The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1879-01-08

night Of the twenty-eighth Of September. /
have been supenaed before the grand jury.
There was no hostile demonstration made at
the meeting excepting the marching OF the
/ Democrats down Jefferson street to break up
we must carry the election by any means. |
| No man on Gods earth ever heard me say
that, / never said that they must prepare to
vindicate their rights. We had a previous
meeting on the seventeenth, and / made a
speech urging them to adhere to the party.
/ did not make those remarks then. We did
| not know that meeting OF Democrats Was
to be held on the twenty-first. They did not
| put my wife and daughter in jail. Mr.. Cum
| nipgham ordered them brought back before
| they were put in JAIL
| Mr.. Cunningham gave orders to allow the
sheriff to pass in and out OF the court house.
| The sheriff brought In a man for stealing
| turkeys, and he was turned over to Mr.. Gun
| DiDgbam's guard. would prefer, for reasons,
not to give the names OF the guard was
turned over to. fThe names were insisted on
and Witness under instructions to give them,
continued his testimony
/ / did not want to give them, but as am
pushed to it / will do It,. promised that |
would not give them, but | cannot help It;
The chief Of the guard was man named
Desmuth; / don't know his initials; then
there was Prudhomme, whose initials have
forgotten, but who is the son OF Archy Prud-
homme; there was Billy Smith, known as
II g.
brother OF o. " Carter. DIR. Galllan came
In and took charge of the guard when Des-
| muth went to dinner.
Sam Raines was the man who gave me
orders to leave the parish and instruct the
negroes to desist from politics. His action
was Endorsed by Mr.. Cunningham. Mr..
| Raines was the man who spoke to me In a
| bar-room, and promised that Ii | would sur
| render would not be hurt. / have never had
| any trouble or personal difficulty with Mr..
| Cunningham. Our intercourse has always
| been friendly. The Republican party in the
| parish could overpower the Democratic party
| If the White League organizations from the
| different surrounding parishes would only
mind their own business. We could not draw
| on the surrounding parishes for Republicans,
| because they are all working men.
| Witness was here shown copy OF the
4 Peoples VindicatOr, published In the parish
Of Natchitoches, and his attention was called
to an article in it. recording the services OF
| different people during the difficulty, and by
Blunt was here asked to step aside to per-
| met another witness, who was DESTROYS OF
leaving by the evening boat, to testify, and
| the witness
was sworn-I reside in Tensas parish; have
| lived there all my life. / am voter They
started an Independent ticket there, and
supported it. They commenced bulld0zing.
They started 1.-THE night before election, when
a crowd came over from the Island and rode
over our place and took couple OF negroes
out and thrashed them / suppose it was
done for the purpose OF frightening the col
cred people
The Independent ticket was supported by
some of the first white men Of the parish.
There was to be q meeting on the day before
election, but an armed body OF Democrats APP
peared and the negroes dispersed. The night
before the election was in town, and | heard
Judge Cordill say that IL there was any dis
turbance they would not hurt the negroes,
but would hold Bland and Rollins white
mem responsible.
To MI. Garland-Judge Cordil two years
ago was a Republican. One OF the negroes
told me he was whipped.
| To Mr.. Cameron voted twenty-six
colored men and saw them put In independent
tickets, but when they counted them they
only counted thirteen.
BLoUNT WAS RECALLED
and his cross-examination resumed.
| To Mr.. Bailey-It may be that the people
Of Natchitoches, and that their gratitude for
assistance, as expressed In the article, was
natural. / have seen a proclamation issued
after was taken.
Witness read "the proclamation" It was a
call for all able-bodied men to assemble at a
given place. and appointing NJ. J. Cunning
The proclamation was issued to cover up
tracks, and after the cOlored men had said
they we're going to rescue me. | will say
hands-and the town Is full OF Jew storekeep
ers-and one OF these was Moses, the photo
grapher In this city, who was up there taking
pictures.
LUCIEN BLAND
was next on the stand-I was born In Missis-
sippi and raised IN Louisiana. am planter
and reside in Tensas parish. i was In the
Confederate army ten months. / was an in
dependent candidate for sheriff. Heretofore
have always been. Democrat. I think we
had about $500 eolored voters In our party
the Independents, and between 400 and 600
whites. | think that If we had had fair cleo
ton our ticket would have been elected. /
was at meeting the day before the election,
which was broken up by a body of armed
men, who said they had come to make some
arrests.
am satisfied that no one would have been
allowed to make speech. There were about
twenty in the body, armed with Winchester
rifles 1 don't know what their politics were,
but suppose they were opposed to our ticket.
can make no estimate as to the number OF
votes as cast at any one particular poll. At poll
No. /, where my brother was, he kept tally,
and he told me that there were 400 votes
poled, of which Is were Democratic. They
returned majority Of 50 for the Democratic
ticket.
CRoss-ExAMINED.
To Mr.. Garland-I know of no one who was
threatened by the armed men who came to
the Injecting. l did not hear Mr.. Cordill say
that he would hold me responsible for troubles
committed. but was told by friend that he
had said so. / do not think there were as
many votes polled at the last election as at
previous ones. / can form no estimate as to
how many less there were. Z Gen. Young told
us that the twenty armed men who came to
the meeting were not sent to intimidate any
one, but to preserve order.
To Mr.. TeIler-When we held our conven-
ton we were notified that IL we did hold it we
would never come out Of the building alive
Mr.. Toler, chairman OF the Democratic COM
| mittee, came to our convention, and told us
that no more troops would come into the
parish. We were then standing on arms. We
were all white men. There were no coIored
men with us. We expected an attack. There
was no truth In the statement that we were
organizing the colored men against the white.
ELIJAH WAKEFIELD,
white, was next placed on the stand-I have
resided In Tensas parish for about six years.
/ was a candidate ON the independent ticket
| for magistrate. / was In the army: was
| colonel Of the Second Arkansas Regiment.
Lsali hot hod a.