Weekly Chillicothe crisis. (Chillicothe, Livingston Co., Mo.) 1878-19??, 1884-04-10
ASSAUGED ANGER.
The Passion of the Crazy Crowd ut
Cincinnati Finally Run Its
Course.


! SATURDAY N-Urlgln OF the Bloody
| Conflict.
There were about thirty murdrrerS
confined in the Jail, and on learning
that one of the number, William Bcr-
ner, had been sentenced to the peni-
tentiary for twenty years, Il mob, cX-
aSpcrated to madness, demanded adj
mittance to the Jail, determined To
hang the murderer.
The First Battle,
The Enquirer gives the following de-
scription Of the opening of hoStilitics
between the mob and militia on Friday.
When Sheriff Hawkins learned that
they were coming he had the riot
alarm, "62l.n sounded on the fire
bells, followed by the number of the
nearest alarm-boN, and prepared for
I an attack. The crowd began work
upon the north door at the level of the
street. A large plank was used rs II
battcring ram and the door soon gave
way. BY 10 O'Clock a hole had been
made in the door large enough to nd
nit one man at time. About the
same time others had descended into
the area before the office door and
forced their way into the well ."
Rushing up the stairwayS, the crowd
gained the corridors. The first attempt
was made on cell No. II, occupied by
johnson, one of the Avundale MUIR
dcrcrS. A large Scantling or plank
was used on the cell door, which began
to cave in. At this point several dep
uty SheritlS talked to the crowd, which
was entirely good-humorcd, and, with
the aid OF Il speech from Private Watch
man Devote, succeeded in getting them
to leave the corridor While this was
going on the patrol squads had re-
spondcd to the call and dashed up
Sycamore street in their heavy wagons.
The crowd stopped No, and ordered
the squad to drive off, The squad
turned and went about a square down
Sycamore street. In a few minutes
No. came galloping up the street and
succeeded in penetrating the crowd
rs far as the entrance TO the Jail. Some
shots were fired close to the wagon and
five from the pavement. 4 spectator
named Tony Neddcr, II years old, was
shot in the head. Officer Mccchly,
who was in No 3, was struck in the
head with boulder and knocked I'M
conscious.
Chief Reilly came with patrol wagon
No. and entered the Jail from the
front, bringing with him 4 large squad
Of police. With the aid of these, and
such as had entered the Jail before.
Sheriff Hawkins drove back the crowd.
The police had orders to use no vio-
lcncc, but to push the crowd out which
they did. Then the crowd put up
plank to Z iirst-Story window above
the basement and forced it in. The
plank was next used as Il bridge, over
which many of the crowd scrambled.
Others now made an attack ON the
sonth door, which gave way, and hun
drCds poured in. Private property
was respected, and many citizens
helped the women who were members
OF the jailcr's families to carry the
furniture to places Of safety in the
second story. The windows were
kicked out and more men scrambled
in over the plank, until some one
within called upon the crowd to stay
back that there were too many nj
ready in the building the order
was obcycd.
The crowd soon found that it could
not gain admission to the Jail through
these apartments. In Il little while
the office and Il corridor leading
south from the "wcll" in which the
stairway winds up to the corridor above
were both filled with men. The plank
was brought into use TO batter down
the iron door between the well and the
office, which door was reinforced by 4
heavy Scantling barricadc. On the
other door, barring the well from
the south corridor, sledgc hammers
were brought to bear, and by midnight
the lock was broken OFF and some of
the bars had yielded. About this time
both doors had given way, Meanwhile
the patrol-wagOnS on Sycamore street
made several dashcs through the
crowd, and at one time an attempt was
made to drive No. 4 along the west
pavement to clear it, but the crowd
would not have this. 1t stcercd the
horses into the street. The crowd
poured in through both the open doors
and were met by the police, who swung
their clubs manfully and cracked
many pate. Some of the citizens in
the advance of the two crowds were
siczed, disarmed and rushed back in
to the tunnel as prisoners. Pistols
were drawn by the crowd and boul-
dcrS hurled through the air into the
ranks of the policemen. Suddenly an
additional horror was added to the
scene. Some one turned out the gas,
leaving the scene in darkness. Some
of the crowd hurried out after Ian
terms while others rclit the gas, and
the police did the same.
A terrible thing happened Il few min
utcs afterward. The sheriff had sent
for the militia, and these citizen sol
diery marched through the Court
House and by way of the tunnel to the
Jail. When the troops entered the
tunnel Officers Won Seggern and Phil
Num- were standing at the iron gate
which cuts the tunnel off from the
Jail. Officer Won Seggern called out,
"For Gods sake, don't shoot in here.
You'll hit some of your friends The
shouting of the crowd and the sound
OF the battering-ram, which was still
being swung, and the rattling of bowl
ders caused the militia to lose their
heads. An officer shouted Fire and
volley of buck and bird shot flew
past the officers, and Phil Num- was
struck and badly hurt, while Won Seq
germ was shot in the cheek. One of
the militia told the reporter that the
firing was done by the rear ranks, and
that those in front had to jump out of
the way to save their own lives. There
were some answering shots from with
in the Jail, it seems, and two of the
soldiers were wounded in the face.
One of the prisoners in the tunnel,
Henry Hates, received bullet in the
right lung, and died in an hour.
When they entered the Jail the mill
tia began firing wildly on the crowd,
which were contending with the po-
lice. Scars on the walls show that the
shot flew high. The deafening noise of
the reports scared the crowd, which
Immediately retired. Asquad was sent
down the south corridor and another