The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1874-10-27
A LAWLEss ATTEMPT.


|
A LAWLESS ATTEMPT.
PARTY OF LABoRERs ATTEMPT TO CUT THE
shy ISLAND LEvEE-THEIR ARREST-MIIL
OWNERS THE INsTIGAToRs.
A special to the st. LOUIS Republican,
from Hannibal, of the 10Th inst, says: A
bold and almost successful attempt was
made last night to cut the Sny Island levee,
by party of about ninety laborers from st.
Louis. The steamer Victory passed this
place about shutdown last evening, with the
entire party on board, and without stopping
here, proceeded to a point near the head of
the Sny, where the deep fill
of the levee shuts off the
waters of the Mississippi from the
stream which winds through and divides
claimed bottom lands located in Pike and
Adams counties, Ill. This stream is called
the Sny, and is kind of deep and sluggish
lagoon from fifty to seventy-fve yards in
width and from thirty to forty miles in
length, dehouching near Louisiana. The
steamer left the main channel, and winding
around among the numerous small islands
lying along the Illinois shore, reached
a point near the deep fill
about dark, where she tied up in the brush.
and the laborers, with their picks and
shovels, wheelbarrows, wagons, teams and
were disembarked, and about O'Clock
the work of cutting the levee was COM
menced. The fill at this point is about
thirty feet deep and one hundred wide,
with little or no water in the Sny on the in
side Soon after work had been commenced
a farmer residing in the vicinity discovered
what was going on, and at once came to this
city and reported the state of affairs to
some of the large owners of lano protected
by the levee. A party OF IA or 10 men
were at once collected and mounted.
and T KSsv of this ctS nroceeded
the scene of action, where they arrived just
before daybreak, surprising the men at work
in the trench with drawn revolyers. They
commanded the workmen to desist, which
was somewhat reluctantly complied with
but without resistance or the firing of
a single shot. The laborers were
not generally armed, having only a few
pocket pistols and two or three old shot
guns and rifles among them, and were in no
condition to make resistance. They were
collected together and guarded until the
sheriff of Adams county, ILL.,, and his posse
arrived at Quincy with the proper papers to
arrest and
CONVEY TO JAIL THE RAIDERS.
The Quincy party arrived about o'clock
this morning and by that time quite a num-
Der of farmers from the vicinity had gathered
at the scene of action armed with shot-guns
and rifles to assist in the capture. The
sheriff of Adams county arrested the entire
party, 80 strong, and forming strong
guard marched them through the woods
about three miles to Fall Greek station, on
the O.. A. & st. Louis railroad,
where they were put on board a
special train and conveyed to the Quincy
Jail. All their teams and implements were
captured by the authorities. An attempt was
also made to capture the steamer Victory,
but those in charge of the boat seeing the APP
preaching danger, stood out from shore, and
when the workmen were marched off to-
ward the station, the steamer turned her bow
down stream, passing this place about
| o'clock this afternoon, without stopping, and
with her passenger list considerably depleted
| The contractors in charge of The labOrers
say that they were employed to do this iot
| by Rupert 81 Shaw of Rockport, Ills. Thi:
| firm own the Rockport Touring mills about
20 miles below here, which are run by water
from the Sny, and the levee having cu
off the supply, they resorted to this danger
| Gus and expensive method of removing tn,
obstruction. The work of letting the water
in from the river was nearly accomplished
| and in an hour more the flood would hav,
been pouring through the cut which wa
from eight to ten feet wide. 1t is estimated
that fifteen hundred yards OF earth wer,
thrown out during the night. This will
have to be put back at considerable expense
Had the levee been cut, no serious damag
would have resulted to the crops and pro
perty in the bottom at this time, as at th
present stage of the river the Sny woult
not have overfiown its banks, but the leve
would have been weakened, and in case o
a rise great loss would have resulted to tn
farmers. Officers are in pursuit of the prin
cipals who have instigated this outrage, ant
as the levee has the State of Illinois to bacl
it, they will no doubt be made to regret tbi
rash and foolhardy act. The mill owners ha,
their remedy at law, and already have sui
in court for damages, but becoming impa
tent of the laws delay concluded to RICH
the matter by doing great wrong.