The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1898-11-19

Armed men are securing the county
bnntinp other victims. Ill of this is the
/ result Of an election row, and the convio-
tion of large community that the negro
must not show nls t5etn.
Some incidents of this race war in ono
of the original thirteen States should re-
ceive attention. The negroes who were
ptured and killed were perhaps guilty,
/ utit that was not proved. Jesse Williams
and two others are said to have coniesseu
they were in the ambus5ade, The others
are said to have been in the party Wnloh
nred into the polling place me il usla
AIDS correspondents himself witnessed Uns
| killing by whites OF one negro nainen
Harrison, who was s'perhaps guilty.
f"showing his teeth, and thus aesofioo'
/ the scene:
Down the road came squad OF fifteen
mounted men, with Harrison marcnlng
| ahead, with gunSe and rifles drawn Oh
him. The fifteen men lined UP on inc
roadside. The negro WAS stationed IN the
road and told to go toward the pile Oh
| dead negroes. As he moved, there was
| ring of rifles, and Harrison pitched Iof-
ward, to pillow his bleeding head on the
| bosom of one of those who died ahead OF
him. Some of the mounted men were
asked why the negro was killed, and 1t
was stated that he went to the voting
precinct because Iolbert summoned nm,
| and consequently he was in the party
| that attacked those in the polling place.
| Harrison seemed frightened almost TO
death and obeyed orders almost as would
a child.
! One or two other incidents affecting
white men should be mentioned. Thomas
| IoIbert WAS MORALLY wounded during
| the fight at the polls. The White men are
particularly incensed against all the Iol-
| berts, and hold them responsible for the
trouble. "A party was sent to Eli
Thomas Tolhert, but the hotheads were
finally persuaded not to kill wounded
and dying man. Several Of the Tolberts
fled from the county. Ezra Tolbert IS
CHARTERED with friends His son was
shot, and this fart, together with the
plea that he is a non partisan, has nine
children and good Democratic wife, has
saved him from death, =
While these events were occurring in
Illinois and South Carolina, a revolution
was effected in the chief city of North
Carolina, another of the original thirteen
States, after q battle between the white
minority and the black majority, in
which nine blacks We're killed and three
whites were wounded. In both Whining
ton and the county of which it is the seat
the blacks outnumber the whites. and as
the blocks have hitherto been allowed to
vote they have held the offices. This fall
the whites resolved to putan end to negro
rule. They warned the blacks not to vote
last Tuesday and notified them that
their votes would not be counted IT they
should go to the polls. The leader of the
whites was ex-Congressman Waddell,
who thus stated their platform on the
night before election:
sThe sooner the negroes understand
that the white people are in no mood TO
be trified with the Better it will be for
them. The complete elimination Of the
negro from politics must come to pass
- E-.
much less for the government OF Anglo
Saxons / said in q public speech that
we intended to have white supremacy In
this county IL we were forced to dam the
current of Cape Fear River with car.
casses, and 1 meant precisely what the
woras signify.
Whites who had helped to organize the
black vote were warned that they would
risk their lives il they should keep on.
The Governor Of the State, who was elect.
ed by Republican-Po puilst combine,
and who is resident of Wilmington, tel
egraphed from Raleigh to learn it it
would be safe for him to return and cast
his ballot. He concluded to take the
risk, although he said publicly: II real
ize that l am liable TO be murdered, bnt
am not alarmed I.should have come
to vote had the danger been far greater
than it is. :"
Many of the negroes needed the warn
ing to keep away from the polls. What
happened TO their ballots in precinct
where they insisted upon casting them is
thus described by the correspondent OF
the Chicago Record
SIN the fifth division OF the First Dis
tTiut there was a scene OF wild excitement
tonight. While the count was proceed
ing, the lights were extinguisEed. and
the two negroes that We're assisting In
the count set up . cry for mercy. They
in.
with white men. There was great
snuftiing about among the ballot boxes,
and when the lights were restored it was
discovered that in the hand of every
white man there was revolver. The ne
gross begged to be allowed to escape, but
they were compelled to remain, finish the
count and atfix their sig natures to the re-
turns. The registration shows negro
majority in the precinct OF about 800, but
the official report shows a Democratic
majority of $50. While the confusion
was in progress in this voting place. 500
redshirts' were on guard outside and the
white men had Gatling gun planted in
a wagon ready for action"
On Wednesday the whites who had thus
carried the election resolved to put the
change of government into effect at once.
instead of waiting until next March. A
committee of twenty-five prominent
whites, under the lead of ex- Congressman
Waddell demanded OF Ghe plaekS bne eA
pulsion from the city within twenty-four
hours of the editor of a negro paper and
the removal of his printing plant. No re-
ply having been received Thursday morn
ing, 400 armed citizens assembled in
front of the armory of the local militia
company. among them the leading men
of the city, and formed in line OF fours,
in the procession being cleraymen, law
yers, bankers and merchants. They
marched to this negro quarter, and de-
stroyed the printing Office, which some-
how caught fire mysteriously and Was
burned. Great excitement ensued
throughout the city, and in half an hour
there was collision between o crowd of
idle blacks and an armed body of whites,
in which three blacks were killed and two
whites wounded. Other collisions fol-
lowed during the day and evening, and
the record Of casualties footed up nine
blacks siIled and three whites wounded.
Meanwhile the Republican Mayor and
Chief of Police and tho Republican mem |
bers of the City Conncil offered to resign, |
and permit the white Democrats to as |!
sumo control of the city Immediately. As |
each Councilman resigned, his associates |
elected his successor, until the whole
body was reorganized, prominent busi-
me. baix nh =, /