Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1901-10-09
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DAVIS WAS NOT AFRAID.
President of the Confederacy Expos
ed Himself With Impunity.

DAVIS WAS NOT AFRAID.
President of the Confederacy Expos
ed Himself With Impunity.
Assassins there have been from the
earliest ages, and sometimes they have
been we'll organized bodies, with definite
aims and deliberate designs. The an
archist, however, Is modern inven-
tion," so to speak. His purpose seems
not clearly defined; but events have
shown that he Is constituencies muir
derer, who hopes to distinguish him
self by assassinating czar, an empe-
ror, or a president, or by throwing q
bombshell among a platoon of police
men. No organization Of assassins ever
has flourished in the South, nor, indeed,
anywhere in this country until recent
years.
During the four years that the Hon.
Jefferson Davis was a resident CT this
city and president Of the Confederate
States Of America, he subjected HIM
self to danger every day. He walked
the streets of Richmond just as any
plain everyday citizen did and in the
afternoons, winter and summer, he usu-
ally took horseback exercise. Often he
rode alone; at other times he had a
companion-some aide or courier, or
perhaps some officer fresh from the
army, with whom he wished to chat.
His most frequent route into the coun-
try was up Clay street, which he left
at its western end to enter the Hermit
age road or the Broad street road. But
he rode every day and at one time or
another on every road.
Only once, so far as known, was his
life in peril. One day, while he was
cantering through one Of the eastern
suburbs Of the city, rifle bullet whist
led close to him, but left him untouch-
ed. He was of the opinion that an at
tempt had been made to take his life,
and the circumstances indicated that
the shot had been fired from the upper
part Of building near by. What ef-
forts were made to investigate this af-
fair we do not know. But bare men
tion ever was made of 1t in print.
A guard was kept at the presidents
mansion here, but on one occasion the
Confederate secret service men were
set to work to ferret out the authors Of
what was supposed to be an attempt to
set the presidents house on fire. A
quantity of papers and other trash,
which had been placed in an area near
a window, or had been blown there by
the wind, was fired.
We recollect Capt. Sam Maccubbin,
the chief Of the Confederate detectives,
speaking Of the investigation In this
case. He was by no means convinced
that arson, or any. other crime. had
been attempted; but rather attributed
the fire, or what seemed preparations to
kindle fire. to accident.
AS we have said, there was military
guard on duty at the presidents man
sion here. The organization which per-
formed this service for most Of the time
was a company Of boys, called the
Presidents Guards, in which Lucien L..
Bass entered as a lieutenant and Of
which he later on became captain. But
If anybody or organized assassins had
been resolved to take the presidents
life they would have done so without
breaking through this guard, for as
we have said, Mr.. Davis exposed him
self to whatever danger there was here
every day.
President Lincoln visited Richmond a
few days after it fell into the hands Of
his army. He drove and walked
through our streets freely and without
incurring injury. He was followed by
great crowds Of Negroes, who stopped
on the streets or looked out of their
doors or windows to see him pass.
Mr.. Lincoln had not been long in
Washington upon his return from this
city when he made his unlucky visit
to Ford's theatre and met death at the
hands of that poor, unbalanced wretch,
John Wilkes Booth. That Booth acted
upon his own mad impulse. that the
death Of Mr.. Lincoln was neither plan
ned nor desired by US of the South, Is
nowadays conceded without discussion.
Not so in 1865, when the cry for ven-
geance led the government to send to
the scaffold Mrs. Surratt and when
much suspicion was basely raised
against the South.-Richmond Dis
patch.