The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1883-11-28
THE RIOT AT DANVILLE.
Democratic Witnesses Who Were Not
Summoned by tho Committee.
Testimony Which Fails to Furnish Vindi-
cation of the Whites-Ex- Senator Bruce
Politics ia the South.
THE DANVILLE RIOT.
Competent witnesses Whom the Committee
Did Not Summon.

Competent Witnesses Whom the Committee
Did Not Summon.
Washington Special.
The New York Times. which has been in
elined to decry all the late reports of outrage
from Virginia, last week sent its Washington
correspondent, Mr.. Dunpell. to Danville, to
make thorough inquiry into the facts of the
situation there. His first letter is printed
to-day. 1t makes no attempt to argue the
questions at issue, and is, throughout, a
plain statement of what he learned
The well-known fairness and courage Of
Mr.. Dunnell would have given weight to
whatever view he had taken of the matter,
His statements become the more significant
and important since his report in the main
gives strong support to the Readjuster ac-
count of the outrages. The quotations he
makes from the evidence taken by the COM
mittee of forty show that the report was not
warranted, even by the statements of the
committees own witnesses, and that this
evidence did not, as claimed by the report
based on it, furnish a "full and complete
| vndicaton of our town and people," To
the citations from this testimony Mr. Dun
nell adds the following:
| There were two witnesses of the shooting who
| did not testify before the Democratic commit
| tee. These were Daniel Digger and Corpora
| tion Judge John d. Blackwell, both Democrats
| They were in a second floor office immedia tely
opposite the spot where Noel and Lawson
| foughs and where tho firing took place. Mr..
Digger, who is fifty-two years OF age, sw0re
| that he in Blackwell & Cumbeeker's office
and heard the cry of murder. "I went immed-
arely to the window and saw In front of Rutin,
Voolfolk X Blair's Noel beating Hense Lawson
over the head with a small black stick. and the
! negro was crying murder | saw him do moth
/ ing Mr.. Dance STOOD in the door of the office
/ with doube-oarreled shotgun, In an attitude
! of being ready TO fire ny. George Lea hat! a
| pistol The negro Adams tried to take it away
In Rg 70 ov get s1ruc he the je1Hsd
| the mouth and staggered him. AS he arose
| Lea fired at the negro. heard some of the ne
grOes say: That's tho man that shot, pointing
at Mr.. George Lea. Iu few minutes good
\ many white people, both from up the street
and below. came ND, very much excited, with
| pistols, and good many eolOred people had
| collected too Il. NJ. Hatcher came out on the
street. and right in front of the eolored men. and
ing away and others looking on, when he
shouted, Stand by me and fire.
"Then q crowd of white men formed across
| the street, and fired on the crowd Of cOlOred
people.
"There were several white gentlemen whom
knew. L. G. Berkeley and Johu Robinson. do
ing their best TO prevent this difficulty, and T.
]. Corbin also, persuading the c0Ored people TO
go away. Then there WAS general firing all
over the streets, up and down. saw, after the
| firing ceased, three coored men, two near Wise
mans store and one in the market, lying in the
street dead"
He said that he did not see, either before the
firing commenced or after il had ceased, or while
it was going on, a single colored man with pis-
tol or other fire. arm In his hands, although he
thirty or forty feet from the point where tho
ARRAY occurred. He thought there were 800 or
| 400 negroes and 100 or 200 white men present.
He had always voted the Conservative ticket,
and at the last election voted the straight Dem
ocratic ticket.
Judge Blackwell's story is in some respects
| like that of Mr. Digger, as the two in the
same room, and looked from the same window.
| He saw Lawson being beaten by Noel, holding
| his hands over his head. and trying toward off
the blows CT a stick, while he cried murder" as
loud as he could bawt. He said: "I saw the men,
Taylor and Lea, with the pistols; saw Lea fire at
the negro who attempted to take his pistol
away from HIM, and then twelve or fifteen
white men arrange themselves, as II spontane-
Ously, chiefly along the sidewalk but two
three at the upper end of the line somewhat out
| in the street. This arrangement had been made
| with surprising quickness. The line presented
| their pistols; the negroes turned to rum Init by
the time they got their backs fairly turned, the
| line fired valley as nearly together as II they
| had been soldiers. After this vOley had been
| fired. the firing continued rapidly and cOntin-
uOusly, as If each firing rapidly he
could. suppose not less than a hundred shots
were fired in all. But not a single shot. so far
as could see, took effect No one appeared 10
be hurt very much to my surprise. The negroes
ran so rapidly that they almost instantly van
ished from my view. and saw nothing more of
them. George Lea was the only man In the line
| recognized az firing saw Captain w. P.
Graves, one of the signers of the circular. stand
! ing at the corner OF Msn and North Market
streets. a little below the lniddle of North Mar
ket, who rapidly fired two SHOTS, Ons apparently
| toward the front of Nicholas Hesburgh's
| loon, the other down Market street, and then
| turning rapidly, he fired shot across Main
street. could not see who or what he shot at.
| At no time did ace negro With any weapon
whatever"