Atlanta And Its Builders, Vol. 1 - A Comprehensive History Of The Gate City Of The South. Thomas H. Martin
frightened efforts to get down the stairway. Allen E. Johnson, the sheriff of DeKalb county, was present in the room, as were City Marshal William McConnell, and Deputy Marshal Benjamin N. Williford. C. H. Strong joined these officers in their effort to cope with the desperate man. As for Mayor Norcross, he quickly sprang from his old splint-bottom chair, and raising it high above his head in a defensive attitude awaited the attack of the desperado, having no better weapon. It was evident that the man was intent at getting at the mayor. Sheriff Johnson always carried a stout hickory cane, and in this emergency it stood him in good stead. He aimed a blow with his cane at the hand that held the knife, and a second later the knife was ringing on the floor and the hand in a fit condition for a poultice. Sheriff Johnson and Mr. Strong then seized the prisoner and, disregarding the scowling faces of his friends, who had not the nerve to carry out their conspiracy, hustled him downstairs into the street. By this time it was dark, court having been called late in the afternoon, and the prisoner managed to escape amid the jostling crowd in the darkness. He was never seen again in Atlanta.
The next day the town was at fever pitch of excitement, and everybody felt that serious trouble was imminent. Business was practically suspended, and the men of both factions gathered in groups and talked threateningly. There were several hundred unsavory characters in the Rowdy Party who, it was feared, would not scruple to raise a bloody riot, and the more timid of the respectable element were talking seriously of leaving town. Among the majority of the latter, however, the sentiment was strong for organizing a vigilance committee, if the machinery of municipal government was inadequate to cope with the grave situation. The next night the Rowdy Party took the bellicose initiative. In the village of Decatur was a small, ancient cannon, a relic of the War of 1812, which the townsfolk were wont to fire on Fourth of July and other occasions of public jubilation. This the "rowdies" obtained by some means, the next night, and planted in front of Jonathan Norcross's store, with the muzzle trained upon the building. They fired it off two or three times. but it was only loaded with sand and gravel, and no damage was done, save dirtying Norcross's porch. The outlaws left a written notice, however, to the effect that Mayor Norcross must either resign or leave town, or they would return and blow up his store. This lawless act was not interfered with by the city authorities, the marshal and his assistants keeping at a discreet distance, and none of the Moral Party showing themselves. But the next day there was no shrinking on the part of the good citizens. The mayor called a secret meeting of the council, which resulted in his issuing a proclamation calling upon all law-abiding citizens to form themselves at once into a volunteer police force to aid in securing the enforcement of the local laws. The response of the Moral Party was immediate and determined. Citizens assembled in front of the Norcross store with their guns and pistols, and all day the work of organizing them into a volunteer police force proceeded quietly. Trouble was expected after nightfall. The Rowdy Party also perfected a warlike organization during the day, meeting in force in a house on Decatur street, near where the Willingham building now stands.
The old cannon had been left in the middle of the street at the four corners, as a menace to Norcross's store, but the desperate "sporting fraternity" did not muster courage to return and put their threat into execution. Had they done so, a hand-to-hand battle would have been fought right there, for the Moral Party was guarding the vicinity, at least a hundred strong, and its guards and patrols were scattered all over the town. At midnight, there being evidently no danger of an attack by the Rowdy Party, a large squad of the volunteer police, under the leadership of A. W. Mitchell, was detailed to move upon the headquarters of the enemy in the building spoken of on Decatur street. There were several squads, commanded by leaders of well-known courage appointed by the mayor and council, and these moved upon other low quarters of the town where the rowdies rendezvoused. Before this show of courageous force the Rowdy Party dissolved like frost in the warm breath of the sun. Not a man, for all their former bluster, stood his ground, but the whole unsavory lot slunk like coyotes to their holes, except such as fell into the hands of the volunteer police as they were attempting to escape. Some fifteen or twenty rowdy ringleaders, however, remained in the Decatur street house too long, and when they attempted to flee, found the house surrounded. They were arrested, without offering any resistance, and conducted by a large armed force to the little calaboose, where they were locked up. As the place would not hold all the prisoners, only the worst ones were thrust inside and the rest strongly guarded in a private building.
The cases against the captured rowdies were set for the next day, and the whole town turned out at the trial, the street in front of the city hall being choked with people. One after another the offenders were convicted and fined to the limit allowed by the charter, and in default of the fine, most of them were remanded to jail. This broke the backbone of the "rebellion," though for several weeks unusual vigilance and energy was required on the part of the municipal authorities to preserve order, and the whole volunteer police force was not disbanded for some time. During the rest of his administration Mayor Norcross was not molested, but he received several anonymous threats through the mail and the feeling against him in Murrell's Row was dangerously vindictive.
The effort to reform Atlanta was genuine and in a large measure effective. Shortly after the exciting incidents related in the foregoing, the moral crusaders turned their attention to two pestiferous quarters of the suburbs, known by the pleasing name of Snake Nation and Slab Town. In these places, in particular, occurred scenes of debauchery and indecency that shocked the moral sense of the community. It seems that these pest holes were just beyond the city limits of that time, and that, in consequence, the city was unable to include them in its wholesome regulations. Thither the worst characters of Murrell's Row retired, male and female, and continued their depraved practices without the danger of legal molestation. Finally, determining to endure the disgraceful places no longer, a large body of disguised Atlantans moved against Slab Town and Snake Nation by night. The men found in the filthy huts were whipped by the "White Caps" and warned to leave town, while the abandoned creatures of the other sex were hauled nearly to Decatur, when they were allowed to go with a similar warning. The shanties of the two disreputable quarters were then destroyed by fire, and so complete was the destruction and effective example that the places were not rebuilt, or similar places built up again soon.
The city administration of 1849 was not regarded as bad, so much as weak. Good men composed it — men prominent the next year in the work of cleaning out the dives. It required a man with the boldness and rigid morality of Jonathan Norcross to give the reform movement the necessary official backbone. The mayor who preceded Mr. Norcross and succeeded Mayor Form wait was Benjamin F. Bomar, and the members of the council of 1849 were Jonas J. Smith, Ira O. McDaniel, P. M. Hodge, A. B. Forsyth, H. C. Holcombe and J. A. Hayden. The mayor who succeeded Mayor Bomar in 1850 was W. Buell, and the council over which he presided was composed of H. C. Holcombe, Joel Kelsey, P. M. Hodge, J. T. Humphries, S. T. Biggers and B. W. Roark. Before continuing the narrative of Atlanta's progress in the early fifties, it will be well to take some note of the routine municipal happenings of 1849 and 1850.
The office of deputy city marshal was abolished by the new council on January 18, 1849, and the salary of the city marshal was placed at $300, and he was required to give a bond of $2,000. Other salary and bond modifications were made at the same time. The treasurer was allowed two per cent, of all moneys received, and two per cent, of all moneys paid out, as before, and his bond fixed at $4,000. The compensation of the tax collector and receiver was fixed at three per cent, of all moneys received, and three per cent of all moneys paid out, with a bond of $4,000. The clerk's fees were to be regulated by the ordinances of the city, and he was required to give a thousand-dollar bond. The officers elected by this council were: H. M. Boyd, tax collector and receiver; German M. Lester, marshal; Oswald Houston, treasurer; John L. Harris, clerk. A. B. Forsyth and P. M. Hodge were appointed a committee on patrols. Councilmen McDaniel, Smith and Hayden were appointed a committee on streets. At this meeting Daniel Dougherty offered to macadamize "the street" for a distance of one hundred and forty yards, for a width of forty feet and a depth of sixteen and one-half inches, at a cost to the city of $700.
On the 7th of February council apportioned the tax for 1849, fixing a rate of thirty cents on each one hundred dollars' worth of real estate and merchandise. On the 24th of May it was resolved that the mayor be authorized to sell the hospital, provided he could obtain original cost. On July 30th, a special meeting was held to consider the question of a plank