The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1867-12-25
A Row Among she Negroes-Fres
Fight in n Church.
From the Memphis Avalanche

From the memphis Avalanche.
On Tuesday night a meeting of the
Radicals was called at Africa Bailey's
Church, in Fort Pickering, for the pur-
pose of nominating candidates for AL
dermen and School Visitor. 1t may not
be generally known that Ham Carter is
in the habit of attending all these Radi-
cal nominating Conventions, backed by
crowd of black shoulder-hitters, and
debating to the negroes the men they
must place in nomination; and as he has
"burnP Beecher to a considerable
amount, all his influence is thrown into
the Beecher interest. This nice little
game he undertook at the Tenth ward
meeting, but in this instance was not
quite so successful as he has been in 9TH
ers. On an organization of the meeting
being effected, Mr.. Geo. Hayden was
called to the chair, and Joseph LOm-
bard appointed Secretary. AS soon as
this was accomplished Ham Carter took
the floor, and proceeded to instruct
the negroes as to their duty in
the premises, and concluded by
nominating Mr.. N. III. Ball for School
Visitor. Mr.. Ball did not want this
Office, and told Mr.. Carter that he wa,
not to be balled off in this manner. The
sames of Captain j. w. Peck and W. c.
Ellis were then put in nomination for
Aldermen, when Carter again essayed
to speak. Some negro in the body of
the church asked him what he was
doing there, endeavoring to control the
action of q ward in which he did not
live, and concluded by calling out, "put
him out ~ "put him OUT This slogan
was taken up by several others, and the
fun commenced. The man who made
the inquiries of Carter and first request
ed the audience to "put him out" was
knocked - west and crooked in the
twinkling of a slapjaCk, and was picked
up sadly in want of reconstruction.
But his friends were not idle, for
IAN at once within that colored church.
There rose q yell 50 wild and fearful
As if all the fiends that fell from heaven
Had pealed the banner cry OF hell,
and had squared themselves for a free
fight. Eyes were knocked out and
knocked in again." and give and take
was the order of the hour. Peck, the
favorite of Carter, was the recipient of
a sou-w western clout, which knocked him
under the table. In the BODY of the hall
by this time over hundred infuriated
blacks were punching, gouging, butting,
and swearing at each other. The fur
niture of the church was broken mp and
used as instruments of offense and
defense, the stove was overturned,
the lamps broken and the floor flooded
with coal oil, which, being poured
upon the live Goals from the stove, igni-
ted and soon the church was in flames.
This effectually put an end to the
fighting, as each man made for the door
to save himself from tho fire. Peck had
by this time recovered from the 'jolt"
he had received under the ear, and see-
ing the body of the church in flames, he
made for the window, and the last seen
of him he was going through it, glass
and all, as if good clothes and window
glass were cheap. Thus ended the first
and last attempt in the Tenth Ward to
nominate Radical candidates.
We forgot to mention that Carter and
his friends were drunk, having received
a plentiful supply Of whisky from a
neig eighboring grocery free of charge.