The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-05-30
TO TAKE IN BEAUFORT.
Seventeen Hundred CoIOred Excur-
siOnIsts From Savannah.

Savannah will be well represented in
Beaufort to-day. About LOO negroes left
by steamer last night for that place, be-
sides several hundred more by the
Charleston and Savannah railway dur
ing the day. May 80 is always Beaufort
day with savannah's colored population.
Properly it is the federal Memorial day,
and as Beaufort has a national cemetery
it is naturally a center of interest. Me-
mortal day is entirely lost sight of, how
ever by the average Savannah negro, who
merely remembers il as the day of the an
nual excursion to Beaufort.
River street was packed with negroes
OF all sizes and ages last night from Bull
street clean to Abercorn. Besides the
nearly 1000 excursionists who were there
10 take the steamboats, there were twice
as many more who had merely come down
10 see the crowd off and share in the ex-
cltement Although most of the excur-.
sonlsts did not leave until midnight the
crowd began gathering early in the at
ternoon. Shortly after dinner they could
be seen making their way to the wharVes
IN small parties. The number increased
as night approached, and by o'clock
lhere were thousand people gathered at
the City Exchange dock. The number.
rapidly increased and by 8 o'clock the
street was almost impossible. In fact 1t
was practically Impossible to get to the
GOV. Stafford at the foot of Bull street,
and the wonder is that number We're
not pushed into the river. The crowd was
good natured and laughing at everything
that occurred. Those who were not going
We're
band drummed passengers for the
Stafford, while another band played for the
steamer Vigllant at the foot of Abercorn
street. Another band sent up some very
muffed music from under the cotton ex-
cnange for the purpose of drawing busi-
ness to the Alpha. Shaw Post of the
Ifand Army of the Republic had char
.ered the Stafford and several of the mem
perS were out in uniform among the
c,oWd selling tickets. The Vigilant was
chartered by the st. Phillips African
Methodist Episcopal church at cost Of
S5l9 while the Alpha was chartered by
sne chatham Light Infantry. 1t was evil
ueht that each boat would have all IL
could carry. The Stafford pulled out at
- o'clock with over 600 passengers on
BOARD The Vigilant followed with 800 and
the Alpha little later with over 400. Each
boat carried the limit allowed them I'M
dec law.
Many of the passengers were equipped
"ltA good-sized baskets and boxes of pro-
VISIONS to last them until their return.
MS was generally the case with the
later arrivals. One of the crowd explained
THIS with the remark:
Dem people watts coming late is de
ores OATS goiH' Dem niggers what's been
O1"h dere all night amt got no money
J. viii be late tonight when the crowds
back II nobody gets drowned and
..l2te are nd serious rows they will be in
me Ar1phitrite, the government IRON
cl@a which was recently in port in Sa-
'll'teh. IS now Mt Beaufort, and has
been instructed by the Secretary of the
10y to fire the national salute as part
-, lHe exercises Of the day at Beaufort.
"a ne national salute consists of one gun
tor each state