The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1911-06-14
clothes a loaded revolver.

! approved killers. were stationed, in
structed to shoot him dead at the
/ first outbreak. Mackey knew it too,
/ but he was clear game-that Mackey,
radical as ne was; and he never m "
| ed or flinched or in any way departed
from the strict formalites Of his as
sumed office and now and then his
laughing jackass laugh pealed
/ through the house as something fun
ny occurred. But the reporters knew
also that the moment trouble began
a storm Of bullets would come Mack
! ey's way because Mackey as a white
South Carolinian and with the brains
and malice of the entire outfit was
most hated of the South Carolinians
and the thought Of every man was to
get Mackey first And many men in
the excitement would shoot low. Also
many of the radicals, especially
among the Forty Thieves" deadliest
and bitterest and most courageous Of
all, had it in for the reporters table.
Therefore the reporters consulted
among themselves. as they smoked,
who they would git" 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 thought
Of men were bent on devices for kill
ing somebody. 1t was a section Of a
Remington rifle sawed off and fitted
to a pistol stock. carrying ball as
signed especially to Canary" Miller.
1t was placed in the drawer Of the
desk and trained on him. pressed into
bottom of the drawer, during the ST.
lence of one night; and kept cooked,
the calculation being that when the
fuss was opened the drawer would be
pulled out, the trigger touched and
Canary" dropped as he rose in his
place on the right hand side toward
the rear. If two or three men hap
pened to be in the way it would he
al. the better. That cartridge was
good for an elephant and all our fell
lows were clear All this was because
Canary" rose every fifteen minutes
and conducted this coloquy:
Mr.. Speaker"
The Speaker: "Thc gentleman
from Beaufort"
Mr.. Speaker, I rise to point of
order"
"The gentleman from Beaufort will
state his point Of order"
Persons are on the floor Of the
house who are not members Of the
house."
THE point of order Of the gentle
man from Beaufort is we'll taken. The
sergeant-at-arms will proceed to re-
move from the floor all persons not
members"
This was where the trouble was eX-
pected to occur. Orders were that
when the radical sergeant-at-arms put
his hand onta Democrat or allied
member the shooting would start
Every time he was ordered, the fool
sergeant-at-arms would walk up the
aisle toward somebody and nobody
knew when with an extra drink or
two or on some signal, he actually
| would touch a man. 1t was trying
or the nerves. An outbreak there
would have meant not only present
slaughter. but civil war. because it
had not been decided whether Hayes
or T1lden was to be next president
and the nerves and temper of the en-
tire country were at strained tension.
ready To be started to the fighting
point by less thing than wholesale
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 has been save from 80
many. The three nights and days
the hundred and fifty odd hard and
hating men slept and ate and laughed
and taunted and threatened locked
in the hall together passed and the
blow that would have had such fearful
consequences was not struck. Ca
nary Miller did not get his fight or
his bullet. Gen. Hampton got notice
that the United states troops were TO
charge on his men and he moved
| them out, aud next day his Red shirts
came in headlong and yelling on horse
back and on the dead run and yelling
thousands; and the worst strain OF it
was over. And Canary" Miller