Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1886-05-06
moust as the "yell of the Southerners' the

ceremonies to be inaugurated. Amid the
wavings of hats and handkerchiefs, the
booming of cannon, the playing of bands of
music and shouts louder than ever before
heard, the scene presented was rarely ever
witnessed in any country; the demonstra-
ton being in honor of a man prescribed by
the United States government, and as a
tribute to the dead soldiers of a cause that
was lost.
The route of the procession was about half
a mile long. The avenue is very wide, but
the crowd when it began to move was pack
ed from one side to the other.
When the procession arrived at the Capt.
tol, the gateway was cleared for Mr.. Davis,
the military being formed so as to prevent
the overrunning of the buildings and the
grounds before he had reached his place.
He was seated upon the historic spot he oc-
cupied February 1S, 1861. Arranged in
front was a place for the press and ON the
sides and in the reBr of Mr.. Davis were the
members of various organizations interested
in the building of the monument, which it
is proposed to erect on the hill and imme-
diately north of the Capitol. People, men,
women and children, were packed from the
steps to the front gate, and while it was i'm
possible for a great part of them to hear,
they stood in their places out of respect for
Mr.. Davis, and a desire to see him. When
order had been secured-and for such a vast
throng it was the most orderly ever seen
here-Mayor Reese advanced to the front
and said:
"My Countrymen: 1t is with profound
emotion that 1 present to you the foremost
type of Southern manhood, Hon. Jefferson
Davis, ex-President of the Confederate
States of America"
The scenes heretofore enacted were gone
over as Mr.. Davis advanced, and it was
some minutes before he could proceed. 1t
was the first time that thousands in the
crowd had seen him since his arrival, it
being impossible for all to personally reach
him at the hotel. The shouts finally dying
away, Mr.. Davis, leaning on his cane, with
a Federal flag hanging over him, and Con-
federate veterans before him, who had
come hundreds of miles to hear and see
him, in a clear, ringing voice, showing the
deep intensity of his feelings, but without a
lTcLlOT VI pduSc, eACcpG WICH lHtSlAoHeSo
by the shouts of his hearers, said:
My friends, it would be vain if I should
attempt to express to you the deep gratifca-
ton which l feel at this demonstration
But I know that it is not personal, and
therefore, I feel the more deeply grateful,
because it is a sentiment far dearer to me
than myself. You have passed through the
ordeal ola wa which Alabama did not seek
When she felt her wrongs too grievous for
further liberation she sought a peaceable So
luton. That being denied her the thunders
of war came ringing over the land. Then
her people rose in their majesty. Gray
haired sires and beardless boys eagerly
rushed to the front. 1t was that war which
Christianity alone approved-a holy wal for
defense. Well do I remember seeing your
gentle boys, so small, to use a farmers
phrase, they might have been called seed
corn, moving on with eager step and fear
less brow to the carnival of death; and
have also looked upon them when their
knapsacks and muskets seemed heavier
than the boys, and my eyes, partaking of a
mothers weakness, filled with tears. Those
days have passed.. Many of them have
found nameless graves; but they are not
dead. They live in memory, and their
spirits stand out a grand reserve of that col
umn which is marching on with unfaltering
steps toward the goal of constitutional lib
erty. [Applause.
1t were in vain if l should attempt, as
1 have already said, to express my graft
tude to you. I am standing now very
nearly on the spot where 1 stood when l
took the oath of office in 1861. Your DEM
onstration now exceeds that which welcom-
ed me then. This shows that the spir-
it of Southern liberty is not dead. Long
and continued applause. Then you were
full of joyous hopes. You had every pros
pect of achieving all you desired, and now
you are wrapped in the mantle of regret
and yet that regret only manitests more
profoundly, and does not obliterate the ex-
preston of your sentiments.
I felt last night as l approached the Ex-
change Hotel. from the gallery of which
your peerless orator, William L. Yancey,
introduced me to the citizens of Montgom-
cry, and commended mt in language
which only his eloquence could yield, and
which far exceeded my merritt felt, l say
again, I was coming to my home, coming
to land where liberty dies not, and serious
sentiments will live forever. Applause.
1 have been promised, my friends that
l should not be called upon to make a
speech and, therefore, I will only extend
to you my heartfelt thanks. God bless you,
one and all, old men and boys, and the
ladies above all others, who never faltered
in our direst need. Loud and long con-
tinued applause.
When he retired the shouts were so long
and loud that Mr.. Davis had to 60 to the
front again. He bowed his acknowledge
ments and thanks.
Governor O'Neal, when it was possible
to be heard, made a handsome speech in
reference to the cause of the gathering, and
of the love the people of the South feel for
the statesmen and soldiers of the South,
and introduced General John B. Gordon, the
orator selected to deliver the address, as in
Mr.. Davis's feeble condition it was under
stood he could only speak a few minutes.
General Gordon received a grand welcome,
as many soldiers that he had commanded
were present.
After a few Introductory remarks Gen
eral Gordon said:
''This ground is historic because it was
the home of a race a%ntedating the date of
the red man by centuries because it was
the probable birthplace and home of Wa
terford and Tecumseh but, more than all,