USA > Louisiana > Louisiana; comprising sketches of counties, towns, events, institutions, and persons, Volume II > Part 44
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they agreed to vote for a resolution pledging the general assembly not to disturb the Kellogg government, even though approval was not given to the same. The resolution also provided that the senate and house should remain unchanged "except by resignation or death" until a new general election, though the senate was not prevented from making changes on contests.
In 1876 the Democrats nominated Francis T. Nicholls for gov- ernor and Louis A. Wiltz for lieutenant-governor, the Republican nominees for these offices being S. B. Packard and C. C. Antoine. Both parties placed full presidential electoral tickets in the field and the general sentiment seemed to be in favor of an untrammeled election and an honest count. President Grant directed Gen. Augur to see that the canvassing board be unmolested in the performance of its duties, and to report immediately any suspicion of fraudulent count. He also requested several prominent Republicans to wit- ness the proceedings of the returning board. Among these Repub- licans were John Sherman, James A. Garfield, John A. Kasson, Stanley Matthews, Eugene Hale, Gen. Lew Wallace and William D. Kelley. Abram S. Hewitt, chairman of the Democratic national committee, sent for the same purpose John M. Palmer, Lyman Trumbull, Samuel J. Randall, William R. Morrison, Andrew G. Curtin, William Bigler, Joseph E. McDonald, George W. Julian, Henry Watterson, and a number of others. On election day the polls in New Orleans were closely watched by members of the White League. No disturbances occurred in the city and but very few in the country precincts.
After the resignation of Mr. Arroyo from the returning board. the chairman of the Democratic state central committee asked Gov. Kellogg to reorganize the board so that at least two Demo- crats would be admitted to membership in that body, but the request received no reply. An effort was then made to have Dr. Hugh Kennedy appointed to the vacancy caused by Mr. Arroyo's resignation, but this was also ignored. The board still consisted of Wells. Anderson, Kenner and Casanave, all Republicans, and it was to this board that the people had to look for an honest count of their votes. The election was held on Nov. 7. the board met and organized on the 16th, and on Dec. 6 published the result, which declared the Republican state and electoral tickets elected by majorities ranging from 3,000 to 5,000. The day before the report was made public John McEnery, governor de jure, published the result obtained by the Democratic committee on returns, showing the electors of that party to have received an average majority of over 8,000 votes, and that Nicholls' majority over Packard was 8,245.
The Democratic visiting committee made a report to Mr. Hewitt, in which they said: "With the law and the facts before us as have been disclosed by the action of the returning board, we do not hesitate to declare that its proceedings, as witnessed by us, were partial and unfair. and that the result it has announced is arbitrary, illegal and entitled to no respect whatever." And in an
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appeal to the people of the United States they said: "It is a sig- nificant fact that in the parishes where it is alleged that voters were kept from the polls by intimidation the total vote was as large as at any time heretofore. An honest and fair canvass of the returns, even under the Louisiana law. cannot materially reduce Tilden's majority as shown on the face of the returns."
On the other hand. the Republican visitors reported to the presi- dent that "Members of the board, acting under oath, were bound by the law, if convinced by the testimony that riots, tumults, acts of violence, or armed disturbance did materially interfere with the purity and freedom of election, at any poll or voting place, or did materially change the result of the election thereat, to reject the votes thus cast and exclude them from their final return. * *
* If political success shall be attained by such violent and terrible means as were resorted to in many parishes in Louisiana, com- plaint should not be made if the votes thus obtained are denounced by judicial tribunals and all honest men as illegal and void."
Such were the statements from the two committees, composed no doubt of men equally honorable and equally intelligent, but each allowing their honor and intelligence to be clouded by party loyalty. The electoral vote of the state was finally counted for Hayes and Wheeler. (See Electoral Commission.) After his inauguration President Hayes recognized Francis T. Nicholls as the legally elected governor of the state, and since that time the question of returning boards has occasioned no disturbance in Louisiana, nor has any question ever come up as to the fair and impartial count of her vote at any election.
Revolution of 1768 .- Although France ceded Louisiana to Spain by the treaty of Nov. 3, 1762, official notice of the transaction did not reach the province until in Oct., 1764, when copies of the treaty and Spain's acceptance were sent to d'Abbadie, who then held the office of director-general. Early in the year 1765 a mass- convention assembled at New Orleans and formulated an appeal to Louis XV not to separate the inhabitants of Louisiana from the mother country. Jean Milhet (q. v.) was selected to bear the petition to Paris, where he enlisted the aid of Bienville, but their united prayers failed to secure an annulment of the treaty. Spain seemed to be in no hurry to take possession of the province, and as Milhet remained in Paris, the people began to take fresh courage and hope. But late in the summer came a letter from Havana, announcing the appointment of Antonio de Ulloa as governor. Still there was a delay on the part of Spain in taking possession. as the new governor did not arrive until the following March, accompanied by two companies of Spanish troops, the French gov- ernment having given the assurance that the province would be sur- rendered without resistance or protest. The first clash soon came. On the day that Ulloa landed. Foucault, the intendant, called his attention to the 7.000.000 livres of French paper money in the province, for which the treaty made no provision. This currency was then sadly depreciated and the governor replied that, until
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instructions came from Spain, it would be kept in circulation at its market value. He even bought a considerable quantity of it and tendered it to his troops in payment of their wages, but they refused to accept it, and the people demanded its redemption at its par value. A delegation of merchants soon waited on the governor and submitted a list of questions in writing, in order that they might learn the policy of the new administration toward matters affecting their interests. This petition, and the conduct of the merchants in offering it, Ulloa characterized as "imperious, insolent and men- acing." Many of the French soldiers refused to enter the Spanish service and set up the claim that their terms of enlistment had expired. Aubry, the French governor, recognized Ulloa's authority. however, and agreed to execute his orders. When the superior council demanded that Ulloa should show his commission, he replied that Gov. Aubry was the only French anthority that he would recognize. Thus, before the close of the year, the merchants, the people generally, the military and the council were all arrayed against the Spanish régime.
In the meantime Ulloa visited the posts as far at Natchitoches, and promised freedom of commerce for ten years. After his tour he took up his residence at the Balize, where on Sept. 6. 1766, he issued an order that all captains of vessels from France and St. Domingo must be provided with passports issued by the Spanish secretary of state; that upon their arrival in Louisiana they should present themselves to Ulloa with their passports and invoices of their cargoes; that no vessel should be unloaded until the gov- ernor's written permission was endorsed upon the passport or invoice; that brokers should present themselves to the governor and state the prices at which their merchandise was to be offered for sale; and if these prices were deemed excessive they would not be permitted to sell their wares in the colony. This order was given to Aubry for promulgation, and on the 8th the merchants unani- mously asked the council to declare it illegal, or at least to hold its enforcement in abeyance until they could be heard. The council did not annul the order, but promised that its enforcement should be delayed until Spain had taken legal possession of the province. The first name on that petition was that of Joseph Milhet, who afterward became one of the most active of the revolutionists. Ulloa asked that the petition be submitted to him, that he might ascertain the leaders and punish them accordingly. but Foucault refused to let him see it. Ulloa then created. without legal author- ity, a new council, composed of Loyola, commissary of war; Gayarre, president of the court of accounts ; D'Acosta, commander of the Spanish frigate Le Volant; De Reggio, a retired captain of infantry ; De la Chaise, an honorary member of the superior council. and a Capt. Dreux of the militia. This increased the hostile feeling. but as Ulloa still delayed taking open possession of the province and Milhet still lingered in Paris, the people continued to hope for the abrogation of the treaty and refrained from committing any overt act. The governor remained at the Balize, where delegations
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of officials and citizens from New Orleans visited him to learn his intentions, but they returned no wiser than when they set out. Time passed on and the situation remained unchanged. The rumor was quietly circulated that Ulloa was waiting for an army from Spain, with which he could force the people into submission, and the feeling of resentment began to give way to one of apprehension.
Late in the year 1767 Jean Milhet returned from France with the tidings that he had failed to accomplish the purpose for which he was deputed. The news of his failure caused the smoldering fires of indignation to blaze anew. The year 1768 came in amid political darkness and industrial depression. Meetings were held all over the province and the revolutionists were thoroughly organ- ized. The people of the German coast were unanimous in their opposition to Spain, and the Acadians, farther up the river, were likewise true to their beloved France. While this state of affairs prevailed there came the commercial regulation, confining the trade of the province to the Spanish ports of Seville, Alicant, Malaga, Barcelona, Cartagena and Corunna. Delegates from all parts of the province assembled in convention in New Orleans. After speeces by Lafreniere, the attorney-general, the two Milhets and Jérôme Doucet, a memorial to the superior council was prepared and signed by 560 of the leading citizens of Louisiana. In this petition were set forth the grievances against Ulloa, especially his attitude toward the Acadians, wherein those who complained were threatened with imprisonment. exile to the Balize, or to be sent to the mines. The council was asked: Ist, to assure the maintenance of the privileges and exemptions that had been enjoyed since the retrocession of Louisiana by the Company of the Indies to His Most Christian Majesty: 2nd, that passports, etc., be granted to captains of ships going from Louisiana to any port in France or America : 3rd, that vessels from French or American ports be given the free entrance of the river; 4th, that free commerce be granted with all the nations of Europe under the dominion of His Most Christian Majesty; 5th, that Ulloa be declared an infractor and usurper for having had the Spanish flag raised in places before his authority was registered with the council. for having detained captains of vessels by private authority, and for having kept under arrest French citizens on a Spanish frigate: 6th, that Ulloa be removed and ordered to leave the colony on the first outgoing vessel, and that all Spanish officials in the colony also be ordered to depart. Foucault called a meeting of the council for Oct. 28 to consider the petition. Lafrenière, in an impassioned speech, which was listened to with rapt attention, urged the adoption of the measures proposed ; that Ulloa be ordered to leave the province, and that the government be continued under the administration of Aubry and Foucault. In the course of his address he said : "Without liberty. there are no more virtues. From despotism come pusillanimity and the abyss of vices. Man is recognized as sinning against God, only because he preserves his free will. Where is the liberty of the planters and of the merchants? The marks of
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protection and kindness are changed into despotism; a single authority wishes to destroy everything. The estates must no longer run the risk of being taxed with crime, of trembling, of being enslaved, and of crawling. The superior council, bulwark of the tranquillity of the virtuous citizens, has been maintained only by the probity and disinterestedness of the magistrates and the united confidence of the citizens in them."
The petition was read to the council and on Lafrenière's motion was referred to a committee, consisting of Huchet de Kernion and Piot de Launay, with instructions to report upon it the following day. Meantime the people had not been idle. On the night of the 27th the cannon at the Tchoupitoulas gate (at the upper side of the town near the river) were spiked, and on the evening of the 28th the Germans, the Acadians and other militia from up the river, 400 strong, marched through the gate, the Germans being led by Joseph Villere and the Acadians by Jean Baptiste Noyan, a nephew of Bienville. The militia from below the city also came marching in, Capt. Pierre Marquis was made commander-in-chief, and Aubry advised Ulloa to retire with his wife on board a Spanish vessel for safety. On the morning of the 29th about 1.000 persons gath- ered in the public square, under a white flag, and the air resounded with the cry "Vive le roi de France." The council assembled, heard the report of the committee to whom the petition had been referred, and issued a decree that Ulloa should leave the colony within three days. On the 31st he embarked with his family on board a French ship that he had chartered. and about daybreak the next morning a band of revelers appeared on the levee, singing patriotic songs and shouting "Vive le roi de France." One of them, Joseph Petit, either cut or cast off the cables and the ship drifted down the river on the current. Ulloa was expelled.
Immediately after the occurrences of the 29th, the planters and merchants prepared a long memorial, showing the necessity for the revolution, proclaiming the love of the colonists for the king of France, denying that the Spanish flag had been insulted, and praying the king to take back the province. A day or two later several delegates left New Orleans for France, to present the dif- ferent phases of the revolution. Lapeyriere represented Aubry ; Lesassier the superior council, and St. Lette the planters and mer- chants. Jean Milhet had been selected to present the views of the merchants, but did not go, and Bienville, a brother of Noyan, had been chosen to represent the planters, but declined because he was a naval officer. However, he went with the delegates and never returned to the colony, a fact which probably saved his life, as he had been one of the leaders of the revolution. The delegates took with them all the papers bearing on the revolution, including the famous memorial, and letters were written to the Duke de Praslin, minister of foreign affairs, by various persons in Louisiana, giving an account of the affair, and the council also sent a long address to the king, justifying their action with regard to the ban- ishment of Ulloa.
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As soon as the news of the revolt reached Spain. Charles III called a cabinet council of seven ministers and requested cach to submit a written opinion as to whether Louisiana should be retained or returned to France. One minister reported in favor of returning the province to its former owners, and the other six in favor of maintaining the authority of His Catholic Majesty and of sending troops to subjugate the rebellious colonists. Accordingly, Alex- . ander O'Reilly (q. v.) was appointed governor, with full power to quell the insurrection.
While the excitement was at its height. prior to Ulloa's depar- ture, an attempt was made to have Louisiana sever the bonds that bound her to both France and Spain and erect a republic. Ulloa. in his account of the revolution, says that Bienville and Balthasar de Masan made a pilgrimage to Pensacola to secure the aid of the English governor there to that end. After Ulloa had been expelled, the project of forming a republic was revived, but it was too late. Before a definite course of action could be decided upon O'Reilly arrived at the Balize (July 23, 1769) with 24 ships and 3,000 men, and the opportunity of establishing a republic had passed by. O'Reilly sent Francisco Bouligny up to the city to notify Aubry of his arrival, and the news threw the inhabitants into a panic. A committee of three-Lafrenière, Marquis and Milhet-was sent to interview the new governor and learn his intentions. Lafrenière acted as spokesman, assured O'Reilly of the willingness of the colo- nists to submit to the authority of the kings of France and Spain and the officers appointed by them. The governor responded that he was only desirous of learning the truth and promised to listen to them with pleasure at the proper time. The committee returned and reported O'Reilly's words to the people, who retired to their homes, hopeful that the whole matter could be adjusted without resorting to harsh measures. On Aug. 18 O'Reilly reached New Orleans and took formal possession in the name of His Catholic Majesty. Two days later Aubry made a report to the governor, giving a full account of all that had taken place the previous October, and within a few days the leaders of the revolution were placed under arrest. Those arrested were Nicolas Chauvin de Lafrenière. attorney-general and member of the council; Jean Baptiste Noyan and Pierre Hardy de Boisblanc, members of the council ; Pierre Marquis, a former military officer ; Jerome Doucet, an attorney ; Denis Braud, the king's printer ; Balthazar de Masan and Joseph Petit, planters ; and Pierre Caresse, Joseph Milhet. Jean Milhet and Pierre Poupet, merchants. Lafreniere was charged with being one of the principal leaders of the insurrection. Noyan was accused of inciting the people to rebellion, especially the Acadians, to whom he furnished arms and provisions at the Tchoupitoulas gate on the eve of the revolt : of attending seditious meetings; of having the French flag-staff made on his plantation ; . and of having openly expressed his desire to see Ulloa expelled from the colony. Marquis was cited as the military commander of the insurgents and the originator of the idea of a republic, which
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was to have been governed by a council of forty members and a protector, all elected by the people. The charge against Doucet was that of being the author of "that most insolent and outrageous manifesto, the memorial of the planters and merchants." The arrest of Braud was due to the fact that he printed the memo- rial, but he set up the detense that, being the official printer, he was obliged to print whatever was ordered by his superiors, and was discharged. Masan was charged with being one of the active fomenters of the revolt, the second man to sign the petition to the council, and one of the committee to present it to that body. The accusation against Petit was that he cut the rope that held Ulloa's vessel, thus setting the governor adrift and hastening his departure. Caresse drew up the petition to the council, furnished food to the Acadians. was one of the proposers of the bank to be called the Mont de Piete, and furnished Doucet with the materials to write the memorial. Joseph Milhet was active in securing signa- tures to the petition, and commanded a company of the insurgents. Jean Milhet took up arms, as did also Poupet, who was the treas- urer of the insurrectionists. Foucault was also arrested a little later, but he claimed to be an officer of the French king and demanded a passage to France-a request which was granted, as neither Aubry nor O'Reilly could consistently refuse.
The arrest of the leaders broke the backbone of the revolution, and many of the inhabitants took the oath of allegiance to the king of Spain. The trial of the conspirators was based on a statute of Alfonso XI, which fixed the penalty of death and con- fiscation of property against those who excited insurrection against the king or state. Lafreniere, Marquis, Noyan, Caresse and Joseph Milhet were sentenced to be hanged, but as no one could be in- duced to act as hangman they were ordered to be shot. Accord- ingly, on Oct. 25, 1769. "they were led under good and sure guard of officers and grenadiers, bound by the arms," to the barracks of the Lisbon regiment, where they fell before a file of Spanish soldiers. Joseph Petit was sentenced to imprisonment for life ; Masan and Doucet, for ten years ; and Boisblanc, Poupet and Jean Milhet, for six years, and all were forbidden to ever reside in any domain of His Catholic Majesty. The memory of Joseph Villere, one of the leaders of the revolt, who had died shortly after being arrested, was declared infamous by O'Reilly. The prisoners were taken to Havana and confined in Morro castle, where they were treated with great severity until the French government secured their release in 1771. The day following the execution of Lafrenière and his companions witnessed the burning of the memorial of the planters and merchants in the public square-the last act in the drama establishing Spanish domination in Louisiana.
In Dec., 1841, nearly three-quarters of a century after the revolu- tion. Gov. Roman informed the legislature that he had learned of a large number of manuscripts in Paris bearing on the colonial history of Louisiana, and that he had obtained permission to have them examined and copied. These manuscripts he said would
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throw new light upon the events that occurred during the colonial era. "It will appear, for instance," said he, "that the true object of the conspiracy which O'Reilly deemed it his duty to extinguish in the blood of its chiefs, was not, as then proclaimed, to restore the dominion of France, but to establish a republican government under the protection of England. So that Lafreniere and Villere were the first martyrs of America, and poured out their blood in the attempt to establish a republic in Louisiana eight years before the Declaration of Independence of 1776."
Rhinehart, a post-hamlet in the central part of Catahoula parish, is situated 6 miles southeast of Jena, the nearest railroad station, and 15 miles southwest of Harrisonburg, the parish seat. Its population in 1900 was 63.
Rhoda, a post-hamlet of St. Mary parish, is situated in the south- eastern part, about a mile north of Wyandotte, the nearest rail- road station, in a rich sugar district. It has a money order post- office, and in 1900 had a population of 45.
Rice (R. R. name Lacassine), a post-village and station in the southeastern part of Calcasieu parish, is on the Southern Pacific R. R., 17 miles east of Lake Charles, the parish seat, in the most productive rice region in the state. It has a rice mill, an express office, a good retail trade, and does considerable shipping.
Rice, one of the principal products of the state, was introduced into Louisiana during its carly history as a French colony. The value of the vast area of marsh lands for rice culture was recog- nized by the colonizing companies, and in 1718 the "Western Company" introduced the white Creole rice, which the Acadian farmers cultivated in a small way from the time they settled in the colony. The variety known as "gold rice" was planted in Plaquemines parish for the first time in 1857, though it had been cultivated in South Carolina for more than a century. The white bearded rice was brought to America in 1842, and with a variety introduced from Honduras, was raised with great success by planters in the Carolinas, but was not introduced into Louisiana for many years. At first all the rice was grown along the banks of the Mississippi river and its bayous, where water could be ob- tained for flooding the fields, by pumping over the levees. This proved very expensive, as it involved a large outlay of capital. and therefore was not a success as a commercial venture. During the last half of the 18th century rice culture was started in a primi- tive way on the prairies of southwestern Louisiana. Rain water was collected by levees and dykes and used when needed to flood the fields of growing rice. These simple methods were so success- ful that thousands of farmers emigrated from other states to this section for the purpose of raising rice. The rice grown and irri- gated in this manner became known as "Providence rice," for the reason that the producers had to depend on the rainfall and in · dry seasons the crop was either scant or a total failure. This method did not yield large profits, but it was seen that with proper irrigation rice culture could be made a most profitable industry. Con-
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