Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1900-06-14

only an avowed Republican, but an
ardent partisan, and the strong arm
Of the Government was represented
by military garrisons scattered
over the whole State. Many of oul
own people believed it would be i'm.
possible to succeed and that an eff.
fort would but incite the opprcssors
to tighten the thumbscrcws.
Under such circumstances you car
understand that the standard bearers
should possess, above every other
qualification, courage and dctermi-
nation. Our candidate for Governor
Gen. Wade Hampton, was the per.
soniiication Of these, and the other
officers, down to the members of the
Legislature, were chosen for these
qualities. The result was that while
there have probably been in the his
tory Of the State more polished and
brilliant State officers, in my judg.
ment South Carolina never had q
body Of officers, taken as a whole, of
higher courage, sense of honor and
determination.
The canvass of 1876 will never be
forgotten by any person who took
part in it or witnessed the paradcs
and meetings. Excitement was at
the highest point, and at every meet
ing hundreds, and at many of them
thousands, of negroes attended, and
white men were there expecting
riots and bloodshcd. The Demo
Gratis attended many Of the Republi-
can meetings and insisted on "divid-
ing time" that is having joint dis
whether it was consented
to or not.
The history OF the world does not
furnish a precedent of our condition
at that time. The former slaves,
Notwithstanding the Constitutional
provisions guaranteeing the protcc-
ton Of the South in its slave hold
ing, were not only cmancipatcd, but
the Republican party, composed of
white people of the North, East and
West in the heat of excitement, and
under the spur of revenge, immcda-
tcly succeeding the civil war, gave
the slaves the right to vote and tried
in every way to place them over the
white race OF the South, politically
and socially. There might have
been some palliation, had they been
strangers and Of different people,
but they were the same, like anccs-
try, traditions and impulses, yet they
strove to put their own race and
blood under the domination of the
negro. The fight was desperate
one; on the one side were numbers,
power and the State and National
Government, on the other brains,
courage and money.
The election had to be carried, or
the white people had to give up
their iircsidcs and their liberties, and
every means which could accom-
pllSh their purpose, was not only
justifiablc, but right in the sight Of
man and Of heaven. Suasion, moral
and physical, was used, and every
conceivable argument employed to
show the negroes that their interest
could only he subscrvcd by their
white ncighbors.
TO show that there was nothing in
the bugaboo Of putting them back in
slavery and dcprving them of any
means Of education, predicted by
their leaders from every stump and
preached from every pulpit by their
preachers, it was promised that the
Constitution Of the State be amended
so that a perpetual two mill tax
should be levied on all property of
the State for the benefit Of education,
which should be equally divided
among the blacks and the whites.
Many anecdotes were told, illustrat-
ing the pcriidy Of their former lead.
crs such rs tie following: An old
darkcy had dream in which he
went to lIadcs, and being asked
what he saw, in that warm region,
claimed that he saw Scott, Moses,
Chamberlain and other leaders there,
but every one Of them had a negro
between himself and the fire. An
other old fellow had come into the
election, and received for his work
that day some cheap cigars, a box of
sui phur matches and quart of pop
skull whiskcy. On his way home he
was overcome by the whiskcy and
lay down by the side Of the road
and went to sleep. Turning over in