Leon was so closely watched at his precinct by the whites that he could do nothing. Bowes was more successful. At his precinct the Democratic inspector did not arrive until after the polls were opened, and before opening the polls he stuffed three hundred fraudulent tickets into the box, and these tickets were counted for the Ring legislative ticket, and yet the precinct was carried against them. Both Leon and Jefferson gave large majorities against the Ring, and anti-Ring delegations were elected. When news reached Stearns that the Ring had been defeated in these counties he became wrathful with his manipulators and sleep left his eyes, until a plan was devised to change this most damaging result. Another council was called, this time in the Executive office, and there it was determined to instruct the legal County Returning Boards to throw out sufficient precincts in each of the counties to show majorities for the Ring candidates. In Leon county DeLeon, who had failed to commit fraud at the Miccosukie precinct, made affidavit that some illegal votes were polled at that precinct. Though the affidavit did not state who voted illegally nor for what candidate these illegal votes were cast, the precinct was thrown out by the Board, which consisted of Major E. C. Weeks, Sheriff; a so-called Justice of the Peace, Samuel Snowden, colored, appointed for the purpose, and Samuel Walker, County Judge, who voted No. Sufficient precincts were thrown out in Jefferson county to secure the election of the Ring candidates. Geo. W. Witherspoon, headed the anti-Ring ticket in Jefferson county, and the author of this work headed the antiRing ticket in Leon county for the Senate. There was no Senator to be elected in Jefferson county, and Witherspoon headed the ticket for the Assembly. Stearns and the Ring were now happy, and thought the war was over.

As soon as these so-called canvassers adjourned sine die, counsel was employed by Wallace and Witherspoon to compel an honest canvass of the votes. Judge R B. Hilton, Democrat, was employed by the anti-Ring members in Leon county, T. F. Clark, Esq., and Whitfield, of Jefferson county, Democrats, were employed by Witherspoon. These gentlemen proceeded by a writ of mandamus against these Boards of Canvassers, and Judge P. W. White, of the Second Judicial Circuit,

who had been appointed by Governor Reed, granted a peremptory writ ordering the Board to count the votes as returned, and forward the same to the State Returning Board. At one time they hesitated to obey the order of the Judge, for the reason that they thought if they were ordered to prison it would not really. be confinement. The sheriffs of Leon and Jefferson counties were Ring carpetbaggers, but the Judge intimated to some of their friends that should they disobey his order he intended sending them down into Wakulla county for imprisonment, where the "Crackers" were waiting with their mouths open to take them in. The order was then obeyed without a murmur, and a second return was sent up to the State Board of Canvassers. Stearns was still determined to continue the counting out process. The whites in Leon county now became incensed at the action of the Governor and his Ring managers, and loudly denounced these repeated attempts at fraud. The anti-Ring freedmen had a consultation with some of the whites, at which the freedmen came to the determination that it was their duty to adopt the shot-gun policy against those who should undertake to hold a seat in the Legislature to which they were not elected. It was there solemnly agreed that if John N. Stokes was counted in as Senator the anti-Ring freedmen were to walk into the Senate chamber and kill him in his seat. The same judgment that was to be visited on Stokes was to be visited on the other members holding seats by fraud. Great excitement prevailed throughout the two counties that had been cheated out of their just representation, and if it had been persisted in, would have caused a general uprising of the anti-Ring freedmen, and with the whites as auxiliaries, bloodshed would have been certain, with Stearns as the first victim. Some of the Conover carpet-baggers who had been informed what would certainly take place made haste to inform Stearns of what would be the certain outcome if the fraud were persisted in, positively stating to him that it could not be consummated without force and violence. On the day of the canvass of the vote by the State Returning Board a large number of the freedmen who supported the Ring, and the anti-Ring freedmen, were present. Many of them from the country brought with them such arms as they could secure, thinking, some of them,

that the proceedings under mandamus was a man who was to compel the Board of Canvassers to count the true returns; they declared if "Old man Daniels" did not count in the rightful candidates, he and Stearns should be put to death.

R. B. Hilton, Esq., appeared before the Board and demanded the counting of the returns sent up by the order of Judge White, and proceeded to argue his case. He denounced the action of the County Board of Canvassers for throwing out precincts without the authority of law, and threatened a mandamus to compel the Board to count the true return should they fail to do so. T. F. Clark and Whitfield also appeared and argued the case of Witherspoon. Stearns, in the meantime, fearing the consequences, had instructed the Board' to count in the anti-Ring delegations from Leon and Jefferson counties, and sent for the author, and after inquiring what would be the result should the Ring ticket be counted in, admitted the fraud and said it was done without his approval; but his action in keeping these men in office was sufficient testimony of a guilty knowledge without further evidence. He finally wound up by saying:

"The saddest thing under my chin

The Wallace ticket is counted in."

The Board, after the conclusion of the arguments of counsel, counted the true returns from Jefferson and Leon counties, which elected the anti-Ring delegations. Purman was also counted in as a member of the Assembly from Jackson county.

19

CHAPTER XVIII.

The Beginning of the End. The Stewart-Sturtevant Contest. Election of United States Senator, and Miscellaneous Subjects.

A week before the meeting of the Legislature of 1875, the leading members of the Ring began to assemble at the capital to look after the interests of their secret candidate for Senator. Nightly caucuses were held in the Executive office, and the counting of noses was gone over every night as to how each Republican member would probably stand on the election of Speaker of the Assembly and President of the Senate. The Democratic leaders also assembled in goodly numbers to look after the interests of their favorite candidates. The attempted frauds by the Carpetbaggers in the counties of Jefferson and Leon was reasonably looked to by the Democrats to give them the organization of both branches of the Legislature and the United States Senator.

The night preceding the meeting of the Legislature a caucus was called by the Ring members for the purpose of organizing the two houses next day. David Montgomery, of Madison county, carpetbagger, was put forth for Speaker, but the colored brothers from Leon and Jefferson, who had been the victims of unsuccessful fraud by the Ring, hesitated to put a man in the chair who would have no scruples in packing a Committee on Privileges and Elections that would oust the two anti-Ring delegations from these counties. The Ring members pretended that the fight was over and that the "lion and the lamb must now lie down together;" but the anti-Ring delegations knew that this meant that the lamb was to lie down in the lion's belly. Three days were spent in the attempt to elect a Speaker, but before the Speaker could be elected a caucus was called of the Democratic, anti-Ring Republican and Independent members. The caucus determined to elect Thomas Hanna, Democratic member from Washington county, as Speaker, the other offices to be divided between the Democrats and the colored men. On the meeting of the Assembly the next day it was evident that