The People's vindicator. [volume] (Natchitoches, La.) 1874-1883, 1874-11-21
Fiat Justltia. Ruat C@lum.

With manifest view to keeping
Geo. l.. Smith to the scat in Congress
the U. $. troops kept up q persistent
chase after his opponent Mr.. Levy,
who also spent great deal OF time in
the woods-[-N. 0. Picayune 9TH.
1t is useless to 60 out Of the records
of truth to condemn tho acts Of the
Y. s. forces recently in our midst.
The bare statement Of facts is sniff.
cirnt and il enough to make the
"hlool boil" in every American heart
to think oft. No donht they did de-
sire to keep Geo. L. Smith in his seat
in Congress, and were anxious to &C.
complish this end, and for that pur'
pose many of our citizens were arrest
ed and many more driven from their
homes and made to seek shelter like
the beasts Of the fields, in the woods,
and under the broad canopy Of heav~
en-. But among these We must and
! cannot place Col. VIM. NJ. Levy and
the Picayune should have known bet
ter than to give publicity to such an
article qnoted above. Col. Levy does
not hide from anything or any body
and he Was very far from taking the
woods" in dread Of Deputy Marshals
and United States cavalry. They
might have arrested him, "tlrawn and
quarted him." and in tile face of all
this he would not have "spent good
deal of his time in the woods to
avoid them, aud such paragraphs as
the above, when it meets his eyes
must lie truly notifying and tlisgust.
ing.
by the programme published in all
the newspapers friendly to our cause
in Northern Louisiana, it can be seen
that Col. Levy was to start on llis
campaign tour on the 9Th of last Oc.
toher where he had an engagement
at Pleasant Hill, which he faithfully
fulfilled leaving his home on the sixth
Of the month. From Pleasant Hill he
went to Mansfield from there to,Kea.
chi, thence to Shreveport. where the
citizens had made grand preparations
for his reception, and the entire po-
pulation turned out en- masse to listen
to his eloquence. White and black
alike, paid tribute to his fame, and
We'd with each other to do him hon
or. Leaving Shreveport, he next
spoke at Bellevue, Bossier parish, and
then proceeded to Minden, in Webster
parish. Major J. c. Moncure accom-.
pauyning him from Shreveport. 1t
was at Minden he first heard of the
arrest of +. w. Abney aud others,
at Coushatta, and Fastening there, in
hopes Of being Of service to his friends,
leaving the published route lfor his
next place to speak was at Sparta,
Bienvills parish) Id there learned lat
Cousbatta) that tho troops had left
for Natcl'itoches to make arrests, and
loosing no time, he and Maj. Moncure
arrived on the heels of the troops
here. THIS was on Tuesday, Oct. 20,
and Immediately on their arrival, it
was announced by public cards, that
they would speak on the Gath, and
speak they did, defying U. s. Deputy
Marshal Stockton to arrest them.
Said Col. Levy in his speech, ~ have
heard that l was to be. arrested, aud
hearing this l have come home SO that
if this indignity is to be placed upon
me, here at my own hearthstone and
among you my fellow-citizens and
friends l should be found" and then
he proceeded in the very face IF the
enemy in bis manly style and clio.
quent language to administer q scat
tering rebuke to all who might have
. hand in this unholy crusade. This
was at q large public meeting and
perhaps Stockton was in ear.shot Of
him while lie was speaking. After
our friends were arrested and con-
fined in camp, Col. Levy was one Of
the first to visit them. 1t is strange
that person cannot, in reporting
anything that may have transpired
in the neighborhood, conflne himself
to the truth. If they cannot, they
had better remain at home, or if they
will persist in going abroad, don't in
Gods name, seek out such papers as
the New Orleans Picaysne with its
large circulation, wherein to retail
THAR fa1en ronnrka