St Landry County Louisiana Archives News.....
The Killing at Port Barre April 4, 1896


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Lee Roberts anacoste@hotmail.com October 14, 2007, 11:08 pm

The Opelousas Courier April 4, 1896
The Opelousas Courier

Unofficial Journal of the Parish of St. Landry

Opelousas, Parish of St. Landry, LA., March 28, 1896

The Killing at Port Barre

Last Monday’s Picayune Contained the following special from Opelousas.
 

Your correspondent had an interview with Dr. G.W. Martin of Arnaudville, and 
from him elicited the following detail account of the unfortunate killing at 
Port Barre on Friday, evening:

	“ I had gone to Palmetto on Thursday evening in command of a body of 
seventy-five men for the purposes of preventing Negroes from registering there 
on Friday. The day fixed by the register to be at that place. On arriving at 
Palmetto Thursday evening I found there a large number of our friends under 
arms from different sections of the Parish, all of whom had assembled for the 
same purpose, and I was put in command  of the entire force. We had heard that 
the combine forces were to be there for the purpose of backing up the Negroes 
against the whites and it had also been rumored that said combine had made 
very violent threats against registrar Swords and his party. We had gone there 
to protect Mr. Sword from threatening violence and to prevent the Negroes from 
registering. As an evidence that the combine had made such threats and did 
intend to send a force there. I related the following incidents. When within 
about seven miles a Palmetto with my company at about 11 o’clock p.m. a man 
who was standing on the roadside hailed my advance guard by calling out hello, 
Doctor! Is it you? The guard answered and asked this party what doctor was he 
addressing and the man replied, “Dr. Walker.” The guard said you have made a 
mistake. This is not Dr. Walker’s crowd. While this conversation was going on 
between the guard and this unknown party, I rode to the front to see what was 
the matter. And he was relating to the guard that his brother, the postmaster 
in Palmetto had telegraphed that there were seventy-five armed men already in 
the village. I asked him where they were from and he said from Big Cane. I had 
received information earlier in the day that Dr. Walker and others were 
organizing the opposition forces at Washington for the purposes of going to 
Palmetto and the above related incidents goes to confirm the report which had 
previously reached me. We believed that this man had been placed at that point 
for the purpose of posting Dr. Walker who was expected as to the exact 
situation at the village, seven miles distant.

	However we proceeded on our way unmolested, reached Palmetto at about 
midnight and camped a la military until the next morning. At the appointed 
time, 9 o’clock, the registrar opens his office and proceeded to register 
every voters who applied. No Negroes applied and everything passed off 
securely. The Negro desperado Rideau was whipped before I reached Palmetto 
Thursday afternoon. I had no hand in that. During the day Friday I thought I 
would go around to talk in a friendly way to some of the leading Negroes and 
explain to them the wish of the good thinking people of the Parish whom we 
were representing . I went to their houses and told them we had no desire to 
harm them, but this was a white man’s country and the white men intended to 
control his political destiny in the future. All we ask of them was to stay at 
home, attend to their work and let politics alone. I told them that there was 
nothing in politics except trouble, and that the men who were urging them to 
register and vote were not their best friend and were only using then to boost 
themselves into office, not caring how much trouble they got into afterward. I 
told them plainly that we looked upon them as the inferior race and we were 
opposed to social equality, that the white republicans and populists were as 
much opposed to social equality as we were and only advocated political 
equality because they needed their vote to ride them into office. The Negroes 
took my advice in good spirit and assured me that they recognized the force of 
my argument and were perfectly willing to let the white people settle the 
election among themselves.

	At about 1 o’clock p.m. the opposition force had put in an appearance, 
no Negroes desired to register and everything was quiet. I concluded to start 
for home. On reaching Port Barre, I told my men that there was a Negro named 
Julien Stelly living in that neighborhood who had registered, but after seeing 
that the sentiment among the white people of this section was so strong 
against him, that he had sent one of his colored friends Numa Landrio to Mr. 
Adam Guidros a member of the white supremacists league, to inquire of the 
white supremacists would accept his apologies for having registered and to say 
that he would stay out of politics and not vote. Mr. Guidros mentioned the 
matter to me. Where upon I told him that I was not the only one to consult 
about it but I would mention it to the other white men of the ward.

	A few days afterward we had a meeting at which about 100 men were 
present. I addressed the meeting and in the course of my remarks brought the 
matter up and advised those present to accept Stelly’s explanation and 
assurances. Now as I had quite a large number of men with me and was in the 
immediate neighborhood of Stelly, thought it was a good opportunity to have 
Stelly come in the presence of these men and make these explanations to them 
and at the same give him all the necessary guaranteed for his safety in the 
event he should stick to his promises.

	We reached the ferry at Port Barre at 4:30 p.m. We could only cross 
eight men at a time, which necessitated considerable delay. So I sent four of 
the first batch crossed ahead to tell Stelly to meet us on the road and also 
to tell him why we want to see him. The four men called at his house and 
delivered the message and he replied that he would not surrender to anyone, 
but if Dr. Martin was there he would talk to him, where upon he backed into 
the house from the gallery where he had been standing, and ordered his 
children to shut up the house. Three of the men remained near Stelly’s house 
while one went back to the public road about three acres distant wait for me. 
When I arrived and was told what Stelly had said and done, I thought his 
conduct somewhat strange and ominous. I asked him where the other three were. 
He replied that they were near Stelly’s house and I said, “Well I cannot leave 
my men there that way. “I must go and get them . The man who had met me at the 
roadside said `yes, go. He said he would talk to you.’ I then rode into 
Stelly’s yard with my whole company, who had arrived in the meantime. My three 
men who were stationed there called to be careful, as they did not like the 
manner in which Stelly had acted. I then ordered my men to dismount and put 
themselves undercover as much as possible. I then walked right up to his house 
and called him three times. Telling him to talk to me and remind him of the 
message he had sent to Mr. Guidros and told him that if he would come out and 
listen to what I had to say, I would guarantee him he should not be hurt and 
if what I say was not satisfactory, I would give him permission to go back 
into the house and shut himself up again and let him take his chances.

	Just as this moment, while waiting for his reply, I heard a shot from 
a side window and saw my man fall. I then ordered my men to return fire. I saw 
an ax in the kitchen through an open window. I jumped in and secured the ax 
and got out again. Meeting one of my men who had come up close by following 
along side of the house under the windows, I handed him the ax and told him to 
break the window that the shooting was done. My men was standing behind trees 
in the yard and shooting into windows. The Negro was inside shooting at us 
through the same windows. About seventy-five shots were fired , of that the 
Negro fired about twenty-five before the Negro was killed. I led my men away. 

	Mr. Boutte who was wounded by the Negro was taken to the residence of 
Mr. Cezaire Mouller near by. Where he received the last rights of the catholic 
church and died about two and one half hour after receiving his death wound. 
His last words were that he cheerfully gave up his life for the cause he 
represented.

	Constable Moreau made an investigation of the premises the next 
morning. He informed your correspondent that he found seven shot guns, one 
rifle and a sack full of cartridges.”

Editor Courier

	A correspondent of the city item writing from Washington March the 
30th contradicts my statement of the Stelly affair at Port Barre, which was 
published in the picayune on March 30th. I hereby affirm that said published 
statement is the plain unvarnished truth, which I am prepared to prove by 
persons in no wise connected with the affair: and whoever denies the veracity 
of my statement. I here qualify him as a infamous liar and a malicious 
slanderer.

G.W. Martin / April 3, 1896

Additional Comments:
 I found this article in the Opelousas Daily World archive.It appeared in the 
Times Picayunne front page article.I also have a picture of him. Julien Stelly 
is my Great grand father.