Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1877-07-30
THE PITTsBURG RIOTS.
Scenes and IncIdents Whem the Dis.
orders We're as Their Worst.


A gentleman whe happened in
Pittsburg at the time of the riot
sends the following description of
the scenes he witnessed:
A stranger sight than that at the
Union depot and vicinity at s. pm.
on Sunday uight cannot be imag-
ined-not stranger from the ter
rible scenes of carnage and rapine
than from the general demeanor of
the thousands and thousands OF
spectators crowding around the
scenes. The Union depot smoul-
ders a mass Of ruins; a long line Of
blazing timbers and iron columns
at white heat marked the site Of the
Adams Express Company's transfer
depot and the Pan Handle shops
the elevator and its thousands of
bushels of grain still blazed fiercely;
riotous crowds Of drunken men and
women reeled here and there under
loads of stolen merchandise of all
sorts; kegs of beer and whisky
were rolled or carried in every di-
rection, the heads knocked out and
contents swilled down the throatS
of the mob, carelessly kicked over,
or else set under some car OF truck
and a torch thrown into them.
Here some drunken brute, tired Of
his load, would dash keg Of
liquor down into the crowd he was
passing through; there, Il half
crazed woman, with hair tangled
and matted, and clothing half gone
would push through the masses o
people, carrying in her arms OF
trailing after her hundreds of yards
of dry goods torn indiscriminately
from plundered freight car
Boys, aye, and girls too, of twelve
and fifteen years of age, would
dodge into a car and out again t
the crowd of spectators, Offering ;
silk umbrella, a set of silver-plateC
harness, a bundle Of whips, q box
of cutlery-anything their hands
had happened to clutch in the wilC
scramble-for twenty-five cents.
noticed a boy Of probably thirteen
years dash into passenger car Oh
the siding, near the east end of thu
tunnel, rip open the cushion Of ;
seat, strike match and touch Of
the paddiyg. A gentleman beside
me cried out, "Hold, there, yot
young scoundrel," and the DO,
: leered up into his face and YELLED
out, eco to A-l, you
this is our day." and policeman
behind muttOred, " Itsbetter to lie
'em alone; they'd go any length.
now"
And all this time, through ever,
phase of desperate, reckless crime
the vast concourse of people looked
calmly on, with an apsthetic indil
ference that was simply astounding
Hundred of young and middle-aget
men, with ladies on their arms
some of them leading little children
grouped around, standing on any
thing that would enable them t
look over the heads Of the crowd il
front, gazing calmly but curiously ol
the scenes, and laughing as heartil
at any funny or ludicrous inciden
in the terrible scenes as if the who'll
thing was u gigantic farce or pan
, tomime, provided for their specia
amusement.
A fine looking, middle-aged man
with iron-gray beard, and a MARTA
look generally, mounted a good
box, calmly looked over the scene
! got down, lighted a cigar and cool
remarked: "Well, as the parro
said to the monkey, we're having
hell of timep DR., Slater
7 showed me an ounce minnie bal
I remarking, 81 cut that from til
I shattered thigh bones of Charlie
White, and came near having
? cut one from myself. Soc," hold
ing up the lappel of his Prime
Albert, through which a muskC
: ball had torn an ugly rent.
; dead man was carried through th
" 4 a l sl.o.tN ,,,1