The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1877-08-03
The Sack of the City-scenes and Incidents
OF the Pillage.
[From the Pittsburgh Post.l

From the Pittsburgh Post
Professional thieves and, perhaps,
thousands who would be indignant at
the appellation, piled the vocation of
robbery from the time of the commence
ment of the burning of cars and through
out the whole of Sunday. Everywhere
men, women, and children could be seen
Juggling armfuls of every variety of
goods in all directions. In this the col
ored troops, male aud female, labored
"nobly." In the presence of the thou
sands of spectators who lined the hill
sides and hilltops, these vultures broke
into cars and carried off their contents.
Flour, whisky, bacon, cheese, tobacco,
and almost every description of goods
were thrown out, while hundreds carried
them off, the most industrious being
women. In many instances men rolled
and tugged upon barrels of -four until
they reached the top of the long and
steep hill overlooking the railroad yards.
Many sweated over boxes of cheese, rolls
of leather, armfuls of tobacco, ETC.,
while chairs and even unfinished buggy
wheels were toted up the incline. Dur
ing the afternoon the boldness of the
thieves became unexampled. Hams,
shoulders, sacks of -four, and other ar
ticles were carried by innumerable peo-
pie through the most prominent thor
oughfares, and some men stopped to
rest with their burdens at City Hall. On
Smithfield street men could be seen roll
ing along barrels of -four, and sitting
upon them occasionally to rest with as
much unconcern as if they had paid the
highest market price for the property.
During the burning of the Union Depot
there was grand raid by the thieving
brigade-men, women, and children
upon the cars at the Panhandle and
Adams Express depots, Grant street.
From thence they rushed IN all dlrec-
tons with many kinds of property. One
Irishman emerging with ham and
sack of -four was heard to remark that
this was the "bulliest sthrike he had
ever seen." Behind him was woman
struggling with fresh new box labeled
Irish soap.
Many of the thieves were arrested while
pouring along the streets, and the Cen
trail station-house this morning pre-
scented the appearance of suffers estab-
lishment in war times. Hams, fitch,
soap, butter, eggs. cheese, hardware,
bedding, cushions, sleeping-car furni-
ture, whips, highwines, and almost every
description of household articles were
stolen. One car laden with whips, which
was standing in the Panhandle yard,
at the side OF the depot, was broken
open, and, for the want of something
better to steal, many members OF the
crowd appropriated the whips to them
selves. Different persons inquired why
the Mayor did not have the plunderers
arrested, and that official promptly re-
piled that the Jail would not hold half
the number. 1t was simply impossible
to prevent the pillaging, and during the
greater part of the entire Lords day the
city was absolutely given over to the
plunderers.
Among the myriad instances of plum
der was one man who put on six shirts,
one over another, and covered the whole
by his own somewhat soiled garment; a
woman with sheet pinned together by
the four corners had il filled with flour;
another was seen with two buckets OF
ale; still another was rolling barrel OF
-four away, and fell over it at full length
in the muddy gutter, much to the mer-
riment of the spectators.
Our reporter met Boosting boy of Is.
"D'ye see that ball?" handing out a
large metallic cartridge with an ounce
ball; that's what these damned
Philadelphians are shooting our mothers
and sisters with. fixed one of them,
though" he added; "the poor devil got
away from his fellows, and wanted to
trade suits. So took him home, gave
him an old suit of working clothes, and
got his splendid rig, sword and all. But,
darn it all, lost fifteen sacks of flour in
the operation. 1 had them piled up
snugly in an alley, and when went back
some internal thief had taken them all
but one. But / got that and a ham, and
they'll keep us"