Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1909-08-20
CHAPTER xxx.
A Good Timepiece.

first held by the people SINCE the OH
days, when the "eagle orator" and
the "silvery tongued" set forth the
wrongs of the nation and the woes o,
the state.
At night a rain had fallen, there
was no dust, and the air was cool
Crowds were gathered about the poll
ing places, every one expecting blood
to be shed, though wise men STOOD
about to give counsel to hot heads
I'VE have lost a mighty issue by
blood, and blood will not win us an
election" said an old man, a lawyer
who had sat upon the supreme bencn
of the country. Occasionally rough
hands were laid upon a repeater,
to choke him, to beat him and to drag
him off. The brass bands were still
snorting, and ambitious young ora
tors stood at pubic places, welcom-
ing the day of deliverance. The Car
petbaggers had not given up the
fight. They knew that the party In
power always has a chance, for pos
session in politics means quite as
much as 1t does in law. But the
shrewder ones knew that the old car
petbag would not hold straw after
this day; they did not have to look to
know it; they felt it, the atmosphere
was against them. The legislature
did not take a recess, each member
being interested in a, selfish measure
and. fearing that his time was short
continued to harangue and to struS-
gle. How lawless a gathering under
the protection of the law! Never again
was the country to see its semblance,
the scrambling end Of riotous mis-
rule.
1t was a revolution. Negroes
tremulous with the newness OF sur
frage, stood about astonished, ballot
in hand, the voice Of the people in the
palm of yesterdays slave. The negro
was not yet the white mans enemy
He had with strange fidelity taken
care Of the mistress and the little
ones while the master fought, and
there was a kindly remembrance OF
1t; but now had come the beginning
Of the long and bitter struggle be-
tween the Anglo-Saxon and the Afri-
can. The old ruler Of the soil could
forgive the negro's freedom, but ne
could not forgive his vote, unless he
should vote with the native whites,
and that his gratitude toward his
Northern liberators could not permit
him to do. 1t might have been
false gratitude, or rather blind
gratitude, but that was for him to
decide.
The hope of the Carpetbaggers lay
with the negro, but the freedmen were
new as voters and could not be suffi-
ciently organized. By eleven o'clock,
the Democrats knew that Rey-
nolds was far in the lead, but there
were several heavy negro districts
to hear from and the outcome was
not certain. The legislators took
fresh hope. They had received en-
couraging news, but their spirits
tagged at noon, dashed by a dispatch
which simply read: The negroes
don't know what they are doing. il
looks bad" Then the scramble be-
gan anew.
Early in the day, the gentler 'le-
ment of society had retired from
sight, behind closed doors, expecting
that there would be trouble, but la.sr
the embarrassment was thrown off and
the women came out to see the
struggle for new freedom"
Gov. Melville Crance was the cool
est and the calmest man in the little
capital city of Mississippi. The elec-
ton of Major Reynolds was over, ex-
cept the shouting, and the shouting
itself had begun. As the day wore
on, the pent up feelings Of the people
could no longer be restrained. The
streets were thronged by excited cit
izens, singing, cheering and laughing
with all the careless exuberance and
enthusiasm of college boys out for a
n.
ing step to fife and drum, went
about the city shouting the glad It'd
ings of the political regeneration al
hand.
The saloons were closed, but the
whisky bottles were not, and the ar
dent spirits of the marchers were ac-
centuated by the ardent spirits they
consumed en- route.
Toward night, the demonstrations
became louder and more boisterous
The feeling of respect for the Carpet
Dagger, due to his unexpected atti-
tude toward his political antagonist
was beclouded by the fumes of IL
uuor. He either was crazy, they said
or else he had struck something bet
ter up North. At any rate he deserv-
ed no consideration at the hands OF
the outraged people he had so long
oppressed. At times the manifesto
tions assumed a threatening aspect
Some Of the paraders, bolder than
the rest, halted beneath the Govern
or's window to jeer at him and tc
hurl opprobrious epithets at the man
they hated.
Lummers was frightened. GOV
ernor," he said tremblingly, II don't
like the looks Of things outside. The
towns full of drunken men and
there's no telling what those fellows
will do when they are in liquor
Hadn't we better close up?"
The Governor glanced up from some
letters he was examining and stopped
whistling, for recently he had re-
learned how to whistle at his work
"Nonsense!' he said. There is nc
danger. If you are afraid you may
go home for the day. Jim and I can
get along all right alone"
I'm not afraid" continued Lum-
mers, though his voice told a differ
ent story. but you'd better take no
chances today II those fellows ever
start, they'll go cunning for bigger
game than 1 am. Watch out for
them"
why. everything is going their
way. What more could they ask?