The Findlay Jeffersonian. [volume] (Findlay, Hancock County, Ohio) 1870-1881, 1876-12-01

names. Tie letter Is dated Grerada,
Mississippi, November II, and after
giving family news proceeds as follows:
In this / suppose I shall only write
what you will have read in the papers,
of the disgracefuI farce Mississippi has
enacted in the place OF an election.
Grenada has entirely outdone itself.
l never would have believed it if had
not been here. With all their speech
flying and torch lights they had sue
ceeded in getting very few OF the col,
ored people with them this year, and
the Republican clubs were very well
organized, and with anything like
fair election would have carried the
State. This the Democrats were de-
termined they should not, and made
preparations accordingly. They have
had an old cannon fitted up, and have
done vast amount of firing with it;
and then they had a number of guns
stored in one of those buildings near
the court house, and bright and early
they were on hand, with the way to
the polls blockaded with benches, and
then a crowd of boys. all the way from
ten to twenty years old, armed with
pins and knives, and when any at
tempted to go up to vote that did not
have on red shirt and show a Demo
cratic ticket, these young sprigs would
commence pushing and crowding with
their pins and knives, and just force
them back from the polls. Uncle
(colored) told me that two or three
times he got nearly into the place and
was crowded away. --and--(both
colored), two grave and staid men who
haYe always voted and gone on quietly,
and never made any fuss, were served
in the same way. This kind of per-
forming went on until between twelve
and one. In the meantime the men
were doing everything they could to
coax or drive the colored men into
voting with them, and failing, they
seized upon the stumbling of one man
who was trying to get to the polls and
and with his walking stick hit Il white
man that was there first for that pur-
pose, and sogot up row. aud fight
was started at once, and a call was
made Cor the guns and they rushed for
them, - and -, two leading law
yers leading ON and old - calling
upon them to load the cannon with
buckshot, and in no time the whole
white population was armed, so there
was nothing left but for the colored
people to leave. -Four hundred went
off in body and all the town colored
people left, so they had the field to
themselves This was a little more
than they bargained for, so they got
scared and all went after them and
tried to coax them back, and tried to
get the town people to vote, but this
they would not and so this ended the
election. | don't think there were q
dozen Republican votes cast in this
p ecinct, and when you have got the
history of the Grenada-election | was
about to call it, but it was only mob
you have got that of the whole State
as far as have heard. with slight va
riations to suit circumstances. There
has been no election in this State, and
| only hope it will be thrown ont en-
tirely,
l tell you that the news of yesterday
and to-day has occasioned a mighty
coming down.
That cannon has gone into winter
quarters and there is a terrible hush.
They know they have committed ter
rible crime and now there is a fearful
looking forward to day of reckoning.
These letters are testimony that can
not be impeached. Tney were written
by residents to their frieuds or rela-
tives, without the most remote idea
that they would be seen by others than
their correspondents, hence there ex-
isted no motive for misstatement or
exaggeratioD.-CleUeland Herald.