The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1874-09-02
The Cousha,la TroubInn.
LYNCnING OF wHITRs AND NKaRoEa.

LYNCHlNG OF WHlrRS AND NEGROES.
NEW ORLEANS, September 1.-MsIol
| A. +. Stephenson, OF Desalto Parish, whC
arrived here 10, day furnished the follow
ing account oil the Coushatta troubles
which Is no doubt substantially correct
It seems that ~ Bed River Parish, where
the negroes are largely in excess Of thl
whites, that much apprehension and
alarm has been felt by the latter on &C
count .ot threatened outbreak OF the
negroes instigated, as was generally be
lleVed by Edgerton, Dawes, Twitchell
Howell, Willis, Holland and others. The
lives OF several respectable white citizens
Of the ParishhSd been threatened by;ht
negroes, and o few days ago Mr.. Will
liams, a respectable citizen Of the Third
Ward oI Red River Parish, was attempt
ed to be assassinatGd by TWO notorious
desperate negroes; near Brownsville, in
the lower edge Of the Parish, he having
been fired at by them with double
barrelled shot guns
On last Thursday night a small party
Of white men went 10 the cabins OF these
negroes with the view Of arresling them
and lodging them IN Jail, when they were
fired upon from the cabin and one 0l the
party instantly killed. The negroes then
attempted !toIun 10 the woods, when they
were both shot and killed by the party
attempting the arrest. On The next day
(FridaY) a large body Of armed negroes
between 800 and 400 in number, assem-.
bled near Brownsville, swearing Venge.
ance against the whole white race, and
declaring that they would not leave a
white man, woman or child alive In the
parish. This created great apprehension
and excitement Of Coushatta and through.
out the surrounding country, and on FIJI
day night the roads leading into the town
were pickeled.
Two young men, Mr. Joe Dickson and
Mr.. Pickens, who were on one Of the
posts, halted a negro who was coming
into town with sack oi buckshot. He
paid no attention 10 the summons to
halt, and ran of into the darkness,
being fred at by one Of the parties with.
out efccts However, they. Immediately
went into the town 10 report what had
occurred, and were returning to their
post, when they were sccosled in the
streets Of Coushatts by Homer Twitchell
and two notorious negro desperadoes,
Andrew Basley and Bob Smith, all oi
whom were armed They had a few mo.
ments' conversation with them not Of a
violent nature, and had turned round to
proceed to their post, when they were
fired upon twice bythis armed party from
the rear and without warning. Dickson
was dangerously, il not fatally, wounded
by this fire. He now lies in very criti.
cal condition. Mr.. Pickens escaped un.
hurt. The firing party then, ran of.
Basley and Smith escaped altogether and
Twitchell for the time being. That
night and next morning F. 8. Edgerton,
Homer J. TWitChell,- R. A. Demees, w. F.
Howell, and NJ. G. Willis, all white, and
several negroes were arrested and placed
under guard. All Of the party who held
office then voluntarily rendered and wrote
out their redgnations, and they with the
others voluntarily proposed il a guard was
furnished them 70 Shreveport they would
leave the State to return no more: This
was at once assented 10 and the prisoners
requested MIR. John Carr, a reliable and
trustworthy citizen, who was present, to
take charge OF the guard for their protec-
ton. = On Sunday morning at 10 o'clock
Mr. Carr with guard OF about sixteen
men started with the above named pris-
oners. Afterwards a party Of between 40
and 30 men, supposed TO be all Texans,
who had come into Coushatta started IN
pursuit with the aVowed purpose OF
lYnching the prisoners, Later in the day
Mr.. Carr was apprizsd OF this
fact, and put his horses and those OF the
prisoners Il the top ol their speed 10 avoid
being overLakep. While nearing the
Hutchinson plantation, on Red River,
some 30 miles below Shreveport, with
the view otcrossing there and destroying
the fat to prevent further pursuit, he
was Overtaken by the pursuing party, his
guards overpowered and tho prisoners
taken away from him, and three OF them,
Edgerton, Twicthell and Devices, shot on
the spot. The other three, Howell, Hal
lard and Willis, were carried back short
distance to near Wards store and there
shot. The citizens In the neighborhood
assembled yesterday morning and buried
them In the grave yard near Hutchin.
sons plantation, and the last three on the
spot where they had been killed, near
Wards store
NRw ORLEANS, Sept. 1.-The follow
ing Is from Republican partisan sources !:
Dispatches received in New Orleans by
State Senator II. d, Twitchell, brother
Of one Of the persons killed in Coushatta
state explicitly that the only cause of the
oceurrance was o white league movement
to run out Of the State or kill all the
white Republican leaders in the parish Of
Red River, which by the returns oil all
the returning boards went largely Repub.
lican at thelast election, and thus 10 pre-.
vent the organization ol the Rpublican
voters Of that parish for the coming cam:
paign. ~ e - ~ SIAM
At the Executive Department 1t is as.
serted that the intention, of the whole
league Of Caddo parish to take possession
Of the Red River parish was Known 10
the parish officers Tor days previous TO
the actual occurrence, and was. the only
reason Of The parish officerS organizing
toresist' their displacement from the of:
fees to which, according to the returns
Of Oi.otas their TOpponseanslSc y they were fairly
General Kellogg states that all tho in.
formation In his possession emphaically
contradicts the Version given by Major
Stevenson OF the origin Of the trouble.
t-1b51t z-=7- S-----aGEFit
.ss Insurance Case on Trial. ,.,,.4
BosTuH, Sept. lin the case on trial
n the United States Circuit Court nj