New-York tribune., 1886-04-04
FIGHTING AT FORT WORTH.
ARMED WITH WINCHESTER RIFLES.
DEADLY FIRE BY A MOB ON A SHERIFF-S
DEPUTIES.
ONE MAN KILLED AND SEVERAL MEN WOUNDED
UNCERTAIN WHO FIRED THE FIRST SHOT
DETERMINED TO PREVENT FREIGHT
PROM MOVING.
fBY TELEGRAPH TO THE TRIBUNE. ]


this morning l5oO people to tho Missouri Pacific
yards to see Sheriff Maddox would take ort train as
he had promised. II known that the sheriff had
pledged himself to take train die In the attempt
rs he expressed t.. few min ntes boforo IL o'clock,
engine carrying posse OF twenty armed men backed
down from tho round-houso and coupled to tho train.
There were hundreds Of strikers In the crowd and their
presence seemed to paralyze force of thirty deputy
sheras whose duty to keep them Of the yard
delay OF hour occurred then the train started
In Tie charge Of Deputy "Jem" Courrign and sheriff
Maddox 1t went without interruption to the crossing
of the Fort Worth and Neworeans crossing, where the
customary stop made
When the train stopped the guard the engine
small knot Of men standing the track fow yards
ahead OF the engine. hadozen Of tho posse jumped
from tho engine and, walking up tho men, asked them
Il they intended to interfere with the progress OF tho
train.
"No. we do not" tho reply. You are perfect
liberty to the train out you can" While the Off
GERS were talking to the they several others
lying in the grass beside track They ordered them
away, but the refused 70 move. The
entire posac, numbering about twenty men,
|
sitting men beside the track. The officers
the first to draw their weapons Which side tired
first matter o: dispute Several witnesses including
the engineer say that the officers 1ed nrs While the
officers were advancing fired shot from
| pistol. Then the men who wero loungng along the
track arose and each side delivered volley about the
same time. After the first fire strikers retreaed be-
q II Of Ties ph five al oft III.
Der were already stationed Four dropped the
resul of the first fire. The posse panicstrickon at
the reception It had received but outnumbered the
| strikers three to another line was
formed, which charged the plo Of
| ties. The deputies were net by deadly fire
delivered from behind the ties, which formed excel
lent breastwork. couple Of tho men fcll but the
others pressed on, revolvers in hand, dslodgng the
strikers. forcing tonI to retreat behind the fonce
wounded strike behind the pile of tles Ho
was shot IN the trst Yolley.
After the strikers had enptled their guns they went
awsy, ding they walked. Several OF them mounted
horses. which they had placed In coaceamont short
distance from the The majority of the strikers
sed Winchester rifles, while the posse used Colts
yolvers Deputy Charles sneed was shot through the
| head aud is dead. Dick" Townsend was
shot through tho body and is mortay
wounded. j. ]. FIlford shot through both
legs and body and is mortally wounded. The other
wounded deputies Robert Morrison William McIrv'
Ing and James Gettvq. McIrvns is shot through the
lungs and is believed to 20 mortaly wounded. Thomas
Nau, a sounded striker. was caught. TIL dead and
dying placed and the train was backed into
| The city.
Tue nc % the conflict spread with great pdi.y and
the merchants called meeting IL the st.ccss and Co
tailed guard all gun-stores. The general i'm
preston tha the posse had been wayl"id and fred
Tie business hurriedly armed themselves
with Winchester rides aud organized pursuing
party Who were ordered to bring back the
striker, dead or alive. hut preferred them dead.
Tho city Is under martial law, and i. is reported
the strikers arning and awaiting Developments
The greatest excitement prevails all Sides The mer-
marched the depot aud niormed the company
tina Il could al the protection desired TO its
trains Il was learned that the strikers had made their
way to The river bottoms. The battle occurred at
station called Hodges. ani the deputies who first spoke
TO the men on the track had been cent ahead TO guard
the cr1ss 2 No dead striker has yo been discovered.
Tho members Of the posse Who returned to the city sai
that when they delivered tho order TO the to throw
up their hauds hey vere fired upon from ambush.
III SAID IN behalf OF the strikers that it their
determination at no trans should the Missouri
Pacific, Injunction no injunction. It was arranged
that should the train pass through Fort worth ~ mnst
be stopped elsewhere To tais end number OF strikers
had me- detailed D. watch the roat south OF the city
The rain arrived at tho crosslns when 1t was
Gagged by the strikers AS II ala not
obey he Tag the strikers next resorted to throwing
n switch As the approached and threw the switch
the1 we're fred upor By the posse and the nre was
promptly returned by men in ambush The narrator
avs vas not the intention OF the strikers 10 resort 10
violence unless forced to- but when fired upon they re-
turned the fire They wero well armed ana ther WORK
shovs that they were pretty good markamen lone
thing may be set down settled continued TINS mar
ratcr " and that is: No train will be allowed to pass
over tno Missouri Pacific unu the deihanuo 'he s'Ae's
for arbitration Is acceded to-
The ooal on the train destined for Waco ed
Smith was the engineer and " jim " Couttrlght was
I'm command Of the posse, winch con-
sstod of Onicers T. j. Fulford, R' Darby
rauas Th,mason, Dick" Townsend, j. C. Bran
non. William Hale Joseph Wllcher. Charles snead and
y, Maddox Who a woman that waved
Il NOT be ascertaned. She waved her signal again
and agan and the locomotive was whln ten ieet oner
when knight Of Labor seized her and pulled her from
,h. track The train rolled OIL and not word was
, hv the officers or strikers but 1t was noticed that
two wagons pulled out from near the Union Depot filed
i'm men and were driven at run to the south. Tho
train disappeared and tho crowd dispersed
Many had reached their homes wheh
u.nrx Ellis came dashng up Main-st and announced to
the sheriff that the strikers had fred on the coal train
Th, was only thirty minutes after the train had passed
through the city. Tho news spread like widnre
Randy sheriff Maddox passed along the street ordering
ctzeps 10 arm themselves with Wnchesters aud report
:. ,bo derot at once. Business men closed
,ber storos and answered the summons promptly.
Crp stores we're emptied inside OF an hour Crowds
surged in the Streets women mingled with the throng
and bedlam reigned. The officers hastened from the
dspot TO arm themselves with Wncnestcr' and securing
borses LEFT town the galop to search sycamore Dot
,on ,or ,he men who had done the shooting.
C. F. Necewarner, fireman OF the engine, says: I'VE