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try, our jail being out of repair. The prisoner excited great curiosity, and many visited him during the time, as well strangers as citizens of our county; and the subject of the route with Stewart was one of the most common topics of conversation, of which he always conversed freely, and always admitted that he had never known Virgil A. Stewart; and always, when it was involved, candidly confessed that fact, and very frequently, when conversing freely on the subject, called and designated Stewart by the name of Hues; and on his way to the penitentiary, after conviction, he frequently spoke of Stewart, calling him Hues. It was also proved in court, that Stewart was presented to Murrell immediately after his arrest by way of interrogatory, and that Murrell then called him Hues. I have no hesitancy in saying that it has been as strongly proved, that John A. Murrell and Virgil A. Stewart were as completely strangers personally, except what Stewart probably was impressed with from the infamous character of Murrell, from circulating reports, as any two citizens who had lived as near. John A. Murrell was in the close custody of myself when present, and, when absent, of my son, Absalom Deberry, Mr. Richd. Turner, Mr. Henry B. Stewart, Mr. L. W. Stewart, and Maj. Charles R. Haskill, all or any of whom will cheerfully subscribe the foregoing, should it be necessary, as well as divers other respectable citizens who conversed with Murrell on the subject, and were as firmly convinced of the fact that Murrell and Stewart were strangers, as myself or the guard. There was found in the possession of John A. Murrell a form of affidavits for persons of the names of Dorks, Loyd, and Tucker. It was taken from him at Florence after he was retaken; it appeared to be a letter of instruction how to dispose of Stewart for pas sing counterfeit bills, but was not directed to any per

son. This paper he admitted to have been written by himself; said it was done before he broke jail at Brownsville, and afterward he carelessly kept it about his person, not expecting to have occasion to use it.

"The foregoing statement is made for the use and benefit of the community, to make such disposition of it as may be thought proper, it being what I thought the public, and particularly Virgil A. Stewart, is justly entitled to.

"M. DEBERRY."

We would also refer the reader to the evidence of the guard who arrested Murrell, on page 122 of this work.

It appears that Clanton has endeavoured to excite prejudice against Mr. Stewart by means of letter-writing and false accusation. We will here convict him of a base falsehood, and an effort at slander, from his own productions.

The following is a letter of Clanton's, in which he accuses Mr. Stewart of forgery :—

"Yallabusha County, Miss., Sept. 25th, 1835.

"MESSRS ARTHUR, FULTON, & Co.,

"Natchez, Miss.

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"GENTLEMEN:-I have in my possession two letters, written by Virgil A. Stewart to George N. Saunders, of this county, directing him to forward his goods, &c. to your address, to be forwarded by you to some point on Red river, where he stated he designed settling. The object of this is to learn from you two facts in reference to him. First, at what point on Red river were you directed by him to forward his things? and, secondly, at what time was he first in Natchez, and requested you to take the agency of his things? I have a letter

written on the 1st day of November, 1834, at St. Francisville, Louisiana, to George N. Saunders, requesting him to forward the things to you. It must therefore have been before that that he saw you. His fight near Patton's Ferry took place, according to his statement, some time in October, 1834. The certificate of Matthias Deberry, sheriff of Madison county, Tennessee, is dated the 29th day of September, 1834 [see ‘Land Pirate,' page 80], at which time he was at Jackson, Ten

nessee.

"I presume you have already learned that no such fight ever took place, and that his certificates are forgeries. I hope, gentlemen, you will answer this instantly, and oblige

"Your obedient servant,

"MATTHEW CLANTON. "P. S.-Direct your answer to Pittsburg, Yallabusha county, Mississippi."

We will now give Clanton's inquiries to the Georgians respecting Mr. Stewart, and the genuineness of his certificates of character from that state, with their reply to the same.

[From the Natchez Daily Courier.]

Jefferson, Jackson Co., Ga., Sept. 10th, 1835.

MR. WM. P. MELLEN:

DEAR SIR,-You will understand, by reading the enclosed, the object we have in view by sending it to you for publication. It would be an act of justice to Mr. Stewart, and a satisfaction to the community in which he resides, to know that he was a man in good standing in this country.

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Jefferson, Jackson Co., Ga., Sept. 9th, 1835.

MR. EDITOR-The following letter was received at this place by mail a day or two since.

COPY.

"Yallabusha County, Miss., August 11, 1835.

"MR. SYLVANUS RIPLEY, Jackson Co., Ga.

"In a pamphlet recently published by Virgil A. Stewart, entitled 'The Western Land Pirate,' is the following certificate: "State of Georgia, Jackson County.

"The undersigned, citizens of said state and county, do hereby certify, that we have been acquainted with Virgil A. Stewart, formerly of this county, now of Madison county, State of Teunessee, for a number of years (and some of us from his infancy), and that he has always supported a respectable and honourable character; and we take pleasure in recoinmending him to the confidence of the citizens of whatever county he may visit, assuring them that we entertain no fears of his ever committing any act derogatory to his character as an American citizen, or in the least calculated to forfeit the confidence to which he is herein recommended.

"Given under our hands, this 15th February, 1833.

"W. E. Jones, LL. D., Geo. R. Grant, M. D., M. Witt, LL. D., John Appleby, James D. Smith, E. C. Shackelford, Wm. Cowan, Esq., L. A. R. Lowry, Jno. M'Elhanon, Wm. N. Wood, Jno. Lindsay, W. H. Jones, Jackson Bell, A. C. Bacon, Wm. Niblock, Charles Witt, John Park, Maj., Samuel Barnet, Col., Jno. Shackelford, James Orr, G. Mitchell, LI.. D., David Witt, Esq., H. Hemphill, George F. Adams, L. W. Shackelford, A. J. Brown, Esq., Green R. Duke, W. C. Davis, Jno. Carmichael, Charles Bacon, Samuel Watson, Wm. Morgan, J. Cunningham, M. D., Lewis Chandler, Wm. D. Martin, Esq., G. M. Lester, Wm. Park, J. W. Glen, Esq., James Nabus, Geo. Shaw, Maj.'

"Georgia, Jackson County.

"I, Sylvanus Ripley, clerk of the superior and inferior courts for the county aforesaid, do hereby certify, that I am acquainted with Mr. Stewart, the person named in the above recommendation, and believe him to be of good moral character;—and also with the persons whose names are signed to the same-as professionally connected-who are entitled to the same.

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"Given under my hand and seal of office, the 27th day of February, 1835.

"SYLVANUS RIPLEY, Clerk.

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"I, Edward Anderson, one of the judges and chairmen of the inferior court for the county aforesaid, do hereby certify, that Sylvanus Ripley, who gave the above certificate, is the clerk of said courts;-and I further certify, that I am well acquainted with Virgil A. Stewart, and heartily accord with the sentiments expressed by the above respectable citizens of this county.

666

EDWARD ADAMS, Judge and Chairman.”

"The object of this communication is to inquire what you know of this certificate? Was such a one ever given to Virgil A. Stewart ? What was his standing among you? I make these inquiries because his pamphlet has created considerable excitement among the people of this country, and he is believed by many of us to be an impostor and villain. Please let me hear from you without delay. Direct your letter to Pittsburg, Yallabusha county, Mississippi.

"Yours very respectfully,

"MATTHEW CLANTON."

"From the foregoing we regret to learn that doubts are entertained by some of your citizens in regard to the genuineness of the certificate it contains-and also of the integrity of the individual (Mr. Stewart) to whom it was given. As an act of justice to Mr. Stewart, and in order that his character may be duly estimated by the citizens among whom he now resides, we repeat to you, and through you to the public (if you will do us the favour to give publicity to our statements), that we have known Virgil A. Stewart intimately for a long timehe having been principally brought up among us-and that his character for honesty, probity, and integrity, so long as we knew him, would not suffer by a comparison with that of any other individual with whom we are or have been acquainted. And we whose names appear to the foregoing certificate further certify, that said certificate was made and assigned by us-and that it contains but a feeble expression of the estimation in which we hold the character of the individual to whom it was given: and finally, we would state, that

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