Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1877-07-26
THE PITTSBURG RIOT. :
Three to five Millions of Dollars Worth
of Property Destroyed.

Three to five Millions of Dollars Werti
/ of Property Destroyed.
| PIPTsBURG, July 22.-At one O'Clock
this morning, IN the ncighborhood ofthe
roundhouse, a terrible scene was enacted
The fire bells called out the department
The roundhouse was reported burning
set on fire by the strikers, and the troops
bombarded within Thereport paraIyzed
many stout hearts. It was later learned
to be occasioned not by the burning OF
the roundhouse, but by the destruction
of long train of oil cars. Many thous-
and dollars worth of property have been
destroyed. The confagration lighted up
the whole sky. In addition to these
losses, the elegant residence belonging
TO General Pearson is leveled by fire.
No mail ran out to Cincinnati last night.
The Fort Wayne trainmen are III the
suburbs. armed and ready to fight.
The situation early this morning was
critical. The soldiers at the roundhOuse
are completely hemmed in. Many more
cars were burned during the night
A report came in about 3 o'clock this
morning that the fire from the burning
oil cars was rapidly and surely making
its way to the roundhouse. There are
l 800 soldiers there, and should the con-
flagration reach that point; the struggle
will be desperate and deadly. 1t is also
reported that train bearing troops I'M
der General Herdekohn was attacked
at l o'clock this morning, about eight
miles from the city, and many were
killed and injured. In all there have
been fully 100 cars fired by the strikers.
The tire-plugs have been seized, and,
should confagration be started, it
would be impossible to stem the fiery
tide The Fort Wayne building was set
fire to. 1t is all a railway officials life
is worth to appear on the streets.
PITTSBURG TROOPS"
Plttsburh's troops are so greatly in
sympathy with the strikers that they
have stacked their arms and deserted
The regiment that refused to quell the
riot of the strikers are the Fourteenth
(the Duquesne Grays), commanded by
Colonel Guthrie, and the Jefferson Cav
airy.
SUNRISE ON THE SCENE.
Sunrise saw ghastly scene Four of
the rioters were killed by the soldiers
from the round house about $50
o'clock. A mass of flame nearly mile
long lights up the track, and only re
veals more plainly the horrible charac-
ter of the uprising The rioters began
at daylight to roll burning cars in the
direction of the roundhouse, and turn
ed several cannon to the fated spot.
Everywhere was confusion, everywhere
fear, everywhere gloom No one could
tell where it would end, AT that time
at least 200 ears were burning. An
hour later eight more of the rioters
house. One is John Laughlin, who
lived on Nineteenth street. A hundred
more cars are III flames.
THE HORROR DEEPENs.
AT 7:30 o'clock this morning the seat
of strife was still the roundhouse. The
soldiers made sally and captured the
guns, and at that time were III fine po-
sition The loss is not less than 2,000,-
600. Wholesale theft was perperated,
and no property has been safe for
twenty-four hours from the thieves.
A TERRIBLE GATHERING RAM.
During the morning a large party of
strikers captured car filled with coke,
which they ran from the Allegheny Val
lev railway track to siding connecting
with the Pennsylvania railroad. They
then procured large quantities of petro-
leum oil, and pouring it over the coke,
ignited the materials. In very few mo-
ments the car was a mass of fire, and
it was then pushed along the tracks and
forced against the round house. The
building was soon ignited, and
THE SOLDIERS WERE NOW COMPELLED TO
PREPARE TO FIGHT THEIR WAY OUT
through the frenzied mass of humanity
clamoring for their blood The struc-
ture did not burn as rapidly as was de
sired, and the mob bent on revenge,
rushed out on the road and sent burn
ing trains toward the doomed building.
From midnight until o'clock this
morning the main efforts of the croud
were directed to firing the buildings
and cars, but about half an hour later
the mob, which had been besieging the
the military, left for some unexplained
reason. This afforded the troops. who
were in actual danger of being roasted
alive, an opportunity to emerge from
the round house, and they
SUCCEEDED IN REACHING LIBERTY STREET
in very few moments. They quietly
formed in line and marched up to
Thirty-third street, and thence to Penn
sylvania avenue and Butler street
Their objective point was the United
States arsenal on Butler street, where
they expected to obtain shelter. While
turning into Butler street, however, the
leaders of the mob discovered them, and
fully 1000 men, armed and supplied
with ammunition,
FOLLOWED IN PURSUIT.
Some of the troops fired at citizens,
either accidentally or Intentionally, as
they moved along, and this added fury
to the cry for revenge. When they
reached the arsenal the cOmmandant
REFUSED TO ADMIT THEM.
| He said he had but ten men, and would
be powerless tohold the place if the mob
should attack it. He consented to take
care of the wounded, and they were ac-
cordingly carried into the hospitals.
| The main body of the troops continued
| their march out Butler street, fulsilade
being kept upon them by the mob as
they moved forward. The shots fired
killed one of the soldiers before they
reached the arsenal and nearly oppo
site the cemetery gate, fully a mile
above the arsenal two others We're ia
KILLED AND LEFT LYING ON THE SIDE
WALK. ,sG szfg--z
They continued their flight and cross
ed over to the north side of the
Allegheny River on the Sharps
burg bridge, the mob following
them as rapidly as possible. Afte,