The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1893-11-29
LIQUOR RIOT IN BEAUFORT.
Spy Swan Fiercely Assaulted by an Angry
Negro Mob-Ths Seizure of Barrel of
Beer Causes the Outbreak The
Town Authorities Powerless and
the Police inefficient.
Especial to News and Courier !

BEAUFORT, November 22-For two
hours last night this town was in the
hands Of a lawless, violent mob Of ne
groes. Upon the arrival of the steamer
Alpha from Savannah the negroes
boarded the steamer, on which were
| known to be two of the States coD.ta-
bles, Mcssrs. Swan and Strobel, who
who had gone to Port Royal to inter-
cept the landing of barrel of whiskey
alleged to b. on board and consigned
to Beaufort. BY some means or other
it had been ascertained that a search
warrant had been issued during the
day and that the officers would he
up with the Alpha on her arrival at
Beaufort at o'clock.
The town authorities and marshal
and policemen were powerless to pre-
vent the surging crowd from reaching
the dock, and by the time the goods
were being landed there must haye
been, from all accounts, three or four
hundred negroes who had iorced their
way and who commenced to guy and
to ..abuse the constabulary and to put
| obstacles in the way Of getting the OBJ
ject of their search away. 1t turned
out to be a barrel of beer instead of
whiskey. as described in the warrant.
! The constables had hard time get
, ting the barrel rolled from the steamer
up the dock to the street, where they
endeavored to hire a wagon to take it
to some designated place. They offered
to pay ten dollars to some of the howl
ing mob to assist them in rolling it
away. This was indignantly declined
| with curses and abuses from the mob
of men, half-grown boys and urchins,
who even kicked and cuffed the con-
stables having charge Of the barrel be-
tween them. From S25 to 500 was
jeering demanded by the hackrnen for
d wagon, Finally, when gotten near
the sereet, a brick-bat or some missile
was hurled and struck Constable Swan
over the right eye, breaking his nose
and inflictihg terrible cut in the eye,
| which sled profusely. He was knocked
| almost senseless and staggered with
pain.
During the whole progress Of their
attempt to get the barrel secured they
| were pelted with rotten eggs and other
Objectionable missiles. The barrel was
placed in the hands of the sheriff and
given TO two negro men to be carried
to the Jail, as be could not hire wagon
for love or money. During their trans
portation OF the barrel along the street
they let it drop and the contents rolled
out aud some smashed and then such
scramble commenced that all that
was left of the contents when it reached
| the Jail was six bottles.
The captain of the Alpha had at first
| refused to allow the barrel to be taken,
as the warrant called for barrel OF
whiskey, and this was barrel of beer.
He finally consented to its removal
upon requiring the constables to give
him receipt for barrel of whisaey,
and the sheriff receipted to them for
the same.
The scene as described beggars de-
scription and was simply disgraceful,
and is a commentary upon the help
lessness of our town authorities to en-
force order. The police system is weak
in the extreme, both in its moral and
| physical attributes. Our former town
marshal, John Green, big, burly,
black negro, who heretofore, on ac-
count of his over-awing presence,
could always disperse negro crowd,
was displaced by the present town ad-
ministration, and there are few that
can take his place upon such an emer-
gency so the town must continue to
suffer for the inefficiency Of an admin
istration and a police force that has no
backbone to it.
No law-abiding citizen but must look
upon such scenes of lawlessness and
violence with dlsfavor, and there is but
one expression, that of condemnation
Of the occurrence. Some witnesses OF
the riot describe it as a good natured
crowd, at first bent only upon guying
and badgering the constables, until the
hurIing of the brick into the very eye
of the constable when things looked
serious, the constables at one time
placed their hands to their hip
pockets, and dozen negro voices
cried out, Don't you pull that out!'
awe got some too," and such like
expressions, and, it is said, a bloody
riot might have been preeipitated had
they done so. Others regarded the ap-
| pearance of things as serious from the
beginning and were apprehensive Of
terrible consequences. TO the most
thoughtful it inspires reflections of the
danger of such precedents being estab-
lished as the assistance by force of any
law upon our statute books.
The constables after having done
what they could retired to their apart
ments, and left this morning for Co.
lumbia
While this was going on four negro
burglars effected an entrance into the
back part of Mayo's store, which they
robbed. They also entered and stole
clothing, ETC., from an adjoining
cheap John establishment. say four,
for the only clue to the perpetrators is
furnished by the attack made on them
as they passed out of town by savage
dog who was coming into town with
an early rising oysterman, and while
the Innocent marshal and policemen
slulnbered and slept after their ardu-