The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1891-08-06
THE RED BONES RIOT.
CAUSE OF THE BLO0DsHED AT LAKE
CHARLES, La, EXPLAINED.
Worthless Scoundrels Try to Whitecap a
Man-He is Protected and They At
tempt Wholesale slaughter-In the
Brush Running Amuck

Special to The Statesman.
LAKE CHARLES, La, Aug. 4.-Full
reports of the bloody tragedy at Lock
Moore d Co.'S. tram, twenty-five miles
from here are at last obtainable. 1t
appears to be somewhat of race war,
in that the strife was between whites
and number of thriftless, profligate
halfbreeds who are called Red Bones.
a few days ago Mr.. Morris made
remark to an employee: "Where
are those two redbones who were to
drive this wagon This remark was
evidently overheard, for the next
night his house was surrounded by an
angry mob headed by Andrew AS
worth, who demanded that he come
out and be whitecapped.
This he refused to do and by strategy
succeeded in holding the fort all night.
In the morning he was notified that
he must leave the country before the
sun went down or he would be assas-
Siii'oOu' lC aO olSo CollliluhlCducu
the news of the threats to the white
people Of the settlement and they
guaranteed full protection.
On Sunday morning a party of
white men went down to little store
mile and half from the mill to get
some whisky. On arrival there they
found party of Red Bones, who
asked them if they had come for the
purpose of raising disturbance or
seeking quarrel. The white men
told them that they were on no hostile
mission, but that they had come to
get some whisky.
While this talk on the outside was
going on Jesse Disson, the leader of
the Red Bones and as desperate a
character as ever graced border,
came out of Lacombs' saloon store and
declared himself as able to clean out
the whole party. He at once jerked
out his siX-shoOter, but hardly had it
leveled before Jesse Ward, one of
the whites, sent a bullet crashing
through his brain and he fell dead in
an instant. A general battle began
and Ward fell mortally wounded, be-
ments it sounded as though musket-
ry fire was going on. Winchester
rifles and siX-shooters were fired as
rapidly as those holding them could
fire and though greatly outnumber-
ed, the whites succeeded in rout-
ing the toughs and Staying five
of them. -Four fell dead in their tracks
literally shot to pieces while one lived
long enough to crawl to a cabin where
he died at the door. Dupre Lacomb,
the saloon man, was shot through the
leg and his son wounded. The Red
Bones ran his wife and younger chill
dren out of the house into the woods,
firing on them, but they fortunately
escaped.
When the smoke OF battle had
cleared, the following were found
dead Jesse Dissen, Lee Perkins, An
drew and Owen Ainsworth, and V.
Marion, all Red Bones. Jesse Ward
lived few hours and when medical
aid arrived he begged the physician to
extract the bullet as he did not want
to die with Red Bone lead in his body. |
This did not end the trouble,
for the Red Bones took to the brush,
which is, in places, well nigh impene-
terable, and from ambush they shot at
passers by. l.. II. Swan, an old man
who was on his way to the seat of war
to ascertain the trouble, was shot
from ambush and killed.
When the sheriff7s posse arrived
with the coroner they met with
resistance and failed to capture
any Red Bones. Three of the whites
have been arrested and are in jail |
The Red Bones are in the brush and
the officers dare not pursue them for
fear of being shot from ambush. Two
of the leaders of the Red Bones have
been out of the penitentiary but
month. More trouble is feared and as
soon as the half-breeds come out
of their hiding places they will be
captured. They are class who do
odd jobs around the mills and as soon
as they get little money fill up on
whisky. They sustain themselves
by stealing cattle and preying upon
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