The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1884-03-31

| the other portions the white colored smoke
and steam was rising M the water thrown
bv the engines fell ibto the burning con-
tents. Last nj ht wi en- the SUI went down
| the occupants OF the treasurer's office were
sitting at tho open plate glass windows
smoking cigars and reading ac'
| counts OF the previous nights at.
tempts on the Jail. There was no
thought that in -'x hours thoss windows
would be broken and the accumulated
wealth aud contents OF that great building
In ruins, but this great building, great ~
Its loss, was merely property. The other
losses In that locality were OF human IFS,
Pools Of blood here and there In the
| trampled dust, or on the brick sidewalks
were to be seen, Only one hour before on
Sycamore street before the courthouse ay
four or I've dead bodies OF drunken or ven
turesome men la spite OF the policemens g
warnings they had gone beyond the limit
permitted by the militia. No one dared TO
go and take them away until the mob dis.
persed and the streets were clear. Only
two hours before, at p, m, when the
small crowd sstnered a. the drug
store at Court and Walnut, on"
square west OF the court house;
man. The Militia. mistaking this for re-
newsl OF the mob Gred = volley, killing one
and wounding the nephew OF the proprietor
OF the store One ball struck the iron fac.
ing on the door and rebou nding crashed
through a glass door near the head OF the
proprietor, who was using the telephone
~ the time Passing to the north side
ening scene was presented. Here, ap.
psrently, the wounded had taken
shelter behind the protecting building or
perhaps here the fatally wounded had
crawled TO die. Pool after pool OF blood
dyed the ground oil along the curbstoss.
A .a-. :. 80 ...A MI
ible aud In hnllwavs three -quares distant
on Main street he floor was smeared wher''
some unfortunate had crswled to dress his
wounds or die. The bursing Of the
court house was wholly Aimless and
malicious. except that one might ind an
excuse In the feeling tnat the crowd was
augered at the place where the failure to
II did not aid at all in getting the
prisoners nor In doing harm to the
militia. 1t was purely a wauton act,
nor was there any excuse for the failure 10
protect this property The crowd was par
mitted to go.to the very windows and break
them in without resistance, and when op'
portunity offered some devilish commun-
ist, VINO gloried In pure destruc ion, sue-
eested to cast some light on the subject.
This was the trivial manner on which he
'@sta Of G%sric. Sure @ enough" said .acta
er. With this leadership, and with these
motives, chairs, carpets aud desks we're
broken and piled In heaps 4, the treasur-
er's Office and the match applied As this
was done silly headed or drunken hood
lums In the crowd cheered and vel,ed,
Burn the Cd id militia out" Just
here occurred one OF the most melan-
choy events OF the night, the kill.
ing Of Captain John J Desmond. he had
been sprrised OF the purpose {, burn the
i F.ad .(
militia to try and put out the fire. they
fred on him and ball passed through his
hand. At the same time Private Mcclure
was shot through tho breast and fatally
hurt. Captain Desmond was young law
yer Of much promise, o hne.lookig
soldier, the pride OF the rsgi-
ment and one whose loss on
WAS no use now to try TO stnp the incen-
diaries. Tney went from office to office,
starting 6tes, and In q few minutes, with
windows all broken out, the courthouse
glowed like furnace. The fire
engines were poweriess, first be-
cause the nremen refused TO 10 out,
without the escort OF the troops, aud.
second, because tie crowd could easily have
cut the hose aud prevented the use OF the
engines. 30 the IRE had its way. Ofice
alter office was reached by the flames and
as the floors crashed and fell the crowd
cheered. The bad management of Sheriff
Hawkins has been again and again COM
mented on to-day with reference to the loss
OF this building. An immense veranda
With huge stone columns reaching
from the top /, the irst story roof and
commanding Main and Court streets
formed q place whore twenty men in safety
could have cleared the whole space with
two vollsys. and could have made certain
death OF any man coming within range.
aft tfank m m raQ
er's office was made it would have
been the work OF a minute TO have
sent three times twenty men TO all
the front windows Of the court-house
building and driven the mob awuy.
Instead poor Desmond with a mere squad
was sent to the first floor TO out out the
fire, and he was sacrificed. 1t was the gal
liant work OF Colo 1el Freeman, fourteenth
regiment, tn at finally cleared the streets and
gave the authorities control of the entire
space about the court house and All.
Colonel Hawkins had evidently misunder-
9 ood the motives of the mob He thought
the prisoners in the jail their objective
point whereas IL they had any purpose at
all IL was TO take revenge on the militia TOR
the previous nights reckls firing. Colonel
Hawkins. therefore, had given his whole
attention TO the protection OF the All aud
the prisoners His opportunities Tor
knowing the exact situation we're
not good, and he had reason TO expect as
sistance early from outside troops. The
fourteenth regiment was expected at
O'Clock. 1t was nearly ~ when II reached
the courthouse. The fourth regiment was
O total failure. Ii marched to Eighth and
and Walnut and then marc 1ed back to the
depot. 1t was nfterward ordered to march
to ioin the troops at tne Ill, but the colonel
stated the troops had scattered and he could
not get them together. 1t was after all
possibility OF doing any good had passed
when those troops flally ined
the rest OF the command. The conduct
of Colonel Watt will probably be the sub
iect of Investigation. 30 far as now known
the failure OF this command was not a
TROUT able to any indlsposition 10 do their
duty, The united testimony OF men who
hsd opportunities OF observation was that
from $50 TO 300 men com, osed be bulk NJ
the violent active rioters and that th'y
we're not fully armed. They we're siimu-
lated by cheers aud the presence of others,
out the general opinion is that ve'y
little amount OF generalship would have
been sufficient to put them to Hight.
This was strikingly proven when the titk
WAS made os Powell's gun re about mid
night. The first man who entered was
snot dead. The second shareI the same
fate and the third was severely wounded.
An effort was then made TO burn the build
ing but the proprietor from the upper win
dow fired a we'll directed shot and the ef-
fort was given no. IL was shown later when
another portion Of the mob got cannon
from the music hal and we're met and over
me by squad Of thirty policemen who