New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1874-03-13
NEW ORLEANS FRIDAY MARCH

The return is fearfuly suggestive. The
warrant sued out on the fourth, from the
sixth to the thirteenth or fifteenth was not
too long to keep it alive. But the return
SAYS it could not De served; that assistance
had been asked from the Governor and had
| been refused. 1t was necessary to assert
this in order to comply with the form of the
| statute and justify the subsequent acts. 1t
is lie gentlemen of the jury. To travel
the 360 miles necessary to communicate
| with the Governor between the sixth and
| the eleventh was impossible.
One witness says he saw party on the
| road from Pineville, and the expression of
| his face was such as l hope never to see on
| another witness. when he said, he didn't t
know what they were going to do, they
didn't tell him, he supposed, because he was
| a justice of the peace, but he thought they
| might be going Ito administer eondign pun.
| sbment."
You weretold the negroes had pickets ont
! and were scouting the country. The death
of jesse Mckinney disproves THAI. His
body lay in the house of Hi. John and
they did not dare go and bury it. 1t lay
| there and Kit tells you he could not go near
| it because it smelled SO and the turkey
buzzards covered the house. Tho marvel
lous Harris tells of the hugse and gan that
| Crulkshank lost. The gun was Shaw's gun,
and the horse was returned lame the next
| day.
| The ne groes that Shaw swore in had faith
! in his night, as did those who folio wed
| Nash and believed they were right. But
suppose they were wrong, AS the counsel
would have you beliege, did that give
/ Nash the right TO slaughter them? Terror
existed in Grant parish. and if it vas said
| that all would be killed ''from the cradle
up it was said first by the whites, for tha,
| is not q negro expression. Counsel forget
! that there were eras u peace in this.
There was peace when the negroes were
! driven from their intrenchmepts. peace
| when She courthouse was fired. and peace
| when they had surrendered. When in
| regular warfare was it considered that there
| was no peace &ill ditch was filed With un.
| ehriyen deadi
! If the sole object was 70 install Nash and
Cazabat, it is an Ominous circumstance that
neither OF them we're installed when the
! carnage was over. Instead OF that, we see
! tho people of the surrounding country flock.
| ing around to feast their morbid curiosity
| on the sight Of the unshriven dead lying on
! the wet ground, the roasted flesh in the
ruins Of the courthouse, aud the Aorrid
feasts of the turkey buzzards and the dogs
| which preyed GU the bodies Of the anur.
dered men.
What i. the indictmenti 1. charges:
First, that they attempted to prevent the
people from lawfully bearing arms. They
| tell you there was no such intent. BY what
patent of authority then did Nash demand
them2 That demand meant the poor wretches
should 60 unarmed to the fate of Jesse Mo.
Kinney. The intent Is not only in their
minds. bnt their action the next day. Arms
In dead mems hands can do no harm. but
yet on that bloody field there was picked
up ou1y a single butt of . shotgun and
about the courthouse the fragments Of q
single rife.
Counsel make ,rifine mistake a. 20 the
second count. The evidence before the
grand jury was so prodgal of crime that
they were compelled TO assume reasons for
their commitment in the absence of TX.
PLANTATION 10 the criminals. And eouu-
sci err in saying that this is my in
dictment. for it ID not mine. but that
Of the grand jury. Assuming their de-
Tense was correct, the counsel were chal.
lenged to show what foundation there
was for the punishment that was inflicted.
Suppose 800 cofored men assembled unlaw
fully. did that warrant the slaughter of
Sixtythree or sixty-four of them whose bod
les are now fostering in ditch: no; char
ity can give it . milder term, for in the
words used. "the d. Nisgere must be
taught 3 lesson"
There Ias another count they did not
comprehend. The intent Of unequal pun.
ishnent. discriminating between whites
and blacks. What then was this wholesale
destruction o! colcred men. when whites
who were supposed to be obnoxious were
spared! Why was sueh destruction only
launched against the blackss Would eighty
white men have suffered the came wayl
The testimony shows that Ha2not was
present. and it was not denied. Seven
or eight witnesses assert his presence iron.
the first Of April to the final day.
The presence of William B. Irwin is rot
denied.
AL testimony mus. be valued according
to the source from which i: comes. This is |
the first time, and God grant it may be the |
last, that all testimony has been from
cOloTed men. Aside from their lack OF in |
telligcnce, was apprehensive that by their
aggressive sense of wrong and their dis
position to exaggerate. . vindict;ve feeling
might be manifested. But Of all the |
Witnesses placed on that stand and |
confronted with their murderers. NOT |
one Of them manifested in any inst anee |
that degree OF malice that white man |
would. confess I don't understand 1T. /
Add 70 this. when il came to the test OF |
Identification, when it must have occurred |
to them that it was almost certain death to |
exercise the moral courage to point out |
oae after another OF the accused. the spec
cut of ten white men would have preferred |
that the criminals should have gone un- !
whipped of justice rather than take the 20. /
sponslbllity OF risking their peace hereafter. |
Each one told his history with an intelli
gence that astonished me.
Counse! would have you believe these
witnesses did not see Clement Penn; that
same IS true Of Cruikshapk. A marvel Of
man named Stewart saw him somewhere
else. Now. Cruikshank was in the con- /
Gpiracy, was in the crowd that seized Cal |
houn, was there on the ninth. He was Ger /
tainly at alexandria the Thursday before /
the fight, and this man says he met him ana !
went with him toward Grant, and stopped l
q mile and q half from it. He had no in
teresU in the battle; knew no details
of it had no business there. He allowed
Cruikshank to 60 in, and whom did he
bring outs poor prisoner in the interest
OF humanity No! Pinkney Chambers, the !
instrument who was used to fire the court !
house! He was solicitous, not for the VIC ]
tins, but for the tools: He went to COlfax !
and forgot ell about his warrant and his
stolen property, which was then in his
house, and went in to to get the incendiary.
Another tale ls told to tax your credulIty-
that they then spent the night in the rain in
, sawmill instead Of going to Craikshank's
house.
Look 1t the facilities foe knowing these
mems faces. MEMS minds are sometimes SO
ntent on one thing that all other incidents
ire passed unheeded. These poor prison
,rs photographed the faces of their captors
n their minds, for they had but one hope,
md that was the expression of those faces.
They were the features of the men that
hey knew, and they were appealing to
hem for mercy. Under no circumstances
Ire impressions 80 vivid as ip the time OF
larger.
Dennis l.anninn and Auatin Oapar ~