The Opelousas journal. [volume] (Opelousas, La.) 1868-1878, 1875-02-12
Testimony before the Congress
SiOmal Committee.

Robert T. Hunter-I reside in Rapides
parish am proprietor OF the Caucasian,
published in Alexandria was born in
that parish, and have been quite famil-
lar with its history +; in the year 1868
hundreds of negroes, some 0 fthem arm
ed, were massed at Alexandria; the DO
lice disarmed them that political cam
paign was a vigorous n /; some Repub-
licans were elected, and everybody ac-
guessed in the campaign of 1870, the
negroes took possession OF one poll, and
voted in d body; Republicans were
elected, and took their offices without
molestation in the campaign of 1872 /
voted the Fusion ticket; there was con-
siderable feeling on the part of negroes,
who said they had been deprived of the
right to register; saw Henry Lott, a ne
gro leader, at the head of a cavalry
company, but they committed no TX
cesses; in 1868, 1870, and 1879 negroes
had secret clubs and met at night; we
invited colOred men to attend po-
litical meetings; a few OF US started a
campaign newspaper and drew the color
line, but it was not intended to take
away any rights from the colored peO-
pie indOrse and offer an editorial in the
Caucasian of March %, 1874; taxes
| dHlOullICu w COlILlDSIGkO1I , L SSSA4 IA 1oH
this committee with a file of the eau
casian; | V took any part in any
movement to Cypress negroes; believe
the whites are in a majority In Louis
lana !; I believe that appealing to white
men on the matter of their race caused
them to vote; the colored men are in a
majority in Rapides parish; the negroes
intended to finally throw overheard
their carpet-bag friends and put nOn
but colored men in office; Louisiana
was to be made an African paradise F.;
registration was not interrupted by the
fourteenth of September news; we held
a meeting over the event | made a mo-
ton that a committee, unarmed, should
install the McEnery officers; the COM
mittee did it's work and all the offices
were taken in charge by us; the Mem
cry men held the offices up to the cleo
ton day; there was a company OF United
States infantry i'll the courthouse yard j.;
our people do not intimidate very well;
we did not give our consent to the re-
quest for use of the troops; the captain
took one room Metropolitan militia
were riding around the country making
arrests they arrested Mr.. COsgrove and
others; the arrests were for the C0lfaX
massacre; some white men fled the
country no one knew who was to be
arrested; on election day was at the
Pineville and Alexandria polls Captain
Snow was in Pineyille with eight or
nine men the soldiers walked around
the streets; negroes voted as suited
them over 100 colored men voted our
ticket in Alexandria Mr.. Moore said he
would not hire men who would not vote
for him a petition to that end obtained
but half q dozen signatures and the pro-
iect was abandoned in Alexandria; any
amount of laborers can be employed in
our section to-day; men will not be
questioned as to how they voted; there
never was a White League or other Sc
cret association of white people in Ra-
pides parish in 1874; the Colfax and
COuslatta affairs affected some people
in our parish; the two races in our sec
ton have always been or friendly terms;
the Caucasian condemned the COushatta
massacre; the Alexandria Gazette is a
Republican paper | have a list OF the
murders in our parish committed since
1868; an armed body OF colored men in
IGrant parish took out q man and mur-
dered him (Witness here related the
outrage by Hamp Henderson on the per-
son Of Miss Lacour); Miss Laeour is now
insane; that affair occurred in May, 1878;
there was considerable excitement and
a feeling against the negroes before the
Colfax affair, the assault On Miss Lacour
occurred after the ColfaX massacre !;
some residents of Rapides were at the
| Colfax affair; took the list of murders
in most cases from the official record !;
there were fffty-seven homicides !; sew
enteen were whites and forty negroes j;
there were only three convictions; one
man got penitentiary for life, but es-
caped; one is now in the p~enitentiary
and the other convicted mar was par
dOned by Governor Kellogg; when
Lloyd Shorter, q leading colored politi-
clan, was killed, the country was dis
turbed and the Metropolitan militia was
sent there.
To Messrs. Hoar and Wheeler-We
have had but little law since 1868 Need
ham Walters, whose name is in the list,
was killed in Grant parish, and Mr..
Philips has been prosecuted for the kill
ing; Governor Wells family has never
been ~ostraeised nor has he been to any
great extent; people do not associate
with DeLaeey or his eOlored wife; we
do not believe in m~iscegenatiOn the
parish debt, January 6, 1875, was 1884,
594 70; / exonerate the police jury from
the h blame the $4,000 school fund de-
posted in the Freedman's Bank created
a bad feeling among the negroes, eaus-
ing them to desert the Republican party;
a colored meeting denounced the action
of the Returning Board resolutions
were passed to that effect; q Democrat
wrote the resolutions; the meeting
adopted a resolution declaring that no.
body but white men had been intimi-
dated at the election; November IA we
had q public meeting at night, attended
about equally by blacks and whites; it
was a Jubilee meeting over our success
in carrying the State, but we did not
know that the Returning Board would
have a say / claim that the Democrats
at last election carried the State by 5000
majority at the other State election
majority was greater, notwithstanding
the fact that many cQlored people have
since Joined our party have lost all con-
fidence in President Grantj it Kellogg
and all his officials were removed. Lou
isiana would Immediately begin to
thrive; we had no connection with the
White League Of New Orleans, and we
had no White League; do not know OF
any d~isloyalty on the part OF our people
toward the general government; Grants
failure to act in the Arkansas and Cuba
cases, and acting too much i'll the Lou
isiana case, caused people to lose all
CONFIDENCE in him the feeling in my
section is that the United States govern
ment has no particle of right to inter
fere with our affairs think that in or
der to get rid of Kellogg and his dis
honest officials the people would accept
an order from the United States govern
ment for q new election, or even a pro-
visional government.
To Mr.. Hoar: Qnestion-In the cleo
ton Of 1872 you had the aid OF Governor
WaTmath and other Republican leaders,