nated us ever since. They carry on
the elections. We stay in our fields all day long on election day
and scarcely know what is going on. Not long since a white man came
through here and distributed republican ballots. The white people
captured him and cut his body into four pieces and threw it in the
Ouachita River. Since then you can't get any man to venture here to
distribute ballots.

"Just before the last presidential campaign, two brothers, Samuel and
John Bowser, colored, happened to go down to New Orleans. Things are
not so bad down there as they are up here in Northern Louisiana. These
two brothers each secured a republican party ballot, and on election
day somewhat boastfully cast them into the ballot box. There is, as
you have perhaps heard, a society here known as 'Nigger Rulers.' The
postmaster of this place is president of the society, and the teacher
of the white public school is the captain of the army thereof.

"They sent word to the Bowser brothers that they would soon be there
to whip them. The brothers prepared to meet them. They cut a hole
in the front side of the house, through which they could poke a gun.
Night came on, and true to their word the 'Nigger Rulers' came. Samuel
Bowser fired when they were near the house and one man fell dead.
All of the rest fled to the cover of the neighboring woods. Soon they
cautiously returned and bore away their dead comrade. They made no
further attack that night.

"The brothers hid out in the woods. Hearing of this and fearing that
the men would make their escape the whites gathered in force and
hemmed in the entire settlement on all sides. For three days the men
hid in the woods, unable to escape because of the guard kept by the
whites. The third night a great rain came up and the whites sought the
shelter of their homes.

"The brothers thus had a chance to escape. John escaped into Arkansas,
but Samuel, poor fool, went only forty miles, remaining in Louisiana.
The mob forced one of our number, who escorted him on horseback, to
inform them of the road that Samuel took. In this way they traced and
found him. They tied him on a horse and brought him back here with
them. They kept him in the woods three days, torturing him. On the
third day we heard the loud report of a gun which we supposed ended
his life. None of us know where he lies buried. You can judge from
this why we neglect voting."

This speech wound up Belton's political career in Cadeville. He