The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1877-01-04
Investigating the Elections.
Louisiana.
TEE SENATE COMMITTEE .

land, testified before the committee on the 2lst:
Lived in Ouachita during the election on Mr..
Whited's plantation; Whited was a Republican,
and several squads Of bulldozers visited him to
force him to Join the Democrats; finally they
stsmpeded all his hands, and Mr.. and Mrs.
whited and witness fed to the cotton field,
where they lay out all night; was at the polls on
election day for about three hours; every
thing was quiet, but all on one side,
as they were not allowed to distribute
Republican tickets; when the officers adjourned
az noon the Republican vote was announced as
81. but when the polls closed at night it was an
nounced as 3; the rine-clubs rode around at
night. fully armed, and terrorised the colored
cratic clubs, but were forced to do so. James
K. Hail. formerly of Terre Haute. Ind :, and in
the United States Army, testified: Had lived for
two years in Ouchita; previous TO the 4th OF
July every thing was peaceable, but on that day
there was a report that the negroes were organ
izing on the island, and the whites there
and every white man was waited
upon by committee and urged
to join; the committee said they were appointed
by the Democratic Executive Committee at Mon
roe; these rife clubs would ride around at night
ana shoot into the negro quarters. Witness cor
roborated Gallagher's testimony in regard to the
bulldozers' treatment of Mr.. and Mrs. Whited
and the stampeding of their negroes; they said
they were looking for a negro named Jesse
Briggs, who had refused TO allow a colored DEM
Ocratic preacher 30 preach in the church of which
ne lBr1ggs) was Deacon W Illness further teSti-
fed that he had seen negroes forced up TO sign the
roll at Democratic meetings was appointed Com
missioner of Election at Poll 8, together with
two others; a Mr.. Scarborough stood near the
polls and scrJItinized the tickets OF all the ne
groes; heard of the murder of Henry Pinkston
and child Primus johnson. DIR. Dinkgrave and
James Jackson. and the shooting Of Eaton Log
wood, Geo Shelton and other Republicans; no
white Democrats were killed during the cam,
paign; after the election witness was requested
TO come to the school, house and take afiidavits,
and being Justice Of the Peace did SO; num-
Der of negroes signed affidavits saying that they
had voted the Democratic ticket without fear or
reward, but some of the negroes said 1t was
hard for them 70 swear TO it. Witness said that
he was interested in plantation for Which he
paid $500 rent, but did not intend to return
TO Ouachita las he was afraid to do so; DIR. Young
and two others brought him a1fidavits to sign
after the election setting forth that the election
was fair and peaceable; he declined positively
to do SO and was advised by friends to leave if he
could not sign it, and so he did leave. George
Il. Hamlet, Sheriff Of Oaachita testified: Am
native of Ohio and have lived in the State since
1873; all was peaceable in the parish until the
election in May, 1875, when the Democrats
organized, and by means of threats and intimi-
dation succeeded in eecting their candidate for
Mayor by IL majority. Witness gave history
of the organization of the rife clubs, of their
riding about by night and terrorizing the ne
grOes, and gave the names of those who
whipped and driven away from
their homes. Witness said that the Democrats
had charged him with having organized the ne
grOes to fight, but that it was untrue; his life
had been continually threatened, but notwith-
standing he had organized the Republicans in the
last election, being protected by United States
troops. Being crOss-eXamiDed, witness said
that the houses Of a number of white men on the
island had been fired into at night; as sheriff he
went 10 investigate the matter, but failed to find
any of the guilty parties; had no idea who killed
DR.. Dnkgrave, the rile-clubs furnished posse
to pursue the assassin; the officers of the parish
were all Republicans, but no indictments or in
formation had been filed against the
authors of the disturbance, because the
the whites were armed and would not obey
summons; knew nothing except by hearsay OF
the killed and whipping of the parties named.
On the 22d, vote was taken on the reso-
luton of Senator Mcdonald, requiring the Re-
turning Board to produce the original records of
the vote of the State for Presidential Electors,
and it was defeated by party vote, the Repub
lican members stating that they were ready to
agree, at a proper time, to any motion that
would throw light on the subject, but thought
the resolution impracticable at present, mas
much as it would embarrass the labors Of the
Board. W. r. Hardy, District Attorney pro
tenn. of Ouachita Parish, testified TO general in
timidation and violence by organized bands pre-
vious to the election; among those killed were
B. III. Dinkgraye, James Thomas, colored,
Primus johnson, colOred, and Fred. Bynum,
colored; among the wounded were
Eaton lockwood, colored, Henry Bur
reIl colored and several others,
while many colored men were driven from their
homes. Stephen Wood, supervisor at Poll 2,
Eleventh Ward, 0uachita Parish, testified that
his house had been fired into and he was COM
PEELED for several nights to sleep in the woods.
Other witnesses testified as to Republican meet
ings having been disturbed and broken up by the
bulldozers, and that colored Republicans were
driven from the polls.
John CulFer, colored, testified before the
Senate Committee on the 23d. Resides in Qua
chita voted the Democratic ticket ON account of
general threats made against all colored men
who voted the Republican ticket; the white men
drove the negroes to the polls like lot of sheep;
witnesses father was killed IN 1865 for voting the
Republican ticket. Henry NJ. McCawley, First
Lieutenant Thirteenth Infantry, testified: Was
ordered to attend a number of Republican meet
ings in Ouachita to preserve the peace; the meet
ings generally passed OF quietly, though on one
occasion the cOl0red people were so badly fright
ened that the meeting was not held. The com
mittee adjourned till Tuesday.
On the 26th, Senators WadIeigh, McNIil-
Ian and Mcdonald were appointed a sub-com-
mittee to take testimony of Eliza Pinkston. Col.
J. W. Patton, Chairman of the Democratic State
Committee, was called by request of Senator
Mcdonald, to rebut certain evidence in reference
to a circular issaed by him during the campaign.
Col Patton testified that the circular in question
was correctly printed in Senator Sherman's re-
port but that the italics there given with the ex
aeption of the one word, horseback, were not in
the original; the circular was headed 'Con-
fdential, +" but it was scattered broadcast, and
there was no iRtention of keeping its contents
secret the policy of the Democrats, as agreed
upon at the commencement of the campaign by
the State Committee, was to avoid all collisions
with their political opponents. both upon hui
manitarian principles and as matter of policy.
Witness was asked by Senator Oglesby in
reference to the organization of rihe-clubs
in Ouachita. Stated that he knew nothing
Of them until after the election, and that
the instructions issued by the committee early
in the campaign were not carried out in the in
terror Of the State. The examination and cross
examination of witness occupied six hours.
Sam. d. McEnery. of Ouachlta Parish, was
next called and testified at length A large
rumber of prominent colored men acted with the
Democrats and organized colored clubs; the so
called rine- clubs had no connection with the po-
litical clubs and were for the purpose of pre-
serving the peace and protecting Democratic
negroes from outrages from their own race.
Witness was examined at length in regard to the
assassination of DIR. Dinkgrave, whom he had
known since boy; said that Dinkgrave had
killed man named Wimberly in 1870, and w i'm
berly's brother had threatened TO avenge the
murder; the general belief in the neighborhood
was that Dinkgrave was killed by this man, or
by man named Adams, VINO was bitter enc
my of Dinkgrave's. CrOss-examined, said he
had never heard Adams or his friends make any
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