The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1896-04-15
RACE WAR in LOUISIANA.
White Rule of TerrOr--Outcome OF
Acadian Hatred of Blacks.

State election in Louisiana, which comes
of on April II, has centered in the Aca-
dian parish of st. Landry. Some ac-
counts OF the campaign there have been
published, but after all they have given
but feeble picture Of the generalization
existing. There have been nine persons
killed already on account OF the politlcal
troub bles, fourteen shot more or less
seriously, and perhaps 800 whipped-and
whipped severely. The parish priest OF
Port Barre has been driven out OF the par
ish. A hundred houses and stores have
been fired into and riddled with bullets,
to discourage their occupants from reg
istering and voting. AS might be eS-
pected, business is stagnant throughout
the prish. All mmigration-and there
has been large immigration there OF late
years-hag ceased; the plantations have
stopped labor because the negroes are too
frightened to work. Many of the negroes,
indeed, have give up the habit OF sleeping
in their cabins, and prefer the canebrakss.
st. Landry is an armed camp, and con-
tains more rifles, shotguns, and pistols
than any county of the same population
in the world. Both factions have been
buying arms and ammunition in this city
for weeks. Both have arsenals in Ope-
lousas, where guns are stored ready for
moments notice. The Regulators or
White Supremacists, as the Fonteno fac
tion are called, are better organized.
They have their companies, are thor
oughly armed and all mounted, for every
st. La adrian Is a centaur, and have three
or four cannons. One of their meetings
is a novelty in political campaigns In this
country, for II is startling to see 500 men,
all on horseb back and carrying rifles on
their shoulders, with q couple OF cannon
in the background.
The situation in st. Landry has grown
SO serious lately that both the civil and
religious authorities have interiered to
restore order, but without effecting any
permanent good. The Governor ordered
the Washington Artillery to Opelousas,
the seat of justice. They have preserved
order In the town itself, but the Regu-
lators have continued their inroads into
the neig ID boring districts, and the same
acts of violence have been committed as
heretofore.
When Father Malluchet, parish priest
of Port Barre, was run out OF st. Landry
by the regulators for denouncing the
murder of one of his parishioners by
them, Archbishop Janssens interfered,
spoke very strongly of the ST. Landry
lewlessness, and called upon the auihori-
ties TO suppress it. Notwithstanding the
fact that the. people OF st. Landry are as
unanimously Catholic as any in the
world, ana devout Catholics at that,
the partizan and factional feeling there
is too strong even for the church to con-
troll, and the Regulators have not ceased
their outrageS because of the. e.Archtishop's
warning.
The struggle in st. LANDRY has got
beyond the control OF the church
or OF the officials. Although 1t Is nomi-
nally political contest, and, strange to
say. contest beteen two Democratic fac
tions, II Is really race war which has
n
trouble IS the contest between the Tbomp-
son and Fontenot factions of the Demo
cratic party TO control the parish Offices.
The Thompson faction Is led by the clerk
OF court, comprises a minority OF the
whites, and most OF those known as
Americans (that is, Anglo Saxons) and
depends for its success on getting out the
negro vote. The Fontenot faction Is led
by Sheriff Fontenot, consists exclusively
OF whites, comprising about four. fifth s
of the whites in the parish, and all the
Acadians. They call themselves White
Supremacists, aud declare that no negro
shall register or vote no matter what the
consequences. All the difficulties have oc-
Cured, and all the killings have resulted,
from efforts on the part OF the Thomp-
son faction to get out the negroes and
register them, aud on the part of the
Fontenot faction 10 prevent 1t.
The real trouble behind all this Is the
struggle that is going ON In southwestern
Louisiana between the Acadians, the de-
scendants of Longfellow's Evangeline,
and the negro. st. Landry Is the head
center OF the Acadians, and Opeiousas
the Acadian capital of louisiana. st.
Landry is the largest parish of Louisiana,
with population of 10000, and nine
tenths OF the white people are .Acadians,
descendants OF the unfortunate French
settlers of Acadie, or Nova Scotia,
driven out by the English a century and
a quarter ego. 'Longfellow has told the
story of their wanderings and final settle
ment on the Teche IN louisiana; but
their history since then has remained un-
told. Settled on the prairies OF western
Louisiana, far distant from the more CIV
ilized sections of the State, they have
grown up in an Acadian manner, and are
rapidly crowding other races out OF the
State. The Acadian is the most prolific
OF all races, even more so than his brother,
the French Canadian. lie marries at 20,
and his family is anywhere from ten to
twenty. The Acadian representative on
the Democrat ticket, Fournet, who is
named for State Treasurer, is slightly over
40, with 10 living children, and himself
one OF family OF 10. From the little
colony OF 5000, the Acadians have grown
in the last century TO over 200, 600, and
now constitute an important element In
the white population OF LOUISIANA. They
are looked down upon by the crcoles or
the old French population of the State,
but far outnumber hem today, and will
some day absorb them and swallow them
up. From the Teche the Acadians have
spread in all directions, invading the
creole and even the American parishes.
The negroes have rapidly given away be-
fore them, and are being crowded out OF
southern Louisiana, which has white
majority and which will be Overw helm
ingly white In time. The Acadians have
no use for the negro, aud the national
antipsthy between the two races Is very
strong. Poor men themselves, work ing
In the field, largely iliterate. the social
feeling is all the more intensified because
they are competitors, and because the
lines between the two are not very far
apart.
For some years there has been n move
ment against the negroes In 81. Landry.
Thoee who were in IL first called them
selves Caucssians; now IN y style them
selves White supremacistS Their aim
is TO prevent the negto from voting or
having any part In politics, and they will