The daily exchange. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1858-1861, 1858-09-15
BALTIMORE.
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER Is, 1858.

The wild tribes of the Southwest who have |
long been at war with society and each other, on |
Monday last, had a general battle which, COM
mencing about SUNRISE lasted until noon. Pistols,
muskets and other weapons of civilized warfare
were used in the conflict, and in handling them, |
the savages displayed degree of expertness which
nothing but constant practice could impart. The
fighting, as is usual in such cases, was desultory
and rather resembled succession Of skrmishes
than contest between regular troops. 1t was
conducted altogether upon the guerilla plan All
the advantages of the ground were carefully
studied, and any inequality in its surface ana
every intervening object which could furnSh shc-
ter to a marksman or afford an OPT or:unlty Tor
an ambuscade skilfully awaited of for the
purpose The number of casualties attending this
affair is not yet known, and probably never will
he rs il is the practice of these people always to
carry off their dead and wounded, for the double
purpose of concealing their losses from the enemy,
and evading the penalties with which our govern
ment is supposed to visit such hostile encounters
between the rowing bands who enjoy its protec
ton. A small lad, however, about twelve years
of age is known to have been shot through the
breast, and is not expected to recover. A man,
whether a participant in the ARRAY or spectator
is not stated was shot in 'Hlle thigh and another
stabbed in the back. A policeman, who happened
by some untccountabe accident to be on the
ground, was also badly wounded. We mention
this last fact lest our readers should suppose that
We have been stealing leaf out of the barbarous
annals of some Indian war, or describing chance
encounter between some wandering tribes of the
Desert and accordingly fail to recognize in the
description, the incidents of riot which was men
toned in our local column of yesterday, as having
occurred in our own city on the day previous.
The wild tribes of whom we have spoken are
the Hunters, the EuJolts and the Decaturs of
Baltimore-the scene of their conflict was Federal
Hill-and the time of its occurrence was Monday
morning, while His Honor the MAYOR, and His
Excellency the GOVERNOR, were passing in solemn
procession through our streets, preceded by long
array of armed and plumed men, with all the
''pomp and circumstance of military parade.
At the very moment that His Honor was so pleas
antly describing the report of the American rifle,
and 'the smoke of war; curling over mems heads,
at North Point, the same sights and sounds of
battle might have been seen and heard on Federal
Hill. That in all this, have exaggerated
nothing, ''nor set aught in malice we propose TO
show by the testimony of two ofour contemporaries,
whom certainly nobody will accuse of any DISPOSE
ton to malign the fair fame of our city or impair
the usefulness of the Getty government" From
the american of the 9th of August, extract the
following account of the "HunterS," one Of the
parties who are said to have participated in
the riot of Monday, and whom we have compared
to band of savages.
'The city is afflicted with no more desperate organize
ton emhodyng of uncomfortable rowdyism in its
membership, than this body of outlaws Hanging on the
outskirts of the city where the quick concentration of
large police force without the aid of police telegraph
almost impossible and the opportunities for escape
multiplied, they have become terror to all that portion
of the city Generally moving about in body and armed
with ''shor musketsn 1.-THE barrel being cut down so that
the weapon can he concealed under the they live
sembrigand life often camping at this time of the
the country, and gaining the Of subsistence
partly by theft and partly from the fears of and the
connvance of others"
From the Patriot of yesterday afternoon, we
extract an account of the riot, which though by
no means so accurate as that which appeared in
our own columns, is sufficiently correct to answer
our purpose, and relieve us from the charge of
exaggeratiOn:
"DIsTURBANcE FEDERAL HILL-That section of the
CITY Federal Hill the continued dis
turbance and riot for several hours yesterday 1t
menced at early hour in the morning, and continued
with brief intervals until about noon when it sud
denly terminated by the arrest of three of the rioters
Theodore Bailey Henry Mott and Thomas Parks. They
fully committed for Court During the fight young
named Francis Everhart, spectator, was shot
throug lungs and it is feared morally wounded.
young named Frank Ioliins shot in the thigh
and several others seriously injured. Previous
the riot young named Francis Granger, whilst
standing conversing with friend in front OF his dwelling
on Light street, was approached by an assassin,
stabbed between soldier
with a knife and fled Granger removed TO his house
on Hughes street near Light where he was attended by
Dr. Brown, who probed the wound the depth of five
inches His case is precarous one The ringleaders in
the riot We're the well known gang called Hunters
most deectabe party who have long been the pest of that
section of the city
To investigate all the circumstances connected
with this particular riot or to determine who were
the "aggressors," and what the amount of ''prov-
ocation," is no part of our present purpose. That,
we believe is the duty of the public authorities,
and, we doubt not, they will perform it with their
usual zeal and fidelity. Assuming the facts to be
as they are stated by our contemporaries, we sim
ply wish to know whether these are the crimes
which are nseparable from all large cities, and
whether the state of society which they exhibit
tends most strongly to civilization or to bar
barism. Grimes against property, such as
frauds, forgeres, and thefts we are willing to
admit, are most frequent in rich and pop
ulous communities, and may, therefore, nat
urally be expected to multiply with the in
crease of wealth and numbers. But riot, murder,
and boodshed-are these the necessary incidents
of highly artificial state of society," or the conse-
quences of the congregation of men in towns and
cities? We have certainly read history to very
little purpose if it be supposed to teach anything
of the sort We have rather found that with the
abandonment of nomadic life, and the adoption
of settled habitatious and the arts Of peace-with
the rise and progress of cities and the growth
of thickly-settled empires, there has invariably
been a gradual cessation of violence, that the
manners of men have softened, and that they have
laid aside by degrees the and habits of ruder
ages, and learned to confde in the protection of
governments and laws. How happens it then,
that Baltimore is an exception to this general rule?
Why-in the midst of the highest civilization that
the world has ever known are we compelled to
witness manners such the american describes
and scenes such as the Patriot narrates? We
leave the question to be answered by those to
whom society has committed the task of preserv-
ing the public peace and upon whom accordingly
the responsibility of occurrences such that
of Monday last.
.~---~.-n-1 n-.sn
Since His Honor Mayor SWAMI felt it ''hs
duty to say to the public, that he was ready to