as well as your own bloodthirsty pet the invincible Hunsaker. One thing is certain, that during the war, he lived in this town, and managed to keep out of the service, by how many and what means we are not fully able to say, but think that one, was by practicing medicine among the families of soldiers. Another thing, that he participated in too, was hunting up deserters, which the citizens say he enjoyed very much. The first thing he did after the surrender of our army, was to obtain from the appointing power, the position of squire. Having commenced his oppressions in an undue manner, the citizens became highly incensed; so much so, that this worth and newly appointed squire, became suddenly alarmed for his safety and fled in great confusion, taking shelter in the bush. He immediately dispatched for soldiers, and we believe that two companies were sent to his rescue. On arriving in town, they found everybody quiet and peaceably disposed, and so they made but a short stay. In the summer of 1866, he ran for Chief Justice of this county, and we dont believe that he received 20 votes in the county. Last winter, he applied for, and obtained the position he now holds of Agent of the Freeman's Bureau, and since that time the work of oppression has been steadily on the increase. He uses every means possible whereby to keep up a continual disturbance between the whites and blacks; and instead of making his office beneficial to both as it was designed that he should do, he has made it a perfect curse to our community. Where negroes were working on perfectly satisfied, he has used every means in his power to make them dissatisfied; and he has been pretty successful in this part of his mission; and we assure you that it will prove ruinous to 

Who is D.S Hunsaker?

SUMPTER, October 4th, 1867.
EDITOR CROCKETT SENTINEL.
DEAR SIR: - In your issue of Sept. 24th you published a short address "to The Citizens of Trinity County, in which you very generously profer us, Said Citizens, the use of Houston county jail "for the accommodation of our evil doers." For this kindness we tender you our sincere thanks and will avail ourselves of the use of your said strong hold whenever we have an occasion therefor. But you complain, of us in the same address, for sending your county "bureau agents, and say that it is neither fair nor neighborly in us." Now dear sir if we were quilty either discretely or indirectly in sending you the sweet scented individual D.S Hunsaker, (we suppose that animal is the one you allude to) to act as your bureau agent, causing the displacement of a good agent, one that done justice and was a gentleman, why then we would be conscience stricken that we had been guilty of a mean, low, dirty and unneighborly trick, and richly deserved the execrations of the good people of Houston county, for doing so vile a thing. We are not guilty, we the Citizens of Trinity county do most solemnly aver that we hold our friends and neighbors of Houston county in too great of a degree of respect, to be quilty of so heinous offence against their peace, dignity, public morals, social wellfare and sense of justice, day we hold the blackest, longest heeled, thickest liped and stinkenist African in your county, in too much veneration to place him over so contempable and unjust minded an agent as D.S Hunsaker. Though as long as your citizens have been so accursed, not through any angency of ours, we feel that it would be a neighborly act in us to suggest to you how you can in a pecuniary point of view, lessen the expense of subsisting that delectable individual. Suspend him to some elevated object as a sign or lamp post: and a certin red headed bird, will think that he is their great, great Grand Daddy and they will come and feed him on (to him) delicious tid bits such as grub and other kind of worms, thus you see you will save his provender, and will be able to save your "beef necks" for more respectable subjects that Trinity may send you safe keeping in your jail. 
Perhaps you would like to have a short sketch of this sweet scented Do-do bird. In 1860 & 61 he was a strong secessionist. Was perfectly blatant in his vituperations against the Federal government. In 1861 he purchased a negro fellow giving $1800 and to show his extreme pro-slavery proclivities idioticly and barborously without the slightest provocation whiped this negro, within 20 steps of the public square till his back was a perfect gore of blood-in the same year he constituted himself a vigilant committee of one, to detect and bring to condign punishment any northern emissary that he could find in the country. And while thus acting he made a murderous assault upon one Bluford Sanders, on the public square of Sumpter claiming that he, Sanders was a Northern Spy. It is a well known fact to the citizens of Sumpter that D.S Hunsaker did in 1861 on the street of said town shoot Abraham Lincoln in effigy, that in May 1862, he hired David M. Morrow to go as a substitute in Capt Ballenger's company, promising him a tract of land and a mule and after Morrow had been sworn into the service and he Hornswagler had received a certificate from Capt B. that he had furnished a substitute in the Confederate service, he had the meanness to refused to pay said Morrow anything and Morrow never has received his land or mule. Times getting hot for his individual in Trinity in 1862 he moved to Goliad County where he claimed he had furnished a substitute and was therefor exempt. And from there he finally found his way to Mexico, not because he was principled against secession, because he voted secession and was loud in his denunciations against those who did not so vote, but because he was too big a coward and paltroon to stand up to the principals he

Transcription Notes:
On left clipping: unsure of the word before "armed" On right clipping: It seems the writer used "Q" instead of "G" in some of the words "quilty". Spelling errors throughout. Unsure of the word after "justice". ---------- Reopened for Editing 2023-04-12 15:57:32 ---------- Reopened for Editing 2023-04-12 19:14:00 ---------- Reopened for Editing 2023-04-13 10:49:07