Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1883-06-08


to Belleville and report the situation to
Sheriff Ropiequet, and did so, assuring the
Sheriff that the mine was besieged by
band OF women and between 900 and SoO
strikers, who were stationed all about the
locality. The Sheriff resolved to ask Gov
ernor Hamilton for militia. He had done
so before, but the Governor responded that
until some overt act had been committed he
would not order the militia about Belleville.
The situation at tho Reinecke Mine was, in
the Sheriff's telegram, explained to the
Governor, and he this time replied that
three companies of militia had been or
dered to the Reinecke Mine, to be used UNI
der the Sheriff'S orders and directions.
The militia companies were in East st.
Louis and on their way home. They were:
Company B, Taylorville Guards, Capt.
Croker in command; Company Il, Virden
Guards, Capt. NJ. G.. Wilson in command;
Company f, Edwardsville Guards, Capt.
j. 7. Fahnenstock in command. The three
companies numbered about one hundred
men, and were under the general command
of Col. j. H. Barkley. These companies
had been out to the disturbances at the Alb
bey mines, and had come down to East st.
Louis yesterday forenoon on their way
home. At o'clock p. M, j. Elliott, Adju-
tant-General at Springfield, telegraphed
Col. Barkley to send these companies to
their respective stations and report himself
at general headquarters at Springfield In
answer to the Sheriff's telegram the Gov.
ernor ordered that these companies go to
! Reinecke.
| There were the seventy-five women, still
| on the hill at the mine on the north side of
| the track angrily discussing the situation
and trouble with Deputy Sheriff Anthony,
| who had but a few moments before re-
| turned from Belleville. On the railroad
| track were about 100 of the strikers, while
on the hills south of the track were about
| $50 more strikers hidden in the timber, but
who could at times, as they moved about,
be disccrned. Thirty-five miners were i'm.
| priSoned in the pit, and Reinecke was inn
| prisoned in one of his own houses. This
| was the situation when the train bearing
| the militia stopped at the mine.
| AS the train stopped Deputy Sheriff An
| thony was on the south side of the track
! and Deputy Sheriff Ragland on the north
! side. The strikers all, with the exception
of few, stepped to the north side of the
track and on the side upon which the sol
| diers were alighting. Deputy Anthony
espying Gen. Reese as he got off, APP
preached and spoke to him. The general
notified him that the militia had come up
under command of Col. Barley and the
two started towards them when Col. Bark
! ley had gotten off. just as they started
several of the strikers commenced making
insulting remarks and threatening the sol
diers, besides making violent demonstra.
| tions. Then Anthony ordered them to be
| quiet, and commanded them in the name of
the County of 81. Clair and State of ILL
nois TO offer no violence. Just at this a
striker presented pistol at Anthony and
Gen. Reese and discharged it. The bullet
passed between the two and Deputy
Anthony pulled his revolver. But almost
simultaneously with the shot fired at An
thony and Gen. Reese there were several
pistol shots fired by the strikers at the
soldiers who were aligting from the cars,
and also into the car windows, there vet
being soldiers in the cars, several of them
narrowly escaping being hit, one having
his coat cut 10y a bullet. When Anthony
| pulled his pistol and the strikers kept up the
! fire, he fired himself, and called upon the
strikers to halt and desist. This was not
done, some of them having already COM
menced to pour over the plain to the
hill. Anthony called upon the soldiers
to fire, as the pistol shooting by the
| strikers was being kept up. This all hap
pened in very short space of time. In re-
Spouse to the deputy's command, the or
der of "ready, aim, fire." was given and a
volley of musketry was sent after the strik-
ers. The plain was filed with them, run
ming at break-neck speed for the HILL be.
hind which they desired TO get for protec
ton. Under the base of this hill is stream
or ditch about five feet in width and the
strikers in their rapid retreat had is jumr
this, and in landing in the soft earth on the
] other side they We're delayed a little The
soldiers kept pouring the shot toward them
| but 1t was plainly to he seen that the aim
was high and intended to hit no one, as the
"a.
were about 80 shots fired by the soldiers,
and for about two minutes the sound Oh
musketry was kept up and it looked war.
like, indeed. The strikers who had been
on the hill retreated as soon as the first
shots were fired, and they were soon behind
1t and out OF danger. Those on the track
retreated across the plain, over the ditch
mp the hill and over it as fast as possible
but some were left behind, and one there
! is who Is unable to tell his story or give an
| account of the hattie Tho firjnn
some of the soldiers in squads started liz
! pursuit OF those retreating and still in sight.
while others started over the hills after
those who had COTTON out of sight; but the
latter strikers knew the uneven and wooded
country too well for the soldiers and none
of them were captured. Close by the sol.
| diers took twentysix prisoners and placed
them under guard Upon looking over the
! plain and close to the base of the hill and
| just on the south bank of the ditch spoken
| of, could have been seen the body of a man.
| Then the word went out that q man had
been killed.
! 1t was some time before it was ascertain.
ed who he was. but at length he was identi.
fled as Fred Hoffmeister, a glass-boweI
who had been i'm West Belleville but two
weeks. He was about twenty-five years ol
| age, single, and had come from Pittsburg
Pa. The glass-blowers of Belleville are or
strike, and some of them were in company
with the striking miners yesterday, and
this accounts for his presence at the
Reinecke mine yesterday.
William Starkey, another miner, was
found to be wounded, being shot through
the right hip. 1t is thought that there NAV
be others wounded who escaped over the
hill. The women scampered off as soon as
the firing commenced, except a few, and
they left when they were threatened with
arrest. Henry Theur, of Company F, was
at first thought to be wounded, but his coat
was only cut by bullet
On the prisoners, of whom there were
twenty-six, were found two small pistols.
After the firing the miners in the pit were
brought up. They were at a loss to lxl ow
why they had been imprisoned all day, and
explanations were accordingly made. In
the evening two companies, the Firden and
Iaylorville troops, returned home, leaving
only the Edwardsville company at the
mines, which is in charge of Sheriff Ropie.
quet. The military officers regret the
shooting, but say that il was done at the or.
der of the Deputy Sheriff and that the i'm.
tention was to fire above the heads of the
strikers.
The scattered strikers seemed by COM
mon consent to take course toward Belle
vile, and before dark they began to strag-
gle into the city in groups of from three to
ten: BY O'Clock several hundred had
gathered in West Belleville. Shortly after
dark they formed long procession, in
which number of citizens joined, and to
the music of drum they paraded the prin-
cipal streets of the citv.
After the parade they gathered in front
OF the Courthouse, where several speeches
were made, in which the action of the
militia was denounced. They then dis.
banded, but all night long Belleville was in
a state of unusual excitement, while all
mine-owners in a radius of ten miles stood
guard over their property and expected
the worst.
One singular fact in connection
with the loss of the steamer Granite
State, says the Hartford Courant, is that
in the excitement of the moment.
when peril of death was imminent, not
a person on board, SO far as evidence
shows, secured life-lI eserver; yet fif-
teen or twenty people who found them
selves cut off from es ape BY the stair
way and .gang-pank, plunged into the
river, and those who went in first and
foremost could not swim. And vet the