River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1881-01-06
AGITATED IRELAND.
The End and Lessons OF the Boycott
ENDadifion

One of the most extraordinary in
cidents in the history of Ireland has
been the 'Boycotting" of Lord Erne's
agent Mt Tough Mask. Three weeks
| ago it will be remembered how small
British army marched from the rail
road station at Claremorris to Ballin-
robe and Tough Mask, guarding a
/ small band of Ulster laborers who had
volunteered to get in this man Boy
colts turnips and other crops. 1t was
strange, weird march that stormy
night, when the country people from
/ all the surrounding district assembled
along the roao and hooted and Missed
4 the passing procession, and uttered
dark threats against the invading
Orangemen. / said country people,
/ though it should be added that only
women and children took part in the
/ demonstration, for the men, old and
/ young, in obedience to the word of COM
mand, given by the powerful organiza-
ton known as the land league, care
! fully kept out of the way, treating the
/ expedition with silent contempt. The
/ land league was guided by men who
were wise enough to know that Il
| conflict with the large military force
| sent out to protect the relief expedition
could only end in bloodshed and, per-
haps, disaster though | am informed
| that 10000 armed Irishmen could have
been collected at Ballinrobe at a days
notice; and they gave orders, trans
mitteG quickly to all parts Of Mayo,
that the expedition should not be dis
turbed or attacked. And so the Ulster
men arrived safely ut Tough Mask,
and went then to work amid rain and
and snow and storm, and in three
weeks succeeded in getting in Boy
colts crops, saving a few hundred
pounds worth of farm products at a
cost to The country estimated at from
81, 600 to 100000 On Friday last, the
relief work being completed, the
| Ulstermen were escorted from Tough
Mask to Ballinrobe, and on Saturday
morning from Balllnrobe, to Clare
morris, where they took the train for
the north.
This relief expedition was the work
of few Dublin Orangemen, who might
have been the means of evOking riot,
if nothing worse, mad not the govern
ment sent its soldiers to protect them.
AS to the wisdom Of this relief expedi-
ton opinions differ; but am inclined
to the view that it was ill-advised and
very foolish and born of that spirit of
religious antagonism that government
should sit down upon and not encOur-
age The English parers have praised
the conduct of this band of Orangemen
as "heroic," whereas it was simply
foolhardy twas no business of theirs
to stop the work of this vengeance, I'M
dertaken in the cause of oppressed hui
manitv. The tenant farmers and peas
ants Of Ulster live under much happier
conditions than their fellow country
men in Mayo. They have all the pro-
lection against unjust landlordism that
is accorded to the farmers of England,
and have themselves in past times
risen in open revolt at an oppression
far less severe than that which
was practised at Tough Mask. But in
the end the expedition did good, and
to themselves more than to anybody
else They learned while away in the
papist lands that they had come on
FOOLS GRAND; that they were assisting
Il cause which they themselves saw to
be an unjust one. They left their
northern homes with a dark hatred of
the Catholics of Mayo; they returned
home filled with sorrow for their suffer
ing fellow countrymen. In this way
the expedition has been productive of
good in bringing about kindlier feel
ing between rival factions, and | do
not think it will be long Renee before
Parnell and the leaders of the league
will find friends and sympathizers by
the thousand in the very districts
whittier the Ulster relief men have
gone.
THE RETREAT FROM MAYO.
The story of the retreat of Captain"
Boycott from Tough Mask deserves to
be chronicled, if emily on account of its
very strangeness. You have had the
story of the march of the expedi-
ton to Tough Mask, and your cores
pOndent cabled you the events of the
three weeks while the members of the
expedition were at work on the Boy
cotted farm The Ulster men worked
bravely mid snow, rain and storm, often
drenched to the skin, and with wretch
ed accommodations for sleeping. They
worked bravely, under trying condi-
tons, the most trying Of which was
the cold manner of Captain" Boycott's
reception and his carelessness as to
their personal comfort One would
have thought that Captain" Boycott
would have received his deliverers with
open arms, and, if he could not supply
them with food, would ut least have
paid attention to their housing But
Captain" Boycott did not even give
the Ulster men a shake of the hand
when they came; he seemed to care
nothing for their welfare, and refused
to lend them the most necessary nipple
ments for their work. Once some of
the men, wishing to chop some wood
took away an axe from one of the
Captains" outhouses, WhereupOn,
missing the instrument, he went down
to the camp, abusing the men calling
them hard names and almost charging
them with theft. Toward he last, how
ever. after the Dublin papers had spOk-
en- ofthis GOODNESS to theUlster men, Boy
colt showed a more friendly spirit, and
on the day when the expedition was
leaving did shake hands all round with
the north countrymen, thanking them.
At half-past ten O'Clock the train with
tdJtdII 1DOg IOlb OII DOflIu lClI SifhA Z
morris, the people hooting with enthu
siasm. The line for many miles was
guarded by constabulary, as fears had
been expressed that the train would be
thrown off the rails These precautions,
however. proved to be quite mneces-
sary. Indeed we felt quite secure on
that point, having been assured
laughingly by O'Nally that dynamite
had not been placed beneath the rails,
and that Ireland did not wish to bury
Captain Boycott, since Punishment
was quite sufficient for the purpose.
At every station along the line crowds
of people had assembled to catch a
glimpse of the exile, who whenever
seen, was greeted with groans. The
peasants all along the route seem to
have been aware of Boycott's passing
for nearly every wall and every gate
was occupied by men and boys who
watched the passing train. Arriving
at Dublin, some half dozen people who
recognized the exile gave few cheers
but they sounded soulless compared
with the groans which we had become
accustomed to en- route And there |
| lost sight of the land agent, who on the
following day, as | said took passage
e. E,,nlor- n