Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1875-08-26

BTel Is tHe lOsS VI opportunity W Pto'h".S ''>
public interest with which the welfare ofyour
community is identified. Again expressing
the hope that neither the directors nor your
self may suffer injury or annoyance, and
thanking you for the kindness and considera
ton you have manifested, am, yours re-
spectfully, JEFFERSON DAVIS.
THREATENED TROUBLE IN GEORGIA.
For several days past there has been great
excitement in the counties of Burke, John
son, Washington and Jefferson, in the State
of Georgia, in consequence of an apprehended
outbreak among the negro population of those
counties, who, it was alleged, threatened tc
massacre the whites and destroy their proper
ty with the torch. The first warning of the
threatened uprising Of the negroes was con
veyed by the following letter, which was
brought to Irwinton on the 18th, by Mr. b
Hall. The letter was picked up near Will
liamson's old store, in Washington county
after one of the nightly drills of the negroes
Its genuiDeness is vouched for by Rev. Mr.
Baker, Of Irwinton:
"Auqust 6, '75.-James Walters, you and
your company must start to killing the,white'
on Aug 2Oth. Kill every one you can find
Tell Hanson Tucker to kill all the whites he
can find and 70 toward No. II station, and
there you will meet Gen. Morris and his stat
and Gen. Rivers and his staff. You do as
tell you and Capt. Tucker This must be a
secret You tell brother Jack to kill every
white man and get every gun he can. Make
out to the white men that you are sorry tha
they think we will hurt them, and fyou know
of any man that has got money make then
give it to your treasurer, and we need it
Have all your companies ready. Kill with
axes, hoes, pitchforks, and get gun powder
and shot as you kill. So close to depend or
you"
After the above letter was found, the white
people sent spy to one of the negro meetings
who, upon his return, confirmed all that the
letter contained, while it is also said the spy
knew nothing of the existence of such docu
ment or it's contents. These facts, together
with other circumstances, led the whites Of
that county, and particularly of Sandersville
to make preparations for the apprehended at
tack but if such design had been enter
tained by the blacks they abandoned it, as
the whites we're fully prepared for an engage
ment, having ready for the emergency, be-
sides the local military organizations, bat
talon from Macon.
After the excitement had somewhat subsi'
ded, the authorities took steps to secure the
arrest of the leaders of the insurrectionary
movement, and about eighty have been arrest
ed, who are in prison in Sandersville, Waynes.
boro and Augusta. Gambia Harris, one Of
the leaders who is under arrest, has made q
confession, and duplicates as one of the prime
leaders of the movement, Prince Rivers, Ma
ior-G General of the South Carolina militia
Rivers, however, has published card in the
Augusta papers denying emphatically that he
has any connection with the affair.
Up to Thursday, the excitement in Burke
county had become so intense, and the fears
of the whites were so great as to impel them
to apply for assistance, and accordingly Lieut.
Col. Barrett commanding the Augusta bat
talon, was telegraphed for detail Of one
hundred men. But for some unexplained
reason, Governor Smith refused to permit the
men to 90. COL Barrett, on making applca.
tion for the requisite order, received from the
Governor only the brief message: "Do not
send any men to Waynesboro." This action
of the Governor caused no little excitement in
Augusta, and about twenty-five of the militia
determined, they could not 60 as an organi'
zation, to the rescue Of the people, to 60 upon
their own account, which they did.
A dispatch from Waynesboro dated last
Friday, says:
The negroes are completely demoralized
and the older citizens think they have scatter
ed. About fifteen arrests have been made to-
day of the principal ringleaders among the
negroes. Joe Morris, the head-centre of the
trouble, is yet at large, and the general i'm
preston is that he has decamped. This morn
ing fully FIVE hundred negroes gathered about
five miles out of town, but subsequent events
caused panic, and they scattered in every
direction. The captain Of the Hussars, who
passed their rendezvous this afternoon, did
not see a negro in the vicinity. A negro who
was arrested to-day confessed the whole plot
He says simultaneous attack was to have
been made tomorrow in Jefferson, Burke
Washington and portion of Richmond coun-
ties. 1t is now evident that there will be lit
tie or no trouble Nine more arrests of lead
ers have since been made. The citizens are
most anxious to capture Joe Morris, but the
chances seem slim. The people are fully
armed and we'll prepared to meet any force
should the emergency arise, but 1t is believed
their services will not be needed. A box with
fifty guns and fixed ammunition was brought
down on the train from Augusta tonight
Judge Perry and other prominent citizens be-
lieve the trouble is all over, and that the
prompt arming of the white people and the
vigorous measures adopted will be wholesome
lesson for the blacks in the future. Two ne
groes from Sandersville came down on the
train and asked for Morris. They had let
ter directed to Morris, saying: "The jig is uE
in Washington, as the white people are ma
king arrests of the leaders," and warned him
to get out of the way. Morris evidently con
cocted the whole plan of attack on the whites
himself. Very few Of his followers knew o
his programme. He expected to marsha
them, march to Waynesboro, and then tel
them what to do.
A despatch from Barlow, Jefferson county
dated on Thursday, contains the following in
formation:
No further news from the front except from
Wrightsville, in johnson county. A gentle
man who left there this morning says thirteer
negroes came into the town yesterday ant
surrendered themselves, their guns, their am