The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-08-23
WAR OF The RACES
-,-r,,sD IMMINENT FOR AWHILE IN
LIBERTY COUNTY.
WHITES AND BLACKS ARMED.
v WITH DIFFICULTY THAT
TROUBLE WAS AVERTED.

White Men VINO hAu o"c ~ A.
st 81 Negro-warrants Charging
IN. white Men With attempting
.o tku-l<Iux" Were Issued-At the
r.i,I the Charges Were Promptly
Dismissed-No Such ofense Exists
in Law-Twelve Negroes Were Ar
u.sted as RfnEIeaders in the AM
,,sb i'm which the White Men
Were Arrested.
The threatened race trouble in Lib
ertv county yesterday was smoothed
s,ar No violence was done, though it
,,.os feared. Whites and blacks were at
oneida. a little place in the upper por-
zion If the county, and they were arm
al But little would have precipitated
riot but that little, fortunately, did not
bappen. The cavalry troop was not
called out.
Things wore an ugly look, though,
and it was not until late in the after
noon that danger of some outbreak
seemed to have passed. The whites in
the town greatly outnumbered the ne
oroes. and it was probably for that
reason that the day passed quietly.
Shot guns, Winchester rifles and pis-
tolls were displayed ostentatiously by
the whites. One man declared that he
counted seventy-five men with Win
chesters before he grew tired of his
lob. The negroes, it was said, had pis-
tolls alone, but out in the woods, it was
claimed, they had left more dangerous
weapons in safe hiding places, where
if they were but needed, they might be
found.
Mr.. Walter w Sheppard returned
last night from Oneida, whittier he
went to represent the three white men
who had been arrested by mob of
negroes. Mr.. Sheppard said that he
left everything quiet. There had been
no violence during the day, despite the
ugly aspect of affairs. He told the
following story of the trouble:
Last Saturday night Constable C. T.
Butler of Tattnan county, accompa-
MED by Luther Sands and Eugene Ed
wards, crossed over into Liberty to
arrest r. w. Moore, a negro. They
were armed with revolvers, and Butler
carried warrant for the arrest of
Moore.
Arrived at Moore's house, they called
to him to come out and give himself
up. The negro defied them. He told
them to come and get him if they
wanted him. This implied a threat,
and the white men investigated. One
went to crack in the rear of the
house and took a peep. What he saw
was not reassuring. Moore was de-
scrbed, sitting on the bed, with a
shotgun or Winchester across his lap.
He faced the front door, with very
evident purpose of firing away at any
intruder.
Under the circumstances, the white
men concluded that discretion was the
better part of valor. One of them was
left on guard, while the others depart
ed to see if they could
borrow J shotgun or rifle
in the neighborhood. They went to
several houses. but We're refused either
gun or rifle. The residents they aroused
did not think very we'll of the request,
not knowing what the men might in
tend doing with the desired arms.
Disappointed in their effort to get
some weapon as formidable as that
with which Moore awaited their on
slaught. the two men started back for
the cabin. In the meantime the ne
groes in the vicinity had been aroused.
They had laid an ambush, and into it
the two men walked. The latter had
expected to invade Moores strong
hold, armed only with their pistols,
and, it it came to that, shoot out a
duel to the death
The ambush cut all that short. Cow
cred by the pieces the negroes pre-
SeOte1 tho tUyn M
thlrd was then captured, and all three
were held as prisoners. Some of their
captors went before j. r. Henry, ne
gro Justice of the peace, and Swore out
warrants against the white men,
charging them with attempting to
ku-klux." the idea being that the con-
stahle and his companions were bent
upon that form of negro punishment
that was practiced with such severity
curing the years Immediately follow
Ing the Civil War.
Next day the men gave bond and re-
turned to their homes in TattnaIl
county. They did not get Moore. Yes
lerday was set for their trial They Sc
cured Judge P. w. Williams and Col.
w u. Warnell of their section, and
MI sheppard of this city, to represent
uIeIn. The trial was before Justice
Games e. Warnell, where all was done
according to the forms of law No sucn
oHense as attempting to ku-klux is on
tie statue book, so the white men were
dismissed Warrants were Immediately
sworn out for twelve of the ring-lead-
eIS OF the mob of negroes who had
arrested the white men, however, the
endfge being interference with officers
IL their discharge of duty.
dispatch to the Morning News
ION It's correspondent at Claxton gives
'ne following account of the affair:
4. ABOUT $50 citizens of Tattnall coun-
w. inns morning, sworn in as deputies
S SliUsF the constable of the Four Hun
uIeq and First District this county,
, "e" armed. accompanied Messrs. But
lel' Edwards and Sands to Liberty
SouHly' where they were to appear to
a n@Ve hearing on a charge of white
t"PplhS or ku-kluking. In about
eEEeHty minutes the cases agaist those
ID Ia sed We're dismissed, as all evidence
i ~, them by the negroes was real
IN their favor
everything passed off quietly, as
, SIeie We're only about twenty negroes
a1,eHent at the court, twelve of these
CT arrested without resistance on a
fo"se OF interfering and robbing Of
Tha.a IN the discharge of their duty.
bas5e Twelve, being unable to give
WI were sent to Hinesville Jail,
inc they await a preliminary hear
'S TWO weeks hence.
eitt. Is expected that at least 500 of the
tria IeHs OF this county will attend this
r. 'l ana see that justice is melted out
~ me violators of the law. 1t was
a. an mat the older men to-day could do
In