New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1874-09-13
1.-THE COUsHATyA CRIME
AuY ovIaAel FOLLOWED OUTAGE
roaI1Ho Up SHI WHITE LEAGUE PLOT
succiass Statement from an Eye Witness

o--A>
Henry Smith Tells Hia Story Of the
Events Of che Past Month.
GDfroR REPSBLlcAN:
( see . statement II che New OfleaAs
Picaymne OF the eleventh instant, from the
Committee of Seventy ef the city of New
Orleans, together with certain testimony
supposed % have been taken by pretended
committee of investigation at COushatts.
SeptembeD !, lS74, and being . resident of
COushatta, aud a eye witness to many OF
the outra seous acts Of the White league Of
Cousbatta. propose now to give true sad
correct version OF the horrible affair.
It 10 chargedby thsCOmmittee OF seventy
Thar "there h1l been no disturbance in the
parish until this (Iwitcnelrst lettes must
nave been Seceived by kgertOn; that no de-
mand had been made for the TesignstiOns
q the parish officers, and NO movement
made a(ainst chem; and that the outbreak
on the twenty seventh Of Auguse took the
white people completely by surprise
In reply to this charge will state thas IN
. public meeting vas held - the court
house. IN the Gown Of Coushatta, BY the
White League party. Among them we're
several persons from che city OF Natchi-
toches, viz: u. II. Jack, J. II. Coegrove
| snd 5. NJ. Hyams. Speeches were made pub
! licly, proclaiming that the object Of the
| meeting was to demand and compel the
resignation Of the parish officers. Before
\ the Natchitoches delegation LETT fOg home
| it was stated by them that they came there
! to assist in compelling the resignation Of
| the officers. Several days after this meet
! ing prominent citizen of the town OF Cov-
| shatta said. in my presence and hearing.
| that the parish officers would be made
! to resign, leave the country or die.
! About two weeks before the murder Mr.
! 4. A. Devices was in Mr.. Gus De Russey's
| store, when two white men came in and
! one Of them said to him, Here ia one of my
Republican friends, now. saw you with
six-shooter this morning." and then draw
I ing his pistol and presenting it to Mr..
| Devices, at the same time said, ''shOv it
60 me now Mr.. Devices retreated, say
| ing. Gentlemen, keep your hands OF OF me;
! sm not armed" Mr.. De Russey, the pro-
prietor of the store, said to Mr.. Deweee,
:Bob, you had better 60 home: see there
| ia goioy to be Q row." Mr.. Devices remark
! cd, keep them of, Mr.. De Russey, and
1 will 90 home" Mr.. De Russey opened the
back door of the store and let Mr.. Devices
out, and he went home. These two men
both stated in my presence and hearing.
! that they came to COushatta to kill Rad
L
On the next day following these same
| two white men came into COushatta and
| got into ditiiulty with . young man who
| was on boat aground in front of town,
! because the young man said he was a Re-
| publican Some friends of the young man
called on the sheriff, Edgerton, to arrest
the white man. The sheriff arrested him
and intended to put him in jail: when a
| leading citizen and member OF the White
| League forbid the sheriff from putting
this man in Jail, but when he fought
| the officers and made such distuE bance
| this leading citizen and others agreed
| and consented that he should be put N
| prison. On the night Of the above transact
ton Captain 7. W. Abney. with twelve OF
fourteen other citizens of the town, sur
1 rounded the eheriff and his deputy before
i the courthouse, formed a ring around them,
1 and ordered him to put Frank Commodore
in Jail, saying that "YOu put white man
in Jail for getting drunk, you must put this
negro in Jail, also, for getting drunk" The
| sheriff replied that he had not seen him
I drunk or creating any disturbance, and
that he would not put him in jail without q
warrant. The answer by these citizens to
that was, "War to the knife-knife 20 the
hilt." The parish Judge being present, and
fearing trouble unless their illegal demand
! was complied with, told the sheriff TO arrest
Commodore and put him in Jail. The cher
if went to Commodores house and arrested
him in bed, where he had been asleep sev-
eral hours, and put him in Jail.
On the night of the twenty sixth Of Au-
gust, 1874, body of armed white men
| went to the house of Tom Cloid, . eOlored
of Red River. about seven miles from COu-
| shatta, entered it, and shot at him while on
tho floor with their six shooters, then order
! ed him out, and they took his gun. He went
out over the fence, and before his door, He
asked them: "Gentlemen, let me speak one
word to my wife before you shoot me-
They replied, "G-dd-n you, we have got no
placed to his head, and his brains blown
out by one Of the white men.
Daniel Vim, another colored man living
! on the same premises, heard the firing, and
seeing them kill his friend, fred on the
crowd and wounded one of them. They
pursued Vim, shot him, and left him fog
dead in Robieu's field.
On the following evening, the twenty-sev.
enth Of August, 1874, a report was circulated
throughout the parish that an insurrectiOn
| had taken place at Brownsville, which is
about ten miles below COushatta, and a
short distance from where Cloid was killed.
| The sheriff, EdgertOn, accompanied by t. A.
| Devices and six other citizens of the town.
and most of them belonging to the White
League, started for and reached Browns
vile early in tho evening, and found no
appearance whatever of a disturbance
everything quiet. When the sheriff and
his posse returned that night the White
League was congregating and surrounding
the town. There was no disturbance in or
around the town, or in the county, to cause
such steps to be taken by them.
1t appears in the statements Of Paul WI.
lisms and volcey Denison that Devices
and Edgerton were riding backward and
forward from tho dancing party to the
c0lored people. How can this be when
they were at Brownsville, ten miles of
And what colored people were they sid
The committee at Coushstta forgets, in.
advertantly, l suppose, to state that after
taking the statements of Paul Williaml
and Lewis johnson, they, the committee
had them hung. How they should have
violated their custom by trying these two
men first, and hanging them afterward, il
strange, while their usual mode was to kill
first and investigate afterward, as they did
in the case of the murder of six Republican
officers.
am satisfied that from the reign of ter
ror in that section of country the ignorant
will swear to any statement required Ot
them by the White League committee.
am also satisfied that sensible men and men
of Judgment will not believe such state
ments. coming from q section of country
where revolution predominates to such ar
extent that one is afraid to express an opin
ion, unless that opinion is in accordance
with the creed and tenets Of the Whit
League.
In regard to the letter addressed to Sherif
EagertOn, by Senator Twitchell, will STATE
II thAh ev tO FvAfHrv