The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1875-01-21

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prisoners. Fifteen or sixteen OF tho black
had lifted the boards and taken refuge unde
the floor Of tho court house. They were n
captured. About thirty-soven mon were take
prisoners the number Ia not definitely nxeC
They were kept under guard until dark, who
they were led ont two by two and shot Mos
OF the men were shot to death few wer
wounded, not mortally, and by pretending t
be dead, were afterwards, during the night
able to make their escape Among them wa
the Levi Nelson named in tho indictment
The dead bodies Of the negroes killed in thi
affair were loft unburied till Tuesday, Apr
is, when they vera buried by a deputy MAJ
shal and an officer on tho militia from Ne,
Orleans. The 80 pors ns found iifty-rino dea
bodies. They showed p'sto shot wounds, tn
great ma ajority in the heart and some OF ther
in the back OF Mo had. In addition to th
dead found, some charred remains of dea
bodies were discovered near the court house
Six dead bodies were found under warehouse
all shot in the heart but one or two, who wcr
shot In the breast. The only white men in
iured from the beginning OF these troubles t,
their close, were Hadnot and Harris. The cour
house and it's contents were entirely consumed
There is no evidence that any one in the Grove
of whites bore any lawful warrant for tho ar
rest Of any blacks. There il no evidence tha
demanded the Office to which they had get NJ
Il claim. But Register continued to act a.
parish judge. These are the facts in this case
ds | understand them to bc admitted. Tc
hold tho people of Louisiana in general re-
| sponsibe for these atrocities would not be
fair. But it il a lamentable fact that insuffer.
| able distinctions were thrown in tho way OF
furnishing these murderers, and the so.calcd
conservative papers of the state not only
| justified the massacre, but denounced ~ fed
eral tyranny and despotism the attempt of the
| United States officers to bring them to justice.
| Fierce denunciations ring through the country
about officers interfering in said election mat
tcrs in Louisiana, while every one Of the
C0lfaX miscreants goes unwhipped Of justice,
AMI no way can be found in this boasted land
Of civilization and Christianity, to punish the
perpetrators OF this bloody and monstrous
crime.
Not unlike this was the massacre in August
last. Several northern young men Of cat ital
and enterprise had started the little and
ilourishing town of Coushatta. Some Of them
were republicans and oilce-hoders under Kcl-
logg They were, therefore, doomed to death.
Six Of them were seized and carried away from
heir homes and murdered in cold blood Not
ono has been punished, and the conservative
press of the state denounced all efforts to
that end, ard boldly justified the crime.
Many murders of like character have been
committed in individual cases, which cannot
here be detailed. For example, T. s. Crailord,
judge Of the parish, and the district attorney
Of the twelfth judicial district of the state ON
their way to court were shot from their horses
by men in ambush on the Sth of October,
1873, and the wife of the former. in a com
municaton to the department OF justice, tells
pitiful tale Of the persecution of her hus
bard because he was union man, and of the
efforts made to seize those who had committed
crime which, to use her language left two
widows and nine orphans destitute. To say
that the murder Of negro or II white republi-
can il not considered crime in Louisiana,
would probably be unjust to a great part OF
the people, but it il true that great number
Of such murders have been committed. and
no one has been punished therefor, and mani
festly the spirit of hatred and violence il
stronger than the law.
Representations were made to me that the
presence Of troops in Louisiana was unneces-
sary, and that there was no danger OF public
disturbances if they were taken away. Con
s2quently, early lat summer the troops were
withdrawn from the state, with the exception
of a small garrison at New Orleans barracks,
1t was stated that comparative state Of quiet
had supervened, and that political excitement
ub 10 IONlrIdilt dHulTb Fttlntu 10 Ut uNIlb
out, but the November election was approach
ing, and it was necessary for party purposes
that the flame should be relighted. Accord
ingy on the 18th Of September d. b Penn,
claiming that he was elected lieutenant gov
ernOr in 1872 issued an nilammatory proca- |
nation calling upon the militia OF the state to |
arm, assemble, and to drive out tho usurpers,
AZ he designated tho officers OF tho state. The
White Leagues. armed and ready for the con-
Il, I1,,,, 1,I la. |
he governor made formal requistion upon
ne, in pursuance Of the act Of 1895, and sec
slon 4, article Of the constitution, to aid in
suppressing domestic violence. On the next |
day issued my proclamation commanding tho |
insurgents to dlsperse within five days of the
date thereof, but before the proclamation was
published in New Orleans, the organized and
armed forces recognizing usurpng govern
ment had taken forcible possession of the
state-house and temporarily subvertcd the
government, Twenty or more people were
killed. including number of the police of
the city. The streets of the city were stained
with blood. All that was desired in the way
Of excitement had been accomplished. And
in view of the steps taken to repress it, the
revolution was apparently. though it IL be-
lieved not really, abandoned, and the cry of
federal usurpation and tyranny in Louisiana
was renewed with redoubled energy. Troops
had been sent to the state under the requi4i-
ton of the governor, a. other disturbances
seemed imminent. They were allowed to re-
main there to render the executive such aid
as might become necessary to enforce the
laws of the 81 ate, and repress the continued
violInce which seemed inevitable the moment |
federal support should be withdrawn. Prior
TO and with view to the late election in Lou
siana, wmte men associated themselves to-
,ether in armed bodies called White Leagues,
ind at tho same time threats were made in
he journals of the state, that the election
Ihould be carried against tho republicans at
III hazards, which, very naturally, greatly
alarmed tho colored voters.
BY section of the act OF Feb. 2S, 1871, 1t
8 made the duty of United States marshalB
md their deputies, at polls wnere votes are
east for representatives in congress, to keep
order and prevent violations of the socalled |
enforcement act, and other offenses against |
he laws of the United States, and, upon |
reuuisition OF the marshal of Louisiana.
and in view OF armed organization and
portentous circumstances, | caused detach-
ments of troops to be stationed in various To-
calities in the state. to aid him in the perform
ance of his official duties.
That there was intimidation Of republican
voters at the election, notwithstanding this
admits of no doubt. The follow
Ing are specimens of the means used On
the 18th of October, eighty persons signed and
published the following at Shreveport:
"We the undersigned, merchants of the
city Of Shreveport, in obedience to request
Of the Shreveport Campaign club, agree to
use every endeavor to get our employees to
vote the peoples ticket at the ensuing cleo
tion and in tho event of their refusal so to do,
or in case they vote the radical ticket, to re-
fuse to employ them at the expiration OF their
term OF service"
On the same day another large body of per-
SONS published in the same place paper, in
which they used the following language:
"We, the undersigned, merchants Of the
city of Shreveport, alive to the great import
ance of securing good and honest government
to the state, do agree and pledge ourselves
not to advance any supplies or money to any
planter the coming year, who will give employ
ment or rent lands to aborers who vote the
radical ticket n the coming election
have no information of the proceedings OF
the returning board for said election, which
may not be found in its report which has been
published, but it is matter OF public infor-
nation that a great part Of the time taken to
~. 4 L,,k arfrt,