The Labor enquirer., 1884-04-19
into this mass from being ten times as
fatal as it was. The crowd fed in every

direction for safety, and the militia kept
on firing. This is the main feature Of the
history of the firstnight. The sounding
of q public riot alarm, was q terrible
blunder. The regarding of the crowd
which it assembled as mob and a riot
was an insane crime. The police would
have managed it if left to them. Sheriff
Hawkins lacked brains and judgement.
He fell into bloodthirsty frenzy, and
infected the militia with the same.
Tie taking of the militia into the jail.
as if it were fort to be defended, was
the strangest maneuvre to protect the
peace of the city, or even to protect the
iaiI. There was force that could have
cleaned the streets. But shut up In the
| Jail it invited the people to surround II
and then treated them as a riot and fred
into them, Had there been any organi-
cation on the part of the crowd, or any
plan or determination. or even hundred
men combined, after that firing, neither
militia nor prisoners would ever have
come out of the Jail alive.
Next day there ran through the city
the horror of unofending citizens, men,
women and boys shot down while look
ing on where they thought not of danger
or offense. There was a sense of outrage,
but no organization. Militia from
abroad came in and all were marched to
the iail. And now they ventured into
| the street In front of the Jail and barri-
caded that. A force that might have
commanded the streets, shut up and for
titled itself here, as if there was no OBJ
Ject but the Jail, and as if they werere-
duced to the defensive extremity. Any
people that came near the barricade were
fred on. The militia now acted Jas If
their duty was to shoot all they could.
They were not wholly to blame for
this. AS they came to the city they got
the idea that large part of the popula-
ton was in an armed riot. They were
at the start impregnated with Sheriff
Hawkins killing frenzy. They thought
that every man they saw in that quarter
was man to shoot. Of course many
people came to that vicinity. Many did
not know all and went to see. Many
supposed that single persons approach
ing the vicinity of the barricades would
not be fred on. But the shooting made
no discrimination. The militia were in
ferocious panic. Many were mere
boys, without judgement or knowledge
of the duty. And the ferocious, witless
sheriff said, kill, kill.
An unorganized hoodlum crowd of
boys and men without any distinct pur-
pose raided one gun store for arms, and
attempted another which the proprietor
defended. But they got little by this.
The devotion of all the force to the Jail
and its eDtrenchments left the court
house undefended. How it was set on
fire is not certainly known. There was
a crowd of boys and men in front. The
fire was long time getting started. A
hundred soldiers could have cleaned the
whole street in its front. So could
hundred policemen. Captain Desmond
started out with squad of men to carry
a hose from hydrant to put out the fire.
He fell dead, shot through the head.
He is buried without any inquest. 1t
is believed that an inquest would show
that the ball entered the back of his
head, fired by one of his own men.
Sheer imbecility of brains and of fear
allowed the court house to burn with
out any manly effort to protect or save
it. And still the militia kept firing from
the barricades on the crowd or on single
persons, no matter how far away. Nor
at any time were the militia in any dan
ger. 1t was rage. of militia terror.
The sheriff had not sense enough to stop
it. A reward is offered for the killer Of
Desmond. They dare not make public
an examination of his wound. 1t is yet
to be shown that the shooting of any
man was by any but the militia:
The peoples indignation increased.
But still there was no organization. The
excitement drew crowd, and supplied
new victims, but they were paralyzed by
the senseless slaughter and military
feroclty. Newspaper reporters with
their usual activity and daring and with
their habit of accurate observation for
news, were in the crowd and in the Jail
at the very beginning and through the
first night, and were all around on the
second night, but declared that they
could find no mob, and no riot except of
the militia and sheriff. Next day, Sun
day the barricades were pushed further
out, still making the Jail citadel, and still
guarded by militia with guns in their
hands, ready to fire if single person
approached.
And so the three nights and days of
terror and slaughter wound up, and at
last blood ceased to flow. A bloody
nightmare has been upon US, and we dare
not wake up to the truth. The people
were incensed by the slaughter, but they
were without organization or arms, and
were disabled by their own numbers,
and the habit of submission to law was
strong with them. The burning of the
court house, probably by some of the
criminal gang, was taken as giving the