Ottumwa weekly courier. (Ottumwa, Wapello County, Iowa) 1872-1899, 1876-12-06

Rep. Den
Edscfi'' ......... $3.50 Ill
BarnweIi ..2,2S3 IS
Laurcns ns..................2,20l -. 81
sSs - -
Total. 1926 2,5a
Republican majority. .5,G95 -.
4 This ycal, by the returns in III
Edgeficld district, the democrats sho,
a majority of over 1900, change Q
between eight and nine thousan
votes. How was this change affect
ed? Here are a few Of the facts:
/ BY some tacit understanding on th
part of managers of the election, tw
polling places were established in I'll
village of Edgcfield, one at the Cour
House called No. l, for the whites
another at Macedonia Church, on tn
edge of the village, profcsscdly TO
the colored. The former no colorc,
man attempted to approach until lat
in the day. Then, it being found tha
by tho tactics employed at the church
but a small portion of the colorct
population would be able to vot,
there, an attempt was made to vote a
No. l. U. S. Marshal, Beatty, succeed
cd in getting six or eight to The bo,
but beyond that number all effort!
were in vain. Every approach to tht
Court House was cut off by horseinor
who formed Gordon across every
path, while crowds of white mci
packed the steps and portico of. tho
Court House building, preventing
the approach Of any one suspected OF
repnblicanism. Up to nearly ter
o'clock the hundreds of coIored vo.
tcrs waiting TO deposit republican
ballots at poll No. 9, which they had
been made to believe was exclusively
their own, were prevented from get
ting even near the box hy the crowds
of white men already in the building
and voting there.
All the previous night the place
was in possession of mob of white
men, dancing IN the Court House, and
yelling everywhere. From daylight
until 10 O'clock the black mems poll.
ing place, so called, was surrounded
by at least three hundred mounted
men, some on horses some on mules
some with confederate uniforms trim.
med with yellow, all with red shirts
and obeying the commands of 'Gcn.
cral" Gary, who, pistol in hand, yelled
his orders to open or close ranks, ad.
vance or retreat, as he would have
done had he been leading rebel reg
iment against the men of the north IN
1861. In addition to the mounted
men there we're large number dis.
mounted, but all armed, having the
same purpose, and obeying the same
orders as the mounted force.
Ats: 40 o'clock United States Dep.
uty Marshal, Beatty, obtained COM
pany of u. S. infantry, under the
command of Capt. Kellogg, who dc.
tailed a squad of four nd afterwards
eight mcu, to open no way to the
poll. This squad r creed the ranks
of the ''rcd-shirts," who had packed
their horses so cl ,scly together that
the only approach to the windows,
back of which was the ballot box,
was under the bellies of their beasts.
An alley was made however by the
gallant officer, at imincnt risk of his
life and the lives of his men. Over
the heads of the little band innumer.
able pistols were held. Not a man OF
that drunken foul mouthed crew but
had his pistol in hand with his finger
ON the trigger. Thus eight brave
men representing the United States
opened and kept open the narrow
pathway along which the poor but
undauntcd negro had the dangerous
privilege of running the gauntlet.
Every black or brown man that es-
saycd TO reach the box through this
threatening and furious crowd was
greeted with opprobrious epithcts
such rs only South Carolinaians can
utter, and which they intensified by
interjccting every variety of rebe
yell. If one unguardcd word had
fallen from the lips of a colorcd man
a scene of carnage would have fol
lowed frightful TO think of. Before
the soldiers came on the ground, sew.
eral colorcd men had been beaten
with bludgeons and the butts of pis.
tolls. Their forbearancc, however
was beyond all praise. On reaching
the box the fortunate voter found q
white man named Shepherd standing
guard over it, who with his sinister
eyes endcavored to look the poor ne
gro into such state of terror that
he began to ask himself whether Tho
poor privilege of acting for few
moments the part Of an American cit
izen was worth the risk he ran. The
gauntlet being safely run, the colored
voter was put through" long, friy
olous catechism-so minute that a
the close of the polls several hun
dred Of the colorcd republican voters
had failed even to come in sight ol
the ballot-box. This was the "Miss.
issippi plan," carried to degree o
perfection not exccllcd even by Vicks
burg itself,
In other portions of the distric
similar and even worse scenes were
enacted. At Coopcrvillc the mana
gers were assaulted and run of by L.
o'clock. At another polling place
both the manager and the United
States Supervisors were put to t.igh
a quarter of an hour before the tim,
for opening the polls. At another
the democratic manager got cxclu
sive possession of the box, and re
tanned tlong enough to bring abOu
the curious result of giving a larg,
democratic majority at a poll where
ten black republicans had voted t(
one democrat. BY these and similar
nefarious ways the democrats made :
majority of over 5000 in a distric
where there are not that number O
legal voters, all told. 1t is signiti
cant of all the methods employed tha
in the State of Georgia, which thi
district abuts, there there were 5000
less votes east at this election than a
the last. They were sent into Soutl
Carolina and Florida.
Now how was il in Barnwell coun
ty? Here is a leaf or two from tn
evidence before tie board:
/ 1t was in this county that, at Rob
bins precinct, the managers were sho
at and driven from tho polls. The,
opened q box three miles away from
the usual place, and l,400 votes wcr
cast there for the republican ticke,
These votes were rejected by tn
county canvasscrs, and were no
counted by the Board of State Can
vassers. The two republican Count,
Canvassers made affidavit that the
were prevented from including thci
vote in the county canvass through
fear of their lives.
They made supplemental return
in which they declared that if LEI
free from PERSONAL danger they woul,
have included these votes in the re
turn rs tho true expression Of the viii
of the people. Robbins precinct al
ways returns large republican ma
jority. The county was the scene O
the Ellenton riot. More than fift
colored men were killed in the few
weeks previous to the election, anon
whom was Cokcr, one Of the Repre-
sentatiycs in the last House. He wa
brutally murdered in open day by 81
men, one of whom it is asserted
now democratic Scnator-elcct frou
Aiken county.
A Gard to the Public.
For many years We have made tw
medicines suited to the ailments Of
vast class of sufferers. Thousands q
| l.