Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1873-04-25

were urged to procure the presence of troops
| as speedily as possible. We left Alexandria
at about ii. so A. NJ. During our stay there
mounted men were constantly crossing the
river, coming from the direction Of Colfax,
and just as we left, party of twenty, mount
ed and armed, apparently, with shot-guns,
crossed the river in body.
DEproRABLE CosDIrIoN OF AFFAIRS
| Having secured an ambulance, we crossed
the river into Grant Parish early on the
morning Of Tuesday, the 18th instant, and
started for Colfax, distant about Is miles. We
| found the most depiorabie state. The crop.
are being neglected, many of the residents,
both white and colored, have left their homes,
and q general sense of insecurity prevails
which we are satisfied can only be removed
by the presence of troops. About one third
of mile below the court house we came up
on party of coiored men and women carry.
ing away a wounded colored man upon a sled
At little distance in the feld were the dead
bodies of two colored men. About 200 yards
nearer the court house were three dead bodies
of eolored men, and from that point to the
court house and its vicinity the ground was
,hickly strewn with dead. We we're unable
to and the body CT single white man, or to
ascertain the less Of the whites, dead and
wounded, were carried away, butit is persist
) have knowledge Of the actual loss, they as
serting that but one man on their side was
3 killed, and Hadnot and Harris were wounded.
We may state here that Hadnot has since
died in Alexandra. We send herewith plan
8 of the court house and its defences. space
e of about 200 yards square was enclosed in q
slight earthw ork, with ditch inside The
ditch was from 10 70 Is inches in depth, and
r the breas,work in front of 1t from 20 to 81
S inches in height, and was protected In from
BY l-2 inch plsnking. On the lower side o
the court house the greater portion of thu
breastwork was COMPOSED OF planking alone
laid in zig-zags, and Without bitches.
l THE FIGnr OF SUNDAY
From what information we could get, w
u believe that the fight commenced on Sunday
l. the 18th instant, between 10 and ii A. III.
Al ard continued until nearly dark. OF the
numbers engaged on either side it is impossible
for Us to form any definite idea though we
e are satisfied that the parties holding the cour
Al house were less in number than their assail-
ants. 1t is asserted by the colored people
that the assailants consisted of parties from
h the parishes of VIM, Rapides, Natchitoches
, Catahoula, and Caddo, in addition to those
from Grant but they were unable or unwill
" ing 10 give US the names of any parties par
Y ticipating in the attack. All statements tina
!. we have heard agree substantially in the MAR
particulars. 1t is agreed that the attacking
J. party was commanded by c. c. NASH and thu
n assaulted by man named Leo Allen; that
, surrender was demanded and refused; thai
the besieged were given thirty minutes to re
( move their women and children, and that a
l. the expiration Of that time the fight was com
3 menced by the assailing party. The attack.
ing party had in their possession small can
: non, taken from the steamboat, James T.
e Moore, from which they fred bolts, sample
of which we deposte in your office. The be-
sieged had rugged up couple of guns by
fastening lengths Of gas-pipe on rafter tim
l bers, blocking up one end with pine plug,
and drilling touch-hole. One Of these was
bursted while trying it some days before the
fight. ard the other has not the appearance of
having been used
The MASSACRE.
Sometime in the afternoon the besieecd
were drawn from the fight and from their
, breastwork into the court house. One end
;, of this building was without windows, nor had
the besieged prepared loopholes. colored
man named Isaiah Atkins informed US thai
4 Mr.. Nash had forced a colored man called
Pink to come to this end of the building and
hold pine torch to the edge of the roof un.
: til it caught fire. 1t is our opinion that few
Y Of the colored men had been killed up to thi.
:. time, but that when forced by the fire to leave
the court house they were shot down without
Il mercy. The position and condition of many
of the bodies go far to prove this. Under the
A warehouse, between the court house and the
river, were the dead bodies of six colored men
u who bad evidently gone under for concealment
q and were there shot like dogs. Many were
: shot in the back of the head and neck. One
man still lay with his hands clasped in suppl
cation; the face of another was completed,
/ f1attened by blows from a broken stock of q
double barreled gun, lying on the ground
near him; another had been cut across the
u stomach with knife, after being shot, and
+ almost alllhad from three to dozen wounds
, Many of them had their brains literally blown
out.
- PRISONERS EXECuTED AND THEIR BoDIEs
PITCHED INTO THE RIVER.
1t is asserted by the colored people that af-
ter the fight thirty four prisoners who were
e taken before the burning of the court house
Y were taken to the river bank, two by two, ex-
ecuted, and hurled into the river. We caus-
y ed to be buried in the ditch, near the ruins of
the courthouse, the remains Of ffty-fou col.
ored men, three of whom were SO badly burn
}. ed ~ to be unacceptable. There were in
# side the courthouse the charred bones of one
, other, and hve bodies we gave to their friends
" for interment elsewhere. We saw also -
: wounded colored men, two Of whom will GER
j, tainly die, and others of whom are very un.
j. likely to recover. We are informed that since
the fight parties of armed men have been
securing the country, surrounding Colfax,
taking the mules and other property of the
a colored people.
Since writing the above report we have seen
on board the steamboat the colored Leo Allen
who commanded the parties holding the court
house. He assures us that not single col
ored man was killed or wounded until after
their surrender, and that then they were shot
down without mercy. On our return to Alex
andria yesterday We were again implored by
citizens to have troops sent there at once as
the only means of averting disturbance.
Very respectfully,
T. w. DEKLyNE, Col, Asst. Adj. GenI.
WM. WRIGHT, Col, Asst. Insp. Gen'l.
STATEMENT OF THE LEADER OF THE WHITES.
Colonel Deklyne makes the following re-
port of an interview with Z. c. Nash, who is
| said to have commanded the attacking party: