The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1884-02-21
INVESTIGATING
The DanYille Election Riots.

INVESTIGATING
The DauYille Election Riots.
! WASHINGTON. Feb. 14-The inYes-
tigdtion of the Danville election riots
began this morning. Congressman
Cable and John S. Wise were present.
Walter s. Withers, a colored police
man of Danville, testified that on No
vember 3, white man and colOred
man got to fighting, and when they
were separated the crowd remained.
The whites ranged in line along the
curb, the colored were in the street,
the whites had pistols in their hands
and said the colored men could get
enough if they wanted and if they
didn't leave some of them would get
hurt. The negroes objected to leay-
ing, saying the whites were trying to
override them, firing then began; the
first shots being fired in the air, the
colored people began to run and the
whites fired at them. None of the
colored men had pistols; one man was
shot dead and several wounded, and in
consequence of the riot the colored
people did not vote at the election.
| The affidavit of witness before the
committee of forty was incorrect in so
far as it stated that colored men
used fire arms; it seemed something
had been added to the affidavit after
he had signed it. Jack Rudd, colored,
chairman of the Republican commit
tee, testified he was in Danviile on
the day Of the riot; when the firing
began he left hastily, afterwards re-
turning to see the result. He was
met by Col. Cabel. who asked where
he was going. Col. Cabel said: "This
is just what l have been telling you
would happen" Met Hatcher, who
came along with another man, and
who asked Cabel who witness
was; being il formed, Hatcher said:
LET NE blow his id brains out
Col. Cabel said: nc, lei the id
scoundrel leave here" Hatcher
struck witness, and as witness left
they began to fire on him. Witness
saw his white neighbors going into
Danville that night, and returning
with guns they had procured in Dan
vile; saw them going to the polls on
election day with the same guns.
The colored people were thereby in
Inundated, and they concluded not to
vote.
L. l.. Levy, colored, saw white men
d. avn up along the curbing with pis-
tolls aimed. and started away; firing
began and the colored men ran; one
was shot dead. Jack Rudd, the pre-
cedIng witness, came along and asked
the colored men, "What are you all
runnin' for? De white peoples only
burnin' powdah." He replied, whats
de meanin' OBJ dat dead man ovah dab
eff dey doan' mean harm?" Witness
described the maltreatment of Jack
Rudd by Hatcher and others, and the
threats made to himself the same day
by the white people. Witness did not
vote because of fear inspired by the
riot.
w. R. Taylor, white, testified that
an ordinary row occurred on Novem-
Der between a white man and ne
gro, which led to the riot. When the
fight began there were but three white
men and some fifteen negroes on the
street in sight. AT the climax there
were between 200 and 300 negroes and
about fifteen white men. In witness
opinion, had the white men shown fear
they would all have been murdered.
Witness saw two or three pistols
among the negroes. Witness emptied
five chambers of his pistol at the crowd
of negroes, and would most aSsuredly
do so again under like circumstances !;
didn't know whether he hit anybody
or not.
A. II. Blunt thought the whole
trouble between the races arose from
the insolence of the negroes. He
thought that if Senator Sherman and
Cor gresham Wise had seen their
daughters slapped off the sidewalk as
witness had seen those OF respectable
men in Danville, they would want to
leave Virginia. He had seen white
man escorting white lady to church
or opera and negro man "bust right
through their arms"
DR.. W.B. Temple testified he was in
the opera house when the trouble be-
gan; when he got out in the street he
saw fifteen or twenty white men con-
fronting an Infatuated mob of negroes.
The latter were violent, and shouting
they could shoot as well as the whites.
The white men fired a volleY, which
the negroes returned, and on firing a
second volley by the whites the ne
: groes ran, firing as they did So. Wit
ness was armed and fired with the rest
He fired four shots into the crowd
He said he was obliged to do it. He
: did not make any inquiries as to the
| cause VI U1O 11O OAA4J ga "
, ten or fifteen of his fellow-citizen
contending against a mob Of negroes
and he took sides with his own people
Witness bought his pistol 9
month before this thing occurred
1t was, he said, notorious
, fact that the negroes were armed, ant
they, the whites, had taken measures
! for their own preservation. Whe1
+ witness fired he fired right into the
: crowd. He did not know where h
; hit. Witness had taken part in thu
! discussion which preceded this riot
like every other good citizen. III.
+ said he wanted to get rid of the terri
bly, miserable government they had
He said every white man, woman ant
child had been enlisted in the fight t.
q get rid of the government they com
y planned of, and had promised to i'm
plicitly obey the orders of their lead
ers. They had Eeen warned by ever,
e man in authority to avoid any col
7 hsion if they could.