The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1879-03-01
le from the dirt bridge. did have much

8ntIne station Is between my SCOTo ana the
bridge. / never knew. for number OF years,
fhe negroes to meet at Dirt Bridge. / know
of them holding many meetings In the parish.
1t was half mile from the quarantine sta
ton to the courthouse. / know Judge Pier
son. On that day he passed my store some
distance ahead of the crowd OF men, | saw
him go into his house about half an hour be-
fore the body OF men went by. / saw no
weapons on him. He was going to bis own
home.
j saw Johnny Tucker that day, he had a
gun with him, | believe.
MURDOCH (COLoREDt.
live in Natchitoches, and have for thirty
wears | was not in town on September ~,
1878. | got i'll town on the evening OF that
day. / remember VI saw Upshur Brazeale
with q gun. He told me to get OIL the street.
and got oil.
No cross-examinatlon.
MRS. r. A. BLUNT (CoLoRED).
On the twenty-iirst Of September, 1878, |
was at home In Natchitoches. Between II and
- O'Clock | inquired what was the matter
from nv husband. | saw men coming, all
armed The house was surrounded by
armed men, Mrs, Hams asked me whether
was going to leave the house.
My husband, after giving orders not to
open the door, went into the garrett The
crowd knocked at the door. Judge Stafford
said that only four or five would go In. He
said for humanity's sake to open the door. |
refused to, and he left. The door was then
broken in and Mr.. Cunningham pointed a
pistol at my head and led me out OF the house
into the street. Orders were then given 70
march the women to jail. At the request OF
my husband visited him and he gave me his
watch and book.
fight after got into the room where ne was
under guard. Mr.. Cunningham said, blunt
/ want some assurances from you, for the me-
rroes are forming below the town. There
we're some men on horseback shouting for
Witness then explained her advice to the
negroes to dispense.
nv house ! was sitting in rocking-chair
when heard horses, and Mr.. Blunt came in
between two men. | recognized his voice, and
/ picked up the light and went down. He
told me to have his horse ready at once. Inc
men told him to hurry up.
Croes-examined by Mr.. Luzenburg. On the
twenty-iirst of September the house was
surrounded by crowd. | declined to open
the door and it was broken open: MIR; Cum
ningham held the pistol 50 close TO me That Ii
/ turned it would have touched me.
/ cannot identify Mr.. Cunningham, know
that he had q light hat with broad band. l
cannot say positively pointing to Mr.. M j..
Cunningham whether it is this gentlemen or
not. | know that the man who pointed the
pistol at me, and the man who requested Mr..
Blunt to use his influence to send out and dis
perse the negroes, wore the same hat.
When went back the second time 1t was
about o'clock. / went to the courthouse to
see my husband, and | went in without oppo-
Sition. Mr.. Cunningham told the guard
where to pilot me to, and l went at the re-
quest OF Mr.. Blunt to the negroes.
l could not tell whether the negroes had
any arms, for the night was very dark. l
saw one or two guns in the party. These
colored men were about thirty In the road
Each man seemed to be leader. They said,
when went to dissuade them from coming
into the town, that Mr. Blunt was their
leader, and they had right to demand him.
After some talk dissuaded them. Capt Jack
informed me that what they wanted was for
Mr. Blunt to stick 10 his church and quit
politics He Is pastor Of the church. did
not see any one in the crowd OF col0red men
that [ knew. | announced myself without
being asked. / know Capt. Jack. He is a
lawyer in Natchitoches.
MRS. @. W. PARIS.
was in Natchitoches at Mr.. Blunt's house,
on the twenty-first of September. When Mr..
Blunt came in he was very pale, and was fol
lowed by crowd OF men. he said that the
men wanted to kill him, simply because he
had dared to open the Republican cam Daign.
saw Mrs. Blunt when she was returning from
Jail. | went to go surety for Mr.. Blunt, being
a real estate owner. 1t was about nine o'clock
when Mrs. Blunt said she was requested to
go out of town to the Dirt Bridge and speak
to the crowd there. L, knowing Mrs. Blunt
was an invalid, went with her. She told the
colored men, there were about twenty, that
Mr. Blunt was in the hands OF the Democrats
A recess was then taken.
After the Recess.
MARY BLUNT (CoLoRED,
was called The witness said that she lived
in Natchitoches. There were armed men
(about 200) in front of my fathers house. Mr..
,tnf ~ 1.,
mob. Ut King James Cosgrove and Mr..
Jack were with the mob. Mr.. M. II. Carver
and Simon Curtis were there; Mr.. David
Pierson also.
/ was in the house and heard men on the
outside turning the Stats to look In. There
was a Northumberland man there, and he
said: &c d it; there's fourteen negroes
in here" l said: It's fourteen lies" A
man outside said that il Mr.. Blunt was an
honest man he would come out, or let them
in. | said that my father was as honest
man as there was, and there wasn't man,
colored or white, who could coincide with
him.
Sam Raines broke the door down. would
The crowd went into the kitchen and ate
everything up. Then they pumped all the
water out of the cistern looking for my
father. ] was marched to the courthouse,
/ saw my father afterward under arrest l
was taken to the courthouse bareheaded,
and. you might say, barefooted.
Cross-examined by Mr.. Beckwith The first
/ saw of my father that day was, about .
o'clock. ! was part OF the time up stairs ana
part down. did not see the nine negro men
when they came in. My mother fastened the
door. / know that, because she had the keys.
When i heard the rushing on the street l
was just up stairs. The men in the house no.
were members of our congregation. Ihey
were Jos. Jones, Edward Page. Harrison
Baldwin, VIM. Russell, Esau Davis. ! don't
remember their names. Besides myself there
was my mother and Mr.. Leroy In the house.
/ saw the crowd when it approached the
house. When got down stairs the men were
only On the front of the house. man who
stays in our yard went to get over the fence nee
TO 90 and get his gun, and somebody yelled
out, There he goes.
/ don't think Mrs. Paris was in the house
when the crowd came. Before the door was
broken open 1 saw Mr.. Levy and Mr. Cum
ningham outside. The crowd was waiting 3
the natter" and the crowd told him that the
door was locked. He said that ne e was opGa q
his left shoulder. | am certain 1t was Col.
Levy, because | have known him since ! was
n ~ Of a