The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1875-01-22

generally accepted BY the country, the
great crime ii Iouisiana about which %
much has been doneland said, is that
one is holding the Office Of Governor
who was cheated out Of twenty thous.
and votes, against another whose title to
the Office is undoubtedly q fraud and
in defiance Of the wishes and intentions
of the voters of the State. Misihform.
ed and misjudged as to the nature and
extent of this report, the supporters Of
McEnery proceeded to displace by force
in some points Of the State, the APP
pointecs OF Gov. Kellogg, and on the
18th Of April in an effort to that end
= butchcry Of citizens was committed
At Colfax which, in bloodthirstiness and
barbarity, is hardly surpassed by any
acts Of savage warfare. -:-
To put the matter beyond controver.
sy. quote from the charge Of Judge
Wood Of the U. s. Circuit Court to
the Jury in the case Of the United
States ~. Cruikshank end others, in
New Orleans, in March, 1874. He said
in the case on trial: There are many
facts not in controversy. l proceed
to state some Of them in the process Of
hearing Of counsel on both sides,
and if l state as a
conceded fact any matter that
IS disputed they can correct me. After
stating the origin Of the difficulty
which grew out Of an attempt Of white
persons to drive the parish judge and
sheriff, appointees Of Kellogg, from
Office, and their attempted protection
by colored people, which led to some
fighting in which quite number Of
negroes were killed and taken prison.
ers, Is or Is Of the blacks had lifted
the boards and taken refuge under the
floor Of the court house. They were
all captured. About thirty-seven were
taken prisoners. The number is not
definitely fixed. They were kept
under guard until dark, when they
were led out three by three and shot.
Most of the men were shot to death; a
few were wounded, not mortally. and
by supposing them to be dead, wcro af.
forwards, during the night, able to
make their escape. Among them was
tho leader, Nelson, named on the IN.
dictments. The dead bodies of the ne.
grocs killed in the affair were left un-
buried till Tuesday, April 18th, when
they were buried by deputy marshal
and an officer Of the militia from New
Orleans. These persons found
filty-nine dead bodies. They
showed pistol shot wounds. the
great majority in the heart, most Of the
time IN tho back Of the head. In ad.
dition to tho dead found, some charred
remains Of dead bodies were discovered
near the Court House, six dead bodies
found under q warehouse. all shot in
the heart, but one or two of which were
shot in the breast. The only men in.
jured from the beginning to the end Of
the troubles of their class were Hard
wot and Harris. The Court House and
its contents were entirely consumed.
There is no evidence that any ore in
the crowd Of whites bore any lawful
warrant for the arrest of any of the
blacks. After the affair Emory de.
manded the officers which they had set
up should act, but the register conclud.
ed to act as parish judge.
These arc the facts in this case as /
understand them to be- admitted. To
hold the people of Louisiana generally
responsible for these atrocities would
not be just, but it is = lamentable fact
that insuperabls INSTRUCTIONS were
thrown in the way Of Furnishing these
murderers, and the so-called Conserva-
tives Of the State not only justified tho
massacre, but denounced rs Federal
tyranny aid despotism the attempts Of
the United States officers to bring them
to justice. Fierce denunciations ring
through the country about office holding
and election matters in Louisiana, while
every one of tho Colfax miscreants
goes unwhipped Of justice, and no way
can be found in this boosted land OF
civilization and Christianity, to punish
the perpetrators of this bloody and no.
torious crime.
Not unlike this was the massacre in
August last. Several Northern young
men Of capital and enterprise had
started the little and fiourishing town
of Conshatta. Some OF them were Re.
publicans and office-holders under Kel.
logg. They were therefore doomed to
death. Six Of them were siezed and
carried away from their homes and
murdered in cold blood. No one has
been punished and the Conservative
press Of tho State denounced all efforts
to that end and boldly justified the
crime
Many murders of a like character
have beon committed in individual cases
which cannot here be detailed. Fer
example +. G. Crafford, Judge Of the
parish, and the Deputy Attorney Of the
18th Judicial District Of the State, on
their way to Court, were shot from
their horses by men in ambush, on the
9th Of October, 1873, and the wife OF
the former in communication to the
Department Of Justice, tells a pitcous
tale Of the prosecutions Of her husband
because he was Union man; of efforts
made to seize those who had committed
a crime which, to use her language, left
two widows and nine children desti.
tute.
10 say that the murder OF q negro,
and white Republican, is not considered
q crime in Louisiana would probably be
unjust to a great part Of the people,
but it is truth q number of such muir.
ders have been committed and no one has
been punished therefor and manifestly
add to them the spirit Of hatred, and
that violence is stronger than the law.
Representations are made to me that
the presence Of troops in Louisiana was
unnecessary and I relied on the people
that there was danger Of public dis.
turbance if they were taken away.
Consequently early in last summer the
troops were withdrawn from the State,
with the exception Of a small garrison
at the New Orleans barracks. It was
stated that q comparative state Of quiet