The Red Cloud chief., 1880-05-06

The New Orleans Ptcdyune prints
the following petition. which it alleges
was presented to the Louisiana Legis-
lature:
To the Honorable the Senate and House Of
Representatives OF the State of louisiana:
Your humble petitioner begs leave to
represent to your honorable body that
he, in company with about one hundred
and twenty thousand companions,
brothers, half brothers and other rela-
tions, is suffering under a servitude of
the most brutaliZing nature. and that,
with some honorable exceptions. we are
compelled to submit to hardships of
the most cruel character. Our masters
and oppreSsors place a high value upon
the species of property with which we
ere connected, and also consider our
services indispensable in carrying on
the plantations and farms of the State
| of Louisiana, which State YOU hOnora-
BILE body represents. Our value in the
census list, including all of this kind of
domestic property, is put down at
nearly sixteen million dollars. By our
aid the cultivator of the soil is able to
pay heavy taxes; without us agricult-
ural pursuits in the State would be i'm
possible, and the whole domain of the
State would be waste lands, and "a
waste bowling wilderness" When
well fed and well cared for we serve
our masters cheerfully; but starvation
and stripes often render us incapable of
valuable service, and hurry thousands
of our species yearly to premature
graves. Your petitioner has often been
scourged with raw-hide lash and hoop
poles, in a h~alf-starved condition, often
nearly perishing for want of water to
cool his parched tongue and feyerish
body, and has been cursed as though
he were the most hardened convict, be-
cause he could not draw a load which
would be sufficient for two such as HIM
self. He has been tortured day after
day in 4 hot sun, with CALLED should
ers and a back covered with sores as
painful as those of Lazarus, or as the
boils of Job; and when humane neigh
bors appealed to his master t. grant re-
lief from this suffering, the reply was
that your petitioner was his property
and he had a right to do with it as he
chose to. Your petitioner has no rest
or peace. day or night-he lies down
on the cold wet earth in winter TO rest;
hungry and often thirsty all night long,
and rises up in the morning with stiff
and sore limbs and in hunger, to ell
dure another days work under stripes
and curses that are hard to endure.
He is young in years, but old in body
which has been nearly worn out, and
will not last half of a natural life time.
There is a law in Louisiana for the
protection of animals against such cru
city as You petitioner daily suffers, but
it never protects your petitioner. In
view of these barbarous practices
which are worse than death to your pc
t~itioner and his unfortunate cOmpan-
ions-in view of the abuse and destruc-
ton of this species of property, thus
damaging greatly the public interests
and other n of the State-in
view of the defenseless condition and the
utter helplessneSs of all who suffer in
this manner-in view of your duty as
the representatives of \ great and
Christian State-as the law-givers of
that State, who have power TO protect
the weak and innocent against the
strong and Leartless oppressor-in be-
half of abuse and suffering and diving
companions, your petitioner prays your
honorable body to inquire into these
great wrongs set forth in this petition,
and to enact such laws, in addition to
that already enacted and referred to in
this petition, as may more effeetually
protect Your petitioner and all others
in the State, who suffer from cruel
treatment by heartless masters. or by
others who may be intrusted with them.
A MULE.