The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1883-05-30
THE RIOT AT BELLEVILLE.
Details of the Boisterous Conduct of
the Wives of the Striking Miners
The Presence of the Troops a Surprise to
the Miners-The Causes of the TrOu-
BILE in the Belleville District.


Colated from Specials.
After augmenting their forces at Belleville,
the women proceeded to the Reinecke mine,
and called for the owner of the shaft. Mr..
Reinecke asked them what they desired, tell
ing them that he had offered to pay the min
ers what they had struck for. The women
replied that they wanted the new miners, or
'scabs," as they called them, to come up out
of the mines and have talk with the strk-
ers. This Mr. Reinecke refused to grant,
Then they abused Mr. Reineckeroundly, and
called him all sorts of names, which he took
as goOdnaturedly as possible. They now re-
solved to take possession of the mine and the
engine-house, from which the cars in the
shaft were operated. They were proceeding
to move in that direction, but Mr. Reinecke
was too quick for them. He had ordered the
engineer to close the opening of the shaft
and then to close the engine house. both of
which were done promptly. Thus thirty-five
new miners were shut up in the mine, $50
feet below the surface The women, when
they saw that the mine shafts were closed
and the engine-room also, and that they
were circumvented in their plans, ragged ter
ribly and used the most violent language
toward Mr.. Reinecke and almost struck him
with their clubs, which they held up and
shook in his face, He was just at this time
standing at the top of the pit, and they actu-
ally attempted to seize him and hurl him
down the embankment, some forty feet be-
low. But he succeeded in stepping back and
evading the catastrophe They followed him
about from place to place, continually sur
rounding him. All were making speeches
to him at the same time, and in language
loud and violent 1t was a perfect Babel,
and poor Reinecke could not be heard at all,
and they did not want to hear him.
1t was no use to order them off his prem
ises, for they would not 60 and dared him to
attempt to put them off. They feared the
special deputies under Deputy-sheriff An
thony as little as they did Mr.. Reinecke. For
some time the women and the operator dis
cussed the situation in the manner stated
Reinecke constantly declaring that the mine
was his and he was going to run it himself.
After time the women and the strikers had
another consultation, and then the women
went to Reinecke with another proposition.
This was that Mr.. Reinecke let two men from
the pit come up and consult with the strik-
ers, and see what could be done. This also
Mr.. Reinecke refused to do, as he held that
all the strikers desired was to get the pit
opened and chance to get at his men, and
they would be forced away. Reinecke inall '
announced it as his final and unaterabe de-
termination to not have any consultation
with the strikers or open his mine to let his
men out for that purpose. This decision was
received by the women with groans at first,
and then loud and long imprecatons. Some
of them actually cried with rage They
again made for Reineck and threatened
violence to him. The proposition was
made and considered to take him and thro w
him into the pond, but they could not, in
their excitement and rage, think of any one
thing or threat for a sufficient length of time
to carry it into execution. They, however
continued to follow him about, shaking their
clubs and sticks at him and tongue-lashing
him in manner that he would doubtless re-
member all his life. The strikers on the
railroad track did not come upon the mine
1ionc hut haxy hxrx
the proper times, urged the women on in
their behavior Reinecke was getting pale
and weak with excitement and the ordeal he
was being put through. At an opportune
moment he managed to steal away from
them and escaped into q tenement house.
owned by him and close to the mine This
house had four apartments, and he got into
the southwest corner one and locked himself
in. Here he was prisoner of his own Volt
ton against the rawlings and threats of the
seventy-five excited women from noon till
$50 o'clock, when the militia made it posi-
BILE to come safely out into the daylight
again. But when the women discovered that
he had got away from them and
into the house, their fury knew no bounds
and they made wild rush for the building.
Led by the women. Amelung and Dickinson,
they tried to open the door, but it was locked
They demanded Reinecke to open it, but he
thought it more pleasant not to. Then they
commenced pounding the doors, window
sashes and the sides of the building with their
clubs, and it would seem that they would
force themselves in But they did not care to
break in, lest they might be punished. They
kept up this racket more TO scare and modest
Reinecke and spend their wrath than any
thing else
The pit boss was placed in front of the
house to guard it, but all he could do was to
stand with blackened face land take an i'm
mense amount of abuse of every possible de-
scription, some of it indecent. While he
stood on the porch in front of the house
they would only rail at him and abuse him.
But when they moved away and got to talk
ing among themselves and he stepped off the
porch, they would make a wild rush at him
with uplifted clubs and chase him back TO
the porch. This was done numerous times
during the afternoon but he stood his
ground we'll under the circumstances and es-
capped injury.
Arrival of the Troops.
When the train reached Knechts mines,
about mile west of Reinecke's, the strikers