Los Angeles daily herald., 1886-12-14
THE COAST.
Exciting Street-Car Riot
in San Francisco.
A MAN FATALLY WOUNDED
California Wine Growing Popular
in the East-News Dis
patches.

noon to-day, as Car No' fo, VI oho S"'
ter street line reached the terminus of
the road at Central avenue, several of
the strikers boarded the car and asked
the conductor and gripman to desert.
They refused and were pelted with
stones by the crowd. The car started
down Central avenue when the same
request was made of the gripman and
conductor, and again the strikers met
with a refusal. Another shower of
stones followed. One of the new en-.
ployes jumped off the rear platform OF
the car and exclaimed: "You can't take
off this car" and at the same time drew
two revolvers with which he fred into
the crowd, and young man was seen
to fall shot through the head. This
shot seemed to act as signal, and was
Immediately followed by volley from
other men who boarded the Car at the
terminus. The crowd scattered and ran
in all directions. SERGEANT Birdsall
caught the man who is claimed to have
fred the first shot and placed him under
arrest. The man gave the name of John
Kelsey. The shooting put stop to all
traffic on the line. Five arrests were
made. Kelsey denies that he fired the
first shot. The yonn G man who was
shot has not yet been identified.
Al i fSIx 1, of
the fatality to-day. j. l.. Kelsey, the
first man arrested, is employed as
watchmau by the Sutter-street railroad.
He stated he was standing near Central
avenue aud Sutter street with Austin
Fitzgerald and about dozen other men
when car containing men came along,
and the crowd commenced to smash its
windows and stone its gripman. 'See.
ing this" said Kelsey, "McCord told us
to drive them back if possible. We ma lie
a dash at the crowd, when they began
throwing clubs and stones at us, and one
of the stones hit me on the shoulder
Shortly after one of our men dropped,
when McCord told us to protect that
man and the car. | then drew my re-
volver and fired four shots into the air.
Other men then pulled their pistols and
commenced firing into the air, and sup.
pose that in all about dozen shots were
fired.
In reply to questions he firmly
adhered to his statement that he
fired his revolver into the air,
and, moreover, said that every one of
the other men that shot, fired their
weapons off up into the air. Officer Nc
Ginuis, who was on the dummy at the
time the first shot was fired, tells the
followin story: II arrested Eddie Far
rell to appease the mob, and because
three or four men said they would charge
him with shooting into the mob. l did
not see him shoot aud don't know who
did shoot. was on tine dummy and
did not count the shots. There was
enough shots to satisfy me, and l did
not trouble myself to see whether few
more or less were fired. l heard the
first shot but did not see it because
was on a dummy, and the shot came
from the rear of the car. As so IN as tn ,
car started rocks and mud began to fly.
l was hit three times myself by rocks
but was not hurt much. When we got
down little way the car was stopped
and shooting began, the mob wanted to
kill McCord then and they wanted TO
get at Bob Fitzgerald, one of McCord's
men who, they said, kept firing his pis-
tol into the crowd. Several men came
to me to arrest this man and so l ar
rested him, and here's his gun, full, AS
YOU see." Farrell was charged on the
prison register with felony.
Il. j. Vernew, conductor on Sutter.
street line, was within few feet of
McCord when the shots were fired.
According to his story the strik ng Car
men had just disbanded their procession
and were end dsavoring to get some of the
new men who were working on the road
to leave. They were all very quiet aud
peaceable, and no threats OF any kind
were used. There were no stones
thrown by the strikers, but some boys
that followed the moving procession
may have thrown stones. When the
trouble occurred few of the strik ers
were trying to induce the new gripmen
to loave the road. Whom McCord or.
dered the men to leave the gripmen
alone, the stikers did not leave the
dummy soon enough to suit McCord,
who became enraged and shouted to his
men to shoot. S. ID. Hendricks,
striker living at ll46 Sutter street. and
Michael Maconey, who says he was
adisinterested spectator, substantiated
Vernew's account of the shooting. with
the exception that Maroney did not
hear McCord tell his men to shoot.
When the wounded man fell an ex-
cited mob gathered around the mans
PROSTATE form and at sight of his blood
cries for vengeance arose. Before Nc
Cord could get out of the way 200 men
rushed toward him, waving clubs in the
air and shouting chang Jim McCord." "
Pistols were again drawn, and the mob
in a solid body went toward McCord on
the run. McCord with number of his
supporters and several policemen boldly
faced the crowd, and when the multitude
rushed up the hill they were not pre-.
pared to make charge on the
body of resolute men that sur
rounded their would-be victim.
The crowd hesitated moment
and evidently seeing that an attempt to
reach McCord would result in death of
at least several of their number, became
irresolute and finally stopped. Pc.
licemen took advantage of this critical
moment and stepping out in front of the
excited crowd, drew their pistols and or.
dered them to disperse. After short
harangue from the Sergeant of Police,
men in the front rank began to waver
and in few seconds were scattering
over the street. McCord and his men
stood their ground until the excitement
was over, and a majority of them then
left the scene. The scene during the
fighting was one of great excitement.
Spectators fed in all directions wild
with fear, cursing and yelling at each
other to "get out of the way" Above
all the din rose terrified shrieks of
women, some of whom were so fright
ened that they had not strength to get
out of dangers way. Some tainted and
had to be carried into their residences,
while others sat down on their door.
stems and cried bitterly. There were