The New Orleans Democrat., 1876-05-25
TWg WILKINSON COUNTY RIOT.
Letter from nm Astor In the Tragedy
Lies cf the New Orleans Republican
Exposed and Denounced.

:
Orleans Weekly Republican OF last Batur
: day al, article headed 1.-THE West Fell
cjapa Trouble" referring. doubtless, tc
! the recent disturbance i'm Wilkinson
! county, Miss. which Is so grossly I'm.
inst. and so absolutely false. that
respectfully ask space In your paper to
contradict II. There Is not one word ol
:, truth in II. except In the head line, fol
it may properly be styled "The West
Feliciana Trouble" as the negroes near
the Louisiana line assert that the mur-
der of AroDstein WAS instigated by Radi-
cal politicians from Bayou Sara.
We know nothing OF the personal
causes that led to the murder Of Aron-
stein, but we do know that he was rnur-
dered by u club OF negroes from this
county, the names of whom are In the
hands OF the sheriff and we also know,
upon proof positive that the cub formed
on Mrs. Woods place, marched from
thence TO the store, murdered Aron-
stein, and returned openly and de-
family. There was no effort at conceal
meDt. Indeed. subsequent develop
ments show conolusively that conceal
lnept was not desired. A train had
been laid, and through this brutal mur-
der they applied the match.
The sheriff Of this county, Mr.. Noble,
q staunoh Republican. sent posse to
arrest the nurderers, and the posse was
fired upon. despite the appeals made by
some of the whites to the blacks not to
shoot. The fire was returned OF course,
and two negroes killed aud five wound
ed Thus tho war OF races began.
| Within six hours thereafter all that
part or Wilkinson county contiguous to
the Louisiana line and Mississippi
river was In blaze of excitement end
the negroes were in arms. But says the
| ReUubliCu!
"The subsequent proceedings were the
| result OF u proclamation by the sheriff
of Wilkinson county, Mississippi. who
seems To have entertained even more
exalted ideas Of his powers than Mr..
Aronstein would have granted to him.
stating that an uprising Of negroes for
unlawful purposes existed in West re.
lieiana, calling on them to disperse and
for u Posse to put them down. Then
followed the murders OF the colored
people by oil who chose to follow the
command Of this sheriff from Missis
sippi. This proclamation was never
published in the New Orleans papers,
but the Associated Press had it, and the
Northern journals have probably pub
liehed IT, Z
A lie from beginning TO end. There
was no disturbance in West Feliciana
that we know OF. except that armed me-
groes crossed into Mississippi. and tho
Sheriff's proclamation was addressed to
his own people. not to Louisiana ne
groes. The proclamation speaks for It.
self. But the Sheriff did more. He ap
pealed to the negroes In person to dis
perse before resorting TO force to compel
them.
The details of the fighting. given in
the Republican, are entirely inaccurate |
but need not be discussed.
II further says:
1T was reported that several colored |
lpep had been taken from the neighbor- |
inside the Mississippi lines, and hung"
False, every word Of IT, Two negroes |
from this State were hung by the justly |
indignant citizens. but only after full |
and free confession. in which they dis |
closed all.the details Of their diabolical
crime.
Again the Republican says that the
whites surrounded the plantation of |
Frank Evens, where 900 colored people |
had assembled for safety, and opened
fire on them. One report says they |
were repulsed with. loss OF one man.
but the most reliable statement is that |
they killed great many Of the negroes. |
Pickets were posted everywhere on the |
18th.
All false. There was no fight ut |
"Arrandale," the Even's place referred
to. and consequently "a great many of |
the negroes were not killed.
But this yeracious journal reaches the |
horrible Sunday, according t6reliable |
information received from persons who |
have Just come to the city, q party OF |
about, sixty men,, armed. entered the
church, drove away the ministers and
broke up the congregation. Not satisfied |
with this, they seized two little .oolofed |
girls, carried them of, and so ,brutally
and maltreated them that their !
lives Hre despaired Of. Il is reported
that every one OF these invaders OF the !
church took part in this latter crime. A |
more horrible story could hardly be |
told" Merely a lie OF the whole cloth.
No woman or girl was outraged or In
jured in any case. Buttired oil fresorting /
to pure invention. the Republican intro.
duces reliable gentleman, "a friend Of |
the decensed." !" Who thus disco,rses
ION Thursday night band Of assas-
sins, said TO have been disguised and |
painted rs negroes, made an attack |
upon Aronstein at his store. killing him |
and severely wounding a negro boy. |
who slept with him in the store. The !
rllmor was ut once circulated that the |
negroes were butchering the white reo-
pie, ana by Saturday, at p. m, about |
600 regulators from East and West Fell
ciana, East Baton Rouge, Fort Adams.
Woodville and Whitestown, Mississippi, |
assembled on the Louisiana side. |
divided their forces in twenty or thirty |
different squads. and taking negroes |
from the Louisiana side, shot or hanged |
them in Mississippi, within n hundred |
yards of the StatesiDe. Bar King and |
two others were hung inside the line on |
the Postelthwaite place. A man who |
was present stated that the number Of |
colored men killed was at least fifteen.
he having seen and helped to bury |
twelve of them. No doubt the number |
OF killed exceeds fifty, as a great many |
were taken and buried by the regu
la'ors."
This is but rehash of the falsehoods |
I have already noticed, and, like the |
rest, Is a malicious lie.
have thus briefly noticed this false |
and slandetous statement Of the Rcpub-
E~o,, md No fhc writer Was in com