Disputed Election of 1 876 105

cans was Henry Burrell, a colored man. He pictured
a very disorderly and lawless state of affairs as hav-
ing existed in his parish prior to the election. Ac-
cording to his account the negro Republicans had been
terrorized by five Democratic rifle-clubs which had
ridden about the country at night, forcing negroes to
join Democratic clubs, and whipping, maiming, and
even murdering the leaders or those who were partic-
ularly stubborn. Burrell had himself been shot by a
white man, though the motive for the shooting is not
entirely clear. Just before the election he had also
been captured by bulldozers, and had been forced by
threats of death to destroy about 1400 Republican bal-
lots which were in his possession. ^

Eaton Logwood, another colored man, corroborated
Burrell's testimony regarding the condition of affairs
in Ouachita. He had suffered bodily harm on ac-
count, he alleged, of his political principles. Two
white men, blackened to look like negroes, had rid-
den up to his cabin, had shot him, and had killed his
brother-in-law, Primus Johnson, who at the time was
holding a child in his arms. Logwood's own wounds
had been frightful ones, and were not yet healed. -

But this evidence was as nothing to that given by the
next witness, Eliza Pinkston. Attended by a woman
with restoratives, Mrs. Pinkston was borne into the
room on a chair by two stalwart negroes. In this
proceeding and in what followed there was an evident



1 S. Ex. Doc. No. 2, 44th ConfiT. 2d Sess., pp. 105-110.
2 Ibid, pp. 110-113.
