Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1876-12-13
The Vote OF Louisiana.

TESTIMONY.-HOM THEY
THAT CANNOT BE IMPEACUED. - WHITE
PLANTER TELLS WHAT HE KNows.-THE HOR-
R1BIE CRIMES IN OCACHITA-HoW TlLpEN
CARRIED THAT PARGSH-A TERRIBLE lNDlCI-
NEXT.
Special Correspondence Of the New York Times
NEW ORLEANS, Thursday, Nov 30, 1876.
If the present investigation into the political
condition of Louisiana has done no other good, IL
has at least demonstrated to the satisfaction OF an
fair minded men that the white people OF the
South have never honestly and in good faith &C
cepted the passage of the reconstruction acts ana
the amendments to the National Constitution rs
final settlement of the differences between the
sections. They have, indeed, pub cly ptoiessed
TO acquiesce in them, but secretly they have done
everything in their power to defeat and overthrow
them. The white men OF the interior parishes
of this State have banded themselves to render
the election laws nulllty they have conspired TO
prevent the colored men from exercising the right
Of citizen ship and by the practice of the most IN
human crueltes they have succeeded only too
well. An these things have been proved by the
republicans before the Returning .Board; they
have been proved absolutely and conclusIvely,
and the democrats have been able 10 make no de-
Tense. They have, indeed, tried to mpeach the
veracity of the republican witnesses, but they
have not succeeded. One of their pet theories Is
that the negroes have no idea OF the nature OF au
oath and that they will swear to any lie for dol
lar. Ii this be tue, why is il that these shrcwd
democratic gentlemen do not ge; few OF these
obgng black men TO swear away the evidence OF
the republican Witnesses They Will not claim
that they are too honest or high-minded TO do so,
for they have already taken even more dlshonor-
able means to break the force OF Their opponents
testimony. They can only answer the question by
silence and their silence shows how untounded IS
the charge which they bring against the colored
people. 1t is indeed false and malicious accusa-
tion one which nigh be expected from men who
glory in midnight assassination and secret out
hiring tho Il week | have and con-
versed with nearly every witness who appeared
before the Returning Board to testify TO demo-
cratic violence and intimidation They were hon
est-looking and intelligent men and women every
one of them. If they lied, then the truth is never
spoken, for their cut, bruised, and mangled bodies
bore silent, but convincing, testimony to the truth
| of their statements.
TIE TISKsToN OUTRAGE.
The terrible story of the black woman Eliza
Pinkston, whose husband and baby were killed
and mutilated by a band of drunken "bull-do-
zers still continues to excite the greatest interest
ere and the local democratic managers and Mr..
Tden's agents from the North are making almost
uperhuman exertons to show that the woman IS
unworthy of belief. To this end they have, in
true Southern democratic fashion, prepared ian
address to our fellow-citzens of the nlted States
in which they already admit the killing of the
man and child, as already fully detailed in these
columns but deny that the crime was committed
by white men. Regarding Mrs. Pinkston's clear
and distinct testimony on this point, they can only
say-and quote their own beautifully vague and
gentcel terms-that the woman Plnkst0n Is, as
we are ready to prove, low, vulgar, and debased
creature there is not man or woman IN the par
ish where she lives who won Id believe her on oath.
She is murderess, having smethered one of her
children. We are also Informed that she aban-
doned another infant to the hogs in the woods
near her cabin. She has a violent and ungovern-
able temper, and, at one time assaulted and
severely beat her mother-n-aw." 1t is to be par
ticuarlv noticed that all these terrible crimes have
been discovered against poor Eliza Pinkston since
she told of her terrible experience with the Ouachi
ia "bu -dozcrs." Before that not a man or woman
in The parish knew anything against her, and, as
has been proved by several reliable witnesses, she
was a great favorte with many Of the white peo-
pie who lived near her. Ii she was such mon
ster as is charged, why was she allowed to
live on terms of familiar intimacy with many
Of "Louisiana's native and best p Of course,
am unable to deny positively the stories which the
democrats tell about this poor woman, but only
echo the opinion Of nearly every prominent law
yer here when say that her testimony, given as
| it was, would be taken without question in any
court in the county. She swore positively that
her husband was killed by white men. who said
he must die because he was a radical and that her
baby was butchered and herself manned by the
same men. The searching cross-examination
which was made with cruel persistency by the
democratic counsel was complete failure. The
woman s story was not made to vary in any par
ticular. She is now sinking rapidly, dying from
her many wounds. In few hours or days at
most she will be far from all earthly pain, and st i'll
she declares that her statement was true, every
word of it.
WHITE PLANTER'S STORY.
Although the Homan's evidence is not support
ed by any direct proof, there is abundance OF the
most reliable testimony, which indirectly corrOb
crates her statement. For instance, as to the
general system of ntim idation which was prac-
e. Il Wy
tensive planter and one OF the best-known gentle
men in Louisiana to-day, made the following
sworn statement:
81 am a planter in the Parish of East Felciana,
and employ fifty colored men; | have often been
notified that must attend the democratic meetings
and vote the democratic ticket or must leave the
parish many of my hands and those of my neigh
bors have been cruelty whipped, and others driven
away from their work. because they refused to at
tend the democratic meetings and to vote the dem
ocratc ticket my hands were taken from their
work and compelled to vote the democratic tick
ct; many of them | saw deposit democratic
ballots, and they told me ii was not from
choice, but because they had been tcld
that unless they did they
must leave the country the democrats would an
point night for meeting, and then ride in the
country and notify all the colored men and many
white men that they must attend; my hands
would come to ask my protection, saying they did
not want TO attend their meetings or to vote their
unable to protect them. This was the case with
many Of my neghbors, also white planters, but
the armed mob were too strong for US, and to live
Ia peace and quiet was compelled TO endure
whatever they saw fit to do For the purpose of in
timidstng me, the bull-dozers took one of the
women in my house out, and whipped her nearly
| to death. They broke into my house. took the
woman and stripped her and beat her terribly.
armed myself and would have resisted, but band
| Of forty OF more surrounded me and threatened
| that if had any Of them exposed On attempted to
| arrest any one for the outrage they would hang
me. | being only one against so many dared
| not resist or | would have been killed. They
termed me a-radical scallawag, and said !
| loved the negro better than the white man or
would not be republican. was born and raised
on the place where now live. and owned many
of the hands row employ. These acts of vio
lence perpetrated upon all, nearly all, the
white republican planters in my parish, as well as
upon our colored hands, and it was by this sys-
| TEN of intimidation thai the democrats carried my
| parish. Upon a free and fair election my parish
would have been republican by at least 1900,
| there being upward of three thousand voters, OF
whom without in imiiat on more than twenty zone
hundred are republican, and less than nine hun
| dred are democratic.