of the State and preserve the rights of the freedmen. C. R. Mobley, of Tampa, a Kansas refugee "border ruffian," identified himself with the Osborn faction; was a fair debater and opposed the extravagance of the Richards party. Jonathan C. Gibbs, colored, who was afterwards Secretary of State under Governor Reed, and Superintendent of Public Instruction under Governor Hart, was the best educated delegate in the convention, as well as the most conservative and polished speaker. He was a graduate of Harvard College. He adhered to the Billings faction, but labored hard and honestly to secure a constitution that should protect the property of the State as well as the rights of the freedmen. More than once he arose in the convention and denounced Billings of his own faction, who would wait until the lobby of the convention would be filled with freedmen, and make that the opportunity for delivering a fiery speech in denunciation of the former slaveholders. Although Mr. Gibbs was, through circumstances, inseparably allied to the Billings-Saunders faction, he was unqualifiedl opposed to the manner in which the convention started out in the extravagant expenditure of the people's money. Mr. Gibbs was not a politician, but an honest Republican, trying to lay the foundation for a respectable party in the State, and if the mass of the voters that composed the Republican party of Florida had possessed the intelligence to have followed his advice, the State would have been spared a great deal of bitterness between its black and white citizens, and some precious lives would have been preserved. E. Fortune, colored, identified with the Osborn-Purman faction, a native of Florida, had a fair education and was a forcible debater; and whenever he believed he was right, neither money nor promises could move him from his position. He opposed from first to last the conduct of the Billings-Saunders faction, and but for his unalterable opposition as one of the colored delegates, it is doubtful whether the PurmanOsborn faction would have succeeded. W. J. Purman, a fullfledged Northern carpet-bagger, who was believed by many to be an officer in the United States army at the time he was performing his duties as delegate, was a very persuasive and forcible speaker, but was not a match for Saunders. Purman was possessed of an indomitable will, which in most cases crowned

him with success. Although in this fight he pretended to be opposed to the plunder system, his subsequent actions in the politics of the State showed him to be more unscrupulous and dangerous than Saunders, Billings or Richards. T. W. Osborn, also a carpet-bagger of the Purman type, was a man of considerable ability, but was no debater, and devoid of moral courage as of conscience. He was a good wire-puller, and that is the most that can be said of him. Col. Liberty Billings, who was a professed carpet-bagger, was at the time of his election a citizen of the State of New Hampshire. He was a man of powerful intellect, but his oratorical powers seemed to have been hid under a bushel, except when he was arraying the blacks against the whites. In fact, he never laughed or smiled, nor did he seem to be in his right element unless he was criticising in the most abusive language, the Southern whites. As to his financial policy in the convention, it was on the order of "hold what you have got and get all you can." Horatio Jenkins was a Northern man, an officer in the Union army. He had fine abilities, was a young man of fine personal character and popular address. Had he but had the courage to follow his own convictions instead of surrendering to the dictation of Osborn, he would have risen to high position in the State; but Osborn led him to ruin, and in after years he was compelled to leave the State in poverty and disgrace, one of the many victims of Osborn's vicious ambition. I shall record him better in a future chapter. Some of the lesser lights of the convention, who could neither read nor write, would be seen with both feet thrown across their desks smoking cigars, while the convention was in session, and would often address the President: "I ize to a pint off orter and deman that the pages and mess'gers put some jinal on my des." The President would draw a long sigh and order journals to be carried and laid upon the desks of these eminent statesmen, who would seize them up and go through the motions of reading them, perhaps upside down, saying at the same time: "I has not had a jinal to read for free or fo' days." The pages, indignant at this mockery, would exclaim to the President "that the delagates who called for the journals could not read them if printed in letters as large as the capitol." The modest President would order them to take their places and attend upon the gentlemen o

the convention.

read and write.

Most of the pages of the convention could

If the convention, as then constituted, had been held in any of the New England States and had been guilty of the same conduct, nothing but a strong military guard could have secured their persons from violence. These ridiculous scenes continued for two weeks and more, when a portion of the members seceded, leaving the convention without a quorum. The sessions were continued, however, and in a few days adopted a constitution, which was said to have been prepared in Chicago and brought here by Richards to be forced upon the people of the State. (See Appendix A.)

Goss, the delegate from Marion County, was despatched with a copy of this constitution to Atlanta to procure the approval of the commanding General.

The convention took a recess February 8th, to wait the return of its messenger. During this time, Saunders and Billings, elated and more exultant over their supposed victory over Purman, Osborn and Company, called a mass meeting to assemble in the capitol square and addressed the freedmen, telling them that they had hurled the rebellious angels from the great Republican temple. After the speaking was over Saunders resolved the meeting into a nominating convention for the purpose of nominating State officers and also for members of the Legislature for Leon County. Liberty Billings was nominated' for Governor, W. M. Saunders for Lieutenant-Governor, and Samuel Walker, for Congress. Leon County was allowed in this deal ten Representatives and one Senator. This apportionment does not appear in the Billings-Saunders constitution. In fact, all the officers of State were nominated by the mass meeting composed entirely of the Freedmen of Leon County. It looked as though there was office for all.

On Monday, February 10th, between twelve and one o'clock at night, the seceding delegates, or "rebellious angels," returned to Tallahassee in a body, broke into the capitol, recaptured the "celestial palace," and proceeded to reorganize the convention. The most amusing incident of the recapture of the convention was, that Saunders, although nominated for Lieuten

ant-Governor, was not satisfied to be on the tail of the ticket. Billings must come down from the head of the ticket and give place to Saunders. How to steer clear of the Billings breakers was a problem which quite puzzled his brain-but something. must be done. As white and black masons did not affiliate at that time in the South, Saunders conceived the idea of organiz ing a colored lodge, and getting all the prominent colored men into it and then pledge them to demand the withdrawal of Billings as a candidate for Governor, while Saunders would pledge him his support for United States Senator. This was commenced on Monday night, February 10th. Several members had been initiated that night. Billings, filled with anxiety to know what was going on in the black camp, applied for admission and was refused. A disruption in the Billings-Saunders faction was now imminent. The lodge adjourned about midnight to meet the following night to complete its work. As its members entered the street they saw the capitol lighted up, heard the sound of voices, the earnest stamping of feet and clapping of hands. They were awe-stricken, and conveyed the intelligence to Saunders, who, startled at the scene, broke out with an oath that "Billings, the d-d traitor, has organized a convention against me and my friends." Saunders immediately sent messengers to the capitol to see what this strange thing really meant. When the messengers returned and informed him what had taken place, he said that his old familiar enemies were only holding a secret caucus. But the end was not yet." The eighteen delegates who withdrew had now enlisted four new recruits to their standard, which swelled their number to twenty-two. They managed by some means to capture two of the colored delegates from the Billings-Saunders faction, which gave them a majority of two of all the delegates returned under general order No. The freedmen undertook to mob these two delegates in the streets the next day, which resulted in one of the delegates named Shaler shooting one of the freedmen, but not fatally.

110.

This convention now proceeded to vacate the seats of the non-resident delegates - Roberts, Saunders and Billings-elected Horatio Jenkins, Jr., President, Sherman Conant, Secretary, and other necessary officers, and immediately set to work to form the constitution which was finally adopted and became the

organic law of the State. A squad of the Federal military, under direction of Governor Walker, was directed to guard the convention chamber against a threatened attempt of the ousted members to take violent possession. The freedmen seeing their supposed Lord and Saviour shut out from the capitol were excited to fever heat. The news went like wildfire through the adjoining counties. Large numbers of them assembled in Tallahassee, ready, as they thought, for battle. Each one had his club, about two feet long with a string through the end of it, so as to be fastened to his wrist. Their cry was that they wanted nothing but the blood of Osborn and Purman and their fellows. Nothing but the presence of the military prevented bloodshed. Some of the more ignorant of the freedmen were so carried away with Billings and Saunders that they wanted to attack the military guard at the door of the convention and attempt to drive them away and give Saunders and Billings possession of the hall. When it was definitely ascertained that Billings and Saunders could not get possession of the hall, some of the freedmen, who had said when the convention was first organized, "that the bottom rail was on top," began to mutter and to say that "the rail had again fallen to the bottom." General Mead, who had been appealed to by the minority faction, arrived in Tallahassee on the 17th day of February. Committees from

each faction waited on him to learn his views on the situation. He finally ordered that all the delegates returned under the order of General Pope should go into the convention; the two contending Presidents to hand in their resignations to the Secretary, Sherman Conant, and the convention then reorganize, de novo, with the commanding General of the Division, General Sprague, presiding. This proposition was readily accepted by Jenkins, but Richards hesitated, as he saw in this action his political death staring him in the face. He finally consented under protest, and with palsied hand he wrote his resignation. On Tuesday, February 18th, at 3 o'clock, P. M., the convention. met with all the delegates of both factions present. The Secretary, Conant, introduced to the convention Col. John T. Sprague, in full uniform, as its temporary chairman. A motion was then made that Horatio Jenkins, Jr., be elected President of the convention, which was carried by a vote of thirty-two to