The Natchitoches enterprise., 1899-03-16
TWO AGAINST A MOB.
An OLD TINE MISSISSIPPI RIVER
SHOOTING SCRAPE.

n Pitched Battle In Which Sever
Men We're Slain.
4 Zone of the worst shooting scraPe:
4 that ever happened along the Mlssls
sippi river" began the man at TIT
wheel, relaxing his hold on the tilier
which had been hard down, ard per
mittirg it to spin around with The
velocity Of top, "took place cut there
Just above the mouth of this bayGn,
about 30 years ago, when thcy bnrned
the old postoiIice and the warehouse,
You can see where they stood by tae
piles Of bricks there on the bank.
All admitted the ruins were plainly
visible. when he changed to the OPP
/ posite side OF the wheel, and after a
spirited effort made to coantcract the
effects Of an impinSiDg current that
had caused the beat to swerve from her
course he continued:
THE boat that I was on had got
caught in the fog, and we tied up un-
der the point there about 3 O'Clock in
the afternoon, and lot of US went On
shore TO take little exercise. 1t was
on Saturday, and good many people
had come in from the country TO do
their trading and get their mail. Some
of them were pitching quoits and others
shooting at mark when we first land
ed, but they quit when they saw the
man carry the mail bag we had brought
and went in and stood around waiting
for the letters to be sorted. They had
all been drinking and were pretty noisy
When the postmaster said there were
only two letters and that they were
both for Bud Johnson, a colored man,
a murmur Of disapproval went around,
and several Of them insisted on new
deal
'Yo1 can look for yourselves said
the postmaster, tossing them the bag,
but after searching and finding it empty
they were in a worse frame of mind
than ever. Presently one Of the num-
Der, local politician, got up and made
a speech derogatory to the administra-
tion. He insisted that the government
was prejudiced against white folks, and
that be had no use for the Office any
how. Several Of the others present ex-
pressed their approval of this senti-
ment, and a general smashing up of ev-
erything at once followed. During the
row the coal oil lamp was broken, the |
house set on fire and everything burned |
up.
Colonel Bunch, who owned the
property, noticing the fire, came up
from his plantation below and de-
noUnced the perpetrators Of the outrage
as vaIdals. The colonel was a high
spirited man and didn't stand any fool
ishness, but was getting along in years
now and couldn't do much but talk, so
that when one Of the men declared ha
could whip any Bunch Oh earth b.
looked like he felt himself in a pretty
close place, but the colonel stood his
ground until at last, when the contend
ing parties were about to come to blows,
his son appeared upon the scene, and,
learning the cause of the trouble, sprangl
between the two, and, drawing his re-
EelyeF, said, My name is Bunch, ard
when my father gets to be too old to
defend himself can stand in his tracks
and take his part.
"At this juncture the shooting com
and l made for the boat. Ey-
orybody seemed to take sides against
he Bunches, and you would have
bought them band of guerrilIas from
he way they kept the fight up. Pres
entity noticed the colonel roll down
be bank and stop just at tho edge Of
he water, and then his son came stag
'ering down, too, and fell near his side.
they were both dead We wanted to
cave, but the men were afraid to go on
hore to unite the lines, for the infuri-
ted crowd was still calling for moro
3unches and the colored man who had ,
ot the letters, but be had climbed a
rec. and they didn't know where rs
7as. An hour or so later, when the
rowd had dispersed, he slid down from
is hiding place, came aboard the boat =,
nd we had him in the hold until we
OF away and be was over his fright,
10 said there were five men lying on
1e bank that the lunches had killed 4
efors they fell" =
The boat at this junoture showing a n
isposition to become fractions, the b
ilot gave his undivided attention for a 4
loment to the wheel, when be went on: il
But there is not much shooting 4
long the river now, and you hardly b
yer hear Of afeud. When there were b
ally about three families in county.
10 OF them were usually engaged in d
. effort to exterminate the other on
'count of some imaginary wrong, or e.
aybe prompted by jealousy. Since tha b
'untry has been settled up they are all u
ght l used to think myself" he went B
to say after brief tussle with the
Her. THAT what man wanted was 81
om, but have found out my mis- b
Ike. What he stands most in need Of r,
plenty Of good neighbors, and | find F
at the thicker yeu put people the be-
they yet along 1t makes them more
imam, and besides they come to know
Uething, which Is not the case when o.
ey live alone. have learned q good =
al myself by travelling around and y
eing what is in the world, for usu- d
~ go east every summer to swan u
alarias. st. Louis Globe Democrat 1t
ca
Caused the First Goodness. al
Mr.. Newlywed (readinel - Nobodv tr