The times and democrat. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1881-current, 1911-05-27


Democrats, but If they went out not
to allow them to return. The ses-
sions continued through all those
hours of daylight and darkness, ev-
cry man armed and ready with his
nerves strung for the desperate fight
all believed to be inevitable-a fight |
of men shut in, forced to fight un-
til one side or the other was ex-
terminated or somebody surrendered. |
Under each folder overcoat was a
Winchester rife, in some pocket of
every mans clothes loaded re-
volyer.
Four reporters sat at the head !
of a table at the end of the aisle.
They knew that right behind Speak
er Mackey to his right, two white
men, chosen and approved killers,
we're stationed, instructed to shoot
him dead at the first outbreak. Mack
ey knew it, too, but he was clear
game-that Mackey, Radical as he
was; and he never moved or flinched
or in any way departed from the
strict formalities of his assumed Of
flee, and now and then his =.
laugh pealed through the house as
something funny occurred: But the
reporters knew that the moment
trouble began storm Of bullets
would come Mackey's way. because
Mackey, as white South Carolin-
ian, of the entire outfit was most
hated of South Carolinians, and the
first thought of every man was to
get "Mackey first" And many men
in the excitement would shoot low.
Also many of the Radicals, es-
pecially among the Forty Thieves
deadliest and bitterest and most
courageous of all, had it in for the
reporters table. Therefore the re-
porters consulted among themselves
as they smoked, who they would
"get" before they were got. One OF
them had a pistol the like of which
never was seen before or since that
time, when the ingenuity and most
of the though Of men were bent
on devices for killing somebody. 1t
was a section of Remington rlbe
sawed off and fitted to a pistol stock,
CARRYING a ball, assigned especially |
to Canary" Miller; it was placed in
a drawer of the desk and trained
on him pressed into the bottom OF
the drawer during the entire of the
night, and kept cooked, the calcu-
lation being that when the fuss was
opened the drawer would be pulled
out, trigger cooked and Canary"
drorped as he rose in his place on !
the right-hand side toward the rear.
IL two or three men happened to
be in the way it would be all the
better. That cartridge was good for
an elephant and allour fellows were
clear. All this WIS because Ca
nary rose every fifteen minutes and
conducted this colloquy:
"Mr. Speaker
The Speaker: 'The gentleman
from Beaufort"
"Mr. Speaker, rise to point OF
order"
"The gentleman from Beaufort
will state his point of order"
persons are on the boor of the
House who are not members of the
House
THE point of order of. the gen.
tleman from Beaufort is we'll taken.
The se9veant-at-s.rms will proceed
TO remove from the floor all mem
bers who are not members
This was where the trouble was
expected to occur Orders were that
when the Radical sergeant-at-arms
put his hands on Democrat or al
lied member the shooting would
start. Every time he was ordereu,
the foot sergeat-at-arms would walk
up the aisle toward somebody and
nobody knew when, with an extra
drink or two, or on some signal, ne
actually would touch a man. 1t was
TRYING on the nerves. An outbreak
there would mean not only present
slaughter, but civil war, because 1t
had rot been decided whether Hayes
or Tilden was to be next president,
and the nerves and tempers OF the
country were at strained tension,
ready to be startled to the fighting
point By less thing than a who'll
sale butchery in the state house OF
one of the pivotal and disputed
states.
BY the special mercy of the AL
mighty the country was saved from
that horror, as by the same gracious
means it was saved from so many.
The three nights and days the hum
dred and fifty odd armed and hat
| ing men slept and ate and laughed,
| and taunted and threatend, and
locked in the hall together, passed
and the blow that would had such
fearful consequences was not struck.
Canary" Miller did net get his fight
| or his bullet. Gen. Hampton got
notice that the United States troops
we're to charge on his men and he
moved them out, and the next day
his red shirts came in headlong and
yelling on horseback, and on the dead
rum and yelling afoot. and swarmed
over the town by the thousands, and
the worst strain of it was over. And
Canary" Miller, elderly, peaceful
and fat, looms up again after all