Cane Cook now lives near Americus, Sumter County, Georgia. I heard
through the colored people of the inhuman outrages committed upon him,
and sent word to him to come to me if possible, that I might get a
statement of the facts from his own lips. With the greatest difficulty
he got into the cars at Americus, and came here to-day. He says:
"I worked for Robert Hodges, last year, who lives about two
and-a-half miles from Andersonville, Georgia. I had my own stock,
and rented land from him, agreeing to give him one-third of the
corn, and one-fourth of the cotton for rent. We divided the corn by
the wagon load, and had no trouble about that. I made three bags of
cotton, weighing 506, 511, and 479 pounds when it was packed. Mr.
Hodges weighed it again, and I don't know what he has got it down,
but that was the right weight; one-fourth was his, and
three-fourths mine. He told me he would buy my cotton and pay me
the market price, which was twenty-one cents that day, and I told
him he might have it. I got some meat and corn and other things
from him during the year, and he paid me $50 in cash Christmas. I
went to him last Friday a week ago, (January 29th, 1869) for a
settlement. When he read over his account he had a gallon of syrup
charged to me, and I told him I had not had any syrup of him. He
asked me if I disputed his word. I told him that I did not want to
dispute his word, but I had not had any syrup from him. He got up
very angry, and took a large hickory stick and came towards me. I
went backwards towards the door, and he followed me. He is a strong
man and I did not want to have any trouble with him, and I gave him
no impudence. I had a small piece of clap-board in my hand, that I
had walked with. He told me to throw it down. I made no attempt to
strike him, but held it up to keep off his blow. I went backwards
to the door and to the edge of the porch, and he followed me. As I
turned to go down the steps--there are four steps--he struck me a
powerful blow on the back of my head, and I fell from the porch to
the ground. I was not entirely senseless, but I was stiff and could
not move hand or foot. I lay a long time--I do not know how
long--but he did not touch me. Jolly Low was at work upon the
house, and he came down where I was, and Mr. Hodges told him he
might lift me up if he was a mind to. He lifted me up and set me on
the steps. Mr. Hodges then sent about three miles for Dr.
Westbrook, and he came and bled me in both arms; but I was so cold
my left arm would not bleed at all, and my right arm bled but a
very little. The Doctor then told me to go to my friend's house and
let him take care of me. Two colored men--Anthony Dukes and Edward
Corrillus--took me under each arm and carried me to Burrell
Corrillus' house, about one hundred and fifty yards. I could not
bear my weight upon my feet or stand at all. The Doctor rode by and
told Mrs. Corrillus to take good care of me and keep me there a
couple of days. I staid there until Sunday afternoon, when two men
lifted me into a buggy and Mr. Corrillus carried me to my wife near
Americus. My hands, arms, back, and legs are almost useless. I have
not been able to lift a bit of food to my mouth. I have to be fed
like a baby. I have not gone before any of the courts. I have no
money to pay a lawyer, and I know it would do no good. Mr. Hodges
has not paid me for my cotton, and says he will not settle with me,
but will settle with any man I will send him. While I lay before
his door he told me that if I died he would pay my wife $50. I hope
there will be some law sometime for us poor oppressed people. If we
could only get land and have homes we could get along; but they
won't sell us any land."
ANDERSONVILLE, GA., _Feb. 7, 1869_.
Mr. Cook is about fifty years old, has a large frame, has been an
industrious, hard-working man, but is now almost entirely paralized and
helpless. He is the most shattered, complete, and pitiable wreck from
human violence I have ever seen. Mr. Hodges, I am told, owns about six
thousand acres of land, and is one of the most prominent and respected
citizens of Sumter County. He is a Methodist preacher, and Mr. Reese
informs me, as I write, that he has heard him preach a great many times
in the last twenty years to both white and colored people at
camp-meetings and different meeting-houses in this region. He refuses to
sell any of his land to the colored people, and will not allow them to
build a school-house on it.