Morning journal and courier., 1886-04-10
News by Telegraph 1 FROM ALL QUARTERS. STRIKERS SHOT DOWN. Bloody Scenes At East St. Louis.
 DEPUTIES DO DEADLY WORK. The Maddened Mob Thirst
 ing For Blood. TROOPS NOW ON THE SCENE. Midnight Fires Add To
 The HOFrOrs.
TROOPS NOW ON THE SCENE.
WORK AT EAST ST. LOUIS


 Five Men and a Woman Fall Dead or Morally Wounded - The Mob Made Furious By the Attack Goes on Hunt For the MarshaIs - A Thrilling Plea For order By a Lead- ing Knight The Midnight Torch Adds to the Confusion-Troops Now on the Scene and Further Bloodshed Likely to Result.
 EAST ST. LOUIS, April 9.-A reign of ter ] TOT and bloodshed has been inaugurated here, ! and although serious results were not un looked for, few were prepared for the sudden l and terrible manner in which it came. For l several days past the demonstrations that were made on the part of the strikers, and the fact that the freight houses and yards of the railroad com panies being filled with hired deputy sheriffs, convinced the more cool-headed that l nothing short of 8 miracle would prevent a
 bloody riot. Appeal after appeal was sent l to Governor Oglesby for military protection,
 but in vain. Sheriff Ropriquett apparently exhausted his resources in his endeavor to ! provide the force that was necessary. Yes terday he had posse of two hundred men here from Belleville, but he sent all of them l home except fifteen who remained. They were not properly armed for the contingency that would probably arise and the sheriff says the Governor failed to provide them with Winchester rifles as he promised. The failure of the posse to put in an appearance this morning did not dis concert the railroad officials in the least, as they relied on the assistance of their own men who had been sworn in as deputy sher- ifs and who were all armed with Winchester rifles. This means of protection was first determined on by the manager of the Louis vile & Nashville road and other lines resort ed to the same means. Eighteen of these deputies patrolled the Chicago Sc Alton yards. The Chicago, Burlington & Quincy, the Ohio & Mississippi and the Vandalia roads had similarly equipped guards. In order to prevent the possibility of a mob such as that of Wednesday again entering the yards, these armed deputies guarded the points where the Ohio & Mississippi and Chicago & Alton yard tracks intersect the main lines and was allowed in the yards unless he held a permit from the superintendent. In front of the freight houses on the island guards were stationed. At the junction of the c. B. & O. and Alton tracks breastworks of ties were constructed. At the Louisville 6 Nashville freight house an immense breast work of barrels was formed and behind each barrieade were stationed armed men to frus- trate any attempt on the part of the strikers to gain access to the yards, Major Joyce called on the sheriff this morning with view of prevailing on him to summon enough men to watch every street in the city, and especially the streets on the island
 so that teamsters who desire to go to work might be able to do without being in- terfered with. The sheriff did not take kindly to the scheme. He said he was tired of the whole business and did not intend to do any more than he was doing at present.
 About 2:15 o'clock a crowd consisting of from one hundred to one hundred and fifty men, mostly strikers, were gathered at the east end of the bridge near the Louisville & Nashville track. They were watching the operations of a Louisville & Nashville switch engine, and as it passed and repassed them jeered the engineer and crew that was attending to the switching. Opprobrious epithets were also applied, but were not ticed by the switching crew. This contin- ued for some time, the strikers seeming to become more and more excited. Watching this scene were five deputy sheriffs, two of whom were armed with Winchesters and three with heavy navy revolvers. They were standing on the Louisville & Nashville trestle about twenty feet from the Cahooka bridge. They nervously watched the action of the crowd and finally rushed forward They were joined by about ten other deputies and losing control over themselves fired promiscuously right and left. The scene that folloWed was appalling. The crowd broke and ran in all directions, uttering ma edictions they retreated. Curses deep and loud, mingled with the groans of the wounded and dying and the piercing cry of woman, were heard above the din. Notwithstanding that the strikers were in full retreat, the deputies pursued f in ha if hri1r while advancing. At least one hundred and fifty to two hundred shots were fired. Two men fell in their tracks on the bridge, while one man was seen to topple over into the creek A cry of horror arose from the wit nesses of this dastardly outrage, and all in tween themselves and the leaden missiles of death. But this was not enough. After the brief but bloody struggle on the narrow trestle, the deputy sheriffs, apparently terrified at the deadly work they had done, hurried westward and retreated precipitately toward the bridge and still occa- sionally firing they hurried toward the big in- cline and had almost reached the east end bridge house when they were overtaken by Mayor Joyce, Officers Doud and Canty Mayor Joyce at once asked the men to return to the Louisville 6 Nashville yards. ''It's no use in us going" said one of the deputies, "we1l all be lynched alive" "There is no | danger of that" Joyce answered. sI want you men to return and promise you ade- quate protection" The deputies still re- ! fused and Mayor Joyce turning to Canty said: "Canty, want you to go back and ! report on the bridge for duty" l Canty started to return and Mayor Joyce | and Officer Doud remained on the bridge ar guing with the deputies. Finding them ob- l stinate and unwilling under any circum- | stances to return over the bridge, Mayor | +ro oJ a of posse. This ended in seuffie, in the heat of | which Joyce and Doud with two deputies started down the incline with two of the l deputies. They had gone less than one hun
 dred yards when the deputies with no appar-
 ent cause began firing: There were several lsd not strikers, but pedestrians. There was but a single volley, but when the
 smoke cleared away man lay stretched ap- 1 parently lifeless on the footwalk A crowd quickly gathered and the dying man was l carried into the bridge house. A bullet had gone through his abdomen. He was recog- | nized as c. E. Thompson of 4, 021 California l avenue, St. Louis. When the deputies had
 completed their second murderous assault
 they turned tail and keeping together fo1
 protection went across the bridge. The diff
 ferent eye witnesses of the tragedy all agree
 that the shooting was entirely unproVoked l The innocent, suffered most. There was only one striker among the wounded. The. woman who, was shot was Mrs Joseph
 Ffeifer. She was hit in the back and can
 not live. The two men who fell on the
 bridge were taken to Fischer's drug store, but
 they were beyond medical skill. The names
 of the men who were killed and mortallJ
 wounded are: Pat Drisco1l, Wabash section
 hand, not striker; Oscar Washington, a
 painter, not striker; John Bonner 8 miner
 Major Rincher, rolling mill employe, was
 shot in the head and shoulder and vii
 probably die; Mrs. Pfeiffer, mortally
 wounded; c. E. Thompson, St. Louis
 mortally wounded Some of the deputies
 who failed to make connection with the
 frightened crowd who rushed pell meh ove
 the bridge took refuge, chased by the crowd
 in the freight warehouse and offices of tn
 Louisville & Nashville road and bar ret
 the doors The warehouse wa
 surrounded by an immense crowd, wh
 hooted and yelled and urged the men to at ; tack the stronghold and drive the deputie out. Men went among the crowds and urge'
 others to procure arms and shoot all the dep
 aties they could find. some of the deputie
 slipped out and worked their way unot