Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1881-09-22
AN EVICTION IN IRELAND.
Pltchforks and Hot Water that KEEP
Armed Men at Bay.

Armed Men at Bay.
A Dublin correspondent of New
York paper writes:
life was presented this week in a pic
turesque district called Shanbough,
near New Ross, in the county OF Wex-
ford. At early noon a strong force Of
cavalry, infantry and police. moved
along the high-road, evidently on seri-
GUS business bent. In the rear-of the
little army there followed number of
balifs and general utility men,"
carrying crowbars, pickaxes, sledge-
hammers, ladders and other proper
ties" They were en- route to the resi-
dence of a widow woman named
Holden, who was tenant on the prop
erty Of Mr.. Boyd, whose son was shot
dead one Sunday afternoon some time
ago, while driving along the road. with
his father, who at the time escaped
with his life as if by a miracle. The
widow Holden was under eviction.
She, through her family, held posses
sion Of the farmhouse. and the large
civil and military force was proceeding
to aid the sheriff in the execution of the
laws decree by force of arms, if neces-
sary. When the widows house was
reached it was seen that 81 No surren-
der" was the order of the day, and that
there was tough work to be done.
The scene il we'll I" set on a stage
acles in extent; infantry soldiers and
police in a semi-circle in front of the
widows cottage; a fringe Of cavalry in
their rear, and background OF excited
peasantry men, women and children.
In front of the troops are the "prop-
erty men and the officers in comman1
of the expedition. There are heard the
rattling OF muskets as the soldiers
bring their arms to rest; the clanking
OF sabers, the champing Of bride bits,
the light laughter OF the troops, and the
angry talk of the peasantry in their ma
tive tongue. Enter now the sheriff,
with the original writ Of ejectment IN
his hand. The door of the cottage is
shut and the windows are barred from
within. The sheriff knocks at the door
with the handle of his riding-whip, and,
in somewhat uncertain tone of voice,
demands possession by virtue of the
queens writ to him directed. There is
no response save derisive shout from
the crowd grouped around the line of
military; all is as silent within the cot
tage as il it were deserted. But the
sheriff knows that it isn't deserted, and
this is the trouble with him. At a sign
from him the property men advance
and set to knocking in the door with
sledge-hammers and crowbars. The
first blow of sledge is the signal for
action from within. From an upper
window comes deluge Of boiling water
on the men beneath, who drop their
implements and run swearing from the
scalding shower. wild shout OF tri-
umph comes from the crowd, there is a
short consultation among the chiefs Of
the expedition, and the property
men again advance to the door, not at
all with alacrity; again the boiling
water leaps out Of the windows on their
heads and comes kissing into their faces
through every space in the gaping door,
One powerful fellow, who has been
badly scalded on the shoulders and
back, takes up d great stone, and, with
a giant effort, hurls it against the door,
which shakes on it's straining hinges,
but doesn't give way. A long and
heavy ladder is now used as batter
ing ram," and before some of its impet-
uous blows the enfeebled door groans,
gapes still wider and ultimately falls in.
But this is not much Of gain for the
storming party, who find themselves
face to face with well-built barTicade
of stones and wood in the hall. The
house is now surrounded by the mill
tary and police, who have orders to
capture the garrison. The ballitfs set
to work to tear down the barricade, and
he boiling water does execution upon
their heads and faces. It seems as if
they had been boiling water for week
in the cottage in anticipation of the
siege. The supply appears to be un-
limited. The barricade in the hall is
at length torn down, when new trouble
and danger present themselves in the
form of the widows stalwart sons and
retainers, holding the pass, armed
with pitchforks. The sherif's men, re-
garding this obstruction as more serious
than boiling water, refuse to advance.
The bayonets are ordered up. A party
Of police, led by an officer, confront the
men with the pitchforks, upon whom
the officer calls to surrender or take the
consequences. They won't surrender,
they say, and they don't care for the
consequences, and saying this they take
up strong position on the stair-land-
ing, "Prepare to charge says the
officer to his men; and the bayoneted
rifles drop to the regulation, angle for
charging purposes. Charge, '-shouts
the officer, and away 60 the bayonets up
the staircase. There is struggle
short and sharp, and when it is over
the men on the landing are in custody
and disarmed. They are handcuffed
and led out prisoners Of war. The pro-
cess of cleaning out every article OF
| furniture is nov begun, and when it is
completed the woman Of the house and
her daughter alone remain. They re-
fuse to cross the threshold, which the
law requires to be done, otherwise the
entire proceeding would be abortive.
The end of it is that the widow and hen
daughter are carried outside the thresh-
old, and then the legal process is com
pleted. There are loud lamentations
from the women of the crowd; the mer
are excited, and, probably but for the
presence Of what they call "the army
in such overwhelming force, they would
plunge into the scene. The house il
now garrisoned in the interest Of the
landlord, and the troops reform ane
march off the ground with their prison
ers. All this, I think. leads to the con
clusion that il dramatists who now write
powerful irish play" would give vi
attempting to invent sensation scenes
and lick to the facts as we have then
now they would produce plays intensel,
sensational and at the same time rig
idly true to real life.
Gniteau's Intention.
The day before the shooting of th