Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1880-10-29
THE GREAT BLOWOUT,
Attempted and Carried Through to
PERI ction by the Democracy.
The Barbecue Remarkable for its De
mobilization and DisgPacefnI
Scenes.
The Crowd in Attendance WOefuIIy
Deficient in Numbers,
And .2e Procession Pronounced a
Eallura on AL SIDES.

And .Ile Procession Pronounced a
Failure on All Sides.
1t has come and gone, and the COM
Munity is prepared to return thanks,
especially for the gone part. We refer
to the muchly advertised democratic
barbecue and general blowout"
That the whole affair was a complete
blowout" and failure We are COM
PEELED candidly to state, and we
have no disposition to misrepresent |
and heap undeserved abuse on our
democratic friends.
In the first place the beginning of |
the day was rainy and threatening,
and anything but cheerful out t-look,
which was taken by many as another
demonstration of the fact that, as has
been the case frequently, Providence
is against the democracy. This, no
doubt, kept many away, but the
weather cleared up and it proved to be
good weather, just enough rain ID do
away with dust.
The crowd in attendance was un-
usually and unexpectedly small, and
there was not ta8t throngiDg of the
streets customary on such occasions.
At about 10 O'Clock the forces were
mustered and procession, of limited
dimensions, was organized and
marched from Main street out t) the
barbecue ground, near the northern
terminus OF the street railway. The
procession WIS in charge of Chief
Marshal San. II. Davis. 1t was
headed by the Hancock band. followed
by the Hancock Rifles, 25 in
number, all told, officers and
all ; the large and attractive res
evolving globe, gotten up under
the supervision of Mr.. Jas. D. Cowan;
log cabin, with persimmon tree.
'possums, pumpkins, and ether old
time emblenls, drawn by eight mules;
something near one hundred mounted
men, bearing flags, and the usual ac-
compartment of small boys following
along. That was all and the crowds
| that gathered in the windows on Gay
street to see something appeared sadly
disappointed.
Arriving st the ground, stand had
been erected where, after music. the
crowd, which was to be numbered by
the hundreds, and not thousands
mostly country people-began to look
with eager expectations for the
orators, Senators Hendricks, of In
diana, and Zab. Vance, of North Caro-
lima, whom they had been informed
were to be present. The realization,
however, was brief speeches from
Messrs. w. L. LeGgerwood and s. O..
Heiskell. Perhaps the crowd was sat-
isfied don't know how that is.
At the barbecue ground, extensive
preparations were made in meats,
tables. et.., and the cooks, under the
supervision of Lewis Rucker, were
engaged all morning barbecuing the
beef, mutton, fowls, et;., over the
hickory fire in the trencheE.
About noon the hungry crowds were
called up and served their nations Of
meat and corn or bum bread. There
seemed to be quantity left, but many
complaints were heard of persons who
failed to get anything to eat During
the feeding operation, some of the
most disgraceful scenes imaginable
were enacted. The crowd, great
many of whom were toned up with
democratic whisky, surged about in an
uncomfortable manner, tore down the
tables, threw beef and mutton shanks
and bum bread at each other
and carried on at such rate as ID dis
gust all decent witnesses of the spec
tacle. Fights were of very frequent
occurrence all around the grounds,
every fellow, almost, having sup
piled himself with a hickory club
from the supply for barbecue purposes,
and those who came away with bloody
heads were numerous, though no seri-
Gus difficulty resulted.
The air was rent constantly with
oaths, blasphemy, hurrahs for Han
cock, jeff. Davis and the southern
confederacy.
One man, an employe st the rolling
mill, a republican, who was on the
ground, had the temerity to declare
for Garfield, when he was Immediately
set upon by what seemed almost q
mob, led by fellow workman, demo-
crat, and if he had not made himself
scarce. going at q tall gait, through the
National ceme tery, with the mob in
pursuit, his life would have been in
danger. Another republican received
a very bloody head at the hands of a
drunken democrat from the country,
who was fiourishing his club promis-
cuously. These are only few of many
such instances.
The crowd was soon fed and began
to scatter, but many of the decent
democrats, as we'll as republicans, who
went to get glimpse of barbecue,
left early in the action to avoid any
further sight of the disgraceful scenes.
It was very evident from the appear
ance of our democratic friends who
had the management of affairs, that
thcu Uaro 4horoprhIu diauUstod with