Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1922-12-23
TROOPS ARE SENT
TOQUELL ALLEGED
FEUD IN LOUISIANA

baffIed the legal machinery of the
state Of Louisiana. moved forward
another chapter Wednesday when
company of national guard troops en-
canned in the center of the town OF
Nor Rouge, as a result of and alleged
feud between rival factions of More
house parish.
Although the Ku kluX Khan or
ganizations of Louisiana, Arkansas
and Mississippi have been more or
less charged with being involved IN
the mysterious disappearance of Ma
ior Watt Daniels and Thomas
Fletcher Richards, citizens OF Mer
Rouge, following the kidnapping OF
these and three other Mer Rouge
citizens on August "a, the conserVa'
tive citizens of northeast Louisiana
believe that the mysterious case
goes much deeper than alleged hu
Klux Khan animosity and is more or
less racial, rivaling in many respects
the celebrated feuds of the Cumber-
land mountains of Kentucky. Ten
nessee and Virginia.
Although the feudal fight was said
to have been brewing for quarter
of a century, involving some of the
leading families of Mer Rouge and
other parts of Morehouse parish.
climax was reached on August "a,
when J. L. Daniels, 20 years DID,
former prominent Mer Rouge mer-
chant; Watt Daniels. his son; Thorn
as E. Richards, Watt Davenport,
scion of a leading Louisiana family,
and w. C. Andrews, a planter, were
kidnapped by 40 or so masked men on
their way from Bastrop to their
homes in Mer Rouge.
One of Five Released
A big highway celebration and
festival was held at Bastrop on Au-
gust "a, and thousands of people
from all parts of northeast Louisiana
attended. The five victims of hood
ed riders attended the celebration,
witnessed the baseball game between
Monroe and Bastrop and then start
ed home in the twilight in two au-
tonnobiles. When they were mid
way between Bastrop and Mer
Rouge the hooded men galloped up,
on horseback, or appeared en- the
highway in automobile, and seized
the five Mer Rouge citizens.
Watt Davenport was released
within an hour after he was taken,
and the rumor became current that
the masked men We're mistaken as
to his identity"
Searchers for twenty-four hours
tried to find the men who were kid
mapped, and the day following the af-
fair the elder Daniels and Andrews
found their way back to their homes
at Mer Rouge in a serious condition.
Their stories gave but little informa'
ton in regard to the kidnapping.
Fer awhile neither Daniels nor
Andrews would discuss the case, but
they finally told of how they We're
kidnapped ON their way to Mer Rouge
by masked men and severely beat
en-. For several weeks Daniels was
in a precarious condition because OF
his injuries, which, in his case, were
augmented by old age.
Neither Daniels nor Andrews was
able to identify a single person III
the mob, nor could they give any
information in regard to Daniels
SON, Watt, and Richards.
Blindfolded and Beaten
Daniels declared he recognized Ar
kansas and Mississippi automobile Ii
cense tags.
az can not tell a thing now any
more than I could the night of the
kidnapping or the day after said
Daniels, in discussing the case again
yesterday.
1--WE were blindfolded and taken
to the woods and beaten and my son
and Richards were taken away from
us. and we have not heard a word
from them since. I do not know any
of the men who had anything to do
with the KIDNAPPING, but they looked
like what we know as the ku klux
Khan, as they had hoods and robes.
Following the kidnapping the More
house parish grand jury was organ
lied at Bastrop, the. parish seat of
Morehouse parish, and made a thor
ough investigation of the kidnapping
but no indictments were returned.
Many witnesses were examined, but
it was claimed many people in po'
sition to testify were afraid to sub
NIT testimony.
Following the failure of Morehouse
parish and district officials to solve
the mystery, Governor Parker an
nounced his determination to use all
the power of the state in the case.
Governor Parker's Investigations
and those of Attorney General Coco
have been shrouded in much mys-
tery, and directed from the state cap.
ital at Baton Rouge.
Searching for Bodies
For the last three months there
have been detectives and other inves-
tigators in Morehouse parish, inter
rogating citizens and making search
es for the bodies of Richards and
Daniels, which, according to some
persons, were believed to have been
cast into a lake in the vicinity Of
Mer Rouge.
That the bodies of both the missing