Democratic Sentinel, Volume 11, Number 45, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 2 December 1887 — THE SOUTHERN STATES. [ARTICLE]

THE SOUTHERN STATES.

A Memphis special says:»“The sun is almost obscured by the dense smoke which shrouds and penetrates tills city. The forest fires of the last week continue to rage with unabated fury. All the local packets are from twenty-four to seventy-two hours behind time, owing to the dense smoke whicte prevails and prevents them from running at night” 1 i ' 1

The steamer Charles P. Chouteau waa burned at Sunflower Tending, 150 miles below Memphis. Her cargo, consisting of 4,200 bales of cotton, 2,500 sacks of oil-cake, and 500 empty barrels, was totally destroyed. Two colored men perished in the flames. Mrs. Martin and her two children, occupying a cabin in tho woods in Henderson County, Kentucky, were burned to death by forest fires. The flames surrounded their humble home, and the unfortunates were roasted alive. 7he Prohibitionists have been defeated at Atlanta, Ga», by a majority of 1,122. The campaign is said to have been the most exciting one in the history of the State. There are sixteen precincts in the county, of which six are in Atlanta. The antis earned every city precinct and all but one of those in the county. In the election two years ago the prohibitionists carried the county by 500 and the antis the city by 300, leaving 200 majority for the prohibitionists. This is now reversed by the antis carrying the county by 300 and the city by 800. An Atlanta telegram says of the election:

The lunch rooms run under the auspices of the prohibition ladies were crowded all day, and good lunches were furnished the men who worked at the polls. A band of little girls wearing blue badges marched up to th court house and sang several hyms. Quite a sensation was caused by their appearance. At early dawn bands of women stationed themselves at the six polls at which the people were to vote upon the question of the sale of liquor. As the first ballots began falling into the boxes, the women began singing familiar Methodist hymns. All day long the most remarkable scenes were enacted. White women engaged in conversation with negroes whom they had never seen before, urging them to deposit their ballots against whisky. At one precinct was gathered a representative bevy of women. One girl, a chubby-faced blonde, and blue-eyed, stood leaning against a door-post, while with an arm twined around her white sister’s waist stood a colored Hebe, whose fine proportions were admired by all the men who passed. As this group of white and black posed in sisterly embrace, two colored dudes, hat in hand, stood in the front yard passing the usual compliments of the season. Just outside the gate stood a huge black man with his back against the fence. In front of him stood a white woman patting him on the breast and begging him to "vote for Jesus.” An old negro, who happened to be passing, threw up his hands as he looked upon the scene and exclaimed, “Bless de Lord, I’se lived to see de culled folks as good as de whites.”