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NEW BOOKS
BY ALLAN PINKERTON.
THE EXPRESSMAN AND THE DETECTIVE, etc.
THE MOLLY MAGUIRES AND DETECTIVES.
STRIKERS, COMMUNISTS, TRAMPS AND DETEC-
TIVES.
THE MODEL TOWN AND DETECTIVES, eto.
THE SPIRITUALISTS AND DETECTIVES.
These wonderful Detective Stories by Allan Pinxerton
are having an unprecedented success. Their sale 8
fast approaching one hundred thousand copies,
"The interest which the reader feels from
the outset is intense and resistless; he
is swept along by the narrative, held
by it whether he will or no."
All published uniform with this volume. Price
and sent free by mail, on receipt of price, by
G. W. CARLETON & Co., Publishors,
New York.
Robt. Owende
Robt. Owend.

13
.ch
HIN
URAM
Thur
Grand Chief Engineer, Brother hood of Locomotive Engineers.
IDE
STRIKERS, NATION LIBRA
TRAMPS
COMMUNISIDERSITY OF MICHIGAN

AND
DETECTIVES.
BY
ALLAN PINKERTON,
AUTHOR OF
THE EXPRESSMAN AND TIE DETECTIVE," "CLAUDE MELNOTTE AS A
DETECTIVE, ""THE DETECTIVE AND THE SOMNAMBULIST,” “THE
MODEL TOWN AND THE DETECTIVES,
AND THE DETECTIVES,
AND THE DETECTIVES," ETC., ETC.
THE SPIRITUALISTS
THE MOLLIE MAGUIRES
NEW YORK:
G. W. Carleton & Co., Publishers.
LONDON: S. LOW & CO.
MDCCCLXXVIII.
। 1878

COPYRIGHTED 1878,
BY
ALLAN PINKERTON.
-O
All Rights Reserved.
Trow's
PRINTING AND BOOKBINDING Co.,
205–213 East 12th St.,
NEW YORK.

CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
PAGE
Strikers and Striking.
13
CHAPTER II.
Tramping and Tramps .
25
CHAPTER III.
Tramps of the Olden Time
32
...
CHAPTER IV.
Mendicant Tramps-Instances where Prominent Persons have be-
come Confirmed Tramps....
42
CHAPTER V.
Tramp-printers and Tramp Encampments.....
52
...
CHAPTER VI.
The Parisian Commune.
67
...
CHAPTER VII.
Work of the Internationale........
"79
CHAPTER VIII.
The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers...
95
.....

vi
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER IX.
PAGA
Brotherhood History continued-Disastrous Defeats....
103
CHAPTER X.
Complete Exposé of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, with
some Account of the Grand International Union of Locomotive
Firemen and the Notorious Trainmen's Union..
117
CHAPTER XI.
The start at Martinsburg, West Virginia....
... 134
CHAPTER XII.
First Gun of the Commune..
147
CHAPTER XIII.
The Rising in Baltimore...
... 161
CHAPTER XIV.
Memorable March of the Sixth Regiment...
172
CHAPTER XV.
Camden Depot Besieged....
186
CHAPTER XVI.
Firing all along the Line.....
197
CHAPTER XVII.
Causes Leading to the Troubles at Pittsburg..
213
CHAPTER XVIII.
Inauguration of the Strike at Pittsburg..
219
CHAPTER XIX.
Riot Terrors at Pittsburg..
... 228
CONTENTS.
vii

CHAPTER XX.
PAGB
Memorable Siege of the Round-house at Pittsburg...
239
CHAPTER XXI.
Retreat, Defeat, and Slaughter......
251
CHAPTER XXII.
Riot and Pillage at Pittsburg
260
...
CHAPTER XXIII.
Scenes and Incidents.....
271
CHAPTER XXIV.
The End at Pittsburg.
2178
CHAPTER XXV.
The Strike at Allegheny City-Some Account of the Redoubtable
"Boss" Ammon...
286
CHAPTER XXVI.
Incidents at Johnstown, Altoona, and Harrisburg..
299
CHAPTER XXVII.
The Reading Riot..
313
CHAPTER XXVIII.
Further Troubles in the Coal Regions...
326
CHAPTER XXIX.
The Strike at Philadelphia, New York, and upon the Erie Railroad. 340
CHAPTER XXX.
The Strikes at Buffalo, and at Points along the Lake Shore and
Michigan Southern Railroad..
858

viii
CONTENTS
CHAPTER XXXI.
PAGR
Pittsburg, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railroad Troubles, and the
“ Big Scare" at Louisville..
374
CHAPTER XXXII.
Communism and Riot at Chicago.....
387
CHAPTER XXXIII.
The End....
399

PREFACE.
I am impelled to give this book to the public for what I
consider two very good reasons.
The first is, because the history of the Great Strikes of
°77 has not previously been produced with either truthful-
ness or vividness.
The second and more important reason,
in
my estimation,
is that their cause, progress, and final demise should be so
effectually grouped and so truthfully painted that their
memory, thus freshened and revived, shall ever stand as a
warning and preventive of their recurrence.
My aim has been to present merely the truth, so that the
public might not only be able to preserve the interesting
and exciting pictures and incidents of those terrible days,
but also thoroughly understand the peculiar causes respon-
sible for these outbreaks, and look squarely under the mask
and in upon the inner workings of the most important of
those labor organizations which invariably result in disaster
to their members and ruin to themselves.
My extensive and perfected detective system has made
this work easy for me, where it would hardly have been pos-
1

PREFACE.
serve.
sible to other writers; for, ever since the great strikes of
*77, my agencies have been busily employed by great
railway, manufacturing and other corporations, for the
purpose of bringing the leaders and instigators of the dark
deeds of those days to the punishment they so richly de-
Hundreds have been punished. Hundreds more
will be punished.
My first purpose was to present the history of the great
strikes in such a way that the effective work since done by
scores of my men could be seen. But I have found this
impossible, as many of the operations, begun during the
very intensest excitement of the strikes, are not yet, nor
will they for some time be, finished; so that it will be
readily seen that their recital would prove injurious to
many interests; and I have therefore been obliged to
content myself with what I believe will be considered a
truthful history of those troubled times, as well as of the
causes creating them. Thus, while the work may lack the
colloquial interest of my preceding volumes, most of the
facts contained have been secured from the very same
source, and have permitted the compilation of a work
which
may
In reciting these facts and considering their lesson, I
believe that I of all others have earned the right to say
plain things to the countless toilers who were engaged in
these strikes. I say I have earned this right. I have been
all my lifetime a working man. I know what it is to strive
and grope along, with paltry remuneration and no encour-
agement save that of the hope and ambition implanted in
be relied upon.
PREFACE.
xi
every human heart. I have been a poor lad in Scotland,
buffeted and badgered by boorish masters. I have worked
weary years through the “prentice” period, until, by the
hardest application, I conquered a trade. When this much
was done, I plodded along under unfeeling bosses at this
trade, both through Great Britain and in the United States
and Canadas. I know what it is, from personal experience,
to be the tramp journeyman; to carry the stick and bundle;
to seek work and not get it; and to get it, and receive but
a pittance for it, or suddenly lose it altogether and be com-
pelled to resume the
weary
search.
In fact, I know every bitter experience that the most
laborious of laboring men have been or ever will be re-
quired to undergo, not forgetting frequent participation in
“the strike;" and from it all there has come a conviction,
as certain as life itself, that the workingman is never the
gainer-but always the loser, by resort to the reckless
intimidation and brute force which never fail to result
from the secret organization of the trades-union to force
capital to compensate labor to a point where the use of
that capital becomes unprofitable and disastrous.
These trades-unions of every name and nature are but a
relic of the old despotic days. The necessities for their
creation, if they ever existed, have passed away. In Amer-
ican citizenship there exists all the essentials to make suc-
cess in the life of every man not only possible, but probable.
Every trades-union has for its vital principle, whatever is
professed, the concentration of brute force to gain certain
ends. Then the deadly spirit of Communism steals in and


zii
PREFACE.
further embitters the workingman against that from which
his very livelihood is secured, and gradually makes him an
enemy to all law, order, and good society; whereas, were
he free from these demoralizing surroundings, his whole aim
would be to improve himself by every means in his power,
until he became a better workman, a more faithful em-
ployee, and a more loyal and high-minded citizen. And it
will be found true, the world over, that in just the propor-
tion that all classes of workingmen refuse to be coerced
and embittered by these pernicious societies, in just that
proportion do they rise above their previous conditions, and
reach a nobler and happier condition of life.
ALLAN PINKERTON.
CHICAGO, 1878.

STRIKERS, COMMUNISTS,
TRAMPS, ETC.
CHAPTER I.
STRIKERS AND STRIKING.
FROM this date, for one to look back upon the great
strikes of '77, their causes and effects, it is possible for a
calmer and more candid judgment to prevail. While they
continued, the public mind was in a condition of unrest,
excitement, and alarm. The spectacle of so vast a country
as ours being even for a short time palsied, its local author-
ities paralyzed, its State governments powerless, and its
general government almost defied, was so sudden, so uni-
versal, and so appalling, that the best judgment of our best
minds were found unequal to cope with so startling and
extreme an emergency.
Never before in the history of our country had there
come such a swift and far-reaching peril; nor had we
record of any other government being obliged to thus sud-
denly confront so overwhelming a danger. There was
something tangible about our great Rebellion. Public
expectation was to a certain degree prepared for it. For

14
STRIKERS AND STRIKING.
years the opposing agencies had been adjusting themselves
more and more decidedly. Men at the South had become
suspicious of men at the North; Northern men became
antagonized in feeling and interests to Southern men. For
some time previous to the beginning of hostilities the two
sections had become more distinct and separate, in all that
constitutes mutual respect and consideration, than two con-
tiguous unfriendly nations. All that was needed to com-
plete the isolation of each was the border forts and the
border patrol. The public mind of each section had been
to a great degree made ready for actual hostilities. They
were predetermined facts. When they came, their con-
sequences followed naturally and in consistent order; and
though neither section was wholly prepared for the rapid
culmination of the numberless startling and dramatic
events which crowded into the four years of civil conflict,
both were enabled, through this previous certainty of some
sort of peril, to cope with the same with an increasing wis-
dom and judgment.
But how different were we situated when this last great
terror came upon us, and how unusual and startling were
its phases and conditions !
It was everywhere; it was nowhere. A condition of
sedition which can be located, fixed, or given boundaries,
may, by any ordinary community or government, be sub-
dued. This uprising, in its far-reaching extent, was so
alarmingly sudden that it seemed like the hideous growth
of a night. It was as if the surrounding seas had swept in
upon the land from every quarter, or some sudden central
volcano had upraised its hideous head and belched forth
burning rivers that coursed out upon the country in every
direction. No general action for safety could be taken.
Look where we might, some fresh danger was presented.
No one had prophesied it; no one could prevent it; no
STRIKERS AND STRIKING.
15
one was found brave enough or wise enough to stop its pes-
tilential spread. Its birth was spontaneous; its progress
like a hurricane; its demise a complete farce.
But, looking over the destruction wrought, the consider-
ation of the now clearly-established fact, that our country
has arrived at such an age and condition that it contains
the dormant elements which require only a certain measure
of turbulent handling to at any moment again bring to the
surface even a stronger and more concentrated power of
violence and outlawry, becomes not only a most wise policy,
but an urgent necessity.
I must confess to a close sympathy with workingmen of
all classes. For quite a portion of my life I have been a
laborer, while all my life I have been a workingman. I
believe I can truly appreciate the struggles and trials of
the intelligent laborer, and well understand the rigorous
barriers that often hem him in. I also believe it cruelly
unjust for any body of men, or portion of society, to hold
him and his little world of labor and sacrifice and few
pleasures so thoroughly at arm's length, as though it were
an unclean thing to touch or to consider. To this miserable
and too frequent custom it is most certain that we are in-
debted for a measure of the turbulent viciousness of what
are termed the laboring classes.
But, on the other hand, I would as rigorously hold the
workingman to his duty. With the numberless opportuni-
ties for 'the bettering of one's condition, which, in these
times, every country, and particularly this country, affords,
there is no excuse for other than a straightforward, honest,
and honorable course on the part of any man, capitalist or
laborer. No man who is able to labor at all, is unable, by
persistent honesty and persistent frugality, to, in time, secure
a fair competence and a fair measure of life’s amenities and
pleasures. When, then, the best experience of the years


16
STRIKERS AND STRIKING.
has demonstrated that capital is a necessity to labor, and all
the capital of all the Rothschilds is as valueless to its posses-
sors as so much sand when labor is not at hand to give it
circulation and use, the laboring man not only does a crim-
inal act to society, but a grievous wrong to himself and
those dependent upon him, whenever he allows himself to be
led into any association or combination having for its real
animus—whatever its assumed objects may be—the enforce-
ment of certain conditions and restrictions upon the use of
such capital as may be employed in the extension or use of
the labor upon which he may be engaged.
It is a well-known axiom that everything eventually finds
its
proper level. It is certainly as true that both capital
and labor, in the aggregate, receive their true rewards. In
exceptional cases both capital and labor are overpaid; in
certain other instances they are both underpaid. But these
are only exceptions; and no combination of capital on the
one side, or combination of labor on the other side, to force
unjust extortion from the one or the other, can ever be
maintained, and is always doomed to a termination so disas-
trous that the eventual loss has far exceeded the immediate
profits.
The mystery of all these labor troubles is that the labor-
ing men who permit themselves to become members of
trades unions do not see the danger with which they sur-
round themselves when they assist in forming associations
for compelling from their employers what their employers
cannot afford to yield. They have then assumed a position
of open antagonism to the existence of the very interests
upon which they are utterly dependent for their own suste-
They immediately close avenues for their own
assistance, restrict the operation of those commercial forces
whose untrammeled and unrestricted working are abso-
lutely essential to the existence of all safely-conducted busi-
nance.
STRIKERS AND STRIKING.
17
ness and trade, and, instead of deriving any benefit from
their warfare upon their employers, are invariably obliged
to sustain great losses and withstand severe privation, while
plunging other classes of workingmen into want and pen-
ury ; for it is an invariable law, that when one great busi-
ness interest is assailed by the labor it employs, capital
quickly feels the approach of danger and swiftly retreats
into mysterious hiding places, leaving other business inter-
ests unable to sustain themselves. Thus thousands of other
laborers are grievously wronged through the criminally
unjust action of a comparatively small body of men, whose
rights are in no way superior to those who have been thus
injured.
It is a well-established fact that the business failures
throughout the United States were more numerous for a
stated period subsequent to the great July strikes of '77
than for any other like period during the four years of un-
precedented business depression which preceded that time.
No one will deny that they were the direct result of the
strikes. Hundreds of firms, unable to withstand the addi-
tional complications which the disaster imposed, were
ruined, and thousands of workmen were thrown out of
employment. The strikers got nothing but idleness and its
vicious results. But, even had they been benefited by a
forced increase of wages, who is to compensate those thou-
sands of workingmen that were deprived of their means of
gaining a livelihood for themselves and families through
the suicidal acts of those who insolently deranged the entire
business of a great country?
The motto of many of these turbulent associations is
“Liberty, Fraternity, Equality." What is that kind of
“liberty” which is the result of a rule of force upon one
class of people and interests by any other class or inter-
est ?

66

18
STRIKERS AND STRIKING.
What manner of a “fraternity” is that where one body
of workingmen combine to bring about a condition of tur-
bulence which banishes from all classes of citizens every
sentiment of fraternity and humanity in a common greed,
a common suspicion, and a common desperation for self-
preservation ?
And what should be said of an “equality ” the effect of
which has invariably been ruin and dismay to employers
and workingmen, when one body of workingmen appeal to
the brute force and terrorism of the long strike to compel
their own selfish demands?
Whatever temporary gain may be secured, the history of
all strikes is one of disaster to those who participate in
them. They ever have resulted, they ever will result, in
not only injury to the striker, but injury to the employer,
which, in time, is certain to react upon the employee; and
it
may be laid down as a fixed principle that no strike can
ever permanently succeed. There can be no reasonable
success of a riotous strike in
any
civilized country.
For this reason the strike of '77 was a complete failure.
Although in many instances riotous excesses were not com-
mitted, the attempt of which they were all guilty—to pre-
vent the movement of trains-made their strike as truly a
riotous proceeding as the pillage, arson, and murder of
Pittsburg could have made it. By this act the strikers
placed themselves in an attitude of defiance to all law and
to society, and as surely arrayed law, order, and society
against them. Had they won, it would have been a triumph
of anarchy; and anarchy is a something impossible to exist.
No community can exist save under law and order ; and no
riotous strike is possible of success short of revolution ;
while revolution itself is a failure, unless it brings to a peo-
ple a still purer law and a more secure order. If working-
men who become rioters through these strikes would bear
STRIKERS AND STRIKING.
19
in mind that a complete success for them in these lawless
ventures necessitated an utter overthrow of the government
to which they owe allegiance, it is due to their intelligence
to say that they would forever abandon that mode of re-
dressing real or assumed grievances.
The strike of 377 failed as a strike, as thousands of
others have failed as strikes. When it became a general
riot, its failure was doubly assured. When it took on that
feature, every employer, every workingman, and every law-
abiding citizen, whether employer or laborer, was com-
pelled, from the simple law of self-preservation, to raise
his hands against it. It has never yet occurred that the
mutinous elements of a country were more powerful than
the law-abiding elements. Even wild beasts show a certain
regard for brute regulation and authority, and instances are
given by naturalists where apparent sedition and turbulence
on the part of unmanageable members of these brute
families have met with complete extermination as punish-
ment.
The great strike has left everybody poorer. Who has been
bettered ? who can point to a single instance where a body
of workingmen has been benefited by their participation ?
Who shall pay for the enforced idleness of millions; the
ruin to vast business interests; the misery brought upon
innocent working men and women; and for the hundreds of
lives sacrificed upon this altar of human ignorance, blind-
ness, and frenzy?
Looking at the matter from any point of consideration,
no good thing can be seen in it, unless it may be judged a
good thing to know that we have among us a pernicious
communistic spirit which is demoralizing workingmen, con-
tinually creating a deeper and more intense antagonism be-
tween labor and capital, and so embittering naturally rest-
less elements against the better elements of society, that it


20
STRIKERS AND STRIKING.
must be crushed out completely, or we shall be compelled
to submit to greater excesses and more overwhelming disas-
ters in the near future.
The “strike” is essentially an institution of continental
Europe, and, like all other good and bad emanations from
that part of the world, gradually but surely found its way
into England, Scotland, and Ireland, and from thence was
transplanted to this country. Riot, which has always ex-
isted, has become the constant companion of the strike
everywhere. Through my Scotch and English experiences
I have become well acquainted with the characteristics of
strikes in those countries. One marked difference in them
there is in the fact that women, in almost every instance
after the strike is inaugurated, seem the most savage in
preventing the breaking of the strike by the employment of
“nobs," as the “scabs” are called there, and in both incit-
ing and participating in riots.
Resort to strikes was first had in England and Scotland
among the cotton-spinners and the “ tenters.” The latter
are the operatives in cotton-mills who attend to the proper
stretching of the webs and have a general supervision of a
certain number of looms. The necessity for their constant
service to their employers made their unions and strikes
peculiarly disastrous to the cotton-spinning and cotton-
weaving interests. From this class, unions and their conse-
quent strikes rapidly spread among all classes of working-
men and artisans. Carpenters, coopers, and cabinet-makers;
moulders, puddlers, boiler-makers, engine-builders, and black-
smiths; shipwrights, and the numberless classes which sub-
sist
upon the shipping interests; butchers, bakers, and con-
fectioners—in fact, every known trade or class of labor soon
had its union or guild ; and as a natural result, must sooner
or later have a strike. Nothing, however, of so vast propor-
tions as our great strike of '77 came out of this union fever,
STRIKERS AND STRIKING.
21
for each organization, as a rule, attended to its own troubles,
and at that time communism had not gained its deadly
foothold.
The tactics of the strikers, in conjunction with this dis-
position of women to create disorder and encourage the men
in holding out, before referred to, are worthy of mention.
At the mill, factory, or yards where the strike might be in
progress, the strikers and their wives would congregate in
large force, morning, noon, and night. As a rule they
would never collect in great numbers at any one point, for
this would not be permitted by the authorities; but, with
great caution and very remarkable generalship, they would
divide into numberless small squads, which would be sta-
tioned at different points of approach to the workshop.
These small squads would invariably be supported by nearly
an equal number of women armed and equipped for the
fray-many
of them carrying babes in their arms. When
the “nobs” would arrive at the workshop in the morning,
when they would leave for and return from luncheon, or
when they departed for their homes for the night, they
would first be set upon by the strikers and badly handled.
Then, if the strikers happened to be getting the worst of it,
or if the “ bobbies” (the police) bore down upon them
heavily, at a given signal up came heavy reinforcements in
the shape of these women who had been waiting out of
sight, and who, with clubs, stones, bits of iron and other
hastily improvised weapons, would pounce upon the “bob-
bies” and the “nobs ” with such fury that they were quite
often temporarily driven from the field in confusion and
disgrace. On these occasions of victory the poor “nobs”
gct terribly treated, for the women seemed by far the more
merciless. If the police were victorious, as was of course
the rule, still another reserve force would be signaled for,
and with loud lamentations, thrilling yells and wailings,


22
STRIKERS AND STRIKING.
there would rush forth from mysterious hiding-places scores
of women with babes in their arms, who, with provoking
persistency, pushed in among the police, dealing out sly
blows to the “nobs” and shrewdly hindering the operations
of the officers, who could not club women under these cir-
cumstances, until most of the strikers had escaped. These
were the ordinary tactics observed in all portions of Eng.
land and Scotland.
Although the English authorities have invariably treated
riotous strikers with great severity, some instances of Scot-
tish justice, which many years ago came under my personal
notice, would indicate that in that country these matters are
still more rigidly treated.
In 1840, what was then known as the Airdrie and Glas-
gow Railroad (now called the Edinburgh and Glasgow Rail-
road, as the line was long since continued from Airdrie to
Edinburgh) was in process of construction between Glasgow
and Airdrie. The construction hands, which were princi-
pally Irish, struck in a body for higher wages, and publicly
swore that they would take the life of any “nob” who
should attempt to take their places. Other men were sup-
plied, and as the strikers had well-filled the section with
their friends and sympathizers, many savage encounters
took place. Finally a “nob” was waylaid and most bru-
tally murdered by two strikers named Doolan and Redden.
These men were immediately arrested, tried, convicted,
and executed. Nor was it an ordinary execution. It was
ordered to take place as near as possible upon the very spot
where the murder was committed, and the condemned men
were compelled to sit upon their own coffins while being
driven to the place, which was a wide meadow. Thousands
of people witnessed the execution of the criminals, which
had the good effect of putting a quietus upon the striking
fever in that section for a long time.
STRIKERS AND STRIKING.
23
Previous to this, in 1837, the cotton-spinners of Glasgow
and vicinity struck, and by their incendiary and turbulent
acts created a wonderful excitement throughout Scotland
and England. At last the authorities took the matter in
hand, and large numbers of those who had participated in
the outrages were obliged to escape to America and other
countries, in order to avoid arrest and punishment. Deter-
mined, however, to take severe measures in the matter, the
government ordered the arrest and indictment of the
“Secret Select Committee,” consisting of Thomas Hunter,
Peter Hackett, Richard McNeill, James Gibb, and William
McLean. They were accordingly apprehended and in-
dicted for a “conspiracy to intimidate, assault, and murder
non-unionists and their masters or managers,” and removed
to Edinburgh for trial. From the vast sums of money
expended both by the government and the union leagues
of Scotland, the eminent counsel engaged on either side,
and the intense interest awakened, this was probably the
most remarkable criminal trial on record in Edinburgh, if
not in all Scotland. The extreme sentence on conviction
in this case was: “Seven years' transportation beyond the

seas !"
A good deal has been written and said regarding the
causes of our great strike of '77. To my mind they seem
clear and distinct. For years, and without any particular
attention on the part of the press or the public, animated
by the vicious dictation of the International Society, all
manner of labor unions and leagues have been forming.
No manufacturing town, nor any city, has escaped this
baleful influence. Though many of these organizations
have professed opposition to communistic principles, their
pernicious influence has unconsciously become powerful
among them. Other organizations have openly avowed
them. They have become an element in politics. The

24
STRIKERS AND STRIKING.
1
intelligent workingmen, not being altogether ready for the
acceptance of these extreme doctrines, have given them no
political support, and their violent propagators have been
obliged to fall back upon agitation of subjects which would
antagonize labor and capital. For years we have been
recovering from the extravagances of the war period.
Labor has gradually, but surely, been becoming cheaper,
and its demand less. Workingmen have not economized
in the proportion that economy became necessary. Want
and penury followed. Workingmen consequently have
become discontented and embittered. They have been
taught steadily, as their needs increased, that they were
being enslaved and robbed, and that all that was neces-
sary for bettering their condition was a general uprising
against capital. So that when, under the leadership of
designing men, that great class of railroad employees--than
whom no body of workingmen in America were ever better
compensated—began their strike, nearly every other class
caught the infection, and by these dangerous communistic
leaders were made to believe that the proper time for action
I have therefore given considerable space in
the following pages to an account of those classes and or-
ganizations most extensively represented in the great strike
of ’77, before proceeding with a detailed account of the
history of the strike itself.
had come.
TRAMPING AND TRAMPS.
25

CHAPTER II.
TRAMPING AND TRAMPS.
In that brightest of all American sketch-books, John
Burroughs' “ Winter Sunshine,” the opening paragraph of
the sketch entitled “Exhilarations of the Road” is as fol-
lows:
“ Occasionally, on the sidewalk, amid the dapper, swiftly-moving, high-
heeled boots and gaiters, I catch a glimpse of the naked human foot.
Nimbly it scuffs along, the toes spread, the sides flatten, the heel pro-
trudes; it grasps the curbing, or bends to the form of the uneven sur-
faces-a thing sensuous and alive, that seems to take cognizance of
what it touches or passes. How primitive and uncivil it looks in such
company-a real barbarian in the parlor. We are so unused to the
human anatomy, to simple, unadorned nature, that it looks a little repul-
sive ; but it is beautiful for all that. Though it be a black foot and an
unwashed foot, it shall be exalted. It is a thing of life amid leather, a
free spirit amid cramped, a wild bird amid caged, an athlete amid com-
sumptives. It is the symbol of my order—the Order of “ Walkers."
To my mind there is something of this inexpressible ex-
hilaration which Mr. Burroughs hints at, in any
form of an
out door tramping from point to point, whether one is
utterly objectless, or whether he may have something to
gain from his journey. One may ride in a carriage, or be
conveyed to his place of destination by rail, but either mode
is at best one which has no other recommendation than
speed. In your carriage you get stupid and fall asleep
from your drowsiness, and in the railway-coach you are
cramped and crowded, compelled to concede to others'
whims, are a victim to every degree of heat or cold, are
2

26
TRAMPING AND TRAMPS.
obliged to breathe foul air or mortally offend the occupant
of a neighboring seat, and are generally badgered and
bothered. I never knew but one man who insisted that he
“loved railroad riding.” That man was a very intelligent
conductor on the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne and Chicago rail-
way, who told me quite recently, during a conversation on
his train concerning sports and recreations, that he would
“ rather take a ride on a railway train for forty miles, than
participate in any other pleasure or amusement of which he
knew." But this is a rarely exceptional case, while the
abominations of the overcrowded street-car are too well
known to be recapitulated.
No person can ever get a taste of the genuine pleasure of
the road and not feel in some reckless way, but yet certainly
feel, that he would like to become some sort of a tramp.
He might rebel against any kind of a compromise with his
own manhood that would make him a tramp in the offen-
sive sense in which the word is employed; he may be
very
certain in his own mind that no condition of necessity and
no combination of circumstances could ever bring him to a
point where he would sleep in a hay-rick, rob a hen-roost,
or bully contributions from country-side folk; but there
would, and there does still come an irrepressible impulse to
go a-tramping.
This physical and mental elevation of spirit which comes
to the walker is something that belongs solely to ourselves.
It cannot be explained more than any other joy ; it cannot
be transmitted like any other pleasure. One must do the
work himself. He must strike out on his own account. It
s his own muscles that are to be strengthened, his own blood
that must be thrilled, his own lungs that must be expanded
and invigorated, and his own mind and spirits which will
feel the flush and friction from drinking in the glories of
contact with the thrilling out-door world.

TRAMPING AND TRAMPS.
27
Did it ever occur to the scholar, or average reader of the
best literature, how much is due to what has been treasured
up from these trampings of men who have, alone and un-
known, but possessed of this liberty-seeking, country-loving
spirit, turned tramp and thus got very close to nature and
her secrets ? Think it over, and then exalt the inquisitive,
vagabond tramp through all ages and in all countries.
Aside from this feature of the question, look at those na-
tions whose people are walkers, and see the strength, stabil-
ity and sturdiness of them. Take Scotland, England, and
me of the countries of continental Europe for example.
Walking is universal. The man who cannot walk twenty
miles without being “ blowed” is looked upon with scorn, ,
while the average woman there thinks nothing of a walk
of a half-score miles. She will walk to church and back
three times of a Sunday (and the church in those countries
is always built in some little nook from one to three miles
from any collection of houses), and then be as fresh as a
daisy. What American woman could keep her company?
But look at the result. The English or Scotch woman at
forty, is as blooming and healthy as a lass of sixteen. The
American woman at forty, as a rule, looks like a mummy,
and is as fretful as a sickly baby. These women have used
their feet and legs; they have strengthened their frames,
aided and built up every tissue of their bodies, made them-
selves capable of bearing healthy children, and kept within
them the equable temper and bright, cheery ways that have
made them physically and mentally the equals of their hus-
bands, and their homes have always been places of kindly
greeting and welcome.
In
every instance where walking, or tramping, in its best
sense, has become a favorite custom among a people, that
people has been benefited in numberless ways. This may
not seem to touch the subject matter of “ Tramping and

28
TRAMPING AND TRAMPS.
Tramps ;” but I have referred to this branch of the question,
not only with a view of awakening an interest in it, but to
show that it really has held, and still holds, a very close re-
lation to the tramp problem. This sure, but unexplainable
pleasure in tramping has in many notable instances manu-
factured genuine tramps.
If you walk, what a new world has opened! Whether in
the city or in the country, life is seen from new windows.
In the city, what human studies you can find everywhere.
All that genius has inspired and accomplished yon may
overlook and contemplate.
The fine friction from contact
with the thousands you meet upon the streets stirs your
blood and raises your spirits. What loiterings at shop-
windows, and what a studying of all that wealth has piled
up within them. What glimpses of every-day life at back-
doors, through basement windows, over area railings, and
ap quiet courts. How you find opportunities to study the
rich, sympathize with the poor, notice the insolent, admire
the polite, despise the Shylocks, and revere the tender and
charitable. How, in thus wandering about, you become ac-
quainted with localities, get interested in little out-of-the-
way places, and how you begin to feel a sort of ownership
in what other people would not give a moment's thought;
and how, best of all, you come to have a wider, better view
of life and the living of it, and a more tender, manful and
considerate view of your race and kind.
But if to the better class of tramps the city is full of
what others never heed or see, how much more of bright-
ness and exhilaration there is to the walker who has learned
the pleasure of a genuine country tramp across a state, for
instance. To this kind of a tramp what a perfect panora-
ma of beauty is opened. What miles of smooth road, or
crisp, half-trod grass-paths, are covered. What dallyings by
moss-grown bridges where the sunlit waters ripple along

TRAMPING AND TRAMPS.
29
with soft murmurs below. What meetings there are with
sturdy old farmers on hay-racks, in ramshackle buggies, on
horseback, or afoot. What
passages there are with vocifer-
ous, though utterly harmless dogs. What loiterings at tum-
ble-down bars where the music of the sickles come floating
up
from the fields. What drinking of deep, pure draughts
from sparkling springs and froin old moss-covered buckets
that rumble and clatter as they rise towards the creaking
windlass. What sly flirtations with blooming country
lasses, arguments with cautious housewives, explanations to
vigilant constables, and chattings with Rip Van Winkles at
roadside inns. What quaint villages are reached, groaning
ferries are crossed, and what changing pictures of pretty
farm-houses, waving fields, cattle-covered meadows, and
wooded hills. What sunrises; what sunsets; what splendid
skies; what storms; and then, what rare sunshine again.
What glimpses of rivers threading their winding ways like
gleams of silver; what views of mountain, gorge, and glen;
and what a grand uplifting of the whole nature from con-
tact with everything that is interesting in nature.
Is it strange, then, that the walker, under certain condi-
tions, merges into the tramp? or that after he has become a
genuine tramp this fascination of the life on the road should
confirm him in his love of utter freedom from all care or
restraint? Who shall wonder that he begins to prefer his
own company to that of his fellows, when he has found so
bright an out-door life, where he may have everything his
own way, except possibly the changing of the seasons from
four to one, which would be of uninterrupted summer and
sunshine ?
This, however, must be considered as only a picture of
the ideal tramp.
From this happy-go-lucky fellow you
will occasionally get a scientist, a naturalist, or a true liter-
ary genius. But you oftener get a vagabond. Shiftless-

30
TRAMPING AND TRAMPS.
ness, discontent, restlessness, all creep in and take posses-
sion of him. Like the genuine Gipsy, on the instant that
the frost leaves the ground and the first arbutus-blossom
nods from the side of the hedge, he escapes whatever win-
ter quarters he may have possessed, and with staff, parcel,
and perhaps a dog, sets forth in quest of adventure.
It is easy to see how such a person shortly becomes a
vagabond. From this stage it is but a step to a bullying
mendicant; and from that condition to one of becoming a
criminal in a small way is all easy and natural. Many men
who have become interested in this mode of passing from
one point to another on foot, get so accustomed to and
delighted with the practice, that the familiarity with people
and things thus acquired, demonstrates to them the ease
with which one may subsist while tramping; and whenever
any business adversity overtakes them, they naturally turn
to the road and discover in its pleasures, its freedom from
care of any grave character, and the utter absence of
responsibility, that they have found an easy solution to all
their difficulties. Confirmed tramping is the usual result.
Still, I am certain that in all tramps there must be this
underlying principle of genuine love for the out-door world,
whether it be natural or acquired. There must be some
other motive than a mere instinct to provide against hun-
ger, although the motive may be very dim and indistinct in
the tramp's own mind. To one who is forced to walk
twenty miles a day oftener than a less number, there cannot
but be some impulse considerably higher, or at least differ-
ent, from that of filling one's belly during the day and sleep-
ing in a hay-rick or a hedge at night.
I once met in Mississippi one of this careless, happy-
hearted order. He was old, grizzly, bronzed, weather-beaten,
but cheery and happy as a lad of twelve just out of school
for a lark, and with his ragged clothing, worn stick and

TRAMPING AND TRAMPS.
31
66
neatly-made but dirty bundle, seemed to feel richer and
more satisfied than some men worth their millions.
I asked him if he really liked this sort of wandering:
“Like it?” he replied, in amazement. “I couldn't live
no other way!”
“ But what good is it to you?” I insisted.
“Why, I ain't rich, and can't see the world any other
way.”
“How can seeing the world be of any benefit to you if
you tramp it this way all your days?” I inquired.
This seemed rather of a puzzler to the old fellow; but,
after a moment's hesitation, he brightened up, and an-
swered :
Why, I don't know that, exactly; but I do know that
in twenty years' trampin' I've got more here (tapping his
frowzy head with his stick) than a dozen of yer big city
men, and it would be more worth, too, if I could use it ! ”
It seems to me that in this answer lies a good deal of the
kernel of the matter.
Here was a mind that could not be chained down to one
kind of plodding. Its possessor wanted to see the world,
and had not the means to gratify that desire as others
usually do. At his old age there was so much yet to be
seen, and so very, very many miles yet to be done, that
there was no hope that he would ever be anything else than
what he was.
I do not agree with Professor Wayland and others as to
the universal villainy and ferocity of the tramp, though I
have no measures to advocate, nor hardly any suggestions
to make. Although tramping from place to place was
necessary a century ago immeasurably greater than now,
the “tramp," as an institution to attract public notice, and
possibly need public legislation, is comparatively new.
We shall have to get better acquainted with him, when we

32
TRAMPS OF THE OLDEN TIME.
will know how to treat him, and perhaps, if necessary,
manage him. From personal observation, which I think
in these matters is a safer guide than general assertion, I
am well assured that among this army of tramps there is a
large number of persons of fine mind and attainments.
This will be treated of more fully in a succeeding chapter.
I mention it in this connection to impress a preceding state-
ment that the tramp often began with the best of impulse
and sentiment. He may end with none but a vagabond's
impulse and no sentiment at all. But, as a class, I feel
that they have been somewhat misunderstood and always
scorned and vilified.
While wishing it thoroughly known that I deplore and
condemn the vicious features of the fraternity, I am quite
as willing to have it known that I have a kind word to say
for thousands of them who have become homeless wretches
and wandering outcasts.
CHAPTER III.
TRAMPS OF THE OLDEN TIME.
LIKE the Gipsies-who, however, have the standing that
distinct race may give—the tramp, if he be an intelligent
person, will tell you that there is abundant precedent for
his wandering habits and lazy mode of gaining a livelihood,
which, at best, is a poor one.
I have heard them quote from the best literature, and
especially from the Bible, making out, I must say, a very
good case for themselves, and certainly one, although highly
colored, which deserves consideration. Through this fact
TRAMPS OF THE OLDEN TIME.
33
I have been led to give the subject considerable thought
and some study, and I cannot but protest against this savage
outcry that is raised through the press against the tramp.
The Bible is full of illustrious instances of tramping, on
both a large and small scale.
Abram was commanded to go out from his father's house
and' his kindred, to a land which should be shown him, and
at the
age of seventy-five years took his wife and brother's
son, Lot, and set forth on a regular tramp from Haran. He
took his “substance” with him, of course, just as the tramp
does, and wandered around the country in quite the same

manner.
I say it with no levity or sense of irreverence, but Jesus
Christ was himself a tramp. He was certainly one in the
estimation of the Jews. His father was a tramp carpenter.
But he was more utterly a tramp than them all. No other
ancient or modern tramp could compare with him in desti-
tution or homelessness. 66 A certain scribe came and said
unto him, Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou
goest. His reply was, “ The foxes have holes, and the birds
of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where
to lay his head.”
Further than this, he was very concise and distinct in his
direction to his disciples. He insisted that they must pro-
vide neither gold, silver, nor brass for their purses. They
were not allowed to have scrip for their journeys. They
must not have two coats. They could not wear shoes, nor
could they use staves.
If here was not a collection of genuine tramps, though
their work was to be of a peculiar nature, it cannot be
found in history.
At the beginning of the fifteenth century, when the Gip-
sies first made their appearance in Europe, their wandering
and seemingly happy mode of life induced many of the
2*

34
TRAMPS OF THE OLDEN TIME.
romantic to copy their manners and become themselves
wanderers or tramps. They could not become Gipsies, but
they could do like them; and suddenly the highways and
hamlets were filled with them.
Even long before this, between the twelfth and four-
teenth centuries, the Minnesingers were as well known and
recognized as the church or the king. From town to town,
from castle to castle, they strolled, singing their songs, and,
like our modern tramps, taking their chances for securing
their meals, clothing, and beds.
It was not uncommon in those days for many of the
nobility to turn Gypsy, Minnesinger, or tramp. Some
slight in love, some fear from intrigue, soine secret state
purpose, some genuine desire to study character, or some
natural liking for a roving life where the severities and
conventionalities of the court might be flung aside for a
period of absolute freedom, has often turned men and
women out of the castle upon the road, and made them for
a time, if not permanently, members of these bands of stroll-
ing vagrants. When the purpose was served, they reap-
peared; but many instances are recorded where the va-
grant habits were so strongly fixed upon them that they
clung to their grotesque companions of the highways and
byways.
The antiquity of tramps and tramping cannot be ques-
tioned ; nor should it be forgotten that, aside from the
necessities which have given them a certain degree of
respectability in the eyes of all considerate people, we
owe to the varied circumstances which have made countless
persons strollers, or tramps, and then to the strolling and
tramping themselves, much more than is generally con-
ceded.
It should be remembered that many of our greatest men
have either at some time been unqualified tramps, or have
TRAMPS OF THE OLDEN TIME.
35
done considerable of what might be called real vagabond
tramping
Sir William Herschel, born in 1738, was educated as a
band musician, but turned tramp in 1767, and for a period
of years pushed his way—alone, penniless and friendless-
over every highway and through every city and village in
England and Scotland. Had he remained in the Hanover
Foot-Guards, what a loss would astronomical science have
sustained !
John Bunyan, author of “Pilgrim's Progress," whose
genius and piety stood out so brightly during the last half
of the seventeenth century, and of whom the celebrated
John Owen said to Charles II.: “I would really part with
all my learning, could I but preach like the Gypsy tinker ! ”
- was for year's nothing more or less than a tramp tinker.
He was a Gypsy by birth, or at least was of Gypsy stock, and,
like all those people, was deft at handiwork. His trade
was that of a brazier, or worker in brass, and like other
tramps of that order, he wandered from hamlet to hamlet,
wearing ragged clothing, carrying a hairy wallet upon his
shoulder, working where he could, and tramping when he
could not get it, sleeping at cheap inns when he could
afford it, but taking to the hedge, like a duck to water,
when that was impossible. Many religious bodies that
admire and revere Bunyan's genius and memory most, affect
to ignore this part of his history, but in my mind it should
make them both stand out brighter and tenderer. The
very experience he got as a genuine “pilgrim” and tramp,
this getting very close to the commonest and littlest things
of life as a wanderer and among wanderers, wonderfully
assisted in making him what he was.
Who has read the almost pathetic story of how Oliver
Goldsmith talked with his winsome tongue, and played,
with his travel-scarred old flute, his objectless, aimless way


36
TRAMPS OF THE OLDEN TIME.
over Europe, and knows what strength and resource it all
subsequently furnished him in his giving to the world some
of the choicest gems of literature—that cannot have sympa-
thy or sentiment for the tramp?
Johnson was everything but an impecunious tramp; Sir
Walter Scott loved nothing better than a tramp in its
roughest and most vagabondish sense; Franklin was a
genuine tramp; and who has not laughed and cried over
the wondrous pictures of lowly life that have been left to
the world for all time through the trampings which were
done by Charles Dickens ?
An entertaining book could be written comprising only
incidents of where tramps have become great men, or great
men have become tramps; and if the reader will give the
matter a moment's thought, this will not seem surprising.
Men who have the advantage of wealth, of great learning,
of position, and of friends, quite often are utterly wanting
in self-reliance and experience. But, take a man who has
had to use his wits to fill his stomach, who has passed from
one county or one country to another in that painfully slow
way that the tramp is compelled to—who has had to
brighten and quicken every faculty in his efforts to evade
police, to keep clothed, to make roadside friends, to get
work-for all tramps are not shiftless vagabonds—and
often to sustain life, and he has obtained a self-reliance, a
wonderful knowledge of the world, and a rare observation
of men and things that gives him a peculiar advantage
whenever he is in a position to use it.
It is a common saying that self-made men are the surest
and most stable; among this class there are countless per-
sons who have been made all that they are or have been, by
this peculiar educational process.
Again, among what are called the higher classes, there
have been numberless instances where men, and even
TRAMPS OF THE OLDEN TIME.
37
women, have tired of their elegant surroundings, and with
a desire to know the world as it is and see life from the
under side, have suddenly broken away from their friends
and for years led the life of the strolling tramp. Some-
times the habit becomes too strong to be shaken off, but
oftener these persons as suddenly return to their friends,
and bring with them experience and observation which
make them famous.
I do not wish to be understood as encouraging tramping,
nor the many evils which cannot but arise from the same,
but to merely show that it has not been valueless to the
world, and that consequently the outcasts and vagrants of
this order, which we so commonly look upon with contempt
mingled with a certain dread, are as a class entitled to
more consideration than they receive. The matter has its
pathetic side as well as its useful side and ruffianly side;
and to humanitarians and that large class of people who are
really ready to assist in bettering the condition of their fel-
lows, if they can only be shown how and where to work, I
can imagine nothing more pitiful being presented than the
following scene that is reported as repeatedly occurring
along the line of the Boston and Albany Railroad.
It is night, and in a deep gorge near the railroad, where
the trains are constantly passing and repassing, a collection
of some twenty or thirty of these outcasts, who have been
driven from a neighboring village, are gathered. At the
bottom of the gorge, where a stream of water leaps down
from the hills through the stone archway sustaining the
tracks, are sleeping or dozing, about a fire which has been
kindled for warmth and to cook what little the wanderers
may have stolen or begged for their supper, a large number
of the poor fellows, exhausted from their day's march; for,
like “ Joe” in Dickens's “ Bleak House,” it is their destiny
to be kept “moving on” and on. In different places are


TRAMPS OF THE OLDEN TIME.
39
garne of cards.
scen old and young men who have retired from the com-
panionship of their fellows, to brood over their misfortunes,
regret lost opportunities in the past, or possibly resolve
upon better things for the future. Up above all these, on a
little eminence among the trees and before another fire
which has been kindled for their special benefit, is a group
of four, with toes, knees and elbows out, who take their
troubles more lightly, and who are passing the hours in an
animated
They are all ragged, dirty, wretched. They are all out-
casts, wanderers, vagabonds. They are all utterly homeless,
and in the wide world have no spot that they may go to and
claim an interest in, nor is there any hand to be raised, save
against them. They are tramps, worthless tramps, things
to be dreaded, shunned, driven and despised; and yet,
among the gathering I have just pictured, it was found by
a curious official of the railroad named that there was not
one who had not seen better days. In many instances the
depths to which they had sunk had been the result of their
own faults, which were frankly admitted ; in
many
other
cases, misfortune, and not fault, was at the bottom of the
degradation; and I have no sympathy or respect for that
large class of people who cannot realize the suffering which
has brought thousands of men—and women, for that matter
—to this pitiable condition.
In European countries a certain class of tramping, for
hundreds of years previous to the introduction of the rail-
way system, was not only allowed, but was considered highly
respectable among the laboring classes. After a mechanic
of any sort had completed his term of apprenticeship, cus-
tom made it imperative that he turn journeyman, which is
only another word for tramp, and pass from one part of the
country to another, and often into other countries, to im-
prove and perfect his trade by coming in contact with other

).
TES
Night encampment of tramps near the Boston and Albany Railroad,
40
TRAMPS OF THE OLDEN TIME.

journeymen, observing how work was done in other shops,
and generally bettering his skill and practice. This custom
is still common in out-of-the-way sections in Europe.
I have heard old German, Swiss and French people relate
many interesting incidents arising from these customs.
The tramp tailor, the tramp cobbler, or the tramp tinker,
were once, and are now in some localities, great institutions.
Their annual or semi-annual visit to the little village, or the
country-side collection of half a dozen peasants' houses, was
an event exceeding in importance and interest all other
occurrences of the year. They were the greatest gossipers
alive. They were all characters. They were full of anec-
dote and wit, or what passed among the peasantry for wit,
and could tell a story, sing a song, whistle a melody, or
drink till the last man fell under the table, as no others
could do. Wandering from place to place, they had all the
news, all the scandal, all the merry-making, at their tongue's
end, and were quite as much in requisition for their good-
fellowship and what they could communicate, as for what
they could do with their needles, their awls and hammers,
or their soldering-irons and grinder’s-wheels. In fact, they
were the newspapers of the day--the wandering encyclo-
pedias that were open to all their customers, which included
nearly everybody on their circuits, and that brought a
homely joy and pleasure, as well as a certain grade of
labor, which could not be dispensed with under any
circum-
stances.
Nor were these all. The dressmaker, milliner, and even
midwife, furnished the other half of the picture and made
it complete. While these women were not exactly tramps,
yet their services were rendered in precisely the same man-
ner, by walking from village to village and house to house;
and their place of honor in public esteem was quite of the
same character as the journeyman tramps just described,

TRAMPS OF THE OLDEN TIME.
41
who were very often their boon companions, and occasion-
ally their lovers or husbands.
In my own time I have been brought in close contact
with these journeymen tramps in England and Scotland,
and from personal observation I am satisfied that no tramp
of the present day is more of a foot-sore wanderer than
some of them were at that time. Go to any part of Great
Britain and you would find him plodding along the foot-
paths, or upon the open highway, worn, dust-covered, some-
times very ragged, but always with his kit of tools slung in
a bag over his back, and supported by the ever-present staff;
while, if the roads were smooth or the weather not too se-
vere, his hob-nailed shoes would also be slung upon his stick,
,
to save them for a still more needy time. Entering the
village, if a convenient brook could not be found, his first
trip would be to the town-pump, or to the pump at some
friendly though cheap and ancient inn, where his toilet
would be made in the most approved order that combing
his hair with his fingers and wiping his face with his elbows
would permit. After this his feet would receive attention ;
and then, after his inner man had been satisfied with a mug
of beer and a slice of cheese and bread at a near tap-room,
he would proceed to the different shops where his kind of
labor might be in demand, where, if he got work, he would
remain until it was exhausted, and then take up his staff and
bundle for another tilt at fortune and another weary tramp
until work was again secured. When I have known these
men so well, and been so certain that they were doing the
best in their power to get along in the world and rise above
the poverty of their surroundings, their abuse by those who
know nothing whatsoever of suffering and privation brings
a sense of resentment to my mind which I cannot but thus
publicly express.
42
MENDICANT TRAMPS.

CHAPTER IV.
MENDICANT TRAMPS-INSTANCES WHERE PROMINENT PERSONS
HAVE BECOME CONFIRMED TRAMPS.
The tramp has always existed in some form or other, and
he will continue on his wanderings until the end of time;
but there is no question that he has come into public notice,
particularly in America, to a greater extent during the
present decade than ever before. While he is commonly
the outgrowth of conditions of society which will never
materially vary, the severe and unprecedented hard times
that have lately been experienced, and which still seem to
girdle the entire globe, have manufactured tramps with an
alarming rapidity. Where they previously existed as single
wandering vagabonds, they now have increased until they
travel in herds, and, through the dire necessity of their
pitiable condition, justly create some anxiety and alarm.
In the olden time, the tramp, or vagabond, was a fellow
to be less feared than now, whether because he was less
ferocious naturally, or because he was more of a mendicant
than the highway pirate of the present time.
It is stated that the period between 1500 and 1700 was
the golden age of tramp mendicants. They were then clas-
sified as Staublers, Losseners, Klenkers, and Dobissors. They
were born and bred beggars, and with each generation be-
came more and more expert in all the petty tricks of the men-
dicant. They were not the devil-may-care fellows of more
modern times, who often tramped for the mere love of the
thing, and who, in many instances, had some object beyond

MENDICANT TRAMPS.
43
mere tramping which was worthy, like a study of a people
or a country by some happy-hearted literary Bohemian.
They were the veriest beggars ever known, and were per
mitted to roam about through the good nature of the au-
thorities and the sufferance of the people, who treated them
with great kindness, as they always begged in the name of
the saints and professed the greatest piety. In vulgar par-
lance, in these days, that assumed merit in tramp-beggars
would be regarded as extremely “thin."
The Staublers were bread-gatherers, who wandered about
in families, carrying huge sacks and bags. They ostensibly
pleaded for bread, but would, of course, take anything
they could get, and many a dishonest picking was hid in
the capacious pouches which they packed about. It is
related that many of them amassed great wealth from the
shrewd disposition made of the proceeds of this begging
and pilfering.
The Losseners made the pretense of being released
prisoners who had served their country loyally, were cap-
tured at the front in battle, and had suffered untold mis-
eries for their country's sake. They had most thrilling
tales to tell in exchange for alms. In all countries,—and
particularly during this period in continental Europe,—the
claims of the ex-soldier who has suffered cannot and could
not pass unheeded. Even with our nearness to the sacrifices
of a protracted war, the stories of battle, capture, escape,
or terrible suffering, always interest the listener whether
they be true or false, and seldom fail, if recited by a
skilled beggar, to compel the desired response. As a rule,
these Losseners had some scar to show, or relic of the
battle, camp, or prison-cell to produce, which, with their
marvelous flow of language, descriptive powers grown
keen and graphic by constant use, and unequaled knowl-
edge of the incidents of the wars they claimed to have

44
MENDICANT TRAMPS.
participated in, completed an unanswerable argument for
charity.
The Klenkers were cripples or pretended cripples, and,
as is quite common in our day, were a class who made a
stock in trade out of their infirmities. These persons were
most shrewd and cunning in their devices. Being ready
for an attack upon the charitable, they would range them-
selves along the sides of church-door approaches, crowd in
at fairs, and crawl in and about all public places, where
they would exhibit these infirmities or “made-up” deform-
ities. They were often found in the country and at little
villages, and they would drag themselves about with such
persistency, and often with such rapidity, that their shams
would be discovered.
The Dobissors were the rascally tramp-mendicants who
begged for alms — and they always wanted money - to
assist in the repair of some ruined chapel, extend the walls
of some needy monastery, or build a new church. I wish
to cast no reflection on the genuine solicitar of funds for
this
purpose, and on those marked charities of the Catholic
and other churches; but many of this class of tramp-beg-
gars were the veriest knaves extant. Through religious
superstition the people were bled unmercifully by these
scoundrels, a majority of whom were not accredited at all,
never saw the inside of a church, and had no wish to.
They exhibited “sacred relics” which they manufactured
or pilfered, and insisted on alms in the name of every saint
in the calendar.
All these classes of tramping mendicants were such
adepts in their particular lines that they scarcely ever failed
to secure contributions; and their success caused a rapid
increase of vagabonds from among other classes, who saw
how much easier it was to secure a livelihood in this manner
than through honest labor, which caused them to readily

MENDICANT TRAMPS.
45
fall into the same habits of wandering and trickery. So
great an evil did this finally become, that the severest of
laws were passed against them, as also the Gypsies who flour-
ished in continental Enrope during the same period, and
they were eventually driven out, or at least into retirement.
They then took up their tramp towards Great Britain, and
both these vagabonds and the Gypsies arrived there about
the same time. After a period of success in England and
Scotland, in which their character was of course changed as
the different character of the people and different customs
of the country made it necessary, the severest laws were
enacted for their regulation and extermination.
It may be truly said that from the effects of this great
body of vagabonds can be traced the origin of confirmed
English and Scotch tramps. This class are quite distinct
from the journeymen tramps before referred to; but there
is still a close relationship existing among all classes who
make tramping a profession, whether they are, or have been
from youth, acoustomed to tramp for work, or whether from
infancy they have been educated as mendicant tramps.
The effect of tramping upon any person is to make him
keenly alive to the fine generalship of living without work,
and existing when work cannot be secured. He cannot but
become a sort of guerilla on the outskirts of civilization.
While all classes of tramps in Europe have always been
considered harmless, though they have often become pests,
there has been a good reason for the fact. The countries of
Europe are more densely settled than ours. Government
restrictions are greater, police surveillance is keener, the
constabulary are more vigilant. The tramp there, who, from
choice or necessity, has determined to become a criminal,
knows that his risks are very dangerous. It is too little a
distance between towns. He is too closely watched. The
people have come to know him as a tramp by his habits and
46
MENDICANT TRAMPS.
manners, and the first attempt to be anything worse than a
tramp brings disaster.
With us it is different. The conditions which have always
existed in our country, and which still exist, have made it im
perative on the part of a large portion of our population to
trampit. Men leaving Eastern cities for Western towns, de-
siring to economize, have pushed their way along afoot, and
after having been out a half-dozen days on their journey,
could scarcely be distinguished from a genuine tramp; far-
mers of wealth, with a view to changing their residence, have
walked hundreds of miles to see the country and make per-
sonal inquiries and investigations; peddlers with packs, can-
vassers for books, newspapers, periodicals, and insurance,
often take it afoot through those sections of country not
reached by rail; and for a hundred other good reasons, a
hundred other classes of men, and even women, have been,
and still are, compelled to pass from one section of the coun-
try to another, or between towns and villages; and this nec-
essarily rough out-door life often produces the tramp man-
ners and appearance, so that it would be almost impossible
to select the tramp from among those upon the road.
This is all favorable to the tramp; and with all these
possibilities on his side, if he is evil-disposed and like the
notorious tramp-desperado, Rande, he has every advantage.
These conditions, which every observant person cannot
but have noticed, have caused tramps to become more dar-
ing than in European countries, and thus they have been
led into excesses which have brought dishonor upon the
entire fraternity, which, as a class, if not eminently respect-
able, is, as a rule, good-natured and harmless.
While it is undoubtedly: true, as Elihu Burritt claims,
that the “tramp nuisance,” as the public have come to term
it, is of no recent origin with us, and is a direct importation
from Europe, I cannot agree with him when he states that


MENDICANT TRAMPS.
47
our hard times have had no appreciable effect in increasing
tramps; for I am certain, from personal observation and
inquiry, that they have had nearly all to do in causing the
country to be so filled with tramps as it is at the present
time. The brotherhood of the road in some form has
always existed, and years ago had appeared in America.
But the great mass of our people were ignorant of the
tramp or the tramp's character. The hard times which we
have experienced have been universal. They have not
only so depressed our own industries that thousands of
mechanics, clerks, and laboring men have been thrown out
of employment here, but the same has been true of all
European countries. America is the objective point for all
classes who have been driven to the wall by poverty in
every other part of the world, and thousands upon thou-
sands have come to us without means of subsistence and
without any possibility of securing a livelihood. What
other recourse have these people had save to turn tramp,
and beg and pilfer to sustain life? It is a pitiable condi-
tion of things, but there is no doubt that the majority of
those now upon the road are there from necessity, and not
from choice. If thousands are here from abroad who have
been compelled to turn tramp, how many of our own people
have been forced into the same kind of life as the only way
left to live outside of the poor-house?
Our late war created thousands of tramps. This fact
seems to be generally overlooked. Hundreds upon hun-
dreds became demoralized by the lazy habits of camp-life,
and were suddenly turned loose upon society without any
regular employment, or desire for any. After wliat money
they had been paid when mustered out was expended, they
begged and borrowed from their friends until this source
of supply was exhausted, when they became wandering
vagabonds, with no better ideas of life than those created
48
MENDICANT TRAMPS.
and fostered by army life, which were to play the social
guerilla and forage wherever they could do so.
The nucleus, of course, was formed by the professional
tramps from Europe; but, ever since the war, circumstances
and conditions have been continually arising to transform
respectable people into tramps. To bring this more forci-
bly to the mind of the reader, I would suggest that this
book be closed for a moment, and that the reader then tax
his own recollection for instances where men or women
within his acquaintance, at one time enjoying a good posi-
tion or good social standing, have, by some fault of their
own, perhaps, but still oftener through ill-fortune, been
bereft of their means of support, and, as a consequent,
their friends, and in due time became wanderers and
vagrants of the road. They may have lingered in the city
for a time, but by and by every old friend's face is averted,
every acquaintance's back is turned, and with a bitter heart
and a discouraging, hopeless prospect beyond, they plunge
into the country because they are compelled to, and, in nine
cases out of every ten, are from that moment tramps. I
venture to say that nearly every one who will thus reflect
upon the subject can recall several instances of this kind,
and on further reflection it will be remembered that they
have chiefly occurred since the war.
It is also quite as true that the growth of tramps has
been by no means confined to men and women of the
working classes, although they have suffered greatest. I
am personally cognizant of scores of cases where men oc-
cupying the highest of positions have in some way fallen,
and in time joined this brotherhood of strollers. A few of
these are worthy to be noticed as illustrative of their par-
allels in hundreds of other instances that have not fallen
under
my
observation.
One of these was of a gentleman who began life at the


MENDICANT TRAMPS.
49
very bottom rounds of the ladder, and who, from a boy,
struggled against all obstacles until he had attained a fine
reputation as a railroad man of splendid ability and dis-
cernment. Rising from one position of trust to another,
he finally became the general manager of one of the most
important railways leading to the West, and for years held
this position, an acknowledged peer of our best railway
managers. After a time he began indulging in too free a
use of liquor, and, when it was seen that the habit was
growing upon him, he was reduced to a position of less
responsibility, but was still considered the most valuable
man upon the road. This had the effect of causing him to
drink harder, until he eventually became so confirmed in the
habit that he was reduced to a position of still lower grade.
This went on for some time longer, until finally the com-
pany were obliged to dispense with his services altogether.
That man to-day is a confirmed tramp. He is not merely
a drunkard; he is a wanderer over the face of the earth,
and as brilliant as a professional tramp as he was able and
talented as a railway manager.
Another instance is of one of the most eminent criminal
lawyers in the country. Possibly he was not known like
O’Conor or Ingersoll, but he gave promise of as much acu-
men as the former and as brilliant oratorical powers as the
latter. He was of a fine family, and members of it are still
noted as financiers and professional men. His own career in
the practice of the law was one series of splendid successes.
But, in spite of position, friends, prestige--in fact, all that
could make a man wish to live and triumph in his pro-
fession-he suddenly, and without apparent cause, broke
away from everything bright that surrounded him, and be-
came one of the lowest vagrants on earth. There is no
tramp experience which he has not compassed, no trickery
or cunning of the vagabond order which he has not taken
3

50
MENDICANT TRAMPS.
advantage of, and no vicissitudes of the outcast's life which
he has not suffered. For years he lived a genuine tramp's
life, and as he had been a talented lawyer, so he became a
talented tramp.
Still another instance is found in the case of a former
business manager of a well-known Chicago daily newspaper,
which is still in existence, though under another name.
This man had as much ability, and, for that matter, as much
influence, as the managers of ordinary metropolitan dailies.
He was a person of good education, unexceptional connec-
tions, fine culture, and had, like all men in such positions,
6 hosts of friends." Some change in the proprietorship
occurred which deprived him of his position. The next
thing that was heard of him he was among that vast army
of newspaper cormorants that was fastened upon the
Northern Pacific Railroad just before its bankruptcy.
From this his fortunes steadily waned, until in '74 he had
exhausted the good nature of his friends, had completed
that long series of brilliant expedients which come so han-
dily to the newspaper Bohemian, and had turned tramp.
The last time I saw him he was shufiling along a country
road, almost shoeless, ragged, dirty, and forlorn, wrapping
himself in his skinny arms as if to thus derive some additional
warmth—the picture of animated degradation, and yet with
a trace of cheeriness and contentment about him, as though
he derived some sense of satisfaction from the reflection
that he could get no lower.
These, as I have said, are only hap-hazard instances
among great numbers within my personal knowledge,
where men of position, splendid mind and large influence,
have, through numberless causes, turned vagabonds. Cler-
gymen, physicians, scientists, literary men-men in all
grades of profession, art, or trade, have gone the same way. .
Some have turned tramp from the very fascination of vaga-

MENDICANT TRAMPS.
51
bondism; others, because they have been led into it uncon-
sciously on their own part; others have been forced into it
from the bitterest necessity; others, to escape some fancied
humiliation; and still others have taken up the cudgel and
bundle to see the world and study the lower strata of hu-
manity. Not all who become tramps remain so. Nor do
all those tramps who rise above that mode of existence re-
main in, the higher walks of life. The element seems to
dart back and forth through countries, communities, and
society, like some swift shuttle, in and out, through and
through. A man may be eminent to-day, and to-morrow a
tramp. If you meet a tramp in a certain part of the coun-
try, a month from that time it is possible that you may
dis-
cover him occupying some position of trust, surrounded by
friends who look upon his vagaries of the tramp order as
mere oddities not at all to his discredit.
I have found it to be a striking peculiarity among this
strange class that a majority of their number, who have
become confirmed in their vagabond habits, and who occa-
sionally reappear for a short time within society, are men
of extraordinarily fine minds. I mean by this, that they
are persons of great natural gifts, close observers of people
and things, keen to secure and retain valuable information,
quick to discern motives for human action, splendid conver-
sationalists, and, as a rule, also persons of superior educa-
tion. It is something to be regretted that such capabilities
could not be put to better use, but it is often a mark of
talent to be useless, and these devil-may-care fellows derive
a certain enjoyment from their very vagabondism.
It is also a noteworthy fact that, while the great body of
tramps always holds its own and never suffers diminution
to any extent, that the members of the fraternity are never
for any given period the same persons. They come and
go, appear and disappear; but, once a tramp, they are
52
TRAMP-PRINTERS AND TRAMP ENCAMPMENTS.
always the tramp in feelings and sympathy. There is always
this nucleus of a brotherhood, and, as it takes but little
time to secure standing among them, your presence is ever
welcomed and your absence never regretted; for, should
you desert your tramp-fellows, there is always an amateur
ready to take your place, who will shortly become quite as
proficient as yourself.

CHAPTER V.
TRAMP-PRINTERS AND TRAMP ENCAMPMENTS.
WHILE there are numberless distinct classes of tramps in
our country, all deserving of notice, I have not the space
to treat of them separately; and, before passing from the
subject, will only briefly refer to one class which in my opin-
ion stands pre-eminent as representative of tramps. These
are the tramp-printers. Never was there another such a
shrewd, good-natured, harmless, and yet reckless class of
strollers on earth. It is also a fact with printers as a body
of workmen, that there is scarcely a man among their tens
of thousands that has not at some time “tramped it.” In
fact; a printer is ordinarily considered “no good” when he
cannot definitely refer to this mark of graduation and pro-
ficiency, and there is not a newspaper or job office in the
world that has not its tramp-printer, and that does not count
upon periodical visitations from that irrepressible individual.
There have been bright exceptions where printers have se-
cured a competency, as they are all able to, and social stand-
ing, as any man can do ; but, as a rule, they are inclined to a
frequent use of the “ flowing bowl,” almost invariably are

TRAMP-PRINTERS AND TRAMP ENCAMPMENTS.
53
66 cases
99!
gamblers, or rather are a source of great profit to profession-
al gamblers, and are, one and all, froin a subtle and unex-
plainable spirit of adventure of which the craft seem pos-
sessed, full of a chronic restlessness that permits of no
stability or reliability. Watch any printing-office in Ameri-
ca for a month. It
It may retain the same foreman for that
length of time, but what a change has there been at the
Every day or two a new face appears, and one
that has become familiar disappears. They have gone to
carry the banner." * No one has ever seen this myste-
rious emblem of the craft, but every printer has patriotically
borne it with a heroism worthy of a better cause.
Printers are not all tramps, but, as stated, there is scarcely
a printer who has not at some time been upon the road. .
The fraternity are quite proud of their accomplishments in
this direction. Half the chatting among the employees of
an office is upon the adventures of certain of their number,
or of some particularly chronic old walker who has made a
national reputation for himself on account of some note-
worthy achievement in the tramp line, or who has some in-
teresting personal characteristics. There are often among
these confirmed tramp-printers, men of most brilliant minds
and winning manners; but they long ago gave up the idea
of it being necessary for them to labor, and they would
scorn to do a square day's work at the “case;" but they are
always tolerated, for tramping is a recognized pleasure and
necessity among printers.
The course taken by the regular tramp when he “strikes
a town,” as it is called, is to immediately hunt
up
the
printing-offices—and he usually has learned how the land
lays from some compatriot upon the road who has too
לל
Carrying the banner" is a slang phrase among printers, denoting
that the ensign-bearer is living without work, upon his wits, which are
usually equal to every emergency.
* 66
54
TRAMP-PRINTERS AND TRAMP ENCAMPMENTS.
room,
recently “worked” the same offices to return. Climbing
to the aromatic quarters usually occupied as the composing-
he sneaks about the door until he has “piped off”
the foreman, and has mentally taken his measure, when he
boldly approaches that petty tyrant with some assurance
and the question :
“How's business, boss ? "
The foreman may want a man, and may give the tramp
work at once.
As a rule, however, there is not much to be
done, and the tramp has no deep desire for it, if there is.
It is immediate financial aid that he wants ; and his whole
talent is to be used with that end in view. He will prob-
ably get a bluff reply from the foreman.
“Well,” says the tramp, “ the office is good for a night,
isn't it?"
This means: “If I can't get work, I can get lodging and
a little lift on the road, can’t I ?” and, after he has sacredly
promised to “throw in ” three or four “ thousand ” (distri-
bute three or four thousand “ems” of type) in the morning,
he considers himself quite at home.
He will then immediately edge around among the boys
and “nick the office.” “Nicking " the office consists in
begging among the printers for nickels, or any other loose
change they may have to bestow; and the tramp under
these circumstances will not despise even coppers. He may
not get a quarter all together. Often he gets several
dollars. But the good fortune of getting anything always
depends upon whether the foreman is good-natured or not.
At night the strolling guest usually rests his classic form on
the composing-room floor, sometimes upon the “imposing-
stone,” if it is large enough, for the rats cannot reach this
safe elevation, oftener upon the “stock"—the piles of print-
ing-paper—and, if the foreman is soft-hearted enough, the
knight of the road may be favored with a luxurious couch


TRAMP-PRINTERS AND TRAMP ENCAMPMENTS.
upon the floor of the editor's sanctum, or, if he has a sofa,
upon that convenient piece of furniture.
He is always true to his word of the night previous, and
in the morning fulfills his promise as to the distribution of
type. Sometimes he gets steady work for a week or two;
but if he remained until he made five hundred dollars, he
would invariably “carry the baner” out of town, having
“played in ” his money at the faro-bank, or lived a gay life,
as printers know so well how to do; and he takes
up
the old
tramping perfectly satisfied with his record, and philosophi-
cally looks ahead with the brightest of hope to future con-
quests.
Upon the road again he is the genuine tramp, and that is
all. He only differs from other classes of the same genus
homo in greater versatility, and possibly readier wits. He
never fails, however needy he may become, to keep posted
on the current events of the day; and therefore, when
commingling with other tramps, holds something of the
position of an oracle. The box-car, the hay-rick, the
hedge, the arches of the road or railway bridge, the hen-
roosts, are all familiar to him just as they are to all other
tramps.
Probably one of the greatest night rendezvous for tramp-
printers in this country is at the Battery, in New York city,
in the summer. These careless fellows will hang about the
printing-offices, hide about for printers in luck to borrow a
“ half-case” (a half-dollar) from them, and sun themselves
in City Hall Square upon the benches until night. Then
the police will drive them out, and, in company with the
"pan-jerkers ”—all that large class of loafers who subsist
by rendering some slight service about restaurants—they
begin“ moving on.” By eight o'clock, down every approach
to the lower part of the island, will be seen these squads of
tramps straggling along to the Battery; and by midnight

看
​置
​ILLA
FALL. le
Night Gathering of Tramps, Printers and “Pan Jerkers” on the Battery, New York City.

TRAMP-PRINTERS AND TRAMP ENCAMPMENTS.
57
hundreds will be asleep upon the benches, leaning against
lamp-posts, stretched upon the ground, and even lying upon
the wharf with their ragged legs hanging over.
The police
permit this, because they must go somewhere. There is
nobody to be molested at the Battery at night. Nothing
can be stolen, for there is nothing to steal.
And so
through the warm summer nights these outcasts have a
place that is secure from intrusion, and remain in undis-
turbed possession until daylight, when the awakening life
of the great city is the signal for the police to rouse them,
and roughly move them on again, when they straggle away
north, past Trinity, to repeat their previous day's strange
experiences.
Many statements are made as to the Freemasonry of
tramping. I have been told by old knights of the road that
these signs and pass-words were in use, but almost wholly
among those who have been born and bred tramps, and
whose fathers and mothers have followed begging and tramp-
ing as a profession in the old country. Among this class every
possible art and device is resorted to. Charts of the
country, showing the best routes for travel, and of cities,
designating the most benevolent neighborhoods, are common.
This same class have a regular system of operation. In the
cities they beg during the winter, and when summer comes,
one of a party will start out in advance and “work a route
as a peddler or tinker. In this way, as he stops at nearly
every house on a designated route, he will have learned the
character of the inmates, whether they are benevolent or
rude, and he seldoin takes his departure without leaving
some pre-arranged sign to indicate to him who follows
after, just where, and where not, to make application.
These scamps become such keen and correct judges of
people and surroundings that they scarcely ever commit an
error; and if one could read the hieroglyphics upon
door-
3*

58
TRAMP-PRINTERS AND TRAMP ENCAMPMENTS.
steps, gate, fence, or tree, which is usually laid to the chalk
or jacknife of the bad boy of the neighborhood, they could
ascertain just what opinion was liad of them by the tramps
who have passed that way. But deciphering these symbols
is simply impossible, for each party establishes its own
signs, which are changed as often as it may be necessary;
for, if this were not so, some still more characterless fellow
might follow the advance courier and take the benefit of
his labor.
But these things are only true of the professional tramp,
who has nothing to recommend him to public interest save
his shrewdness and persistency. He has no romance about
him, and follows this sort of life simply because he has been
bred to it. It is only the tramp who has been something
better, can be soinething better, or that, being what he is,
has humor and bravery about him, that I consider really
worthy of the name.
Throughout Pennsylvania, as well as many other Eastern
states, there are whole communities of outcasts who, for a
better name, are called tramps.
During the great strikes of '77 one of my operatives, in the
pursuance of his duty at Wilkesbarre, Pa., suddenly came
upon a bivouac of tramps near a coal-shaft, which had been
deserted by the miners who had struck and were participa-
ting in the general excitement at Wilkesbarre.
This grotesque company numbered thirty or forty per-
sons, and had evidently been gathered at this particular
point in anticipation of possible opportunities for raids in
every direction while the locality was deserted. They were
cooking their supper at the edge of the timber, among the
rocky bluffs and beneath overarching, protecting trees.
The moon, rising above the lonesome old breaker, fell across
the camp, giving its inmates a weird, witch-like appearance
as they moved about in the lights and shadows. They

Bivouac of Tramps near the Desert Diamond Mine,
60
TRAMP-PRINTERS AND TRAMP ENCAMPMENTS.
were
seemed to be a tired, dreary, wretched lot, and had the
marks of travel and weary wandering upon them. Most
of them had fallen upon the ground for rest, and in all
sorts of sluggish positions were dozing in a stupid, sodden
way that told of brutish instincts and experiences. In the
centre of the encampment a huge kettle was placed over a
bright fire, and from the longing looks of those around it,
it evidently contained some stirabout that would prove
palatable on being served. Some were dressing chickens
lately foraged from convenient hen-roosts; some
husking green corn for roasting in the coals; others
were munching potatoes that had been baked in the ashes;
others were making rude toilets with almost toothless
combs, and old rags for towels ; while some, the most for-
tunate of all from the tramp standpoint, were indulging in
copious draughts of liquor to drown their sorrows, raise
their spirits, and whet their appetites. There were old men,
abandoned women, the wretchedest of wretched hags, young
persons in the heyday of health and strength, and little
children, prematurely old and shrewish ; but all seemed as
contented and satisfied with their fortunes as though it was
all they deserved and better than they expected.
The next morning the encampment broke
up,
and Gypsy-
like, its members went different ways, possibly to again meet
at some pre-arranged retreat the same night, and possibly
to never again form another like vagabond assemblage.
In a strip of wood on the Darby road, near Philadelphia,
and in a most picturesque spot, is a regular settlement of
tramps, who live in the same place winter and summer.
Sometimes a portion of them are away upon the road, but
it always seems that others come from a mysterious some-
where to take their places; so that, though the members
are ever changing, the number is nearly the same throughout
all the year. During the day they lounge around fires


TRAMP-PRINTERS AND TRAMP EN CAMPMENTS.
61
made of dry limbs gathered from the forest, and built
between convenient crevices in the rocks. Sometimes they
are singing, sometimes cooking, washing, or mending, and
very often drinking. When they get out of provisions,
they either take to the roads and beg or steal a supply from
the farmers, or stroll into the meadows and gather mint
and other herbs, or flowers, which they take into the city
and sell for whatever they can get, the proceeds of which
they usually invest in nine parts whiskey and one part food,
and then, returning to camp, inaugurate a regular debauch,
when they make the woods ring and ring again with songs
and laughter. They have a cabin built of limbs of trees
and bark for the more aristocratic of their number, but the
majority sleep upon the ground, with any arrangement for
protection which their ambition may suggest. One would
naturally think that in time they would exhaust their re-
sources and become starved out. But this is not the case.
They fare well, and are apparently the happiest and jolliest
dogs under the sun. They have women among them, many
that yet bear the traces of beauty, and the men seem to
show them a rude yet certain kind of respect, though of
course these women are always ready for debauch and
revelry. At nights, quite like the Gypsies, they lie about
the fires, play cards, or sing and dance, and seem to enjoy
themselves to the utmost. They have a sort of a leader,
and also a woman who holds the relation of a semi-barbaric
queen. All that is requisite for admission to this Druidical
tribe is the certain evidences which a tramp or outcast
wears; the lower
the lower you are,
the more sure of a welcome you
are. While
you remain, you may have as good as they have,
providing you show yourself willing to assist to the extent
of your ability. You may possibly pay your way with
well-sung songs or well-told tales ; but otherwise, you must
do enough pilfering or begging to contribute your share to

EARLIE MAAM
Tramps Resort on the Schuylkill River, in Philadelphia.

62
TRAMP-PRINTERS AND TRAMP ENCAMPMENTS.
the common fund, or you must take to the road again of
your own accord to avoid a broken head and summary
ejection.
It is also a fact, which is probably unknown to a hundred
people within that city, that within the limits of Philadel-
phia, on the banks of the Schuylkill river, near Grey's
Ferry, and immediately back of and below the almshouse,
is a long reach of swampy land known as “ The Reeds,"
which, during the summer, is completely filled with tramps.
The spot has hundreds of clump willows which afford shade
and protection for these outcasts, who flock here from the
city, as also from the country, in large numbers. The
almshouse is conveniently near, and these lazy crowds, from
some unexplainable reason, are kept pretty well supplied
from that institution. This rendezvous is a regular hotel
for both male and female tramps—if a spot where men and
women of this class may be entirely free from police moles-
tations, and are able to loll about day and night to their
hearts' content, may be called a hotel. This spot, however,
is a perfect heaven for tramps. The river is at hand for a
bath after night; the almshouse is close by, and from it
abundant supplies can be begged; they are within the city,
where all sorts of tramp tricks may be played with an
immediate opportunity to escape consequences. Every ad-
vantage and facility is here offered, and they are all taken
advantage of. If one could happen in upon this spot at
mid-day and could remain unobserved, he could get a view
of these outcasts at their best as tramps. Sequestered in
the dark, cool recesses, beneath these heavy clump willows,
would be gathered between fifty and a hundred tramps of
all ages, conditions, and sex, and all lying about promis-
cuously, alone or in little knots, near smoldering fires.
Here may be an old man, all alone and glad of it; there, a
a young fellow with his head upon his bundle, lazily smok-

64
TRAMP-PRINTERS AND TRAMP ENCAMPMENTS.
ing and contemplating the clouds through the trembling
leaves of the trees above. At another spot are gathered
three or four men and women, joking and chatting, and
possibly making love in their rude fashion. Another party
may be playing cards; another, earnestly discussing some
project for future execution; while others are relating with
evident relish some adventure upon the road or within the
city, where a simpleton had been outwitted, or an officer
evaded and outgeneraled.
But the stick and bundle are
everywhere. The lazy, contented vagabond leer and look
are everywhere. It matters little how the elections
go,
whether the banks break, or whether revolutions occur.
They are all contented, at least for the time being, and are
well satisfied with life from what it has brought for the day.
They are a study, for one cannot help wondering what
misery has been experienced before this stolid and philo-
sophic acceptance of a vagabond condition was reached.
The mind of the ordinary looker-on naturally inquires if it
is possible for these.outcasts to really enjoy their degrading
experiences; and it will puzzle you to decide whether in
all the world there is any place for them to go to if they
wonld, or if among them all there are not some who would
be gladly received among the old friends, were this kind of
life abandoned.
Many pathetic and tragic incidents are daily occurring to
add interest to this subject. One has not to go
far beyond
the daily newspapers to find this true.
A tramp once hung himself at Columbus, Ohio, by twist-
ing a spool of cotton into a rope and suspending himself
from a nail in the wall.
Another writes to the Philadelphia Times that he may
manage to beg his way perhaps two weeks more, but that
he has become desperate and will make his mark upon some-
thing before he “caves."

TRAMP-PRINTERS AND TRAMP ENCAMPMENTS.
65
66
Peter B. Lee, the noted tramp-printer, met his death by
attempting to board a train and steal a ride. He had been
a man of a good deal of independence of character, and
had never before made an effort of this kind. Nearly his
last words were: Served me right for goin' back on prin-
ciple!”
During the passage of the celebrated fast train sent from
New York to San Francisco, by Jarrett & Palmer, in '77,
a tramp, desiring to reach San Francisco, boarded the train
at Cheyenne, climbed to the top of the coach, and enjoyed
hugely his elegant and rapid manner of making the jour-
ney until Sherman was reached. At that point the engi-
neer got a glimpse of him and he at once began throwing a
heavy shower of cinders and increasing the speed of the
train to the utmost power of the engine. The rapidity of
the train and the rolling and lurching of the coach caused
the tramp to wind his arms and legs around a stove-pipe
and hang on for dear life. His hat flew off quickly, and
left his head and face almost wholly unprotected.
His
coat-tails flapped so hard that he saw he must lose them,
but he dared not loosen his grip' upon the pipe to tuck them
under him, and they were shortly torn off like leaves
whipped from a limb by a terrific storm. The lighter cin-
ders passed over him, but the heavier ones pelted him like
the fiercest hail, burned into his clothes, cut his arms, legs,
and face, and beat upon the poor fellow's head remorse-
lessly. So great was his actual physical suffering, and so
terrible his fear lest he be hurled from the train and killed,
that when the train reached Green River, and he was let
down more dead than alive, his hair had turned gray, and
he looked more like an old man of sixty than a lad of
nineteen as he was.
Instances illastrating the risks run, the dangers encoun-
tered, the sacrifices made, the suffering, privation, and

66
TRAMP-PRINTERS AND TRAMP ENCAMPMENTS.
terror that frequently come with the tramp's experience, as
well as an occasional exhibition of the better human traits
which are developed, could be repeated indefinitely.
In leaving this subject, I can only express a most earnest
conviction, founded on personal observation and study of
this peculiar class of people, that no severe measures will
ever eradicate the evils to society which arise from tramps
and tramping. Like the poor, we shall always have them
with us.
If you throw a man in prison as a vagabond, you
leave the prison taint upon him, and forever after he is
embittered and at war with his fellows. It may be de-
sirable-indeed, it may be found necessary, to provide some
measures for weeding out the more dangerous of tramps.
But as a class they are not criminals, and we have no right
to take such measures against them as will make them such.
They have always existed; will always exist. Their
rapid increase, which is so alarming to certain kid-gloved
social scientists, is the direct result of unprecedented hard
times and conditions which a great and protracted war has
left as a legacy. When these pass away, and brighter days
return to our industries, people will see tramps disappear
from the highways and byways—not altogether, for this
will never be, but the thousands among them who have
trades and professions will gradually but surely return to
them.
But during this period, when the hard hand of neces-
sity bears down so heavily alike upon business man and
workingman, and when we, who may be situated in com-
fort, are so apt to forget the keen needs of thousands of our
fellows who have fought the fight against persistent and
relentless misfortune, and fallen, there should be a more
general leniency towards a class who are made up of people
often as good as we; and some charity should be exercised,
rather than a relentless war inaugurated, the result of

THE PARISIAN COMMUNE.
67
which will only be to reclaim no one of them, and rapidly
increase crime and criminals.

CHAPTER VI.
THE PARISIAN COMMUNE.
The majority of newspaper readers are acquainted with
communism as exemplified in the tragic story of the sixty-
seven days of its sanguinary reign in Paris, France, in
1871. A portion of this era of horrors seems to demand
brief description here. The famous Red Days commenced
the 18th of March, and closed on the 24th of May. Mean-
time, Paris was a miniature Pandemonium, and all of
France a segment of Purgatory.
Frenchmen suffered
mental and physical torture.
The humiliation and despair which followed the success
of the German arms left the people of Paris, and notably
the worthless National Guard, in a condition of complete
demoralization. The long restraint caused by a protracted
state of siege was broken over, and a period of drunken-
ness and debauch followed. In this condition of things
the city fell an easy prey to a horde of bad
the worst
of its vile elements, and human beings so devoid of all
conscience, pity, or consideration, that it is hard to look
upon them as possessing the least of human attributes. But
this is the class, the world over, who are at the bottom of
all troubles of a communistic nature. They were the real
cause of the great strikes of '77, and their prompt and
utter extermination, in this and all other countries, is the
only method of removing a constant menace and peril to
governinent and society.
men,

68
THE PARISIAN COMMUNE.
On the 18th of March, in pursuance of a diabolical
scheme for the inauguration of a reign of terror, the police
superintendent's offices, and the depot, or prison, were
seized, and one of the most infamous men in the history of
the world secured the reins of government, and became
dictator of Paris.
This human fiend, Raoul Rigault, with his co-conspira-
tors, had won the treacherous National Guard, had bribed
officials with promises, and had conquered all other neces-
sary forces by threats. An attempt to capture the insur-
gents proved futile, and the government forces were com-
pelled to retire to Versailles, leaving Paris at the mercy
of
Rigault, the National Guard, the Commune, and the mob.
Rigault is spoken of as follows:
He was then aged twenty-five years, was connected very
prominently in journalistic circles, always dressed with the
most scrupulous taste, was of genteel appearance, fine
stature, able, energetic, and single. “ He was consumed by
a most deadly hatred of society and a most intense thirst
for blood. His associates bowed acquiescence before his
most desperate will. No one opposed it, for his gesture
was the signal of death. He held in his hand the life of
every man in Paris, and wrought his terrible vengeance on
every soul for whom he fancied he had a dislike. He
organized murder, and instigated robbery and incendia-
rism.”
The following instances of his fiendish cruelty are given :
He dragged M. Chandrey, a distinguished lawyer, and
connected with one of the most influential Republican jour-
nals of France, to a cell, to cause his murder simply to
satisfy his hunger for murder. Chandrey's beautiful wife
came to Rigault with her little child, and pleaded for her
husband's life in anguish.
Taking the little child's hand and patting it on the head,
THE PARISIAN COMMUNE.
69
Rigault replied : “My child, you shall very soon see us
shoot your father ! ”
That very night Chandrey was dragged into the prison-
yard and fell, shouting “ Vive la République ! ”_shot
through the heart.
He had previously incarcerated Chief-Justice Bonjean.
Turning from this butchery of Chandrey, he proceeded to
that fallen official's cell, and taunted him with his coming
doom in seeming demoniac glee. On the very next day,
he ordered the Chief-Justice brought to the prison-yard of
La Rouge and executed. No reason for these inhuman
murders can be found, nor were ever given. The man's
mere love of fiendish cruelty seemed to prompt every act,
and was transmitted to his reckless followers.
When the police headquarters were seized by Rigault,
one M. Core was the director of the prison.
“You are removed !” said Rigault.
“Not without an order from the Minister of the Inte-
rior !” answered Core.
“We shall simplify these matters !” returned Rigault,
scratching a line on a piece of paper.
In a few moments M. Core was put in charge of a com-
munist-one Garreau, a journeyman locksmith, acquainted
with the prison from personal experience as an inmate upon
various charges—and soon found himself inside one of his
own cells. The federals were removed, but the clerks and
keepers retained. From his casemate Core could exercise
a certain influence.
In April, came Eugene Fanet, a lame barber, to act as
commandant. He was a timid and harmless man, and left
his subordinates almost to themselves. In his reign the
prison was a sort of harem for the pashas of the Prefecture,
and they nightly sent for as many of the women of the
town there caged, as they required. During the sixty-six


70
THE PARISIAN COMMUNE.
days of the sway of the Commune, 3,632 male prisoners
were sent to the depot for confinement.
No 3,440, one Jean Veyssett, aged fifty-nine, a farmer,
charged as a spy, and ordered to be kept for disposition by
Ferre, brought in May 21st, was a very important prisoner,
for he was truly an agent of the government at Versailles,
and had in charge a plan for the defeat of the Commune.
On the 11th of May, a number of Flourens Avengers had
searched Veyssett's room in the city, for he was suspected,
and not finding the man, arrested his wife, who bribed
Courvet with 3,000 francs to remove her to St. Lazare,
where, lost and hidden among the wives of the incarcerated
sergents-de-ville, she could feel more safe than in Ferre's
neighborhood.
After failing to succeed in a peaceful surrender, Thiers
authorized Veyssett to buy up a guard to admit the govern-
ment troops within the fortifications. He therefore bribed
an artilleryman at Montmartre, paying ten thousand francs
when he and his men had spiked two guins
in his
presence.
The next day, faithful to their contract, the artillery killed
sixty federals at Levallois-Perret, an “ accident” mentioned
in the official journal as showing that “the aim of the pieces
was not yet quite exact.” Veyssett then arranged to buy up
General Dombrouski, who was to receive one million five
hundred thousand francs, and safe conduct from France, for
the surrender to the Versailles troops of the fortifications
from the Point-du-Jour to a certain gate. The money was
to be paid in bills on the Bank of France, or by draft on the
Rothschilds at Frankfort. The 20th of May was the day
fixed
upon.
The guns were to be silenced and a retreat
ordered, so that the Versailles soldiery could enter, the
drawbridge to be left down, ostensibly for the passage of the
General“ to make an inspection,” and Veyssett bore the ear-
nest of twenty thousand francs on his person when arrested.

THE PARISIAN COMMUNE.
71
This spy had several different lodgings, and for a long
time successfully evaded Rigault's agents; but a woman
named Muller, and one of his own spies, betrayed him for a
paltry amount. Just as Veyssett was taken to the prison
the gates were opened to the government troops. Dam-
brouski himself, thinking that he was betrayed, tried, in
desperation, to retreat, but was shot in the stomach
by a woman, near barricade Boulevard Omano, May 22d.
(Another account has it that he was killed by Sergeant
Casanova, of the 45th of the line, who, with an infantry
force, had established himself in a house commanding the
barricade, at the corner of the boulevard and Rue Myrrha.)
Jean Viellot, aged twenty-eight, captured with arms in
his hands, was the first victim taken from the prison. He
had five francs in his possession. When given up to the
platoon he demanded the return of his money. “You'll
get your five francs in five minutes,” replied the Flourens
Avenger; come along!” He was immediately dragged
out and shot. On the register the record was written in
accordance with the fact.
It was the 24th of May that the cannonading recom-
menced. At that moment of triumph Thiers' faithful
agent, the spy Veyssett, had sealed his devotion with his
death,
At eight o'clock the same morning Théophile Ferre, an-
other monster of the Commune, at the head of a body of
demons called the “ Flourens Avengers," appeared at the
police headquarters, and in one terse order gave assurance
of other bloody acts which were to follow.
“All the sergents de ville, all the gendarmes, and all *
the priests must be shot off-hand !”
“I count upon you,” he continued, carelessly.
Two of the Federals protested. They were willing to
fight, but said they were not butcher's. He called them

66

72
THE PARISIAN COMMUNE.
cowards, and their comrades jeered them out of their scru-
ples. At the clerk's office Ferre ran his fingers down the
pages of the register until he came to Veyssett's name.
“ Bring out that man,” he said, and his order was obeyed
almost instantly. When Veyssett saw Ferre and the firing-
party he knew that his hour had come; but, affecting to
ignore it, he said: “I had twenty thousand francs with me
when I was arrested; where are they?” “It is none of
your business," answered Ferre. “Besides, we shall settle
all our affairs with you at once.” The guard surrounded
Veyssett. The clerk asked, half in remonstrance, “ You
are not going to shoot that man ?” “Yes, and you too, if
you say too much !” returned Ferre. They marched away,
and halted near the statue of Henry the Fourth. “You
are to be shot—have you anything to say ?” exclaimed
Ferre. Veyssett shrugged his shoulders, and as they pushed
him back against the railing, answered, “I forgive you for
killing me!” “ Fire !” said Ferre, and in a moment a
volley rang out. Four men lifted up the corpse-if, in-
deed, it was yet a corpse, which is doubtful—and threw it
into the Seine. Said Ferre to the spectators, “ You see, we
don't do things in holes and corners !”
When Ferre went back to the prison a couple of hours
later, he seated himself in the Director's office, and called
for the register. Ferre was new in the place. Pierre Bra-
quond, the Deputy, determined to save the prisoners' lives
at all hazards. He was all old soldier. He knew that a
short time would see the city in the hands of the regulars-
a few hours at most—for the Federals were giving way and
the government forces pressing forward. The noise of the
street-fighting was gradually becoming louder and loud-
On a sheet of paper, ready prepared, Ferre wrote
slowly a name: “ Joseph Rnault, probably Bonapartist
agent.” As he did so, Braquond slipped away to Ruault's
er.
THE PARISIAN COMMUNE.
73
cell, dragged the man out, and whispered to him: “In
here! No matter who calls, don't, for your life, answer to
your name !” He thrust him into one of the common
wards, where some three hundred prisoners were crowded
together. Then Braquond ran back to Ferre's presence.
“ Call out Ruault! Hurry ! ” cried Ferre. In an instant
his assistants were shouting, “Ruault! Ruault ! ” through
the corridors. Ruault did not answer. No one knew him.
Many precious minutes were gained. “We can't find him!”
said Braquond. “You are all traitors ! ” yelled Ferre, fu-
riously striking the table. “ Bring out Ruault this mo-
ment, or I'll shoot you!” “That won't help matters," re-
sponded the Deputy. “ You don't understand! You are
asking for a man who is not in the prison at all !” “Not
here? Then where is he?" roared Ferre. “How do I
know?” imperturbably replied Braquond. “But I'll tell
you in a moment,” and Braquond took the register and
read : “2,609, Ruault, Gilbert; peddling Bonapartist songs,
April 19th; removed to La Santé (another prison) by order
of Edmond Levrault, May 18th.” The Ruault thus saved
was not the Joseph Ruault sought by Ferre. The real
Joseph Ruault was meantime in Mazas, and one of the hosta-
ges
butchered in the Rue Haxo. Ferre did not notice the
difference in names, offenses, and numbers, but, after curs-
ing Levrault, took the book, examined it once more, and
then ordered up “Michel.” " Which Michel ?" asked Bra-
quond. “There are perhaps half a dozen Michels ' in the
prison. Tell me which one you want, and you shall have him
in an instant!” Taking up the register again, Ferre read:
Michel, Lollie Pierre, policeman; Michel, Jules Alfred, labor-
er; Michel, Xavier, clerk; Michel, Henri Louis, ex-sergent de
ville.” Then said: “ That will do! Call Henri Michel !”
At once Braquond raised the cry for “ Henri Michel,” se-
cure in the knowledge that it would not be answered, for this

4

74
THE PARISIAN COMMUNE.
particular Henri Michel, brought in May 18th, had two days
later gone mad with excitement and fright, and in a straight-
jacket was then dashing himself frantically against the
padded walls of a cell in the infirmary.
Meanwhile the prisoners in the cominon wards could see
eight men, led by a ninth in a highly decorated coat,
drenching the floors and window-seats with some liquid,
applied with large brushes; then they saw them strike
matches and apply them to the wood-work, which instantly
burst into flames. Still the sounds of the conflict outside
came nearer and nearer. But the fire spread, and curled
and crackled, and devoured the interior of the depot. The
prisoners at once raised the alarming cry of “fire,” and made
desperate attempts to escape, or attract the attention of the
keepers. This was while the guards were shouting uselessly
for “ Michel." Ferre was raving in impotent wrath at their
delay. Some of the boldest were already unlocking the
doors, and whispering to the inmates to “keep up heart! It
could not last many minutes !” Then suddenly were heard
fearful shrieks from the women's wards, where several hun-
dred scared females were kept. They had seen flames burst
out in the Prefecture, and gone wild with panic.
Make
them shut up!” yelled Ferre. But the cries were not in the
least diminished. Braquond could stand it no longer, and
leaping upon a chair, he shouted to his keepers: “Unlock
every cell door! Let out all the prisoners from the wards !”
This order was instantly obeyed. The wild rush of several
hundred men and women along the corridors followed, and
Ferre, starting up, ran into the street with his Avengers.
He may have feared that the released prisoners would mas-
sacre him and them; or he inay have remembered that the
place was pretty sure to be burned down, and that the vaults
of the Prefecture were filled with gunpowder. Any way,
he fled, and after an hour and a half of anxiety, Pierre
THE PARISIAN COMMUNE.
75
Braquond remained master of the field, having saved every
hostage in his keeping, except the unfortunate Veyssett.
Two hundred men and women prisoners set themselves
to work to remove the powder. The first to move in this
was Lebois, a baker. He was followed by an Auvergnat
woman, Saint-Chély by name, a charcoal peddler, a female
Hercules, of great beauty, singular coolness, and infinite
jollity. Hair flying loose, sleeves rolled up, she shouldered
the heavy barrels, carried them to the Dessaix fountain, and
dumped them into the basin, recognizing her companions
with jests and assurances, as the fire crept down the build-
ing towards the powder, that“ there was plenty of time for
one more load.” This was kept up until all the powder
and 1,200,000, cartridges had been put out of harm's way.
Ferre, by threatening the firemen with death, had compelled
them to remove with all their engines, and until midnight
the people had to fight the flames with buckets and pitchers
of water, wet blankets, and the like; but they succeeded in
saving their houses, and in preserving most of the papers
of the Prefecture.
The inmates of the depot, surrounded by blazing build-
ings on either side, strove to escape. Some ventured down
to the Quai de l'Horloge, others to a different quay, both of
which were swept by bullets from the exchange of shots
between the Federals and regulars. A few escaped; many
were wounded; five or six fell dead. The remainder has-
tened back to the prison, where Braquond received them,
organized them into squads, fastened the doors, and fought
the fire with desperation. But, alas ! it established itself
on every roof. Nearly a hundred prisoners became panic-
stricken, insisted upon leaving, and did leave in charge of a
turnkey named Laurent. Reaching the wharf, he signaled
to the regulars with a handkerchief, and they ceased firing
long enough for the fugitives to cross the quay and find


76
THE PARISIAN COMMUNE.
safety. The remainder of the prisoners escaped death by
burning, but came near being drowned, the great tank of
the prison bursting and drenching the whole building
beneath, so that the floors were covered with water ankle
deep. At about five o'clock in the morning a detachment
of the 79th Regiment of the Line reached the prison, and
there was no longer any fear of fire or massacre. Two
months before, to a day, Pierre Braquond, not caring to
take orders from Garreau, had told M. Bonjean, the Minis-
ter of Justice murdered by Rigault, that he intended to
make his way to Versailles—he had had enough of the
Commune. “ As a magistrate,” returned M. Bonjean, “I
order you to remain ; as a prisoner, I beg you to remain !
If
you
and your followers leave, you will be replaced by a
parcel of vagabonds, and we may see another Septembrist
massacre. I adjure you to stay and protect the victims of
the Commune.” He remained. Braquond is still at the
depot, a stout, spectacled, smiling man of sixty. He got a
promotion, but no medal or cross, though before entering
the prison he had been promised a decoration, twice for
saving drowning comrades, and for gallantry in the field;
and when jail-guard, he saved his chief from assassination
by throwing himself before the assassin's knife, which
entered his breast deeply. The little barber, Fanet, still
shaves, and tells how one of Rigault's clerks, being unable
to settle a five-franc bill for hair-dressing, gave him a roll
of passes to and from the prison, which helped many a
prisoner to escape. As for Mme. Saint-Chély, she has
prospered, and knits behind the counter of a well-stocked
shop, broad-shouldered and jolly as of yore, and having
only one unpleasant reminiscence of the Commune—that,
while climbing or backing out of the window of the
prison, where there were quantities of powder stored,
she caught her petticoat on an inopportune nail and made

THE PARISIAN COMMUNE
77
a more liberal display of sturdy ankles than she had in-
tended.
Probably the most atrocious act of the Commune was the
butchery, under the orders of Dictator Rigault, of the brave
and noble Archbishop of Paris. He and other prominent
personages were seized, thrown into prison, and held as
hostages for the more lenient treatment of the Commune
leaders, should the government forces eventually succeed
in retaking the city. When they came on and on, and no
hope was left, as a last act of diabolism be was shot with
his companions in horror, and their bodies thrown into a
ditch.
With a grim sort of humor, the Commune abolished
public executions, while foully murdering scores of victims
in prison, and publicly burned the guillotine amid the wild-
est rejoicings of the half-crazed populace. It destroyed
public buildings and demolished monuments. It levied
upon the rich, and encouraged rapine upon both rich and
poor. Incendiarism, robbery and murder were its constant
practices. It brushed out of existence nearly a hundred
great newspapers, and brought into existence nearly a hun-
dred sheets which for vileness were never equaled. Unbri-
dled license was the crowning feature. All that is held by
mankind as execrable and infamous was enacted by it.
Its members stole all the silver and gold found in the
churches, and all the valuables from the government build-
ings were appropriated. What could not be carried away
was demolished, the Archbishop's palace was sacked, and
Thiers' splendid residence was torn to the ground. During
the expiring hours of the Commune it was ordered that the
magnificent palace of the Louvre should be destroyed and
that the great church of Notre Dame should be demolished.
When the last hope was gone, these buman devils, who
fought the government troops with a desperation and valor


78
THE PARISIAN COMMUNE.
almost unparalleled in history, made a requisition for all
the petroleum in the city and made a fierce attempt to
completely destroy Paris, as if their own ruin would contain
a touch of awful grandeur if it could also comprise the
entire destruction of one of the first cities of the world.
It is estimated that the Paris Commune was responsible
for the destruction of upwards of two hundred millions of
dollars' worth of property.
But its terrors can never be computed, and, so long as
time shall last, such another season of horror can scarcely
be known. The death of Rigault, the dictator and friend
of the Commune, was as startlingly tragic as any of his brutal
butcheries had been. He was shot down in the streets,
where he laid for days, spurned, spat upon, and defiled by
the very populace that so short a time before had bowed to
his supreme sway.
So ended the Commune of Paris, of which the preceding
is but the faintest sketch. Great volumes could be filled
with tales of its grim humor, its deep terror, and its touch-
ing pathos. Its lesson is not one for Paris, or even France
alone. It is one for the entire civilized world. In looking
back over the great strikes of ’77, the recklessness and des-
peration of Rigault and Ferre are everywhere visible. The
same inveterate hatred of society was shown in the spirit
and actions of American Communists. Fire, pillage, mur-
der were their object and aim. Their enlistment of the
workingmen of the country has always been for the pur-
pose of securing tools. The continued exciting of their
worst passions against law, order, and society has been
merely for the purpose of holding them in hand, bleeding
them for their own support, and, in a time of great public
excitement, using them for their own desperate purposes.
Citizens of the United States must not forget this constant
and increasing danger, and must work heartily and unani-
WORK OF THE INTERNATIONALE.
79
mously towards its suppression. That the horrors of the
Paris Commune were not repeated here is only because
the pestilential spirit was not so deeply rooted as there.
Give it time and let it alone, and it will lift its red hand
with all the savage ferocity with which it struck Paris, that
most beautiful city, when her helplessness compelled the
pity of the whole world.

CHAPTER VII.
WORK OF THE INTERNATIONALE.
BECAUSE of the immediate connection of the Interna-
tionale, as the great international bodies of the communists
are called, with our great strikes of ’77, I feel that some
notice of the history and general character of that body is
necessary to a proper consideration of labor troubles in this
country. On every railroad that was held by lawless men,
in every city where violence reigned, and through every
excited assemblage where law had been trampled under
foot, this accursed thing came to the surface. If its mem-
bers did not actually inaugurate the strikes, the strikes
were the direct result of the communistic spirit spread
through the ranks of railroad employees by communistic
leaders and their teachings. When they were fairly begun,
the communists commenced to grow bold and defiant, and
showed their hands; and when the strikes were well under
way, every act of lawlessness that was done was committed
by them. They held an undeniable and easily defined
relation to every instance of outrage, and they are unquali-
fiedly responsible for the millions of dollars in property

80
WORK OF THE INTERNATIONALE.
destroyed, and the hundreds of lives sacrificed. They are
a class of human hyenas worthy of all notice and atten-
tion.
In this country the financial crisis of 1873 had a disas-
trous effect upon the trades-unions. Many of them practi-
cally disbanded, and others were so weakened that they
protected no one. In the city of New York alone, the
aggregate memberships had been not far from forty-five
thousand. In a few brief months there was a reduction
apparent of fully ten thousand. In 1871, the shoemakers'
guild — called the Crispins — numbered three hundred
branches and upwards of seventy thousand members. At the
present time a general organization can hardly be said to ex-
ist, although several feeble offshoots of the parent stem can
be discovered lingering along languishingly. Indeed, it has
been several years since communism first blossomed out and
began to flourish in the United States. The Workingmen's
Union of New York had a rush-light existence. In 1876, an
Amalgamated Association of Iron-workers was formed, em-
bracing societies previously existing in different branches
of the iron trade. The National Labor Union Association
met in Baltimore, in 1866, and, although aspiring to repre-
sent all the workingmen of the country, it gradually took
the form of a political party, and in several States of the
Union a labor reform ticket was regularly presented to the
voters for their support. There is also a Labor League of
the United States, with headquarters at Washington, but it
is an affair of limited power and has a short lease of life.
Though the Communistic doctrines of the Internation-
alists have made considerable progress in England, they
have not, until recently, or to any noteworthy extent, crept
into the labor organizations of this country.
It is generally understood that the International Society,
which, during a brief experience, has been causing much
WORK OF THE INTERNATIONALE.
81
anxiety to European governments, and whose principles are
practically illustrated by the darker deeds of the Parisian
Commune, had its origin in London, England, under the
fostering care of one George Odger, à defeated aspirant for
parliamentary honors. It is well-known that, during the
progress of the Polish insurrection in 1863, certain resi-
dents of England and France exhibited intense sympathy
for the cause of that unhappy country. A deputation of
workingmen waited upon Lord Palmerston, asking him to
recommend active interference in behalf of the Poles. A
public meeting was also held in London, in April of the
same year, avowedly to promote Poland's cause. In Paris
the mercurial inhabitants went so far as to select and send
over a deputation to represent them on the occasion, and
from this convention sprang the germ of an international
association for the defense of what were called the rights
of laboring men in every country, without regard to race,
distinction, color, or place of nativity. In September of
the succeeding year a second meeting of delegates con-
vened, which drew to it attendants from nearly every Euro-
pean country. Dr. Beesely was present and received the
distinction of being made president. Dr. Karl Marx pre-
pared and read to the convention a manifesto, which was
adopted with hardly a dissenting voice. The society was
rough-framed and established, and Odger became the first
permanent presiding officer. The address was translated
into various languages and circulated everywhere. The
office of president, it was subsequently found, was incom-
patible with the principle upon which the society proposed
acting, and Odger having been voluntarily reduced to the
ranks, a different chairman was thereafter appointed to pre-
side at each weekly meeting. Early in the history of the
Internationale the type-setters of Leipsic demanded higher
wages, were refused by their employers, and struck. They

4*

82
WORK OF THE INTERNATIONALE.
subsequently appealed to the society for help, and it was
granted. This caused the members of the Commune to
be watched very carefully by the government authorities.
Even their secret agents did not escape espionage.
Geneva, in Switzerland, had the questionable honor of
being the place in which the first Communistic Congress
gathered. Mazzini, the famous Italian agitator, put forth
at this meeting a scheme for organization, proposing, among
other things, a thoroughly centralized, strongly conspirital
foundation for the society, dealing more largely with polit-
ical than general ideas. Labor and capital, he believed,
should stand in the background. The Russian, Bakinin,
and Karl Marx offered an extremely radical and business-
like plan, which the congress, after discussion, adopted.
Among its dogmas were these: Wages for labor must be
numbered with the things that were and are not. Salaries
must go, as serfdom had gone, and as slave-labor would go.
They must all be replaced by associated labor; this was to
be developed and fostered by national aid. It held that no
man had a right to call anything his own which he had not
purchased by the labor of his hands.
Marx's platform
declared that the working classes were enslaved; they must
be emancipated. They must bring this about by conquering
themselves. It was claimed that the Internationalists were
not struggling to create class privileges or monopolies, but
for equal rights and duties, and the demolition of rule by
any certain class. It was declared that the subjection of
the laboring man rests at the bottom of servitude in every
form, with all sorts of social misery as well as political
dependence; and the disenthrallment of the working classes
was the great end to which every political movement should
be directed. Pauperism could be brushed from the land by
proceeds of labor according to the work performed,
and not according to the capital invested. Individual own-
using the

WORK OF THE INTERNATIONALE.
83
war.
ership should be succeeded by common ownership. No
rights existed, or could exist or be tolerated, without duties;
no duties without rights. Every laborer was entitled to
share in the benefits and comforts that his toil produced.
The fourth and last congress of the Internationalists, as far
as is now known, was held at Basle, in 1869; but by that
time Karl Marx had withdrawn from the association. Their
last manifesto was a public defense of the crimes of the Paris
Commune, an inkling of which has been given in preceding
pages.
Following the formation of this society came the preva-
lence of a dangerous spirit among the masses, manifesting
itself all over Europe, and continuing to produce strikes and
agitations until the commencement of the Franco-German
This poison was absorbed into the political systems
of Spain and Russia, and in both countries brought forth
its characteristic and natural results. Governments were
alarmed. Negotiations were entered into for the curbing
of the designs of leading conspirators. An antidote, or a
preventive, for the spread of the infection, must be discov-
ered. England was more than once confidentially appealed
to by Spain, and asked to interfere with the strong hand to
prevent the concoction of plots on its soil against that gov-
ernment and inimical to the welfare of society in general.
Ukases were promulgated at St. Petersburg, denouncing the
sect in set terms, and providing for the punishment of its
leaders and members. In France the Internationale found
a warm welcome. It was like native soil, and the perni-
cious seeds scattered by the earlier adherents sprouted and
gave forth an abundant harvest. Despite the statute of
1791 against the formation of societies composed of persons
of the same trades and professions, the order grew rapidly.
Laboring men could legally combine for a strike, if they
thought best, but they had to abstain from politics. Mur-


84
WORK OF THE INTERNATIONALE.
murs began to be heard soon after the address from the
society. Where peace had reigned before, disturbance
raised its hydra head. The police had orders to prevent the
meeting of disaffected persons. The bronze-workers of
Paris, however, to the number of five thousand, struck in
1867, and were kept out and supported with money sent
from England until employers were forced to comply with
their demands. The cotton-spinners of Rouen had a general
strike in 1868. During its continuance, at St. Etienne,
troops had to be called out, who fired upon the mob, and
killed fifty persons. The record of that year closed with a
monster outbreak of workingmen at Vienna, in which fifty
thousand communists took part. Nobody, even in that
great affair, was especially benefited by the movement.
Some of the most violent communists have appeared in
Germany, and the Internationale is still a mighty lever in
that empire. Mutual aid associations are favored by the
government, while combinations for the purpose of raising
wages are repressed. The trades-union movement started
in Germany in 1866, but agricultural laborers were not
allowed to combine. Artisans and hand-workers in wood,
iron, brass, etc., could arrange terms with their employers
to suit themselves, if they refrained from threats, intimida-
tion, and violence. It was in 1869, however, that Dr. Max
Hirsch founded a scheme to unite workmen of all classes in
Germany under a central directorship, with a general
council to exercise the chief executive power, the purely
legislative function being entrusted to an assembly of
chosen delegates. One officer was called the General At-
torney, and, besides having the chief management of busi-
ness, he was to devote himself to the task of disseminating
the principles of the society and gaining converts. The or-
ganization claimed about thirty thousand members, two
hundred and sixty-seven branches, and included shoe-

WORK OF THE INTERNATIONALE.
85
makers, smiths, tailor's, harness-makers, carpenters, and
masons.

The growth of trades-unions in the empire is greatly
held in check by the action of the police, who break up
and disperse large meetings every year, on the charge that
they are seditious and dabble in politics. The strike in
Silesia, in 1869, was supported by contributions from the
confederation; and still another, at Erith, in 1875, which at
one time threatened to become general, was terminated only
by the interposition of the military.
The recent upheaval in this country has again set the
same class of agitators at work in Europe, and it will proba-
bly be but a short time before their movements will be re-
vealed and their objects understood. Intense interest pre-
vailed in Russia and Germany regarding the railroad strike
in America, and all their leading journals have fulminated
articles and editorials upon the subject. The old socialis-
tic leaders are loud in their eulogies upon the class of peo-
ple they are good enough to call “the martyred Mollie
Maguires." To exhibit their sympathy with that body and
its companion association—the latter composed, in the Uni-
ted States, of the scum of creation, who stood at the front in
the late troubles--they opened subscriptions in their favor.
It is flattering to their intelligence and sense of the fitness
of things, however, that the scatter-brained, restless few in
their midst have not thus far succeeded in raising any con-
siderable sum for the unsuccessful Commune of America.
Nor is it probable, now that their schemes are known to the
civilized world, that much more will be contributed. They
deserve nothing. It has been well said that communism is
another term for scoundrelism. Viewing it in this light, the
people of Europe are certainly correct in refusing its New
World representatives money support. Communistic law
boldly assumes that the vagabond is as good as the honest

86
WORK OF THE INTERNATIONALE.
laborer, and that the laziest loafer of the slums has the same
claim upon the more fortunate of mankind for bread and
drink, clothing, comfort, and protection, that the industri-
ous, economical citizen has. There cannot exist a more
cowardly doctrine than that all men have equal rights in
property. Rights are obtained by rates of behavior. They
are not inherent in man, but come through labor and
thought. The representatives of the Commune, if judged by
this standard, cannot be made shabbier than they really are.
They are, in their days and nights of power, confessed
thieves. They repudiate all relations with decent society-
and decent society repudiates them-sneak in at your
kitchen and filch from your larder when your back is
turned, and steal from your hen-coop, or smoke-house, under
cover of night, when honest men and women sleep. They
tell us they must have bread, yet earn nothing. They are
of the sort that have never done anything, and never will do
anything from choice. Constituting the real and effective
force in all riots, they swarm to the theatre of fresh troub-
les and hang about the purlieus of threatened cities, like
unclean beasts and birds which sniff the scent of carrion in
the air. They fatten on the misfortunes of their betters.
They assume to lead good men, and do lead them
to de-
struction. They stood at the back of the Locomotive Broth-
erhood. Out upon them! They deserve only severe pun-
ishment. Citizens of enlightened European countries do
well in refusing to sustain them with money.
There is every reason for belief that, at the back of
actors in the scenes I have to describe—when the curtain
may be raised and the whole truth come forth—will be
found the inspiration, if nothing more tangible, of the
Internationale-possibly the identical blood-red figure which
“cried havoc and let slip the dogs of war” in Paris, in the
day of Robespierre, in 1793, with a Danton and a Marat as

WORK OF THE INTERNATIONALE.
87
his lieutenants—and again, in the same city, in 1871, when
the rallying-cry was, “ Paris against Versailles.” That I
am not alone in this belief is evidenced by more than one
circumstance. There appeared in the Philadelphia Times,
under date of August 5, 1877, a communication over the
signature of “Internationalist,” which boldly confessed to
the starting of the troubles of the preceding month, warmly
praised the Commune, and concluded with the admission
that all through the world there exists a secret, all-power-
ful, ceaseless organization, which cannot be suppressed;
that two emperors and any number of kings have tried to
stifle it, but, like Banquo's ghost, it “will not down." This
organization is pledged to the abolition of wealth, the ele-
vation of the lowly. “Starting,” as the correspondent says,
“ in Germany twenty years ago, the creation of Karl Marx,
it now counts its four millions of members, forming a force
as large as all the standing armies of the world, and it is
resolved to see justice done, though the heavens fall."
When bloodshed was stopped in Paris, many of that city's
Commune sought refuge in the United States, and from that
day to the present, journals in various parts of this country
have circulated their peculiar views. It is certain that their
societies have been gradually increasing, and that in the
mobocratic spirit, the outrage and pillage of July, 1877, are
plainly seen the outcroppings of this foreign-born element.
The police say that in New England there are few, if any,
Internationalists; hence, no riots of any consequence. But
New Albany, Baltimore, St. Louis, New York, Philadel-
phia, Pittsburg, and Chicago, all have abundance of that
sort of material. Again, a Paris correspondent, seemingly
well instructed in what he writes, has this about the Inter-
nationale : “ It is purely a secret organization, with agents
always actively at work in Europe and the United States,
as the sworn enemy of all political institutions as they now


88
WORK OF THE INTERNATIONALE.
exist. It is a standing conspiracy against progress, liberty
and civilization the world over. Its leaders hate the gov
ernment of the United States as heartily as they hate the
controlling powers of Germany, France, or Russia. One
of the members of the French Commune has defined its
objects. They are, atheism, materialism, the negation of
all religion. Its political programme is absolute personal
liberty, by the means of the suppression of all governments
and the division of nationalities into communes more, or
less bound together; and its political plan consists essen-
tially in the dispossession, without compensation, of the
present holders of capital and the distribution of coin and
other money to associations of workmen. One of the lead-
ing Internationalists of Paris recently boasted in my
hear-
ing that the American Republic would ere long be sup-
planted by communism, and that, as there would then be
no capital, there could be no further strife between capital
and labor, concluding with a statement which, in the light
of succeeding events, seems almost prophetic, that, having
failed in Europe, their aim is now to repeat the savage
scenes of massacre in republican America that visited
Paris in 1871, and on the ruins of her institutions to erect
their own arbitrary rule.”
An organization, called the Knights of Labor, has re-
cently attracted some attention in the coal regions of Penn-
sylvania. It is probably an amalgamation of the Mollie
Maguires and the Commune. In the vicinity of Scranton
and Wilkesbarre two-thirds of the workingmen belong to it.
Of the recent political combinations resulting from the
strikes, I need say but little. They are to be expected.
They will have no beneficial effect. A few demagogues
will be hoisted to the surface, and possibly reach position,
and the men raising them up will find, when too late, that
they have egregiously blundered. The platform in vogue

WORK OF THE INTERNATIONALE.
89
embodies a few of the Internationalists' theories, with
some modern inventions of a similar character, which, in
the nature of things, will prove ephemeral and delusive to
all giving them room in their minds and attempting to re-
duce them to practice. It demands that all the means of
labor, land, machinery, railways, telegraphs, etc., shall be-
come the property of the people, for the purpose of abolish-
ing the wages system, and substituting in its place co-oper-
ative production with a just distribution of its rewards.
It prescribes eight hours as a working-day, would prohibit
prison labor by private employers, abolish all conspiracy
laws, and asks the government to take exclusive control of
all industrial enterprises and detail their actual operation
to the trades-unions for the good of the whole people.
It is certainly true that the agitation in labor circles
during the past few years, under leadership of agents of
the Commune, has caused the outgrowth of numerous or-
ganizations, which, while working independently, have the
same ultimate object in view, and propose to accomplish
the same object, namely, the destruction of all government
by the ballot, and if that shall fail, by force, when the pro-
per opportunity arrives. Among these are the Ancient
Order of United Workmen, The Junior Sons of '76, and
the Universal Brotherhood. There are scores more, but
these are samples of them all. In order to give the public
an idea of how ignorant workingmen are gulled and de-
ceived by a form of secret society which holds them toge-
ther by a mysterious dread and fear, where their prejudices
may be excited and their minds filled with a deadly antago-
nism against all law and society, I caused one of my opera-
tives to become a member of the last-named society, the
Universal Brotherhood, and am thus able to present its
entire ritual.
There is nothing very harmful in it. It is simply a mess


90
WORK OF THE INTERNATIONALE.
of the silliest bosh imaginable. But men are initiated with
all the impressiveness which mystery and fear can give,
and are subsequently held and controlled by these commu-
nistic scoundrels who in stealth and secret continue their
conspiracies against civilization.
RITUAL FOR SUBORDINATE LODGES OF THE UNIVERSAL
BROTHERHOOD.
INTRODUCTORY CEREMONIES,
“The Messenger will retire to the outer court, and see if there are any
strangers seeking admission to our protective fold."
The Messenger retires to the outer court.
Messenger :-“ Honorable Commander, I find in the outer court stran-
gers, children of sin and sorrow, who humbly seek admission into our
mysterious realm, and who await your orders.”
The Commander will now proceed with the initiatory ceremonies :
Commander :-“Brothers, there are strangers in the outer court, pilgrim
travelers, who have long wandered upon the desert wastes of the outer
world, and now seek admission to our sacred retreat. Shall we admit
these wanderers ? "
Brothers, in concert :-“None but true and tried men shall enter these
sacred precincts. Prove them !”
Commander :-"Brother Messenger, you will retire and prove the
strangers if they be true and trustworthy."
Messenger retires, and propounds the following questions to each :
Messenger :-“Are you in perfect health ?”
Candidate :-"Yes."
Messenger :-“ Are you subject to any chronic or inherited disease that
would shorten life?"
Candidate :-"No."
Messenger :-"Have any of your ancestors died of consumption, cancer,
dropsy, apoplexy, paralysis, or heart disease ?”
Candidate :--- No.”
Messenger :--"Are you addicted to any habits that would tend to
shorten life or bring reproach upon our brotherhood ?”
Candidate :---"No."
Messenger :--“Do you swear that your answers to these questions are
true ?"
Candidate :--- Yes.”
21
92

WORK OF THE INTERNATIONALE.
91
Messenger :--“Strangers, should you swear falsely, you forfeit the ben-
efit of our brotherhood, and bear the mark of perjury upon your face all
the days of your life. Strangers, do you swear perpetual allegiance to the
Universal Brotherhood of the world ?"
Candidate :“Yes."
Messenger :-“Do you swear before God and these witnesses that you
will keep secret and inviolate all the secret work of this brotherhood ? "
Candidate :-_“Yes.''
Messenger :--“I will retire and report you to our honored Commander."
Messenger returns to the hall and reports.
Messenger :-“Honored Commander, the strangers have taken the oath
of allegiance to our brotherhood, answered the questions satisfactorily,
and await your pleasure."
Commander :-“Brothers, the strangers have assumed the oath of
allegiance and loyalty to our brotherhood. Shall we admit them to our
royal domain ?"
Brothers, in concert :-_“It is well. Bring them into the fold.”
Messenger retires to ante-room to the strangers.
Messenger :--“ The candidates will now be presented severally to the
court of our honored Commander, where they will receive instructions in
the secret work of the brotherhood.”
The Steward now takes charge of the candidate.
The candidate is now led around the room blindfolded, and is made to
believe he is going through narrow defiles, rough places and over imagi-
nary hills; is intercepted by robbers, and the life half scared out of him,
when he is halted and ordered to kneel at a coffin, in which is a wax
figure representing a corpse.
The Steward will repeat the following as he proceeds:
Steward :--“Stranger, let us proceed on our pilgrimage; let us leave
the vales of ignorance and folly ; let us climb the hills of difficulty, and
strive to reach the height of wisdom, where stands the temple of honor
and fame. But it is a dangerous journey; pitfalls abound on the way;
an unguarded step might plunge us down a frightful chasm into the roaring
torrents and treacherous quicksands; or a foolhardy venture might lead
us over a precipice, to be dashed in pieces on the rocks hundreds of feet
below. Stranger, we are nèaring the end of our first day's journey to
the paradise of our Universal Brotherhood. We can look across yonder
dark, broad river to that fair land, the Eden of our hopes, the haven
prepared for us. Far in the distance we can discern the domes and spires
of the celestial city ;'we may catch the gleam of the eternal sunlight,
resplendent upon the pearly gates and the streets of shining gold. In
that land there is neither sickness, nor sorrow, nor dying. Perpetual


92
WORK OF THE INTERNATIONALE.
summer reigns, and the sunlight never dies. Stranger, if you follow in
the pathway marked out by our honored order, you will gain that hap-
pier goal, and be numbered with that mighty host of our Universal
Brotherhood, in the realms of eternal happiness beyond the shores of
time. But let us turn to the right, and approach the cavern of that grim.
messenger from the regions of death, where we must take an everlasting
covenant, renew our vows, and assume the obligations of our brotherhood.”
The skeleton will stand about ten feet from the coffin at which the
candidate kneels; it will hold in its right hand a book, in its left a dim
taper; while a dim blue light illumines the scene just enough to render
the figure visible. Back of the figure is a black curtain, stretched across
the hall, hiding the furniture of the hall. The brethren, all clad in black
gowns covering the whole body, will stand around in a semicircle as
witnesses of the covenant and oath ; a brother who is an impressive
reader will stand behind the skeleton and propound the obligation in a
solemn tone of voice. Perfect silence must be observed during the whole
ceremony.
The coffin bears the following inscription: “THE TRAITOR'S DOOM."
In full view stands a gallows, with an effigy suspended on a beam, with
this inscription : "The Fate of Perjurers."
The Steward will perform an obeisance before the figure, and address
the skeleton as follows :
Steward :-"Dread sovereign of mortality, a wandering stranger from
the vale of mortality has approached the entrance of our universal domain.
He seeks wisdom and eternal life; he is seeking admission to our protect-
ing fold, and to be numbered with our Universal Brotherhood. He will
take an everlasting covenant-take upon himself the vows and assume
the iron-bound oath of allegiance to our dominion and laws.'
Skeleton responds :-"Child of mortality, before you can enter the inner
portals of our mysterious realms, you must take upon yourself a binding
obligation, and an oath to keep secret and inviolate all the private work
of our brotherhood, and to observe and practice its fraternal precepts all
the days of your natural life. Will you take such an obligation ? You
will elevate your right hand, and place your left upon the coffin, and
repeat after me :
OBLIGATION.
Commander and candidate :-"In the presence of the Supreme Ruler
of the Universe, I,
do promise, declare, and say, I will
never reveal to any person or persons any of the secret work of the Uni-
versal Brotherhood, except to a brother, knowing him to be such by
unmistakable signs. I will not write, cut, carve, or engrave, a word, sign,

WORK OF THE INTERNATIONALE.
93
or figure pertaining to this work, or cause it to be done, lest any part
thereof might be exposed.
"I do now make an everlasting covenant to the Universal Brotherhood
to obey its laws and practice its precepts all the days of my natural life.
"I do solemnly affirm that I will assist a brother in every time of need,
and I will go to his rescue in time of peril; that I will patronize, employ,
and sustain a brother in all business connection in preference to all others;
that I will, to the best of my ability, render aid and support to all worthy
brothers within the sphere of my intercourse, in all business, commercial,
social, and fraternal relations. I do positively affirm that I will not
wrong a brother, or any one of his family, in any way; that I will apprise
him of approaching injury; and advise, encourage, and assist him in time
of misfortune and adversity.
“I do further promise and declare that I will not wrong this command-
ery or any members thereof; that I will be obedient to its laws, rules,
and regulations; that I will obey all mandates of the General Commander
of this state, and of the Supreme Commandery of the World.
“I do further promise and declare, that in case I should be guilty of
a transgression of the laws of this brotherhood, I will cheerfully submit
to such penalty as the council of brethren will dictate. I do also affirm
that, in case I should ever be subject to expulsion or suspension from this
brotherhood, I shall.regard this covenant as binding as while in full fel-
lowship in the order. In affirmation of this covenant and these obligations
I pledge my most sacred honor; and should I wilfully violate them, may
I be accursed of men and wear the mask of perjury upon the forehead all
the days of my life.”
Skeleton :--"Brothers, the stranger has taken the oath and made an
everlasting covenant with the brotherhood. Instruct him in the myster-
ious rites of our honored order."
The candidate will be again led around the hall, while the brethren
sing the initiation hymn. He will then be presented to the Commander
with the following introduction :
Steward :-"Honored Commander, a weary mortal from the outer world
approaches the portal of our sacred retreat, and humbly seeks admission.”
Commander :-“Has the stranger taken the oath and made an ever-
lasting covenant with the brotherhood ?"
Steward :-"He has."
Brothers, in concert, will say :-"He has."
Commander : -- “Stranger, we welcome you to our fold, trusting that
you will be true and faithful to our mystic order all the days of your life.
My friend, you have now taken upon yourself a solemn obligation, which
in effect should be more binding and impressive than the legal oath admin-

22

94
WORK OF THE INTERNATIONALE.
istered in our courts of justice. It involves your honor, and integrity and
your manhood, and your reputation as a citizen and member of our friendly
order; it should be regarded as the bond that connects us as a band of
brothers associated for mutual aid and protection.
"You should henceforth regard every member of our order as a friend
and confidant. You should be to him an ally and present help in every
time of need. You should aid, patronize, and employ a brother in prefer-
ence to all others. You should be as regular in attendance at meetings of
this lodge as your business relations will allow. Be prompt in the pay-
ment of dues and in performance of all duties that may devolve upon
you. I would admonish you to exercise care and discretion in proposing
candidates for membership, lest we incorporate with us persons who might
disregard their obligations and bring reproach, disgrace, and dishonor upon
our beloved order. I also exhort you to refrain from the expression of
any political or sectarian opinions. In discussions suppress all personal
hate or partisan prejudice which you may have entertained towards any.
body. Let peace, harmony, and concord mark our intercourse and prevail
in all our deliberations.
Let brotherly love, charity, and sympathy be
manifested in your daily walk. Be ever ready and willing to extend a
helping hand to an unfortunate brother. When the hand of disease falls
heavily upon a brother, administer to his needs with tender sympathy
and willing hands. Should death invade our circle and strike down one
of our members, it will then become your duty to enshroud our fallen
brother with the vestments of the tomb, with sorrowing hearts spread the
funeral pall over his bier, and bear the mortal remains of our departed
brother to an horored grave.
6. I will now instruct you in the signs, signals, salutations, grip, pass-
words, etc., peculiar to our order.
"The outer siynal is one rap on the door.
"The countersign is the word Multitude.
“ The inside signal is one rap, two threes, and one countersign, Bound.
less salutation,
“Advance to the middle of the room, raise the right hand so that the
forefinger rests on the brow, left foot thrown forward, and then bring the
hand down again alongside the right leg, making a bow to the Com-
mander.
• The grip is given with the right hand. The one giving the grip lets
the forefinger go into the palm of the other's hand, and gives the same
taps with the finger as you do on the inside door. The answer to it is the
other party presses the hand.
There is also a salutation, which is : The crops are universal ; the
health of the world is universal.

BROTHERHOOD OF LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEERS.
95
“ The peril signal is made by bringing both hands in front of the body, as
if engaged in prayer, keeping them together and raising them perpendic-
ularly above the head. The answer is, the right hand brought up, with
the tips of the fingers touching the top of the head. When you are going
to a shop to look for work, shade your eyes over the brow, as if you were
looking at a distance. The answer is the same as if brushing a fly off the
right ear.
6. The caution signal is to brush the right hand down over the face from
the top of the head, with the fingers extended over the face to the chin.
There is also a voting sign, which is made by forming a semicircle with
the right arm, with the fingers together and the thumbs inside of the
hand. These are all the signals and passwords used by the order.
"Let the stranger now be introduced to our venerable Prelate, that he
may listen to the words of wisdom and eternal truth."
Steward :-"A stranger from the outer world, a pilgrim wanderer
bound for the celestial city, the abode of life and immortality, craves
your fatherly counsel and benediction."
Prelate :—“My child, hearken unto the voice of wisdom, and give ear
to the words of eternal truth. Your life is short, your days are num-
bered; therefore prepare for your departure to that mysterious land
beyond the shores of time.
We are pilgrims upon this earth, bound for
the paradise above, prepared for our brotherhood that they may dwell
together in unity throughout the countless ages of eternity.
“My child, the ceremonies observed in introducing you into this Uni-
versal Brotherhood are designed to indelibly impress upon your mind
the grand and noble principles upon which our order is founded; the
steep and perilous ascents, the dangerous chasms, pitfalls, and treacherous
quicksands.
“I extend the hand of brotherly greeting, and invite the brotherhood
here present to do likewise.”

79
CHAPTER VIII.
THE BROTHERHOOD OF LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEERS.
TRAMPS and communists, as classes, both played a promi-
nent part in the great strikes of "77. Tramps, who had
nothing to lose, in their philosophical way entered upon
the
rioting and plunder because it seemed to be the order of

96
BROTHERHOOD OF LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEERS.
the day; while the communists, who had lent their aid to
the turbulence, not to assist in redressing any particular
wrong, but merely for the purpose of precipitating a condi-
tion of things where they might wreak their vengeance on
society, came to the front, ripe for any form of reckless
ontlawry, and ready for arson and murder; but the great
moral responsibility for the strikes and their vast train of
disastrous effects is certain to rest upon the Brotherhood of
Locomotive Engineers.
This fact has been very generally overlooked. Some few
charges of complicity have been brought against it, and
many railway officials have held this belief, without being
able to find the proof, or give other grounds for their con-
viction than that they knew from certain evidences, which
did not amount to absolute proof, but which were convinc-
ing beyond question, that this once powerful organization
was responsible, more than all other causes and forces com-
bined, for these troubles.
It will probably never be known just how far this respon-
sibility extended; but it can be pretty well defined when the
simple fact is stated that railroad troubles, as a distinct class
of labor disturbances, never were known until after the
organization of the brotherhood in 1863. There had been,
of course, occasional local troubles arising from the tuubi-
lence of gangs of men employed in railroad construction,
and infrequent misunderstandings which sometimes termni-
nated in short-lived strikes; but there had never been any
protracted uprising against railroad management until this
association had become an organized power.
Ever since
that time the attention of the public has been almost con-
stantly directed to the rise, progress, and termination of some
form of railroad strike. So frequent have they been, and
so daring and impudent have railway employees become
in consequence of the spirit of insubordination imparted

BROTHERHOOD OF LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEERS.
97
through the remarkable growth and dictatorial assumption
of the Brotherhood, that it could almost be said that there
has been one continuous series of strikes ever since said
organization was effected.
But, before going further into its history and a detailed
account of its doings, it would seem to be in place to give
a short sketch of the man who, above all others, has made
the Brotherhood successful in point of numbers, wealth, and
influence, as well as dangerous and contemptible in its arbi-
trary exercise of a power as illegal as it is menacing to all
railway and other public interests. It is very certain that
the organization is passing out of power and influence, and
that it is tumbling to pieces of its own weight and the
geneneral public condemnation which its acts have brought
upon it; but this man, P. M. Arthur, its Grand Chief En-
gineer, has enjoyed to so large a degree the cheap glory of
being its master-mind, and, as he claims, having brought
innumerable railway companies to terms through the power
at his back, which he has invariably used more to his own
aggrandizement than in the Brotherhood interests, that he
would seem to deserve a place in these records of the great
strikes of »77.
At the corner of Seneca and Superior streets, in Cleve-
land, that most beautiful of American cities, is a long, three-
story brick building, known as Sloss' Block. The lower
story is occupied by shops, between which, at the entrance
to the stairway leading to the upper stories, one who is in
the habit of reading signs as a diversion would notice the
following:
HEADQUARTERS
BROTHERHOOD OF LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEERS,
ROOMS 9 AND 10.
If you were of an inquiring turn of mind, as my opera-
tives generally are, or if you had any special business at the
5

98
BROTHERHOOD OF LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEERS.
headquarters designated, you would climb the narrow stairs,
enter a pleasant hall, on either side of which are lawyers',
brokers', and insurance offices, and, continuing to the extreme
end, passing a side entrance leading up from Seneca street,
you would turn to your left and enter a very spacious apart-
ment, not very elegantly furnished, but still having fine
appointments, and impressing you more with the air of a
confortable reception-room than as an office. In one sense
it really is so, for as there is little done here requiring many
callers, the general business of the order being transacted
through the mails and by telegraph, that appearance can be
easily retained, the more easily as there is another room
next it, inside of which, very carefully and securely ar-
ranged, is still another apartinent, where all the secret work
of the order is transacted, and from which has emanated
more annoyance to railway interests than from all other
sources that can be named.
Seated at a fine secretary between two windows, where,
winter and summer, there are always plants and birds, will
be seen the man who, for several years, has been a constant
annoyance and threat to railroad officials throughout the
United States and Canadas.
I can best describe him by comparing him in personal
appearance with the great evangelist, Mr. Moody, and with
no disrespect to that eccentric individual. Take out of
Moody's face, then, the low-browed, sullen-eyed, bull-dog
look; give him closely-cnt, well-silvered hair, instead of
glossy, almost black hair, and a closely-trimmed set of whis-
kers, rather gray instead of glossy brown, which cover all of
the face save the cleanly-shaved upper lip; give him, instead
of a fish-like, expressionless dark eye, a bluish-gray eye full
of light and animation, and, at times, of jollity and merri-
ment; provide him with just as ruddy, though not so
“puffy” a complexion, and rather one indicating a more

BROTHERHOOD OF LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEERS.
99
sacrificing diet and a better habit; make him a trifle
shorter, though proportionally just as solidly built; and
then give to every motion of his form and features decisive,
determined action that reminds you of superb and finely-
governed machinery, and you have the man before you.*
Mr. Arthur was born in Paisley, Scotland, in 1830, and
is at this writing nearly forty-eight years of age. His father
was a shawl manufacturer in a modest way, but not to that
extent which would permit of an extended education of his
family. Shawls were manufactured entirely by hand in
those days, and young Arthur would probably have grown
up in that trade were it not that, when he was eight years of
age, his mother died, and two years later his father came to
America to endeavor to establish a business here, leaving
the children with an aunt to be cared for. A year or two
later his father sent for him, but there was some delay
about his sailing, and his father set out from America to
bring him here; but he had been put in charge of a ship's
officer in the meantime, and while the father was returning
to Scotland the son was aboard a vessel bound for this
country. They passed each other in mid-ocean, and young
Arthur never saw his father afterwards, as the latter sick-
ened and died before reaching Scotland and was buried at

sea.
Mr. Arthur states that this left him almost alone, and
altogether dependent on his own resources, in New York,
in 1842. He finally found an uncle, one William Service,
who was a straw-goods merchant at 1104 William Street,
who
gave home and a good deal of work. Becoming
dissatisfied with his employment and his surroundings, he
turned boy-tramp and strolled out into the interior of New
York State, to take whatever luck might bring him.
him a
* See Frontispiece,

100
BROTHERHOOD OF LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEERS.
At last he straggled into the quaint little Dutch town of
Niskayuna, in the Mohawk Valley, and there fell in with
an old German farmer named Matt. Winne, who was going
to do wonders for him. He led young Arthur to believe
that, work as hard as ever he could, he could never possibly
hope to earn his “keep,” as he called it. The old farmer
had a big farm, ran a brick-yard and dealt in timber, and
Arthur found his work almost more than he could do; but
he kept on and remained with Winne for several years, and
then went to Schenectady, where he got employment with a
wholesale grocer named G. Q. Carley. After he had been
in this grocery work nearly two years, he purchased a horse
and dray with his savings, and turned drayman, which
proved to him an unprofitable investment, when he sold out,
and after a little time secured his first employment from
any railroad company, in the repair-shops of the Schenec-
tady and Utica (now the New York Central) Railroad, where
he was taken on as a “helper,” or a stont, handy young
fellow to do anything and everything which might be re-
quired of one who had no regular trade.
After a few months of this sort of work, he secured the
position of fireman on the old “Benj. Marshall,” a little
single driving-wheel engine, John Wicks, engineer, who was
afterwards killed in an accident where his engine jumped the
track. From the “Benj. Marshall” he was transferred to
engine “ 23,” David Oxley, engineer. This same David Ox-
ley is now master mechanic at the car-shops of the Illinois
Central Railroad, at Centralia, Illinois. He remained with
Oxley about a year, when he was put on engine “49,"
Edwin Wemple, engineer; and after firing two years and
two months altogether, he got his first engine, being given
passenger engine "16.” From this he was transferred to
the “Mechanic," from that to the “President," a ten-
wheel engine; then to the “Mohawk,” and then, succes-
BROTHIERHOOD OF LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEERS. 101
99
sively, to engines “John Bridgeford,” “ Edward H. Jones,"
and the “Cephas Manning.” While running the latter
engine its name was changed to the “ Wm H. Vanderbilt.”
Mr. Arthur ran the “ Vanderbilt” until he left the New
York Central Railroad, to attend, as a delegate, the Grand
International Division of the Brotherhood, which was held
in Cleveland, on February 25, 1874, when he was elected
to the office of Grand Chief Engineer for a period of three
years. He was again elected to the same position and for
the same term of office at the convention held in Boston, in
October, 1877.
Of the Brotherhood itself, its original objects were un-
doubtedly all that they should have been; and to-day it
would be one of the most admirable adjuncts of railway
service were it confined to the disbursement of charity, the
strengthening of those ties of friendship and common inter-
est, and the mutual improvement and assistance, which
make
any class of employees better men and more faithful
in the discharge of their duties.
The primary organization was effected by the following
engineers: E. Nichols, F. Avery, L. Wheeler, John Ken-
nedy, T. Wartmouth, M. Higgins, B. Northrup, Geo. Q.
Adams, and W. D. Robinson. These men were all friends
and acquaintances-engineers on the Michigan Central,
Michigan Southern and Northern Indiana, the Detroit and
Milwaukee Railroads, and the American division of the
Grand Trunk Railroad—and came together at Marshall,
Michigan, in April, 1863, as any number of friends, all fol-
lowing a like avocation, might come together to form a
helpful association. Mr. Arthur himself states that these
men had no idea that the organization thus started would
develop into what it has, which is undoubtedly a fact; for,
on looking up these men's characters, I find that they were
persons of kind hearts, good purpose, and so faithful to


102
BROTHERHOOD OF LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEERS.
their calling that they would have contemplated the char-
acter of such an order as now exists with utter dismay.
These engineers framed a constitution and by-laws em-
bodying the fundamental principles of the order, and pro-
duced an obligation which was subsequently changed to a
most terrible oath, which will be given in a succeeding
chapter.
The form of association as then effected proved wonder-
fully popular, and the organization of divisions on different
roads was a work of the greatest ease. When this had been
somewhat advanced, a convention was called and delegates
sent from each division, who met at the hall of Division 1,
Detroit, August 17 and 18, 1863. The headquarters of the
Detroit Division was then, and is now, at room 23, Murrill
Block, at the corner of Jefferson street and Woodward
avenue.
This convention, on the second day of its meeting,
founded the order and gave it the name of the Brotherhood
of the Footboard, and elected W. H. Robinson Grand Chief
Engineer.
At the convention held the next year, in Indianapolis, the
name of the order was changed to the Brotherhood of Loco-
motive Engineers, and it was ordered that the annual con-
ventions should be termed Grand International Divisions.
To illustrate how popular the order was at that time, and
show its rapid increase, it is only necessary to instance the
fact that when the convention met at Indianapolis, only one
year
after the Brotherhood was fairly on its feet, it was
found that sixty-seven divisions had been established, and
that a membership of over sixteen hundred engineers had
been secured.
The progress of the order for a period of several
years was
flattering and really remarkable. So long as it remained
an association for the mutual benefit of its members, and
BROTHERHOOD OF LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEERS. 103
was conducted
upon the principles which ordinary charitable
associations are supposed to be founded, it received both
the earnest encouragement of the railroad authorities and the
public press. It was everywhere welcomed as one of those
organizations which cannot but elevate and improve its
members. Wherever its conventions were held the citizens
welcomed its delegates, railroad companies furnished them
with free transportation, and newspaper men made unusual
efforts to give full publicity to their proceedings. And
this state of things would have been certain to continue had
not its leaders become eventually possessed with a greed for
personal aggrandizement, and a desire to use the
the rapid wealth and swift increase of numbers gave.
At the Boston convention of '66 a resolution was passed
authorizing the publication of a monthly journal, to be
exclusively devoted to the interests of the order; and there
was accordingly established a magazine, called The Brother-
hood of Locomotive Engineers' Monthly Journal. The
supervision of its publication was vested in the grand offi-
cers; and the magazine, though of limited interest, has had
a large circulation, both among members of the order and
among railroad officials, whose interest in it of late years
has been solely that which has been created by alarm.

power that
CHAPTER IX.
BROTHERHOOD HISTORY CONTINUED-DISASTROUS DEFEATS.
In the early part of '77, when the order had the largest
membership, although it had for some time been waning in
prosperity, it was known to have upwards of ten thousand
members. In October, '76, the membership stood at 9,975,

104 BROTHERHOOD OF LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEERS.
and about one hundred and fifty initiations were known to
have taken place during the succeeding year.
It was claimed by the order that over ninety per cent. of
all the skilled engineers of the United States and Canadas
were members. I hardly credit this, for the simple reason
that, in many instances where the officers of railways have
made a persistent fight against the dictation of the order,
which in time grew intolerable, and my services were had
for securing engineers to take the place of discharged or
striking Brotherhood men, not only was the number requir-
ed always available, but hundreds more than were needed
could in every case be secured. These men were not ama-
teurs, but were skilled engineers; and when it is borne in
mind that, although the Brotherhood at one time had men
on railroads in every state save Florida, there was no rail-
way in the country whose engineers were all Brother-
hood men, their claim would seem to be altogether un-
founded.
The officers of the organization which for nearly ten
years the association has been conducted merely to support,
are the Grand Chief Engineer, First Grand Engineer,
Second Grand Engineer, First, Second, and Third Grand
Assistant Engineers, a Grand Guide, and a Grand Chaplain.
Three of these are salaried. The Grand Chief Engineer,
P. M. Arthur, since '74 receives, it is stated by members,
$3,000. He only admits to receiving $2,500 annually, and
all expenses entailed through travel, establishing subdivi-
sions, conducting strikes, bullying railroad officials, and the
like. The First Grand Engineer has charge of the editorial
work of the Monthly Journal, and is a general assistant to
the former officer, being vested with like powers, so far as
regular office business is concerned, during his absence. He
receives a salary of $2,000 per year. The First Grand As-
sistant Engineer holds the position of the Brotherhood's
BROTHERHOOD OF LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEERS. 105
financial officer, and also receives a salary of $2,000. Thus
it will be seen that, when the various expenses of so exten-
sive an organisation are grouped—the allowances for the
hundreds of items in the hands of men who have got an
order like this by the throat for the purpose of being sup-
ported, which cannot but be enormous, and are added to
the large cost of sustaining strikes and the yearly expendi-
ture for salaries, this most important branch of railway
employees is famously taxed for the simple privilege of
being led, or forced, into repeated collision with employers,
of being surrounded by a constantly demoralizing influence,
which from its very nature antagonizes their own and their
employers' interests, and which in nearly every instance at
the end of the year leaves them not only out of pocket to
the extent of their fees, but the amount lost by many weeks,
and sometimes months, of self-imposed idleness.
One feature of the Brotherhood, in theory at least, will
command universal respect. This is its insurance depart-
ment, which was established in ’67; or rather an association
of that kind was then formed, which subsequently became
a department of the organization. In that
Abbott, an engineer of the New York and Erie road, issued
a circular to the different divisions of the Brotherhood, re-
questing all those divisions favoring some plan of insurance
to send delegates to Port Jervis, New York, for the purpose
of effecting such an association. A large number respond-
ed, and the matter was got under way in December of that
year. This plan of insurance was simply this : On the death
of any member of the association, to issue notice of the same
and order an assessment of one dollar on each member. All
members of this association were Brotherhood men, and it
was finally incorporated in the order. Before this, however,
it had suffered a loss of above twelve thousand dollars from
its officers appropriating that amount.

year Frank

106
BROTHERHOOD OF LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEERS.
It is stated that nearly a million dollars has been paid
ont to the widows and orphans of deceased engineers. If
so, a good work has been accomplished, whatever has been
the manner of doing it. But if all this has been done, it
was some time since, for recent facts have come to light
which show that though assessments have been repeatedly
increased, payments of this kind have been continually less-
ening in number, as well as decreasing in amount.
It is claimed by Mr. Arthur that the Brotherhood is in
no sense antagonistic to railroad interests; but in the same
breath he lays down the following as its regulations govern-
ing the action of its members in cases where strikes are
inaugurated, or where such misunderstandings arise as are
liable to precipitate strikes in case the demands of the dis-
affected Brotherhood engineers are not acceded to:
If engineers are not receiving commensurate wages, or
are notified that a reduction in wages is to be enforced, or
if from any other cause they have become dissatisfied, they
first meet in their division lodge and discuss the matter.
In case a majority decide that the “grievance” should
become a matter of protest, a committee is appointed to
wait
upon
the
proper
officer of the road and make the com-
plaint, or such complaint is made in writing and submitted.
If it is refused attention, or if it receives attention and the
demand contained is refused, the power of the division is
exhausted, and the “grievance,” with a full history of what
action has been taken by the division, is then referred to
the Standing Committee on Grievances, or the General
Grievance Committee, as it is called.
This body, which is composed of thirteen members, and
which is something in the nature of a high court of appeal,
is appointed annually by the Grand International Division,
and is composed of twelve members of the Brotherhood,
generally selected with a view to the importance to the
BROTHERHOOD OF LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEERS. 107
order of the railroad lines on which they are employed, the
thirteenth member being the Grand Chief Engineer. This
places the determining vote, in case of a tie, always in the
hands of the latter, and in reality makes that personage the
supreme dictator, as he certainly has been since the posi-
tion has been occupied by Mr. Arthur.
This General Grievance Committee is called together at
Cleveland, and occupy the inner guarded room within the
second apartment of the general offices before referred to,
and are supposed to inquire into the merits of the grievance
submitted by the division. If it is considered ground-
less, or should it appear that it would be a poor policy to
force the matter upon the railroad company, the division
which has appealed has no further recourse.
But if a
majority of the committee conclude to force an issue, the
Grand Chief Engineer is empowered to proceed to the com-
pany's headquarters, and with all the power of persuasion,
or all the force of threats, secure for the engineers of the
road the demanded concessions.
If the company cannot be bullied into granting them,
the Grievance Committee, which has remained in session
awaiting the result of the efforts of the Grand Chief Engi-
neer, again act upon the matter, and if it is decided to make
a fight, a strike is at once ordered, and the whole power of
the Brotherhood—which of late years has meant intimida-
tion and violence, as well as a most reckless use of money
where it was necessary, and the wildest of promises where
the latter would answer—are brought into requisition to
make the strike a success.
Of the scores of strikes previous to the great strike of
"77, precipitated by the Brotherhood, probably those of the
Boston and Maine Railroad, and the Philadelphia and
Reading Railroad, were the most important, as well as the
most disastrous to the order, for they both illustrated the


108
BROTHERHOOD OF LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEERS.
silly bombast and pretension, as well as the utter insignifi
cance, of the order when it came in collision with railway
officials who were possessed of dignity, decision, and ac-
tion.
Of the strike on the first-mentioned line, which occurred
February 12, '77, the facts were as follows: The pay of
all employees on that road up to '76 had been steadily in-
creasing for the previous fifteen years, so that they were
then receiving from sixty to seventy per cent., according to
grade, higher wages than they received in ’62. The per
diem was from $2.50 to $3.50, with an additional sum of
twenty-five cents per day, which was withheld until the
close of each three months, and then paid as a bounty to
all those who could present a clear record. On account of
a general falling off in the business of the road, and an
imperative necessity for comprehensive retrenchment, an
order was issued, to take effect January 15, '76, reducing the
salaries and wages of all officers and employees ten per
cent. This left the sixty-seven engineers on that railroad
receiving from $2.25 to $2.90 per day, which was still from
fifty to sixty per cent. more than was received by the same
class of employees in ’62. An effort was then made by the
ngineers, nearly all of whom were Brotherhood men, to
get the order rescinded so far as they were concerned; but
the officers of the road would not yield, and there the mat-
ter rested for nearly a year, during which the Brotherhood
had inaugurated and carried out successful strikes-some
of them, and notably that on the Grand Trunk Railroad,
with great injustice and cruelty-on the Central Railroad
of New Jersey, the Georgia Railroad, the St. Louis and
Cairo Narrow Gauge, and the Grand Trunk, which had
filled the members of the order all over the country with a
good deal of self-confidence and bravado.
Animated by this feeling that they could accomplish

BROTHERHOOD OF LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEERS.
109
about what they liked, during the latter part of March, '77,
the Brotherhood engineers on the Boston and Albany road,
through their coinmittee, submitted to the company's offi..
cers what was in effect a demand for a return to the old
scale of wages so far as engineers and firemen were con-
cerned, having already enlisted the latter class through
promises of compelling an increase of their wages.
President White, after reading the paper, told the com-
mittee that he had no authority to act; but if they desired
an immediate answer, he could only say that, as far as he
was concerned, he could not comply with the demand, and
felt certain that no encouragement whatever would be
given them from any source.
Upon this termination of the interview, Arthur was
telegraphed for, who, upon his arrival in Boston, immedi-
ately penned President White a note, in which he stated in
a very grandiose manner that he did not come “in the
spirit of coercion and dictation, but as a mediator," to set-
tle the matter, and requesting, in an offensive way, an inter-
view. President White, holding quite a different view of
Mr. Arthur than Mr. Arthur did of himself, very properly
declined to have anything to do with him, not being able
to understand how the business of the Boston and Maine
road was in any way identified with the business of Mr.
Arthur, who resided in Cleveland, and occupied a fat posi-
tion merely because it pleased several thousand working-
men to support him in idleness.
This resulted in a modified form of a demand being pre-
sented by the engineers, in which were embodied proposals
very much more modest than those previously submitted,
and another long interview ensued, during which the mem-
bers of the committee stated that if their demands were re-
fused, a strike of every engineer on the road would be the
result. No desire for further time for consideration was ex-


110 BROTHERHOOD OF LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEERS.
pressed by any one, and it was tacitly understood that the
decision arrived at was final.
The engineers, under Arthur's management, immediately
prepared an ultimatum embodying all of the demands which
had been previously made. This was submitted on the
twelfth of February, and stated that unless their demands
were submitted to by four o'clock in the afternoon of the
same day, all of the companies' engines would be brought to
a standstill at that hour; and at the same time an order
was issued by the committee to every engineer upon the line
to stop work promptly at four o'clock, wherever that hour
might find them, and there to hold their engines for a period
of two hours, unless a telegram signed “G. W. Stevens,” to
the effect that all was “settled,” should be received. But if
such telegram should not be received, to “blow your
boiler
out and abandon your engine.”
But the officials of the Boston and Maine road were not
quite ready to transfer the management of their business to
either Mr. Arthur or the Brotherhood of Locomotive En-
gineers, and Superintendent Furber had made such arrange-
ments as prevented that requirement, even for a short time.
Promptly at four o'clock, wherever a passenger train was
stopped there was found a skilled engineer to take the
place of the striking Brotherhood man, and with very little
trouble and delay every train then out was run to its desti-
nation; and the subsequent passage of regular trains, with
the exception of freight trains, was very slightly retarded,
so prompt and vigorous had been the action of the officers
of the road.
Arthur and the Brotherhood engineers were greatly dis-
mayed at their quick defeat. They fondly thought to
bring the Boston and Maine officials humbly to their feet,
and a howl of defeat was everywhere heard. There was
only one thing now to be done. That was to bring into

BROTHERHOOD OF LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEERS.
111
requisition the same system of “bulldozing” and intimi-
dation which has disgraced every body of strikers that ever
were got together. This was found useless, as the officials
checkmated the Brotherhood by an effective use of police,
and every man who took the place of a striker was thor-
oughly protected. The next move of Mr. Arthur was to
squander the Brotherhood's money in buying off every man
possible who presented hiinself as a “scab or substitute
for strikers. This had the effect of annoying the manage-
ment of the road somewhat, but inside of two weeks every-
thing was running smoothly, and the Brotherhood had
suffered its first overwhelming defeat.
Now, to illustrate the foolishness of this man Arthur, it
is only necessary to state the fact that, in less than ten days
after he had publicly boasted in Boston that by a wave of
his hand he could stop the movement of every railroad train
in America, he was left in the humiliating position where
he could contemplate his own littleness, where he could
ponder over having squandered thousands of dollars of the
Brotherhood's money, ostensibly collected for the benefit of
the helpless widows and orphans of engineers; where he
could realize that he and his society, through their dictation
and tyranny, had thrown out of employment sixty-seven
men, the larger number of whom had been in the steady
employment of the Boston and Maine Railroad Company
from ten to thirty years, and who were now reduced to the
unenviable position of being obliged to beg work of other
companies, with the discredit attaching to them of having
participated, and failed, in one of the most criminally fool-
ish and reckless strikes ever known. Not one-fourth of
these men have since secured employment; the pledges of
the Brotherhood, that they should be sustained if they
failed, have all been broken; and many of these deluded
men are to-day utterly without support for themselves or


112
BROTHERHOOD OF LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEERS.
their families, suffering from one of the most cruel and ar-
bitrary organizations that can be imagined; for it has in-
duced good men to add to its power and influence, urged
them into an antagonism towards their employers which
threw them out of work, and then, when they were helpless,
had utterly deserted them.
The trouble on the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad,
in April, '77, resulted quite as disastrously to the then dis-
organized Brotherhood as did the strike on the Boston and
Maine road.
Certain information had been placed in the possession of
Mr. Franklin B. Gowen, the president of the road, that a
strike for higher wages by all the regular trainmen of the
main line and branches, under the management of the
Brotherhood engineers employed on the Philadelphia and
Reading road, was to shortly take place.
In the minds of Mr. Gowen and the directors of the road
there was only one way to meet this danger. The insolence
of the Brotherhood threatened to destroy all security and
safety in railroad management. Nearly every railroad in
America had felt its demoralizing influence, and their offi-
cers trembled when they heard its ominous mutterings. A
fight must sooner or later come, and with all that fearless-
ness and keen calculation of results which characterized Mr.
Gowen, in his splendid and victorious battle with those
pests and disgrace of modern civilization, the Mollie Ma-
guires, he at once determined to grapple with this still more
insolent and dangerous, organization, whatever the conse-
quences might be.
By openly challenging all the power of this most power-
ful order, the Philadelphia and Reading road performed a
duty to the general public which in its extent can hardly
be estimated. It is beginning to be realized, but at that
time it was only faintly appreciated. Its management had

BROTHERHOOD OF LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEERS.
113
no animosity towards the Brotherhood as a society, any more
than it could have towards a church sewing-circle; but they
felt that the constant menace which existed, as the organi-
zation was conducted by Mr. Arthur, not only towards their
individual interests, but to all railroad interests, had become
simply unbearable. As Mr. Gowen put it, he preferred a
precipitation of the worst that could come, and that at once,
to a continuation of the company's business with this Damo.
clean sword hanging over it.
The Philadelphia and Reading Company, which impera-
tively demanded the withdrawal of all the engineers who
wished to remain in its employ from the Brotherhood, did
not make this demand without proposing to provide all of
and more than the Brotherhood's helpful features. It
agreed to contribute $15,000 to a life insurance fund, and
$10,000 to an accident fund, both for the benefit of the
employees of its road. To the life insurance fund engineers
should
pay $2, conductors and firemen $1.25, and brakemen
$1 each
per month. In the event of death, the families of
those who had contributed $2 per month would receive
$3,000; of those who had paid $1.25 per month, $1,000;
and of those who had given $1 per month, $700; payments
to be made within one month after the decease of the em-
ployee so insured. To those dismissed from the service of
the company, the amount contributed would be returned,
and participation in the benefits of the fund would immedi-
ately cease. To those voluntarily leaving, nothing would be
returned, and their interest in the benefits would also end.
In the accident department, those paying into the fund fifty
per month would receive $6 per week when they were
disabled; those contributing seventy-five cents per month
would receive $9 weekly; and those giving $1 per month
were to be paid $12 weekly. In no case, however, was the
payment to be continued longer than six months.

cents
It was

114 BROTHERHOOD OF LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEERS.
also provided that the $25,000 endowment, and the moneys
received from contributors, were to be placed in the hands
of the president and cashier of the Farmers' National Bank
of Reading, who, with Mr. Gowen, should act as trustees of
the fund, and who were also required to submit an annual re-
port showing a full statement of receipts and disbursements,
the company to pay all expenses for clerical assistance.
Now, any rational man cannot but admit that this
propo-
sition took from the Brotherhood all opportunity for com-
plaint that this company in particular had no regard for its
employees save in the light of rolling-stock and machinery.
It provided everything that the Brotherhood provided, with
the single exception of the power to strike and dictate terms
to a railroad company for conducting its own business; and
right here was the rub.
After the company had perfected this plan, its General
Manager, Mr. Wootten, immediately issued a notice to all
employees, and especially directed to the engineers, explain-
ing the proposition of the company as to insurance endow-
ment, and stating that all engineers who desired to remain
in the employ of the Philadelphia and Reading road must
withdraw from the Brotherhood; and that their remaining
on their engines after a certain designated date would be
construed as an indication of their acquiescence in the
requirements of the company.
This was decisive action, and it was bound to bring about
decisive results.
The Brotherhood engineers, who had never before been
called upon to swallow so bitter a pill as they conceived
this to be, met at once; and, with their usual insolence and
assumption of power, under direction of the great mogul,
Arthur, issued a notice, not only to engineers, but to all
trainmen of the road, to stop work at twelve o'clock, mid-
night, on the 14th of April, 1877.

BROTHERHOOD OF LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEERS.
115
Through the services of my agencies, the Philadelphia
and Reading Company were as well prepared for this anti-
cipated action as it was possible to be, and to the deep cha-
grin of the Brotherhood, which made a more desperate fight
than they had ever before made or will ever again make,
not a single passenger train was stopped, or even delayed.
Before they had scarcely left their engines, these misled
and deluded men found their places filled-in most instances
by engineers quite as skilled and capable as themselves ;
while a large number of experienced fireinen were instantly
promoted to engines, which they handled with consummate
skill and coolness under the trying circumstances.
To counteract this, the defeated Brotherhood organized
numbers of firemen and brakemen into what they termed a
subsidiary“ Union,” and led its members to believe that by
degrees they should be admitted into the Brotherhood, which
promised every man who could be persuaded or intimidated
from work, or who had come from a distance to accept
work and could be bought off, the same sum per month to
remain in idleness as the company would pay to them
should they retain their places, or accept positions offered
them.
It is needless to add that in no single instance were these
reckless promises kept.
Notwithstanding every force and power which the Broth-
erhood could muster, the running of the road was but a
very little impaired. The most trouble was experienced on
the Catawissa branch, extending from Port Clinton to Wil-
liamsport. Many of the striking engineers lived at Cata-
wissa, and they insulted, annoyed, and threatened the men
constantly, and on several occasions were barely prevented
from mobbing them; but the company increased its police
force, and, like the Boston and Maine road, furnished their
new inen very thorough protection.


116 BROTHERHOOD OF LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEERS.
To illustrate how powerless these discharged Brotherhood
engineers and their sympathizers were to consuminate their
threatened destruction of engines and other property of the
company, and how simple a matter it is at any time for
railway corporations to throw off utterly and forever this
miserable and constantly threatening yoke of insolent bond-
age, it is only necessary to state the circumstance, now a
matter of railroad history, that no importance whatever
should be attached to the statement in the
newspapers
that
a large number of engines had been burned, and thereby
rendered unfit for service. The bare fact of the matter is
that but one engine out of the hundreds in use was disabled
during the entire trouble, and that the cost of its repair was
insignificant and trifling.
There was, of course, some trouble and delay consequent
upon the general excitement and inexperience of a number
of the new trainmen. This, however, was but temporary,
and in a short time it was evident to all that the Brother-
hood had a second time, and that within a period of two
months, experienced a defeat that was both disgraceful and
crushing.
And now for the result of all this recklessness. Not
half a dozen of this large body of men, who were as com-
fortably situated as men could wish, have been able to se-
cure employment since they so shamefully deserted it.
Being out of employment, the Brotherhood has proven itself
absolutely powerless to furnish anything but the most pal-
try assistance, which came in driblets and pittances of no
earthly help, and which were in fact an injury, as they
served only to build a hope that more substantial recogni-
tion of their loyalty would be forthcoming, and pre-
vented their taking up other work until these misled men
had reached a condition of abject want and suffering.
This is no imaginary picture, nor is it a careless statement

BROTHERHOOD OF LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEERS.
117
based on insufficient information. The public need not go
beyond the passionate appeals for aid made by delegates to
the Grand International Division held at Boston on the 17th
of October, '77.
They stated that these Philadelphia and Reading en-
gineers, who had struck and whom the Brotherhood had
pledged its sacred honor to sustain, had lost their homes,
had had their families broken up and scattered, many of
their children being subjects for alms; that, through the
discouragement that had come upon them, others had
merged into loafers and drunkards, while still others were
forced into becoming tramps and vagrants.
Every phase of human suffering and despair was shown
to have been endured by these men, and, after most piteous
begging and pleading, this great braggart brotherhood was
finally induced to vote the amounts promised. Up to this
time they have not been paid, and the rapid dismember-
ment of the order will undoubtedly prevent such payment
ever being made.

CHAPTER X.
COMPLETE EXPOSÉ OF THE
BROTHERHOOD
OF
LOCOMOTIVE
ENGINEERS, WITH SOME ACCOUNT OF THE GRAND INTER-
NATIONAL UNION OF LOCOMOTIVE FIREMEN AND THE NOTO-
RIOUS TRAINMEN'S UNION.
I HAVE been able to ascertain that the securing of an
increased membership for a Brotherhood lodge is more often
a matter of policy than gaining good men for the organiza-
tion, or for bettering men who need bettering, as Mr. Arthur
so strenuously claims is an important feature of the order.
When a lodge is established, the first and only object of
the charter members is to quietly and rapidly secure a con-

118
BROTHERHOOD OF LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEERS.
right, its
trolling influence among engineers on the line or lines
where the lodge may be in operation. No doubt there has
been an effort at the beginning to place the matter in the
hands of engineers of the greatest influence and best stand-
ing; but after this much has been accomplished, the only
object beyond is to create power from numbers and secret
organization.
The point is simply to bring about a condition of things
where, when any difficulty occurs between the manage-
ment of a railroad company and any of its employees, there
shall be found in this Brotherhood organization sufficient
power to control the final settlement in some manner through
which the order shall be the gainer, and so that the com-
pany shall be compelled to concede its right, and if not its
power, which is still more effective, to both control
and dictate.
The benefits to be derived from organization, association,
mutual aid, fraternity, provision for families in case of acci-
dent or death, are the influences first used to approach non-
Brotherhood engineers for the purpose of getting them
within the order.
It is simple enough to see how powerful these are to men
whose profession is so dangerous as that of the engineer,
and it is no discredit to these brave and earnest fellows that
they are anxious to make some such provision as the Brother-
hood so temptingly guarantees. This is the bait thrown
After the lodge has been established, all this guise of
good fellowship and fraternity falls off. The form is sus-
tained, but every member of the organization at once sees
that the real purpose of the order is the acquiring of a con-
centrated power which shall at all times, even at the veriest
whim of its leaders, be able to assert itself in antagonism to
railway management.
In pursuance of this policy, which, from the nature of
out.
BROTHERHOOD OF LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEERS.
119
things becomes an active, progressive principle, new mem-
bers are sought from among engineers with a view to their
use at the point and in the section where the lodge is
organized. One man may have influence at headquarters.
He must be got hold of, for outside the order he is danger-
ous to it. Inside the order he is at least harmless, and his
“influence” may be doubly effective in its interests. An-
other man may be naturally mulish and obstinate and full
of denunciations of the Brotherhood and its members. He
must be secured in order to quiet him. Another may have
a special and peculiar influence with firemen; may be ex-
ceedingly popular with them. He must be made a mem-
ber quietly, so that in case of trouble this class of trainmen
may be better controlled. In fact, among the vast body
of railroad employees in our country and Canada, this
order stands precisely as a huge political devil-fish that
feeds upon anything and everything necessary to satiate its
appetite and give it power; and it is both quite as regard-
less of what comes to its voracious maw as what it puts its
reckless and once powerful grasp upon.
For whatever cause it has been found desirable or neces-
sary to bring a non-Brotherhood man within the order, when
he has at last consented to become a member the following
are the forms considered requisite and ceremonies to be ob-
served before he shall have become a full-fledged brother:
His application is signed by three members of the order
in good standing. “Good standing” in this order has come
to mean that one enjoying such reputation owes no dues.
The three signers must vouch that the applicant has run on
some road as a locomotive engineer for the period of one
year, and that he possesses a good moral character. This
application is then passed upon by the lodge in session. If
the applicant is accepted, he is sometimes admitted at that
session, but oftener not until some succeeding session, it


120
BROTHERHOOD OF LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEERS.
being supposed desirous to give the impression that it is not
such an easy matter to become a member of this great order.
At the time set for initiation, however, the candidate, in
company with a good brother, proceeds to the lodge-room,
after the lodge is in session, and awaits developments in the
ante-room. The following is a diagram of a division lodge-
room, and gives the relative positions, or “stations,” as they
are called, of its officers :
0
A
B
.....
I
A
r
F
O
G
J-X -
H
X

BROTHERHOOD OF LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEERS. 121
A-Station of the Chief Engineer. His duties are to preside at all lodge
meetings, and perform similar functions to all officers of like char-
acter.
B-Station of the First Assistant Engineer, who is the lodge Secretary.
0—Station of the Second Assistant Engineer. He is the Treasurer and
general financial officer of the division.
D-Station of the First Engineer. This officer only officiates a$ the
opening and closing ceremonies, and in the initiatory "work."
E-Station of the Second Engineer, who assists in preserving order, and
attends to the wicket" communicating with the ante-room, and
all applications for admission from that quarter.
F-Station of the Chaplain.
G-Station of the Guide. This officer has charge of the candidate dur-
ing his initiation.
H–Station of the Third Engineer, who acts as Outside Guard in the
ante-room.
I- Altar,
J_Wicket communicating with ante-room.
X-Door.

XX-Ante-room.
When everything is in readiness for the reception of the
candidate, the Guide proceeds to the ante-room, in company
with the Chaplain. The latter greets the new-comer appro-
priately, and then questions him closely as to his motives in
desiring to become a member of the Brotherhood. The
burden of this is to make a still deeper impression upon the
stranger of the importance of the order. Satisfactory an.
swers being received, the two leave the candidate in the
ante-room in charge of the Third Engineer, and return to
the lodge-room, where they report the result and resume
their “stations." On notice by the Second Engineer,
through the wicket, that the lodge is prepared to receive
the stranger, the Third Engineer and an assistant blindfold
him most securely.
He is then conducted into the room, where all the mem-
bers rise with a great rush and racket. This is followed by
perfect silence for a moment, after which, during the sing-
6

122
BROTHERHOOD OF LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEERS.
ing of an ode, the Guide marches the candidate around the
hall twice. The room is completely darkened, so that,
should the new-comer conclude to remove the bandage for
purposes of his own, his treachery would avail him nothing.
Then, in perfect silence, he is led to the Chief Engineer's
station.” That officer suddenly and impressively inquires
who it is that approaches. The Guide humbly states that
he has a friend in charge, who wishes to become a worthy
member of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers.
After the Chief Engineer has formally satisfied himself that
the candidate is well qualified, he orders the Guide to con-
duct him to the station of the Second Engineer, who repeats
the challenge offered by the Chief Engineer, and is answered
in precisely the same way, which brings an order from the
Second Engineer to proceed to the altar.
This is immediately in front of the Chief Engineer's
a station.' Here the candidate is compelled to kneel and
place his left hand upon his heart, and his right upon the
Bible, which lies upon the altar before him, when the Chief
Engineer administers the oath, the candidate repeating each
sentence after him. That it contains that which should be re-
pulsive to all sentiments of manliness and fair-dealing among
men, and makes of this organization something to be de-
spised and condemned, every good citizen cannot but admit.
It is as follows:
I,
do swear that I am a locomotive en-
gineer, having been employed as such for a period of one
year.
I now wish to be made a member of the Brother-
hood of Locomotive Engineers.
In this solemn position I do promise and swear, and de-
clare upon my most sacred honor, that I will keep forever
secret any and every thing that I shall see done, or hear,
in
any
division of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers.
Furthermore do I promise and swear that I will never in
BROTHERHOOD OF LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEERS.
123
any manner be disloyal to this order, or wroug any one of
its members, or permit one of them to be wronged or in-
jured, if it shall be in my power to prevent it.
Furthermore do I promise and swear that I will forever
keep secret the doings and orders of this Brotherhood, and
that I will never disclose to any living person its passwords,
grips, and signs, except when duly authorized so to do, and
then only to a member in good standing.
Furthermore do I promise and swear that I will support,
and abide by, all the requirements and decisions of the
Grand International Division of the Brotherhood of Loco-
motive Engineers; and further, that I will never speak of
the order in a disrespectful manner, but will always yield
a cheerful obedience to all of its laws, rules, and usages, and
that I will not recommend any unworthy man to member-
ship in this order.
Furthermore do I promise and swear that, should I be
expelled from this order, I will never disclose to any living
person anything concerning the Brotherhood, of any name
or nature, and will as sacredly preserve its secrets as though
I were still a member in good standing.
Furthermore do I promise and swear that I will at all
times do everything in my power to assist a member of this
order in good standing to secure and retain employment;
but I pledge my most sacred honor, calling on God as my
witness, that I will never, under any circumstances, assist,
or recommend for employment, any one who is a non-
Brotherhood man, or an expelled member of this order.
To all of which I do pledge my most sacred honor, bind-
ing myself to a rigid execution of every promise, in spirit
and letter, to the uttermost, under no less a penalty than to
have my eyes torn from their sockets, and to myself be for-
ever damned and disgraced by all members of this Brother-
hood of Locomotive Engineers. So help me God !


124 BROTHERHOOD OF LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEERS.
I have purposely italicized the latter portions of this oath
so that the public may fully appreciate its fearful character.
Here is an organization with a professing Christian at its
head-a man who in every public manner possible, upon
the platform, in long-winded communications to news-
papers, to acquaintances and friends, and with his eyes
raised to heaven to witness his honesty and sincerity, has
protested that nothing but sweetness, simplicity, reform,
Christian charity and all the graces have nestled within it,-
which has for its very foundations a most heartless pledge to
refuse all assistance to the very class to which they belong,
and every member of which is just as deserving as them:
selves of the opportunity of securing an honest livelihood.
Out
upon
such “brotherhood " !
Every important sentiment expressed by this obligation is
utterly antagonistic to the spirit of our republican citizen-
ship, and its very treason to common humanity, to common
decency, and to common manhood, should bring upon their
supporters, and propagators, and particularly upon the dan-
gerous man who to-day is both ruling and ruining the or-
ganization with a sham and pretense of pious humanita-
rianism, while living upon the hard earnings of his deluded
followers, the execration of all classes of workingmen and
that of all other good citizens.
The fearful oath which caps all this dangerous stuff,
binding the engineer taking the same to the terrible penalty
named, in case of disloyalty to the Brotherhood, is too re-
volting to call for comment. It is simply the consummation
of outrageous brutality.
But this is not all.
After the administration of this oath, the light is sud-
denly turned on in the hall, the bandage is removed from
the eyes of the candidate, and he is then given a “lecture"
by the Chief Engineer, in which the solemnity of the oath is

BROTHERHOOD OF LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEERS.
125
dwelt upon, his general duties regarding secrecy and other
matters are reviewed, and he is specially reminded, and
that with great impressiveness, that it is one of his chief
duties to prevent, with every means in his power,
the
pro-
motion of firemen to the position of engineer.
Now, in every instance where Brotherhood engineers
have gone upon a strike, it has been their first business to
secure the co-operation of the firemen upon the line, or
lines, where the strike was to occur.
This is invariably
done by representing to these hard-working fellows that
their interests are identical, that they are the stuff from
which engineers are made, that the fireman and the engi-
neer are equally powerful when combined, and equally
helpless when separated, and that it is the chief duty of
men who aspire to become engineers to assist these men in
every possible scheme and move which will give them an
advantage over the railroad company; and yet the “lec-
ture” of every chief engineer of every division of this
Brotherhood contains a most earnest and impressive injunc-
tion that it is of paramount necessity with the Brotherhood
engineer that he shall use every means in his power to pre-
vent the fireman's promotion !
How will this great body of earnest fellows relish the
knowledge that these Brotherhood men--whom they have
stood by manfully in every trouble with which they have
been identified-have used them as mere tools to cast aside
when done with, and that it is one of their most earnest
duties to prevent their well-earned advancement ?
After this remarkable “lecture,” the candidate is obliged
to sign the constitution and by-laws, when he is instructed
in the use of the signs, grips, and passwords of the order.
This order has three signs—the Sign of Recognition, the
Sign of Distress, and the Voting Sign.
The Sign of Recognition is as follows: Both hands are


126
BROTHERHOOD OF LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEERS.
raised, open and backs upward, until, with the arms, they
describe a semi-circle, the points of the fingers meeting
between and just above the eyes, and then both hands are
brought down over the eyes to the sides with a quick move-
ment, indicating the penalty of having the eyes torn from
their sockets in case of disloyalty. It is answered in the
same manner.
The Sign of Distress is made by placing the left hand
upon the region of the chest, pressing the same, and ex-
pressing by the features that the one making such sign is
suffering bodily pain. The response is made by the use of
the same sign.
The Voting Sign is made by raising the left hand, instead
of the right, as is usual in such bodies when the votes are
counted, bringing the hand to the breast, and then dropping
it at the side.
There are two passwords. The general password, which
is used when traveling and when testing visiting members
—as will be explained—is changed annually, and is given
by the Grand International Division of the order, and only
to those divisions whose grand dues are wholly paid.
This password for the year 1877 was the word “Michi-
gan,” the peculiarity of its division into syllables, and their
pronunciation, vouching for the sincerity of its possessor.
This will be explained.
Aside from this, each separate division--and in February,
978, there were abont two hundred of these divisions, or
lodges, in the States and Canada--has its own password,
which, under any circumstances, is of very little impor-
tance, as each member of a local lodge is expected to per-
sonally know every other member.
There is but one grip for all circumstances and occasions.
This is given by grasping a brother's right hand with your
own, shaking it heartily, and instantly, on ceasing this
BROTHERHOOD OF LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEERS.
127
وو
motion, giving the side of his hand four successive taps
with the point of your little finger, which should be quickly
recognized in the same manner.
The amount of initiation fee is fixed upon by each divi-
sion, but it is usually ten dollars.
The emergency fund (local), division dues, Grand Inter-
national Division dues, and the “levies” ordered by Mr.
Arthur for the sustenance of striking Brotherhood men, ,
and
for the insurance payments to families of deceased Brother-
hood engineers, usually have amounted to about nine dollars
per member annually. On account of Mr. Arthur's rash-
ness, the striking of engineers in several localities, and the
great strikes of ’77, for that year they reached twice the
amount stated, and were utterly repudiated by large num-
bers of Brotherhood engineers.
Aside from the signs, grip and passwords, members of
the order in good standing are furnished with a traveling
card, a copy of the face and reverse of which I here give:
(FACE.)

1
To The
BROTHERHOOD OF LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEERS.
This is to Certify, that Bro.-
Is a Member in Good Standing of
(Signature of Applicant.)
Div., No.
Given at
, 187
F. A. E.
C. E.

128
BROTHERHOOD OF LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEERS.
(REVERSE.)
Years' Experience as a
Engineer.
187
Employed at present by
To be returned in three months from date.
C. E.
Granted
F. A. E.
It will be seen that this is a complete record of the man,
and entitles him to eyery consideration and courtesy in the
power of the order, when presented; but there is even still
a check on a person who may have surreptitiously become
possessed of one of these important cards, which must in-
varibly bear the impress of the seal of the division which
grants it.
This is “the test.” It is invaribly applied to a visiting
brother under the following circumstances, and in the man-
ner described.
The visitor is admitted by the Outside Guard, who immedi-
ately communicates the fact of such admission to the Second
Engineer, through the wicket. The latter officer at once
makes the fact known to the Chief Engineer, who suspends
business and appoints a committee to wait upon the visitor
and submit him to the “test.”
On their reaching the ante-room, the chairman of the
BROTHERHOOD OF LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEERS.
129
committee greets the supposed brother cordially, causing
him to give the grip, which is answered. The visitor has
the right, and frequently asserts it, to demand the charter
of the division, that he may be assured that the lodge is
properly authorized and regularly working. If this is found
satisfactory to the visitor, he so expresses himself, when
both he and the chairman advance towards each other with
extended hands. Then grasping each other's hand, again
giving the grip, and placing the left side of the toe of the
right boot against the left side of the instep of the other's
right boot, the visitor bends forward, whispers the first syl-
lable of the word “Mich-i-gan,” thus : “ Mich!” -pro-
nounced sharply “mish!” The chairman responds by
whispering in his ear, “ I!” The visitor then answers,
66 Gan!” *
This test was formerly considered sufficient for all pur-
poses, and on its being properly sustained by the visitor, he
was immediately conducted into the lodge-room, when, ad-
vancing to the center of the hall, he saluted the Chief Engi-
neer with the regular sign of recognition, which was returned
by that officer, when the Guide led him to a seat, and at
” he was heartily welcomed.
But, on account of the recklessness with which the organi-
zation has been handled, leading, as it has, to general dis-
satisfaction, withdrawals from disgust with the whole thing,
and expulsions for non-payment of assessments to perpetu-

66
recess
* The Traveling Password for the present year (1878) is the letters
“B. L. E.,” given in the same manner as the word “ Michigan."
The Sign of Recognition has also just been changed from that of bring-
ing the joined points of the hands from the center of the forehead, quick-
ly down over the eyes to the sides, to clasping the hands in front of, and
upon, the waist.
The Sign of Distress-only supposed to be used at night—is now given
by sharply striking together the two hands and uttering the words: “0
help me!”
6*

130 BROTHERHOOD OF LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEERS.
ate warfare against some railroad, and the consequent idle-
ness of scores of men whom it was found necessary to sup-
port, this test-work is now little relied on.
The traveling card, which has been explained, is now
almost the sole test of membership and good standing, as it
must be renewed every three months, and will not be
granted by the division only when dues have been fully
paid. Its necessity is also shown in the fact that, although
for years it has been almost an invariable custom for engi-
neers, when traveling from one section of the country to
another, to “get a lift” in the cab of any engineer to whom
he may apply, so much bitter feeling has been created
within the Brotherhood itself by the withdrawals and ex-
pulsions referred to, and so much suspicion has arisen
between Brotherhood men since the great strikes of »77,
that the comparatively few Brotherhood engineers who still
have faith in the order will not permit another engineer
to ride upon his engine, however effectively he may give
the sign of distress, or however excellently he may stand
« the test.”
He must have the traveling card, or he is left the alter-
native to pay his fare or tramp it.
This concludes what I know to be a full and complete
exposé of the inner workings of this order. With the infor-
mation here contained and a “ traveling card,” every intel-
ligent male reader of this book could enter any division
lodge of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers with
just as much ease as P. M. Arthur himself.
I am able to also say, with quite as certain a knowledge, that
the organization has passed its zenith of power and is gradu-
ally but surely falling to pieces. Whether it is true or not,
thousands of members have come to feel that Mr. Arthur
was re-elected through the veriest of political wire-pulling;
and a large number of the members openly express the con-

BROTHERHOOD OF LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEERS.
131
viction that the moneys of the organization are being sys-
tematically misapplied. Such a loss of confidence can
never be regained from men who labor for their money so
steadfastly and faithfully as do locomotive engineers.
They see that dissensions are constant; that members
are constantly withdrawing from various causes of disaffec-
tion; and that other members-nearly three hundred during
1877 and almost twice that number for the first two months
in 1878!—are being expelled for non-payment of dues and
assessments which are continually growing more onerous
and burdensome; they see that every pledge made by the
grand officers has been broken nearly as soon as it has
been made; and, above all, they have learned, many from
the bitterest of personal experience, that in almost every
instance where a strike has been ordered, it has not only
brought them disaster, notwithstanding the bluster and
bravado of Mr. Arthur, but that they have been perma-
nently deprived of labor, and, after that, deserted in the
most cowardly manner by these grand officers who have so
sacredly promised them support.
Intelligent men, as the locomotive engineers almost inva-
riably are, after a time learn these lessons so well that no
sophistry, flattery, or selfish cunning, can retain their confi-
dence or renew their fealty when they have once retired
from the order; and it may be set down as a certainty of
the future that the day for any powerful organization of
railway employees of like influence and daring to that
which the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers had
gained and exercised, is passed, and will never within the
present generation be re-established upon the crumbling
ruins of this notorious and at one time respectable organiza-
tion.
Before passing from the subject of railway employee
organizations, it is no more than proper that a few words


132
BROTHERHOOD OF LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEERS.
should be said of those other associations kindred to the
Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers.
The Grand International Union of Locomotive Firemen,
which is of comparatively recent origin, is nothing more or
less than an almost exact copy of the Brotherhood of Loco-
motive Engineers. Its grand officers are the same, under
different titles, and have the same general duties ; its lodges
are operated in almost precisely the same manner as are the
divisions of the last-named order ; it publishes a monthly
magazine, similarly edited and conducted; it has its Gen-
eral Grievance Committee, with the same functions and
powers; and it feeds and supports, out of the scrimped
savings of hard-worked firemen, just the same number of
official dictators.
This organization has, at this writing, eighty divisions,
comprising a membership of nearly four thousand firemen.
It is not considered prosperous, as the firemen who have
already joined the order, with the career of the Brother-
hood of Locomotive Engineers in mind, are not over-confi
dent of its success; and that immense body of firemen
outside of the association, for the same reason, are very cau-
tious about forming an alliance with influences which can
only antagonize them towards their employers, as well as
endanger their own interests.
But, of all ridiculous, wild, and absurd schemes of brain-
less and unprincipled men for the combination of em-
ployees in railway service, the Trainmen's Union was the
silliest, the craziest, and the most reckless. It was this or-
ganization which precipitated the great strikes of '77, but
as elsewhere stated, the encroaching spirit of communism,
and the insolence which the Brotherhood of Locomotive
Engineers had engendered in nearly all classes of railway
employees, were the principal causes—if, indeed, they were
not the real causes which created the Trainmen's Union

BROTHERHOOD OF LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEERS.
133
itself. This notorious society was founded by Robert A.
Ammon, or “Boss” Ammon, a sketch of whose career is
elsewhere given. This reckless adventurer and conscience-
less agitator organized the order in Allegheny City during
the latter part of May, 1877, and just previous to the at-
tempted strike of the next month, being the person to for-
mulate the oath, as well as the constitution and by-laws,
and was the first person who took the oath and signed the
articles.
The machinery of the Union was very simple. The
whole thing was only the result of one of Ammon's freaks,
and, although it was at one time the bugbear of nearly
every railway official in the country, it never had one iota
of character or power. It was a new thing, and because it
permitted all trainmen to become members, the public im-
mediately jumped to the conclusion that nearly all trainmen
had joined it, and what was of really the least importance
imaginable, became something to be dreaded and feared by
all.
Although a great effort was made to secure members, at
no time in its existence had it a membership of over seven
hundred persons. It was commonly believed that one hun-
dred times that number belonged to the order. It received
everybody and anybody without question. All that was
necessary to be known of a candidate for admission was
that he was a professed enemy of railroad management on
general principles; and at the third meeting for the initia-
tion of members, my operatives were able to become mem-
bers of the union without any trouble whatever.
To illustrate how characterless the organization was from
beginning to end, it is only necessary to state the fact that
the grand chief ” of the union was one “ Sam” Muckle,
who was so worthless and unprincipled a man that, though
he had at one time occupied nearly every position below an

66

134
THE START AT MARTINSBURG.
official one in railway service, he had become so thor-
oughly dreaded and despised, that he himself confessed to
be unable to secure employment on any railroad in the
country. Besides this reputation, which he so richly mer-
ited, he added the honor of being proprietor of one of the
lowest“ poker-dens” in Pittsburg, and of being the con-
stant companion of thieves and prostitutes.
The Trainmen's Union is no more. It died a violent
death with the violence of the great strikes, and there can
to-day hardly be found a man who will confess to having
once been a member.
And thus the disruption of such combinations goes on.
.
Were they confined to such purposes as is always claimed
for them by their leaders, they would live and accomplish
vast good. As they are merely schemes for exercising
brute force for selfish ends, whatever may be the disaster
and ruin to others, in good time they invariably meet with
the fate they deserve.
CHAPTER XI.
THE START AT MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA.
LEAVING for the present, further discussion of the subject
of tramps, communists, and turbulent organizations, to be
reverted to hereafter, as occasion may demand, I come to
the time just preceding the 16th of April, 1877, and the
incidents bearing upon the beginning of trouble with the
Baltimore and Ohio Railway. In 1856, John W. Garrett,
who had acquired some reputation as a business man, be-
came president of the company, which he found in poor

THE START AT MARTINSBURG.
135
condition, its stock quoted low, and its dividends small
indeed. Garrett appeared the right man for the place, and
when the civil war came, developed splendid executive
ability. Surrounding himself with capable lieutenants, and
having influence with the secretary of war, he secured such
profitable contracts that, in the end, the credit of the cor-
poration was fully restored, and the road extended, until it
became one of the most prominent lines in the country.
Early in the month of July, however, clouds began to
gather above the president's head. A storm was impending
which, before it could be controlled, or its power combated,
would extend its ravages from the Atlantic to the Pacific,
and from Pennsylvania to Texas, involving the nation in
untold loss and misfortune. The great strike of '77 had its
inception upon this line of road, and was the result of
a docking of ten per cent. in the wages it paid its train
employees. The 11th of July, the president by means of
an official circular, informed the hands that, at a meeting
convened the same day, a preamble and resolutions had
been adopted ordering a reduction of ten per cent. in the
compensation of all officers and operatives of the road where
the sum received was in excess of one dollar per diem, the
change to take effect on and after the sixteenth of the same
month. This rule embraced every man engaged upon the
main line and branches east of the Ohio River, and the
trans-Ohio division, as well as the roads leased and run by
the Baltiinore and Ohio Company. The notice stated that
the road had postponed action in this direction until some
time after its great competitors, the Pennsylvania, New
York Central, Hudson River, and New York and Erie
companies, had made sweeping and similar retrenchments,
hoping that meanwhile business would revive and the
necessity for a decrease of expenses thus be obviated. In
this they were disappointed. The principal reason brought


136
THE START AT MARTINSBURG.
forward for the action taken was depression in general
business interests of the country, which was unavoidably
and seriously affecting the earnings of all railways. In
short, the change must be made. The call for it was im-
perative.
Persons who have means of information superior to those
of the ordinary observer suppose that the low-wages move-
ment along the great trunk lines was undoubtedly canvassed
and decided upon by the representatives of the various
roads shortly after the close of Vanderbilt's freight war, in
the spring. At least the Pennsylvania company put it in
force during the month of May. Its cutting down of
wages to the extent of ten per cent. met acceptance by the
men employed. At least they made no trouble over it at
the time. The Erie road followed, with the New York
Central, the reduction to take effect the first of July. In
these cases the laborers were duly informed, beforehand,
of the changes that were to be made, and had an opportu-
nity, if they so desired, to send in a demurrer. The Balti-
more and Ohio road, as asserted in its circular, was nearly
the last to move in the matter. Two days before the rule
was to be enforced on its line, some of the firemen at once
decided to strike. They could not, and would not, stand
such sweeping deductions from their incomes. Divisions
or sections of the Trainmen's Union were in full blast all
along the line. They had been effectively instituted, dur-
ing the preceding spring and summer, by a duly author-
ized traveling delegation from the Pennsylvania road, and
every preparation made for a movement of their own,
unanimously determined upon, but which they had intended
deferring until the succeeding fall. Would they ever be in
better trim to make a stand against the company? Many
thought not; so they began the strike.
These workingmen assumed that their grievances were

THE START AT MARTINSBURG.
137
unbearable. They were certainly badly treated by the
merchants and boarding-house keepers along the route, the
latter class compelling them to pay inordinately high
rates for meals, lodging, and such necessities as trainmen
are compelled to have. They believed that a turn in affairs
could not make them much worse off, and it might possibly
better their condition. With low earnings—which, however,
were not so low as other workingmen were receiving—very
high rents, heavy demands on their scanty store for all
they had at the stations and elsewhere, extravagant prices
for groceries and provisions, by dealers outside of Balti-
more, where many of those having families made their
frugal homes, with extortion pressing them on every side,
coupled with compulsory credit purchases from month to
month, they began to nurse a hatred towards the company
and an antagonism towards the general public. Of one
thing, however, they could not reasonably complain. Their
monthly pay came regularly. On no occasion, since the
inception of the organization, had the Baltimore and Ohio
Railroad's laborers been forced to wait more than a few
days for their rightful dues. The engineers, firemen, brake-
men, baggagemen, and other hard-worked employees of the
road always received their dues with admirable prompti-
tude.
The company had been for more than a year gradually
reducing the number of persons under regular pay, and yet
retained more than the traffic of the line warranted, prefer-
ring to do the best possible by those retained rather than keep
a large force on starvation wages. But still there was more
help than work. The directors claimed that they must keep
a certain force, in order to meet the demands of the coming
busy season, when men might be hard to find. This excess
of help, as compared with work done, caused some com-
plaint. Those under wages lost valuable time, amounting

138
THE START AT MARTINSBURG.
cars.
in some cases to two or three days in a week, for which
they could collect no compensation, and thus reducing their
incomes greatly, but which was still far better than no em-
ployment at all. The road carried a moderate amount of
freight to the eastward, but could not get sufficient to the
westward to load its cars. It ran in the busiest season not
more than thirty-five trains in each direction. To the west
they were unprofitable, being largely made up of empty
Thus the number of cars in a train could be increased
or doubled
up, and a portion of the crew must lie over and
wait, at their own expense, until their services were re-
quired. The labor demanded of those working was consid-
erably increased, while part of the crews remained idle.
It was a style of management which could not fail in a hard
time to prove economical to the railway, but it was very
hard upon the employees of the company. Often a single
brakeman on a freight train had over twenty cars to attend
to, an increase of eight over those of the previous year.
Then the number of men on a train was reduced to four-
the conductor, brakemen, engineer, and fireman. These
things, coupled with the great depression in wages, were
sufficient to engender discontent. There were grounds for
it. But the subsequent act of the engineers and train-
men's unions cannot be approved or sustained. They had
discouragements—so had the entire people of the United
States, for that matter. But it would seem that men en-
dowed with ordinary foresight might have known that their
condition could not be bettered by a strike. Still they did
not see--and struck.
As soon as President Garrett, Vice-President King, and
Second Vice-President Keyser were made acquainted with
the strike--and they knew it early and were well-posted as
to the movements of the Brotherhood of Engineers and the
Trainmen's Union--they pronounced it untimely, ill-ad-

THE START AT MARTINSBURG.
139
vised, and fated to meet no great success. This road, like
all others, was passing through the darkest days of its exist-
ence--a financial stringency which was affecting the whole
country. There was a falling off in business where an
accession had been confidently calculated upon. These
were some of the results of competition and unproductive
extensions of line. The demand, they all said, existed for
a curtailment of expenses, and the reduction had to be
made. But the strike was simply suicidal on the part of
the men engaged in it. When informed of the demands
of the strikers, the officers promptly refused them. They
knew that a stoppage would lead to a great loss, but pre-
ferred to let the road stand still for six months rather than
submit to dictation and cause a reinstatement of the former
rates of wages.
Meetings of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers
were held, advice was given and received, and that body,
it was supposed, had concluded not to take part in the
strike. At least such was the report made to outsiders.
But, if the organization did not turn out as a society, it con-
sented that the Trainmen’s Union should do so, and in some
instances assisted indirectly in starting the important move-
ment. All things being ready, the strike was commenced
at Martinsburg, West Virginia, where the first actual vio-
lence occurred on the very day that the reduction of wages
on the Baltimore and Ohio road was ordered to take effect,
which was on July 16, 1877.
In the lively little city of Martinsburg, West Virginia,
near the historical Harper's Ferry and the locality where old
John Brown sealed his devotion to what he considered a
holy cause with his life, and a little less than a hundred
iniles from Baltimore, occurred the first important incidents
of the great strikes of '77. The precise time was the
night of July 16th. The same day two engineers deserted

140
THE START AT MARTINSBURG.
their locomotives at Riverside, south of Baltimore. The
strikers had notified the crews of all freight trains that no
person should move an engine after a certain hour, under
penalty of death. It is not pretended that this order was
an official fulmination from the Trainmen's Union. It had
undoubtedly obtained circulation through its leaders, how-
ever, and carried with it the weight of an authorized rule.
Engineers on the road were paralyzed. The managers of
the line hastened to make good their usual trips and secure
help to take the places of the men striking. But they met
only partial success.
Martinsburg, which has added to its eventful history the
doubtful compliment of having been the theatre of the in-
auguration of violence in the late labor troubles, is a hand-
some place of eight thousand inhabitants, centrally located
in the midst of the garden-spot of West Virginia. It is
probably the most prosperous of the inland cities of the
great valley of Virginia. Swept by the waters of the
placid and beautiful Potomac, its environs are unsurpassed
for romantic and picturesque glimpses of farm-houses,
green fields, sloping hillsides, glades, and groves. To the
westward stands North mountain, and to the eastward rise
the cloud-like tips of the famous Blue Ridge. Nestled like
a flower-garden in a sweet valley, between the higher peaks,
is the town, resplendent in white paint, glistening church-
spires, and numerous brick buildings with the brightest of
green blinds. To the northward and southward, unrolled
in a vast and undulating plain, dotted with clumps of trees
and crossed and recrossed by network of fence and hedge
between mountain-spurs, is seen the fruitful savanna form-
ing this portion of Berkeley county. Nearly all the land
is arable, and under a high state of cultivation by a hardy,
rugged population, many of whose members have removed
to the state from Pennsylvania and other states, since the
THE START AT MARTINSBURG.
141
close of the late war. A more orderly or thrifty people
than these farmers could not easily be found. The counties
of Morgan and Jefferson adjoin Berkeley on the west and
the east; the Potomac on the north; and Frederick, in Old
Virginia, on the south. For many miles around Martins-
burg the region is rich in grain-fields and pastures, the lat-
ter specked with fat cattle and fine sheep, and in its stables
are some of the best bits of horse-flesh in the whole coun-
try. To those who have been accustomed to traveling
through the dreary, yellow-soiled, sad, forlorn, deserted, and
forsaken portions of the Southern States, this section of
West Virginia appears a very garden of Eden. It is really
a delightful locality. The town is well built up, and has
some spacious edifices, public and private. Nearly all of
the orthodox churches are represented by houses for wor-
ship, of more or less pretensions; and there are six school-
houses for the accommodation of white and colored chil-
dren, twenty-five hundred of whom can be taught within
their ample halls. The business of the Baltimore and Ohio
Railroad, with that of the division shops, gives employment
to a large number of mechanics, and the pay-roll from rail-
road and repair labor alone amounts to some $30,000
monthly. The streets of the city are lighted with gas.
Medicinal springs of great reputation are found within a
few miles. The cost of the system of water-works, obtain-
ing cold, clear water from a lime-rock spring near by, was
over $80,000. It was in this happy neighborhood, since
the war resting in peace and quietude, that the combina-
tion of railroad men, carrying out their communistic ideas,
imbrued their hands in blood and met their first loss of
life.
The night of Monday, the 16th of July, the train hands
leaving Baltimore that morning, and those coming from the
west upon freights, began to concentrate at Martinsburg,


142
THE START AT MARTINSBURG.
Some of the cabooses from the city had several employees
in them. There was nothing unusual in seeing a number
of locomotives upon the tracks near the dispatcher's office.
Nor was there anything particularly noticeable in finding
several freight conductors, engineers, firemen, and off-time
baggage-men and brakemen congregating at that point.
But there was surely something of more than ordinary inter-
est transpiring, or about to transpire, when these persons
met mysteriously in little groups at the depot hotel, the
machine-shops, on the track, at the switch-stand, and in
other localities, and anxiously and excitedly counseled to-
gether, not speaking above a whisper, but emphasizing their
words with many gestures, and often signs of undue excite-
ment. Everybody seemed to be in ill-humor. The expla-
nation of the unusual gatherings, the conversations, and the
gesticulations, was plain enough when one fireman an-
nounced to the dispatcher that the cattle-train was forced
to stop there, as its crew, conductor included, had struck,
and no one could be found to fill their places. In fact, he
thought no more trains would be allowed to move from
Martinsburg, in either direction. The infection soon com-
municated itself to the lookers-on, and they commenced to
talk and energetically wag their jaws and tongues, adding
to the confusion of the hour. More people came down the
hill from the adjacent business houses and residences, to
see what was going on. Among the rest was the big police-
man, with the broad back and crooked legs, with his club
in hand. Then there was the thin policeman, and the small
policeman, both with their big clubs. These latter person-
ages sauntered leisurely around the depot, then stopped,
leaned listlessly against the posts of the gallery, and waited
to see if their invaluable services would be called for.
Presently the locomotives were detached from the trains,
and all run into the “stables” at the round-house, where the

THE START AT MARTINSBURG.
143
proper attendants were in readiness to take them in hand,
“rub them down,” and draw their fires.
Everything was performed systematically and quietly,
without use of loud words or unnecessary noise of any sort,
as if the work had all been pre-arranged before the com-
ing in of the trains. When asked by the proper
officials
what such movements portended, the strikers responded
that no more trains were to be run over that road, in any
direction, until the ten per cent. reduction of trainmen's
wages should be withdrawn by the company. It was,
in truth, a strike of the trainmen for higher pay. With-
out it was conceded, they intended to refrain from work,
and would not permit a new set of men to labor in their
places. The freight trains must stand just where they were.
Mail trains could pass for the present, but eventually they
would also be brought to a stand-still. This was, in part,
the statement made to the company for its consideration.
A buzz of stirring interest was elicited from the, by this
time, increased crowd of spectators. The ripple spread
and widened, and spread again, until it reached every citi-
zen of the place. It was taken up by the telegraph, flew
quickly to Camden Station, Baltimore, the headquarters of
the corporation, where it was the cause of considerable trib-
ulation among the officials and employees; then sped to the
great centres of the Associated Press, in Washington and
New York, whence in a few minutes the news was sent
forth, still on the wings of the lightning, that there was
trouble at Martinsburg, West Virginia, on the line of the
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and that an actual blockade
of the line had been formed. The staid citizen of Portland,
Oregon, when he read the brief announcement in his favor-
ite
paper, the next morning at the breakfast-table, glanced
slightingly at it, and quickly concluded that it would hardly
amount to anything. The Britisher, rosy and rotund, in

144
THE START AT MARTINSBURG.
London, impatiently remarked, while he quaffed his bitter
beer at his inn: “ Those blasted Hamericans ’av got hup
another wiot an'a wumpus, hall about nothing !” And he
probably sent his copy of the Times politely to a hot place,
because of its lack of something stunning in the way of war
dispatches. The little vibration of wrath had reached to
the uttermost limits of earth having the telegraph, and still
caused no particular sensation. But it was the precursor
of a monster wave, which made America tremble and sent
a perceptible thrill throughout the habitable globe where
newspapers are published and dispatches received.
The small policeman was finally sent for the Mayor,
Captain A. P. Shutt, who promptly put in an appearance,
and, backed by his trio of municipal guardians, held a con-
ference with the railway officials, during which he made
known his willingness to do all he could to induce the dis-
turbing element to subside. Then, in accordance with his
promise, he proceeded to speak with the crowd, now greatly
increased by railroad men making their homes in the city,
using mild and temperate language, and advising those
present to return to their work and trust to the fairness
of the company in the settlement of their grievances. He
thought they would, in that manner, receive whatever was
proper.
His remarks were well calculated to quiet
and conciliate reasonable beings; but the mob, following
the general rule, had reached that point where sense van-
ishes, and passion and uncurbed turbulence assume the
reins and drive men's minds to madness and violence.
Therefore, the Mayor was hooted at, derided, and his good
counsel turned to ridicule. He signally failed in impressing
upon the railroaders any of his mild-mannered notions.
He could not make them understand that it would be best
to run their locomotives to their destinations. On the con
trary, his speech served to add fuel to the fires already
just and

THE START AT MARTINSBURG.
145
fiercely burning, and, in a short time, giving it up as a hope-
less task, he sent his policemen to arrest the ringleaders of
the mob. The crowd of strikers laughed in the faces of
his inefficient force. The policemen made frantic efforts
to obey, but were powerless. Both of the Mayor's appeals
were about equally fruitless. The men would not work.
The engineers found an excuse for refusal to work, saying
they dare not ascend to their cabs. The firemen and the
trackmen held back with all their strength; neither would
they allow others to supply their places. The Mayor was
finally forced to withdraw from the field, with his officers,
and the strikers in a short time had the situation at their
undisputed command. By midnight the machine-shops,
depot, and round-house were all deserted, save by a deputa-
tion of Union men, left to guard the track, and see that no
trains started from or passed by that point. The strangers
from Baltimore had sought shelter at the hotels, or been
taken in and provided for by their fellow-strikers, and the
local master of transportation, the telegraph manager and
his operatives, were left alone in the office to communicate
the information of the strike to President Garrett and Vice-
President King, at Baltimore.
A little after midnight a special car brought to the spot
Capt. Thos. B. Sharp, General Master of Transportation,
who, after taking in the full condition of affairs, which
was not difficult of comprehension, sent the result of his
investigation in a telegraphic dispatch to the principal
office. After due consideration by the Baltimore officials
of the road, a telegram was prepared and sent to Governor
Mathews, stating the facts as here given, and asking him
to send a militia force to compel the strikers to abandon
violent measures and allow trains to move in safety.
The Governor was very prompt indeed; some there were
who thought him entirely too prompt in returning a dis-

"7

146
THE START AT MARTINSBURG.
patch to Col. C. J. Faulkner, at Martinsburg, dated at
Wheeling about midnight, ordering the colonel, if necessary,
to call out his command, the Berkeley Light Infantry, to
protect and aid the civil authorities, and make due report
to the executive office as to his operations and the existing
state of affairs.
Col. Faulkner is a son of the Confederate General Faulk-
ner, who, it will be remembered, gave the United States
forces so much trouble throughout West Tennessee, in 1862
and 1863.
When informed of the Governor's wishes, which was at
about 12.30 A.M., July 17th, Col. Faulkner returned answer,
also by telegraph, that the strikers had refused to allow
trains to move either east or west from Martinsburg, and
inquired if his instructions extended any further than merely
protecting the
peace.
If
SO,
he desired an answer in full.
Meanwhile, orders were issued by Faulkner for the imme-
diate assemblage of the militia command at their armory, ,
prepared for active duty. This was promptly responded
to, even by many railroad men, members of the organiza-
tion, and possibly at the same time connected with the
Trainmen's Union. Certainly a number, as well as numer-
ous citizens, were hearty sympathizers with the men on a
strike. In half an hour a dispatch was received from Gov-
ernor Mathews, advising Col. Faulkner to avoid the employ-
ment of force if possible, but to see that the laws were exe-
cuted, at the same time giving all necessary aid to the civil
authorities. The Governor's message concluded :
“I rely upon you to act discreetly and firmly.”
The hour fixed upon by Mr. Sharp, Master of Transporta-
tion, for moving the trains, was five o'clock, Tuesday morn-
ing. An engineer and fireman were hunted
who agreed
to take the stock-train through to its destination, if pro-
tected while doing so. Col. Faulkner, his command of
up,

THE START AT MARTINSBURG.
147

militia, Mayor Shutt and his police, and the Sheriff of
Berkeley County and a posse, were requested to be present
and see that the rioters did not interfere. Before retiring
from the scene, Col. Faulkner once more asked Governor
Mathews, by telegraph: “Must I protect men who are will-
ing to run their trains, and see that they are permitted to
go east and west ? ” In an hour the Governor replied as
follows: “I am informed that the rioters constitute a com-
bination so strong that the civil authorities are powerless to
enforce the law. If this is so, prevent any interference by
rioters with the men at work, and also prevent the obstruc-
tion of the trains."
With this communication in his pocket, Col. Faulkner
knew plainly what his duty was, and he repaired to the
armory to take command of his men. With the excitement
accompanying the strike, the known orders for the gather-
ing of the militia, the marching upon the streets of men in
uniforms and bearing arms, there was little sleep that visited
the eyelids of the citizens of Martinsburg that eventful
night. Almost the entire population was out of doors, and
white persons and colored were gathered in knots on the
corners, discussing the unusual state of affairs, and wonder-
ing what the morrow would bring forth. Never, since the
close of the war, had the city experienced such a sensation.
CHAPTER XII.
FIRST GUN OF THE COMMUNE.
By five o'clock the next morning, W. H. Harrison, Esq.,
Master Mechanic of the company, reached Martinsburg
from Cumberland, accompanied by Mr. French, and held a
consultation with Capt. Sharp and the remaining local force

148
FIRST GUN OF THE COMMUNE.
of the railway. They caused a locomotive to be fired up,
attached to the cattle-train, and, having an engineer and
fireman engaged, were about ready to start matters anew.
The sun was rising when an attempt was made to set driv-
ing-wheels once more in motion; but the striker's guard
from the round-house came swooping down and interfered,
ordering the non-striking engineer to hold hard or he would
be killed.
He promptly shut the throttle, brought the engine to, and
probably saved his life by so doing. He remained with the
locomotive for a short time, prepared, if he had a chance,
to rush the train forward; but finally left, with his com-
panion, to obtain breakfast. Up to this time Col. Faulkner
and the militia and the sheriff of the county had not come
to the assistance of the railway officials; neither was the
mayor, with his police force, present. The president and
officers of the company were duly advised of the circum-
stances, and at once forwarded instructions by telegraph for
Sharp to keep on trying until success crowned his efforts.
The quick eye of the Master of Transportation flashed omi-
nously as he read the dispatch, and he pushed his gray
hair
farther back from his forehead, saying to the operator at
the instrument: “Tell President Garrett and Mr. King that
everything possible for me to do shall be done!" This
message passed quickly over the line to Camden depot.
The abortive trial, in the early dawn of the day, to move
the train, and the consequent sounding of the shrill steam-
whistle, had startled the excited inhabitants of Martinsburg,
and they flocked down the streets leading to the depot,
anxious to learn what might be going on. With the resi-
dents came the strikers belonging in the city, reinforced by
those from Baltimore and the West. They congregated
about the basement doors of the hotel, above which were
the ticket office and the telegraph department, spread over
FIRST GUN OF THE COMMUNE.
149
the surrounding ground in sınall squads—the railroad men,
as though by agreement, separating from the others and
concentrating a formidable force, perhaps a hundred strong,
near the company's buildings. Mr. Harrison, the Master
Mechanic, who was personally and favorably known to
many of the disaffected, went to and conversed with them,
endeavoring by every means in his power to influence their
minds in the direction of peace, and bring about an amica-
ble adjustment of the prevailing troubles. A majority of
the employees were well disposed towards Harrison, and
listened to his words attentively, but without exhibiting any
change of heart or countenance. The look of fixed and
stern resolution did not dissolve under his soothing counsel.
Their frenzy was not perceptibly lessened, or the feeling
that they must strike materially reduced. Finally, after
exhausting his supply of arguments, Harrison returned to
Sharp, reporting that the malcontents would not change
their decision in regard to the stopping of all freight trains.
They were, if anything, more firmly resolved than ever that
no trains should be started, and that everything in the
freight line must remain as it was until their demands met
compliance. Mr. Sharp, a cool, determined man, of iron
will, when he received this information reached a decision
not at all favorable to a peaceful solution of the surrounding
difficulties. His cold, stern-looking face grew colder and
more callous, and he stroked his gray beard impatiently.
The grumblers had been in the habit of accusing Sharp of
being at the bottom of the rough discipline to which they
were continually subjected, and many really believed that
he was the cause of the late reduction in wages. In truth,
he was decidedly opposed to the cutting-down doctrine, and
in favor of restoring the pay to its original amount. But
of this his enemies were ignorant, and, when they saw him
walk quickly to the vicinity of the locomotive, and order


150
FIRST GUN OF THE COMMUNE.
the engineer forward to his destination at all hazards, they
were greatly enraged, and many were the bitter words and
scowling glances cast upon him as he stood defying them
and their power. At this juncture the ranks of the strikers
were expanded by some citizens, deputations from the rab-
ble, a number of half-grown boys, and the scum of the town
groggeries, partly armed with clubs and huge rocks, placing
themselves in position, and by words and demonstrations
of violence declaring that they too would aid in obstructing
the movements of trains.
Before the engine could be moved a single length of rail,
the mob made a dash for the foot-board, swarmed upon it,
over the coal in the tender, and thence into the cab, rudely
driving the newly-engaged engineer and fireman from their
positions. Members of the Union then uncoupled the loco-
motive from the train and ran it to the round-house, leaving
the box-cars standing on the track, no nearer their destina-
tion than before.
The trainmen on a strike-their numbers, by this time,
increased to several hundred—sought to do no further dam-
age, but retired from the place where the engine had been
left, and, in almost a solid mass, gathered nigh to watch
proceedings. Nobody had been hurt. The volunteer en-
gineer and fireman were away, having escaped and returned
to their homes, so that Sharp was again defeated, and he
advised the company of the fact.
Meantime the assemblage of spectators and the array
of
strikers continued to increase. The balcony of the hotel,
which faced the line of railway, and the high land about
and rising above the track, were literally crowded with
greatly excited people, men, women, and children.
At about nine o'clock, four hours later than the time ap-
pointed, the sound of fife and drum was heard from the
vicinity of the center of town, and presently the bright

FIRST GUN OF THE COMMUNE.
151
went up
colors waving in the air, and the gleaming arms and accoul-
trements of the Berkeley Light Infantry, were seen advan-
cing towards the passenger depot, headed by Col. Faulkner.
The Mayor, with his powerless police, was already at the
spot. A hurrah, and then a loud shout of welcome, greeted
the militia as they filed down the steep steps by the track
and marched unopposed to the round-house. Another cheer
from the populace when the engineer and fireman,
who had been discovered and brought to the spot, appeared
at the front, very closely followed by their wives and chil-
dren. At the depot they halted for a moment. The women
threw their arms around their husbands' necks and frantically
embraced them, urging that they refrain from attempting the
perilous task. The angry mob, they said, would be sure to
do them an injury. It had already treated the men roughly
and made threats of what should be done the next time.
Their lives would be lost, they were positive, if they at-
tempted the business again. . But, fairly tearing themselves
from the
grasp
of their families, who impeded their progress,
the brave fellows started at a swift pace to the round-house,
part of the time protected by the militia, and mounted the
engine, which was already fired
up.
Soon the engine moved
out and was attached to the cattle-train. Following the loco-
motive, on either side, were the soldiers, with guns loaded and
bayonets fixed. Their
progress was painfully snail-like from
the pressure of the close-formed ranks of the strikers, which
kept surging against the militia, but indulged in no violent
acts, seeming to satisfy themselves with yelling, hooting,
hissing, and employing harsh and insulting language, prin-
cipally heaped upon the two men in charge of the engine.
When the train was for the third experiment made lip
for
starting, the engineer and fireman, protected and guarded
in their places by armed soldiers, with still other militiamen
upon the tender, the buffers, on the pilot and in the caboose,


152
FIRST GUN OF THE COMMUNE.
the company
the excitement of people and trainmen rose to white heat.
Then the mayor suggested to Col. Faulkner that he observed
in the crowd of belligerents a strong determination to use
narsh means and to not respect the presence of State militia,
too many of whose officers and privates were themselves
railroaders, and in full accord with the movement against
.
“Would it not be well,” suggested Mayor Shutt, “to
speak with the strikers, and give them at least fair warning
of what they may expect if they interfere with the engine
or the train ?"
Col. Faulkner was of the opinion that such a course would
be for the best ; and, standing in a prominent position on
the passenger platform, he commenced an address, the pur-
port of which was pacificatory, and at the same time courte-
ously firm and impressive. He counseled delay--reference
of their troubles to President Garrett-anything rather than
the exercise of brute force, in seeking to obtain their rights.
His words were unheeded. When he informed the infu-
riated men that they must not touch the engine or the cars,
at their peril, they only laughed at him. The train was at
the moment moving on the siding in the direction of a switch
that, if properly turned or set, would lead it upon the main
track of the road.
By this time it was nearly ten o'clock, and the mob had
greatly increased in size and power. Parts of the militia
command were deployed upon either side of the train, to
see that its couplings were not tampered with. The re-
mainder occupied positions whence they could protect the
fireman, engineer, and brakeman. As the train steadily
and slowly drew nigh the switch, a militiaman named John
Poisal, while sitting on the cow-catcher, particularly noticed
the position of the switch-ball, which indicated that the
train, unless some change was made, would be thrown oft

0
with
W
hy
First Bloodshed at Martinsburg, West Virginia.

FIRST GUN OF THE COMMUNE.
153
:
the right track. Immediately jumping to the ground, mus-
ket in hand, he ran forward to the switch. William Van-
dergriff, one of the striking firemen, stood nigh, and had just
swung the bar so as to send the engine in the wrong direc-
tion, and remained on watch to prevent its reversal.
John Poisal reached the spot in time and put out his hand
towards the rod, when, amid the general confusion, Vander-
griff's voice rang out loud and clear
“ Don't you touch that switch !”
“I'm not going to see the train run on a siding if I can
prevent it!” answered Poisal, firmly grasping the iron.
He had not time to move it. Vandergriff said no more,
but drew a small pocket-pistol from his belt, and before
Poisal had time to change the switch, fired two shots in
quick succession, full upon the militiaman, one of the
bullets plowing a jagged furrow in the side of Poisal's
head, just above the ear, and the other flying wide of the
mark. This sudden onslaught caused a lively scattering
among the women, children, and peaceably disposed and
more timid citizens, while the mob drew closer up to the
soldiers. The switch remained unchanged, and the locomo-
tive stopped. But this was not all. Poisal, upon receiving
the striking fireman's shot, rapidly raised his gun and dis-
charged it, aiming at Vandergriff. . Another soldier sent
a second missile in the same direction, and both were well
aimed. One bullet struck the young man in the thigh, and
another penetrated his arm. He fell, mortally wounded.
There followed several explosions of small arms, but no
other persons were seriously injured. Poisal and Vander-
griff were taken to their homes. In a moment the militia
found themselves overpowered, and once more the strikers
had things all in their own way. The sounds of the firing
drew larger crowds from the city, and the excitement was,
if possible, still more intense.

17*
FIRST GUN OF THE COMMUNE.
155

The fireman and engineer who had volunteered to start
the train, managed to escape, left the locality, and returned
to their homes.
Col. Faulkner appreciated, in an instant, that his militia,
however brave and trustworthy under ordinary circum-
stances, would not attempt to kill their relatives and friends,
their brothers and neighbors. He therefore reported to
Mr. Sharp that his soldiers were powerless, many openly
sympathizing with the strikers, and he must march them
back to the armory. They were of no use where they
stood, and the only course left was to order them home,
leaving the road blocked up with trains and everything in
the cars subject to the caprices of an inflamed and angry
mob.
All that day, and for several days thereafter, Vander-
griff lay upon his bed suffering terrible agony from his in-
juries, at his house in the city, watched over and nursed by
his wife and the best surgeons the country afforded. It may
as well be stated here that, twelve days subsequent to the
shooting, on the 28th of July, he breathed his last, and the
following Sunday his remains were buried in the cemetery,
the funeral being largely attended from the Lutheran
Church.
John Poisal, the militiaman, was not severely hurt. In
a few days he made his appearance upon the streets, appar-
ently as well as usual.
These few and simple circumstances were greatly mag-
nified by the correspondents of Baltimore, Washington, and
New York papers, who visited the place in force, and by
the time the small speck of news reached the West, it had
grown to such prodigious proportions that Martinsburg
people, who were witnesses of all the incidents, could hardly
recognize it. If the journals were to be credited, civil war
reigned in West Virginia. The story spread abroad in this

156
FIRST GUN OF THE COMMUNE.
exaggerated form, and lighted the torch of communism,
which in a few days burned brightly throughout the whole
country. At no time was the number of actual strikers or
disaffected railroad men upwards of seventy-five or eighty,
but the many citizens and others backing and working with
them formed a mob of really large proportions.
After the departure of the militia from the scene, firing
and confusion seemed to cease, the railroaders retired to
their former position near the machine-shops, and there
awaited further developments, the locomotive being un-
coupled and again returned to its place in the round-house.
Col. Faulkner, who, it must be borne in mind, had given
his men no orders to fire upon the strikers—hence, running
no risk of his commands being disobeyed—was thoroughly
disgusted with the part he had, with his company, been
forced to assume in the riots. Desirous of performing his
whole duty, he yet sought to enforce the laws without shed-
ding human blood, and had met no success.
He at once
telegraphed to Governor Mathews, saying he had faithfully
tried to protect the men in moving trains, but had been
fired into, having one man shot, and the militia shooting
Then the engineer and fireran deserted, and
the train could not be moved. At a later hour he for-
warded to Governor Mathews a second telegram, to the ef-
fect that it was impossible for him to do anything further
with his command—the most of the men, being railroaders,
would not respond. The force of strikers was too formi-
dable for him to cope with. In response, the same day,
came a dispatch from the Governor stating that the
peace
must be preserved, law-abiding citizens protected, and
whatever force might be needed to accomplish this would
be used. He could send a company from Wheeling, if
necessary, in which there were no men “unwilling to be
used in suppressing riot and executing the law.” The lan-

one man.
FIRST GUN OF THE COMMUNE.
157

guage employed by the Governor touched Col. Faulkner
sensibly, but he did not at once reply. During the day, ,
however, he addressed the Executive to the effect that the
sympathies of the citizens were entirely with the strikers;
engineers and firemen were reluctant to risk taking out
trains, and if he thought such a condition of affairs called
for a military force, he would have to send it from another
point than Martinsburg, from reasons before stated. In a
telegram sent to Martinsburg the ensuing day, the Governor
spoke very highly of Col. Faulkner's appeal to the rioters,
and his conduct in the discharge of the delicate and im-
portant duty with which he had been intrusted.
The revolutionists had full possession of all the railroad
property in and around Martinsburg from Monday night
until the morning of the succeeding Wednesday, the 18th
of July, at 7.30 o'clock, when about fifty of the members of
the Mathews Light Guard, from Wheeling, under Col.
Delaplaine, arrived in the town. For upwards of an hour,
however, the soldiery remained in the cars that brought
them, awaiting the result of a conference between their
officers and Attorney-General White, Mr. Wm. Keyser,
Second Vice-President, Col. Sharp, and others, as to the
proper course to be pursued in the emergency. The rioters
made no demonstration more than to keep up a guard over
the works, and all stories concerning their erection of bar-
ricades and intrenchments near the round-house, which
were freely circulated by the press, were merely the inven-
tion of imaginative newspaper correspondents. Had an
attempt been made to move the freight trains, however, it
is probable that they would at once have resumed hostili-
ties. Remaining quiet, apparently content with the work
they had done, the men narrowly watched the progress of
events, and telegraphed as often as possible the condi-
tion of affairs to the leaders of the Trainmen's Union at
158
FIRST GUN OF THE COMMUNE.
Baltimore, Grafton, Cumberland, Pittsburg, and other
points.
At noon on the 18th of July the strikers visited the rail-
road workshops in Martinsburg, and ordered the laborers to
suspend operations, which they refused to do, and the train-
men were compelled to leave, their mission unaccomplished.
All passenger and mail trains, meantime, were allowed to
pass either way, unmolested entirely—only the freights
being stopped, the idea appearing to be to avoid an infrac-
tion of United States law through interference with the
post-office department. No damage was done to the prop-
erty of the railway company at Martinsburg, and none was
attempted. The men engaged in the troubles said that if
they were not interfered with, no person should be molested.
The cars filled with cattle were finally sent forward by Mr.
Mantz, over the Cumberland Valley and Western Maryland
railroad, and the stock reached its destination not much the
worse for temporary detention.
As was very natural under the circumstances, and consid-
ering the direction of the sympathies of the people, great
indignation prevailed among all classes of citizens of Mar-
tinsburg at what they denominated the hasty and ill-advised
action of Governor Mathews. They thought the power of
civil authority had not been exhausted, and that Sheriff
Naudenbousch might have quelled the disturbance of Tues-
day without the loss of life, had a properly constituted posse
been called out. But this is
But this is open to grave doubt. From a
careful
survey
of the field, made by an employee of my
agency only a few days after the occurrence of the inci-
dents just related, I ain satisfied that it would have been
almost impossible to have found in the whole of Berkeley
county, at the date of the strike, a sufficient number of im-
partial, non-sympathizing men to have dislodged the rail-
roaders and their armed and unarmed supporters. The


FIRST GUN OF THE COMMUNE.
159
residents along the line of the railroad were from some rea-
son very much prejudiced against the company, and for a
time, until their passions had cooled off somewhat, would
hardly have turned out, upon the simple order of the sheriff,
to disperse a mob which, from their standpoint, was be-
lieved to be working in a proper direction.
In the meanwhile, the Wheeling Light Infantry had
charge of the town, but did not seek to interfere with the
operations of the strikers. It was deemed best to await
reinforcements.
On the 18th of July, at the urgent request of Mr. Garrett
and the directorship of the Baltimore and Ohio road, Gov-
ernor Mathews forwarded to President Hayes a lengthy
telegram, explaining the situation and asking that United
States troops should be furnished.
Col. Delaplaine was censured for the highly-colored re-
port he had sent to Wheeling, upon the arrival of himself
and command at Martinsburg; but that gentleman's descrip-
tion of the condition of affairs was moderation and mild-
ness exemplified, compared with that of the earlier press
correspondent.
The Light Infantry from Wheeling went into camp near
the railway and at the court-house. After their advent,
while awaiting developments, no further attempts were made
to move trains, and hence the strikers were worn out with
watching, and made no effort to control the property of the
railroad
company. It was not until Brevet Major-General
W. H. French, Colonel of the Fourth U. S. Artillery, with
two hundred men armed as infantry, arrived on the ground,
that anything was accomplished towards starting freight
operations on that portion of the line. The Federal sol-
diers from the arsenal at Washington had no sooner reached
Martinsburg than quiet and order reigned supreme.
Previous to this, however, President Hayes had issued

160
FIRST GUN OF THE COMMUNE.
his proclamation, directed to the citizens of West Virginia.
It was a document similar in most respects to those usually
issued from the office of the National Executive, upon the
application of the Governor of a State when an emergency
occurs and there is no time in which to assemble the legisla-
ture to meet the difficulty. It was on this occasion founded
upon the representation of Governor Mathews that turbu-
lence existed in different parts of the State, which the author-
ities were unable to suppress. The President admonished
all good citizens of the United States, and all persons within
the territory and jurisdiction of the United States, against
aiding, countenancing, abetting, or taking part in such un-
lawful proceedings, and warned those engaged in or con-
nected with said domestic violence and obstruction of the
laws to disperse and retire peaceably to their respective
abodes, on or before twelve o'clock meridian of the 19th day
of July. It bore the great seal of the United States, and
the signatures of the President and F. A. Seward, Acting
Secretary of State.
Gen. French's first work, after reaching Martinsburg with
his force, was the issuance of a general order, in the shape
of a hand-bill, notifying the inhabitants that traffic on the
line of the Baltimore and Ohio road must no longer be
interfered with, and that those who impeded movements of
United States troops did so at their peril. This perma-
nently settled the difficulty as Martinsburg. The rioters
had to retire. They could not fight the government of the
United States.


THE RISING IN BALTIMORE.
161
CHAPTER XIII.
THE RISING IN BALTIMORE.
rence.
From Martinsburg the communistic madness radiated in
various directions; but in the course of this relation Balti-
more seems to come next in importance and date of occur-
This place contains, or is supposed to contain,
eminently suitable elements for the rapid generation of the
mob principle. While it is the Monumental City, and a
great metropolis in more ways than one, within its borders
a certain rough and cosmopolitan class has settled, which can
be relied upon for a fight or a scrimmage on the slightest
possible provocation. The history of the town, dating back
to 1729, as it does, furnishes a number of incidents similar to
those taking place during the great strikes of "77; but the
first purely railway difficulty happened the 30th of June,
1830, and was caused by a contractor on the Baltimore and
Ohio road leaving his laborers without settlement of their
just dues. In revenge, the swindled workmen burned ties,
tore up rails, and destroyed whatever stood in their way,
gathering, to the number of three hundred or more, and
resisting the sheriff and his posse with all their strength.
The Baltimore military were called out the 31st, and cap-
tured sixty of the rioters, the remainder making their
escape. The judge of a court before whom the men were
taken discharged them the ensuing day. Three years later,
November 13, 1834, one Gorman, another contractor, and
then employed upon the branch being built to Washington,
eighteen miles from the city, was assailed in his shanty,

162
THE RISING IN BALTIMORE.
dragged off and severely beaten, in company with John
Watson, a superintendent. Watson was subsequently mur-
dered while lying alone, sick in his bed.
Two of his assistants and several other persons were dan-
gerously wounded. Their persons were then robbed of
valuables and money. Three hundred of those known to
have been engaged in the crime were captured on the 25th,
and lodged in prison at Baltimore.
But the strike of the greatest proportions took place
about the last days of April, 1857. In this instance the
conductors and crews in charge of freight trains, on the
27th of the month mentioned, resolved to quit work, and
did quit on the first and second divisions of the road. The
dissatisfied sought to secure their ends by forcible means.
They camped in the woods between Relay and Baltimore,
and built bonfires at frequent intervals, around which they
collected, waiting for trains; but the company sent none
out, excepting such as were accompanied by armed guards.
The crisis came the first of May, about four c'clock in the
afternoon, when Sheriff Pole, of the city, summoned a party
and appeared at Camden Station, placed his men in an old
car, attached it to a freight train, and started for the main
line. Near Gwynne’s Falls several other trains from Mount
Clare were drawn up, and they followed the pioneer cars
carrying the armed deputies. At Jackson's Bridge they
met the first resistance. A man appeared ahead, waving
his hat for the engineer to stop, but he was not heeded, and
barely succeeded in getting off the track in time to save his
life. An attack upon the train was soon made. Pistols,
and a kind of short rifle then in fashion, and weapons of
almost every conceivable description, were discharged at
and thrown upon the sheriff's assistants, and they, in turn,
fired their thirty muskets upon the strikers, wounding sev-
eral. While going under the bridge, huge stones were


THE RISING IN BALTIMORE.
163
tunate.
hurled down upon, and crushing in the roofs, of the cars in
several places, but they were dragged through by the pow-
erful engine. The following three trains were more unfor-
Rioters stopped and surrounded them, jumping
recklessly from the bridge upon the locomotive and caboose,
putting down the brakes, despite the efforts of the
persons
in charge to prevent, uncoupling the cars and throwing
away the coupling-pins. These trains had to be returned
to Mount Clare. The same scenes marked the succeeding
Sunday and Monday, on the line to Ellicott's Mills. Gov-
ernor Ligon issued a manifesto, warning all persons to keep
away from the neighborhood. Saturday afternoon the Bal-
timore City Guards, Captain Warner, and the Independent
Greys, Captain Brush, were called out, and, with the sher-
iff's force, put in passenger coaches in advance of the
freight. At the extreme end was the paymaster's car and a
small trunk car, the latter called “ Sebastopol.” The train
moved under command of Col. Shutt and Captain Raw-
lings. All passed smoothly until in the heavy cut at Jack-
son's Bridge, when, as on the preceding day, rocks were
thrown and pistols discharged at the men, but no damage
was done. A mile farther along, however, in another deep
excavation, a sharp fire was poured into the train, which the
military promptly responded to, one man, Henry Houser,
being killed, and a number wounded. Houser had been a
fireman, and lived at or near Mount Clare. At Lee's Sta-
tion the road was completely blockaded by an engine and
tender having been thrown from the track, with the stock
train, by means of a heavy stone placed under a rail for the
purpose. On the return trip a number of the cars of the
sheriff's train were thrown off through the spiking of the
track by rioters, and several of the military riding on the
engine badly cut and bruised. The troops had to foot it
into the city, which was reached at two o'clock Sunday
164
THE RISING IN BALTIMORE.
afternoon. Subsequently these troubles were all amicably
adjusted. In May, 1862, another difficulty involved the
saine line at Mount Clare Depot, where an attack was made
upon the building by a large crowd of men calling them-
selves Unionists, who beat and roughly handled some labor-
ers accused of being Secessionists. The police took no
notice of the affair. From the date last mentioned until
the riots about to be described, the line of road suffered
little, if any, from mobs.
Other disturbances which have occurred in Baltimore,
entirely disconnected with railroads, I need not review in

these pages.
As early as the 17th of July, at 3 A.M., a train had been
wrecked near the gas-house in South Baltimore, the engine
ditched, and rendered for the time being entirely useless.
Some smoke arose, and an alarm of fire was sounded, bring-
ing out the fire department. No further damage was done
in this direction at the time. The disaster was supposed to
have been caused by the strikers, and a reward was offered
by the company for the capture of the perpetrators. Dur-
ing the same period the mob spirit developed among fruit-
can makers of Baltimore, who, to the number of eight or
nine hundred, guided by the socialistic principle, demanded
an advance in the rate of their wages. They had been
receiving thirty cents per hundred for two, and thirty-five
cents for three-pound cans, and wanted the sum increased
to forty-five cents and fifty cents respectively. At first the
proprietors held out, but the organization was too complete,
its plans too well drawn, and they were compelled to accept
the overtures and pay the rates made by their employees.
The box-makers and sawyers made a similar demand, were
refused, stopped work, and in the end a compromise was
effected, by which the men secured nearly, if not quite, all
they asked for in the commencement.
THE RISING IN BALTIMORE.
163

These artisans had their regular societies, or unions, and
held monthly or weekly meetings, the idea being to control
everything in their own interest. The success of their
movements had its effect upon the larger and more power-
ful societies in the city. Their members were encouraged,
and believed that they too might gain their wishes if they
made a bold stroke and put forth a powerful and united
effort.
It was natural that the management of the Baltimore and
Ohio road should feel a pervading sense of insecurity dur-
ing the occurrence of these events, and especially after
receiving a full report of the condition of affairs at Martins-
burg. They soon saw that they had to look out for break-
ers even nearer home. There was trouble at Mount Clare.
The firemen struck, refusing to accept the ten per cent.
reduction. At 10 A.M. the same day a freight train from
Mount Clare was detained at Camden Station, three miles
from the city, by trainmen who refused to allow its passage
farther towards its destination. Mr. A. J. Fairbank and
Marshal Gray went to the assistance of the company, for
the purpose of protecting the men engaged to run the loco-
motives. They succeeded in starting forward a train or
two. There was great excitement in the neighborhood, but
no persons were injured. The freights from Locust Point
were also stopped, and the firemen badly punished by a
crowd of strikers. Difficulty subsequently showed its front
at a point between Baltimore and Relay Station.
In the midst of these fast gathering trials, the company
adopted the plan of removing, as far as possible, temptation
to do harm from the way of all discontented men, absolutely
withdrawing all freight trains, closing up all transportation
of goods, merchandise or stock upon the line between Balti-
more and the Ohio River. No cars were allowed to be run
in any direction, except those carrying passengers and the
166
THE RISING IN BALTIMORE.
United States mails. This left the strikers without ground
to stand upon—in fact, knocked the foundations from be-
neath all their schemes.
As had been expected, the cessation of train-running gave
the strikers great offense. This was carrying the war fur-
ther into Africa than they had ever thought of going. The
rule applied to the Metropolitan and Washington branches
of the line, and the company determined to maintain the
order until the Governors of West Virginia and Maryland
and the President of the United States should do something
to make carriage of property perfectly safe.
At about the same time that the troops reached Martins-
burg, disorder raised its ugly head at Cumberland, and in
different portions of Maryland, always upon the line of the
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. Knowing the coveted power
which West Virginia had signally failed to develop, Gov-
ernor John Lee Carroll tried to avoid, in Maryland, the par-
ticularly sharp and dangerous rock upon which Governor
Mathews had struck and foundered, by sending troops to
face the strikers from localities far removed from the places
to be operated upon. He had no faith in the use of Cum-
berland companies of militia to subdue a rebellious spirit
and disperse a mob at Cumberland; hence, on Friday, the
20th of July, he issued from the executive office a call,
directed to Brigadier-General James R. Herbert, command-
ing the First Brigade of National Guard, at Baltimore, to
take the Fifth Regiment of his brigade and proceed to
Cumberland, there to aid in the suppression of riot and
lawlessness along the line of the railway. At the same time
he published abroad his proclamation, calling upon all com-
binations of men, formed at different points in the State,
composing a conspiracy to impede traffic and interfere with
the business of the country, and with railroad transportation
of freight, at once to desist from unlawful proceedings,


THE RISING IN BALTIMORE.
167
abstain from excitement, and to aid the authorities in main-
taining peace and good order.
The request had been but a few hours abroad when the
men of the Fifth were found promptly at their armory,
with everything in complete order to move. The militia
had been assembled previous to the Martinsburg trouble,
but the order to march was countermanded by the Gov-
ernor. He then said that, after consultation with the Mayor,
the Hon. Ferdinand C. Latrobe, and the Commissioners of
Police, he deemed it inexpedient to part with the Fifth or
Sixth Regiment, but requested both bodies to remain at their
armories, subject to call. They might be needed at almost
any hour during the day or night.
By the morning of the 20th of July there were prevalent
serious apprehensions that trouble might be experienced
even in the city of Baltimore. The people began to grow
nervous and excited. Business was little attended to.
On
the Friday mentioned Mayor Latrobe was aware of the fact
that, within the hour he had consumed in writing to the
Governor, serious symptoms had appeared in the streets,
and there was a reasonable prospect that any attempt to
remove the militia to the scene of difficulty would be
resisted to the bitter end by the rioters, their sympathizers
and friends.
A little later in the same day the Fifth and Sixth regi-
ments were ordered to gather at their armories, ready to
march at short notice for Camden Depot. This building
has been described as the general headquarters of the lead-
ing officials of the Baltimore and Ohio road. The exten-
sive and handsome structure was erected expressly for a
depot and the offices of the company. There were the
spacious apartments of President Garrett, Vice-President,
King, Mr. Keyser, the General Superintendent, the Passen-
ger Agent, Architect, Civil Engineers, and other officials
168
THE RISING IN BALTIMORE.
and attaches of the corporation. The depot was already, so
report had it, surrounded by a mob, and its safety momen-
tarily threatened.
A number of suspicious persons had
also been observed hanging about the neighborhood, and it
was believed that the strikers intended to burn and destroy
whatever they could lay their hands upon. It was their
openly expressed determination, at all events, to make it
impossible for the military to be transported to Cumberland.
They claimed that a great mistake had been made in allow-
ing the United States troops, under General French, to pass
through to Martinsburg. Had they been compelled to go
by the way of Baltimore, it is more than probable they
would have been delayed, if not wholly obstructed.
The Fifth Regiment met with comparatively little oppo-
sition in leaving the armory, on North Howard Street, and
succeeded in reaching Camden Depot and gaining the cars
prepared for their reception. To it were to be added the
two companies of the Sixth Regiment. This last-mentioned
organization, which had but recently removed to its new
armory, in the vicinity of the shot-tower, corner of Front
and Fayette Streets, began to gather, Colonel Clarence
Peters in command. In the afternoon of the eventful 20th
of July, privates and non-commissioned and commissioned
officers were within the armory, which is a large, square,
five-story, brick building; the drill-room is situated on an
upper floor and accessible only by a broad, steep stairway.
Previous to this an arrangement had been made that the
fire alarm bells, in the event of an attack upon any portion
of the city, should be rung thus : “1—5—1,” which should
constitute a military signal, demanding the presence of the
soldiery at some particular place.
Colonel Peters was present at the armory.
The
men,
in
uniform, were resting, in various negligent attitudes—some
upon the floor on blankets, others in chairs, and others still

THE RISING IN BALTIMORE.
169

upon wooden benches, in different parts of the great room,
in anticipation of the order to march. One or two groups were
engaged whiling away the time at a game of cards, using
a heap of knapsacks for a table and sitting upon empty
ammunition boxes. The arms were in repair, cartridges
distributed and guns stacked in the usual way.
This was
the situation of affairs when an orderly brought a message
—the third from the same source during that day—in the
name of General Herbert, requesting Colonel Peters to
have two companies of his command at Camden Depot by
8 o'clock that night, sharp, and without fail.
This notification was at once communicated to the Cap-
tains of the companies, and Colonel Peters started for Gen-
eral Herbert's headquarters, where he soon presented him-
self, with the request that he might be allowed personally
to accompany his men, with the Fifth. General Herbert
said he would willingly give such permission, but dare not,
as he was aware that by far the greater portion of the re-
mainder of the troops would be required in Baltimore, and
therefore he felt forced to refuse.
6 No! It cannot be !” answered General Herbert, "your
services, and those of your men, will be wanted in the
city.”
Colonel Peters was dissatisfied, but returned to the
armory
of his regiment, where he remained until half past six in
the evening, when another message from General Herbert
arrived, inquiring how the regiment stood. Colonel Peters
reply was that he had a good complement of men and
officers, and others were rapidly reporting. The companies
would soon be ready to start.
At a quarter to seven o'clock the military alarm,"1—
5—1," was sounded. It was understood by the strikers, as
well as by the soldiery, to mean that a collision had oc-
curred, or was liable to occur, and that the troops in the
8
170
THE RISING IN BALTIMORE.
armory were to set out at once. While members of the
regiment ran to, and entered the armory, passing the senti-
nels at the foot of the stairs, the unruly element also col-
lected in great force in the surrounding street and upon
the sidewalks in the neighborhood of the shot-tower.
There was great trouble stalking abroad. The vicinity
of Camden Depot was probably the place of rendezvous.
The men of the Sixth—Companies I and F-formed and
took
пр their arms in the drill-room, numbering less than
forty men to the company. There was a look of resolution
upon their faces. They were assembled for duty, and evi-
dently intended performing it faithfully and unflinchingly.
Meanwhile a distant murmur, as of many voices, or the
noise of rushing waters, and the fall of many feet, ascended
to the position held by the soldiers.
Colonel Peters walked to a window and looked out.
Below him he discovered that the ground, in every
direc-
tion, was black with turbulent humanity. From the shot-
tower, even to the walls of the armory; upon the bridge
spanning the inky and motionless waters of “The Falls ; ”
on the avenues intersecting the larger thoroughfares, was
packed in close array a swaying, staggering, infuriated mul-
titude. It quickly flashed through his mind that cowardice
would possibly be attributed to him if he failed to lead his
soldiers down the staircase and through that fierce crowd.
But he had received the orders of his superior officer to
remain and continue command of the remainder of his regi-
ment. It was for him to obey. The sight his eye rested
upon was one that a man beholds but once in a lifetime,
and having seen, never desires to look at again as long as he
lives.
There were in that sea of upturned faces, in that mael-
strom of human beings, among the maddened communists
and other people, many merely innocent spectators--as there


THE RISING IN BALTIMORE.
171
usually are in such gatherings-many women and some
children, accidentally caught in the midst of the rabble, and
all unable to escape. But with these there was a sterner
sort, part of which has been known as the plug-ugly ele-
ment, always ripe for mischief, and, on this occasion, fully
resolved that the regiment should not leave peaceably.
There was the hardy mechanic, on a strike; the railway
fireman, on a strike; occasionally an engineer, on a strike
because he had nothing else to do; butcher-boys with their
aprons on, armed with cleavers and big knives to aid the
strike; cartmen, with loaded whips; coal-drawers, with
their wagon-stakes and grimy features ; firemen, from the
nearest engine-house, and of the olden time, who belonged
to no particular company, with the air of Bowery boys, and
clubs in their hands; and others in whose hearts burnt a
desire to injure the Company-hence no wish to benefit the
soldiery, that they well knew were assembling for the pur-
pose of strengthening their natural enemy, the railway.
There were gangs of grumbling and discontented laborers
of all kinds and all classes, and equally noisy crowds of
youngsters, who never worked at anything, carrying sticks,
strips of boards, fence pickets and different weapons of
offense and defense, knowing little of the cause of the tur-
moil, and caring less, so that they could enjoy their fun-
rare fun, for them, perhaps, but cause of sorrow before they
were through with it, to hundreds of their happy house-
holds. In the background, as well as in the foreground of
that dread picture, were found many women, wives of shop-
keepers—and, among the rest, bar-room keepers, who were
not and never had been wives--and owners of stalls and
the smaller sort of stores; women broad of shoulder and
hip and face, with eyes that partook of the fishy, and lips
which were more familiar with billingsgate and blasphenny
than kind words and soothing airs to infancy; women with
172
MARCH OF THE SIXTH REGIVENT.
bare arms and muscles like those of Charlotte Cushman's
“ Meg Merrilies;” men with blackened hands and faces,
wearing smiths' aprons, fresh from adjacent forges; men
in black hats, fashionably cut clothing, and showing hands
unused to toil, but with their blanched countenances and
glaring eyes turned upon the protecting walls of the armory;
and countless others of the rude and uncanny of all branches
of industry, all. exhibiting their purpose to stop the military
from marching to their destination, even though they had
to rend, tear, and kill in the attempt. In several places the
pavement had been torn up with axes and bars, and the
rocks, bricks, and fragments transferred into missiles, which
the crowd brandished, and were ready to cast upon the
militiamen whenever they should make their appearance.
Still the multitude grew darker, more dense, and the shrieks
and maledictions of women and men became more intense
and more terrible, all directed towards the upper casements
of the building, from which an occasional uniform could be
discerned as its wearer peered out to catch a glimpse of the
mob—the map of mad humanity beneath.
Never were
soldiers hemmed in and threatened by a more fierce and
bitter army than that encircling the devoted members of
the Sixth Regiment.

CHAPTER XIV.
MEMORABLE MARCH OF THE SIXTH REGIMENT.
COLONEL PETERS turned away from the window, formed
the
men,
and
gave the command: “Forward, march ! ”
The soldiers obeyed with alacrity, Company I, Captain
Wm. H. Tappan, leading the way, and closely followed by

MARCH OF THE SIXTH REGIMENT.
173
ear.
Company F, Captain John C. Fallon, Major Andrew
George, Colonel Peters, Lieutenant Q. C. Brown, and other
officers were in their proper positions. Reaching the stair-
way, they were formed into twos and fours, with bayonets
fixed and pieces at “trail arms.” It is not probable that
the men, as a body, knew what they had to face
upon
the
streets, as they had not been looking from the windows, but
Major Andrew George had experienced a trial of it while
seeking to enter the armory building a few minutes earlier.
His first salutation, upon reaching the vicinity, was a sud-
den and stunning blow on the head from a heavy club, and
the savage cry,
“Kill him! Kill him !” sounding in his
He managed to get in, however, just as the two com-
panies about to leave were taking positions in rank, and at
once assumed his place. They reached the hall leading to
the street, and as the doors were thrown open for their
egress, the guards ran in with great haste, succeeded by a
fierce volley of stones and other missiles, thrown by the mob
below.
Captain Tappan's Company wavered, and some of the
men were driven backward, the retrogade movement, caus-
ing slight confusion among those at the rear. But all
promptly rallied, and resumed the way forward to the side-
walk. When once more at the main entrance, the men en-
countered pistol shots, bricks, and cobble-stones from the
infuriated crowd, which seemed determined that the sol-
diers should not leave the locality alive. But the militia
bore the onslaught unflinchingly. As a body, they endured
the assault. A few men who had charged their rifles with
ball cartridges after having first been driven into the hall-
way, raised their weapons, and before anything could be
said or done to prevent, fired several shots, aimed over the
heads of the rioters. This was merely done to intimidate
their opponents. The leader of the communists did not falter.

Attacking the Militia in Baltimore,

174
MARCH OF THE SIXTH REGIMENT.
A few scowling, swarthy fellows looked about them, saw
that no person was hurt, and believing they were receiving
only blank cartridges, shouted loudly in derision, and
began the storm anew. One man, standing in an open
space, only a few yards from the soldiers, emptied his revol-
ver into their confused line. From the pressure of human
beings the men were unable to form regularly upon the
sidewalk. This was almost too much to be endured in
patience. Colonel Peters saw that his force was about to
discharge another and effective volley, and with his sword
struck up the barrels of the muskets near him, crying, with
all his strength of lung: “Don't fire!” But the command
was unheeded. Fire they did, and several of the snarling
pack encompassing them bit the dust. He ordered differ-
ently, and continued to exert himself to prevent firing. It
was beyond his, or any other man's power. Soon thereafter,
leaving his men under command of the company officers, as
General Herbert had instructed him to do, the Colonel
retired to the armory, there to take care of the soldiers
remaining. At that moment, if we credit the story of
rioters themselves, seeing the foray that was being made
upon their comrades, then at the street, a few of the militia
men stationed in an upper floor of the building, fired upon
the assailants. This unexpected movement resulted in the
killing of a young man named Byrne, whose body was soon
afterwards removed in a wagon, by the police, to Middle
District Station.
The frenzy of the mob, which was fearful before, rose to
complete lunacy at this, and an avalanche of rocks and
bricks struck the building, breaking glass and smashing
sashes as well as heads. Major Andrew George, before
alluded to, and who had received such attentions when seek-
armory, was the recipient of similar tokens of regard
when going out. A huge rock struck him in the body; a
ing the

MARCH OF THE SIXTH REGIMENT.
175
brick drew blood from his head, and he was in danger of
being stamped to death by the feet of his enemies when he
was rescued by the police.
Before a gun had been fired by the militia the two sol-
diers, who were acting as sentinels, had been knocked down
and beaten by the rioters.
Captain Tappan, of Company I, who bravely walked in
the advance of his command, was successful, after several
rifles had been discharged, in placing the men in something
like order. But during the process, made doubly difficult by
the disorder about him, two soldiers were wounded by the
strikers.
“You'll go to fight workingmen, will you ? ” roared one
of the ringleaders, in a stentorian voice, while he waved a
huge club in the air. Receiving no answer, he continued :
“Give it to them, d-n them! Kill them! They shall
never get out of here alive !"
The whizzing flight of bricks, stones, and pistol-balls, and
the yells, and curses and hisses, which succeeded, were
appalling even to veterans. The soldiers had been more
than human if they refrained from a proper reply to the
onset. They did respond. One after another, they sent
into the close crowd shot after shot from their death-dealing
guns. Every time a musket was discharged somebody, it
mattered not who, was observed to fall. Yet the insane
concourse did not give way. Still they pressed harder upon
the soldiers, with murderous hands raised to clutch their
throats and seize upon and use their arms.
Every moment, to those close prisoners in the midst of a
host of worse than ravenous beasts, seemed an hour.
At last Captain Fallon's detachment was also massed in
irregular order, and Captain Tappan's force started and
turned towards Baltimore Street, Company F taking the
same trail as soon and as rapidly as possible. The enemy

176
MARCH OF THE SIXTH REGIMENT.
was before, behind, and on each side, and it was found a
troublesome task to attain even slow headway. Men were
momentarily wrenched out of the ranks, and severely hurt
before a start had been made.
The two platoons were soon irretrievably separated.
One
young
fellow had his gray uniform stripped from
him by a gang of ruffians. Then three of the most sturdy
took him and threw him over the bridge railing, into the
deep, filthy waters of “ The Falls.” Few were there to look
after him, and had he not, through much floundering and
sputtering, gained the surface and clambered upon a con-
venient pile-driver, he must inevitably have been drowned,
as no human being could scale the steep wall bounding
either side of the inky and bad-smelling stream. He
narrowly escaped suffocation, as it was, and felt perfectly
satisfied to stay upon the protecting float until darkness set
in and with it brought comparative safety.
Presently the militia formed lines across Baltimore Street,
the riotous rabble still pursuing.
Lieutenant Q. C. Brown, Regimental Commissary, was
struck on the head with a stone at the foot of the armory
stairs. Bullets whizzed past him, but fortunately giving
him no further wounds. Soon regaining his feet he was
able to reach the platoon and keep it in line, although he
wavered and staggered like a drunken man, he was so
weak from loss of blood.
Another young man was cut off from his comrades, his
musket taken forcible possession of, and ten or twelve
rioters, surrounding him, tore off his uniform coat, trampled
it in the dust of the pavement and then struck and kicked
its owner until they supposed he was dead. Their brutality
was not satiated until the man's body was almost one mass
of bleeding bruises.
“Look! see them pounding the poor boy!” said a tender.

178
MARCH OF THE SIXTII REGIMENT.
hearted German, named Pahl, who resided in the neighbor-
hood.
“Yes, and if you say too much, you'll catch it too!”
yelled a trainman, one of the brutes engaged in the outrage,
at the same time moving rapidly towards Pahl. That
gentleman precipitately retired from the vicinity, suddenly
appreciating the fact that his further presence there was
quite unnecessary. This man was an eye-witness of the
attack upon the soldier thrown into “ The Falls."
Another member of the Sixth took refuge in a friendly
cigar store, whence, having been provided with citizens'
clothing, he soon emerged and made his way homeward.
Before all could get away from the locality of the
armory a man stopped on the sidewalk and shouted : “Kill
them! Kill them ! ” and setting the example, drew a pistol
and began firing upon the soldiers. Three or four of the
military were knocked down, and cruelly and wantonly
belabored after they were defenseless and prostrate.
Mr. Pahl saw all of this. He truly had reason to think
that sufficient.
When Byrne fell, a friend of his, named Fisher, who
stood nigh the deceased, was grazed by the same bullet.
While Byrne was killed, Fisher received no injury, the ball
passing harmlessly through his clothing at the hip. Frank
Faber, another acquaintance of Byrne, instantly ran to the
corner of Fayette and Front Streets, tenderly raised Byrne's
head and cried out to the soldiers :
“For God's sake stop that firing! You have killed one
man already!”
Byrne never recognized any one. His career was ended
when the deadly messenger overtook him.
Still the mob pursued the militia.
The throng assaulting the two parts of companies of the
Sixth Regiment was estimated by the policemen, sent by the

MARCH OF THE SIXTH REGIMENT.
179
marshal to protect the sentinels, before any firing had been
done, at from two thousand to twenty-five hundred persons.
About the time stones begun to be thrown at the guards,
while the soldiers had not yet reached the lower hall lead-
ing to the street, it must have exceeded that number by at
least several hundreds. It was not lessened as it passed
along Baltimore Street, still hot for the fray.
Company I, which had been the first to encounter the
communists, did the most of the firing at the armory. That
its members refrained from making hostile demonstrations
as long as reasonable persons could expect, under the pecu-
liarly dangerous and exasperating circumstances by which
they were surrounded, is the opinion of all intelligent and
fair-minded men who witnessed the provocation received.
It was simply impossible to prevent them from emptying
their muskets upon the strikers, who attacked them from
front and rear with violence almost unparalleled, even in
the history of such assemblages.
The ringleaders of the mob, as given out by both soldiers
and police, were two men named Kirby and Crane. They
urged on the bestial crowd, by word and example, and
caused them to continue the assault, even after earnest
firing by the militia commenced. Nothing seemed to daunt
them. Officer Blake, of the police force, was in the armory
a little past 7 o'clock, and at that time found some two
thousand people environing the place, the two men men-
tioned acting in the capacity of directors. The largest and
heaviest rocks and bricks from the streets were flying in the
air. The officer states that the first shots fired by the
soldiers were aimed high, over the rioters' heads, and they
were answered by another and thicker storm of stones, after
which the militia discharged their weapons point-blank into
the thick ranks of their assailants. They did not fire that
way, until savagely attacked. Of this he is very positive.

180
MARCH OF THE SIXTH REGIMENT.
Sergeant Rowe, also of the police, was among the earliest
of those upon the scene.
He entered the armory with
Officer Brown, managing to get the sentinels inside before
they were killed, although they had been struck with rocks
and pieces of bricks. He is of the opinion that the soldiers
could never have extricated themselves without firing ball
cartridges. There was no unoccupied space of ground on
which to begin a charge of bayonets, and had there been, the
close quarters gave no opportunity for effect. In a few
moments more, had the militia withheld their fire, the mob
would have obtained forcible possession of their guns,
ammunition, and accoutrements, and themselves made use
of them. When several rounds of lead had been adminis-
tered the throng broke in twain, part flying towards Balti-
more Street.
Colonel Peters, in accordance with orders, remained
penned up, with the third company of the regiment, until a
squad of police was sent to his relief.
If the reader supposes, for an instant, that the strikers de-
serted the soldiers and permitted them to march unmolested
through the streets to Camden Depot, he is greatly in error.
On the contrary, the firemen, trackmen, brakemen, and
others, closely pushed and hotly pressed upon the two com-
panies, which were soon separated by considerable space-as
far as Light Street, while marching on the double-quick to-
ward their destination, and kept up an incessant fire of pis-
tol-shots, and shower of stones and bricks and whatever
was found that could be converted into a weapon of offense.
Baltimore Street is a principal thoroughfare, and upon
it
are situated many of the largest and most elegant business
houses of the city. The American building, at the corner
of Baltimore and South Streets, is a handsome and costly
structure, and its upper windows overlooked some of the
most exciting scenes of that hurried march of the Sixth

W 20
BILDE
BULLETIN
BULLETI
Beate at
Firing into a Mob on Baltimore Street,

182
MARCH OF THE SIXTH REGIMENT.
Regiment. At this point the soldiers turned and discharged
their weapons upon those who were so nearly upon them,
then wheeled and resumed their tramp. The sidewalks and
crossings were, at that hour, crowded with pedestrians, of
all ages and descriptions, and both sexes, and the volley of
musketry caused the utmost consternation. Children ran
and screamed. Women screamed and fainted, and men
found occasion to get out of the way most ungracefully and
quickly.
At the corner of Frederick and Baltimore Streets another
scattering discharge of musketry came, and after that the
crowd of rioters perceptibly diminished, and men and
women again ran and scattered in every direction possible-
excepting towards the soldiers. Horses were frightened,
broke from their fastenings, and ran, dragging shattered
vehicles after them, thus adding to the prevalent hubbub.
More women and children shrieked, and the panting mob
howled hoarsely, still keeping up offensive demonstrations.
But the chief spirits were fast losing heart. Their blows
and hurrahs were not so vigorous as at the start, before
many of their men had been killed and wounded. Still it
was a straggling street fight, as before stated, until Light
Street was reached. Then several more ladies fainted and
were taken to the nearest drug-stores, where they received
necessary attentions.
Again at Charles Street, a few soldiers discharged their
guns, producing fresh panic and disorder.
As a rule, at this juncture, the street cars were deserted.
One, connected with the “Red Line,” however, continued
its regular route. In it was a Mr. Thomas Charlton, of No.
165 John Street. This gentleman was so completely ab-
sorbed in contemplation of what was going on around him
that he paid no attention to his more immediate surround-
ings, until, when chancing to look for the conductor, in the
MARCH OF THE SIXTIL REGIMENT.
183

accustomed place, he found himself alone with the horses
and the car—driver, conductor, and passengers having de-
serted the vehicle as being in dangerous proximity to the
shooting soldiers, then steadily advancing toward it, and
the hooting, raving mob. Immediately comprehending
that he might be in far more tenable quarters, Mr. Charlton
jumped from the platform, leaving horses and car to pur-
sue their course, or stop as they might deem advisable, and
ran off as fast as his legs would carry him, quickly placing
one of the pillars of the Carrollton Hotel between his valua-
ble person and the sight of musket or gray coat. After a
while, looking out from his place of concealment, he dis-
tinctly saw one of the soldiers leave a rear rank, walk to the
middle of the street, level his musket, take deliberate aim
at a striker, clad in light clothing, who was in the mob
standing on the sidewalk, and fire. The man fell dead
where he was. The soldier then joined the company, re-
loading his piece as he ran to his former position. Mr.
Charlton, seeing he would be out of range, went to and
raised the dead communist's head. He proved to be Otto
Manecke, and when the remains were taken in charge by the
police and removed to Middle Station, a heavy paving stone
was discovered in his coat pocket.
It was subsequently stated that Manecke had been en-
gaged in assaulting the militia and was noticeable from his
dress. If so, he certainly met summary punishment.
While on Baltimore Street the soldiers shot a newsboy,
named Oppenheim. It is not shown that the lad formed a
part of the striking gang, or that the shot was aimed at
him.
Two other men were shot down at the corner of Balti-
more and Holliday Streets. Officer Wright of the Police,
was hit with a heavy stone, and severely injured, while in
the performance of his duty, at the corner of South Street.

184
MARCH OF THE SIXTH REGIMENT,
The mob, from some reason, seemed to avoid the north
side of Baltimore Street, mostly gathering on its southern
portion.
Two men were also killed between Calvert and North
Streets. They were seen to fall by Officer McIntyre, who
saw the soldiers fire. It was after eight o'clock when the
event occurred.
A volley was given at the corner of Gay and Baltimore
Streets, but no one appeared to be hurt by it.
When the soldiers had reached Light Street the gathering
darkness was only occasionally illuminated by a pistol-shot.
There were but few rocks thrown, and no musketry returned
upon the mob by the militia. That particular storm had
spent its fury. The strikers were gradually losing spirit
and their numbers sensibly lessening. One man, however,
in the garb of a railroader, seemed loath to give up
the
chase. He gesticulated frantically, throwing his arms in
the air, shaking his fists at the militia, and shouting : “Oh,
you
—! You all ought to be killed !”
But he could not rally the mob again, and at Light Street
the running fight ended as abruptly as it had commenced.
While a demoralized few continued to follow, and make
hideous noises, there were none to be found who would face
more musketry.
Captain Tappan's company was considerably mangled,
and three men were entirely disabled.
The Captain had done all he could to prevent firing, but
the men were so incensed and so closely pressed by the mob
that his frequent orders to cease loading and firing were
either unheard or promptly disobeyed. At Holliday Street
he was joined by Captain Fallon's command, Company I,
and they afterward moved forward in a body to Camden
Depot, which was finally reached in a little more than half
an hour from the time when they departed from their


MARCH OF THE SIXTH REGIMENT.
185
armory. And such a half hour's march even veterans of
the late war said they had never endured. Captain Fallon
lost fully one-half of his company from different casualties,
arriving at their place of destination with only eighteen out
of the thirty-six who were in rank when he set out. Cap-
tain Tappan had been more fortunate, starting off with
thirty-eight—thirty-five responded at roll-call at Camden
Depot.
That many of the citizens of Baltimore deeply sympa-
thized with the military in its perilous journey through the
streets and through the mob, is shown by the fact that sev-
eral times while the officers were endeavoring to keep their
men from firing, people on either side of them shouted, as
they passed, not to interfere, but let the soldiers shoot.
They were free to say it was a burning shame to see men
stand, with guns in their hands, and be torn and killed by a
pack of ravenous wolves.
No idea can be correctly conveyed, upon paper, of the
perfect mass and jam of people swarming on Baltimore
Street that evening while the battles were taking place.
The estimate fixed by Captain Fallon upon the extent of
the crowd following the companies of troops, was from three
thousand to four thousand, and he is probably not far from
the proper figures. In answer to a question from one of my
operatives, a few days after the occurrences, Captain Fallon
said that he did not know that he was to face an army of
belligerants when he, at the head of his force, was descend-
ing the armory stairs. He followed Captain Tappan's men,
and none of his own company had their arms loaded; but,
when driven back by the soldiers ahead of them, many
charged their guns with ball cartridge, sixteen rounds of
which each man carried.
Colonel Peters must have had some knowledge of what
was impending, and so had Major Andrew George. The
186
CAMDEN DEPOT BESIEGED.
former said nothing, but simply obeyed General Herbert's
orders. The latter had no opportunity to give warning.
Fully a cart-load of bricks and stones were gathered up
in
front of the armory. When the fighting was over, and
after the Marshal had sent a squad of police from the north-
eastern district to protect the house and property, the place
looked as if it had passed through a heavy siege.
Darkness closed around the remnant of the two com-
panies of the Sixth Regiment, safe at Camden Depot with
the Fifth Regiment. But the rioting for the day was not
concluded. The scene was only shifted--the end was not
yet.

CHAPTER XV.
CAMDEN DEPOT BESIEGED.
For a time the military were left in quiet possession of
the depot, but the cars in which they took up quarters could
not be moved to Cumberland until the time for the regular
departure of passenger trains arrived. Meanwhile the
police concentrated in strong numbers outside the building.
Encircling them presently came the rioters, in a great noisy
throng. From half-past eight until nine o'clock at night
they were rapidly recruiting in strength. Gradually the
crowd grew into an immense concourse, each particular
member of which desired to annihilate the Baltimore and
Ohio Railway, Camden Depot, and all the soldiers gathering
there. Outside this circle were many who had convened at
the spot from mere curiosity, or because they sympathized
with the mob. Here stood some whose sensibilities leaned

CAMDEN DEPOT BESIEGED.
187
towards the company and law and order, but they were in
hopeless minority, and did not dare to say a word in the di-
rection of their wishes. Certainly, there were many who
held the most bitter hatred towards the members of the
Sixth Regiment. Cries went up from these of: “Kill the
accursed militia! Fire the building and scorch the murder-
ers out!” and many other similarly encouraging salutations.
It is not to be wondered at, that some of the men and offi-
cers of the Sixth were panic-stricken, left the cars, and when
able to secure citizen's clothing, ingloriously retreated from
the neighborhood. The hatred of the militia by the mob
did not seem to extend to the Fifth Regiment, whose mem-
bers stood guard at all assailable points and were not receiv-
ed with the execrations and hisses greeting the appearance
everywhere of those clad in the uniforms of Coinpany I,
and Company F of the Sixth. One or two officers effected
their escape from the station in disguise, and officer Beafelt,
of the Southern Police District, still retains the sword of
one young man who exchanged it for a gum overcoat which
he picked up in McClintock’s baggage room. This occurred
soon after the Sixth arrived at Camden Depot. The sol-
dier in question was probably new to active service. He
hastily entered the baggage-room, took the coat, put off his
sword, and, wrapping himself in the rubber garment, disap-
peared, leaving the blade and scabbard behind. He was
subsequently seen hurrying nervously through the crowd.
Officer Beafelt was seriously injured, being accidentally
struck by a locomotive, the next day, and did not discover
his loss until well enough to have inquiries instituted. He
held the sword, hoping that its former owner would call and
make proposals for a re-exchange—but he failed to make
his appearance. There were comparatively few who thus
fled from their colors and from their brother officers; a ma-
jority of both regiments firmly standing their ground against

188
CAMDEN DEPOT BESIEGED.
fearful odds, and, under circumstances well calculated to
cause the bravest to tremble.
Soon after eight o'clock a detachment from the mob,
which had been fired upon by the Sixth, commenced tearing
up the railroad track, beyond the depot, near the corner of
Eutaw and Camden Streets.
The mob had also started an attack on the Fifth Regi-
ment, after its arrival, using stones and other handy pro-
jectiles. But this command was composed of better ma-
terial, or was under more effective discipline than the Sixth,
and reserved its fire, bearing the attack like veterans. They
had no men severely wounded. Their actions left the stri-
kers to merely exhaust themselves, and probably accounts for
the respect which the mob exhibited for men wearing their
uniform. But this force, with the remains of the platoon of
the Sixth, was not sufficient for the protection of the great
depot and its surrounding buildings, which were constantly
invaded by the alert foe, and valuable property stolen, de-
stroyed, or in some manner damaged. Bayonet charge
after bayonet charge had to be made, in different quarters,
to clear the crowd away, and while the soldiers were em-
ployed at one point the enemy would, in force, make an at-
tack upon another.
After one of these advances by the mob, and succeed-
ing assaults by the military, the communists entered the
lower part of the depot, at Lee Street. Every effort was
made to prevent it, but the descent was too powerful to be
successfully handled. The soldiers were rudely beaten
back with clubs, shovels, bars of iron, rocks, and bricks, and
the hordes of the strikers rushed in, like infuriated beasts of
prey, scenting the blood of their torn victims. It was with
difficulty that the small company of soldiers managed to re-
treat in season to save their arms and their lives. But
escape
they did, and, securing reinforcements, in their turn swooped

CAMDEN DEPOT BESIEGED.
189
down upon the rioters, with bayonets fixed, and renewed the
contest. After the mob had destroyed the dispatcher's office,
savagely venting their wrath upon it, converted its boards
and timbers into kindling wood, and driven off the tele-
graph operator and other attachés, to seek protection with
the soldiery, there was a collision between the rioters and
the militia, which resulted in the inglorious retreat of the
former, some of their members taking with them wounds
from the sharp points of bayonets, the scars of which are
probably to-day unpleasantly reminding them of a frenzy
which they will be in no hurry to repeat. Flying from the
sheds, the rioters sought other places of approach, which
they were not long in discovering.
By this time it was nearly ten o'clock, and still the
refractory crowd exhibited no symptoms of weariness, or
any signs that they would permanently retire from the local-
ity. On the contrary, they were more bitter and aggressive
than ever. Showers of stones filled the air, windows and
furniture were broken, and men cut, bruised, and maimed,
while the roaring, hooting horde swerved to one side and
then to the other, shouting at intervals : “Kill them!”
“ Kill them !” “Burn the dogs in the kennel !” “ Smoke
them out!” The worst population of Baltimore was slowly
but surely forming a huge and disreputable mass in the
vicinity of Camden Depot. From the lowest, vilest dens,
the petty gambling hells, the drinking cellars, the houses of
ill-repute, the thieves issued, the very scum of the slums,
having no other idea than to plunder, steal, and, if occasion
offered, cut throats and murder. Even the wretched women
of the town rushed out of doors, bare-headed, some of them
almost bare-bosomed, and joined the common cause with
the sanguinary commune. In every part of the strangely
constituted army investing the depot, these perverted and
shaineless creatures were found on the offensive, and by

su
TITUTION
TEATRO
Baile Ja/
Zurlie.
Women leading a Mob in Baltimore.

CAMDEN STATON
Yeale
Attempt to burn Camden Depot, Baltimore.

CAMDEN DEPOT BESIEGED.
191
words and gestures developing and inflaming the evil pas-
sions of the men and larger boys who were near them, and
some even taking an active part in the fray.
A little later another sally was started by the rioters, this
1 time directed upon a portion of the inclosure, which had
been for a moment left exposed and comparatively unpro-
tected. Entering the place where the débris of the ruined
dispatcher's office was, a decided stand was made, in such
force that, when perceived by the soldiers, the ranks of the
mob could not be easily broken. The leading rioters were
engaged in some devilish work, the officials
very
well knew,
but they were not able to decide what it might be, until a
bright column of flame suddenly shot up beneath the wood-
work of the sheds, caught the supporting pillars, well cov-
ered with paint as they were, and flew to the roof where it
spread, and blazed away unchecked. At the same instant
a handsome new passenger car was forced open, a pile of
combustibles thrown upon the floor, and the ready torch
applied. In a moment the thick varnish of the interior of
the splendid coach was converted into a sheet of fire, which
burned and cracked, and in a few minutes communicated
to the framing timbers, burst through the windows and
reached the outside, when, fanned by the breeze, it was not
long before the car was destroyed. Another, and yet an-
other car caught, and the engine standing on the same track
was so seriously injured, that it could not possibly be moved
that night. The train with troops, the rioters knew, would
now be forced to remain until morning.
Then the mob sent out exultant cries and bursts of de-
moniac laughter. It had just done what it inost desired
to do. It had performed its best work. There was evi-
dence of this reflected red on the sky, above, and athwart
the walls of the nearest buildings, and the cry of “fire,”
always dreadful in large cities, was made doubly horrible
192
CAMDEN DEPOT BESIEGED.

by the fearful scenes through which the residents had
passed in the time following the attack upon the militia.
It was well settled in the minds of the mob that Camden
Depot would soon be burnt to the ground. To that hand-
ful of
men,
shut
ир in the magnificent but inflammable
passenger house, which soon might prove their funeral pyre,
the alarms and the sight of the lurid flames, as they as-
cended in the air, were inexpressibly thrilling and impres-
sive. They could not fight their way out. If the fire con-
tinued, the offices and the brick walls surrounding them
might fall and bury them. The question was: Would the
commune hold them there? Would they look on and see
the building and its contents destroyed? These were in-
quiries which thousands mentally asked themselves as the
station-bells rang out the private signals. It was very
probable that the destruction of the depot was exactly the
thing that the rioters most desired. No general fire alarm
was sounded, the city authorities fearing that it would give
rise to further excitement, but the department was prompt
to turn out, and soon several engines and their men reached
the streets near the depot. The communists evidently op-
posed all such interferences. They considered the fire their
particular ally, and objected to any intermeddling with it.
Everything in that structure they silently devoted to the
flames. Collecting in a dense mass where the engines
were expected to take up positions, when the steamers
reached the spot, strong armed men seized the horses'
heads, grasped the bridle-bits and ordered a halt in proceed-
ings. The firemen tried to comply with instructions from
the Chief Engineer, but without avail. They were in the
power of the rioters and thus perfectly helpless. For the
instant they had to suspend operations and look at the roar-
ing flames but put no water upon them.
“Throw no water on that fire, boys!” was the order of
CAMDEN DEPOT BESIEGED.
193
one of the rioters, who enforced his commands with a huge
horse pistol, loaded to the muzzle.
This mob was in sober earnest, as it had been from the
beginning
The light from the burning roof grew brighter, the flames
crackled louder and more furiously, and the destroying ele-
ment gnawed deeper and deeper into the structure. The
crowd cheered the fire, and the fire cheered the crowd.
The firemen, the soldiers, the police, the officers of the
company, and a few sober citizens looked on with bated
breath, awaiting the action of somebody. If this state of
torpidity lasted, the mob hoped that the building and all
contained in it would be consumed.
At this crisis the city police, in augmented force, ap-
peared on the scene and stopped before the engine nearest
the depot sheds, surrounded it and its crew and then moved
forward to the hydrants, from which water could be taken,
balting only when they gained a position whence their hose-
men could command the roofs of the burning structure.
The mob was caught uprepared for so bold a maneuver,
still it did not recoil until the policemen had emptied their
revolvers, and followed up the advantage gained by a fierce
onslaught with their heavy clubs. The plugs were opened,
hose attached and water thrown with effect, while the police
continued to advance, driving the inob before them. Soon
the flames were converted into harmless clouds of steam.
The women mingling in the mob tried to force the men
back to the assault, and did several times succeed in bring-
ing their almost disheartened followers face to face with
the blue coats, but it was only a momentary rally, and they
fell back to their former positions. Then there arrived
another squad of police, with fresh-filled navy pistols,
making a sortie, backed by a platoon of the Fifth Regiment,
and causing the riotous element to subside and withdraw to

9

CAMDEN DEPOT BESIEGED.
195
a safe distance. Several of the female rioters, however,
almost unassisted by the males, came to a stand in the neigh-
borhood of Lee street, refusing stubbornly to budge another
inch, fairly defying the police, threatening them with stones
and clubs, and urging and coaxing the demoralized com-
munists to renew the attack. The viragoes were finally
driven from their vantage-ground, muttering curses both
loud and deep, mingled with blood-curdling threats and
groans, accompanied by revengeful shakings of fists at those
who had interfered with their work of destruction.
The flames were extinguished before irreparable harm
had been done, after the shed was burned and some coaches
rendered useless. But not until two o'clock in the morning
of the 21st was comparative quiet restored. There were
very few in the city who enjoyed their usual allowance of
sleep that night. Wild rumors of outbreaks kept citizens,
police and military awake and continually on the alert.
Baltimore awoke the morning of the 21st of July to a
realizing sense of all that had been done during the pre-
vious day. The scenes of the preceding night were among
the most revolting and terrible experienced by any city
while the troubles lasted. The new day came in bright and
peaceful. People were glad to learn that most of the
stories of riot, bloodshed, and outrage which had reached
their ears about midnight—first, that the Custom House
was on fire; second, that all the principal machine-shops
were doomed ; third, that the entire city was to be destroyed,
and similarly exciting relations of frightened men and
women—were wholly wanting in foundation, as, under like
circumstances, such tales usually are, and that the mob of
the preceding evening had been followed by no more serious
and extended loss of life and property.
By seven o'clock A.M., or a little later, Baltimore was
itself again. People walked the streets as usual, and came
196
CAMDEN DEPOT BESIEGED.
and went in the pursuit of peaceful avocations without fear
of molestation. The convulsion had occurred, the earth-
quake come, and the worst surely happened. Now all was
peace. But, within the limits of the corporation, many were
the homes of mourning. Surgeons were in demand, and
undertakers busy.
The exact number of the dead and wounded, it is natural
to suppose, was never known, and never will be known,
so many of the rioters were privately removed and secreted
by their fellow-rioters. No police, or other inspectors, could
hunt all of these up, so well were they hidden. Of those
who were slightly hurt in the mob no account was taken.
The loss to the property of the railway company was con-
siderable, in cars, track, buildings, etc. Two engines were
made for the time entirely useless.
That night Governor Carroll, who had previously for-
warded a request to the President, at Washington, for troops
to protect the city and the railroad, sent word that all was
quiet, and the soldiers would not be needed. The last-
named message left Baltimore at 3 A.M., July 21st. In spite
of the withdrawal of the demand, the President instructed
the Adjutant-General to send five hundred U. S. Marines
from Norfolk, and four companies of infantry, then sta-
tioned at Fortress Monroe, to Washington and Baltimore,
about one-half to stop in Washington and the other half in
Baltimore and at such points in Maryland as might seem to
demand their presence. Fort McHenry, near Baltimore,
was named as one place of rendezvous. A light battery
was also transported to the fort for immediate use.
Meantime passenger trains continued to run, as usual,
arriving and departing with their accustomed regularity,
unmolested by the Trainmen's Union. But freight was
still at a standstill, and remained so for nearly two weeks,
until the embargo was removed along the entire line.


FIRING ALL ALONG THE LINE.
197
CHAPTER XVI.
FIRING ALL ALONG THE LINE.
The Trainmen's Union was a power in the land. At
Baltimore and Martinsburg, and in other places on the line
of the Baltimore and Ohio road, it had managed its plans in
such exceeding bad taste as to lead to business prostration,
riot, and bloodshed, and now it transferred the theater of
operations to Keyser, Cumberland, Sir John's Run, Grafton,
Wheeling, and Newark.
Six weeks anterior to the outbreak at Martinsburg, men
from Pittsburg under the direction of Ammon's Train-
men's Union were found making themselves busy with the
employees of the road. They stopped at Keyser, a small
place some two hundred miles from Baltimore, where a
lodge was instituted. Applications from small merchants,
tradesmen, and outsiders of every kind and character, as
long as they were known opponents to the Baltimore and
Ohio road, were received.
When trouble came at Martinsburg, the signal agreed
upon in the society calling for a strike was telegraphed to
all points where unions existed, and the men were quickly
instructed. If they refused obedience they knew it would
be at the risk of subjecting themselves to the severest penal-
ties. The majority were not in the humor to fail in this
way. On the contrary, they were quite prepared for the
emergency-which had been expected to occur some months
later in the year—and ready to say, or do, anything to dam-
age
the business or property of the common enemy.
The embittered trainmen and their associates at Keyser,
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FIRING ALL ALONG THE LINE.
upon hearing that United States troops were in Martins-
burg, and reading the florid dispatches describing the
shooting of one of their number by a private of Colonel
Faulkner's command, but, above all, after hearing that
their companions at Baltimore had been defeated with ter-
rible loss of life, and that Federal soldiers were guarding
passenger cars, even preparing to perform the same service
for freight trains soon to be started, grew exceedingly nerv-
ous, put on their revolvers, pocketed their knives, and
per-
ambulated the streets, determined to resent such an un-
heard-of intrusion upon their usually conceded preroga-
tives; and not only this, but they sent to Cumberland on
one side of them, and to Grafton on the other, due notice
of their intentions, and the work they expected the union,
under the circumstances, to perform. Among other things
calculated upon, the leading trainmen were firmly resolved
that neither State nor Federal soldiery should come to or
leave that station in safety. Nevertheless, troops were
started, by special train, on the 20th of July, destined for
Keyser, from Martinsburg.
They departed late in the evening, with the coaches,
locomotive, tender, passenger platforms, and baggage car,
protected by well-armed troops, all commanded by an able
and experienced regular officer, for whom even the strikers
held more than usual regard. A small body of regulars,
under Lieutenant E. S. Curtis, had already arrived at Key-
ser, and these reinforcements were hourly expected. About
this time the disaffected in Grafton held a meeting, two or
three hundred strong, and it was promptly decided to send
immediate assistance to the brethren in Keyser. The
Sheriff of the county could do absolutely nothing with the
Trainmen's Union. It formed a local law unto itself-a
law of violence and brute force, with which only violence
and brute force could compete.


FIRING ALL ALONG THE LINE.
199
A train from Martinsburg, laden with freight and
guarded by a few soldiers, reached Keyser, but found it
recessary to come to a pause at that place. This was the
morning of the 20th of July. The cars could get no fur-
ther, and the officer in charge learned that help for the
strikers was coming from Grafton. Besides this, between
Martinsburg and Wheeling the telegraph wires had been
cut, closing that avenue of communication. While this was
the fact, experienced operatives were sending cipher mes-
sages to men connected with the union, to points eastward,
as the strikers certainly had some experienced telegraphers
in the society, capable of tapping the line, reading the mes-
sages of the authorities, and then preparing and dispatching
reports in a secret alphabet which only their comrades
would be able to decipher. To prevent this, the company
caused the officials of the telegraph along the line to refuse
all cipher dispatches. Not to be outdone, the news was
then circulated by special couriers, who traveled on pas-
senger trains from point to point, and who were compara-
tive strangers in that part of the State.
The situation beyond Cumberland, and to the eastward,
was very precarious, and the danger at Martinsburg hourly
increased. Rioters collected at Keyser over one hundred
strong, well armed with pistols, knives and shot-guns, and
prepared to prevent the starting of freight trains, troops or
no troops. At this the small squad of Federal troops under
charge of Lieutenant Curtis entered their box cars, and
made ready to defend themselves to the last, meanwhile
anxiously awaiting the arrival of reinforcements.
The soldiers to aid the little band were on the way.
After leaving Martinsburg and reaching Sir John's Run,
one hundred and twenty-eight miles from Baltimore, the
fireman of the train, named Zepp, was struck with a stone
thrown by one of the canal-men, who were also on a strike,

2
Beur
Torpedoes on the Trach.

200
FIRING ALL ALONG THE LINE.
and severely though not fatally wounded. Still Zepp held
his position on the footboard, with a handkerchief bound
over his head, and the train proceeded without any further
mishap until it reached a point about half a mile from
Keyser. Here a startling difficulty was presented. In the
darkness of night, while moving carefully along, the engi-
neer was startled, and the officers and men considerably
shaken, by a succession of loud explosions, apparently com-
ing from beneath their feet, and the concussion of which
lifted many violently from off their seats, some even being
hurled to the floor. Zepp and the engineer bravely kept
their places, but brought the train to a standstill as soon as
possible. It was discovered that a number of torpedoes
had been placed upon the rails, and the car-wheels had ex-
ploded them. A careful examination was made by the
crew of the train, but no damage had occurred, the torpe-
does having failed in their deadly mission, merely produc-
ing many sizzling and hissing sounds, and destroying noth-
ing. The powder must have been wet, or these engines of
destruction unskilfully prepared. The cars and all in them
were safe. But the officer in command sent ahead a file of
men with lanterns, to see that no more similarly dangerous
obstructions were in the way of the locomotive. None were
found, and the soldiers and cars arrived at Keyser in safety
about seven o'clock in the morning, giving Lieutenant
Curtis and his company needed relief.
Following this last detachment of military came a loaded
freight train. It was met not far from the depot grounds
by over two hundred rioters, who took the engine in hand,
captured the engineer, Jerry Gibson, and then ran the cars
into Keyser, where the train was abandoned. This train
was sent out from Martinsburg, from pure maliciousness, by
the strikers, who endeavored to cause a collision. United
States troops immediately recaptured it, put the crew
202
FIRING ALL ALONG THE LINE.
aboard, and sent it on its way, despite the efforts of the
strikers, but with the ultimate results stated.
Even passenger trains from the West, at this early day
of the strike were interrupted. At Keyser one was
stopped by a blockade of hand-cars and railroad iron, which
had been piled upon the track, and similar barricades were
encountered at other points. But passengers jumped out
and assisted the trainmen to remove the obstructions, and
the train proceeded.
After this when a bridge was about to be crossed
men were sent ahead to make careful inspection of the
timbers and supports, thus guarding against what might
otherwise have precipitated a horrible disaster. Traveling
under such circumstances revived
many
incidents connected
with railroading in the enemy's country during the late war.
When the several hundred men gathered at Keyser
beheld the two companies of troops in fatigue uniform of
the United States regulars leave the cars, and quietly but
mechanically form in line, their courage left them altogether,
and they beat a precipitate retreat.
At Grafton a few days earlier, while the militia were en
route for the scene of actual warfare at Martinsburg,
Governor Matthews, having taken a run out as far as Graf-
ton, was rudely assaulted. The circumstances of the affair
were these: The Governor had left the cars and repaired
to the hotel, where he made a short address to the mob,
being followed by Vice-President Keyser, who was pres-
ent, and who addressed the rioters, explaining the neces-
sity, on the part of the company, for the reduction, and
requesting the men to remain at their duties. To those
who would do so he promised protection.
Those who
would not, should be discharged and settled with the fol-
lowing day.
These efforts had no good effect, and the excitement was


FIRING ALL ALONG THE LINE.
203
increased rather than diminished. At a later hour, however,
when three of the mob had been placed under arrest by the
military and conveyed to an upper room of the depot build-
ing until they could be taken to Pruntytown the next
morning, for trial, and when Mr. Keyser and the militia
were off toward Martinsburg, the crowd began to disperse.
Finally, the locality was almost deserted.
It will be remembered that these events happened dur-
ing the first troubles at Martinsburg, while the State troops
were being rapidly moved in that direction to the support
of Colonel Faulkner.
Governor Matthews, who had accompanied the Wheeling
Guards as far as Grafton, had at a late hour retired to his
apartment, in the second story of the hotel building, and,
after partly disrobing, and leaving the window
open,
the
night being uncomfortably warm, he threw himself upon
his couch, where, worn out by lack of sleep and constant
watchfulness for many hours, he was soon lost in an uneasy
slumber. Presently his senses were shocked and mind
rudely awakened. There was an irruption into his bed-
room of some whizzing, hurtling, heavy body, which first
smashed the upper sash of the casement, sending the shat-
tered glass in all directions. Quickly rising and enveloping
his
person in a dressing-gown, the Governor turned
up
the
gas, and discovered that a huge rock had been thrown, evi-
dently with the intention of striking him in the head while
asleep. Calling in his aid, he explained the circumstances,
but no one could be seen upon the railway track outside,
and not a shadow moved in the dark roadway or near the
steep viaduct. Some of the Governor's friends thought
that a change of room would thereafter be desirable, and one
was secured having no street exposure, where Governor
Matthews passed the next few hours in quietude. But only
a few hours.

204
FIRING ALL ALONG THE LINE,

Soon a message was brought informing the Governor that
the strikers were rallying in strong force, declaring it
their intention to release the prisoners or die in the attempt.
Immediately dressing himself, he repaired to the spot, and
once more used every possible personal and official influence
to prevent the railroaders and their backers from breaking
the law. He finally secured a pledge from them that they
would return to their homes. They kept their word, offer-
ing no more violence up to the hour in the morning witness-
ing the departure of the Governor for Wheeling.
The inland navigators were now in difficulty. Railroads
had met their trials, and the canals also came in for a share.
Among them was the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. The
first actual rupture was among the owners of shipping and
the larger shippers, and originated from a refusal on the
part of one to pay the rates of freightage demanded by the
others. Near the middle of July a proposition was made
to have all the large companies submit a bid to the boat-
men to pay for carriage to Georgetown and Alexandria at a
uniform rate of ninety and ninety-five cents, or eighty-five
and ninety cents, per ton, respectively, and also to unite in
a request to the Canal Company to concede a reduction in
tolls of five or ten cents.
A little later there occurred an outbreak among the
canalers at Sir John's Run, and the men began stoning the
passenger trains as they went by. But the boatmen en-
gaged in the strike, as a general thing, were quiet, orderly,
and peaceable, only a few, who were repudiated by the
remainder, taking the offensive against the Baltimore and
Ohio Railway Still troops were sent there. As with the
railroad strikers, most of the violence was done by out-
siders, tramps, and communists, who had no other incentives
to action than their own brutal instincts and a desire to
secure a share of the common plunder. Before the troops

FIRING ALL ALONG THE LINE
205
reached the place a blockade was formed and all boats
stopped. Meantime the canal-boats remained tied up,
operations at a standstill, and the mining works idle, the
miners having joined in the strike, hoping for better wages
as a result.
It was not until the 11th of the following
month that troops were able to remove the embargo and
put the canal fleet once more in motion. The laborers in
the mines, even at that late date, held out for the increase.
The boatmen had not long been active, however, when the
miners began to work for such proprietors as offered fifty
cents a ton. The Hampshire, Franklin, George's Creek,
Potomac, and Piedmont coal companies were by this time
busily engaged bringing the coal to the surface, and all
paying fifty-five cents. By that date, and a little later, not a
dozen canal-boats held to the strike and tried to keep up the
embargo. Even these few contumacious ones were prepared
to set out for their destinations at a moment's warning.
In Frostburg everything was remarkably quiet. There
was a prospect of a dearth of bread, as but about thirty bar-
rels of flour could be mustered in the town, and it was
feared that, if troops were not left in Cumberland and
freight soon moved, the miners, mostly Irish, Welsh, Scotch,
and German, might get together and make trouble. In a
few days coal and freight trains were regularly run, guarded
by United States soldiers, and provisions could be as easily
and cheaply procured as before the strike occurred.
Lonaconing, a mining place of some importance, had fur-
nished many of the men forming the riotous assemblage at
Keyser. Barton had a meeting of miners on the last day
of July, reported to have numbered eight hundred strong.
Piedmont was not devoid of strikers, and all the miners in
Allegheny County met, a day or two later, in Kaneff's
Meadow, near Lonaconing, but no violence occurred at any
of these places.
206
FIRING ALL ALONG THE LINE.
On the 24th of July, while the troubles in Western Penn-
sylvania were at their height, when the train for Pittsburg
was ready to leave Cumberland, thirty or forty men, com-
prising well-known residents of the county and city, boarded
the cars, without making any very decided stir or demon-
stration—it was before the advent there of Federal soldiers
—and, despite the earnest protests of the conductor and
trainmen, swore they would go to Pittsburg, fare or no fare.
They desired to take a hand in the operations of the strikers
then going on in Pittsburg and that part of the State. The
conductor said nothing, after their fares had been demand-
ed and refused, but continued on his route. He forwarded
a private dispatch, however, from Connellsville, to the Chief
of Police of Pittsburg, notifying him of his living cargo,
and requesting him to be sure and have a party ready when
he should arrive to take forty or fifty armed men in charge.
This request was promptly attended to, and when the turbu-
lent fellows reached Pittsburg, they found themselves quickly
surrounded by policemen and were marched off to jail.
No particular violence was entered upon at Cumberland,
the preparations, military and civic, having been too com-
plete to give the strikers the coveted opportunity. But the
bloodshed at Baltimore had greatly exasperated the train-
men at Grafton.
On the Sunday preceding the serious troubles just de-
scribed, at Baltimore, a train of cars loaded with perishable
property was brought to Grafton, en route for the East, and
the master of transportation was very anxious to move it, in
order that the railway might not suffer loss. The strikers
would not permit it, and the military had not yet arrived
On Sunday the officers of the road secured a volunteer
anti-union engineer and fireman, and quietly making other
preparations, suddenly started the cars, just as the morning
service was about to begin in the Catholic Church of the


FIRING ALL ALONG THE LINE.
207
men.
town, where many of the railway strikers had assembled,
through the recommendation of a man named Spencer, who
had for some time been Chief of Grafton Branch of the
Trainmen's Union. The engine steamed out with the pork
laden freight train coupled to it. But the trainmen were
on the alert, word was sent to the church of what was go-
ing on, and in a moment more hundreds of excited fellows
were rushing down from the church. Pell-mell, one after
another, ran the crowd of angry and disappointed railroad
These efforts to catch and stop the train by running
after it were useless; but a locomotive used in switching
work was fired up. They mounted it, ordered the engineer
to pull the throttle, he obeyed under compulsion, and they
started in pursuit. The strikers were in the cab, on the
footboard, on the pilot, on the coal in the tender, and cling-
ing to the locomotive in every conceivable place, armed
with revolvers, rocks, and clubs, the latter hastily picked
up before starting, running rapidly in the wake of the train
trying to escape from their clutches. On, with reckless
speed, shot the engine, black with its human burden. For-
ward sped the train, far ahead of them. After turning a
sudden, sharp curve in the road, the smoke from the truant
locomotive could be discerned through openings in the
trees. The stillness of the clear Sabbath morning was
rudely broken by the excited cheerings and hurrahs of the
pursuers, which were answered to the echo by the shrill
whistle of the leading engine, which continued to puff, and
blow, and labor, over a bit of steep grade, and, having sur-
mounted it quickly, showed a clean pair of heels in the
dim and dusty distance as it rolled gracefully and rapidly
down a gradual descent, and then passed out of view over a
level piece of ground into the windings, turnings, and twist-
ings of another of those abrupt horse-shoe bends for which
the Baltimore and Ohio road, in this locality, is celebrated.

208
FIRING ALL ALONG THE LINE.
race,
The strikers turned to their involuntary engineer, and,
with many oaths ordered, “ More steam!” “More speed ! ”
Then their eyes were strained to their utmost to penetrate
the distance, and see if their prize was actually gaining and
widening the space between them. More haste was made.
More fuel was thrown into the fire-pan of the furnace, and
the flames roared again as the door was closed. The iron
horse ran like a thing of life. The noise of the wheels, and
the escaping steam, and the whistle, scared people in their
houses beside the track. Men and women rushed out from
their houses, and looked on in amazement at sight of the novel
One old lady, living in a log-cabin, surrounded by he
group of ragged children, stood on her narrow gallery, and
was so enthusiastic over the contest that she wildly swung
her faded calico sun-bonnet in the air by its strings, lost her
balance, fell off the platform before the door, screaming,
“Murder! murder!” as she descended. The strikers had
time to catch a glimpse of the scene,
and
gave
the woman
three hearty cheers as they clattered by, which the children
and neiglıbors returned with all their lungs.
Presently the pursuing engine arrived at another curve.
Around it they swept at lightning speed. Suddenly before
them appeared, in plain sight, the stationary rear end of the
train they were so recklessly flying after.
There was little chance for thought, less for action, but
the faces of the rioters turned white as they understood the
situation. The locomotive they were on-covering it as
swarming bees upon the limb of a tree—they very well
knew must inevitably run into that dark barrier, that im-
movable obstacle of solid wood and iron. Too well they
knew the danger. But all were paralyzed. None even
thought to jump. A collision was unavoidable. Scarcely
had the strikers' engineer a second in which to sound
“ down brakes,” before the thundering crash came.
A fly-

FIRING ALL ALONG THE LINE.
209
ing shower of destruction, splintered timbers and sills, an
explosion of iron flues, the jarring of the train, the tearing
up of rails and ties, the telescoping of cars—a shriek—a
series of shrieks and groans--and the crisis had arrived and
passed.
At Wheeling, the capital of West Virginia, and the
largest city in that State, the strike did not at any time
assume a riotous nature, which fact is hard to account for,
as its manufacturing interests are but little less important
than those of Pittsburg, and its population is largely com-
posed of that class of workingmen who are quick to become
filled with the striking and riotous spirit. But, though the
striking trainmen did not resort to the shameful exhibitions
of brute force which disgraced other cities, they stood out
to the
very last, and seemed to be really the firmest and
most cool-headed strikers along the line of the Baltimore
and Ohio road.
As a consequence, manufacturing and
business interests of Wheeling were completely paralyzed.
Supplies could not be secured, and goods could not be
shipped; the factories were compelled to close, and busi-
ness men of the city shut up their stores, placed guards
upon them, and started for the mountains with their
guns
and fishing-tackle. The result was that Wheeling experi-
enced two weeks of Sundays, and great destitution and
suffering began to prevail. All wages in all grades of
employment had been extremely low, and mechanics not
only had no means saved for such an emergency, but were
in most cases in debt. These conditions, fortunately for
Wheeling, brought about a strong public pressure against
the continuance of the strike, and served to eventually
bring to terms the trainmen, who, with other influences such
as surrounded railroad strikers in Pittsburg, would have
precipitated trouble and bloodshed. As it was, however,
the strike at Wheeling came, existed firmly and determin-
210
FIRING ALL ALONG THE LINE.
1

edly, but passed away, leaving no other misfortunes than
the great loss from a continued suspension of business, and
the keen suffering endured by the majority of workingmen
and their families on account of the cruel persistency of a
few, as is invariably the result from that most foolish of all
labor movements, the strike.
At the thriving city of Newark, Ohio, the strike attracted
considerable attention, and that city was frequently visited
by Governor Young during its continuance. One peculiar-
ity of the excitement there is worth relating. Nearly every
female in the place was an earnest champion of the strik-
ers. Grandmothers, mothers, wives and sweethearts seemed
to vie with each other in encouraging the strikers to hold
out until the Baltimore and Ohio Company had been com-
pelled to restore the wages paid before the reduction. As
a large number of trainmen resided at Newark, many of
them being related to the best families of the city, this
element proved a most powerful one, for fifty women are
more to be feared, from any stand-point, than five hundred
These ladies forgot everything else save the strike,
and worked without ceasing for its success. They collected
money, food, and fuel for the sustenance of strikers and
strikers' families. They circulated among the officials of
the city, and banteringly told them that if they attempted
to make arrests of these railroad men, who were their fa-
thers, husbands, and lovers, and who were making a brave
fight for their very lives, they would certainly have to over-
power and arrest them first. Think of overpowering and
arresting half the ladies of a city. Nor did they stop here.
They visited the State militia, and ingratiated themselves
into the regard of these bold soldiers of an hour with that
irresistible way which determined women have; and then,
after they had won them, informed them that if they shot
any of the strikers, they would have to do it over their dead
men.

FIRING ALL ALONG THE LINE.
211
bodies. What brave soldiers could be even driven into a
fight with unarmed workingmen, when they would first
have to force the attack over the dead bodies of several
hundred handsome women? Nor did Governor Young him-
self
escape
this irresistible and even ludicrously powerful
influence. Some would weep, others wheedle, some charm,
and many denounce with such sharp tongues and savage
manner, that the doughty successor of President Hayes in
his governorship of Ohio was repeatedly forced to change
his headquarters to escape this avalanche of women, who
would give the ill-fated Governor no rest. It may
ay be pos-
sible that this very fact prevented riot and bloodshed at
Newark.
All such movements, however wide-spread and powerful
they may be, from their very nature are bound to wear
themselves out. The action of the ladies of Newark cer-
tainly prevented the use of the military, and the strikers,
meeting no opposition, soon wearied of their belligerent
attitude, and the strike at that place fell to pieces of its
own weight.
One instance also occurred at Newark illustrative of the
duplicity of P. M. Arthur and the Brotherhood of Locomo-
tive Engineers. Both fraudulently received great credit
for their supposed action in behalf of resuming operations
on the road.
Mr. Arthur gave to one of my operatives the following
version of his own and the Brotherhood's action at that
place, and in precisely the following language:
“I will say this, we heartily sympathized with these men,
just as millions of people did. But no action by myself,
by the General Grievance Committee, or by any of the dif-
ferent divisions, tending in any way to support or assist, or
even express resolutions of sympathy, was taken. The
public may not believe this. I tell you it is God's truth.
212
FIRING ALL ALONG THE LINE.
“When the strike was at its height on the Baltimore and
Ohio road, they sent for me to come down to Newark. I
arrived there the night of Saturday, July 21st. The
engineers of Division 36 were all gathered in their hall,
and having caught the general infection, were enthusiastic
for a strike. I opposed it from first to last; insisted that
they had no cause for any such course, and secured from
them a pledge that they would remain true to the company.
“W. C. Quincey, General Manager of the Ohio and
Chicago Divisions of the road, who was working nobly to
raise the strike, was surprised beyond measure with the re-
sult of my labors, and praised us without stint.
“I told him the men were at his disposal, and that they
would risk their lives to run his engines. Fourteen were
drawn, by lot, to take out trains, and responded to a man
like
men, when Manager Quincey, like a man himself, told
them that they need not go until the troubles were settled.
Even Governor Young took pains to compliment the Broth-
hood and myself in the highest terms, when he had learned
through me that our order considered it a cowardly policy
to even take so powerful an advantage as such dishonorable
action would give !”
Now, the simple facts are—and they take from this rath-
er shrewd man his cloak of honesty and magnanimity com-
pletely—that, although this action was taken, the engineers
were drawn, Mr. Arthur did pompously offer to risk their
lives, the same as Artemus Ward offered to sacrifice all his
wife's relations on the altar of liberty, the Brotherhood and
Mr. Arthur were praised and complimented by Manager
Quincey, Governor Young, and the public press generally,
this very Arthur and this very division of Brotherhood En-
gineers secretly sent their agents among the brakemen and
firemen, with orders to make such dastardly public threats
against any engineer who should volunteer to take out an


THE TROUBLES AT PITTSBURG.
213
engine, that the officers of the road became aghast at the
prospects of violence, and at once rescinded their orders for
the movement of trains.
Mr. Arthur's visit to Newark, had just the effect he intend-
ed it to have. It prolonged the strike at that point, just as
his visits to every other railroad center had precisely the
same result.
CHAPTER XVII.
CAUSES LEADING TO THE TROUBLES AT PITTSBURG.
WHILE yet that important section of the country tribu-
tary to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was just beginning
to feel the dire effects of the outlawry and terrorism which
any violent interruption of the great channels of commerce
and an utter defiance of the law always compel, the omi-
nous mutterings of a deeper discontent began to be heard at
various points along the different divisions of that still more
far-reaching, almost national, thoroughfare, the Pennsylva-
nia Railroad.
Particularly at Pittsburg had the fitful fever caught that
ever-turbulent class of employees who, whether laboring in
the most obscure, or the most prominent, positions, are con-
stantly in that condition of dissatisfaction with themselves
and with what honest labor they may have in hand, that, on
the slightest provocation, they come to the surface with a
"grievance. These assumed grievances are most handy
things to have when men desire to bring about insubordina-
tion, and coerce great corporations, and especially railroad
companies, into adopting a policy which the best experience
214
THE TROUBLES AT PITTSBURG.
of the years, or the most urgent of present necessities, show
beyond a question to be financially disastrous. In fact, a
grievance, real or assumed, was necessary to fan their
chronic discontent into a healthy hate; it was necessary to
establish a common bond of union to draw other malcontents
to their cause; and above all else, it was necessary so that
these disaffected men might gradually bring about a condi-
tion of public sentiment which would give force to their
foolish demands and support to their reckless acts, were
these insulting demands not complied with.
These men one and all--and I wish to be understood as
referring to every man employed by this road and its con-
trolled lines who was an instigator of the strike, or who be-
came equally criminal in supporting it—seemed to have
been blinded by the intensest inconsistency and reckless-
ness. They forgot that all over this broad land, wherever
there was a collection of people a large percentage were
idle; they forgot that the workshop was deserted; the
once busy mill all silent; the great, groaning factory only
tenanted by the solitary watchman and the spiders—all that
were left to spin. They forgot that through causes we all
may feel sure of understanding, but which no man has yet
fully explained, nearly every great industry was lying pal-
sied. They forgot that through the populous cities and
thickly-settled districts there were hundreds of thousands of
laborers just as worthy and deserving as themselves, but in
an incomparably worse condition than they; that their
families were not alone in their deprivation and sacrifices,
and that they were then securing what thousands agonizedly
prayed for-steady work and certain pay-even if the labor
was trying and the remuneration small, and for which, in
the condition their own intelligence should have told them
the entire country was in, they, as men owing loyal duty to
themselves, to their families, to their employers, and, be-


THE TROUBLES AT PITTSBURG.
215
yond all else, to their citizenship, should have been for the
time manfully content, patiently and faithfully biding the
better days when a restored public confidence should have
pulsed a new and helpful life through all the stagnant
arteries of trade.
The grievance that these men professed to have, finally
gave them the assurance and bravado necessary to reorgan-
ize the Trainmen's Union mentioned elsewhere. This re-
organization was effected for the purpose of waging war
against the Pennsylvania and other railroad companies, and
for that purpose only. The least reliable, the most worth-
less, the least capable, and the most reckless trainmen run-
ning into Pittsburg were its organizers and reorganizers.
The well known fact that to-day every one of the founders
of the order are confirmed tramps, disgusting drunkards,
miserable communistic outcasts, or, through the skill of my
operatives, are occupying the gloomy cell of some jail or
prison, is sufficient proof of this statement.
But, as I have said, it was necessary to any measure of
success that they have a “grievance.” The Pennsylvania
Railroad, like other great trunk lines, had sorely felt the
iron hand of the general stagnation of business and the con-
stant diminution of receipts both from that cause and froin
a very great reduction of rates necessary to the retention of
a large percentage of that class of through business which
invariably seeks the cheapest transit to and from the sea-
board. To partially meet this great reduction in receipts
the management of the road was compelled to lessen the
running expenses—on the same principle, and for precisely
the same reason, that a railroad employee, or any other
workingman, who discovers his income reduced by circum-
stances over which he has no possible control, finds it an
absolute necessity to lessen his living expenses.
And right here let me say, that in all justice the butcher
216
THE TROUBLES AT PITTSBURG.
and the grocer have just as good a right to "strike " against
the forced contraction of this workingman's expenses, and
with bludgeons and revolvers compel liim, even by burning
his house and murdering members of his family, to con-
tinue the usual amount of custom at the usual rates of
pay-
ment, or intimidate other butchers and grocers to prevent
their furnishing him meat and provisions at a cheaper rate,
as any set of railroad employees have to inaugurate and
protract the disgraceful scenes which have recently cursed
our country, for the avowed purpose of compelling railroad
corporations to yield to ruinous demands.
After ascertaining that such action was of extreme neces-
sity, in June, ’77, the Pennsylvania Railroad Company
announced a reduction of ten per cent. upon the wages of
all officers and employees receiving more than one dollar
a day, the same to take effect on and after the first of July
following. This order and the subsequent introduction of
what is known as the “double-headers,” or freight trains
composed of a larger number of cars than the single train,
and drawn by two engines, which economized labor, and
consequently displaced a few employees, constituted the
“grievances” which resulted in the reorganization of the
Trainmen's Union, and eventually the strike and its terribly
disastrous results.
No sooner had these measures for economy in the com-
pany's management gone into effect, than the class, and only
the class—these utterly worthless employees--referred to,
began their secret meetings and their seditious efforts. But
it is an established fact that the great body of employees ac-
cepted the reduction with good grace; and the charge made
against Col. Scott and other officers of the road, that they
were inaccessible and treated all employees with cruel in-
difference, however respectfully they might offer a petition
or remonstrance, is found to be false when it is known that


THE TROUBLES AT PITTSBURG.
217
a joint committee from the Brotherhood of Locomotive
Engineers and Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen, in
June, and just subsequent to the proposed reduction,
waited
upon Col. Scott and were most courteously received
by that gentleman, who took the trouble to explain the most
minute details of the company's business. He fully demon-
strated not only the justice of, but the extreme necessity for,
the reduction ; which so impressed the committee that they
gave in writing an unqualified indorsement to this impera-
tive policy, and pledged, also in writing, for themselves and
the important classes which they represented, a most hearty
co-operation and loyalty.
In fact, more than three-fourths of the employees of the
road, and immeasurably the most deserving, capable, and
valuable class of its employees, had received the reduction in
an appreciative and manly way; and the management had
every reason to believe that the most harmonious relations
still existed. But all this time factious and unruly elements
were plotting schemes of revenge. They had not the can-
dor to utter a manly protest or approach the president of
the
them and their families the means
gave
of support, in a respectful and decorous manner; but, trai-
torous to their own and their employer's interests, they drank
in the accursed communistic spirit of the times, and drew
together a desperate body of men with professed principles
of reciprocal help and brotherhood ministrations, but really
for riot and revenge. So marked was this endeavor to gain
the necessary power of numbers that any person, no matter
how low and vile, to find easy admission had only to
roundly express bitterness and hate against the Pennsyl-
vania Railroad Company in particular and all railroads in
general. It was in this way that my operatives, with pre-
tensions unnecessary to relate, became members, and en-
abled me to speak with the greatest certainty of the perni-
company which
10

218
THE TROUBLES AT PITTSBURG.
cious order which soon extended to the Baltimore and Ohio
Railroad, with the results that have been previously men-
tioned. From Pittsburg it pushed its slimy length back
over the Fort Wayne road towards Chicago; it crept along
the sinuous windings of the Allegheny Valley; and to the
East it trailed over the grand mountains and beautiful val-
leys along the Pennsylvania road, spreading everywhere the
seeds of disaffection and riot.
But the officers of the latter road could not, and did not,
credit these hints of disturbance. They had every reason
to believe, they thought, that there was no real cause of
difference between them and their men. Even after the sad
scenes at Martinsburg they felt certain of the loyalty of
their employees, and looked upon the trouble along the
Baltimore and Ohio road as merely a local agitation which
could by no possibility extend to their lines. Besides the
faith based on the earnest assurance of fidelity given by the
committee from the Brotherhoods, no petition, protest, or
warning by other trainmen had been offered ; so that when
the blow was struck, this great corporation was utterly un-
prepared to meet it, and what was at first a handful of
reckless desperadoes, had brow-beaten and intimidated right
and left, promising and wheedling here, threatening and
forcing there, until this disaffection and its influence had
swept like a flash of flame from this central point to the
utmost limit of the company's main and controlled lines,
and what had been the best organized and finest equipped
commercial highway in the world, was in a pitiable con-
dition of chaotic helplessness.

THE STRIKE AT PITTSBURG.
219
CHAPTER XVIII.
INAUGURATION OF THE STRIKE AT PITTSBURG.

"
At noon of Thursday, July 19th, the unexpected blow was
struck; and, illustrative of the powerlessness of our State
laws and imbecile inefficiency of local authorities, a hand-
ful of
men, who might have been subdued by a determined
corporal's guard, were permitted to precipitate what led to
the inost deplorable riots in history. Freight conductor
Ryan's train was nearly ready for starting out. The“ crew
had been assigned and the engineers were only waiting for
the signal to unloose their iron steeds, when, after a short
conference among the brakemen, the conductor was informed
that they would not go out with the train. He, as was his
duty, promptly passed the dreaded word to the dispatcher.
Two yard crews of brakemen were then asked to take the
train, but the intimidation had begun, and they refused.
They were very properly discharged, but very improperly
permitted to remain and help swell the rapidly-increasing
crowd of strikers, for now the strike had beguin.
So swiftly did this striking fever run through the worst
element of the trainmen lingering about, that scarcely an
hour had elapsed before a crowd of fully five hundred
employees had gathered, and all efforts at starting trains
proved ineffectual.
The first brute force used by the
strikers was near Twenty-eighth Street, about one o'clock
in the afternoon, when D. M. Watt, Superintendent Pit-
cairn's chief clerk, ordered an employee to descend from a
shifting engine and change the switch so as to permit of the
220
THE STRIKE AT PITTSBURG.

passage of a freight train. The employee refused, fearing
he would be killed. Thereupon Mr. Watt sprang from the
engine, and as he attempted to change the switch, the entire
crowd rushed upon him, some of the leaders shouting in an
extremely heroic way: “ Boys, we'll die right here ! ”
“ Bread or blood !” and the like. One brute, a yardman
named Thomas McCall, struck Mr. Watt a terrific blow,
felling him to the earth. This action dismayed the strikers
somewhat, and enabled the inefficient police to arrest a few
of the most harmless, as usual. But the crowd soon rallied,
and, with increased numbers, moved up and down the tracks,
beating and stoning loyal employees from their work, and
re-enacting that old and savage labor tragedy which, for the
last century, has cursed both continents. In the meantime,
notices signed by the “ President” of the Trainmen’s Union
had been posted along the line from the Union Depot to
East Liberty, a distance of nearly six miles, calling on all
the members of that organization to meet at Phønix Hall,
on Eleventh Street, at seven o'clock in the evening; and
around these, excited groups were constantly gathering to
discuss the all-absorbing topic, while hundreds of others,
comprising the more daring of the men, carrying all before
them like a storm, moved out to East Liberty stock-yards,
compelling the train and yard men there to join with them.
Quick work was now made, and a sudden end put to all
order and authority. Trains were run upon side-tracks and
left there. Then matters on the main tracks were taken in
hand, and all trains east or west were stopped. Those
coming from the east were allowed to proceed into the city
after the situation had been explained and their crews so
thoroughly threatened and otherwise frightened that they
sacredly promised to “go out,” or join the strikers, as soon
as Pittsburg proper had been reached, which under the cir-
cumstances they invariably did. It was necessary that

THE STRIKE AT PITTSBURG.
221
some of the stock-trains be pulled up to the sidings to be
unloaded; but the strikers would in no instance permit of
the use of the company's engines, that work being done
only by engines from the Pan Handle road, and though no
detention was suffered by passenger trains. Thus the work
went on for the day, and the numberless tracks and sidings
grew black with closely-packed cars, which were destined,
many of them, never to be put to use again.
At night a strong guard of strikers patroled the tracks,
and complete possession had been taken of the Western Di-
vision of the road, while at Phoenix Hall, on Eleventh
Street, there were gathered four times the number that
could gain admission. Up to this time the movement had
been almost entirely controlled by such brakemen and
yardmen as had been inveigled into the Trainmen's Union ;
but
now, notwithstanding Chief Arthur's statement to the
contrary, such of the engineers and firemen of the Western
Division as happened to be in Pittsburg, came in a body to
Phønix Hall, determined to join in the fight against the re-
duction of wages and the doubling of freight trains,
although the latter in nowise affected them; showing a clear
breach of faith which can neither be excused nor palliated.
This meeting was unusually orderly and quiet. But it
was the ominous quiet that surely tells of the coming storm.
The result of the meeting was the following ultimatum to
the
company:
First-We, the undersigned committee, appointed by the Western Di-
vision of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, do hereby demand from
said company, through its proper officers, the wages as per department of
engineers, firemen, conductors, and brakemen received prior to June 1,
1877.
SecondThat each and every employee who has been dismissed for
taking part in the present strike or meetings held prior to or during said
strike be restored to their position, as held prior to the strike.
Third--That the classification of each of said departments be abolished
222
THE STRIKE AT PITTSBURG.

now and forever, and that hereafter engineers and conductors receive the
same wages as received by engineers and conductors of the highest class
prior to June 1, 1877.
Fourth—That the running of double trains be abolished, except coa
trains.
Fifth-That each and every engine, whether road or shifting, shall
have its own fireman.
At nine o'clock the same evening the strikers at the outer
depot decided to stop the arrival of Pan Handle trains.
One was heard coming thundering along, when fully five
hundred men quickly formed on either side and across the
track, but as it approached they discovered that it was an
express train, and it was allowed to pass, amid jeers and
yells. A half hour later another train was heard, and the
line was formed again, as proinptly and solidly as with a
battalion of soldiers. It was really an interesting sight-
almost a study for a picture. Nearly every man had un-
consciously assumed an attitude of defiance, and they stood
there like grim and silent statues. But the moment it was
made certain that the coming train was of freight, a deafen-
ing yell went up from the crowd, which was answered by
signal shrieks from the engine like a series of shrill echoes
screamed back from some bold mountain side. In vain
did the engineer excitedly sound the whistle and ring the
bell. The strikers stood there like a wall. It was of no
avail. The train slackened, and finally came to a halt after
about fifty of the men had boarded it. Then they climbed
upon the engine and tender in every conceivable spot where
a foothold could be secured, brandishing clubs and shaking
their fists at the poor fellows in the cab, while the engineer,
utterly nonplussed and aghast, stammered out: “Why,
boys, God knows this's the first I've seen of all this ! ”
With this the Pan Handle road became helpless with the
other lines. This event and another fruitless though de-

THE STRIKE AT PITTSBURG.
223
termined attempt to move trains, which occurred within
the city at ten o'clock, and the weak efforts of Sheriff Fife
to disperse the strikers at Twenty-eighth Street, closed the
exciting day. But I cannot pass the latter subject without
referring to the criminal weakness of the officers in and for
the city of Pittsburg and the County of Allegheny. Right
here were lost the opportunities to prevent the Pittsburg
riot.
After the attack upon Chief Clerk Watt in the earlier
part of the day, that gentleman drove to Mayor McCarthy's
office and begged his presence at the scene of disturbance,
or at least for the detail of a sufficient force of police to
keep away from the company's property and premises such
of the cowardly scoundrels as would not permit honest and
loyal employees to work. This model Mayor was conve-
niently “ill,” and no assistance was rendered. In the light
of subsequent events, it would almost seem that this man,
rather than Major-General Pearson, should have been in-
dicted for murder by the grand jury of Allegheny County.
But this source failing, the Sheriff was appealed to. His
duty there and then was simply to summon a posse strong
enough to have preserved order, on his discovery of the
imbecility of the city authorities; and preserving order
under the circumstances would have been to protect men
willing to work.
It is an established fact that ninety per cent. of the com-
pany's employees were not only willing but anxious to work.
They had an undeniable right to protection in their labor;
and the shame of this whole matter is not so much in the
fact that a few hot-headed malcontents discontinued work
and endeavored to force others to do the same, as in the far
more disgraceful fact that the Mayor of a large city like
Pittsburg would not see that complete protection was
given to respectable workingmen within its limits; and,

224
THE STRIKE AT PITTSBURG.
he failing to do so, that the Sheriff of so important a county
as Allegheny should prove equally as derelict in his duty.
All Sheriff Fife did, however, was to go to Twenty-eighth
Street and solemnly order the strikers to disperse. No one
could blame these rough fellows for laughing and jeering
at him. Almost any other person would have considered
so impotent an action really laughable. But he "remained
on the ground until nearly three o'clock in the morning!”
as the dispatches told the public. It would have been pleas-
anter for him to have remained in bed, and quite as ser-
viceable. While“ remaining on the ground” he forwarded
a message to Governor Hartranft, explaining how he had
strenuously labored to put down the riot; that he had
not the “ means at command ;” and urging the Governor to
exercise his authority in calling out the militia to suppress
the lawlessness. So that it must be borne in mind that the
two officials at Pittsburg who, above all others, had the oppor-
tunity and power for crushing out this trouble in its incipi-
ency, shirked their duty altogether, and are really responsi-
ble for the terrible scenes which followed.
But Governor Hartranft was absent. He was not exactly
shirking his duty like the rest, but he was unfortunately a
good distance from the place where his position made it
truly a duty for him to be, summering with his friends in
the mountains of the far West. Neither was Lieutenant-
Governor Latta to be found at Harrisburg. In fact, the
government of the great commonwealth of Pennsylvania
was without a head. But, straggling along about three
o'clock in the morning of Friday, came a message from the
Adjutant-General of the State, who was found at Lancaster,
Pa., informing Sheriff Fife that he had ordered Major-Gen-
eral A. L. Pearson to place a regiment of militia at his
disposal. The General was found, and he immediately
ordered the Duquesne Greys, the Eighteenth Regiment, to

THE STRIKE AT PITTSBURG.
225
report for duty at seven o'clock. But the strikers proved
far the earlier risers, and long before that hour were on
the ground, largely reinforced, and in full possession of the
tracks and the company's property.
Shortly after eight o'clock written copies of the Gover-
nor's proclamation were posted up along the tracks, but were
treated with the utmost contempt. These men knew that
the Governor was absent on a pleasure tour, and they
doubted, or pretended to doubt, its genuineness. Many
insisted that it was concocted in the company's office. In
any event, the proclamation had only the effect of making
the men more bitter, increasing the crowds, and creating an
intenser excitement.
On the arrival, during the morning, from Philadelphia,
of A. J. Cassatt, Third Vice-President of the Pennsylvania
Railroad, a consultation was held between that gentleman,
General Pearson, Sheriff Fife, Colonel Guthrie, and Superin-
tendent Robert Pitcairn, and at about twelve o'clock the Du-
quesne Greys, under Colonel Guthrie, and headed by Briga-
dier-General Joseph Brown, started for the scene of trouble
at East Liberty; while the Fourteenth Regiment, supported
by a portion of Captain Breck's Hutchinson Battery, were
ordered to the outer depot. These soldiers reached their
destination without mishap, though they were hissed and
insulted along the entire route.
During the forenoon a call was made by General Pear-
son for more militia, which was responded to by additional
companies of the Fourteenth and Nineteenth Regiments,
with the remaining section of the Hutchinson Battery; and
these troops took up positions at Liberty and Twenty-eighth
Streets, about one o'clock. Shortly previous, Company F,
of the Eighteenth, under command of Captain Aull, arrived
at Torrens Station, a little distance beyond East Liberty;
and a few minutes later Sheriff Fife, General Pearson, and
10*
226
THE STRIKE AT PITTSBURG.

Superintendent Pitcairn arrived on a special train. The
military itself caused considerable commotion, but the arri
val of these gentlemen created great excitement.
As soon as the train had halted, Sheriff Fife mounted the
engine tender, and read the Governor's proclamation amid
the wildest excitement of the crowd. The matter had gone
too far. All this mock ceremony only served to exasperate
the men, and they hooted and indulged in the wildest dem-
onstrations less than actual riot. Then General Pearson,
a man of most commanding and soldierly bearing, stepped
forward, and, while speaking, was listened to with profound
attention. The substance of his remarks, which were de-
livered with great emphasis and deliberation, was, that the
strikers were resisting the law, which would be enforced if
the entire power of the State were needed. He sympathized
with the men in any real grievance they might have; but
they must remember, he said, that he was a soldier; had
been ordered by his superiors to protect the company's
property; and a soldier had no right to consider sympathies
before duty. He also said that trains should be put through
on that day, and that he himself should be on hand to see
that they were not obstructed.
All this was received in sullen silence. The mob had
been permitted to attain almost the respectability of an in-
surrection by the civil authorities, and were not to be cowed
into submission by what they were pleased to term “ holi-
day soldiers.” In response to General Pearson's inquiry
whether they intended to submit to the law, and peaceably
permit the running of trains, a yell of “No, no!” burst
from a thousand voices so wild, impetuous, and determined
that it was heard miles away, convincing the officials that fur-
ther parley was useless, which conviction was further strength-
ened, as they moved away, by a parting yell of defiance and
a still more forcible accompaniment of clubs and stones.

THE STRIKE AT PITTSBURG.
227
66
After this signal failure, a consultation was had as to the
advisability of attempting to force trains through by a vig-
orous use of the militia ; but this course was strongly op-
posed by General Pearson, who did not wish to assume so
grave a responsibility in the absence of definite orders from
his superiors and with so small a number of troops, as his
available force numbered but a few hundred men all told.
His advice was taken, and he thereupon telegraphed Adju-
tant-General Latta full particulai's of the situation, receiv-
ing intelligence from that official that he would arrive in
Pittsburg over the Fast Line about midnight.
To further complicate matters, at three o'clock in the
afternoon the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne and Chicago road also
fell a victim to the extending turbulence. Number Fif-
teen” through Chicago freight train was about to depart
for the West, when a gang of yardmen comprising about a
dozen firemen and brakemen, led by a man named “ Billy ”
Bowman, a yard conductor on the night transfer runs,
boarded the engine, and quietly told the engineer and fire-
man that they had better “get down out of that !” No
force was used ; but there would have been, had it been
necessary
In less than half an hour the crews of at least
twiaty freight trains had joined the movement, and as fast
as i cains arrived their crews were compelled to leave them.
By five o'clock there were fully three thousand people upon
the scene, and after eight o'clock the company abandoned
all attempts to run freight trains; while hundreds of iron-
workers from the railroad shops, laborers from the yards,
and shopmen and mechanics from Allegheny City had
swelled the throng until it numbered fully five thousand.
The utmost good nature prevailed, but there was never a
more determined set of men got together.
During the day the Philadelphia and Erie road was
blockaded, and the Pittsburg Division of the Baltimore and
228
RIOT TERRORS AT PITTSBURG.

Ohio ceased operating, so far as freight trains were con-
cerned, a mob of nearly a thousand ruffians-not one of
them a railroad employee—having taken complete posses-
sion of the tracks near the upper Birmingham bridge.
And so passed the night. Through the long hours, at no
time were the crowds composed of the mob and striking
elements perceptibly lessened. In the streets of Pittsburg
and Allegheny City people came and went, and at last
quiet settled down upon the towns; but along the tracks,
in every direction, there was always to be seen an excited
mass of men moving among the shadows and before the hun-
dreds of watch-fires which had been kindled, like some des-
perate army of revolutionists nerving themselves for what-
ever of success, defeat, or horror the coming day had in
store.
CHAPTER XIX.
RIOT TERRORS AT PITTSBURG.
The morning of Saturday, July 21, 1877, opened bright
and beautiful. To have stood upon the grand hills which
skirt the cities of Pittsburg and Allegheny, and looked
past the rivers, like threads of silver, into these hives of in-
dustry at early dawn, one uninformed of the ominous situa-
tion could scarcely have realized that they contained the
dormant elements which, before another twenty-four hours
should elapse, would precipitate scenes to rival those of the
Paris Cominune. But the close observer would have
noticed along the sinuous lines of railway which come
creeping in through all the valleys, the same masses of de-

RIOT TERRORS AT PITTSBURG.
229
termined men that guarded the roads by the light of the
previous night's watch-fires. More than this he would have
seen. Along every wagon road trailing down from the up-
lands came new and grotesque groups, whose numbers
seemed moved by some unusual animation. It is said of
certain carnivorous birds, that they possess some wonderful
foreknowledge of such coming disaster as may provide for
them a horrible feast, and that, long before death has
closed the sufferings of some wounded animal or lost human
in the forests or mountains, they hover about, giving vent
to shrill and joyous exclamations of satisfaction at the cer-
tain knowledge that their ferocious cravings are to be satis-
fied in the hideous way intimated. With something of the
same vulture-like prescience of coming opportunities for
prey and pillage, these straggling bodies of human vultures
came down upon Pittsburg. River pirates of the lowest
and most savage order came creeping up the Ohio, or float-
ing down both the Allegheny and Monongahela, to be in
at the death for their share of the picking; greasy and
ragged outlaws from the coal regions left their dark haunts
in the groggeries, gorges and glens, and turned their brutish
faces towards the spot where the accursed communistic
spirit had made law and right contemptible, and force and
injustice triumphant; from fifty miles to the west, north
and south, every little community along the railroads lost its
roughs and desperadoes, who set out for the scene of trouble
as fast as ever their legs could carry their worthless bodies;
those fearful pests, the Mollie Maguires, from the near col-
lieries came flocking in, ready to give vent in any way that
might quickest offer an excuse to their murderous antagon-
ism against capital and authority; while the tramps—those
veritable guerillas forever bushwhacking on the outskirts of
civilization—seemed to suddenly spring from every con-
ceivable spot like some magical yet dangerous growth of

230
RIOT TERRORS AT PITTSBURG.
the night. Tramps from the mines, with dull, sodden faces;
tramps from the villages, with a slinking, shamefaced am-
ble; tramps from the oil regions, with smut, grease, and
brutish ways about them; tramps from among the outlying
farms, with traces of the barns and the stacks in their hair
and upon their clothing, and with the air of petty chicken-
thievery very marked about them; tramps from the moun-
tains, looking hunted and wolfish-tramps of every kind
and from every known and unknown nook and corner; but
all, on this bright July morning, stepping out with a
sprightly, elastic gait, and every one of the God-forsaken
crew with their hungry faces set towards this spot, where
arson, pillage, and plunder, were so soon to rule and ruin.
No violence occurred during the early part of the day,
but the situation had become alarmingly threatening.
It
had begun to take on a communistic air. This curse of the
two continents, which we of America had lightly ignored
as too little a thing to demand attention, but which to-day
is recognized as a subject of the gravest import, and which
calls for as prompt an extermination as we would give a
deadly reptile, began shaking its beastly head and raising
its red hand, that its power might be known and felt.
The foolish men who had inaugurated the strike, as well
as the cowardly officials who had permitted it to grow into
these alarming proportions, now helplessly saw that they
had unlocked the floodgates of anarchy and riot. From
every quarter of the two cities men with hate in their des-
perate faces gathered in groups, and in low tones plotted
and threatened. The slums and alleys turned out their
miserable inhabitants ---men with faces of brutes, women
with faces of demons. Every fresh accession of communis-
tic laborers and communistic loafers was welcomed with an
intelligence only begot of murderous hate in one common
purpose; every addition to the seditious crowds of still more

RIOT TERRORS AT PITTSBURG.
231
seditious tramps from the meadows, mountains, and mines
was received with some sign of vile fellowship that igno-
rant envy always gives to insolent outlawry; and every
sentiment of defiant turbulence was received with such a
vile and devilish relish that soon each brutish lip only
moved to give birth to viler cursings and deeper threats of
revenge.
The streets filled up with surging masses, the morning
lengthened, and an ominous dread came down upon the
city. Business men who had been loud in their denuncia-
tion of the Pennsylvania Railroad now shrank within their
offices and stores, regretting the criminal “sympathy” they
had extended to a handful of law-breakers, out of a sickly,
mawkish sentimentality, but all too late realized that the
coming carnival of riot could not be checked. Miserable
officials, who had played into the hands of these strikers and
truckled to these lawless elements out of pure demagog-
ism, saw that the sullen calm of midday only preceded by
a few hours, at most, the time when all their power would
be as naught, and the very terror they were responsible for
would sweep everything before it; while all classes of
citizens felt in some wild, unexplainable way that the lim-
its of restraint were being passed, and that scenes of horror
were about to be enacted. And in this state of apprehen-
sion, more painful than actual terrors, the hours of that
fateful day wore on.
At eight o'clock on the previous evening, Major-General
R. M. Brinton, of Philadelphia, commanding the First
Division, N. G. P., received telegraphic orders from Ad-
jutant-General Latta, who had then been in Pittsburg a few
hours, to move his entire division,. cavalry and artillery dis-
mounted, to the scene of trouble, where he should report to
General Pearson. Nearly one thousand men were gathered
together, and this little command, having no thought of the

232
RIOT TERRORS AT PITTSBURG.
bloody work before them, and doubtless looking upon the
event as nothing more or less than a delightful holiday
excursion, left Philadelphia in the early morning of the
21st, and, after receiving ammunition at Harrisburg, reached
Pittsburg at about one o'clock, having been subjected to a
very few interruptions and annoyances from the strikers, who
gathered, with tramps and communists, in threatening num-
bers at the different stations along the route.
It was noticeable, however, that after reaching the out-
skirts of Pittsburg the holiday feature of the excursion was
suddenly changed by the jeers and howlings of the mobs
gathered at Torrens, East Liberty, and Twenty-eighth Street,
which were given more point and force by numberless
missiles that came crashing through the car-windows. The
troops were taken to the Union Depot direct, where they
were all served with a hearty dinner, and the various State,
military, and railroad officers took the opportunity to hold a
long consultation, the result of which was a determination
to attempt the moving of trains when the troops should have
been got in readiness.
This decision was based on the confidence the officials
felt in the moral effect that would be produced by so large
a reinforcement to the Pittsburg troops and the salutary
impression which would be made in the minds of the strik-
ers by the prompt use of so large, finely-disciplined, and
well equipped a body of soldiers. In any event, at promptly
three o'clock the line of march was taken up, and, as the
soldiers had been greatly refreshed by their timely dinner,
they stepped off briskly down Liberty Street, never heeding
the scowls and ribaldry of the insolent crowds, but looking
straight before them, keeping true time, and every man
appearing to be just what he was—a soldier ready to obey
orders, wherever they might lead him.
As they neared the shops it was an imposing sight to
RIOT TERRORS AT PITTSBURG.
233
witness these handsome troops pushing up towards the
black masses of people who sullenly confronted them.
They came in columns of fours, heavy marching order,
drummers on the right flank, and all so true and perfect in
step, motion, and carriage that one could have easily imag-
ined they were some bright and perfect piece of machinery
which could not err in what was expected of it, and which
gleamed from every part with the excellence of the metal
of which it was composed. The command comprised por-
tions of the First Regiment, Second Regiment, Sixth Regi-
ment, Wecacoe Legion, State Fencibles, Washington Greys,
and a portion of the Keystone Battery, with two Gatling
guns. Colonel R. Dale Benson was the ranking colonel,
Major-General R. M. Brinton was in immediate command,
and all were under the command of Major-General A. L.
Pearson.
As this small though splendid body of troops reached
their destination, and executed the preliminary evolutions
necessary to taking up their positions with the skill, exact-
ness, and ease of veterans, even this mob, confronting them
with murder in their hearts and murderous weapons in
their hands, could not but respond to that element in us all
which gives some spontaneous evidence of admiration for
that which compels us to admire, and, forgetting themselves
and their animosity for a moment, broke into a ringing
cheer; but in an instant more, as if ashamed of this hon-
est tribute to gallant men, changed it to a taunting jeer,
and then into a yell of defiance.
Five hundred feet from Twenty-eighth Street, and nearly
opposite the lower Round-house, the temporary halt was
made. In front of the command were Sheriff Fife, High
Sheriff of Allegheny County; General Pearson and his
Adjutant, Col. Moore; General Brinton, Generals Laud and
Matthews, Mr. Cassatt, Third Vice-President, and Super-


234
RIOT TERRORS AT PITTSBURG.
intendent Robert Pitcairn of the Western Division of the
Pennsylvania Railroad.
At this juncture Sheriff Fife stepped forward, and in a
loud tone of voice began to read the Riot Act. He had
scarcely begun, when the ridiculousness of the situation
seemed to force itself upon the minds of the mob, and they
hooted and jeered like a pack of Bacchanalian imps. And
it was a ridiculous situation. Here stood several hundred
troops, well disciplined, armed, and equipped, backed by
the whole constituted authority of the State. On the brow
of the hill was drawn up the Nineteenth Regiment, and
beyond Twenty-eighth Street stood the Fourteenth, while
to the right, so that its guns could sweep both Liberty
and Twenty-eighth Streets, was stationed a section of the
Hutchinson Battery, under the command of Captain E. Y.
Breck. To oppose these forces were perhaps, at that time,
five thousand men, women, and children-a low, misera-
ble mob, which, from the indecision and leniency of the
representative of the law, Sheriff Fife, could not restrain
contempt for such pusillanimous action. Under such
circumstances any riotous assemblage gathers strength
and fury from the very scorn for whatever so weakly
opposes.
Sheriff Fife was compelled to discontinue his reading.
His voice could not be heard twenty feet away. With a
look of despair, he put his ponderous Riot Act into his pocket,
and slunk away from the spot where all of his authority
did not count as even a breath of air. Vice-President Cas-
satt and Superintendent Pitcairn also left, returning to the
Union Depot in disgust. All these things were quickly no-
ticed, and taken up and carried from tongue to tongue with
the greatest derision as the surging crowd increased. Soon
an engine moved down into the mass of rebels, and at last
came to a dead stop from the very density of the throng

RIOT TERRORS AT PITTSBURG.
235
which opposed it; and now everything was left to the riot
ers and the militia.
The militia again advanced in column of fours, but
slowly and steadily, like well-trained troops, and the multi-
tude gave way as they came forward, keeping a respectful
distance both in front and on the right flank, up against
the hillside. When the column had nearly reached Twenty-
eighth Street, the First Regiment was suddenly wheeled
into line at the left, facing the Round-house, between which
and the troops were collected a dense mass of the rioters,
who were partially sheltered by a long line of flat cars laden
with coal. This movement had the effect of partially clear-
ing that locality, though large numbers of the mob still hid
between and beneath the cars, and held their positions upon
and behind them. When this much had been effected, a
portion of the battalion faced about, and the ranks which
now fronted the hillside marched rapidly across the tracks
in that direction, and came to a halt just at the edge of
In the meantime the crowd, which had swiftly
grown into alarming proportions, pushed down the hill and
along the tracks across Twenty-eighth Street, and began
insulting the troops in every manner conceivable. They
spat in their faces, hustled against them, flung dirt and
gravel at them, and constantly became more and more
threatening and exasperating. And let it be said for these
brave men who were doing their duty, and their duty only,
that they bore all this like men, hard as it was to bear, with
patience and forbearance. No one but a person of the
most despicable mind will attempt to take from them one
iota of the just praise due them, which can only be equaled
by the disgraceful stigma which must rest upon the people
of Pittsburg for their ingratitude and inhumanity so long
as the memory of that terrible time shall remain.
Back among the Fourteenth and Nineteenth Regiments
a hill.

236
RIOT TERRORS IN PITTSBURG.
more disgraceful scenes were being enacted. These troops,
who were in every sense of the word armed representa-
tives of outraged law, and could not, by any bonds of rela-
tionship with or sympathy for these rioters, be relieved in
the slightest degree from their duty as soldiers, permitted
members of the mob to crowd in among them and hob-nob ,
with them until their ranks were broken and scattered and
their commands completely disorganized.
Some were
brave and true, but these were the few, who were so far
outnumbered that they were utterly powerless; and in less
than an hour from the time when Sheriff Fife pocketed his
Riot Act and official nonentity, and crept away from the
conflict he had permitted to become inevitable, these regi-
ments had not only become utterly demoralized, but num-
bers of the mob had secured possession of their arms, and
were quite ready for assault or defense.
Through the
open
lines formed by the position taken by
the members of the First Regiment, a company was brought
from the rear and thrown along the open space to the west
of Twenty-eighth Street. At this point General Brinton
stepped to the front and personally implored the strikers to
disperse, stating in the most earnest and solemn manner
that they were where they were to perform an unpleasant
duty, but still a duty, and that if they were attacked blood-
shed would certainly ensue.
This was received with sullen
silence, and the crowd pressed closer down upon the drawn
lines. The troops were then ordered to clear the grounds,
and they advanced with guns crossed, pushing the mob
before them.
A determined set of men had met a desperate set of men.
For fully five minutes the soldiers slowly advanced, making
but little progress in their work. The thousands of rioters
behind, with yells and jeers, pushed and jammed those in
front down upon the troops, who stood like a wall for a

ari
0.
First Bloodshed at Pittsburgh.

RIOT TERRORS IN PITTSBURG.
237
time, never uttering a word in response to the diabolical
threats of their opponents, but using all their force to keep
the fiends at bay. Gradually they gained an advantage,
and quietly and like veterans forced the force before them.
Along this fierce double wall for a few moments not a
word was uttered. Soldiers who participated assert that it
was a thousand times more trying than the midst of battle.
But now a striker here and a ruffian there began to grasp
the guns and lay hold of the troops roughly. This was the
signal for like action all along the mob's front. At this
the troops were compelled to gather back, bring their arms
to a charge, and use their bayonets, when a few of the
rioters were wounded. In another instant, over to the left
from between the cars, a pistol-shot was heard. This was
followed like a flash by the discharge of other pistol-shots
and showers of stones and pieces of coal from the now
infuriated inob.
No order for the troops to fire upon the mob was given.
Right and left the wounded soldiers began to fall, and
some one poor fellow, goaded beyond forbearance, discharged
his musket. In a moment more the firing became general.
The mob as hotly replied with pistols, muskets taken from
the Pittsburg regiments on the hill, and every manner of
missile that could be lifted or hurled. But the Philadel-
phia troops knew how to shoot as well as to drill. The
effect of their repeated volleys was terrible. The mob re-
treated aghast, rallied, retreated, rallied again, and through
and through their numbers the deadly bullets mowed
wrinkled and crumpled swaths, until upon the hill and
along the tracks the wild and frenzied rioters precipitately
withdrew, carrying their dead and wounded, whose number
God alone may know. But they left only to return in the
blackness of the night with fury and forces increased, to
bring with them arson and flame, destruction and ruin,

SIEGE OF THE ROUND-HOUSE.
239
until the city of Pittsburg should for a time be like some
doubly accursed spot to undergo the scourge of myriads of
demons from the regions infernal.
CHAPTER XX.
MEMORAB
SIEGE OF THE ROUND-HOUSE AT PITTSBURG.
No sooner had the attack on the Philadelphia troops been
made, compelling them to fire with such deadly effect upon
the rioters, than the members of the two Pittsburg regi-
ments, the Fourteenth and Nineteenth, immediately threw
down their arms and refused to serve further. They then
freely mingled with the rioters, and by their revolutionary
action certainly assisted greatly in creating the general
desire for revenge upon the Quaker City militia. A few of
the more patriotic, seeing that the dissolution of their com-
mands was complete, hastily snatched up such muskets as
they could secure, and put them in possession of General
Brinton's force. This praiseworthy course undoubtedly
prevented much bloodshed; for had the infuriated strikers
been able to thoroughly arm themselves at that time, a
pitched battle, in which a large number of lives would have
been lost, could not but have resulted.
Having no available means of assault, and being considera-
bly cowed by the soldierly qualities of the Philadelphia
troops, the mob remained at a respectful distance after the
first rapid retreat. But some strange fascination drew them
again close to the men who had so effectually scattered them;
and though nothing more serious came of it than a repeti-
tion on a more exasperating scale of their previous threats
240
SIEGE OF THE ROUND-HOUSE.
and insults, they grew in numbers so rapidly, and became
in so short a time such a fierce assemblage, that at about
seven o'clock General Pearson ordered the brigade to retire
within the yard which protected the machine-shops and
Round-house grounds.
It is thought by many who witnessed this encounter be-
tween the troops and the rioters, and by many who have
since given the matter thorough consideration, that had the
troops been properly handled at this point in the trouble
the terrors of the night and ensuing day, as well as the
great loss of property, might have been prevented; and that
a vigorous and determined use of the troops in following
up their signal victory would have put an end to the entire
disturbance. In any event, the mob had acquired a thor-
ough respect for the force of the bullet argument.
A little incident which occurred shortly before the militia
retired will illustrate the rioters' fear, although they were still
insolent and threatening. In carelessly handling a musket,
a soldier discharged it. Instantly the crowd broke and
fled in the wildest confusion, and, in their great haste to get
out of danger, tumbled the weaker ones about, and in some
cases knocked down and trampled upon women and chil-
dren. In fact, this single unintentional shot created a reg-
ular panic; and it may be possible that if these Philadelphia
soldiers had been supported as they should have been by
the demoralized Pittsburg militia, and had, with the artillery
at command, taken possession of some near eminence com-
manding the scene of trouble, the effect of such advantage
would have been to discourage the strikers and mob from
further disgraceful action.
But the very best thing to be done does not always pre-
sent itself at exactly the right time. General Pearson, from
his two days' experience with this Pittsburg mob, felt that
it was still dangerous.
Ile saw that General Brinton's

SIEGE OF TIE ROUND-HOUSE.
241

command had been utterly deserted by the Pittsburg regi-
ments. His thought, then, was that possibly by retiring
within the machine-shop yards he might not only offer a
thorough protection to the company's property, but remove
the troops to a spot where their being almost entirely hid
from view would greatly lessen occasion for assault and
retaliation.
On the retreat of the soldiers from their position at
Twenty-eighth Street, the only Pittsburgers brave or gene-
rous enough to cast their lot with the Philadelphia troops
were Captain Murphy and a small command of dismounted
cavalrymen, and Captain Breck, in command of a section
of the Hutchinson Battery. After dragging one gun into the
yards, the Captain and his men returned for the other, but
it was found in the possession of the mob; and it required
the use of a large reinforcement to effect its capture.
At last the militia had all retired into the yards, and the
gates were closed. Sentries were immediately stationed;
the Gatling guns were charged and put in position ; Cap-
tain Breck’s guns were loaded with canister, and manned ;
and in a short time the place began to take on quite the
appearance of a garrison in a state of siege. But it was a
garrison that certainly needed revictualing, for the rioters
had captured the supplies under the very eyes of the troops
at about six o'clock.
A description of this place, suddenly transformed into a
fortress for the protection of troops against a howling mob,
will not be out of place, and will serve to give some idea of
the character of a portion of the property subsequently
wantonly destroyed.
Nearly all the extensive buildings were constructed of
brick. The repair-shops on Liberty Street were thirteen
hundred feet long, and one hundred and seventy feet wide.
The round-houses were both two hundred and seventy-four
11
242
SIEGE OF THE ROUND-HOUSE.
feet in diameter, with forty tracks in one and forty-four
tracks in the other, and contained one hundred and twenty-
five of the finest engines in use on any road in America.
The car-shops consisted of a large main building, sixty-nine
feet wide, with two wings, the whole being three hundred
feet long. There were also a blacksmith's shop, eighty feet
long and forty feet wide; a lumber-house, one hundred by
fifty feet; the locomotive repair-shops, one hundred and
eighty by sixty-nine feet; and the blacksmith's shop, one
hundred and ten feet long. Besides these buildings, there
were numberless smaller ones, used as sand-houses, oil-
houses, and lumber-sheds. Every one of these buildings
was filled with costly material and the accumulated conven-
iences of years.
But it can be imagined that the place offered welcome
shelter to its hunted occupants, though they were supper-
less, and though, as it seemed, the hand of every man was
raised against them.
Although hundreds and even thousands of the mob re-
mained about the locality, hurling stones and shouting out
vile imprecations at the pent-up troops, their determined
leaders hastened into the city and fired the spirits of all
their class with revenge. Every saloon in the city contained
a howling mob, who drank and cursed and swore revenge.
Even the dead bodies of those that had been killed at
Twenty-eighth Street were shown to the excited populace
as the bodies of their comrades wantonly butchered by the
Philadelphia soldiery. In many well established instances
these wild orators, crazed with liquor and excitement, actu-
ally gave vent to impassioned harangues over the dead, and
vehemently called upon their relatives, as well as the sur-
rounding lawless crowds, to assist in the extermination of
the corraled strangers. Everybody caught the infection.
Everybody denounced and threatened. There is no doubt

SIEGE OF THE ROUND HOUSE.
243

that these men, coming back into the city with their violent
utterances, really caused the citizens of Pittsburg to believe
for the time that many of their people—many of them inof-
fensive women and little children--had been murdered in
cold blood.
Never before was there such a condition of blunder, inef-
ficiency, and unreasoning frenzy. One word in defense of
the Philadelphians would have cost the utterer, whoever
he might have been or however high he might have stood
in authority, his life on that night. There was no excep-
tion; and it is no wonder that riot and pillage should play
carnival throughout the city when all its inhabitants, good
and bad, were possessed of a common desire for the massa-
cre of the besieged soldiers.
It was a wild night in Pittsburg. During the supper
hour there was a slight lull in the excitement, but after that
time the mob had everything its own way. Not a hand
was raised nor a word spoken in opposition. These hun-
dreds of tramps and outlaws that had come down upon the
city, vulture-like scenting pillage and prey, now reaped a
rich harvest, and in the general fear and all absence of pro-
tection, practised their robberies and outrages with utter
impunity. Great crowds surged through the streets like
resistless waves, increasing as they passed from point to
point, senseless and frenzied like brutes, and blinded with.
a common fury. Back and forth, up and down, they went
and came, infusing all with the savage lawlessness, and
carrying all classes before them.
It is stated on good authority that, for the forty-eight
hours previous, every passenger train which came into the
city brought from fifteen to fifty professional thieves. Cer-
tainly hundreds from other cities were here in herds, and
the moment the fury of the mob had attained so high a
pitch that its me nbers began a search for arms to use

244
SIEGE OF THE ROUND-HOUSE.
against the soldiery there was sufficient excuse given for
robbery and pillage. Dozens of stores were entered on this
pretext, and everything desirable carried off. The pawn-
brokers were visited early, and everything that had not been
reinoved or secreted was taken. The gun-stores were broken
open and completely gutted. The mob, seemingly not satis-
fied with robbery, took particular pains to utterly destroy
what could not be removed.
This disgraceful plundering was continued for hours,
until the rioters, filled with liquor and made more daring
from their successful defiance of all law and authority,
formed in line, and headed by a brass band and carrying
stolen flags, went yelling and hooting like madmen, as they
really were for the time, out to wreak vengeance upon the
already besieged soldiers.
Back at the shops the situation had a gloomy outlook.
Here was a small body of men hemmed in on every side
by ten times their number of desperate men. Scarcely one
within the place knew a street of the city. They were utter
strangers. They were also completely isolated. No help
which could be summoned would respond. All telegrams
sent from the spot to the officials at the Union Depot awak-
ened no answer. There was no power which could aid
them, for all power and authority were trampled under foot.
Never were men in a more desperate strait, and never in
the history of our country was there such need of brave,
resolute officials, ready to shoulder the entire responsibility
for prompt action, daring to do whatever was necessary to
be done, even if that action should endanger their lives.
All through this miserable affair were needed men of brains
and personal bravery and honor; for this kind of men at
the right time and in the right place are worth regiments
of men after disorder and turbulence have gained the as-
cendancy.


SIEGE OF THE ROUND-HOUSE.
245
It was soon seen that to escape from the piace would
entail great loss of life both among the troops and the mob;
and it was decided to hold the position until a convenient
opportunity should present itself to permit a departure with-
out collision; and it was hoped that this could be effected
some time during the night, when the rioters from sheer
exhaustion would doubtless retire from the attack to their
homes.
For the time, however, the crowd without became more
persistent and reckless, and every window in any of the
buildings which had been lighted was completely riddled
by stones and bullets. This became almost unbearable, and
General Brinton endeavored to secure General Pearson's
permission to use the Gatling guns against the mob; but
this was refused. And, in justice to all concerned, it is my
duty to state, what bas been fully demonstrated as true, that
neither were these terrible engines of destruction used at
this time, during the attack of the mob at Twenty-eighth
Street, nor at any other time and place during this day and
night of peril.
The necessity for ammunition and provisions becoming
more and more apparent, at about ten o'clock General
Pearson volunteered to go in person in search of some
source of assistance, and, accompanied by two of his staff
officers, sallied forth from the shops in full uniform. It
would seem almost miraculous that the trio were not discov-
ered and killed. They walked along boldly and openly
between the long lines of freight cars, where hundreds of
the mob were approaching or retreating from the scene of
excitement, and where already scores of thieves were initia-
ting their work of plunder. But no man said aught to them
nor did any one appear to notice them. Not until the Gen-
eral had reached the Union Depot, and found Adjutant-Gen-
eral Latta in his apartment, did he understand the great
246
SIEGE OF THE ROUND-HOUSE.
danger through which he had passed. General Latta then
told him that every room in the hotel had been searched by
the mob, who were determined on lynching him if they
could find him, and then insisted that he should depart from
the hotel immediately. General Pearson did so, leaving
his two aids with the Adjutant-General, and telling him
where he could be found should he be wanted.
So ended General Pearson's connection with this deplora-
ble affair. He had the misfortune to be placed in a posi-
tion where he was certain to fall between double censure.
The Philadelphia troops hated him because they felt that
he favored the mob and shirked his duty. Pittsburg peo-
ple can never forgive him for leading the troops against
their ruffians.
Between eleven and twelve o'clock the motley army
of
rioters, with flags flying and drums beating, reinforced the
besiegers of the Philadelphia soldiery. To those within the
doomed buildings the sight was anything but reassuring.
They were already beset on every hand, and the light from
the burning cars which had been fired nearly an hour pre-
vious along the track, both above and below them, cast such
a lurid glare on the attacking forces in the streets, in the
gorges, and upon the hillsides that, in the lights and shadow,
their number seemed to be increased until not only every
point from which assault could be made, but every shadowy
lurking-place, appeared to hold innumerable furies.
The drunken rioters seemed beside themselves with
rage,
and shouted themselves hoarse with threats and impreca-
tions. The chief fury seemed aimed at General Pearson,
and from one far point to another within the circle of at-
tack there would burst forth the threatening song to the
tune of that immortal melody of “ John Brown:

We'll hang General Pearson on a sour-apple tree
As we go marching on!

SIEGE OF THE ROUND-HOUSE.
247
Again and again was this repeated in all possible variety
that might indicate the hate of the rioters and give empha-
sis to their determination to utterly exterminate their soldier
enemies.
But the mob did not stop at singing. They began a
regular fusilade from every available point, and though
they kept up a rapid firing for some time, they were at a
disadvantage. The troops were protected and were far the
better marksmen. They did not wantonly fire upon
their
assaulters, but they compelled respect for the “ dead-line”
which they established, and it was fatal for a rioter, however
daring, to cross that. But no man was fired upon until
after due warning had been given. A stern voice would
shout “Go away from there !” when, if the order was not
heeded, there would follow the ominous words, “ One!”—
“ Two!” — “ Three!” the sharp report of a gun, and the
ringing “Ping !” of a bullet.
The attempt to dislodge the troops by musketry fire was
fruitless, and strategy of a more desperate nature was now
resorted to. The rioters could not scare the troops out, and
they now proposed to burn them out !
No time was lost in putting this diabolical plan into exe-
cution. Suddenly a wild yell, that could be heard for miles,
fell upon the ears of the dismayed soldiers, and in a few
moments more, rushing down the track came a great cloud
of flame and smoke. But the burning oil-car had gained
such momentum that it swept by like some fearful fiery mon-
This seemed to rouse the rioters to fiercer exertions,
and with another unearthly yell, another burning car was
shot out on its mission of destruction. Generals Brinton and
Laud had broken into the cellar underneath the Superin-
tendent's building, and procured a heavy beam, which they
caused to be thrown across the track. The first burning
car pushed this aside. Then, headed by General Laud, a
ster.

Futile attempt of the mob to cannonade the Pittsburgh Round-house during the night of the Great Riot.

248
SIEGE OF THE ROUND-HOUSE.
detachment of soldiers threw open the gates, and, in the
face of a hot musketry-fire, rolled several car-wheels upon
the tracks to prevent the passage of the cars. The second
car was in this way thrown from the track. In rapid suc-
cession the rioters now sent burning cars whirling down the
tracks until a regular blockade of raging flames was form-
ed. From this the fire spread to the “sand-house," a large
building near the Round-house.
It was a question now of fighting fire as well as the mob.
Large numbers of the rioters had ensconsed themselves in
the upper rooms of the houses at the corner of Twenty-
sixth Street, and among the piles of lumber in that vicinity,
and were pouring in a steady fire of bullets from every
available point. The flames were fast spreading. Some-
thing must be done. In response to a call for volunteers
to fight the flames, a member of the Philadelphia regiment,
a fireman, and Orderly Wigmor, attached to General Brin-
ton's staff, stepped forward and fixed a hose to a hydrant.
They then fought the flames nobly, although exposed to the
rioters' musketry, until the conflagration had been nearly
subdued in that quarter. But the work of destruction went
on, and soon the shops were on fire at the upper end, from
contact with the burning cars, but burned slowly from being
held in check by the strenuous efforts of the soldiers.
All these savage endeavors to dislodge the Philadelphians
proving unavailing, a still more desperate measure was re-
sorted to. A number of the mob were sent back into the
city to sack the arsenal of the Hutchinson Battery, on Du-
quesne Way, and two guns, with a large amount of ammu-
nition, were secured. Another detachment captured three
cannon in Allegheny City; but the latter were abandoned,
as the improvised force could not handle them. One
gun
captured on Duquesne Way was also abandoned; so that
but one was left for use. But this one was dragged to a

SIEGE OF THE ROUND-HOUSE.
249
convenient point on the hillside, loaded to the muzzle with
spikes and car-links, and a desperate effort was made to use
this new and formidable weapon against the troops, who had
by this time—about three o'clock in the morning—been
driven by the flames into the lower part of the shops and
the Round-house.
General Brinton now saw that the situation demanded a
use of the most extreme means at command. It was a
question of life or death to himself and his men; and he
immediately ordered a detachment of sixty-five of his troops
to open fire upon these wild cannoneers. As every soldier
aimed to kill, the first volley brought down several of the
rioters, who fell across the trail of the gun, upon the wheels,
and in every direction
the earth about the grim cannon.
With a yell of baffled rage, the mob retreated slowly, carry-
ing away a number of their dead and wounded. An omi-
nous silence followed, but, like some venomous reptiles out
of the darkness, soon there were seen creeping on their bel-
lies along the ground towards the gun several of these
furies, who seemed determined at any cost to compass the
destruction of the Round-house and its inmates. But these
brave fellows were treated to a like reception by the mili-
tia, who were now quite as desperate as their assailants.
And yet another and a more reckless attempt was made,
with a heroism worthy of a better cause—a heroism and
bravery whose like has rarely been seen. But the only re-
sult of repeated attack was repeated defeat, and the dead
bodies piled about the frowning gun'as a dreadful monu-
ment to the valiant and heroic attempts of the rioters in an
utterly murderous cause.
upon
11*
RETREAT, DEFEAT. AND SLAUGHTER
251
CHAPTER XXI.

RETREAT, DEFEAT, AND SLAUGHTER.
From the hour of the slaughter around the cannon--which
was never discharged by that mob—until the day came to
reveal the extent of the sickening incendiarism and destruc-
tion already done, no marked incident occurred to change the
aspect of affairs at the besieged Round-house. Scattering
volleys were kept up from attacking parties, who began to
realize that these men who were penned up like a herd of
sheep were quite as determined as themselves. Their
movements were therefore conducted with greater caution.
They began to see that there was no special glory in firing
away for hours with no results, besides quite often losing
one of their own number, who fell from the more experi-
enced aim of the fortified and well protected soldiers.
A mob is only successful in a grand rush. Its members
are only animated by a savage excitement, and when that
excitement passes away, or for any reason the mob becomes
scattered, all its force and power are gone.
It is but the
growth of a moment. It is disrupted quite as quickly.
As soon as it was ascertained that no wild, savage thing
could be done which would have the effect of dislodging
the soldiers, the crowd began to dwindle, and by morning
had become comparatively insignificant. In fact, the be-
siegers had become exhausted and defeated, and had re-
tired to concoct other diabolical schemes, not only against
the troops, but the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, who

252
RETREAT, DEFEAT, AND SLAUGHTER.
were charged with all the misfortunes their own foolishness
had brought upon them.
Within the Round-house the scene was a peculiar one.
The lights had been put out, and, although from the out-
side the building looked silent, gloomy, and untenanted,
save where an occasional musket-flash shot from some dark
window, the flames from the flaming cars and burning shops
caused a ruddy glow to penetrate the entire interior, and
gave to the troops quite a picturesque aspect.
Here were artillerymen leaning upon their loaded guns,
and, without a word and scarcely a motion, waiting in
breathless expectancy for some occurrence which would for
the first time try their metal. There, were sentries steadily
pacing their tiresome beats, soldierly and patient in every-
thing save an occasional look of anxious inquiry as they
met and separated. At another point were companies in
line at parade rest, ready at a moment's notice for conflict
if it should come, tired and exhausted, but all wearing an
air of apprehension. Over at the windows, but carefully
availing themselves of the protection of the huge walls, and
never exposing themselves to needless danger, were details
of men guarding all approaches so that no sudden assault
could be successfully effected, and with watchful, wary eyes
looking out for any movement which might indicate the
inauguration of some new and still more daring plan of
attack. In another place a small hospital had been impro-
vised, and two slightly wounded men—the only two soldiers
that were hurt during the entire Round-house siege—were
baving their injuries attended to. Here and there little
parties, off duty for the time being, were munching scraps of
food lingering at the bottoms of their haversacks, and in sub-
dued tones, almost as if in the presence of death, speaking with
grave thoughtfulness of the sad scenes which had so start-
lingly been presented in that previous fateful twenty-four
RETREAT, DEFEAT, AND SLAUGHTER.
253
hours since they had left their homes and friends in Phila-
delphia. Apart from their commands, and with less nerv-
ousness but more real gravity and anxiety, were gath-
ered little knots of officers, who were looking very manfully,
as if they held the situation lightly and easily, but really by
their noticeable efforts showing truly the desperateness of
the besieged command's condition; while in the Shop-
Superintendent's building the more important staff and field
officers were holding a final consultation.
It became apparent about half-past six o'clock that the
position could be held no longer. Already the flames had
crept and crowded down along the buildings, destroying
one by one the splendid shops in their progress, and had now
reached so near a point that their proximity was rapidly
becoming dangerous. Besides this grave danger another,
still more grave and terrible, was imminent. As the morn-
ing advanced the return of the persistent and fiendish be-
siegers of the night, their forces largely increased by those
who had not participated in the night attack, could be at
any
time expected.
Soon the word was quietly passed for the troops to pre-
pare for the evacuation of the now burning Round-house.
And officers of the different commands have since related
that the eyes of these hunted men lighted up with new fire
at this welcome intelligence, which promised something,
however dangerous it might be, different from being trapped
like so many rats, to perish by hunger and stray bullets on
the one hand, or by the flames on the other.
As before stated, the entire command were strangers to
Pittsburg and vicinity, save Captain Breck and his men,
who were ordered to return to the Union Depot; and Gen-
eral Brinton was obliged to avail himself of the first volun-
teer who seemed to have a knowledge of the streets and
localities. This happened to be Captain Murphy, though,

254
RETREAT, DEFEAT, AND SLAUGHTER.

in justice to these men, it should be said that any one of
them would have shown the same bravery if he had had
the same information. General Brinton's object now was
as every other means of succor had failed, to reach the
Government Arsenal, where, he felt certain, such assistance
for self, if not other, protection would be granted as would
enable his men to escape extermination at the hands of a
people who were so crazed with senseless rage and excite-
ment that authority was trampled under foot by unbridled
license.
By this time the troops were literally surrounded by fire.
The burning cars were piled thick on both sides of the
yards, the buildings in the yards were all a mass of flames,
and the fire was already blazing and crackling above their
heads in the Round-house roof, occasionally sending down
among them rosy showers of sparks and cinders as a warn-
ing that departure must be immediate. An effort to get
Captain Breck's two cannon out of the place proved fruit-
less, and they were accordingly spiked. Then the troops
endeavored to get the Gatling guns out under the burning
cars on Liberty Street, but found this impossible; and they
were taken back and removed through the Twenty-fourth
Street gate.
Everything being in readiness, the order for the advance
was given, and by columns of four, like veterans on drill,
the retreat was begun. There never was a finer instance
of soldierly bearing under disheartening circumstances; and
it is said of these men, by many who saw them sally forth
from the doomed building, that their appearance was sim-
ply superb. There was not a laggard or a coward among
them.
In the exit some delay was necessary; during the same,
there were formed some interesting and picturesque situz-
ations. One is especially worthy of mention. The Phil-
RETREAT, DEFEAT, AND SLAUGHTER.
255
adelphia First Regiment was the last body of importance
to leave the burning Round-house, though Nicholas Meyers,
“No. 2,” one of Captain Breck’s grinners, was really the
last man in the place, and he in a sort of daring bravado
had run the gauntlet of the flames to procure a canteen
dropped by one of the soldiers in advance.
But the Philadelphia First stood there, with the handsome
and gallant Colonel Benson at their head, a most beautiful
picture to look upon. There they stood at a parade rest,
but with never a motion or a word. Colonel Benson, at
their head, with arms folded and one hand twirling his
huge mustache, looked down along the lines with a face
beaming with pride and gratification at the nerve, disci-
pline, and superb bearing of his men. The flames raged
above their heads, and the soldiers were constantly being
struck by burning cinders, while the heat from above,
either side, and behind was becoming more and more in-
tense. It almost seemed that the regiment's leader knew
that it was an unusually trying spot for his men, and that
he held them there, even longer than necessary, to try their
nerve and grit. But they were as self-possessed and quiet
as at a dress parade or in a ball-room. Finally the pas-
sage-way to and through the gates was clear, and the order
for moving came.
“ Battalion, shoulder arms !”
A series of muffled clickings, the gleaming of the mus-
kets, the quick flutter of the hands and arms; and then
silence again. Colonel Benson's keen eye scanned the
whole line for a moment, while every man's face seemed to
speak back a quick recognition to good leadership while pro-
mising manful, soldierly obedience. Then came the order:
“Forward ! double quick, march!”
Out like a flash they shot from the Round-house and its
terrors into the gleam of the morning sunlight.


256
RETREAT, DEFEAT, AND SLAUGHTER.
Tramp, tramp, tramp! as regular and true as the swing
of a pendulum, and the quick time of this human ma-
chinery was kept up until it had overtaken and linked it-
self to the line of troops like a blue ribbon streaming on
beyond.
But a few blocks brought them into Pennsylvania Avenue.
Into this street the column turned as prettily and as true
as if the officers in comunand were merely giving their men
a little airing between reveille and breakfast. On they
went, unmolested, and like phantom soldiery in some silent
city, for not a half hundred people were met, or were vis-
ible, during the first half-mile's march.
It was Sunday morning in Pittsburg. The hills were as
grand, the rivers as bright, the city as populous as ever.
To have been with these troops for this first half-mile, one
would have imagined that the quiet which seemed to rest
upon the town at every hand was the usual quiet of the
Sabbath. But it was a quiet and stillness of more deadly
meaning
Soon along the line of march soldiers noticed that win-
dows began to be raised. Late sleepers pushed their frowsy
heads out into the open air, and either looked on the mov-
ing lines of soldiery with a manner of half-awake and
curious inquiry, or suddenly darted back into the house and
slammed down the sash with a crash that betokened some
newly-formed determination. Little groups of half-dressed
men and women-women with looks of hate in their faces,
and men with the certain manner of having been suddenly
awakened from a drunken stupor-began to gather at cor-
ners, troop out of alleys and courts, or to rush down from
side streets, and then quickly separate to return to their
dens with some determined purpose, or remain and help
swell the increasing numbers that began to fall into line
and follow the retreating soldiers.
RETREAT, DEFEAT, AND SLAUGHTER.
257
The crowd increased and increased. The same faces
.
that had glared and spat upon the soldiers at Twenty-eighth
Street; the same voices which, the evening before, had been
heard crying for revenge over the dead bodies of the rioters;
the same grim forms and faces that nearly everywhere ap-
peared around the Round-house for nearly all that long
night, and who crept like serpents out of the darkness in
their desperate attempts to fire the cannon, could be seen
and heard. The same thieves and thugs, loafers and gar-
roters, tramps and communists—not all of them, but very
many
of them were there, and began to gain upon the
soldiers, as well as swiftly increase in numbers; while the
same oaths, and threats, and jeers began to be heard. It
was the same fiendish crowd, and they had come together
like a swift breath of pestilence to do over and over again
their same fiendish work.
Suddenly a little puff of smoke shot out from a second-
story window, followed by a ringing report and a quick
cry
from a soldier who had been struck, but not danger-
ously wounded.
Back along the column came the officers, exhorting the
men to be patient and not return the fire.
The speed of the troops increased. The energy of the
mob redoubled. The pistol-shot from the window seemed
almost a signal, for instantly afterwards, from along the
crowd's front, several more shots were fired, and but a few
minutes more had elapsed, until from behind every lamp-
post, over every hydrant-head, and from out every door and
window, shot the flame, shot the smoke, the flame and the
bullets.
Soldiers fell; and now their comrades returned the fire,
while, as in every other instance, the disorganized, howling
mob received far the worst punishment. Some of the
wounded soldiers would escape with their lives through the


258
RETREAT, DEFEAT, AND SLAUGHTER.
devices, and at the personal risk, of humane people along
the street who gave them help and shelter. Others, not
so fortunate, were heartlessly murdered when too helpless
for defense.
On and on the soldiers fled, for now the street had be-
come a defile of death. Soon a street-car was overtaken,
the horses unhitched, and dozens of strong men gathered
behind and pushed it on up the track, while armed mem-
bers of the mob, accompanied by armed policemen, entered
the car and fired upon the troops through the windows.
Many hand-to-hand conflicts took place, in which the
troops, as a rule, were beaten back in greater precipitancy
upon the column, adding fresh impetus of flight to the
panic-stricken soldiers and fresh vigor and fury to the
mob.
In this way the rout went on—the crowd behind receiv-
ing additions at every cross-street, court, and alley, the sol-
diers harder pressed and in a more desperate, pitiable con-
dition.
At last the Arsenal came in view.
What a cheer went up from these hunted men as the
bright folds of that grand American flag were seen opening
and closing with the lazy morning breeze.
On they sped, now more hopefully, for here would be
found protection, or at least opportunity beneath that flag
for self-protection, but the murderous mob pushed on, and
pressed upon the soldiers more sorely and savagely.
Reaching the Arsenal, General Brinton halted his faint-
ing, half-starved troops, and begged of Major Buffington,
the commandant, for their admission, protection, and for
food.
But the red tape that seems to be wound tightly around
the throats of all governments, republican as well as mon-
archical, shut the strong gates in the faces of these men who

ZAPITE
za
Murderous and cowardly assault on the retreating Philadelphiu troops at Pittsburgh.
260
RIOT AND PILLAGE AT PITTSBURG.
had been sent into danger by the highest authority of the
State and had simply done their duty.
The continued retreat from this, the most disgraceful of
scenes during the Pittsburg riot, was simply one grand rush
for some place of safety.
Each soldier ran on his own account, but they all kept a
general direction, the mob, having spent its fury, falling
back, and in time returning to the city with shouts of vic-
tory, not forgetting to cheer the generous and gallant
United States troops at the Arsenal for their brave rebuff
of the hunted and dismayed militia.
The latter made no halt until the shady grounds at Clare-
mont-nearly twelve miles away-were reached, when the
Philadelphians sank upon the ground, nearly famished, and
utterly exhausted, where they slept the rest of the day and
away into the night.

CHAPTER XXII.
RIOT AND PILLAGE AT PITTSBURG.
I HARDLY believe that the vast destruction which followed
the bloodshed at Pittsburg was due to a preconcerted plan
by any number of the rioters. Nor do I believe that
many
of the trainmen were in any way connected with this incen-
diarism. My own investigations have convinced me of this.
All the vicious elements conceivable were gathered in Pitts-
burg, and all that was wanted by these hundreds of outlaws
and villains was the occasion for pillage. The occasion
came in the persistency of the strikers, the malignity of
Pittsburg citizens towards the Pennsylvania Railroad Com-

RIOT AND PILLAGE AT PITTSBURG.
261
pany, the weakness of the officials of the law, the disloyalty
of the Pittsburg militia, and, finally, the unfortunate manner
in which the Philadelphia soldiers were handled.
The cars were first fired, not for the purpose of plunder,
but simply for the purpose of burning out the troops. The
hundreds of thieves, communists, and tramps, too cowardly
to fight, but just shrewd enough to be on hand for prey,
were ready to take advantage of any opportunity, and were
soon among the mob, urging its members to greater excesses.
This pillaging really began when the gun-stores were broken
into, and the cars were fired, Saturday evening.
The thieving elements used their opportunities to excel-
lent advantage when the mob was surging through the busi-
ness part of the city, but as soon as the crowd rushed out
to the night attack upon the militia the excitement was
transferred, and the thieves were obliged to follow in the
wake of the rioters. When the latter began the work of
destruction in the vicinity of the Round-house a still better
and more profitable field of operations was offered.
Here were several lines of freight-cars extending for
miles in either direction. Nearly every car was laden with
freight. These cars contained goods of every conceivable
description, and many classes were very valuable. The
desperate and drunken crew that sent these flaming cars
crushing down against the doomed machine-shops, with only
the one fiendish purpose of roasting out their enemies like
so many rats, had no thought, at least not at that time, of
demeaning their desperate valor by despicable thieving;
but no sooner had the destruction of railroad property
begun than not only professional thieves, but that large
class which remain honest only through fear that their dis-
honesty may be exposed and punished, gave unbridled
license to themselves, and vied with more hardened villains
in their efforts to secure plunder.
262
RIOT AND PILLAGE AT PITTSBURG.
Ous.
During the night the pillaging was continued, but with
some caution, as in the vicinity of the Round-house, although
abundant opportunity was presented, the utter recklessness
with which bullets flew about made such work very danger-
But from the time the besiegers of the Round-house
were driven
away from the cannon with such slaughter that
the attack was really from that time abandoned, the robbery
of private dwellings in the city, and the plundering of
freight-cars by professional thieves was carried on quietly,
but with great energy.
When the mob returned from its victorious expulsion
from Pittsburg of the panic-stricken militia, the work of
destruction and pillage was set on foot in earnest. This
season of outlawry had no shadow of excuse. The scenes of
the previous night might possibly be slightly palliated when
the terrible punishment given the rioters by the troops is
taken into consideration; but the arson, pillage, and debauch
of Sunday, July 22d, was heartlessly wanton and cruel.
By nine o'clock it seemed that the entire population of
the city had turned out to participate in the wild orgies.
The work of firing cars, which had never been entirely dis-
continued from the moment it was begun, was resumed
with greater vigor than ever. Those bent on destruction
merely were entirely in accord with those who sought plun
der. Reputable citizens of the city had no word of reproof
for the outrages, and, in many instances, heartily joined in
denunciations of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, gave
expressions to regret that the slaughter of the Philadelphia
troops had not been complete, and by word, manner, and
act gave countenance and favor to the half-crazed mob,
and, consequently, its almost unequaled diabolical proceed-
ings. Every street seemed filled with all manner of people
who had utterly lost their senses, or conscience, in the great
wave of wretched turbulence which swept over the city.


RIOT AND PILLAGE AT PITTSBURG.
263
Law officers were ignored. The police were despised.
If occasionally a man of consideration and thought for the
future was met with, his exhortations were utterly unheed-
ed, or he was instantly set upon by ruffians and compelled
to subside, generally with some mark of brute force upon
him for his pains. If Pittsburg had any government dur-
ing these thirty-six hours of bloodshed and villainy, it was
as dead to all appeals of outraged decency, all local pride
or honor, and all consideration of future disgrace and respon-
sibility, as though it never had had an existence.
During the entire forenoon the incendiarism went on
without interruption, and at the entire pleasure of the mob.
At least thirty thousand people were crowded along Liberty
Street, and upon the hillsides, watching the disgraceful
proceedings with the utinost indifference or complacency.
Although at first the rougher elements controlled this work,
but a short time had elapsed before the cupidity of others
was so aroused that it required no urging for them to join
in the thievery, and soon nearly all classes of citizens were
engaged in securing and carrying away every article of
value that could be laid hold of, even if they did not com-
mit any overt acts of incendiarism and destruction.
In fact, the worst feature of the Pittsburg riots was not
in the insane fury of the mobs—for it is true of all riots that
they increase in violence in proportion to the opportunities
for license and lawlessness—nor was the most shameful
part of the matter in the want of judgment shown by the
troops and their leaders. It is the iniserable failure of the
authorities to make, for a period of twenty-four hours, the
slightest effort against the mob, and the utter carelessness of
thousands of citizens who stood by and looked on all this
wanton destruction in open-mouthed listlessness, or down-
right sympathy with it, rather glorying than otherwise in
the slaughter of both innocent and guilty, absolutely regard-
264
RIOT AND PILLAGE AT PITTSBURG.
less of the degradation of their city, and throughout exer-
cising so complete an indifference to the terrible scenes
which were enacted, that it is hard to realize how such
action is consistent with even the least degree of personal
pride or good citizenship.
To the credit of the Pittsburg fire department it must
be said that all through this trouble its members were
prompt to respond to calls upon them.
them. If the police force,
headed by a mayor of determination, nerve, and personal
bravery, had sustained these men, an incalculable amount
of property would have been saved. But at every point
where they endeavored to be of service the mob beat them
away with threats and violence. In many instances cocked
revolvers were presented at their heads, and they were com-
pelled to discontinue all efforts to stay the conflagration
under pain of instant death. The rioters coolly informed
the fireren that they would be allowed to save all private
property, but that they had determined to destroy all
prop-
erty of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, and should
persevere in this determination until not one vestige re-
mained. In several localities where the firemen made
strenuous efforts to subdue the flames they were beaten
back by the rioters, and then were provided with a detail
from the mob, whose duties were to see that no further aid
came to the railroad company from this direction.
In this way the entire forenoon was passed with no abate-
ment to the fury and savageness of the destroyers. The
long lines of cars extending east from the already destroyed
shops were opened, robbed, and burned at the leisure of the
mob, which now comprised nearly every man, woman, or
child in that rather squalid section of the city; while
further west, above the smoking ruins of the shop, hundreds
and even thousands were engaged in applying the torch,
cars, or scrambling back and forth for booty.

rifling the

RIOT AND PILLAGE AT PITTSBURG.
265
It is not exaggeration to say that hundreds, who never
before in all their lives had appropriated a pin's worth of
property not their own, were now turned thieves. It is a
fact which transpired in subsequent necessary investigations
pursued by me through my operatives, that many families,
who would in ordinary circumstances scorn the thought of
such acts, were engaged to the last member in this nefarious
work.
“Why, it will burn if we don't take it !” they would
reason, and after this easy method of satisfying their con-
sciences, all their energies would be bent on plunder.
Enough instances of the ferociousness, as well as the
absurdity and ridiculousness of these half-mad people could
be related to fill a book. Greed, avarice, fiendishness, were
all displayed.
The worst passions that can give humans the action and
expression of demons seemed to possess all.
During the terrible experiences of the overwhelming ca-
lamity which overtook Chicago, nothing occurred which could
approach the horrible display of the vilest of human passions
as shown at Pittsburg. At Chicago there was an appalling
sublimity in the very vastness of the disaster.
vastness of the disaster. At Pittsburg
there were lurid flames and mad destruction, and half the
populace turned brutish criminals. At Chicago there were
a hundred thousand flame-scourged people madly escaping
with their bare lives from an all-consuming conflagration,
of whose cause they were utterly innocent. At Pittsburg,
thousands upon thousands goaded on the flames, and, quite
as remorseless in their greed for plunder, became for the
time being like demons.
Save where a few innocent persons were killed at the dif-
ferent attacks upon the troops, there was no pathetic side
to this Pittsburg business; and when half the inhabitants
of a populous city turn plunderers, because they fancy they
12
266
RIOT AND PILLAGE AT PITTSBURG.
have some dim sort of grievance against a railway company,
there is quite as little opportunity for romance.
But there was much that was grotesque beyond descrip-
tion; much that had a grim and horrible sort of humor in
it; and much that illustrates the utter absurdity of human
nature when it has been transformed, in some swift and
reckless way,
into most inhuman nature.
From one end of the miles of cars to the other, these
scenes of robbery and arson went on. Many who were not
professional thieves were found able to open cars quite as
expertly. All manner of artisans from the great factories
and mills were foremost in this work, and great bars of iron
or sledge-hammers that an ordinary man could not wield
were brought into requisition, and the car-doors crushed
from their fastenings as readily as if they had been made
of paper. Often, when these implements were not at hand,
a huge piece of timber, or even•a car-rail taken from the
track with the dexterity which showed the plunderers to be
extremely familiar with railway construction, or destruc-
tion, were brought into requisition, and with a “Heave-ho!”
was sent crashing against a car-door, and in a moment after
a dozen men would be inside, breaking open packages, and
throwing their contents out into the waiting throngs, who
fought over them like hungry animals over bits of food,
and then bore them away.
The faces of these tramps who had stepped out so briskly
from anywhere and everywhere, and had come down upon
Pittsburg like vultures scenting prey, were easily recogniz-
able here, and they now wore a very joyous, happy expres-
sion, for those vagabonds were in their element.
places they could be seen carefully looking over goods to
secure the choicest and most valuable, and then, after what
pleased them most had been found, making up snug, tidy
bundles for the better enjoyment of the summer and autumn

In some
RIOT AND PILLAGE AT PITTSBURG.
267

experiences among the highways and byways. They never
did anything with undue haste, for tramps never hurry.
Some were seen in cars, coolly divesting themselves of the
tattered garments which they had slept in under hedge and
in barns and stacks for the whole summer, and leisurely
arraying themselves with coinplete outfits, so that when
they emerged from cover, the tramps in them had almost
entirely disappeared, and they were transformed into real
Gypsy gentlemen.
Professional thieves from a distance, and professional
Pittsburg thieves, kept steadily at the work of spoliation
as coolly and quietly as an honest man would pursue his
accustomed daily labor; peering into boxes here, searching
through packages there; but almost ignoring the more
bulky and less valuable articles, and going straight into
the things which would pay best to handle, with that keen,
natural, and acquired intelligent habit, that would almost
give one ignorant of their character the impression that
they were some skilled railroad employees who had been
given orders to save for the company what was most desira-
ble to be saved.
But the great mass of the rioters, and respectable people
suddenly turned frantic with greed and the common excite-
ment, went at the work in a fierce and bungling manner.
It was a mad scramble for everything and anything which
could be carried away. As usual in such cases, the least
valuable was lost and the most useless secured. The scenes
which occurred amongst this class of plunderers beggar
description.
At one point near where a good deal of killing had
been done the previous day, and where a building at the
corner of the streets not only was completely riddled with
bullets, but bore evidence of the earnest efforts in behalf of
religion by the Young Men's Christian Association in the
268
RIOT AND PILLAGE AT PITTSBURG.
shape of a poster upon which was placarded the startling
warning:
PREPARE
TO MEET

THY GOD!
was noticed a characteristic sight.
Across the street stood long lines of freight-cars, some
already pillaged and burning, and others being robbed by
the mob, and still others being broken open by sledge-ham-
mers and any other means that came to hand. Between
these and the shops opposite was a dense crush of wagons
loaded down with spoils, their drivers cursing and the
horses plunging about madly; hucksters' carts, filled with
erery imaginable kind of goods; and every describable
kind of a vehicle, even to buggies and carriages, all packed
with stolen goods, and everybody crazy with the common
excitement, some pushing one way, some crowding another
way; and all knocking down and trampling under foot
any
weaker one who might obstruct them. On the corner, and
immediately beneath the solemn warning about preparing
to meet one's God, had been rolled two barrels of whisky
that had been removed from the burning cars.
Around these were crowded all manner of men, women,
and children; one man was lying drunk across a barrel,
while others were catching the liquor which spurted froin
the bunghole either in bottles or in their hands, while hags
of women with ribald oaths and drunken leers wiped their
mouths with apparent relish after draughts of the fiery
liquid, and shouted to others near them or far away in
drunken, noisy hilarity. Not four feet away stood another
barrel of whisky with the head burst in, from which the
rioters scooped up the liquor in their hats, in cups, or in any
vessel which could be captured from any source, while just

270
RIOT AND PILLAGE AT PITTSBURG.
above it there stood a ruffian on a hydrant-head with his
arm about a lamp-post whooping and hallooing under the
broken lamp in a kind of satanic glee. One poor
devil
who had lost his hat, and could not procure a cup or other
article with which to get a drink, endeavored to reach down
into the barrel with his head and drink the tempting
whisky as from a spring, when one of the mob, in a kind
of desperate spirit of deviltry, caught him up bodily and
dashed him head foremost into the fiery stuff, which splashed
right and left in all directions. The party suffering this
kind of spiritual baptism for once in his life got enough
liquor and laid senseless in the gutter next to the curbing
nearly all day. All about this spot, where people could get
their fill of whisky for the asking or the taking, most
wretched scenes of violence and ruffianism took place.
Tearing along the street would come a knot of fellows
hitting and striking everybody that opposed them. Another
squad of the same sort from another direction would meet
them, and then the progress of either party depended on
the time it required to defeat the other. Men driving
wagons loaded with plunder would be knocked off of their
loads, when some daring fellow would take possession, drive
the load of stuff to his own premises, or sell it at auction to
respectable people for anything from five dollars to twenty.
Irish and Americans, negroes and Jews--all classes, and
all nationalities—commingled, and were equally guilty and
equally ferocious.
It was a common sight to see a knot of women fighting
like furies over the slightest thing of value. One loaded
down with muslins, shoes, hoop-skirts, everything that she
could grab and hold, would meet another returning for
more plunder, when the latter, probably thinking that it
would pay better to take part of this woman's load than to
waste time in procuring a supply from the cars,
would in-

YMCA
PREPARE
TO MEET
THY
GOD
ukut
1:11
Drunken orgies and pillaging at Pittsburgh.
SCENES AND INCIDENTS.
271
stantly assault her for that purpose. A regular hand-to-
hand fight would then occur, which usually would result in
drawing several bystanders into the mêlée, when a third
party, watching a good opportunity, would make way with
the easily gained booty. There seemed no exception to
this wild desire to plunder and destroy, and the least possi-
ble look, word, or act precipitated a brawl; while in hun-
dreds of instances, where after hours of herculean labor had
been expended in securing and hiding the goods, those too
timid to participate in the wild scenes along the track, but
who had their cupidity aroused by the general thiev-
ery, would watch the stowing away of articles until a fine
store had been secured, when they would steal them and
secrete them, and others would in turn appropriate them.
There are authenticated instances where goods pillaged
from the railroad company in this way changed hands from
three to seven times.

CHAPTER XXIII.
SOENES AND INCIDENTS.
THESE incidents seemed also to illustrate every form of
human inconsistency.
To notice how wildly desperate these people were, with-
out any imaginable occasion for it, was laughable in the
extreme. There was no opposition to the plunder by the
authorities. Any person could take whatever best suited
him or her. And yet every soul seemed wild with a desire
to secure all, and more, than they could carry away, or
secrete, after they had secured it. Again, the most utter
foolishness was shown in selection of plunder.

272
SCENES AND INCIDENTS.
manner.
A shoemaker in Virgin Alley expended all his ready
money in having hauled to his little shop load after load of
rolling-pins. Every nook and cranny was filled with these
articles useful to housewives, but so useless to shoemakers,
and days after, when stolen goods were being hunted up,
this valiant knight of St. Crispin was found pegging away
for dear life, with an innocent look on his face, and seated
on a brand-new bench constructed out of a commodious dry-
goods box solidly packed with rolling-pins. What purpose
this industrious shoemaker could ever have with a half
thousand rolling-pins would require more than a detective
to discover.
A persistent Irish woman distinguished herself and did
honor to the physical prowess of her sex,
which always
asserts itself strongly on great occasions, in the following
She was laboring along under a load of plunder,
when she was set upon by a gang of rowdies, who out of
pure mischief deprived her of her treasure and flung the
different articles in every direction. They were all, of
course, instantly appropriated by others. But a string of
shoes which the old lady had evidently set her heart upon
retaining had been tossed high in the air by one of her tor-
mentors, and in falling had caught upon the wires within a
foot or two of a telegraph pole. This Hibernian lady's
disappointment and rage knew no bounds ; but after reliev-
ing herself of a string of epithets which would have put a
fishwoman to shame, she sprang forward, climbed the tele-
graph pole with the dexterity of a monkey, secured the
shoes, slid down the pole as carelessly as a sailor, and bore
her trophy victoriously away amid the laughter and yells of
the mob.
One honest citizen, not so spiritually as spirituously in-
clined, by dint of splendid industry secured three barrels of
whisky and rolled them all to his house, over two miles
SCENES AND INCIDENTS.
273
was
from the place where they were taken. The entire Sunday
was thus consumed; but the most important feature of the
enterprise was, how to hide the treasure. After various
expedients had been unsuccessfully tried, the w
thought of, and one whole barrel was lowered into it. But
it was found that this was impracticable, when the entire
family hunted up a carload of crockery, and sixty jugs were
filled with whisky and lowered into the well. What liquor
could not thus be disposed of was used to enliven the hearts
of neighbors; the barrel-staves were burned; but some tell-
tale hoops remained, which led to the recovery of this, under
the circumstances, most valuable well.
Four negroes, who, if they had rightly directed their en-
ergies, might have stowed away enough of the necessities
of life to have permitted them to quietly toast their heels at
some sable washerwoman's fireside all winter, found what
they felt certain was a great prize. It was nicely boxed,
was heavy, and a hasty investigation showed them that there
was considerable gilt and glitter about it. That was enough
for the darkies. They worked like heroes through the burn-
ing cars; struggling along across the tracks with great beads
of perspiration streaming from their sooty faces. Through
the uproar, losing and recapturing their heavy load a doze
times, they crossed the tracks and valiantly began the ascent
of the hill. This herculean feat was finally accomplished,
and the prize shoved, rolled, and carried to the cabin of one
of the party.
On opening the box these four negroes
were plunged in despair.
They had stolen a small church organ, and had forgot to
bring along a church !
One burly female, who had been an honest sewing-woman
all her life perhaps up to this time, became crazed with the
common fever for plundering, and seeking through and
through the different jams of car's which were being pillaged,

12*

274
SCENES AND INCIDENTS.
she finally pounced upon the things she sought. When
this much was done there was an exhibition of strength
worthy of record. At one effort she shouldered what
seemed to be a very heavy sewing-machine, and staggered
through the throngs, sustaining all manner of buffeting and
ill-usage, until she had reached her rooms on Penn Avenue,
where she stored her treasure away with the manner of hav-
ing gained the object of her life. Back and forth she came
and went, and every time she came it was with this weight
across her neck and shoulders. Thus she struggled and
worked, with almost a savage ferocity and superhuman
strength, through the entire day, only to find when the next
morning came and the excitement had gone she had secured
half a dozen type-writers.
This wild, half-crazed and impetuous rushing for the
thing most desired, but always securing something, in itself
valuable, but utterly worthless to the one capturing it, was
one of the most marked features of the terrible day. Here
a person who had never been further into the country from
Pittsburg than the hills surrounding the city, would be
seen excitedly dragging a plow through the streets, as
though he were the last man, would be obliged to till the
soil until the day of judgment, and this was the last plow.
There the keeper of a boarding-house, who in all consis-
tency if he were bound to steal, would probably wish some-
thing in the grocery line, would be seen in a crazy kind of
glee disappearing with a churn, a baby-carriage, or a stack
of whips.
A peddler would secure hoes, brooms, or furniture; while
a small dealer in the green-grocer line would capture hard-
The shoemaker would scramble for stationery; the
stationer would quite as likely lay in a stock of boots and
shoes solely designed for the Texas cow-boy trade. IIuck-
sters, who never had an ambition above cabbage and carrots,
ware.
SCENES AND INCIDENTS.
275
were seen with loads of silks, laces, and velvets; milkmen,
whose minds ran in the direction of distillery slops and
river water, had loads of tobacco and groceries. Men in
buggies were seen hastening away with their vehicles cov-
ered with dress goods, rolls of cloth, and every conceivable
article which could be secured, tied to the seats and hung
to the axles, like an artillery caisson during a forced march.
Women, with a babe on one arm and a churn on the other;
others with the skirts of their dresses gathered up about
· them, and filled with plunder until they had the appearance
of an inverted and collapsed balloon; and still others loaded
down and bending almost to the ground from great bulging
blankets stuffed with perhaps a roll of muslin, a half dozen
hams, a mess of potatoes, mirrors, mugs, and merchandise in
general; but all fighting their way with genuine valor and
persistency. One woman was noticed who, aside from hav-
ing several chairs strapped to her back, held on to a string
of shoes with her teeth, and with her two hands clung to an
apronful of lard, that, from the heat of the mid-day sun,
was melting and running through the apron in streams upon
her legs, feet, and the ground.
Two Irish women toiled long and well up
the steep hills,
fighting to retain possession of their booty, until they had
lugged two extremely heavy barrels in safety to their respec-
tive shanties, which stood side by side upon the edge of a
deep gulch.
“ An' phat is your floour?” queried one, as she seated
herself
upon her prized barrel, and fanned herself with her
apron.
.
“Faith, an' its “White River,' the swatest and best uy
all ! "
“By the same token, so's mine! 'Twas a great day for
the poor!”
“ Ah yis, a blissed Sunday!”

276
SCENES AND INCIDENTS.

But it was not a blessed Monday; for on that day these
deluded beings each found that they had a beautiful “bak-
ing” of plaster-Paris, which turned out from the oven in
half a dozen elegant white bricks.
The grotesque features of the wild day were quite equaled
by the tragic incidents. They were all born of the unrea-
soning, uncontrollable, brutal frenzy of the mob. The large
amounts of liquor which had been stolen, and which all who
wished could secure for the taking or asking, largely added
to this fearful condition of things. One instance will serve
to illustrate them all.
A squad of drunken negroes went rushing down Liberty
Street, grabbing right and left whatever they could. They
came to a corner where a lot of whisky was being opened
and carried away, or drank promiscuously by the wild crowd
gathered around it. One negro, in a fit of bravado, rushed
up to a barrel of whisky, the head of which had been re-
moved, and, pushing aside one or two who were getting
liquor from it, shoved his black face into the whisky, and
began drinking greedily, when one of the rioters, in a dare-
devil spirit, sprang to a burning car, secured a blazing brand,
and plunged it into the barrel of whisky. In an instant the
vile stuff burst into a great flame, enveloping the negro and
burning him so terribly that he died early the next day.
And so the day wore on-fire, plunder, drunkenness, de-
bauch!
The Mayor was on the ground with his carriage before
noon, but the rioters had lost all respect for him, and his
efforts were utterly useless. Gradually the flames from the
burning cars neared the Union Depot, and at about three
o'clock the rioters run a burning car under the fine sheds
which adjoined it on the east, and which were used for the
protection of outgoing and incoming passengers. Up to this
time it was hoped that the splendid building would in some

SCENES AND INCIDENTS.
277
way escape destruction, but in a few moments the sheds were
a mass of flames. While this was progressing the mob pil-
laged the depot of the Pittsburg, Chicago and St. Louis
Railroad; and, in quick succession, the Pan Handle Depot,
the Adams Express Company's Depot, the Union Depot
building, and the Pennsylvania Company's general offices,
as well as the great Elevator building, were totally con-
sumed.
At the burning of all these buildings indescribable scenes
occurred; and in this particular section, the fears of the
citizens for the destruction of the entire city first became
powerful enough to effect something of an awakening from
the criminal insensibility which had rendered action against
the mob impossible. The Fire Department from Allegheny
City was summoned to assist in preventing the spread of the
flames, and from this point it may be said that the Pittsburg
riot was ended ; not that wild orgies that would have dis-
graced a pandemonium were entirely discontinued, but that
the shame and disgrace of this most disgraceful affair in
history began to force itself in some dim way upon the con-
sciousness of a people whose permission of so terrible a
series of outrages is nearly inexplicable.
Such scenes have never before been witnessed in Ameri-
ca. May they never be witnessed again. It would only
seem in this instance that they were discontinued simply
from the fact that this crazy rabble found no more property
of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company that could be de-
stroyed. The greater and deeper is the shadow resting
upon this community for that reason.
As the night came down upon the city, the flames from
miles of burning ruins lit up thousands of faces which now
seemed appalled at the great disaster that had been accom-
plished. Thieves, tramps, and communists crept away in
the shadows, and in their hiding-places gloated over the

278
THE END AT PITTSBURG.
ruin, but gradually settled into their old habit of waiting
and watching for future opportunities, and, like wild beasts,
filled with horrible prey, in a dazed, stupid gluttony, slept
off their terrible debauch, while law and order and common
decency—too long lost-gradually but surely came back to
the great masses of citizens, who were now able to take
some action to secure a common safety.

CHAPTER XXIV.
THE
END
AT
PITTSBURG.
It would almost seem that peace again reigned in Pitts-
burg rather from the returned good nature of the mobs
than from any capable action on the part of the anthorities,
or display of local patriotism on the part of the better classes
of citizens. The excitement died out something as the fires
died out. It was not put out. Gradually shopmen took
down their shutters and furtively began the resumption
of business. The streets were still filled with vast throngs
of people, but curiosity more than fear was in their faces.
Strangers hastened to the city and, all along the track
of the flames and the general destruction, mingled with
the strikers, expressing a common wonder and horror
at the wild frenzy that should have left such traces of
ruin. The very members of the mobs were out in full
force, and looked on the work they had accomplished with
real admiration, indulging in merry witticisms over various
incidents of the reign of terror with evident inanifesta-
tions of delight. The majority of persons met seemed to
THE END AT PITTSBURG.
279
look on the whole matter as a huge joke, too vast to be ap-
preciated in silence, and must necessarily pass into public
enjoyment; while the city government, which had been as
completely ignored as though it had never existed, quietly
caine into existence again, only because there was nothing
left to oppose it. In other words, barbarism was lifted
from Pittsburg simply because a city of barbarians had got
tired of being such, and not because there was any inherent
force or dignity in the authority which its supposed civili-
zation had provided for its regulation and government.
But before passing from these hours of unprecedented
terror, I must mention a few representative incidents illus-
trative of the fact that, however much any community may
be given over to the mob spirit, there still exists those who
are brave and true enough to do all in their individual
power for the law and the right.
A bright instance of this character was found in the un-
solicited action of the Catholic Bishop Tuigg. When the
wretched turbulence, madness, and destruction of Sunday
was at its height, this good man hastened from his safe
episcopal residence, and, plunging into the thickest of the
mob, begged and pleaded in the name of his sacred calling
that its members should desist from their lawless acts.
Showers of stones and bits of iron were the only response.
The mob treated him with utter disrespect, but, undaunted,
he passed from place to place, endeavoring with all his
power to effect some good and quell the devilish spirit con-
trolling the frenzied people. The Rev. Alexander Clark,
editor of the Methodist Recorder, who also used his influ-
ence to its fullest extent among the rioters, was not only
brave enough to risk his life among the villains, but was
also sufficiently manful to testify through his paper to the
good Bishop's fearless labors. Mr. Clark stated that he
several times stood within a few feet of the former, and


280
THE END AT PITTSBURG.
that it seemed almost a miracle that he was not killed out-
right. “ There was certainly no religion in that mob,” as
Mr. Clark tersely says.
Another instance quite as worthy of record, though of a
different nature, occurred in the burning offices of the
Pennsylvania Railroad. A youth named August Doudel, a
telegraph operator, was shut up in the telegraph office on
Saturday night, surrounded by a howling mob. Its num-
bers could not frighten or bully him from his work. So
long as the wires responded to his hand he proposed keep-
ing that hand to its labor, and, hour after hour, this brave
fellow sat at his instrument and sent flashes of intelligence
from the disgraced city, never flinching in his duty, and
never heeding thousands of insults heaped upon him.
Finally the cowardly rabble found that he was not to be
driven from his post save at the loss of his life, when they
fired the building. The little fellow saw that this would
eventually relieve him from duty, but he still worked away
until he was scorched by the heat, half suffocated with the
smoke, and literally forced from the instrument by the
flames, but not even then until he had left a record of his
bravery in his last message:
66 Fire's too hot.
Good night ! ”
Monuments to brave men after death are all well enough.
They serve to assist the marble interests and improve the
appearance of the country. But in my mind it is this fine
valor wedded to good judgment and fidelity that deserves
immediate recognition. Though a boy, he had learned the
great lesson of discipline; he was man enough to be brave;
and then he had the very good sense to leave the place when
the had done his whole duty and no less.
The great stock-grower, Mr. Alexander, of Kentucky,
had a car-load of valuable Southdown sheep and fine horses,
THE END AT PITTSRURG.
281
which were en route from Scotland to Kentucky, in charge
of
a negro.
The stock were caught in the general blockade
at Pittsburg, and the poor darkey in charge was almost dis-
tracted at the prospect of the great loss to his employer, as
no forage could be secured. In this dire strait the
negro,
through dint of wonderful pleading and the use of a little
money, got the car transferred to the West Penn. Railway
tracks. He then never released his efforts until he had
found a gentleman who went security for the freight, when
he removed the animals to the latter's barn, and there
watched by them during the entire night. Never relaxing
his
energy and faithfulness, he worked away until he even-
tually got the stock all on board a little packet, which, when
it finally went steaming down the Ohio River, left Pittsburg
in flames and in the hands of a ferocious mob.
These are small matters, perhaps, but if there had been
more of Bishop Tuigg's fearlessness and devotion to his sacred
calling; more of August Doudel's pluck, dutiful labor, and
good sense; and more of the energy and fidelity of Mr.
Alexander's faithful negro, from the beginning to the end
of these troubles, Pittsburg would have been spared much
of her present shame and disgrace.
There is but little more concerning the record of Pitts-
burg’s disaster. The riots had ended for the reasons pre-
viously given. It may be possible that, had no further de-
mands been made upon the military, order would have been
as quickly brought out of chaos by the local authorities and
the citizens who were finally organized to some extent for
that purpose.
But this is very doubtful. Even after the
terrible lessons of the riot the railway strikers seemed as
strong and determined as ever.
The Pennsylvania Railroad Company, with its usual
promptness and energy, at once began clearing away the
ruins; and one of the best possible illustrations of the great


282
THE END AT PITTSBURG.
wrong workingmen had brought upon themselves is in
the fact that scores of men who had been employed in the
immense machine-shops, where they had for year's
received
steady work and certain pay, and which they had them-
selves assisted in destroying, were now compelled, by the
necessity for some kind of employment, to accept the
most menial labor of assisting in removing the débris, and
clearing away the ruins. Within five days from the break-
ing out of the riot, Governor Hartranft, who arrived from
the West on Tuesday evening, had brought together nearly
six thousand troops that were admirably located at dif-
ferent points within the city and along the line of the
Pennsylvania road, in commanding positions upon the hills,
and at points where the lawless elements would be most
likely to gather. But their use in any way was not re-
quired.
For a week the city of Pittsburg resembled a military
post during the early days of the war. Amateur soldiers,
in all the glory of brand-new uniforms, were drilled, maneu-
vered, and moved from one camp to another, without the
slightest possible visible reason. At no time could a civil-
ian pass through the streets without seeing a squad of
troops, which had been marched somewhere for something,
and were being marched back again without the something
having been got. Bold generals upon prancing steeds,
prancing orderlies upon bold steeds, camp-followers, and
all the paraphernalia and accessories of a newly marshaled
army, were here.
But when the troops were removed for
uise among the more disturbed coal regions, as they shortly
were, the excitement, cheap glory, and glitter passed away,
and Pittsburg began to assume a lonesome, regretful air;
and the realities of her position-her shame, her disgrace,
and her accountability—slowly settled down upon her.
The strike really ended Sunday, July 29th, when the
THE END AT PITTSBURG.
283
66
crew
first freight train, after the abandonment of work by the
trainmen, was moved. This train was put in motion on the
Pennsylvania Central road, and successfully sent to its des-
tination. No person would have imagined a strike had ex-
isted, save for the murmurs of a few disaffected men. The
” had been sent to Pittsburg from the East. As
soon as this train had been successfully started, others soon
followed ; and all day long the tracks, from the ruins of the
Union Depot away out to East Liberty, presented a most
animated appearance, and away into the night the long-
delayed trains were being made up and despatched.
So ended the strike at Pittsburg. What had seemed a
revolution resulted in a most imbecile fiasco. All the
striking trainmen on roads centering at this city, as soon as
the first train began moving, made a precipitate rush for
their old places, and as much excitement was developed
through the fear of losing them as had been shown during
the first days of the strike in defying the roads and tramp-
ling upon all authority.
.
But Pittsburg is paying dearly for her holiday of hate
against the Pennsylvania Railroad.
That corporation,
which justly refused to yield one single point to its em-
ployees, when such yielding must be the result of unlawful
force, backed by the deadly hatred of a large community,
pursues the even tenor of its way, in the end the winner of
every point in the fight. The action of the hot-headed
trainmen eventually debarred them from public sympathy;
the shameful course of the Pittsburg authorities and thou-
sands of her citizens has made her an object of national
scorn. Every expression by her citizens, every editorial in
her newspapers, every act of her authorities, and nearly
every judgment of her judiciary, have carried her farther
and farther from public sympathy and consideration, or
commercial regard. The people of the country, through

284
THE END AT PITTSBURG.

her disastrous course, have come to dread her; business
men have gradually determined to avoid her; public justice
and public judgment have come to pass a lasting condem-
nation
upon
her.
I
am, then, justified by the universal verdict of the
press
of the United States in summarizing the matter as follows:
The truckling to the strikers at the beginning of the troubles
was contemptible; the universal hatred of the Pennsylvania
Central Railroad by the citizens of Pittsburg, which city had
been made nearly everything she was by that corporation,
was a species of unreasoning and contemptible ingratitude,
or at least an incomprehensibly foolish disregard of recip-
rocal business interests; the treatment of the Philadelphia
soldiery, who had come to a sister city to protect it from its
own unmanageable mobs, was peculiarly treacherous and
barbarous; the herculean efforts made by her officials and
citizens to shield her criminals, after the railroad companies'
and my own efforts to bring them to justice had placed
scores of ruffians in a position to receive the punishment
they so richly merited, is an exhibition of public policy so
dangerous to their own and all public interests, that it can
hardly be explained save on the theory that this community
has been taken by the throat by a set of officials so thor-
oughly imbued with the mob spirit, and so completely allied
to the ruffianly elements, that it cannot rise from its bondage
and shake them off; while the presentment of its special
grand jury of investigation, which remarkable effort is still
in the interest of the mob and commune element, is one
of the most remarkably unjust and disreputable documents
ever flung in the face of an indignant public.
This report in the first place attacks the Pennsylvania
Railroad Company for endeavoring to protect its own prop-
erty, and plaintively adds that its officers were begged to
not use harsh measures. The public is
The public is very well aware
THE END AT PITTSBURG.
285
give him.
that this corporation had an indefeasible right, first, to the
management of its business, and second, when that is pre-
vented by a mob, to make any possible endeavor to protect
its property from arson and pillage. But this jury, accord-
ing to its logic, would have individuals be very tender with
outlaws. It would have you welcome a robber with the
most polite attention and the utmost courtesy. It would
have
you hand him your purse, your silverware and your
jewelry, and mildly apologize that you have not more to
It would have you give the incendiary a can of
kerosene, or a bundle of kindlings, and conduct him to the
most available spot for a successful burning of
your house.
It would have you greet the murderer as a most intimate
friend, furnish him with a pistol or a knife, show him where
and how he could dispatch your wife or your children in
the neatest manner, and then, after begging his pardon for
the trouble he had taken, bare your own breast to him.
This shameful document further states that all the
trouble arose from “the meddlesome and insolent course
of the military !” These grand jury commune and tramp
sympathizers also censured the sheriff and the Governor,
and, from beginning to end, show their immediate collusion
and sympathy with and for the overwhelming red-handed
elements which made the Pittsburg arson and the Pittsburg
butchery possible.
Too strong a public condemnation cannot be stamped
upon an action by a supposed intelligent body of men,
which is so at variance with facts, and so terribly repugnant
to all sense of public justice.
There will be but one result to all this. Pittsburg must
mend her ways and yield to the inevitable. She must show
the whole country that she will not continue in this self-de-
structive course. She has already lost largely by her suici.
dal frenzy. She had one of the finest union depots in the

286
THE STRIKE AT ALLEGHENY CITY.

world. To-day she has but a railway station-bouse. Before
the riot she had a series of the most extensive machine-
shops in America, which brought, through their employees,
hundreds of thousands of dollars annually to her tradesmen.
To-day she has a little repair-shop that will perhaps support
a score of families; and who can blame a vast business in-
terest like the Pennsylvania Railway Company for removing
everything possible of value beyond the reach of so ruffianly
a people? Through her acts Allegheny County must pay
the losses, which will amount to nearly four million dollars
at the lowest estimate, and no vindictive reports of special
grand juries can shift this just responsibility.
A prompt, honorable response to the requirements of the
case must be given. The shameful disgrace of these Pitts-
burg riots is in the past, if a clean record for the future can
be given. But if the people of this city persist in their
insolent attempts to defy public justice, commercial ruin
cannot but be inevitable.
CHAPTER XXV.
THE STRIKE AT ALLEGHENY CITY-SOME ACCOUNT OF THE
66
REDOUBTABLE
BOSS
AMMON.
A MOST remarkable feature of the troubles at Pittsburg
and vicinity was the exceptional good behavior of the strik-
ing trainmen in Allegheny City—if that qualification may
be applied to any body of men who recklessly take posses-
sion of their employers' property, and, in violation of all law
and propriety, insolently assume complete dictation of their
business to illegally enforce an equally insolent demand.
THE STRIKE AT ALLEGHENY CITY.
287
body of
I wish to be plainly understood as unyielding in my oppo-
sition to any such course. The best experience from all
periods of disorder and violence arising from labor troubles,
at all times and in all countries, sets a seal of complete con-
demnation upon it. It is unjust; it is criminal; it is disas-
trous. But while condemning it, in justice to this particular
men, I must say that after having taken the unjus-
tifiable action which their crazy and irresponsible leaders
precipitated, they were certainly deserving of much praise
for completely refraining from all violence, and for taking
stern and decisive measures for preventing the slightest ex-
pression of that savage communism which so disgraced the
city of Pittsburg
All regular travelers over the Pennsylvania Central and
Pittsburg, Ft. Wayne and Chicago Railroads will remember
that trains usually stop for a moment at a point called the
outer depot, in the suburbs of Allegheny City. There is
scarcely anything to distinguish this point as a railway sta-
tion, and passengers, not knowing that it is one, when trains
halt here quite commonly inquire: “Well, what are we
waiting for now ?." There is nothing but a quiet street, a
few common boarding-houses, a little wooden building where
an old-time railroad man dispenses lunch, cider, and villain-
ous tobacco and cigars to working trainmen, and a lonesome
brick building in the William Penn style, once a dwelling-
house, now used as a telegraph and dispatcher's office.
Between this lonely building—that might be taken for a
boarding-house which had traveled around the city for cus-
tom and got irretrievably lost in its wanderings—the street
and the tracks, there are several fine trees that furnish wel-
come shade to tired traivmen on hot sumıner days.
This is all there is to the place, save its nearness to the
extensive machine-shops of the road, which are located along
the tracks a little further into the city; but as a strategic


288
THE STRIKE AT ALLEGHENY CITY.
point its value was quickly seen by the strikers, who took
immediate possession of the locality, and during the contin-
uance of the strike remained in undisturbed possession.
As I have said, the orderly behavior of these men was
commendable, but it was remarkable, when the near and
general turbulence is considered. Although the strikers
had more complete possession of this road, and more thor-
oughly dictated its management for the time the striking
element ruled the country than was the case with any
other
railway, it is a fact that from the time the strike began until
it was ended, not one drop of blood was shed, nor was a
dollar's worth of property destroyed by force, or lost through
theft.
A good humor and even temper seemed to prevail, and
while the men were resolute and unyielding in resisting all
appeals tending to a resumption of business, they were quite
as resolute in permitting no interference from the riotous
classes who wished an occasion for plunder. At the very
inception of the strike here the trainmen organized commit-
tees with power to detail men, who yielded a prompt obedi-
The work of saving, or rather protecting, property
at once began. Tramps were handled so roughly that they
sought more congenial quarters in Pittsburg; communists
were given the cold shoulder; thieves were attacked and
driven away. All the engines not in use, and those con-
stantly arriving, were carefully housed and cleaned ; passen-
ger coaches which were not needed on account of the light-
ness of travel were side-tracked neatly; everything about the
round-house and machine-shops was left snug and orderly,
and a guard placed upon them that nothing might be mo-
lested; and on Sunday, when the fearful destruction was
progressing in Pittsburg, these strikers worked like beavers
to get the property of the road in such shape that the scenes
transpiring there should not be re-enacted. All day Sun-

ence.
THE STRIKE AT ALLEGHENY CITY.
289
day, Sunday night, and Monday, while Allegheny City was
emptying itself to join in the overwhelming excitement
across the river, engines were steaming back and forth,
shifting cars and putting things to rights. All the skill
and
energy
of these five hundred men were used to arrange
matters so that no harm should come either to railroad
prop-
erty or to the vast amount of freight which was constantly
accumulating from the capture of eastern-bound trains and
the joining in the strike by their “crews.”
In this way the inner track, or the track nearest the bluffs,
was jaimed full of engines, passenger and baggage coaches,
Pullman sleepers, and empty and loaded freight cars, away
back to Rochester, twenty-two miles from the outer depot
in Allegheny, and, to a traveler, the sight of such an im-
mense collection of railroad property was not only imposing,
but it served to give one a faint idea of the vastness of the
interests dependent upon the untrammeled and uninterrupted
operation of the railway lines of the country.
The strikers organized regular patrols, and instructed the
members that any interference on the part of tramps or
other outlaws should be met with prompt and summary
treatment; and instances occurred where persistent vaga-
bonds, who made repeated attempts to break open cars and
rob them, were taken bodily by the strikers and flung into
the Ohio River, where a protracted bath greatly subdued
their pillaging propensities. Until the resumption of traffic,
this surveillance over public and railroad property was con-
tinued; and when it is remembered that scores of these
strikers, though so badly injured by their own unjust and
ill-considered action, were sorely in need of the commonest
necessities of life, had it in their power to levy upon what-
ever best suited their needs or their fancy, and yet never
touched a penny's worth, they must be regarded as an
exceptionally worthy body of men.

13
290
THE STRIKE AT ALLEGHENY CITY.
The city of Allegheny itself undoubtedly escaped a simi-
lar terrorism to that which ruled Pittsburg through this
very cause.
Its government for a time was quite as para-
lyzed as that of Pittsburg. It found itself entirely inade-
quate to cope with the emergency, could not bring enough
dignity or power to bear upon the situation to compel any
manner of respect or obedience, and was eventually forced
to submit to a solution of the difficulties at other hands and
through other agencies. Had there been an outbreak of
the lawless elements, and had pillage and incendiarism
begun, its cessation would have only come about, as it did
in Pittsburg, through the utter exhaustion of the savage
rabble, or it would have been quelled by the strikers them-
selves. There is no question but that Mayor Phillips, who
is above demagogism, did all in his power to prevent vio-
lence, and that his kind and earnest advice had a good
effect in suppressing turbulence; but it is almost wholly
due to the conservatism and caution of the strikers them-
selves that no repetition of Pittsburg's disgrace followed
their other unlawful acts.
I cannot pass this subject without expressing the certain
conviction that the temperate action of the strikers, not only
at Allegheny City, but along the entire length of this rail-
way, was almost wholly due to the universal respect on the
part of its employees for its General Manager, J. D. Layug,
Esq. In this time of great excitement he was as utterly
powerless as other railway officers; but it is a well-known
fact that thorough discipline, coupled with universal kind-
ness, is a marked feature in the management of this road,
and the remembrance of the same by those who had for
years come under its influence fortunately possessed a won-
derful
power of consideration and restraint.
Aside from this exceptional temperate action by so large
a body of persistent revolutionists, nothing of a remarkable

THE STRIKE AT ALLEGHENY CITY.
291
nature occurred among the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne and
Chicago Railway strikers at this point, save the bringing to
the surface, and into short-lived popularity, of one of the
most thorough frauds and braggarts of those troublous
times.
Justus Schwab, of New York City, was a communist
from education, association, and principle; P. M. Arthur,
Grand Chief Engineer of the Brotherhood of Locomotive
Engineers, has at least the merit of brains, a good record as
a working engineer, and executive ability ; while Donahue,
the Hornellsville mock hero, had the standing among his
fellows which sympathy for a cripple and a great many
years of hard work as a capable railroad employee would
give; but this man, or rather boy, this Robert A. Ammon,
was clearly a mushroom growth of a night, and though a
great hero for a little time, fell to pieces like a mushroom
still, when his qualities came to be tested.
It came within my province, through necessary subse-
quent investigations, to become most thoroughly acquainted
with this fellow's history and antecedents; and for the ben-
fit of sincere and intelligent railroad employees throughout
the country, who have by various newspaper reports gained
the impression that he was a person of fine ability and real
heroism that had been ground down by the despotisın of
tyrannical railway management, I consider it my duty to
disabuse their minds by stating a few plain facts concerning
him and his meteoric connection with the great strike.
He is of a most estimable Pittsburg family, and his
father, who has held many positions of trust, and is at this
writing the president of a reputable insurance company in
that city, is highly respected by all. The son, Robert, has
long been regarded by the family as an irreclaimable youth.
He has had every advantage and encouragement which på-
rental affection coupled with large means could bestow, but


292
THE STRIKE AT ALLEGHENY CITY.
has, in every instance, abused both confidence and care.
His college experiences at Columbus, Ohio, in company
with the son of a prominent railway official, were simply a
series of disgraces to himself and family, and of such un-
bearable annoyance to the faculty that his absence from the
institution was finally required.
From this time his reck-
less, aimless" career seemed to grow more marked. At
home or away from home, he was constantly in trouble.
Finally, through the influence of his friends, he established
an agency for several insurance companies in Chicago, but
this venture terminated abruptly, and he left that city, as
well as every other place he visited, under a cloud. The next
effort at labor—and this was only assumed through the as-
sistance of his friends-was hotel-keeping in Cleveland. The
mysterious destruction by fire of the hotel over which he
presided brought this scheme to a close. He was next
heard from, away out towards the Pacific slope, on some
objectless, if not criminal expedition, and then for months
and months he was but little else than a respectable tramp
about Pittsburg and Allegheny City, dreaded by acquain-
tances, shunned by strangers, feared by friends. In
this way he became exceedingly impecunious, and, as he
had for years abused the confidence of every friend he had
gained, making it impossible for him to either secure repu-
table employment agreeable to his fastidious tastes, or any-
thing in the way of pecuniary assistance more than mere
charity, he was eventually forced into a labor which he ut-
terly despised, and became a freight brakeman under con-
ductor M. D. Huey, on what is called the “ East End Run,"
between Pittsburg and Alliance.
From the moment he entered the service of the road he
was a conspirator and a rebel. Here was just the right
kind of an employee to make trouble. A person who has
been too little of a man to retain a standing among those of
THE STRIKE AT ALLEGHENY CITY.
293
his class may always be counted on as a malcontent when
he is obliged to associate with a less important class. Be-
cause the labor was severe, a something millions of work-
ingmen are accustomed to, he was loud-mouthed about rail-
road men being ground down into white slaves ; because
the wages paid did not enable him to satisfy his elegant.
tastes and vile habits, he harangued the men about their
being robbed; and because he was everything and anything
but a good employee, faithful to the company which had
given him employment, that had perhaps kept him out of
the poor-house or penitentiary, he was a ranting, turbulent,
trouble-provoking vagabond, with just enough assumption
to give him a certain influence, and just enough brains to
make him dangerous.
He had been but seven months in the employ of the
company when he became so much an agitator, and had so
thoroughly filled every one with whom he came in contact
with sedition and discontent, that he was discharged. He
was one of the foremost movers in the organization of the
Trainmen's Union, and was unceasing in his efforts in
bringing about the conditions for a strike. The sole ob-
ject in this was a desire on the part of Robert A. Am-
mon to hold in his hands a certain power which a vain
mind unceasingly longs for, and to so manipulate the en-
ployees of this road, that between his control of the foriner
and the constant annoyance he would be to the latter, he
could fill his pockets with his companions' money in the
shape of the fees and dues these organizations always sic-
ceed in wrenching from the many for the benefit of the
few, or be bought from his purposes by a fat position
higher up in the employ of the company.
The management declined to submit to this sort of busi-
ness, however, and Ammon was relieved from duty. Here
was an opportunity for him to play the martyr, and he did

294
THE STRIKE AT ALLEGHENY CITY.

it to the best of his very good ability in this direction.
“Look at me,” he would say: "I who have struggled to
ameliorate the condition of you poor devils am persecuted
and driven away from earning the little pittance I have
been receiving. You must avenge such injustice or you
will soon be powerless !”
He was largely responsible for the short-lived strike
which did occur on this road in June, not only by personal
efforts among the trainmen, but through the bitterest of
articles which appeared in an insignificant inflammatory
sheet published in Pittsburg, but after this strike suddenly
fell through. Ammon immediately left for the oil regions,
where for the time intervening he tarried in company with
other outlaws, living upon the proceeds of the shame of
vile women who were smitten by his rather fine appearance,
his oily tongue, and his boundless impudence and assumption.
At the outbreak of the great strikes, Ammon hastened
back to Pittsburg, and, like an evil spirit, flitted here and
there among his old comrades, urging them to stand fast by
their reckless action ; and he undoubtedly infused consid-
erable enthusiasm into the strikers by his cunning advice
and impassioned harangues. These men, feeling a certain
shame in their guilty acts, only too gladly welcomed any
outside sympathy and assistance, and very few days elapsed
before “Bob” Ammon, as he was called about the Outer
Depot, became the cheap hero of the hour. He imposed
his fluency of language upon these men for the powers of a
real orator, and his energy, with the use of his tongue,
passed current among them for genuine ability. They
needed a brilliant and able leader, and Ammon easily made
them believe he was the man for the hour.
On Sunday, July 22d, a committee of the strikers com-
posed of an engineer, a fireman, and a brakeman, waited
upon the doughty adventurer and with a deal of mock cere-
THE STRIKE AT ALLEGHENY CITY.
295
mony begged him to represent the entire employees of the
Pittsburg, Ft. Wayne and Chicago Railway and become
their general manager. This supreme illustration of as-
sumption yielded an apparently reluctant consent, and was
shortly installed at the dispatcher's office, where he at once
assumed complete control of this important branch of the
railway service; issued passes over the road over his own
name as manager; dictated how and when trains should
more; and, in fact, usurped every power and authority
possible to a man who, independent of the check which a
board of directors generally gives to chief railway officers,
ruled with supreme authority.
The fame of this wonderful railway manager at once
spread abroad throughout the land. His ability was com-
pared to that of a Vanderbilt, a Scott, or a Garrett.
Newspapers praised his genius while giving a faint con-
demnation to his criminal acts, and among the great armies
of strikers thronghout the country “ Boss” Ammon, as he
had now come to be called, was suddenly surrounded with a
halo of glory. But all such brainless adventurers run out
their tether very quickly. The men whom he had per-
suaded into the very acts which had resulted in placing him
above them very quickly saw that his tyranny, inefficiency,
and villainous cupidity were immeasurably more aggra-
vating and unbearable than the assumed wrongs he had led
them to believe they had suffered. Discontent and threats
soon followed; but “ Boss ” Ammon never heeded these.
His taste of power and notoriety was very sweet, and he
continued to carry matters with a high hand.
On Tuesday evening, the 24th instant, Governor IIartranft
arrived by special train from the West. As Ammon, in
control of the telegraph office, had been made aware of his
coming, the fact had been bruited about among the men
with the intimation that their leader and dictator would do


296
THE STRIKE AT ALLEGHENY CITY.
some exceptionally brilliant thing on the Governor's arrival,
which rumor was bound to prove true. The train was
heard approaching about seven o'clock in the evening, and
by Ammon's orders was promptly flagged. As it came to
a halt, in company with several of his followers, he boarded
the palace-car containing the Governor and his friends, and
marching straight up to him, intimated, in a way which per-
mitted of no denial, that the gentlemen whom he represented
expected some remarks.
He then conducted—under the circumstances it should
be written forced—the Chief Executive of the great State of
Pennsylvania to the platform, where amid the wild yells of
the thousands who had by this time gathered about, he
stammered out a few words which might be taken to mean
very much or very little. Then the Governor was permitted
to retire; “ Boss" Ammon descended from the car; at a
signal from his hand the train moved on; and while the
rabble about were loudly cheering the young scamp,
he
turned to the dispatcher's office with the air of an emperor.
But this was the signal for the tyro's overthrow. The
older, more conservative, and careful strikers saw that
Ammon was leading them into danger, and that day's was
the last of his power. He was summarily removed by the
committee the same evening; and at once became a fugi-
tive loafer, his ordinary character, passing his time with
women of ill-repute, in avoiding officers of the law which he
had broken, and in giving vent to insurrectionary screeds
in the inflammatory sheet before referred to.
A week subsequently he was arrested and imprisoned in
default of heavy bail. This event was Ammon's crowning
glory, and brought him out of ignoble retirement into the
full blaze of renewed newspaper renown.
It made him
more than ever a martyr. In the eyes of certain of his old
railroad comrades he had now proven himself noble—by
re-

MONONCAHELA HOUSE
GR R.
பரயாடும்
EM:
Bob Ammon compelling Governor Hartranft to address the strikers at Allegheny City.
298
THE STRIKE AT ALLEGHENY CITY.
getting into jail! He was being terribly persecuted. The
sympathy of a class who are nothing if not both mawkish
and obstinate went out to the “brilliant young striker," as
he was often termed, and many of the Pittsburg and
Allegheny City people who had heard of his pranks from
youth began to express an interest in him, and for a time
he was again quite the rage.
As stated, it was within my province to keep close com-
pany to this man, and without giving the particulars of the
same,
I can state that while in jail, in Pittsburg, his vanity,
want of principle, and vile life came most strongly to the
surface. He took upon himself the title and honors of the
hero of the hour; like a prince in ill fortune received those
who called
upon
him with the calm and almost demented
assumption of a Don Quixote; wrote for his newspaper
organ vile diatribes against the officers of the Pennsylvania
Central and Pittsburg, Ft. Wayne and Chicago Railroads;
indited in the same hour, and sent by the same hand, most
truckling and unmanly appeals for help from his parents,
mercy from railroad officials, and threats of vengeance and
breathings of utter defiance of law to his old comrades;
and with an impudence most inexplicable, endeavored to
place himself in correspondence with the great men of the
country, with newspapers, and particularly with lecture
bureaus, which he certainly believed would vie with each
other to obtain so great a sensation when he should have
been liberated.
Ammon had been married some three years previous; so
he claimed. This is disputed by many, and his own letter
to his wife during this incarceration would seem to substan-
tiate the theory that he was not; for in one of these pas-
sionate appeals he pleads that if she, his presumed wife,
will be true to him through his trouble, he will marry her
80 soon as he is liberated. Whether he is or is not married


INCIDENTS AT JOHNSTOWN.
299
to the woman he calls his wife, she has been as true as steel
to him, has borne him a child, and deserves all the fidelity a
husband should give a wife; but among the scores of
women who were silly enough to assist in the glorification
of this adventurer were some half a dozen mistresses, a
number of them women of the most abandoned character.
These persons were most constant and assiduous in supply-
ing the prisoner's bodily wants, and he lived like a prince
on their contributions, lording it over them like a Turk or
a Mormon. A hundred other incidents occurred to illus-
trate his natural depravity, his littleness of mind, and his
utter want of manhood ; but these will suffice to disabuse
the public of any incorrect notions which may have been
formed concerning the man.
His notoriety was the outgrowth of a moment, and as
suddenly faded from sight. He was simply one of those
thousands starting out in the world with bright promise,
who, notwithstanding their brilliant devices and startling
pretensions, in good time come to be known for just what
they are worth ; and only because he was one of the gro-
tesque productions of these dark days have I devoted so
much space to him.
CHAPTER XXVI.
INCIDENTS AT JOHNSTOWN, ALTOONA, AND HARRISBURG.
PROBABLY no point, brought into prominence by the
great strikes, more thoroughly illustrated the fact that their
extent and ferocity were due almost chiefly to the cursed
spirit of communism among the lower classes of working-
men, than did Johnstown, Pennsylvania. It is one of the
300
INCIDENTS AT JOHNSTOWN.
important manufacturing towns along the Pennsylvania
Central road, is situated at the confluence of Conemaugh
River and Stony Creek, eighty-five miles east of Pittsburg,
and, while it bears no particular relation to railroad inter-
ests more than that a large amount of bulky freight is
shipped from the place, it has become a thriving little city
merely from the really immense foundries and manufac-,
tories which have gradually clustered here, and at Cambria,
a little distance to the west.
There are no railroad shops, no repair houses, the town
is no railway junction ; in fact, scarcely a railway employee
makes the place his home; so that any disturbances at
such a city could certainly not be charged to trainmen.
But, from the beginning to the end of the strike, Johns-
town was a small pandemonium, and the mill-men, factory
hands, and other artisans seemed possessed of a most devil-
ish propensity to injure the very interests which sustained
them.
These mill-hands possess a reputation of having very vio-
lent tempers and very little judgment. They closed every
factory, foundry or shop in the place at the first excite-
ment with the most riotous demonstrations, and then turned
their attention to the railroad, which they assumed to be the
common enemy of all mankind.
These reckless fellows gained the notoriety of stopping
the very first mail and passenger train known to have been
halted by any rioters along this great thoroughfare, at the
very outbreak of the strike, and at every occasion there-
after annoyed the officials of the road, insulted trainmen
manning such trains as the railway strikers permitted to
move, and taunted and attacked nearly every train-load of
troops moving either west or east for the
of quell-
ing the disturbances; but these grimy rioters at last met
their match in Colonel Hamilton, of the regular army.
purpose


INCIDENTA AT JOHNSTOWN.
301
On Thursday, July 26th, seven hundred United States
troops left Washington, D. C., for Pittsburg and other points
in Pennsylvania. They were really sent forward to give
moral force and support to the large numbers of Pennsyl-
vania militia that Governor Hartranft had marshaled in
his first business-like endeavor to end the disastrous troub-
les in his State. This militia force comprised General
Brinton's reorganized Philadelphia Division, General Gal-
lagher's Division and General Harry White's Division, be-
sides three batteries of United States Regulars, numbering
nearly two thousand troops all told, with the regular troops
under Colonel Hamilton, following a few hours behind.
As this first force passed through Johnstown it was at-
tacked by a great mob of ruffians, armed with stones, chunks
of coal, and pieces of metal, which were thrown at the car
windows with savage effect. Many of the troops, as the
cars were crowded, were standing on the platforms, and were
badly cut and bruised, while those within the cars suffered
quite as severely from having bits of glass crushed into their
faces and other portions of their bodies. Train after train
passed, each being served in like manner; if anything the
attacks increasing in recklessness and savage ferocity.
At last, as the trains bearing Colonel Hamilton's com-
mand came by, they were served with like attentions by
these Johnstown ruffians, and those in advance were badly
smashed and shattered. When the one containing that offi-
cer came along, some little distance beyond Johnstown, and
nearer Cambria, another brutal attack was made.
Colonel Hamilton, out of all patience and full of indigna-
tion that the troops in advance had permitted such outra-
geous treatment, sprang from his seat with the bluff remark:
“By God! I'll put a stop to this !”
He then grasped the bell-rope, giving it a violent and
protracted pull.

302
INCIDENTS AT JOHNSTOWN.
The engineer, who was strongly guarded by troops, in-
stantly responded to the signal by reversing his engine; and
Colonel Hamilton's prompt and impulsive action undoubt-
edly saved scores of lives.
The speed of the train was very sensibly checked, but it
had acquired such momentum that it still moved slowly
onward.
As events subsequently proved, after the passage of the
first trains bearing troops, a few human devils among the
mob had concocted a scheme to completely wreck the fol-
lowing train and kill every soldier possible. These demons
slightly misplaced the switch at what is known as the “ Cam-
bria Siding,” and twisted the “indicator," the engineer's
guide to determine whether or not the tracks are properly
connected, to cover their hellish work. Then they placed a
flat-car laden with brick near the junction of the tracks.
The train came on at a great force, though not at a high
rate of speed. It was after dusk, and objects were not
plainly discernible in the twilight gloaming. The engine
and tender passed the switch and the obstruction car safely.
The first two baggage-cars, loaded with camp equipage and
provisions, both jumped the track and scraped violently
against the brick-car, which threw them still further off.
The third and fourth cars, partaking of the movement of
the first two, were jerked violently from one side of the
track to the other, coming squarely in contact with the car
on the siding, completely tearing up both ties and rails as
they twisted from side to side, carrying with them the fifth
car,
and all piling up at last, the bottom of one car resting
on the roof of another, three of them lying crosswise on the
track at an angle of thirty degrees, and the brick-car topping
all, but finally rolling off to one side.
Several of the soldiers were badly wounded by the colli-
sion; and Colonel Hamilton himself had two ribs broken;

INCIDENTS AT JOHNSTOWN.
303
but as soon as the officers and troops could collect their
scattered senses, effective measures were used. Pickets
were thrown out in every direction, and a regular skirmish-
ing for the enemy was begim. Those who had expected to
stand by and gloat over the death and wounding of scores
of soldiers, suddenly found themselves in the hands of the
military, who did not take much pains to use them tenderly.
Parties were run down and captured, dragged out from under
buildings, and three were taken while trying to play fox and
burrow in a hole in the side of the mountain.
There was no playing soldier with these grim fellows
wearing the United States regular uniform. There was no
warning “ Who comes there?” nor cry of “Halt!” but a
springing forth of soldiers, an ominous “ click! click !” of
gun-locks, and bayonets presented squarely in front. It di-
no good to beg for mercy. These disciplined soldiers gath.
ered in the mob, and many innocent persons with it, of
course, like herding cattle, and when about a hundred had
been collected, just corraled them up against the wreck,
prodding them into submission and quiet in a very rough
and effective way, and finally, when the wreck had been
cleared, carrying them on to Pittsburg as prisoners, where
they remained in jail until they were vouched for by good
and responsible parties.
This put a quietus upon the ferocity of Johnstown rioters.
They lost courage by being so properly handled ; and those
guilty of the most daring outrages—among them the mis-
placing of the switch-were subsequently apprehended,
through the use of my operatives, and punished.
At Altoona the strike wrought great excitement, but little
more worth recording. The special reason for this wave of
unusual and intense excitement lies in the fact that this now
large city illustrates almost the single exceptional instance
in America where a great railroad corporation has built a

DUJTE
Capture of one hundred Rioters by Regular Troops uniter Col. Hamilton, at Johnstozun, Pu.

INCIDENTS AT ALTOONA.
305
place of nearly fifteen thousand inhabitants solely through
its own patronage. Here are the great foundries, factories, ,
supply-houses and repair-shops of this gigantic railroad, the
Pennsylvania Central; and every present industry of the
place, which twenty years ago scarcely contained a thousand
inhabitants, has been the direct and unequivocal result of
the steadily-increasing demands for the road's equipment,
followed by other interests which have gradually gathered
about so great a hive of special industries.
Thousands of mechanics are employed here in the shops,
and thousands of people are supported by their wages;
consequently when the blow was struck at Pittsburg, every
soul in Altoona stood aghast at the common terror. It was
natural that there should be great excitement, but when the
fact is considered that nearly every individual in Altoona
owed whatever prosperity he enjoyed to the labor furnished
by the railroad company, the intense and vicious hatred
which was everywhere shown was simply unaccountable.
Large numbers of trainmen reside at Altoona, but while
they struck as promptly as at other points along the line,
they as a body did not prove nearly so vicious. On the
other hand, nearly every shop-hand in Altoona, every me-
chanic and workingman of all trades, all of whom had no
business to interfere in the matter, which was, primarily,
strictly a fight between the trainmen and the company,
took up the cudgel and the brickbat, and declared war.
Probably no city in the country was, for a time, so thor-
oughly and overwhelmingly overrun by its lower classes,
and kept in such constant fear and terror, and nothing but
a large force of troops brought here, and held here until the
close of the troubles, always coming and going, but still the
force held to a requisite number, prevented arson,
blood-
shed, and general ruin of railroad and other property. .
As it was the only overt acts which occurred at Altoona,

306
INCIDENTS AT ALTOONA.
transpired on Saturday, July 21st, and on Sunday, the next
day. Insults and threats were common at all times ; but
the lawless elements were pretty thoroughly held in check
by the constant exhibition of a competent force on the one
hand, and pacific measures on the part of shop superintend-
ents on the other.
In this connection, it is only just to state that the cool
judgment, careful foresight, determined bearing, but at all
times the kind and friendly manner of the General Super-
intendent of the road, C. Clinton Gardner, Esq., had more
to do with preventing wide-spread destruction and blood-
shed than any other one cause.
The first occurrence in question was not serious, but
while it lasted was a shame and a disgrace to the mechanics
of Altoona.
During the day the strikers had been very quiet, and had
behaved themselves admirably. There was that undercur-
rent of great excitement everywhere exhibited as news
from Pittsburg was awaited with breathless anxiety. But
at five o'clock in the afternoon a train from the east ap-
peared laden with troops. Although the rioters had per-
mitted other trains of troops to pass on towards Pittsburg
earlier in the day, the sight of these particular soldiers
seemed to madden the strikers, and immediately hundreds
rushed about the depot grounds and attempted to prevent
their further passage. But the train got off, and while it
was moving out was ferociously assaulted with stones and
other missiles, and several shots were also fired. Soldiers
returned the fire, but no one was hurt; and after the de-
parture of the train the excitement seemed to as suddenly
subside as it had been created, the strikers dispersing quietly
to their hoines for the night.
The next day, Sunday, more serious trouble was had,
which culminated in a substantial victory for the mobs.

BE
BEB-
Strikers at Altoona, Pa., attacking Troops en route for Pittsburg.

INCIDENTS AT ALTOONA.
307
On the evening previous at six o'clock, two hundred and
fifty troops of different commands left Philadelphia to rein-
force those already at Pittsburg. Arriving at Altoona the
next morning, the rioters in great force stopped the train
and took the engine into the round-house, swearing that
the troops should proceed no further.
Colonel Peter Lysle, who was senior officer in the differ-
ent detachments, now assumed command, and with a squad
of soldiers and a volunteer engineer from the militia, started
after the engine with the avowed determination to recap-
ture it. Several thousand rioters, fully armed with all
sorts of missiles and some weapons, now interfered, and
the first detachment of troops were compelled to move back.
Then the entire command marched down upon the mob,
but the latter had suddenly been reinforced by almost the
entire population of Altoona, and who so violently and
effectively assaulted the troops that they were quickly com-
pelled to give up the field. One company, with supreme
cowardice, threw down their arms and fraternized with the
strikers; many of the others bought tickets to return to
Philadelphia ; while the balance retreated precipitately to
a safe distance from the city. Those who attempted to
return to Philadelphia, ainong whom were many of the
City. Troop, the crack Philadelphia cavalry organization,
were ingloriously captured and completely humiliated and
disgraced at Harrisburg, as will shortly appear.
At the last-named city, the capital of the second great
Commonwealth of the nation, many stirring incidents trans-
pired. Because it was the capital, and the source from
which should emanate all authority for the eventual sup-
pression of troubles in Pennsylvania, made it no exception
to the ravages of the gigantic wave of communistic anarchy
which cursed the whole land. The railroad employees and
their sympathizers were all aware that Governor Hartranft

INCIDENTS AT HARRISBURG.
309
was absent, summering in the West, and they had very little
respect for any show of authority coming from any lesser
official.
On Saturday, the 22d of July, a meeting of fully four
thousand strikers and other persons was held on a common,
a few hundred yards above the depot, the leaders speaking
from the top of box-cars, and exciting the crowd to a very
violent pitch, it being fully determined by the mob to meet
force with equal force, and make quick work of any troops
that might be used against them.
From this meeting the rioters surged back to the depot,
and at eight o'clock in the evening, when a delayed passen-
ger train from the West appeared, detached the engine
several times, and finally ran it triumphantly to the round-
house, the passengers being compelled to accept the situa-
tion and lie over.
On the same day, the Fourth Division of Pennsylvania
Militia was ordered out, for the purpose of assisting in the
suppression of violence, and particularly for the purpose
of
guarding the three Susquehanna bridges.
At midnight of the same day an attempt was made by the
more fiendish of the mob on the Philadelphia and Reading
road near Harrisburg, to throw from the track a train con-
taining a company of militia, en route for Harrisburg, from
Pine Grove in Schuylkill County, by placing several iron
bars across the rails, but the obstruction was discovered in
time to prevent the wanton murder and destruction which
would otherwise have followed.
On the evening of the next day, Monday, a most humili-
ating spectacle was witnessed in the streets of the capital
city.
About four o'clock in the afternoon word was sent to the
mob which held undisputed sway, that detachments of two
Philadelphia regiments, among which were the City Troop

第三
​EN:
三
​IT
Rioters marching captured Philadelphia Troops through the streets of Harrisburg,

310
INCIDENTS AT HARRISBURG.
before referred to as having disgracefully fled from Altoona,
were on the western side of the river, and prepared to sur-
render their arms if they could be guaranteed protection.
Soon after, a crowd of nearly fifteen hundred of the mob
crossed the foot and wagon bridge to be present at the sur-
render of these brave soldiers.
When the militia saw this formidable body of men ap-
proaching, they were possessed of the idea that they were
to be immediately attacked, and drawn, and quartered; and,
becoming panic-stricken, fled in the utmost dismay up the
Susquehanna River.
After a time communication was established with the
troops, by flag of truce and other methods, and arrange-
ments were perfected for their surrender to the mob, which
occurred soon after.
The strikers then hemmed in their prisoners, and amid
the wildest cheers brought them back to the city, marched
them triumphantly through the principal streets, and even-
tually to a hotel, where the scared and exhausted fellows
were fed. They were compelled to stack their arms out-
side, and when they emerged from the hotel, they found
that their jolly captors had taken possession of and distribu-
ted them. Then the disgraced troops were again marched
through and through the streets in the business portions,
and
пр and down the residence portions, with the howling,
shrieking mob at their sides, who compelled the better
classes of citizens to hurrah and pretend to rejoice with
them. Finally, after the mob had exhausted themselves in
this
Way,
the poor fellows, like captured mice that cats had
tired of playing with, were turned loose, to get to their
homes as best they could.
Other straggling parties of soldiers, sent from different
parts of the State to reinforce the command guarding the
State arsenal, were similarly served, and their arms appro-

312
INCIDENTS AT HARRISBURG.
priated. These were subsequently turned over to the State
authorities in a fit of good humor on the mob's part, under
advice of Mayor Patterson, who seems to have acted with
admirable judgment.
Up to this time no plan for the protection of the city had
been formed. The Sheriff was absent, and Mayor Patter-
son felt doubtful about his authority extending beyond the
use of the police, which was wholly unable to cope with the
rioters. On the arrival of the Sheriff, late Monday evening,
a conference was immediately had with the Mayor, the re-
sult of which was to direct the police to call personally on
several hundred reliable men of the city, who were ordered,
at a certain signal, to assemble at the court-house. The
same evening, at a later hour, the mob began the work of
plundering gun and pawn shops. The preconcerted signal
was given, when the citizens rallied in large numbers with
such arms as they could procure.
Headed by the Sheriff and the Mayor, they formed in
solid ranks and marched rapidly down Market Street to the
depot. The rioters, who were then sacking a pawn-shop,
immediately broke and fled like sheep across the canal,
leaving the depot and the city streets in possession of this
very effective committee of safety.
It is simply an illustration of what determined citizens
can do when organized and led by cool-headed officials; for
this simple action utterly ended mob rule in the city of
Harrisburg
THE READING RIOT.
313
CHAPTER XXVII.
THE READING RIOT.

66
לל
On Saturday, the 21st of July, great excitement was
caused in the city of Reading, by the dispatches constantly
arriving from Pittsburg, Baltimore and other points. Bul-
letins were placed in front of the Eagle building, near the
corner of Sixth and Penn Streets, and attracted large
crowds. As the telegrams increased in interest, the excite-
ment increased, and in the afternoon about two o'clock a
meeting of trainmen, called a Union Meeting;" was held
in Columbia Hall.
It was chiefly composed of those engineers, firemen, and
brakemen who had cast their fortune with the Brotherhood
men during the April troubles on the Philadelphia and
Reading road, and was called to order by William Strunk,
a discharged Brotherhood engineer. There were about
twenty of these engineers present. The remainder were
firemen, brakemen, and rif-raff; but the meeting was held
with some degree of secrecy.
It was at once suggested that they precipitate as serious
troubles as were being experienced at Baltimore or Pitts-
burg. One man immediately proposed that they take a
keg of powder and blow up the Lebanon Valley railroad
bridge, a costly structure crossing the Schuylkill River,
about a mile and a half above Reading, and connecting
that city with Harrisburg.
The plan which was further discussed, was to place the
14
314
THE READING RIOT.
keg of powder just over a pier in the center of the bridge,
attach a long fuse to it, and then, as they forcibly expressed
it, “Blow the d—n thing into hell ! ”
Besides this cheerful arrangement it was proposed to go
down to the “Neversink Curve," about three iniles by rail
from Reading, and blast tons of stone from the rocky bluff
overhanging the tracks at that point, which would greatly
harass the company under existing circumstances. It was
also proposed that they proceed to the “Sinking Spring
Quarries,” and obstruct the trains there in like manner.
One Brotherhood engineer suggested that a portion of the
rioters
go
below Reading and stop the trains as suggested,
and others do a like service in the interests of anarchy
above the city.
It was finally agreed that they act at midnight; but when
it was attempted to secure a list of the names of those who
would stand by the execution of the nefarious work, the
Brotherhood engineers rose and left the hall. They had
suggested and incited the mischief, but, seeing that these
suggestions were likely to be carried out by the excited
crowd, they slunk away and left the work to be done by
bolder and braver men. Shortly after the meeting broke up,
no definite conclusion being reached, although a general
understanding was had that rough work was to be done.
In the evening the same crowd again met in Columbia
Hall. They sent a communication to a meeting of the
Brotherhood engineers, in which united action was re-
quested. It was not received, the point in this being to
impress the public with the idea that they could not be
drawn into any acts of violence. At the same time it was
quietly made known to the members of the other meet-
ing that both parties should meet at nine o'clock to tear
up tracks and stop travel. This, however, was broken up
by a fight which occurred among themselves during the


THE READING RIOT.
315
evening, and which had the effect of interfering with the
plans for general destruction for that night.
On Sunday the excitement continued to increase, and
culminated at about ten o'clock at night, when a large and
riotous crowd assembled at the corner of Seventh and Penn
Streets.
Seventh Street is occupied by the railroad tracks for a
long distance through Reading. The party mentioned was
headed by men with tin horns, and passed up Seventh Street
through this “ Cut.” The road is below grade for a dis-
tance of about four blocks north from Penn Street, and on
either side is a stone wall, about twenty-five feet at its
highest point, which is crossed by viaducts at Court and
Washington Streets. Through this cut the crowd surged,
hooting and yelling and making the night hideous with
their clamor.
The train from Allentown on the East Penn. road was
due about half-past ten o'clock, and arrived at the depot
simultaneously with the crowd, which rushed upon the
engine and threatened to kill the engineer. Two of the
depot officers mounted the tank, and, drawing their revol-
vers, threatened the crowd, but the engine in the meantime
was uncoupled and run back upon a side-track, leaving the
train at the depot.
The mob, which was headed by two men named Greth
and Weber, immediately began tearing up tracks and
wedging" switches. Two cabooses were set on fire, when
the crowd moved on, going west on the Lebanon Valley
road. The part of the mob in advance next set fire to a
freight train, using the oil and “waste ” taken from the
wheel-boxes, firing it and placing it upon the tracks beneath
the car's. They then gathered a large quantity of “waste,"
stole a huge can of coal-oil, and then started rapidly towards
the Lebanon Valley bridge.
THE READING RIOT.
317

This bridge is what is termed a “truss ” bridge, the
tracks being at the top, and the sides, which are about
twenty feet high, covered with sheet iron. The advance
party, numbering about thirty, and led by men named
Smith and Humphries, on reaching the bridge, crossed
over to the western end. Here they were met by the
watchman, whom they ordered to leave. They then raised
a trap-door leading down into the body of the structure
where a narrow gangway extends. Some seven or eight
descended through the trap, carrying the oil and “waste,"
and also large armfuls of broken wood. With this material
they built a large fire within the body of the bridge, after
which they came up the trap singly. Three of the incendia-
ries then went to the watch-box at the end of the bridge,
demolished the doors and windows, and then set it on fire.
They then passed out of sight, up the Lebanon Valley
tracks until they reached the switches, then turned north,
recrossed the Schuylkill at Tuckertown, and rejoined the
crowd at the eastern end of the bridge.
While the freight-cars and cabooses were burning, the
Reading firemen, led by their Chief, Howard Boyer, came
upon
the
scene,
but were prevented by the mob from making
any efforts to suppress the fire. The rioters held full and
undisputed sway. Six loaded freight-cars and two cabooses
were destroyed by this fire, which was burning while the
Lebanon Valley bridge was being consumed by the flames.
The structure so wantonly destroyed cost one hundred thou-
sand dollars. Its incendiaries were Alfred Smith, Samuel
Humphries, and a! man named Cunius. The two former
were tried and plead guilty. They were sentenced to im-
prisonment for five years in the Berks County jail. Cunius
has not yet been apprehended.
The leaders of the mob, who accompanied the bridge-
burners as far as the eastern end of the bridge, were Hiram

30
zeile
ALIE
Destruction of the Lebanon Valley Railroad Bridge at Reading, Pennsylvania.

318
THE READING RIOT.
F. Nachtrieb, Alfred Greth, and John Weber, all Brother-
hood engineers. It was admitted by Nachtrieb, under oath,
that he was at the bridge at the time it was set on fire.
These facts, taken in connection with the fact that Alfred
Greth and John Weber, two well-known men of Reading,
and long connected with the Brotherhood, were known to .
have given orders at the commencement of the destruction
on Sunday night, which was one continuous riot from ten
o'clock until early next morning, make it conclusive that
the members of the Brotherhood engineers, in Reading,
were alone responsible for the entire riot and its disastrous
consequences in that city and vicinity.
The passage through Reading of coal trains is the great
feature of railroad business at that point. These almost
numberless trains are made up at Palo Alto, some thirty-five
miles to the north of the city, all the coal shipped by the
Philadelphia and Reading Coal and Iron Company, and
also by the “coal laterals,” is forwarded through Reading
to the great markets of the East beyond, and, from a local
regulation, the trains are compelled to pass through the city
at a slow rate of speed.
During the forenoon following the bridge-burning, these
trains were intercepted in their passage through the city by
men jumping upon them, putting on the brakes, uncoupling
the cars, and throwing car-links and pins away. When the
train, called through that locality the “buck-rabbit” train,
from the fact that it stops at every little station, reached
Reading, the engineer was driven off, and the engine taken
charge of by Levi Rogers, a Brotherhood engineer. He
took the engine to Chestnut Street and gave it in charge of
the foreman of the shops, ostensibly for the purpose of pre-
venting destruction by the mob. Then the mob dumped
coal from the loaded car's upon the tracks to obstruct the
trains.
THE READING RIOT.
319

"
In the meantime arrangements were made with General
Pleasants, Chief Engineer of the Philadelphia and Reading
Coal and Iron Company, to call the Coal and Iron Police
from Pottsville, by telegraph, and they were to be met at
Reading by Captain Linden, of my force, who was to as-
sume command.
About four o'clock the “up” and “down passenger
trains meet at Reading. On the arrival of the “down”
train it was stopped in the "cut,” and the engineer, Michael
Cassidy, was ordered off. He stated that it was a mail
train, and protested against leaving. Some of the crowd
said that the mail-car could go on, and jumped upon the
platform, to uncouple it from the remainder of the cars.
Cassidy, however, had so arranged the air-brakes that they
could not be uncoupled. Alfred Greth, the Brotherhood
engineer before referred to, told Cassidy to remain on the
engine, that he would see that the train went through, but
he must not come back again. The train, after some delay,
and after backing up on the side-track, so as to get past the
coal on the tracks at Penn Street, passed on.
The Coal and Iron Police arrived from Pottsville about
six o'clock in the evening, and disembarked at the depot,
but their train being taken possession of by the mob, Cap-
tain Alderson and a party of ten of the Coal and Iron Police
made a splendid charge, and drove the mob away from the
platform. The train was started, but was stopped in the
“cut” by the mob. At that point it was no longer under
the protection of the police.
When the express train leaving Philadelphia at about
four o'clock in the afternoon, William Savacool engineer,
arrived at Chestnut Street, the engineer was obliged to
slacken speed. He saw that the track was blockaded with
coal, and an immense crowd was congregated at Seventh
and Penn Streets. Realizing his danger, and being a man
320
THE READING RIOT.
of determined character, he immediately put on full steam,
blew the whistle, and rushed at the rate of forty miles an
hour through the obstructions, scattering the coal in all
directions with such force that many of the rioters were
knocked down by the flying lumps. But the mob, which
immediately closed in after the retiring train, followed him
to the depot, and, while oiling his engine, he was assaulted
and terribly beaten, being compelled to fly for his life into

the depot.
A consultation was held about this time between Mr.
John E. Wooten, General Manager of the Philadelphia and
Reading Railway, George F. Baer, counsel of the company,
and Captain Linden, of my force, who had come down frorn
Philadelphia at a marvelous rate of speed on a small engine
called the “ Ariel,” during which it was decided that Cap-
tain Linden should take charge of the Coal and Iron Police,
and make an effort to guard the car-shops—those compris-
ing the most valuable property of the company at Reading.
When this force was about to leave the depot for that
purpose, the Fourth Pennsylvania Volunteer Militia was
seen coming down the East Penn. Railroad tracks towards
the depot. They had come from Allentown, and had
alighted from the cars at Temple, about four miles from
Reading, marching from that point into the city. General
Reeder, who was in command, was informed of the Coal
and Iron Police's intention to protect the shops, whereupon
he decided to assume protection of the depot. He said that
he was determined to release the train, which was still
standing in the cut. The Coal and Iron Police then took
possession of the car-shops, and General Reeder, with his
command, marched down the main tracks of the Philadel-
phia and Reading Railroad, and directly into the “cut,"
instead of pushing a portion of his command down the
sides, and another force through the cut.

THE READING RIOT.
321
The entire space in this cut was packed by an excited and
angry multitude. The street on either side of the walls was
also filled with rioters, men, women, and children. They
actually seemed to hang over the sides of the walls, like
bees upon the edge of a hive. The troops had no sooner
got into this narrow defile than they were fiercely attacked
by the crowd on either side. Bricks, stones, clubs, pieces
of coal, and every conceivable missile that could be secured
were hurled upon them, the women among the rioters ap-
pearing to be more ferocious, if possible, than the men. The
soldiers were unable to retaliate; and after numbers of the
troops had fallen, they suddenly fired, though without doing
much damage, owing to the protection offered the rioters by
the walls.
The crowd in front, however, in the meantime, instead
of running away, had wedged themselves more densely into
the “cut,” in order to resist the passage of the troops, who
by this time had become almost maddened by their helpless
condition, and who, with a seeming sense of desperation,
suddenly fired a heavy volley directly down Seventh Street
into the mob.
This had the effect of clearing the mob in front, but the
rioters on either side continued their reckless attack
upon
them. Unfortunately, numbers of the city police had been
stationed at the crossing of Seventh Street for the purpose
of keeping it clear for vehicles, and a number of these
police were struck when this volley was fired.
The soldiers, having cleared the “cut,” turned down
Seventh Street, halted at the corner of Fifth and Penn
Streets, re-formed, and then marched out Fifth Street to the
depot, where they halted for the night, leaving the train
just where it stood, and in no way affecting the condition of
affairs in the cut, or about the delayed train, except to in-
crease the fury of the mob. After the troops had returned
14*

Uurial
P&RRR
Rioters assaulting Soldiers in the cut at Reading, Pennsylvania.

THE READING RIOT.
323
!
to the depot, the mob having become maddened by the
fruitless resistance offered, and from the large quantities of
liquor, which it is alleged had been freely distributed to
them during the day by members of the Brotherhood of
Locomotive Engineers, now rushed up Penn Street, and
took immediate possession of the armory belonging to the
“ Reading Rifles," a local military organization under Cap-
tain Weinrich, and seized all the rifles at the armory, but
they proved to be useless, as some members of the
company,
fearing this, had removed the ammunition. The rioters then
made a rush for the car-shops with the intention of burning
them, after which they were to retire, for the purpose of
exterminating the militia, but, suddenly changing this plan
from one of those freaks common to mobs, they tore up the
railroad tracks south of Penn and Seventh Streets, ran
freight-cars, loaded with leaf tobacco, off the track, de-
stroyed the switches at Cherry Alley, and robbed the cars
of their contents. This concluded the riotous demonstra-
tions at Reading
On the next day, Tuesday, a general gloom settled over
the entire city and community, owing to the unfortunate
killing of so many persons. The mob became in a measure
demoralized, and seemingly began to consider the conse-
quences of their rash acts. They remained about the
depot all day, but made no decided demonstrations. Noth-
ing was done by the company during the day, the trains
all remaining standing as they were ; but it is a notable
fact that this was the only day, during the entire troubles at
Reading, when passenger traffic was suspended. It is also
worthy of remark that none of the employees of the Phila-
delphia and Reading Railroad were known to have partici-
pated in these riots. They were entirely the work of dis-
charged Brotherhood engineers, the rather large class of
firemen and brakemen, whom they had deluded into “ stand-

324
THE READING RIOT.
ing out” during the troubles in April previous, and the
sympathizers of both classes, of whom there were naturally
a large number.
On the same evening Mr. Baer, counsel for the company,
telegraphed Capt. Linden, asking him if he would furnish
protection to the repairmen if they could be secured to re-
lay the track early next morning. He promptly replied
that he would, and he at once detailed twenty-eight mem-
bers of the Coal and Iron Police, armed with Winchester
rifles. This organization had done such effective service in
the coal-regions during the Molly Maguire troubles, that
they were respected and feared, both for their bravery and
fidelity. Captain Linden was accompanied by Captain
Alderson, who had so bravely repelled the mob at the depot
on Monday previous with but ten men. They proceeded to
the corner of Seventh and Penn Streets, on Wednesday
morning at five o'clock, and in a short time the tracks were
cleared of the coal dumped there by the rioters, and the
rails relaid without annoyance or trouble.
This ended the delay caused by the riots in Reading, and
the stoppage of passenger-trains was only from Monday
night until the following Wednesday morning.
A great amount of ill-feeling was subsequently aroused
in Reading by the attempt to arrest and punish strikers and
rioters, and it was a frequent occurrence to have the hands
in the railroad-shops resist the apprehension of such per-
sons.
The accompanying illustration will give the reader a good
idea of such instances, and shows where a desperate man
was taken by Chief Cullen, rescued by his comrades, but
released and turned over to the officers on the promise
being given the men that the person arrested should be well
treated.

Arrest of a Striker in Reading, Pennsylvania,

326
TROUBLES IN THE COAL REGIONS.
CHAPTER XXVIII.
FURTHER TROUBLES IN THE COAL REGIONS.
All through the great coal regions of Pennsylvania, the
strikers brought trouble and dismay enough to fill a hun-
dred volumes, were they minutely recited. At Scranton,
at Wilkesbarre, at Shenandoah, at Plymouth, at Hazelton,
and at a score of other important and unimportant points,
the wild wave of turbulence rushed upon and beat the igno-
rant and disaffected miners and their sympathizers with
relentless fury.
A recital of the troubles at one or two of these points
will suffice for all, as they were almost precisely similar
thronghout the entire section. That vast body of men em-
ployed, and unemployed, in this grimy labor seems to be
forever in a condition where striking and violence are looked
upon as a welcome sort of change and diversion. With the
troubles elsewhere for an excuse, and the growlings and
mutterings of the trainmen nearer home to give the pro-
vided excuse more real force and might, they went into the
fight against what they always have assumed to be their
oppressors, the great coal companies, with as much genuine
fervor, and quite as much ignorance, as the crusaders went
to the holy wars.
Although the agitation and riots, brought about in this
section by the great strikes of '77, were begun at a later
period than at almost any other point so affected, it was
also true that they continued longer, and were not at the
beginning of 1878 yet wholly quieted. This fact illustrates
TROUBLES IN THE COAL REGIONS.
327
no particnlar feature of the great strikes, but brings more
forcibly to public notice the intensity of the feuds existing
between laborers and their employers in this terribly dis-
tracted and at all times turbulent region.
By July 29th, the labor crisis in the entire Lackawanna
Valley seemed to have nearly approached. The second
week previous, upwards of one hundred and fifty thousand
tons of coal had been shipped to the market. The week
previous to, and including, that date, not a tenth part of
that quantity had been sent out, and, during the subsequent
two weeks hardly a train-load was dispatched.
All the miners of the Delaware and Hudson Canal Com-
pany discontinued work on Saturday, July 28th, and those of
the Pennsylvania Coal Company were thrown out of work
the next day by the destruction of the “head-house” of
“ No. 5 plane,” and a bridge, by fire. This “head-house."
which was located in the woods, just east of Scranton, was
burned about three o'clock in the morning by a band of
over one hundred armed men, who took the watchman from
his watch-house, gagged him, bound him to a tree, and then
fired the “head-house,” around which they danced and
shouted in fiendish exultation, like a pack of demons, as the
flames progressed. Then the bridge was taken in hand
and served likewise. This wanton business threw the road
idle from Hawley east as far as Pittsburg. The men at
these mines were working on full time and shipping thirty
thousand tons of coal each week. Neither had
any
demand
been made for an increase of wages.
By Sunday, July 29th, not a mine in this great coal-produ-
cing valley was being worked, and all were fast filling with
water. How inuch of a disaster this is to coal companies
can be seen from the fact that in 1868 the Diamond
Colliery was idle three days for the repair of its machinery,
and it took eight months, and cost thirty thousand dollars,

328
TROUBLES IN THE COAL REGIONS.
to pump out the water which had accumulated in that short
time.
On Saturday a gang of six hundred miners surprised and
stopped a coal-train on the Delaware and Hudson road and
forced the men to abandon it. On the next day it seemed
that the whole section of country for a hundred miles in
either direction from Scranton had been utterly given up
to the lawless and fiendish elements; but on Monday there
was a sudden collapse of the strike along the Delaware,
Lackawanna, and Western road, after a week's siege, many
of the men returning to work at their old wages. The same
morning Mayor McCune, whose determination and bravery
subsequently came near costing him his life, sent word to
the executive committee of the railroad strikers that travel
must be resumed over the road the next morning, even if
the presence and use of troops were necessary to accom-
plish that result.
Accordingly the men called a meeting at one o'clock,
when a decision to allow trains to run was reached by an
almost unanimous vote, and in a few hours a passenger-
train was dispatched for Northumberland amid the univer-
sal rejoicing of the inhabitants. This train was greeted
along the route by great crowds, although no violent demon-
strations were made.
But the end was not yet.
In such a section of country as this, the important and
even overwhelming element in a general strike is composed
of the thousands upon thousands of miners. They number
from fifteen to twenty thousand in this valley alone, and
when they learned that the railroad employees had given
ир the strike, no language could express the bitterness and
hatred with which they denounced them.
All of this hatred and bitterness culminated on Wednes-
day, August 1st, when the disaffection so long brooding over

TROUBLES IN THE COAL REGIONS.
329
the city, and the senseless and unreasoning struggle of
labor against capital, brought forth riot and death.
The great mass of miners and other workingmen on
strike, dissatisfied over their defeat and chagrined at the
fact that many of their fellows were returning stealthily to
work, resolved on making a grand demonstration to sustain
their waning influence and browbeat the authorities, who
were quietly but surely getting the upper hand and com-
pelling a return of decency and order.
Accordingly a great mass-meeting was held on the morn-
ing of the day mentioned in the suburbs of the city, at which
between five and six thousand men were present. The criti-
cal situation was discussed by half-crazy speakers. Speeches
in the interest of order were received in sullen silence.
Finally an anonymous letter was read which produced
the wildest excitement. It stated that the assertion had
been made by W. W. Scranton, Esq., General Superinten-
dent of the Lackawanna Iron and Coal Company, that he
would soon have these thousands of miners by the throat
and where they would be only too glad to work for thirty-
five cents a day. No more wanton and cruel a lie was ever
constructed, but it had the desired effect. It set these
already excited and unreasoning fellows in a blaze of rage
and frenzy. The wildest confusion followed. Several
reporters who were found in the crowd were attacked, in
some instances beaten, and all their notes were captured and
destroyed.
This seemed to whet the appetite of the mob, and sud-
denly the vast assemblage separated into two squads and
proceeded to the machine-shops, foundries, and furnaces of
the Lackawanna Iron and Coal Company, assaulting and
driving away a number of men and boys who were at work.
They then rushed to the Delaware, Lackawanna and West-
ern car-shops. The workmen there were panic-stricken


0
GUTE
LÆNEN HILCT
MO
Attack upon the Mayor of Scranton, Pennsylvania,

330
TROUBLES IN THE COAL REGION S.
and fled in terror, but not before some of them had been
terribly beaten and otherwise injured.
During the attempted settlement of the troubles at
Scranton and vicinity, Mayor McCune had been unceasing
in his vigilance and efforts to bring about a restoration of
peace, without conflict. He had even declined the use of
the military soinetime previously tendered by Governor
Hartranft. But among the conflicting and vicious elements
necessary to be controlled there had grown up a bitter ani-
mosity towards him, for the reason that all criminally
reckless men naturally hate an officer whose honesty and
bravery compels him to oppose them. So that when he
appeared upon the scene he was everywhere greeted with
jeers and hisses. Every effort he could make or word he could
utter was wasted. He was quickly driven from the ground
in the most violent manner. Happening to meet the Rev.
Father Dunn, of St. Vincent's Cathedral, the latter took
him by the arm to protect him. While thus passing along,
the priest saw the mob wildly following a man whom its
members were stoning terribly. He stopped with the Mayor
to beg for the protection of the poor fellow, and the two were
immediately surrounded by the howling crowd. Soon the
appealing words of the priest were lost in the surrounding
din and yells of the rioters.
The Mayor then further endeavored by all means in his
power to quell the pandemonium, which only resulted in
the mobs being distracted from other deadly intentions to
wreak their vengeance upon him. Half a dozen burly
ruffians rushed upon him. He struggled valiantly with
them, and Father Dunn bravely sprang to his rescue. But
the rioters, despite this, were not to be deterred from their
murderous work. In the rush which followed, Mr. Lilly,
a lumber boss in the employ of the Delaware, Lackawanna
and Western shops, was brutally beaten.

TROUBLES IN THE COAL REGIONS.
331
Mayor McCune was hustled about fearfully for a few
moments, the brave and generous Father Dunn several
times throwing himself bodily between him and upraised
clubs which for a time were stayed by these acts of heroism;
but finally, Mayor McCune was struck a terrible blow on
the head by a club in the hands of one of the ruffians.
This was followed by another blow more stunning than the
first. He staggered and fell, and, with him, Father Dunn,
who was still bravely attempting to protect him.
Blood flowed freely from the Mayor's head and face, and
the brutal mob continued kicking and beating him, and
shouts soon went up from the crowd : “ The Mayor is
killed! The Mayor is killed !” This alarmed those in the
immediate vicinity, who fled, and the Mayor was allowed to
escape to a near drug store where his wounds were dressed.
A portion of the crowd then lifted Father Dunn from the
crowd and bore him bodily away to a place of safety.
At this moment there was seen marching down Lacka-
wanna Avenue, from the company's store, a body of armed
men with repeating rifles and fixed bayonets. It was a
posse which had been some time previously organized by
the Mayor, and they were now coming to his assistance, at
his request. They saw him bleeding at the street corner,
as they crossed Washington Avenue. Just as they were
approaching him for instructions, the mob attacked them
furiously. A large crowd had also followed them, and
began firing pistols upon them from behind. The company
immediately wheeled about and fired. Some aimed over
the crowd, and others fired with fatal effect killing four
men and wounding others.
The mob broke and fled in every direction; but the com-
pany kept on firing wherever they could see a threatening
crowd, and these volleys completely rid the streets of
rioters. The ghastly picture presented upon the streets as


TROUBLES IN THE COAL REGIONS.
333
the mob fled was horrible. On the corner near the drug-
store where Mayor McCune had his wounds dressed, lay a
man with the top of his head torn off and his blood and
brains scattered on the sidewalk. Three others in the
middle of the street were struggling in the last agonies of
death ; and large numbers of wounded were being carried
into drug-stores, or to their homes, by their friends.
This ended the bloodshed and riot at Scranton. On the
next day, General Brinton with three thousand troops, who,
from their experiences at Pittsburg and elsewhere, were in a
condition of feeling which would permit of no trifling, ar-
rived in the city, and immediate and effective measures
were taken to put down the terrible lawlessness and dis-
order which seemed everywhere rampant. Notwithstand-
ing the wounds of the Mayor, his bravery never deserted
him, and on Friday, the 29th, at the head of a posse, he
compelled the closing of the saloons, though every manner
of threat against his life was being continually made. The
troubles continued at this place and vicinity for several
weeks, breaking out with lessening degrees of intensity,
until finally quieted as much as it seems to be possible to
quiet this reckless class of workingmen; but this much was
only accomplished by the constant menace of large bodies
of militia that were finally followed by the regular troops,
whose presence everywhere during these lamentable occur-
rences commanded complete respect.
By Saturday, July 28th, Wilkesbarre, Pa., was also com-
paratively in a state of siege. It was surrounded by thou-
sands of miners and railroad strikers, who hung about the
mines and depots ready for participation in any
fracas that
might be precipitated, and varied this amusement by in?
sulting l'espectable citizens and plundering any and every
place which was left unguarded. This status of things
continued until the Wednesday following, when all mail
TROUBLES IN THE COAL REGIONS.
335

and passenger trains were stopped in a most brutal and
riotous manner, general bloodshed only being prevented
from the fact that the mob was permitted to wholly have
its own way.
In the meantime troops under Governor Hartranft had
arrived, but they had no noticeable effect upon the vast
crowds of miners, who went where they liked, and did as
they pleased. Illustrative of this insolence of the mobs
was a gigantic meeting of the miners held at Dana's Grove,
a beautiful piece of woodland, a short distance from the
city. On August 4th, fully six thousand of these daring,
reckless fellows proceeded to this grove, where they held a
general indignation meeting, aired their grievances, and
impudently sent messengers to Mayor Loomis, and Sheriff
Kirkindall, demanding to be informed why the military
was at Wilkesbarre and vicinity, threatening peaceful work-
ingmen like themselves. They then returned to the city,
marching through the streets with bands of music, insulting
everybody upon the treets, stoning any and every party
that might happen to arouse their ire, and in every other
way possible endeavoring to provoke a conflict with the
citizens and the troops.
But no further notable trouble occurred. Among the
many interesting features of the strike in the vicinity of
Wilkesbarre was the constant forcing of men, who were
willing to work, from the mines. Great crowds of ruffians,
hundreds of whom had never done a day's honest work in
their lives, armed with pistols, bluugeons, and knives,
would proceed to a shaft, and then, in Falstaffian pomposity,
pass resolntions of condemnation upon mine-owners, rail-
road companies, and all capitalists, when they would ap-
point a committee to descend the shaft and order the
laborers within the mine to discontinue work, on pain of
stopping the pumps and fans. Those at work well knew

ENS
HALAL
Miner's Meeting, at Dana's Grove, near Wilkesbarre, Pennsylvania.

•әиги ригиоррер эллага/S

TROUBLES IN THE COAL REGIONS.
337
how much danger lay in this threat, and all the efforts of the
mining “ bosses” to keep them at work were of no avail.
At Plymouth, the strikers secured the reputation of
being more persistent and vituperative than at any other
point within the State of Pennsylvania, save at Pittsburg.
Plymouth is situated just across the river from Wilkesbarre,
and is the real center of the vast possessions of the Lehigh
and Wilkesbarre Coal Company, which is itself the prop-
erty of the New Jersey Central Railroad Company. The
company has in the surrounding Wyoming valley about
twenty breakers, and eight thousand miners are employed.
These turbulent fellows give direction to public feeling on
all questions concerning labor or other matters, and the
result was that when the excitement concerning the general
troubles reached this region, every miner turned out, con-
gregated at Plymouth, and, although they made ne trouble
in the town itself, its entire inhabitants being in close sym-
pathy with the mobs, every devilish device which ingenuity
could suggest was brought to bear on crippling the railroad,
and particularly brought into requisition against permitting
the troops to pass through the place to the turbulent points
beyond. Tracks were torn up, torpedoes were placed under
ties, rails were piled across tracks, switches were spiked,
and every imaginable obstruction created. These scamps
never made a decided stand and invited a fight, but did
their work covertly and then dispersed; but they met
rather rough usage on the morning of August 2d.
On that morning a train loaded with troops—nearly one
thousand of the soldiers sent by Governor Hartranft
from Pittsburg on his famous flank movement, which
eventually ended the riotous troubles in Pennsylvania-
passed up the Lackawanna and Bloomsburg road on its way
to Scranton. At both Kingston and Avondale trouble had
occurred, and when Plymouth was reached the troops
15

338
TROUBLES IN THE COAL REGIONS.
were in no condition to be trifled with, particularly as they
had already learned of the vicious disposition of the rioters
at this point; and as rioters were found attempting to tear
up the tracks, they halted, swiftly deployed skirmishers, sur-
rounded the entire place, and at the point of the bayonet
prodded and huddled the scoundrels together, quite after
the fashion of Colonel Hamilton at Johnstown, Pa., and
finally took nearly one hundred prisoners in box-cars, like
so many swine, along with them. Many resisted arrest and
were fired upon, and wounded; but this treatment proved
effective at Plymouth, and though the tracks were torn up
immediately after the train passed on, the spirit and bra-
vado of the rioters at this point had been crushed.
And thus the spirit of mob rule surged back and forth
over this seemingly accursed region. At Shenandoah, at
Mauch Chunk, at Hazelton, at Bethlehem, and at a score
of less important places, these half hundred thousand
miners and their sympathizers, following this fearful fancy
which has pursued the same class from time immemorial,
that they can only hold their own against their employers
by periodical anarchy and riot, repeated the violence and
tragedy which forever bind them in the chains of their own
ignorant forging. They presented, as they have countless
times presented, the pitiable picture of men blind with fury
and
rage of their own nursing, standing before their own
work and taking the bitterly-needed bread from the mouths
of their fellows and their own families.
From over-production, and a hundred other causes which
have affected all interests, they were certainly having “hard
times in the mines ; ” but the idleness, the destruction, the
wanton pillage, the stoppage of investments from fear of
the results of all enterprise, were the consequences of their
own brutal work. While we may pity them, we cannot but
condemn them with a touch of horror and dismay. They

TO
Quelling a Riot at Plymouth, Pennsylvania.

340
THE STRIKE AT PHILADELPHIA.
will not work themselves; they will not permit others to
work. They kill and plunder and butcher like demons,
destroy the very interests which place bread into their
mouths; and then, because they have recklessly crippled
their employers, strike and kill and burn again. And thus
these rounds of terror have gone on and on, until what
should be the fairest garden-spot of the great Common-
wealth of Pennsylvania is swiftly becoming such a pest-
hole of anarchy and murder that it would almost seem that
the time is not far distant when it will become necessary
to chase these demons, like foxes, from the fair mountains
with fire and sword.
CHAPTER XXIX.
THE STRIKE AT PHILADELPHIA, NEW YORK, AND UPON THE
ERIE RAILROAD,
It may be fairly stated that the great strikes of 177
brought comparatively no violence to either Philadelphia or
New York, the largest two cities of the country. There
was naturally great excitement in both places, but no active
demonstrations by the rougher elements were permitted to
gain either the force of terror or riot. There was every
condition for all the terrors that reckless men, run wild, are
capable of inspiring. There was loss to business men, gain
to newspapers, rushing to and fro, senseless, ludicrous, and
pathetic incidents without number, and common apprehen-
sion and excitement; but, tersely stated, those cities have
the most effective police organizations in America, and that
fact alone prevented untold loss of property and life. In
THE STRIKE AT PHILADELPHIA.
341
the discussion of the troubles consequent upon the great
strikes, this fact has been overlooked. Our great cities
above all things need strong police forces. Then head them
with brave and honest officers, and remove them irrevocably
from corrupting political influences, and when riot and tur-
bulence raise their ugly heads, honest men and decent citi-
zens will find that they have a protection, and not a weak-
ness, in their midst.
I do not say that the police forces of these cities have
reached the degree of purity and independence suggested,
but it is certain that they have been made strong in num-
bers, very perfect in organization, ready and quick from
most excellent discipline, and effective and powerful from
being led by fearless and experienced officers. No other
reason can be given why Philadelphia and New York
escaped the disgraceful scenes enacted in almost
every
other
place of any importance north of the Ohio River.
Although great excitement had existed in Philadelphia
from the very beginning of the troubles at Pittsburg, the
strike
proper did not reach the city until July 22d. At six
o'clock that evening it had extended along the line from
Pittsburg to this city, and coupled with this movement was
the joining of the New York Division people with their
brethren of the main line. Everything was done very
quietly, but the men seemed determined to make the com-
pany as much trouble as possible. A special train had
brought Major Stokely's family from Long Branch the day
previous, but the crew had “struck” as soon as they had
reached West Philadelphia.
The railroad officials were not much excited on account
of the strike here, as it had been expected, and came quietly
and without any turbulence on the part of the trainmen,
who suddenly became very discreet when they learned how
well the authorities were prepared to receive them. Aside


342
THE STRIKE AT PHILADELPHIA.

from this, Colonel Scott never for one moment swerved
from his original purpose, the foresight and wisdom of
which no thinking business man can question, to place the
entire responsibility of preserving the peace and operating
the Pennsylvania Central road in safety, upon the city and
State authorities. Lawless citizens of the State had taken
violent possession of the road and the company's property.
What power besides that of the State was competent, or
should be compelled, to return it ?
From six o'clock until dark the strikers were apparently
inactive. The vast crowds that had collected at the spacious
depot during the day-surging back and forth about the
grounds, and rushing into and out of the nest of saloons on
Market Street opposite—had finally dispersed until but a
few remained. It was thought that they had gone to their
homes, and the authorities began to congratulate themselves
that the storm would pass over the city without leaving its
destructive trail. In this they were mistaken; for, although
the police had so well guarded the approaches to the depot
and tracks that none except working employees and depot
attaches had been permitted to pass the cordon, with the
darkness the crowd of strikers and rif-raff began to gather
thickly upon the bluffs, and shortly after open acts of vio-
lence were begun.
It was determined to stop everything upon the road, save
through mail trains, not even shifting-engines being allowed
to run. Engine No. 435 was attached to a train of nine oil-
cars,
with tanks filled, destined for Harrisburg. When the
train was about starting, it was surrounded, and the engineer
was told that he must not move it. At the same time the
locomotive was uncoupled from the cars and returned to
the round-house. At about nine o'clock the Southern Ex-
press
left the depot, but had proceeded only a short distance
when it was also surrounded and stopped. The engineer

THE STRIKE AT PHILADELPHIA.
343

stated that he only intended to take the train with his loco-
motive, which was a shifting-engine, as far as Thirty-third
Street, where the regular engine would be attached. The
strikers allowed the train to pass, but informed the engineer
that no more shifting-engines would be permitted to run,
either inside or outside of the yards. This engine shortly
returned, and its fires were raked out, which placed a final
embargo upon matters here.
Meanwhile, the crowd upon the high bluff above the
tracks had become larger and more vicious and boisterous.
There were but few policemen at this point, and they were
powerless to control the mob. Large torpedoes were placed
on the rails, exploding as the mail trains passed, and increas-
ing the general excitement.
The police several times endeavored to drive back the
mob, but had not sufficient force at hand, and were event-
ually compelled to retire, when Chief of Police Jones
ordered reinforcements sent to the point. When these had
arrived, Captain Curry, who was in command of the
squads, called out in a loud voice: “Gentlemen, you will
have to leave that bank! This place must be kept
clear!”
The crowd, which by this time numbered about five hun-
dred, only responded by derisive yells and jeers. Captain
Curry told his men to stand firm, preparatory to giving
them orders to charge on the mob, when, luckily, Lieutenant
Schoolly, of the Seventeenth District, suddenly appeared in
the rear of the mob. This was the signal for another chorus
of yells, and the crowd then began stoning the police in both
directions.
“At them with your clubs !” shouted Captain Curry.
The policemen drew their maces and charged up the hill
upon the rioters, handling their clubs so vigorously and
effectively that the strikers, after a short and vigorous

99
ram
Philadelphia Police clubbing the Mob from the Pennsylvania Central R. R. Depot.

THE STRIKE AT PHILADELPHIA.
345
resistance, finally broke and fled over the bluff, back into
the streets of West Philadelphia.
No arrests were made, the officers deeming that course
ill-advised, as it would only cause bitterness and further
excitement among the strikers. They simply hit a head
wherever they could find one belonging to a striker.
Earlier in the evening, after the stopping of the shifting-
engines, nearly two hundred of the strikers proceeded to
the New York freight shops, at Thirty-eighth and Palmer
Streets, where about fifty men were at work. These were
violently driven from the buildings, and the fires put out.
The shops lower down would have been similarly treated,
but, as it was Sunday, there were watchmen about. These
scenes of disorder were followed by placing nearly three
hundred policemen along the top of the heights, stretching
from Callowhill Street bridge on the west side of the road.
The grim file of policemen, with accoutrements glittering
in the moonlight, stood along the brow of the hill, masters
of the situation, but momentarily anticipating grave dis-
turbances. When parties of from a half dozen to fifty were
ordered to "move on,” they would comply in such a wolfish
way that the greatest patience and good judgment were
required to prevent collisions.
Oh, we won't resist, we won't! We ain't got no rocks in
our pockets, we ain't! Oh, no!” they would shout at the
police, in a way that made some of the officers tremble for
consequences should active trouble occur.
But fortunately
the night passed without riot, and in the early morning the
place had the appearance of a tranquil camp, for here and
there along the tracks and at the edge of the bluff could be
seen police on their beats, thick as soldiers on duty, and at
intervals relief squads stretched out on the grass or upon
boards, as soundly snoring as though in their own beds.
On this morning it was decided by Colonel Scott and
15*
346
THE STRIKE AT PHILADELPHIA.
Mayor Stokely to have the moving of freight begun, but
such menacing crowds gathered at Callowhill Street bridge,
with the evident determination to oppose it, that the execu-
tion of this plan was abandoned until General Hancock
should have arrived with regular troops. By ten o'clock
the mob had increased until it numbered nearly a thousand
persons, and its members began forcing their way in upon
the bridge and upon the cordon of police in so threatening
a manner that Chief Jones, who, with Captains Wood and
Heins, was upon the ground, ordered the crowd to disperse.
This command not being obeyed, the police charged on the
crowd and pitilessly clubbed its members until they fled in
every direction.
It had been something of a mystery to the authorities,
during the morning, what had become of the main body of
strikers, as the crowd at Callowhill Street was composed
chiefly of vagabond boys and idle ruffians, but their move-
ments became known between ten and eleven o'clock, when
the clang of fire-engines was heard and clouds of dense smoke
were seen ascending from the lower end of the city. The torch
had been applied at last. The strikers had fired an oil-train,
part of which consisted of the cars which had been stopped
on the previous night, but had been taken in the morning
to a point on the Junction Road near South Street bridge,
and just opposite the almshouse. To the original train had
been added a large number of cars from the West Chester
Road, the whole string extending over nearly a quarter of a
mile of track. Six fire-engines were promptly on the ground,
under the personal supervision of the Chief Engineer, but
it was almost impossible to stay the flames, owing to the
great difficulty, from the intense heat, of getting near the
fire, and also from the fact that the entire supply of water
had to be taken from the Schuylkill River. Four hundred
police formed a hollow square around the burning train


THE STRIKE AT PHILADELPHIA.
347
and with difficulty protected the firemen from the ruffians
who predominated in the crowd of nearly ten thousand ex-
cited people that surged back and forth with a strong deter-
mination to prevent the use of the engines, if it were possi-
ble. But, as in every other instance in Philadelphia, the
police were on hand in such large numbers, and so effect-
ively officered, that the strikers dared not interfere. Four
box and two tank cars, all laden with oil, were necessarily
left to the flames, the heat was of such a terrible intensity.
The wooden tanks in the box-cars being open, no explosion
was expected from them, and none came, but when the
flames at length reached one of the iron tanks, there was a
stunning explosion that shook the earth, and a column of
blazing oil shot up into the air to a distance of at least fifty
feet, and in its descent some of the burning fluid plashed
into the faces and over the persons of two of the firemen,
burning them terribly. It was with the utmost difficulty
that the fire was confined to the cars, but a general confla-
gration, which the fiendish incendiaries had intended, was
finally averted.
The first regular troops arriving in the city came from
Baltimore, where they had been on duty for three days
previous, just after noon, and consisted of one hundred and
twenty-five marines, under command of Lieutenant-Colonel
Hayward and General Hancock. They reached the city at
two o'clock, being followed during the afternoon and night
by several hundred regulars. No other events of impor-
tance occurred in Philadelphia on Monday.
By noon of Tuesday the force on duty in this city, and
which could be relied on to maintain the public safety, was
divided as follows: 1,400 armed policemen; 400 armed fire-
men ;
700 United States regular troops, with batteries;
125 marines ; 2,000 special policemen, sworn in during the
day; the Veteran Corps, increased to 500 men ; volunteers

348
THE STRIKE AT PHILADELPHIA.
who had enlisted to form a regiment of 1,000 “ emergency”
men; and five companies of the Grand Army of the Re-
public. Besides this, Mayor Stokely was anthorized to
increase his special police force to 1,000 men, which made
a force of upwards of 7,000 fighting men, well armed and
equipped.
Governor Hartranft arrived in Philadelphia Wednesday
afternoon, and quietly set to work arranging matters for
his campaign, which comprised a great show of troops at
Pittsburg and the subsequent handling of matters in the
coal regions. He was greatly assisted by Colonel Scott, who,
it is worthy of remark, showed most wonderful
energy
dur-
ing the troubles, never for a single moment leaving the West
Philadelphia Depot, where he remained night and day, so
long as there existed the slightest possibility of trouble.
The first spilling of blood, during the strike in Philadel-
phia, resulting in death, happened near the North Pennsylva-
nia Depot on Thursday evening. A mass meeting of strikers
was held at Fourth and Berks Streets, and the efforts of the
police to disperse the crowd and break up the meeting,
which was becoming a dangerous one, ended in the killing
of one rioter and the wounding of several rioters and police-
In this instance the police were compelled to fire
upon the members of the mob, who had savagely resisted
the attempts made to disperse them, attacking the police
both with stones and fire-arms. In every instance in Phila-
delphia where a mob was attacked, there was so effective a
handling of the police that there was no balting until the
work had been thoroughly done, and the last man showing
resistance clubbed from the streets, or into submission.
Riotous crowds learn these things quickly, and the result
is that their courage oozes away in just the proportion
that the police force shows itself determined and even
most mercilessly persistent in the execution of duty. For-

men.

THE STRIKE AT NEW YORK.
349
tunately Philadelphia had, and has, this kind of a force;
and for this reason, and no other, that city escaped with the
few ripples of disorder mentioned, so trifling as to hardly
deserve record.
The thorough and magnificent preparations made by
che First Division of the New York State Militia and the
New York City police checked the threatened disorder in
that city at the very outset, and left nothing whereon
to hang the slightest fear or expectation of an outbreak.
Some trepidation was felt as to the result of the monster
mass-meeting which was called by the choice spirits of the
communists, to be held at Tompkins Square on Wednesday
evening, July 25th. As no opportunity had been given the
rougher elements to get force and headway by these turbu-
lent gatherings, the communists, under the leadership of
Justus Schwab, a saloon-keeper, John Swinton, a news-
paper writer and general agitator, and David Conroy, a
rank stirrer up of political strife in a small way, had deter-
mined to hold an out-door meeting to air their grievances,
and the city authorities had concluded to permit it, partly to
ascertain the temper of the classes from whom trouble was
expected, and partly for the purpose of making the fight, if
one had to come, so decisive that the mercilessness of their
beating would teach them the lesson of compliance to law
and order at a time when it so much needed to be taught.
Justus Schwab called at Police Headquarters and intima-
ted to General Smith, President of the Board of Commis-
sioners, that it would be just as well to keep the police
away from the meeting, as his followers might become infu-
riated by the sight of the blue-coats and exterminate them.
The doughty General promptly replied that the custom
of sending policemen to preserve order and await contin-
gencies at all public meetings would not be deviated from
in this instance, whereupon Mr. Schwab was desirous of
350
THE STRIKE AT NEW YORK.
knowing just how close they would be stationed. But “old
Baldy," as the General is called, was not to be caught nap-
ping in that way, and rather tartly responded that he was
not at liberty to give the exact distance in feet and inches,
and the great communistic leader departed, giving vent to
ısubdued mutterings.
By a wise provision of the laws of New York State, in
case of insurrection, or expected outbreak too formidable
for the Police Department to control, that department is
authorized to call upon the military without any unneces-
sary intervention of “red tape," and the First Division
State Guards, under General Shaler, was put in readiness to
act in prompt and hearty unison with the police.
The Police Commissioners and Superintendent Walling
disposed of the force at their command in a very creditable
manner; for while large bodies of patrolmen covered
threatened points, no part of the city was left unguarded.
The forces covering Tompkins Square were distributed as
follows: Mounted squad and mounted patrolmen from up-
town precincts, under Sergeant Revell, at the Eighteenth
Ward Market, foot of East Seventeenth Street; three hun-
dred patrolmen at the Seventeenth Precinct Station House,
corner of Fifth Street and First Avenue, Inspector Murray
commanding; two hundred patrolmen at the Eighteenth .
Precinct Station House, Twenty-second Street, under In-
spector Thorne; one hundred and sixty men at the Elev-
enth Precinct Station House, commanded by Captain Al-
laire; and one hundred men in reserve at Police Head-
quarters, under Captains Hedden and Gunner.
A glance at the map of New York will reveal the strength
of the position taken by the police and the impossibility of
any crowd penetrating beyond Houston or East Fourteenth
Street or Second Avenue. The ability shown in this superb
arrangement of the force at command was wholly due to


THE STRIKE AT NEW YORK.
351
the military foresight of General Smith; and I cannot re-
sist the assertion that we should have more brave, capable,
and experienced ex-military officers at the head of our
police departments in large cities. In case of a reverse,
the police were backed by the Seventh Regiment, whose
armory, at Sixth Street and Third Avenue, is within five
hundred yards of Tompkins Square. This regiment could
have reached the Square in less than ten minutes, and the
most distant of the other three could have arrived within
twenty minutes. Besides this, nes
Besides this, nearly every part of the city
was covered by the Central Office detectives, as well as by
scores of my own detectives from my New York offices, at
66 Exchange Place, all of whom made reports concerning
the temper of the lower classes of people in different quar-
ters of the city, and also as to the movement and numbers
of
any crowds that might be found congregating ; while
stages were sent to Police Headquarters to transport the re-
served force to any threatened point.
At no time in the day was there any excitement at Police
Headquarters.
Everything went as smoothly and noiselessly as though
no strike and wide-spread excitement had ever existed; but
it may be said that while the people of other cities all over
our country were pausing almost breathless to await the re-
sult of this very Tompkins Square meeting, the New York
authorities, who were acquainted with the disposition and
condition of their splendid forces, were actually chuckling
among
themselves at the fine rows of broken heads that
would be assorted the next morning if that mob, whatever
its size or temper, dare make one motion of revolt which
should warrant the giving of orders that would unloose the
avalanche of police and militia upon its members. It was
ordered that no mercy should be shown and that the forces
should give it to the cominanists right and left, front and

352
THE STRIKE AT NEW YORK.
rear, until the mob element of that city once for all should
be crushed out.
But fortunately this treatment was not found necessary.
Some hint of the condition, numbers, splendid equipment,
and unflinching determination to quell all disturbance,
possessed by the police and militia forces, had been con-
veyed to the most blatant of the promoters of the meeting,
and everything passed off in comparative quiet, when the
previous threats and mutterings of these communists were
remembered.
The meeting itself was probably one of the largest, if not
indeed the largest, open-air gathering that had ever been
known in this country. But it was in every sense a weak,
characterless demonstration. Two grand stands had been
erected, one for the use of German, and one for the use of
English speakers. Huge calcium lights were provided,
and they gave a weird look to those standing in the
shadows. The Square was packed and jammed full, but
hardly a policeman was in sight. This vast concourse,
which fairly represented the murderous elements of New
York, in some way felt that they were standing there under
the very muzzles of trained guns, and the feeling dampened
their law-breaking ardor and threw a sort of uncomfortable
funeral-air over the entire meeting. Not all the rantings of
these
crazy
leaders could lift the rabble out of this somber
atmosphere into a condition of enthusiasm; and Tompkins
Square was as clear of loiterers as it ever was on a moon-
light night, at half past nine o'clock.
Before ten o'clock the militia were informed of the
utter peace prevailing, and the following order effectually
snuffed out the last vestige of the demonstration :
" TO ALL: Promptly suppress all disturbances in your precinct, and dis-
perse all crowds on the street-corners.
“G. W. WALLING, Superintendent.”

OUR STRENGTH
LIES IN THE
JUSTICE OF
OUR DEMANDS
LET THE
ALLE
ORKINOMER
OF THE WORD
BEALE Del
E.M.
Great Communistic Mass-Meeting at Tompknis Square, New York City.

354
THE STRIKE ON THE DRIE RAILROAD.
This telegraphic order was sent to all precincts at mid-
night, and, an hour later, a stranger passing through the
streets of New York could never have imagined that one of
the largest mobs ever known had been so thoroughly dis-
membered that nothing but the memory of its harmlessness
was left.
This was the beginning and ending of turbulence during
the great strikes in New York City. Of course the place
shared the general injury, felt the general apprehension, and
was touched and stirred by the general excitement. But
that was all.
For what trouble was experienced in the State and city
of New York, the communistic spirit of certain railroad
employees at Hornellsville was responsible, the same as
Martinsburg was responsible for the troubles in West Vir-
ginia and Maryland, and Pittsburg was responsible for her
own calamity and that of the entire State of Pennsylvania.
The strike was inaugurated at Hornellsville at one
o'clock in the morning of July 20th, the next day after the
strike occurred at Pittsburg. It was decided upon just be-
fore midnight of the previous day, and was announced at
the New York headquarters of the company in less than
fifteen minutes afterwards. Every train was then ordered
to stop running, which had the effect of keeping hundreds
of railroad hands away from the seat of trouble. The stop-
page of trains on the road continued just six days, and
fifteen hundred troops were brought here to assist in quell-
ing disturbances. Although they also occurred at Corning,
Elmira, Susquehanna, Salamanca, and at other points along
the Erie road, from the first, all eyes were directed to
Hornellsville, as the place contains the largest numbers of
railroad employees of all grades of any point along the road,
and the unruly spirit of many of these men had really
precipitated the entire trouble throughout the State.
THE STRIKE ON THE ERIE RAILROAD.
355
The leading mind in the matter was one Barney Donahue,
a cripple, but a bright, fluent, impulsive fellow, who was
continually stirring up dissensions, from the loose manner
of his language, rather than from any real malicious motive.
Donahue began working on the road as early as 1850, and
had consequently seen nearly thirty years' service on the
road. His private character was good, and, when finally
placed behind the bars of Ludlow Street Jail, in New York,
for contempt of court in conspiring to obstruct a road in
the hands of a receiver, and consequently under protection
of the United States Courts, it was his first criminal offense.
The man himself is about five feet seven inches in height,
with sandy mustache and hair. He is a fluent, earnest
talker, is possessed of exuberant spirits, and is one that,
among certain classes, would be termed "jolly good com-
pany.” His influence among the trainmen arose from his
long, and generally considered faithful, services to the Erie
road, his ability to make himself generally liked, and a
feeling of affection mingled with pity on account of his
crippled condition. His leg had been broken in an acci-
dent on the Susquehanna Division, and his hand had been
crushed in a “smash-up” on the Northern Central Division
of the road near Canandaigua, in the winter of '76 and '77.
Inflammatory rheumatism set in and further crippled him.
He was then placed on the “extra-brakeman ” list, and only
managed to make enough money to pay his board, and that
of a very poor sort. He had finally left the service of the
company, but remained at Hornellsville in no pleasant
mood, and in just a condition of mind to assist in foment-
ing troubles.
Finally, when the men resolved to quit work, they made
Donahue chairman of the joint committee, pledged them-
selves to abide by his advice and decisions in everything,
and, froin their standpoint, made the man, as far as was in


356
THE STRIKE ON THE ERIE RAILROAD.
ways famil-
their power, dictator of the road. It is worthy of remark
that though it was claimed that fully twelve thousand
employees were relied on by Donahue to hold out until the
order for the reduction of ten per cent. on wages, which
caused the strike, was rescinded, but little brute force was
used at any point along this line, a very few broken bones
resulted from collisions, while not a single person was
killed.
Donahue claims that this was prevented by a general
understanding had among the trainmen that no violence
would be tolerated. However this may be, though the
employees were very determined, considerable good humor
prevailed; and the strikers seemed to rely for their success
more upon the prevailing trouble, upon annoying the offi-
cials, and upon obstructing trains in a thousand
iar to trainmen, without coming in direct contact with the
local authorities or the military, than upon the use of that
ferocious and devilish brutality which disgraced the opera-
tions of all bodies of strikers in so many other sections of
the country.
An illustration of this was found in an attempt to move
a passenger train west from Hornellsville, on Sunday morn-
ing, July 22d. Several train-loads of
Several train-loads of passengers had accu-
mulated there, and were willing to run any risk in order
to reach their destinations further west. At about nine
o'clock the train was made up, and after it was literally
covered with troops it slowly moved out. The road west
out of Hornellsville climbs Tip Top Summit, one of the
heaviest grades on the line, and at least a thousand strikers
had determined that the train should never reach the top of
this grade, if a lively application of grease, soap, and torpe-
does could prevent it.
So it was a question of time, and the strikers used it to
the best of their ability. Whenever the train would reach
358
STRIKES AT BUFFALO AND OTHER POINTS.

a greased spot the driving-wheels of the engine would spin
like a top. The engineer would then let on sand, and a
little more speed would be secured. Then a dozen torpe-
does would explode amid the deafening yells of the stri.
kers, who, in hundreds, ran on beyond the train and worked
with might and main at the soaping and greasing. Every
struggle of the engine over the slippery spots would be
greeted with shouts of derisive laughter, terrifying the pas-
sengers, discouraging the soldiers, disheartening the engi-
neer, but always prompting the strikers to redoubled exer-
tions. The struggle was too unequal. These hundreds of
fellows knew just how much soap and grease to use, and
just where to use it; and after the train had labored along
this
way
for about a mile, the strikers finally captured it
and took it back to the city with the wildest demonstrations
of delight.
On the morning of July 26th, the strikers gave up the
fight, and set about getting things in good shape again with
as much determination and spirit as they had shown in
their previous attempts to compel an unlawful victory.
CHAPTER XXX.
THE STRIKES AT BUFFALO AND AT POINTS ALONG THE LAKE
SHORE AND MICHIGAN SOUTHERN RAILROAD.
The alacrity with which the New York Militia responded
to the call, made upon them by Governor Robinson, was
not only creditable to the men themselves, but was an in-
dorsement of the sensible policy of that State to encourage
and sustain a force competent to cope with trouble in just
such exigencies. The law of that State permits the enlist-

Strikers soaping the track near Hornellsville, N. Y., and preventing the movement of trains.

STRIKES AT BUFFALO AND OTHER POINTS.
359
ment of twenty thousand non-commissioired officers, musi-
cians, and privates. The enthusiasm and efficiency of this
body of the National Guard have been considerably raised
within the past few years by the introduction of rifle-prac-
tice. There are now eleven rifle ranges in different parts
of the State used by the troops, and some of them, like
Creedmoor, have become great resorts. The improvement
in marksmanship has been conspicuous. The last annual
appropriation by the State Legislature for the use of this
militia amounted to $275,000. The result of this in New
York, where the lawless elements prevail proportionately as
largely as in any other State of the Union, was to prevent
during the great strikes more violence and destruction of
property than would pay for the support of this force for
the next fifty years.
Troy, Albany, Utica, Syracuse, and Rochester, all being
largely manufacturing towns, contained a large population
of hard-fisted, restless fellows who naturally pride in dis-
order, and whose peculiar ideas of law and right fitted them
for looking on participation in riot and violence in the light
of a very desirable and enjoyable diversion. These men
could have, and would have, made short work of any local
officers. When they suddenly found that they had in their
midst bodies of splendidly-armed men, ready to try conclu-
sions with them on the slightest show of violence, their de-
sire for this kind of sport became controllable; and only
one point in this entire great State was visited with disorder
which could not easily be controlled.
That city was Buffalo.
In this city the general strike was inaugurated on Sun-
day, July 22d, by men from the Erie road, compelling the
trainmen of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern road to
join them; but no rioting occurred until the next day, when
early in the afternoon a raid was made by nearly two thou-

STRIKES AT BUFFALO AND OTHER POINTS.
361
sand of the rioters on about one hundred and fifty militia,
who had been ordered to guard the round-house of the
Lake Shore road. They gained a complete victory, forcing
the troops out with little trouble, after which the mob took
possession of the round-house and barricaded it most effec-
tively. Colonel Flach, of the Sixty-fifth Regiment, with
more confidence in the prowess of his men than knowledge
of the stuff of which mobs are made, attempted with only
thirty men to recapture the round-house and shops. They
were met with yells of derision from the crowd, who could
have successfully resisted twice the number sent against
them, and under a terrible shower of stones and bits of iron,
were compelled to retreat on the double-quick, forcing their
way through the mob that had flanked and surrounded them,
at the point of the bayonet. Many of the soldiers were
severely clubbed and cut with knives. Six of the troops
lost their muskets, and Colonel Flach himself was clubbed,
twice knocked down, and finally forced with his men to re-
treat across the canal and take refuge in the Lake Shore
paint-shop, from which they were all subsequently rescued
by the police !
The only other conflict of a serious nature occurring at
Buffalo transpired on the same evening. This was one of
the sharpest and most exciting struggles which happened at
any point during the great strikes.
Brigadier-General Rogers telegraphed Captain Towle,
commanding the Seward Guards, a local military organiza-
tion of Westfield, N. Y., to report to him with his command
at the earliest possible moment at Buffalo.
Pursuant to this order the Seward Guards were assem-
bled, and were able to leave Westfield, for Buffalo, at half
past seven o'clock in the evening, with no thought of the
terrible reception they were to receive. Some cowardly
scoundrel connected with the railroad company's telegraph
16

FLUMINEN
TIL 100%
atti
II. It
pal
'D
Futile attempt of the Militia to capture the Strikers' Round-House Headquarters at Buffalo.

FARLIE
Fight between the Westfield, N. Y. Militia and the Buffalo Rioters.

362
STRIKES AT BUFFALO AND OTHER POINTS.
office, at Westfield, had sent a message over the Atlantic
and Pacific Telegraph Company's lines, giving information
to the strikers in Buffalo that the troops had left Westfield,
and of the time they might be expected in the former city;
so that, as they were rolling along pleasantly towards Buffalo,
a reception committee of several hundred ruffians were
quietly arranging plans to make the arrival of the brave
Seward Guards a memorable one.
The orders to Captain Towle were to take his command
to Buffalo Creek bridge, but before the train had arrived to
within a fourth of a mile of that point, red lights were
shown, and the engineer had the choice of stopping, or
taking the chances of being ditched. He stopped the train,
which was immediately boarded by hundreds of rioters, who
cut off the rear car containing the Westfield company, per-
mitting the engine and the forward cars, containing passen-
gers, to proceed into the city.
1
The appearance of the mob in such immense numbers,
and so unexpectedly, prevented any provision being made
to guard the doors, although Captain Towle himself bravely
defended the front door for some minutes. A rush was
then made through the rear door, and in less than half a
minute between fifty and sixty of the infuriated scoundrels
had filled the aisle and were making the air blue with their
shriekings and cursings while demanding the guns from the
troops. Orders had been given to fire under no circun-
stances, or provocation, until a distinct command had been
given. The Captain refused to yield a gun.
The leaders seemed to wish to avoid violence, but the
rabble was utterly beyond control, and soon revolvers were
drawn on the militia, while the hundreds outside set up
the
cry,
66 Run them in the lake!” Dump them into the
creek !” together with the vilest expressions of abuse. A
few of the men, not knowing what to do, gave up their guns,
66
364
STRIKES AT BUFFALO AND OTHER POINTS.
and miscellaneous firing quickly began. Those who had
captured muskets got on the outside of the cars, jammed
the muzzles through the glass and shutters and then fired,
while others of the mob hurled rocks and fired revolvers
through the windows. All this time a hand-to-hand fight
was going on inside the car, the soldiers clubbing the rioters
with the butts of their muskets and firing whenever oppor-
tunity offered. At one time four men had Captain Towle
down, choking and beating him, but he was rescued in
time to save his life, and permit him to go on with his
plucky work of cracking heads.
In the meantime the mob had increased to nearly three
thousand persons, and were pushing the car violently back
and forth. As it was sheer folly for a company of fifty-
seven men to cope with a mob of thousands, the troops de-
termined to fight their way out of the car and through the
mob. Those leaving the rear door went out precipitately,
but the troops passed out of the front door in good order,
pushing the ruffians before them. It was now seen that
the enemy had retired somewhat, which gave the troops
opportunity to form, when the mob again began to close
up
and advance. Orders were given to fire in front and on
both flanks, which was done with good effect.
Then orders were given to reserve fire, as ammunition
was scarce, and the company, deploying skirmishers, were
now able to effect a retreat towards the lake, which they
did, carrying their wounded upon hastily improvised litters.
This was in the neighborhood of Tift's Meadows, a locality
which will ever remain memorable to the Westfield militia.
They finally secured quarters at a friendly German inn,
where their wounded were kindly cared for by the physi-
cians of the neighborhood. The Westfield militia passed
into the city the next day, and the mob remembered them
with respect.


STRIKES AT BUFFALO AND OTHER POINTS.
365
At no time during the troubles at Buffalo were the New
York Central men concerned in the lawlessness, and the
movement of trains over this road, while not wholly unin-
terrupted, in the main, resisted the encroachments of the
unruly elements. As previously stated, the men of the
Lake Shore road had no original intention of joining the
strike, and were forced out by the trainmen of the Erie
road. But when they were once out, they were very obsti-
nate about returning to work.
But it is worthy of record that out of the hundreds of
striking trainmen in Buffalo, not a score were identified
with the mobs. The latter were composed, precisely as
they were in Chicago, of the communists and the very
scum of the place. This element was effectually quelled
in Buffalo, on Tuesday, and that, too, without the use of the
troops.
Early on that morning the mob, its members armed with
every manner of cudgel, conceived the idea of putting a
stop to all kinds of labor. The crowd therefore visited
large numbers of factories and shops, and compelled them
to close. In some instances they were successfully resisted
by armed employees, assisted by squads of policemen. But
this kind of lawlessness was carried so far, and so insolently,
that at last Colonel Byrne, the able and efficient Chief of
Police, completely out of patience, determined to put a
stop to it at all hazards.
At about ten o'clock, in East Buffalo, the mob became
very demonstrative, pelted the depot with stones, set fire to
freight-cars on the New York Central tracks, between
Clinton and Howard Streets, and finally attacked the police
themselves with great violence; and Colonel Byrne deter-
mined upon radical measures. He sent two huge wagon-
loads of men to the relief of Captain Wurtz. With these
the latter proceeded to the vicinity of the crossing. The
366
STRIKES AT BUFFALO AND OTHER POINTS.

ate.
men on duty there, holding their own with difficulty against
the throng, had already received their instructions, and, at a
preconcerted signal, made a feint, drawing the attention of
the mob towards a central point. Then instantly the main
body of police, numbering seventy-five men, formed in line
across the wide street, facing the city and the backs of the
mob. Every one of these officers carried the heavy-weight
baton, a terrible weapon when wielded by a skilled and
muscular arm.
“Now, boys, slash 'em !” shouted Captain Wurtz, and in
another instant such a grand charge was made as words fail
to describe, and those only who were hit can fully appreci-
Like lightning the clubs descended and ascended.
Every stroke hit a new head, whose owner went solidly to
the ground or howled in continual somersaults. The officers
seemed to put their whole souls and strength into this com-
mendable work, and from the field of conflict rose cries of
pain which could be heard a mile away. The ront was
complete and final, and by midnight the East Buffalo
grounds were as clear and quiet as a country field on a
Sunday afternoon.
All trains over the Erie road were running into the city
on Friday ; the Canada Southern road resumed operations
on Sunday; but the return to active freight business by
the Lake Shore road, which reinoved the last traces of the
strike at Buffalo, did not occur until the third of August.
The only noteworthy sensations created by the strike at
Erie were the leaving of the Erie troops under General
Huidekoper, to reinforce the soldiers at Pittsburg, and the
excitement caused by the refusal of Mr. Vanderbilt to per-
mit loaded passenger trains, arriving in that city from
Chicago, to proceed to Buffalo. On Tuesday, July 24th,
the train from Chicago arrived at Erie at about noon, and
was loaded down with passengers anxious to get through to

ಈ ಪದಗಳು ಕನ್ನಡದ
uns
March of General Huidekoper's Command from Erie to Pittsburg.

STRIKES AT BUFFALO AND OTHER POINTS.
367
Eastern cities. By Mr. Vanderbilt's special order the train
was abandoned, it being feared that serious trouble would
be encountered should it be sent on to Buffalo.
The train was therefore abandoned, and the strikers, feel-
ing that this action was calculated to bring discredit upon
them, assembled at the depot in large numbers and threat-
ened to run the train through to Buffalo. Their efforts
were seconded by the passengers, who were equally indig-
nant. The strikers fired up an engine and were about to go
out with the train, when orders were received by the Divi-
sion Superintendent to detain the train at all hazards. The
Sheriff, Mayor, Chief of Police, with the entire police force
of the city, and one hundred special men, went to the depot,
and after barely escaping a riot, succeeded in preventing
the movement of the train. The strikers at Erie then sent
a telegram to President Hayes, asking him to insist on the
Lake Shore road moving the United States mails at once.
The President failed to answer this message. The trains
from the West continued to accumulate at this point until
Thursday, July 26th, the hundreds of delayed passengers
using the coaches for sleeping apartments.
General Huidekoper, “the one-armed hero of Gettys-
burg," and in command of the State troops of the north-
western portion of Pennsylvania, had a difficult and try-
ing time of it attempting to get to Pittsburg to reinforce
the troops there. The strikers all along the different rail-
road lines leading to that point prevented the transportation
of his troops by rail, and no conciliation or threats could in-
duce the trainmen to raise the blockade.
But go to Pittsburg with his command he must, and
would. They accordingly started from Erie upon a forced
march, as in the old war days, after a time pressing into
service every sort and manner of conveyance possible. In
this way they trailed over the hills and through the valleys

STRIKES AT BUFFALO AND OTHER POINTS.
369
like a parcel of uniformed Gypsies, meeting with hundreds
of amusing incidents consequent to the first march of raw
troops, and finally reaching their general rendezvous, at
Franklin, in the oil regions, in a rather dilapidated con-
dition. Being tired of this sort of progress, General Huide-
koper decided to use the railroad, and, by a clever ruse,
secured transportation from this point to his destination.
A request was sent to the Superintendent of the Penn-
sylvania Railroad, who asked the authorities of the Buffalo,
Titusville and Corry Railroad to send to Pittsburg, as soon
as possible, eighteen empty passenger cars, for the use of
the former company.
On their arrival at Franklin, General
Huidekoper had his men in readiness, and immediately took
possession of the train, put a strong guard on the locomo-
tive, and started. Revolvers were presented at the heads of
the engineer and firemen, who at first refused to run the
train; but they were given to understand that that train
must be speedily taken to Pittsburg or there would shortly
be two less railroad strikers in existence. This had the de-
sired effect, and the Fifteenth and Seventeenth Regiments
were finally landed safely in the “Riot City.”
At Cleveland, the most beautiful city of the North,
although the strike was general among the trainmen of all
roads centering here, from first to last no violence was
apprehended and none came.
Two important facts contributed to this pleasant con-
dition of things. The city of Cleveland holds, as an invest-
ment, bonds of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern
Railroad to the extent of nearly a million dollars. The
city, therefore, as a municipal corporation, is largely in-
terested in the profits accruing from the operation of the
road. The amount thus received by the city is pledged for
the redemption of the Water Works loan, and thus every
tax-paying citizen of the place has a direct and tangible in-

16*

370
STRIKES AT BUFFALO AND OTHER POINTS.
terest in the safe and successful operation of this particular
and important line. Therefore if the strikers themselves
had been inclined to grow riotous, they would have received
no sympathy and aid from the great masses of citizens,
without which no violence from such a source can succeed.
But aside from this, the strikers at Cleveland at no time
showed the least disposition to precipitate disorder, and on
all occasions let it be plainly understood that no riotous de.
monstrations on the part of the rabble would be permitted.
The second cause entering into a prevention of hostilities
was found in the action taken by President Devereux, of
the Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Indianapolis Rail-
way, who, before his men had been given time to get
excited and venturesome, on July 23d, promptly stated to
them that they might all go to work on full time, and at an
advance of ten per cent. in wages. This offer was joyfully
accepted, and both the trainmen and slopmen resumed their
labors the next morning, which removed the last vestige of
apprehension of riot and violence at Cleveland.
At Toledo the troubles were undoubtedly intensified and
lengthened by the unexplainable action of that city's Mayor.
On Wednesday, July 25th, several thousand trainmen, steve-
dores, shop-hands, and other laborers assembled in front of
the United States Hotel, on Ottawa Street. The meeting
was noisy and turbulent, and was called for the purpose of
uniting all classes of workingmen upon an earnest support
of the striking railroad men. Mayor Jones was present,
and being called on for remarks, responded by giving the
mob element courage and impudence. He said that it was
eminently proper for them “to march quietly to the manu-
facturers and request them to alleviate their distress." He
also stated that he would not advise the mob to do this, but
if they should happen to do so, they should not want for the
necessaries of life so long as he was Mayor of Toledo !
STRIKES AT BUFFALO AND OTHER POINTS.
371
This was about the choicest encouragement given to the
roughs of any city during the great strikes, and at the con-
clusion of the same they formed in line, marched the whole
length of Water Street to the depot, and then from place
to place, driving every manner of laborer from his work,
until all the manufacturing establishments in the city were
closed.
A mass-meeting of the better class of citizens was held
in the evening, but it was captured by the rioters, who from
this time kept the entire city in a blaze of excitement all
night, but who were prevented from demolishing the Board
of Trade building by a most efficient use of the police.
While the rioters were surging back and forth through
the city, and meeting with but little resistance, several hun-
dred determined men met at the Boody House and organ-
ized an effective Vigilance Committee. The next question
was how to properly arm them; but Sheriff Moore settled
this by ordering them to report to the Court-house yard
early the next morning, when they should be served with
everything necessary for the defense of the city. It had
come to the ears of the authorities that nearly five hundred
stand of arms were secreted at a certain point. At a late
hour of the night, when everything had become compara-
tively quiet, the Sheriff and a quiet but business-like posse
sallied forth from the dark shadow of the jail.
The party proceeded stealthily up Adams Street. By a
circuitous route the men finally reached a point at the lower
end of Monroe Street. Not more than two or three of the
men knew the destination of the party. Under the circum-
stances, the expedition was indeed exciting. Nearing the
place where Sheriff Moore said the halt was to be made,
something resembling another party of men was discerned
through the darkness. Every man laid his hand upon his
revolver, but the objects finally were found to be merely


و
I Beads
Lucky Capture of five hundred Stand of Arms by the Committee of Safety, Toledo.

372
STRIKES AT BUFFALO AND OTHER POINTS.
several harmless express wagons. The command to halt
was given, and the officers knocked at the door of a small
cottage. The man of the house came tremblingly to the
door.
“Who's there?” he excitedly asked.
“ Friends ! ” was the rejoinder.
“ Divil knows who's frinds, these times !”
“ Never mind, we are friends,” said Sheriff Moore. Fol-
lowing this, came a hurried consultation that inany of the
loyal sons of Erin could have plainly understood.
There was no more delay after this. The man of the
house, in very scant clothing, accompanied by his good wife,
terribly excited, and in still scantier clothing, quickly led
the way to a capacious hen-honse, next the alley, in the rear
of the house.
The hens and chickens flew in every direction, but there
was something more important to be looked after than these,
for, piled up in different places about the little building,
were seen mysteriously marked boxes, which were soon con-
veyed to the Court-house with great caution and secrecy.
When the members of the Vigilance Committee reported
the next morning they were astonished to find that five hun-
dred breech-loading rifles were on hand, besides sixteen thou-
sand rounds of ammunition.
Sheriff Moore's move was made none too soon, for these
five hundred rifles and ammunition, which had been pur-
chased for the use of the Fenians several years before, and
stored
away
in this Irishman's hen-roost, would have been
captured by the rioters, who had planned to honor this novel
arsenal with a visit at eight o'clock in the morning.
With a proper use of the police, aided by the local mili-
tary and this splendidly armed Vigilance Committee, riot
and bloodshed were prevented in Toledo; but it was not
until August 2d that the embargo upon railroad business was
374
PITTSBURG FT. WAYNE & C. R.R. TROUBLES.
removed, and it was only then effected by the police and
militia moving in large force upon the strikers holding the
railroad tracks, shops, and depots, and taking possession of
these places by a free use of the club, and at the point of
the bayonet, which had the effect of removing all railroad
obstructions between Buffalo and the West.

CHAPTER XXXI.
PITTSBURG, FORT WAYNE AND CHICAGO RAILROAD TROUBLES,
AND THE “BIG SCARE” AT LOUISVILLE.
FROM Allegheny City, back along the Pittsburg, Fort
Wayne and Chicago road, the strike held the firmest and
most secure sway that reigned upon any railway line in the
country; but, as has already been explained, through the
universal respect held for the General Manager of the road,
J. D. Layng, Esq., the moderation and good judgment used
by him in the treatment of strikers, and from the noticeable
effect of the excellent discipline in force among all em-
ployees of the company, from one end of the line to the
other, good order and a fair measure of good humor pre-
vailed.
At Alliance and Crestline there was quiet determination
among the trainmen, and, of course, that great excitement
among
other classes of citizens which could not but exist
everywhere; but at no place along the entire line was there
found anything approaching violence or riot, save at Fort
Wayne.
The strike was inaugurated here late at night, on Satur

PITTSBURG, FT. WAYNE & C. R.R. TROUBLES.
375
day, July 21st, the same day of the Pittsburg riot, and was,
undoubtedly, a direct result of that disgraceful affair.
The strikers began by preventing freight train No. 15
from going out. In a few moments several hundred train-
men assembled at the depot, and announced that no freight
trains should be moved until the order for the ten per cent.
reduction in wages was rescinded. The railroad officers
made several unsuccessful attempts to secure crews, but
found it impossible. The strikers then spiked and guarded
the switches, and patrolled all the main and side tracks
in the city. The master mechanic and division superin-
tendent, with an engine-wiper, boarded a locomotive with
the intention of taking it out, but were prevented from
doing so by the strikers, who took the engine-wiper from
the locomotive, handled him rather roughly, and drove the
officers from the yards, when they proceeded up and down
the tracks taking the coupling-pins from between all cars.
On the next morning, Sunday, Mayor Zollinger visited the
scene of disturbance, and read his proclamation command-
ing the rioters to disperse, which was treated by them as
merely a huge joke.
Matters remained in about this condition for several days,
the strikers having complete possession of the tracks, shops,
and depots, and conducting their affairs with much military
color and discipline. They patrolled the tracks, slept in the
passenger-coaches and cabooses, ready for immediate action
if they should be attacked; guards were placed over the
company's property and all freight in transit, that it might
be protected; and the strikers were provided with food,
tobacco, and cigars, by sympathizing citizens, in abundance.
They pronounced a war of extermination against tramps
and vicious communists, whose only object was pillage and
destruction; and it was a common occurrence, when these
reckless fellows were caught in some dastardly attempt upon
376 PITTSBURG, FT. WAYNE & C. R.R. TROUBLES.
property, to pursue them, capture them, and then hustle
them to the bridge over the river, where they were uncere-
moniously dropped into the water beneath, and left to
scramble to dry land as best they might. This condition of
things continued until Saturday, July 28th, when the strik-
ers won two desperate but blooodless contests with the
Mayor, Sheriff, and railroad officials.
About
noon,
while many of the trainmen were at dinner,
Mayor Zollinger, Sheriff Munson, and Superintendents Gor-
ham and O'Rourke, accompanied by a large force, made a
bold and sudden attack upon the strikers at the round-
house, and ordered them to surrender both that point and
the
passenger-cars which they had been occupying as head-
quarters during the previous week. They refused, when a
locomotive, which had been taken possession of by the
authorities, backed down to where the coaches were stand-
ing. Mayor Zollinger then coupled the cars to the engine,
which then started away. The strikers were for a moment
dazed by the suddenness of this move, having expected the
policy of masterly inactivity, which had so far prevailed, to
be maintained to the end; but they speedily rallied, and,
arming themselves with clubs, stones, coupling-pins, links,
and anything else convenient, they dashed at the engine and
recaptured it, with the coaches. Several men, flourishing
clubs and bludgeons, boarded the locomotive, drove off the en-
gineer and fireman, and compelled the officers of the law to
beat a precipitate retreat. The mob yelled itself fairly hoarse
with triumph, and in a brief period had swelled to five hun-
dred, all of whom were well provided with clubs and missiles.
The Sheriff soon returned, and attempted to arrest the
ringleaders and strikers, but was again beaten back, barely
escaping personal injury.
The strike at Fort Wayne died of its own weight, and
passed out of existence with the almost simultaneous raising


Hotel servant-girls striking for higher wages at Ft. Wayne, Indiana.

378 PITTSBURG, FT. WAYNE & C. R.R. TROUBLES.
of the embargo on business along the entire line; but one
other incident, illustrative of the ludicrous side of these
great labor upheavals, is worthy of record.
It has been noted that at Newark, Ohio, the ladies of the
city composed the real power of the strike. Something
similar was the case at Fort Wayne, although the enthusiasm
was restricted to a particular class. These were the hotel
servant-girls.
At an early stage in the proceedings great excitement
was found to exist among them. There were handsome
conductors, brave engineers, bold firemen, and doughty
brakemen, fighting for their rights. These classes wonder-
fully stir the average hotel servant-girl's heart under ordi-
nary circumstances. Now that they were engaged in a holy
war,
the very souls of their admirers went out to them, and
many were the elegant lanches which disappeared out of
the back doors of hotels, and finally into the always ready
mouths of the strikers. But the matter did not stop here.
Through this sympathy and enthusiasm, born of the com-
mon excitement, the striking fever was communicated to
the tenderer sex that make hotel life heavenly or miserable.
Why should not they have a strike, in imitation of the bold
trainmen? They did strike, and every rosy-faced waiter-
girl, every big-boned dish-washer, and every blarneying
chambermaid, at a prearranged hour, marched into the
dining-room of every hotel in Fort Wayne, and, in the name
of each over-worked hour and underpaid day treasured up
in their memories, solemnly demanded an increase in wages
of fifty cents a week!
There was no use of calling in the military on an occasion
like this.
The girls struck, and they won.
A ripple of riot, born of the billow of fire and rapine
which deluged Pittsburg, reached even into the quiet, well-
THE “ BIG SCARE” AT LOUISVILLE.
379
ordered city of Louisville. It was merely a tempest in a
teapot, which boiled itself away after a few hours of mob
antics, in which no lives were lost, and with but little more
destruction of property than annually accompanies the
Sophomore“ breakout” of many Eastern colleges.
The reason for the meagerness of evil results from the so-
called riots in Louisville are, that no city in the country had
been so little affected by the increasing stringency of the
times. During the past ten years the history of Louisville
has not been marked by any era of feverish speculation;
manufactories had not been started to remain idle; and
for years the business policy of Louisville has been noted
for shrewdness and caution.
Therefore, when the hour of dread came, its streets were
not packed with gaunt, hollow-eyed men, asking for bread
or work. But a universal scare was abroad, and the evi-
dences were soon manifest that a “horrible fear” had come
over Louisville.
The Courier-Journal, the great director and exponent of
public opinion in Kentucky and the South, in its issue of
July 23d had a most able and comprehensive review of
the situation in other cities. It eloquently and earnestly
exhorted the workingmen of Louisville to remain quiet,
which had a wonderfully beneficial effect. But all day
Monday and Tuesday solid old fellows, made timorous by
imperiled capital, might have been seen in knots and
groups, canvassing the probable hour when social anarchy
would unchain its devouring wolves.
Tuesday morning, July 24th, Mayor Jacobs made procla-
mation to the unemployed, disaffected, and discontented.
The Mayor is a gentleman of wealth and culture, whose
life of elegant ease hardly fitted him for a rough grapple
with a turbulent city mob; but he was ready to do his
whole duty at whatever cost.


380
THE "BIG SCARE” AT LOUISVILLE.
$
All the excitement and quasi-devilment which did occur
in Louisville was but the natural result of a universal ex-
pectation that something “terrible was going to happen.”
It was the old story of the fond mother telling her squiad of
children, that “while she was out visiting, whatever they
did, they must be sure not to put beans up their noses.”
The consequence of her timely admonition was that, on her
return, she found each individual youngster with his nasal
appendage stuffed full of the aforesaid garden fruit.
Thus a small percentage of thoughtless and inconsiderate
workmen, a sprinkling of howling communists, vicious
tramps, mischievous boys, and idle city riff-raff, determined
that the popular anticipation of disturbance should not be
disappointed, and they accordingly proceeded to give the
citizens of Louisville a breezy bit of excitement. From the
first act to the last of the riotous drama, the mob was at no
time so formidable but that a squad of a dozen determined
policemen could have driven it before them, or scattered
it to the winds in five minutes. That this was not done at
the first outbreak is due to the fact that the Chief of Police,
Colonel Edwards, made no well-organized attempt in that
direction.
In the Louisville mob there was not a railroad man, or a
l'espectable mechanic. Its members were merely negroes,
half-grown boys, tramps, and cowardly thieves, who had no
defined object beyond smashing windows and gas-lamps.
Colonel Edwards dignified the vile rabble by not venturing
to attack it, and waited for the organization of citizen sol-
diery before attempting to compel them to disperse.
The railroad troubles had been of a very ordinary charac-
ter. It was merely the old question of higher wages, or rather
an agitation looking to receiving the former pay on the part
of the employees. On the Louisville Short Line Railroad ,
Receiver McLeod, about July 16th, had cut down the рау
of
THE "BIG SCARE” AT LOUISVILLE,
381
the men a trifle, but it was promptly restored to the old
standard by order of Chancellor Bruce, when the proper rep-
resentations had been made. Consequently, the employees
of this line were thoroughly loyal to the company, and
ready to defend its property to the last extremity. The
workmen in the shops of the Louisville and Nashville Rail-
road made a very respectful plea to Dr. Standiford, Presi-
dent of the road, for increase of pay back to the old rate.
Dr. Standiford, a gentleman of broad and enlightened views
on all subjects, gave the matter due consideration, and the
result was a compromise which was satisfactory to all par-
ties, so that on the very eve of the disturbances the rail-
road element was eliminated as an active principle in the
trouble.
Tuesday morning, July 24th, the excitement opened by a
strike on the part of two hundred negro sewer-hands, who
demanded an increase of twenty-five cents per day. Any
one understanding the mercurial nature of that childish and
ignorant race, would readily know that it requires but the
veriest trifle to stimulate them into making a show of them-
selves. · They had been perfectly satisfied with their wages,
but right here was a glorious opportunity to parade the
city and be looked at with curiosity by everybody. The
prospect was too tempting to be resisted. So all the Sam-
bos clambered out of the sewers, shouldered their shovels,
and started on a straggling march up Green Street. They
were exuberantly hilarious, and whooped along the street
in the highest good humor with themselves. Nothing short
of a general “ baptism,” or funeral with a brass band at the
head of the procession, could have given them the same
amount of intense satisfaction.
Intelligent speculators regarded the affair as a most
amusing travesty on the strike mania, and predicted that it
would act as an effectual dampener on a similar demonstra-


382
THE "BIG SCARE" AT LOUISVILLE.
tion on the part of the whites. In any event the white
workingmen did not turn out as a body at any time during
the disturbances. The colored strikers, after giving infinite de-
light to a multitude of Dinahs and pickaninnies who crowded
along the line of march, concluded that they must make a
show of doing something, and accordingly directed their
steps to the eastern outskirts of the city, where about one
hundred of their colored brethren were employed working
upon a new reservoir. All these promptly quit work, on
invitation, and gladly joined their rollicking visitors in the
pleasing pastime of promenading the streets. Then these
combined forces marched around until the lazy ones began
to drop out, and, finally, the amusement becoming stale, the
dusky band dissolved.
From eight until ten o'clock Tuesday evening, July 24th,
the trouble called the Louisville riots occurred. At a trifle
before eight o'clock a crowd began to gather in front of the
wide steps of the Court-house. It was composed of the
usual lawless element, which always forms a certain propor-
tion of every public assemblage. Negroes, half-grown
rowdy boys, and dirty, disgusting tramps, and many com-
munists, were in the preponderance. From the latter class
came the speakers of the evening. When the crowd had
been harangued by one of these individuals for a few mo-
ments, Mayor Jacobs slowly worked his way through the
perspiring, foul-smelling gang, and from the Court-house
steps, made a most kindly and feeling address to the mob.
It is unnecessary to say that it was utterly wasted. The
mob had determined to show what could be done.
A self-constituted leader sang out, “ Let's mash the Louis-
ville and Nashville freight depot !” A chorus of fiendish
yells of approval was screamed out, and a ragamuffin gang
of about five hundred separated from the respectable por-
tion of the crowd, and with foul oaths and ribald shouts
THE "BIG SCIRE” AT LOUISVILLE.
383
straggled down Seventh Street to Broadway. Here they
spread out, completely filling that wide and magnificent
avenue, pursuing their noisy way to the Louisville and
Nashville Railroad Depot, at the corner of Ninth Street and
Broadway. Opposite the front of this structure was a suit-
able quantity of stones and pieces of brick of assorted sizes,
which the mob availed themselves of at once, and opened
a brisk fusillade on the windows of the depot, until not a
pane was left in the front of the building. Three police-
men, who were standing near talking over the coming visit
of President Hayes, at the time of the appearance of the
mob, were too polite to interfere with the amusement of the
crowd, and precipitately adjourned around the corner.
Several railroad clerks, who were busy at the time the
bombardment commenced, scurried out of the line of fire,
coatless, hatless, and with pen behind ear. After the mob
left they cautiously returned to their desks, but upon seeing
some respectable citizens approaching who desired to see
what damage had been done, they mistook them for another
inob and forthwith jumped out of the windows and used
their legs with such effect that some of them did not get
home until morning.
After the depot divertisement the riotous gang turned
about and marched up Broadway, carrying terror in their
path. They bounced, hustled, and knocked down persons
whom invincible curiosity had tempted out, insulted ladies
and indulged in every manner of excess.
The destructive-
ness of the cowardly moh developed itself in wanton attacks
on private property. With shrewd forethought each one
of the scoundrels freighted himself with all of the stone
and brick ammunition he could carry, and expended it
where it would do the most evil. Dr. A. B. Cook's and
Mr. Delaney's elegant residences were assaulted with disas-
trous effect. The crash of the breaking glass and screams



HOTELUN
HONY
BALEVOL.
Drunken. Rioters attacking Private Residences in the Streets of Louisville.

THE "BIG SCARE” AT LOUISVILLE.
385
of ladies and children were pleasingly commingled (in the
opinion of the mob). Solger's superb confectionery estab-
lishment at the corner of Fourth and Broadway, was a
choice tit-bit for these epicures of ruin. They shouted with
rapture when they came to it, and stoned it until the whole
front was demolished. After this delicate bit of sport had
been duly enjoyed, the gang marched up Third Street, near
Chestnut, and paid their dutiful respects to his honor, the
Mayor, by saluting his fine residence with a volley of stones,
which broke the windows, damaged the pictures and furni-
ture, and frightened the family nearly out of their senses.
After this congenial recreation they continued their course
up Third Street to Walnut, where they desolated a corner
drug store. Dr. Standiford's palatial residence, which is
but half a block from Walnut, on Third Street, was too
tempting an object for its ravage to be neglected; conse-
quently they sent a couple of cart-loads of stones and brick-
bats into it with undiminished zeal, and with the usual ruin-
ous results. When the salute in honor of Dr. Standiford
was over, they decided to move on the Louisville Short Line
Depot, corner of Floyd and Jefferson Streets, for general
purposes of wreck and pillage. On the way thither they
manifested a charming impartiality in the distribution of
their favors. They sent stones whizzing into all the resi-
dences on both sides of the street, without stopping to in-
quire the names of the owners. When the tumultuous,
yelling throng arrived at the Short Line Depot, about
twenty policemen and citizens, armed with muskets loaded
with blank cartridges, saluted them with one terrifying
volley. This had the effect of dispersing the first and last
mob that gathered in Louisville during the great strikes.
The military episode of the disturbances was so unique
in character, and bristling with piquant incidents to be
laughed over in future years, that every Louisvillian can be
17

386
THE "BIG SCARE" AT LOUISVILLE.
An army
very much obliged to them for an agreeable diversion from
every-day business routine.
Political party fences were thrown down in the crisis,
and the sharp distinction between “Yankee” and “Rebel,"
which the years had been slowly mellowing away, was ob-
literated entirely by the shadow of a cominon danger.
Two regiments of infantry, a squadron of cavalry, and a
battery of artillery were organized, officered, and filled to
the full complement of men within two days.
corps of twenty thousand men could have been furnished,
with its quota of brave, competent officers, in the same
length of time, from the splendid military material at hand.
Generals Basil Duke and Benjamin H. Bristow, Generals
Ward and Eli Murray, met as friends in a common cause;
and, down through all the ranks, old soldiers of the “ Blue
and the Gray” mingled as comrades true. It was a sight to
thrill the heart and flush the cheeks of every true American,
to see those bronzed men, who had fronted each other as
foes in the wild delirium of battle at Shiloh, or who had
looked death at each other on the Cemetery Slope at Gettys-
burg, meet as brother soldiers at a common mess-table.
The hubbub and excitement incident to military organiza-
tion intensely delighted the younger men, to whom the late
war was only a dim memory; and they fairly bubbled over
with enthusiasm at the novelty of drills, street parades, and
standing guard. These brave young fellows would have
been untrue to the warlike traditions of their martial State,
if they had not looked forward with considerable zest to a
possible conflict of arms.
General Basil Duke and his staff of able officers, under
direction of the Mayor, made all needed arrangements to
meet any emergency. The railroad property was guarded
every night for a week; and the main avenues of the city
were patrolled all through the night by a'med men.
After
COMMUNISM AND RIOT AT CHICAGO.
387

nine o'clock in the evening, all citizens who happened to be
out on the streets were halted, and made to give an account
of themselves. In fact, such precautions were taken as
are visual with an army occupying a hostile city.
As the days wore on, it became evident to the citizens
that all danger of mob turmoil was over, and the troops
were disbanded subject to call at any time the Mayor might
deem their services of use. The military episode was the
means of giving a vast amount of amusement to the citizens
of the city ; but at the same time the memory of the won-
derful rapidity with which the respectable fighting element
of the place was organized for effective work, will remain
as a perpetual warning to the turbulent and lawless ele-
ments of Louisville.

CHAPTER XXXII.
COMMUNISM AND RIOT AT CHICAGO.
The surgings of trouble reached Chicago, the great in-
land metropolis of America, at a late date, and although
they soon passed beyond, were fierce and furious while they
lasted.
This city undoubtedly contains as pestilential a crew of
communists as any city in the world. Its inechanics and
artisans, as a rule, are among the most intelligent and ad-
vanced. Wages have always been fair; at times, exorbị-
The push, energy, and pluck for which its business
inen have a world-wide reputation, constantly furnish new
avenues for all those business men or working men who
tant.
388
COMMUNISM AND RIOT AT CHICAGO.
really desire to make some advancement beyond their pre-
vious condition; but notwithstanding every opportunity
offered all classes of earnest laborers, Chicago among her
upwards of a half million of inhabitants, from her fame,
through her disastrous fire and the subsequent marvelous
rebuilding of the city, and from being the grand half-way
house of public resort between the commercial East and the
vast and productive West, has gradually drawn to her a
floating population both vicious and unruly. Among this
unhealthy element the genuine order of communists has
given her authorities the most trouble, and her citizens the
greatest dread. They have repeatedly marched upon her
Relief and Aid Society, her City Hall and Common Coun-
cil, and showed their snarling teeth in divers ways.
It was this class, and no other, that precipitated riot and
bloodshed in Chicago, and it is a notable fact in connection
with these communists, that their viciousness and despe-
ration were largely caused by the rantings of a young Amer-
ican communist named Parsons. This fellow had
many
of
the characteristics of the Pittsburg rattle-brained mock
hero, “Boss Ammon.” Parsons is a printer by trade, and
just previous to the great strikes had been a compositor on
the Chicago Times. He had also distinguished himself by
running for the office of alderman, and being beaten. He
seems to possess a strange nature in every respect, as he has
for several years lived in Chicago with a colored woman,
whom he has at least called his wife. He is a young man,
like Ammon, of flippant tongue, and is capable of making a
speech that will tingle the blood of that class of character-
less rascals that are always standing ready to grasp society
by the throat; and while he can excite his auditors, of this
class, to the very verge of riot, has that devilish ingenuity
in the use of words which has permitted himself to escape
deserving punishment.

COMMUNISM AND RIOT AT CHICAGO.
389
It was more through this man’s baleful influence, than
from any other cause, that the conditions were ripe in
Chicago for all manner of excesses. Because they were
not greater is from the fact that the authorities were
prompt and vigilant, and the citizens came to the rescue of
their city in such a grand outpouring as was witnessed at
no other point.
On Monday, July 23d, the pay of the engineers on the
Chicago and Northwestern Railway, which had been
slightly reduced, was restored. From this date everything
on that road was devoid of trouble, although the officers of
the company took the precaution to remove the greater
portion of the most valuable of rolling-stock to suburban
towns along the line, in order to get it out of harm's way
in case of fire and riot like that which desolated Pittsburg.
Although there had been no recent reduction of wages
on the Chicago and Alton road, the moving of trains at the
St. Louis end had been badly interfered with by rioters,
and General Superintendent McMullen, on Monday, de-
cided to at once discontinue the movement of all freight
trains until the trainmen on his road were sufficiently over
the common excitement to warrant a safe and expeditious
handling of the company's business. General unrest and
apprehension prevailed all over the city, but the day closed
with no record of important events.
On Tuesday the strike in Chicago was fairly inaugurated
and was begun by the men from the Michigan Central road,
proceeding first among the Chicago, Burlington and
Quincy men, whom they induced to join them, and, with
this reinforcement, to the depots and shops of all other
railroads centering in Chicago.
In every instance the men quietly quit work, and re-
mained peaceably about their different resorts, while it is
only a simple matter of justice to state that, in all the sub-

390
COMMUNISM AND RIOT AT CHICAGO.
sequent riot and trouble, the striking trainmen were guilty
of 10 single act of violence.
But encouraged by the show made by trainmen, and the
ease with which a general strike had been effected
upon
all
the railroads, the communists, just before noon, rallied from
the slums of the West Side, and that famous and infamous
locality in the southwestern part of the city, known as
Bridgeport,” and accompanied by a bevy of little boys
and girls, some of them not over six years
of
age,
but all
of whom carried some sort of a stick or club, proceeded
first through the manufacturing district of the West Side,
compelling them to close, most of which immediately re-
opened the moment the ragamuffin troop were out of sight,
and thence to the manufactories and wholesale business
houses of the South Side, where but partial success was met
with, and the crowd finally dispersed from sheer want of
leaders, who were quietly nabbed by the police, or who
slunk shamefacedly away when confronted by the business
men of that section of the city. At night a mass-meeting,
composed of about five thousand roughs and communists,
was held in Market Square, in front of the office of the
Vorbote-or Freebooter, translated—the organ of the com-
munists in Chicago. The authorities saw that the temper
of the meeting boded no good, and the police broke it lip
dispersing its members by a very free use of their clubs.
On the next day there was one continuous scene of dis-
order, which, however, did not culminate in anything serious
until late in the evening. Everybody was excited, and in
every section of the great city there was gathering in
squads by respectable citizens, and gathering in mobs by
the roughs, yet with a few charges by the police, a few
rushes by the rioters, the day wore on, both the authorities
and the vicious elements becoming each more determined
to win the fight when it should come.


COMMUNISM AND RIOT AT CHICAGO.
391
Colonel Hickey, Police Superintendent, had previously
given orders which resulted in the removal of all arms and
ammunition from the various gun and hardware stores to
places of safety, which had been both secretly and effec-
tively done; so that the pillaging which occurred at Pitts-
burg could hardly have transpired. Neither was there at
any time apprehension of ungovernable riot occurring in the
finer business portion of the city; for every business house
had promptly organized such emergency forces, that, with
the near aid of the police from headquarters, and that of
my own large, uniformed, and well-armed Preventive Police,
any attack which might be made from across the river
could have been met and repulsed with great disaster to the
common enemy. Besides this, the riot and disorder seemed
naturally to confine itself to the southern portion of the
city, where most of the freight depots of the different roads,
as well as some of the largest manufacturing establishments
in the whole country, are located, and upon the West Side-
particularly the southern portion of the West Side—where
there are innumerable packing-houses, machine-shops,
“slop-shops," or houses for the manufacture of ready-made
clothing, rendering establishments, foundries, and all man-
ner of the grosser industries that draw around them the
most ignorant, as well as the most vicious and desperate, of
laborers. Within an area of four square miles, covering
this section of the city, all the rioting in Chicago was done.
One of the chief reasons for this was found in the fact that
the police forces were admirably handled, and instead of
being held at headquarters to protect a trifling area, as was
the case in some other cities, were separated into serviceable
squads, and made to engage the communist ruffians on
their own ground, thus rendering the most effectual protec-
tion possible to the best portions of the city, for the wild
mobs were so hustled and worried in their own sections,

392
COMMUNIST AND RIOT AT CHICAGO.
that they had little time, or opportunity, for projecting
trouble beyond.
By this time the people of Chicago had become thor-
oughly aroused. Its two handsome militia regiments, the
First and Second, had turned out splendidly, a local battery
was in fine fighting trim, and Colonel Agramonte, with the
hearty co-operation of the authorities, had hastily organized
a cavalry force which subsequently did most effective work
in riding down the rioters. Besides this, several companies
of United States troops, bronzed and war-scarred veterans
from the Indian countries, had arrived, and had been re-
ceived with such an ovation as had never been tendered to
soldiers before, many of the swarthy fellows being carried
for blocks on the heads and shoulders of jubilant citizens.
But the people of the city, as before stated, were now
thoroughly aroused, and while each well-wisher for the
common good had lasting faith in the eventual peaceful
solution of the trouble, every man of standing and respecta-
bility had a desire to do something to give beyond question
public expression to a common determination to wipe out
the stain upon the city's name.
The outgrowth of all this was an almost simultaneous
movement from all quarters of the city towards the mam-
moth Tabernacle building, the great barn erected by certain
business men, primarily as an advertising scheme, and,
secondarily, for the purpose of spreading physical disease
through spiritual salvation as distributed by Moody and
Sankey. This meeting was called for three o'clock on
Wednesday afternoon, but by two o'clock from between ten
and twelve thousand people had wedged themselves into the
place. Fully as many more surrounded the structure, fail-
ing to gain admission, and it is certain that twenty thousand
business men whose hearts and souls were with the meeting
never went near it, knowing the impossibility of getting


COMMUNISM AND RIOT AT CHICAGO.
393
within blocks of the building. If there had been a build-
ing in Chicago which held fifty thousand people, on that
day, and for the purpose named, fifty thousand earnest,
determined men would have packed it full. Chicago will
forever sustain the reputation of never doing things by
halves.
As an illustration of the temper of this meeting I cannot
resist reproducing the words of that patriotic citizen and
grand man, Robert Collyer. He came forward as if in the
old times, when he was the strong-armed “ Yorkshire Black-
smith” of Ilkley, to drive home with the hammer of su-
preme earnestness the heated iron which should weld all
minds into a common purpose, and said :
“ This is no time for preaching; this is a time for prac-
tice!
The wisest and bravest and best thing we can do has
got to be done now. We are going to take care of our city
whatever comes. We are cowed by an insignificant mob.
The great wheels of commerce and trade are stopped. I
cannot expect to live long in course of nature. I thought I
might live twenty years—I would like to. Do you know,
fellow-citizens, as God lives, and as my soul lives, I would
rather die in twenty minutes in defense of order, and
of our homes, against these inen, than to live twenty
years of as happy life as I have lived all these fifty years.
My thought was this: that we should have special commit-
tees in the wards and districts of our city; that we should
organize a force of twenty thousand constables; that we
should subscribe one million dollars as a fund to be drawn
on, to take care of these men who are acting with us, but
who cannot take care of themselves. I am poor, but I am
willing to give two hundred dollars to begin with. That is
my speech, gentlemen!'
It was not Robert Collyer alone, but half a hundred

17*

394
COMMUNISM AND RIOT AT CHICAGO.
thousand men who, like him, got at the heart of the thing
without any nonsense, and the result was an organization of
men who would have swept a respectable army from any
field. Gray-haired man and full-blooded youth stood side
by side, and were equally strong and powerful in the one
great purpose.
So sudden and summary was the action of Tuesday's mob
in closing up the manufactories of the southern portion of
the West Side, that but a few of these places attempted to
l'esume work on Wednesday. In the great lumber district,
where at any time can be seen the largest number of plan-
ing-mills and the vastest amount of lumber at any one point
in the whole world, the men gathered at their customary
places of employment, only awaiting the signal from their
employers before resuming their labor, but only one mill
dared begin. At half-past eight o'clock fully one thousand
lumber-shovers and mill-men had congregated in the vicin-
ity, and, with a mob's freak, instead of attacking the mill
which had begun work, turned its attention to the Chicago
Planing Mill Company, and an adjoining distillery, which
the rioters—every one of whom was armed with a piece of
hard lumber from three to five feet in length, and every
man's pocket bulging out with stones—favored with a lively
volley of missiles, and a general clubbing of doors and win-
dows. But suddenly they left this mill, and quickly rushed
to the first which had attracted their notice, where they
drove the workmen away with the utmost violence, and
nearly demolished the building.
The mob then headed for the works of the United States
Rolling Stock Company, McCormick’s mammoth reaper
factory, and similar large establishments in the neighbor-
hood, to complete their work of the day previous, and to, if
possible, destroy all those places whose proprietors had the
temerity to defy their dictatorship.

COMMUNISM AND RIOT AT CHICAGO.
395
Lieutenant Vesey, with all the available police at his
command, made a flank movement, arriving at the Rolling
Stock Company's Works in advance of the rabble, station-
ing his men in front of the building. The Lieutenant
attempted to conciliate the mob, but it was useless. It was
spoiling for a fight, and the arrest of one of its most blatant
members precipitated it. They first tore down one hundred
feet of the fence, and then, having received reinforcements,
turned suddenly on the police in a most savage manner.
The latter retaliated with their clubs, hoping that this would
be sufficient, but, finding that several of their number were
being struck down, drew their revolvers and advanced on
their assailants, wounding many, when the mob retired sul-
lenly, savagely contesting every inch of ground, until the
crowd was suddenly assaulted in the rear by more police,
under Sergeant Callahan, who had arrived at an opportune
moment. Then firing ceased, and clubbing began in earnest.
The mob fought back desperately, but were finally beaten,
flying precipitately over the prairies in
every
direction.
Later in the day portions of the same mob surged back
to the north, gathering force and impetus as it progressed,
and made an attack
upon
the passenger depot of the North-
western Railway, for the purpose of stopping all trains.
They were, however, successfully resisted by the police and
a posse of citizens, driven off with many a broken and ach-
ing bone, and their leaders dragged ignominiously to the
lock-up.
But, whenever the mob dispersed at one locality, it
seemed to have a strange and mysterious faculty of rising,
“phoenix-like,” at half a dozen different points. Manufac-
tories were again visited in the eastern and central portion
of the West Side, and closed with the ugliest of violence.
An instance worthy of record, where this brute force
failed to succeed, was when à vile crowd attacked the
396
COMMUNISM AND RIOT AT CHICAGO.
inanufactory of the Crane Bros. & Co.
This company
had large contracts in iron-work to be filled by August 15th.
Their men were working on full time, at good wages, and
would not be bullied from the place. Arming themselves
with convenient pieces of iron, they defied the mob, which
was most ridiculously dispersed, by showering its members
with water until they were completely drenched.
Back and forth all the afternoon and into the night,
small crowds of rioters pushed their way through this sec-
tion of the city, carrying terror ererywhere. Countless
collisions with bodies of citizens and police occurred, in
which the latter were always victorious, but which never
had the effect of effectually qnelling the devilish spirit of
the infuriated ruffians, and Wednesday ended, as it had
begun, with turbulence and disorder, but with a drawing
nearer to the grand climax, when the riotous classes should
get their fill of conflict, and when the determination of all
Chicago that the city should cast off the pestilential terror
which had come upon it should prevail.
On Thursday morning everything was ripe for conflict.
The citizen organizations, which were mainly relied on for
service, in case the business portion of the city should be
invaded, had been well perfected, the militia regiments,
whose loyalty had been somewhat doubted, were in full
force, and ready for hard knocks; the cavalry organization
was well equipped with everything necessary to do effective
charging and slashing; the artillery company had been as
effectively manned by old battery men as ever was a com-
pany during our late war; a large force from the post-
office, armed to the teeth with revolvers and muskets, the
Veteran Reserve Corps, under old and skilled army officers,
and, better than all, the United States troops, who had
been increased to seven hundred men, every one of them
quite as ready to meet communists as to follow Sitting


LIMIA
Police driving a Communist Mob from West Side Turner Hall, Chicago.

COMMUNISM AND RIOT AT CHICAGO.
397
men.
Bull; while the mob elements had gathered still greater
force and power, and were ready for any work which it
might be possible for them to compass.
The ball was opened at ten o'clock Thursday morning
by a riot at Vorwaert's Turner Hall, on West Twelfth
Street, half a block east from Halsted Street. A meeting
of self-styled workingmen had been called, and by nine
o'clock the crowd of hoodlums that had collected ran up
into thousands. At about the hour first named, a detach-
ment of regular and special police marched across the
Twelfth Street bridge on their way to Twelfth Street
Station. They were on foot and numbered about thirty
No sooner had they neared the hall, than they were
attacked by the dense crowd with stones and other missiles.
They were compelled to fall back, when the rioters so
hotly pursued them, that, in self-defense, they were obliged
to turn upon them. The police fought like tigers, and,
inch by inch, forced the ugly fellows back towards the
building. Fortunately, a block and a half west from the
scene of conflict, near the station, and in wagons, were
nearly a score of police who had been sent from the Cen-
tral Station, and were awaiting orders. As soon as they
were apprised of the desperate condition of their comrades,
there was never a quicker charge made. At them they
went like a prize crowd at Donnybrook, and clubbed and
smashed anybody and everybody before them, until they
had formed a junction with the other party of police, when
the main crowd, with yells of pain and rage, broke and fled
in all directions. Then the combined force fought their
way more fiercely than ever through the dense masses
wedged into the vestibule and upon the stairways, pitching
men bodily out into the street, or hurling them down the
stairs, until the main auditorium was reached, when a scene
transpired that beggars description.
THE END.
399
Here was found a panic-stricken mob of perhaps two
hundred persons, the larger portion of whom had taken
refuge within, when the attack upon them by the police in
the street had become too severe. But the officers kept at
them with a vigor and enthusiasm beautiful and wonderful
to behold. Many rioters climbed columns, like monkeys,
and hid in the galleries; others secreted themselves beneath
the stage, and among the “wings” and “flies” of the
scenery; others jumped from the windows at the risk of
broken limbs, and still others, too hotly pressed to escape,
seized chairs, converting them into weapons of defense
which they handled with the power of desperation; but no
mercy was shown, and the clubbing went on until the
great hall was cleared, and the mob had got the first taste of
what was freely distributed in Chicago throughout the en-
tire day.

CHAPTER XXXIII.
THE END.
DURING the Turner Hall fight another conflict was in
progress on Halsted Street, between the Viaduct and Canal-
port Avenue. . In fact, Halsted Street was really the battle-
ground during the entire day.
The particular occurrence referred to was caused by a
gang
of some three hundred young roughs attacking a
street-car and its passengers. The police came to the res-
cue, but the mob rallied and returned to the attack most
viciously, using revolvers freely. The police were slowly

400
THE END.
forced back, firing with good effect, and wounding several
of the rioters, who became infuriated. They charged and
recharged on the police, fired revolvers and muskets out of
windows and from alleys, clambered to the tops of houses
and hurled stones upon the blue-coats. The latter intrenched
themselves as best they might, and made as good a skir-
mish-fight as was ever witnessed. Finally reinforcements
were forwarded, and the mob was defeated, but the battle
had lasted two hours, and resulted in the disabling of several
of the policemen, and the killing of one man and a boy,
and the wounding of many of the mob.
It was soon seen that this point was to be the scene of
trouble, and a large force of militia was sent to the vicinity,
consisting of two cavalry companies, three hundred of the
Second Regiment, under Colonel Quirk, and two ten-pound
field-pieces, manned by veterans and firemen.
Fully ten thousand persons were massed in and along
Halsted Street, nearly every one of whom was a rioter by
nature and education. As soon as a charge would be made
by the police, or the militia, in either direction, the crowd
to be dispersed would make a short, sharp fight, and
then, getting the worst of it, would suddenly dismember
and rush to one side or the other, disappearing like an
army of rats into the side-streets and alleys. Then, if the
force was too large for an immediate reappearance, they
would hurl stones, or fire revolvers, from their hiding-
places, and the upper stories and even roofs of buildings
constantly swarmed with the ruffians, who did everything
in their power to murder the police and troops below. For
hours this manner of charging, counter-charging, scurrying
up
and down streets, attempts to dislodge the enemy from
the roofs of houses, and lively skirmishing of a general
character, went on. Many exciting and ludicrous incidents
occurred, if the sense of terror and the presence of wounds
THE END.
401
and death could have been removed. One instance is worth
relating
Whenever any of the rioters were captured, their at-
tempted rescue was very popular among the mob. On one
occasion a particularly desperate effort had been made to
recapture a wagon-load of prisoners who were being taken
to headquarters. In the scuffle and conflict which followed,
one desperate fellow was being borne away by his friends,
when policeman Hickey, brother of Colonel Hickey, the
Police Superintendent, and a brave and stalwart officer, who
was on horseback, at the risk of his life charged in upon
the crowd, fought it until he had captured the released
rioter, took him by the collar and bodily dragged him some
distance from his friends, who were completely dazed by
the heroic act, when he tied a rope to the ruffian's wrist,
and, putting spurs to his horse, with a cocked revolver kept
the rioters at bay until he had dragged his man triumph-
antly within the lines, while the police and militia were
shouting themselves hoarse over the brilliant victory.
About this time Captain Seavey, at the Madison Street
Station, received orders from headquarters to immediately
proceed to the scene of conflict with all his available force,
numbering at that time only twenty-one men.
Discard-
ing their clubs, he armed them with Springfield muskets
and gave orders to shoot dead any man, or men,
who might
interfere with the command. Something in the appearance
of the men, perhaps, awed the human devils by which they
were compelled to pass, and they met with no serious
obstacle. At Fourteenth Street they were joined by a
portion of the Second Regiment, and a body of cavalry that
had been busied keeping communications with the rear
open. Then the entire force proceeded south to the Hal-
sted Street bridge through the howling mobs, that stoned
them from the sidewalks, but offered no direct resistance.


VIADUCE HOTEL,
www-UN
BEAL
Attack by Police and Militin upon the Rieters at Halsted Street Viaduct, Chicago,

402
THE END.
an
On reaching the bridge, a most terrific attack was made
upon the police and troops with revolvers and stones. The
larger portion of the force now charged the bridge and
crossed it, after a severe fight, leaving but a small number
to attend to the pursuing mob behind. The bridge had
hardly been cleared before a gang of villains swung the
same, jumping from it as the ends swept past the ap-
proaches. This left a handful of men at the mercy of
infuriated crowd of one hundred times their number. Cer-
tain death awaited them, had it not been for the wonderful
presence of mind and heroism of a lad, not over eleven
years
of age, named James O'Neil, who deserves almost a
brighter fame than the boy-hero of Pittsburg, August Dou-
dal, who remained at his telegraph instrument sending dis-
patches to Philadelphia of the progress of the riots until
the mob burned the building over his head.
This lad took in the situation at a glance. He plunged
into the river, never heeding the cowardly fiends who
stoned him, as boys will stone a drowning rat, swam to the
pier, climbed through the trap, and, amid the cheers of the
police and the yells of the niaddened mob, swung the
bridge back to the approaches. The moment it was in
place the cavalry charged back across it, followed by the
Second Regiment supported by one field-piece, and all fol-
lowed by police on foot and in wagons. Then firing on
the mob began in earnest and with deadly results, four of
the inob being killed outright, and large numbers wounded.
During the afternoon members of the mob which had
received such a threshing at Halsted Street bridge and via-
duct, moved over to the vicinity of Canal Street and Canal-
port Avenue, and, effecting a junction with their friends
from the “Bridgeport” slunis, began making it decidedly
uncomfortable for the police. Lieutenant Seavey's men
were detailed to quell the disturbance, and met a murderous

404
THE END.
reception by the mob. Sergeant Callahan's squad and Col-
onel Agramonte's cavalry were then sent to reinforce them,
and the latter force charged at full gallop down Burlington
Street, a thoroughfare but one square in length, but thickly
infested by the lowest Poles and Bohemians which Chicago
can muster. They fought with the ferocity of maddened
brutes, but in among them, and upon them, dashed the
excited horsemen, running them down and trampling them
under foot, and showing them no mercy. The men cut
right and left with their sabres, serving men and women
alike, and often running their horses into the very doors of
houses in pursuit of the enemy. This body of tumultuous
fools were squelched completely.
And so passed this memorable Thursday.
It was one continuous series of fights, like those described,
from morning until night. Nineteen of the rioters were
known to have been killed. Over one hundred
persons
were known to have been wounded. The mobs had every-
where been defeated, and that disastrously; and when the
darkness came, though a few upheavals of the brute ele-
ment still rose to the surface, the monster Riot was found
to be in its death struggle.
The force and effect of the great strikes were considerably
broken when the excitement reached the State of Missouri
and its splendid metropolis, St. Louis. This fact, coupled
with the other fact, which does Missouri credit, that Gov-
ernor Phelps had in him the promptness, bravery, and good
judgment so requisite in executive officers, prevented all
but a tithe of the real trouble experienced by other large
cities.
It is no more than just that the story of the strike in Mis-
souri and St. Louis should be called to the attention of the
general public, so that this particular Governor need not
share the odium which attaches to the Chief Executives of

ASA
Col. Agramonte's Cavalry charging on Rioters in the Streets of Chicago.

406
THE END.
several States which might be mentioned. Governor Phelps
did his duty thoroughly. There was no halting or policy-
hunting about him. He went right at the matter in a busi-
ness way,
and determined to rid his State of this particular
lawlessness. In previous years, had there been more Gov.
ernors for Missouri like Governor Phelps, the stain of law-
lessness and crime, which for so long has rested upon her,
and which cannot soon be forgotten, would never have been
laid upon the State.
The first serious disturbances connected with the great
strikes began in St. Louis on Monday, July 23d, and before
Wednesday, the 25th, had passed away, the strikers had got
control of the railroads and interfered with the operation of
nearly all the industrial works in and around the city. The
Governor was in the capital, Jefferson City, attending to his
routine duties at the time, and telegrams began to pour in
upon him from citizens and leading officials of St. Louis,
calling upon him to appeal to the President for United
States troops to suppress the riot, and a delegation from that
city came to urge him to the same course of action. The
Governor bluntly expressed the opinion that it was the bus-
iness of the State to put down its own rioters, and it was
his particular business to see that the work was done. He
therefore refused to appeal to the President until the com-
monwealth had exhausted its own resources. The Governor
went to St. Louis Wednesday night, and on Thursday issued
his proclamation to the strikers. Among other straightfor-
ward things, this proclamation contained the following plain
and forcible language:
“And I do assure the people of Missouri, and especially
of this city, that I am here for the purpose of seeing that
the laws are faithfully executed and enforced.”
There was no equivocation or begging of the question
about this. It was the language of a man who was master
THE END.
407
of the situation. The rioters felt it. It went right home to
them. They knew there was to be no higgle-haggling or
trifling. The police, under Chief McDonough, a cool and
efficient officer, supported by the military, who had been
given enthusiasm and spirit by the presence and determina-
tion of Governor Phelps himself, moved upon the rioters
the next day, Friday, July 27th, and dispersed them without
killing a man. Saturday St. Louis was as quiet as any city
in the Union. The greatest heat of the disorder had been
in East St. Louis, just across the river on the Illinois side,
and Governor Phelps notified Governor Cullom, of Illinois,
on July 26th, that the traffic of the great lines westward
was stopped by the strikers in East St. Louis, and called
upon him to restore peace and remove the embargo, offering
the co-operation of the “good and law-abiding men” of
Missouri in the work. At Kansas City, Hannibal, St.
Joseph, and other points throughout the commonwealth,
the same active and determined spirit prevailed, and the
tendency to riot was suppressed without bloodshed, but
without faltering. The importance of such a consumma-
tion may be fairly estimated, when it is remembered that
the great lines of railway connecting the Atlantic and
Pacific coasts run through Missouri. From the treatment
of the strikes in the “ border-ruffian State,” that common-
wealth is certainly bound to take high rank among
her
sister States in the Union.
During the entire disorder at St. Louis, although there
was considerable excitement and frequent exhibitions of
the mob spirit in the gathering of crowds, requiring care
and good generalship to handle, there was but one occasion
when the severe use of the police and military seemed to
be imminent, and the origin and progress of that particulai
bit of turmoil was of the most ludicrous nature.
This occurred in front of the Four Courts, on Thursday.


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Scene near the “Four Courts”, during the riots at St Louis,

408
THE END.
An old German huckster, who was determined to attend
to his business, strike or no strike, found occasion to pass
the Four Courts building, homeward bound, after having
disposed of his wagon-load of vegetables. This place was
the headquarters of the police and troops, the latter being
quartered in the jail-yard, and a small force left in front
of the building for immediate service, should it become
necessary. A cordon of police had been placed across the
street, at a short distance either side of the front of the
Four Courts, in order to keep clear sufficient space in which
to make any necessary military or police evolutions.
But the old German huckster had got it into his head
that this is a free country, and that he had as good a right
to travel upon one street as another. The police stopped
him when he reached the line, but he whipped up his
team and paid no attention to the blue-coats. The more
they endeavored to stop him the more he beat his horses,
which soon began rearing about, when one or two officers
attempted to spring into the wagon and effect the huckster's
arrest. That irate individual then transferred his attentions
from the horses to the police, whom he cracked over the
heads at a lively rate. For some time he hotly defended
himself, until other police sprang forward to assist their
comrades. This was the signal for the rioters, who had
been crowding the saloons and streets in the vicinity, to
come to the rescue of the plucky Dutchman. The desire
to take him from the police seemed to be electrical with
the mob, and its members rushed down the streets in every
direction. More police were called on, and, for a few min-
utes one of the liveliest and most laughable tussles of the
great strikes was in full progress, the old German topping
all and laying about him right and left with his whip,
never caring whether he hit policeman or rioter, and swear-
ing like a trooper as an accompaniment.
410
THE END.

Finally the mob was repulsed, its leaders arrested, and
the
poor
old huckster borne to durance vile, where he was
kept for a short time, and then permitted to depart, after
a lecture upon the enormity of his bloodless crime.
On Wednesday, July 25th, the subsiding wave of riot
reached the Pacific Ocean and stirred San Francisco to its
very center. In all California could not be found one good
reason for excitement and disturbance, and all that came
originated in the general public alarm and the inveterate
hatred of the Chinese population by the lower classes of
the whites. This subject has been too generally discussed
to require touching upon here. It is merely necessary to
refer to it, as the chief and only cause for a riot in San
Francisco at this or any other time.
Mayor Bryant had issued his proclamation recounting
the troubles in Eastern States, and appealing to the better
nature and the patience of all citizens, while intimating that
riot and disorder would be put down with a strong hand.
The city had an available force of ten thousand armed men,
consisting of police, militia, and emergency men.
The
latter, by far the greatest number, were composed of Union
and Confederate ex-soldiers, and knew just what war
meant. Beside this, two companies of United States troops
were conveniently stationed at Alcatraz and Angel Islands,
while the United States corvettes, Pensacola and Lacka-
wanna, with a force of marines, were at hand in the harbor.
While everybody was in this condition of suspense, an
alarm of fire was sounded. The “hoodlums” had fired
the Pacific Mail docks, and the large lumber yards in that
vicinity, and soon after, in large force, attacked the Chinese
quarters in a most vicious and desperate manner. These
helpless Celestials fled in terror in every direction.
direction. Many
in dismay sprang from windows into the streets, and were
then stoned and beaten by their enemies; others hid in

032日​。
BE
WN
LARUE
lilli
attuck on tlic Chinese Wash-Houses by ihe Strikers and “Hoodlums” in San Francisco.

412
THE END.
underground holes; others, in scant clothing, skipped along
the roofs of buildings like the liveliest of escaped lunatics;
many pleaded and begged on their knees, and were clubbed
and pulled through the streets for their pains; while it is
said that others actually committed suicide rather than be
taken by the demons attacking them. As soon as this con-
dition of things had been learned at headquarters, a large
force of police was dispatched to the scene from one direc-
tion, and a much larger number of Vigilantes were sent to
the same point from another. The two forces attacked
them with splendid spirit and energy.
For a full half hour the struggle continued, the police
and the Vigilantes both forcing the rioters into a dense
mass, and pounding and beating them terribly, finally tri-
umphantly bearing off half a hundred of the most desperate
leaders, and dispersing the mob.
Three of the mob were killed outright in this battle, and
forty-six “ hoodlums
were badly wounded.
But it put an end to the trouble in San Francisco.
Orders were given, and made known to the public, to shoot
dead the first person found inciting riot or resisting arrest,
and this, with the punishment given the rioters on Wednes-
day night, held terrorism in restraint.
After this summary handling of matters in San Francisco
the whole land was again at peace. The great wheels of
commerce began their accustomed rounds; the business inan
drew a sigh of relief and returned to his duties; the laborer
put his hands again to his work, wondering where he had
been benefited, and cursing his own recklessness ; and far
and near our fifty millions of people, who had for nearly
half a month stood agliast in terror, slowly shook off the
horrible presence that had been upon them, and took up the
old ways of life, as if waking from an oppressive dream.
THE END.
1878.
1878.
GWGAR Eerona C
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