New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1876-07-14

Death Of senator Twlechell's Sister,
The following painful intelligence comes
to us in the columns of the Indianapolis
journal of the tenth:
Mrs. Helen E. Willis. sister of Senator NJ
81. Twitchell, of Louisiana, an account of
whose prosecutions and sufferings in that
State was published in the Journal few
days ago, died yesterday morning at the
residence OF MIR. C. w. Smith, No. 70 East
Pratt street, aged thirty-one years. Her
death is directly attributed to the Ku-Klux
spirit of prescription in Louisiana, SO much
go as though she had been taken out by the
members Of the band and shot down in
cold blood. Two years ago her husband
was killed, and she had not recovered from
the shock Of that dreadful occurrence be-
fore bro ;her followed him to the grave,
and within the past few months the Sena-
tors life was almost destroyed. as the read
ers of the Journal know. When he was
able to travel he came North, and Mrs..
Willis accompanied him, expecting to
find at the North that peace and
rest she had never known in her Southern
home. But her system was too greatly over
taxed to recover, and she gradually sank
into death. During the last two days of her
existence she was deliriOus at times, suffer
ing terrible commissions evidently, as was
manifest by her rawlings, the result of fear.
In them she would cry out in accents OF
widest terror and alarm, Ills the guard
here" referring to the time when their resi-
dence was under guard to protect the fam
lily from further assaults by the Southern
chivalry." and when upon coming, to CON
sciousness and recognizing friends about
her, she would give expression to the deep
est feelings Of relief.
The journal speaks editorially on this
subject:
A notice in another part of this paper an
nounces the death in this city, yesterday,
of Mrs. Helen E. Willis, sister of Senator
Twitchell, of Louisiana. Senator Twitchell
arrived here some few days ago with his
sister, on his way to his former home IN
Vermont, where he proposes to spend the
summer. Readers of the Journal will re-
member him a. the gentleman who was at
tackled about two months ago while cross.
ing Red river, and shot through one leg
and both arms, both of the latter having
since been taken off. His sister, the lady
Just deceased, was at his house in Louisiana
at the time of the attempted assassination.
and was go shocked by the occurrence that
it was deemed necessary to bring her North
As soon as Senator Twitchell was suf-
| ficieptly recovered from his wounds to be
able to travel he set out with her for the
North.
Arriving in this city they stopped at the
house of u friend for the double purpose of
making q visit and enabling the lady to
rally; but she took to her bed at once, sank
| speedily, and yesterday died. She was the
| last of four sisters, all of whose husbands
! have been killed in Louisiana for being Re-
| publicans, and her death is directly trace
| able to the terrible shock to her system
| occasioned by the recent attack on her
brother. She had never recovered from
| the murder of her husband, some two years
ago or more, and this last shock was fatal
blow to her already shattered system. Sen
ator Twitchell ia now the sole survivor OF
his family, who went to Louisiana after the
war, including four sisters, tour brOthers-in
law and two brothers. 1t is high time the
American people were having reform.