The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1884-04-03

lyncn'laW mop ana aGCacK en- Cne county
jail, was at fever heat last night and Ham.
ilton County's costly and magnificent Court
house was fired and almost entirely con.
sumed. 1t was bloody night. Over one
hundred people were killed and wounded.
Yesterday morning groups gathered upon
every street corner, and the mutterings of
the crowd were continuous. With the first
glimpse of morn the curious crowd
began assembling in the vicinity of the
Courthouse and Jail, called from their
beds at this unusual hour by the almost
ceaseless firing of musketry the night be:
fore. Long before noon all had become
aware of the carnage of the night. Hand
bills were flung in the faces of the many,
urging the citizens to organize at once,
and make one clean sweep of the bloody
business while they were at it. "Heal
sores by purifying the body" was the
motto displayed, the cry being that public
safety demanded immediate action. This
call for the vigilants still further inflamed
the minds of the masses, and looking upon
the wreck and ruin, the blood stains and
bullet scars visible everywhere about the
were augmented to open threats; even the
more peaceful elements of the community
SO far forgetting the majesty of the law as
to lend countenance to evidently to.be-re-
newed riots. So dark was the outlook
that the building of barricades was
Gasling Gi's gun, nssAn afterwards m s '1 to 'bs be
used with such deadly effect, wheeled
into place, the militia, five hundred strong,
enseonsed within the huge stone edifice, and
platoons of police stationed at the head of
every street giving access to the county
buildings. Dusk had hardly set in when
the masses began to assemble and threaten
the structure in which was lodged the OBJ
jects of their vengeance. Beyond the GUS
tomary hum of voices and an occasional
shout of some chance drunkard in the crowd,
nothing was at first to be heard from the
obstinate and determined mob. Lights be.
gan to flicker in the adjacent byways and
the buildings were Illuminated for
squares around, anxious and expect
ant watchers being stationed at every win.
dow. About the Jail, however, all was
darkness, the street lamps even having
been extinguished, and grim in its solitude
it stood threatening, like a mighty fortress
on a rock. The gloom of night being now
fairly upon them, the rioters hustled into
action, though with the same seemingly
aimless purpose as upon the preceding
evening.
A few scattering militiamen, upon whom
all seemed to wreak revenge for the
carnage of the early morn in which a
number were killed and wounded, now ap.
peared in the throng, intent upon joining
GuclT COuuTducS III buc SOuTb-uOuS0
"Kill them! kill themw was heard upon
every side, while stones and missiles OF
every description flew over and about them
crashing through windows, battering down
doors and causing other destruction
By a miracle these stragglers es
encouraged, pressed upon the long line Of
police, to whose protection the militiamer
owed their lives, and continuing the fusi
lade of stones, the windows of the Treasu
rer's office were demolished and the riotine
began in earnest. The patrolmen, as
warning, discharged volley of blank
cartridges from their navy skies, and the
crowd for an instant wavered, seme of the
more timid even taking to flight, but the
leaders again pressed on, when another
volley was given them. Confusion now
reigned supreme. The sounding bells soor
Office and all the records, in attempt
ing to save which Capt. John J.
Regiment o. n. c., was shot through the
head and instantly killed. Other victims
were soon added to the list. The gattlins
gun with death-dealing force was shortly
turned upon the crowd, and the fighting
from that on became no longer confess
for the prisoners i'll the Jail, but q genera
warfare upon the militia. At midnight the
dead and dying were thick about the Court
house square, which building being il
stroyed. The Fire Department being sen
for refused to respond, and guards wer,
sent to them in answer to their telephon,
demand for aid. At Engine-house No. 4
steam engines Nos. and were then wait
ing for an escort of troops.
By II O'Clock the mob had succeeded il
setting the interior of the Sheriff's offic,
on fire, and, defending the approach to it
confines in the lower portion of the Court
house proper, the entire building was sool
=, v,-lx. L. 1--l 4 II.
ment of men into this apartment from
the rotunda that Captain Desmond ant
Private Mcclure were killed. Lieuteuan
of Police Devine and Recorder Hill still
pushed on despite the shower of bullet
from the attacking party without, but al
efforts to save the records proved futile
From here the conhagration spread rapidly
and the huge stone edifice was by midnigh
wrapped in towering sheets of flames ant
smoke. At half-past II the Surveyor
office on the South Court street side wa
completely demolished and the fire wa
then ranging in the third floor of tn,
building. The heavens for miles aroun,
were brilliantly illuminated, great masse
of sparks now and then shooting upwar
as block after block of stone, and massiv
beams of oak fell into the all-de
vouring element. At 1 o'clock all though
or hope of checking the fire had been aband
oned, and before the day dawns tn
great stone structure, so long an ornamen
to our city, will be a mass of ruins
The Fourteenth Ohio National Guards al
rived upon the ground at half-past l
O'Clock, and deploEing on Main street, fire
| five people and wounded many more
Just the result of the succeeding volleys
| fired at longer and longer range, as th
| mob fell back and scattered, it could not b
| determined, but as the fire was delivere
| with precision, there must have been man
ha
that at l O'Clock the military an
| police were in at least ten
| porary possession of the battlefield, an
| the firemen were permitted to go to wor
| unmolested on what was left of the burr
ing Court t-house. There. were several mil
tiamen hurt but none killed outright
| this battle. At 1:15 A. NJ, the situatio
| growing more serious, Governor Hoadl
! ordered the Fourth Regiment, which we
| bivouacked at the c., H. & D. Depot, I
march from the depot out Fourth street I
| Sycamore, and charge the mob in the rea
| About quarter of three o'clock the r
| port reached Hammond Street Station th,
| about three hundred men were on their wa
| to Kittredge's and Powell's gun stores, {
| Main street, with two cannon that they ha
captured at Music Hall. There were po
sibly twenty men hauling the guns. Lie
tenant John Burke left the station-hou
with a small squad of men, and marchir
up to the crowd scattered them with fe
well directed pistol shots, and then pulle
the cannon up Main and handed them ov
to the militia.
Burdsal's drug store, on Main street, ne
Court street, at two O'Clock this morniI
had been turned into a hospital f
wounded soldiers. Among those the
were Lieutenant Colonel VIM. NJ. Legge
of the Fourteenth Regiment, Columbu
Ohio, slightly wounded. Sergeant Mi
Malone, Company B, First Regiment, Ci
cinnati. Ohio, flesh wounds. CAPITA
Slack, Fourteenth Regiment, Company
Columbus, Ohio, wounded in the rig
hand.
FirstFSergeant Anil, Company F, FoI
teenth Regiment, Columbus, wounded
the right hand and three slight wounds
the head and legs. Private w. H. Schove
Company F, Fourteenth Regiment, Colu
bus, wounded in hip and leg-not serious
and Private j. II. Kelly, Company
Fourteenth Regiment, Columbus, On
three slight leg wounds.
Among the casualti' of the citizens we
he following: Three men were carried