The Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1885-1886, 1886-05-20
A NEW YORK MOB.
ACCOUNT OF THE ATTACK ON THE
TRIBUNE OFFICE IN 1863
Set of Alarmed Typos Rioters Sieking
the Ofics- Barricadins the Doors
Charge of the PoIice-Nsyy Yard
Bombs.


lThe Journaliit
Il have read Eimun1 ktrke's aceou1t.
and other accounts of the attack on ThA
Tribune office in 1861 said Amos Cum.
ming; in the Press club recently. "but none
OF them vera written by any one who was
participant in that fight | saw the whole
thing from the beginning to the end On
the day before the riot | had been mustered
out of service from the Twenty-sixth New
Jer ey volunteers at Newark, N. j. | had
lett compoSitor's case in The Tribune Off 70
to join tho regiment, AMI had served my
time in the fell On receiving six moths
pay ami my discharge papers, | felt like a
bird loosed from a cage
"On the morning of The 18th went to
The Tribune office, and MAS surprised t. see
quite crowd collected arouni the count
ing-room The building whe-e the draft
was being made had been burnel down on
the preceding night aud there wa muca ex-
element All the militia had been sent to
Penn yivania to stop Con. Lees ADVANCE
and there was no regiment in tbs city. |
| went ur-stair, into fae Tribune compo ing
| room to talk with the boy. Sm,Ih " Bren,
| an ii | Tribune compos, tor, of rel me $40
| To sub for him, or work at his cas- taat
| night. l took him up on ths instant All
| the clmpo itors wer, alarmsI, AMI if
/ had waited | coal probably havs
| got 50 bonus Every man suppo3el that
| the office was gnias to be mobbed, AMI stood
| in fear of his life | had harlly begun t.
| distribute type when nv brother who had
served in the army with me-, came in AMI
accepted u bonus Of 50 to work for another
regular composltor
sACkING THE OFFICE.
| "Fhe crowd in front OF the ofi5e grew
: greater, and the air was hliei with curses
and imprecatlaas. A few compositor' lie
serted their cases early in tae aftern ,on.
i Tho who remanal wsre extremely nerv-
Gus, aud did bat iltl5 work AT
| twilight / went to thu corner win
dow on the top floor AMI looiel
out into Park place The mob had
grown until it reached across the street,
ana Iappei over into the park. 1t was com
| posed of boys AMI many mon. who APP
| pearel TO be respectable The day was
very hot, an many were in their shirt.
sleeves. Tue Sidewalk was packed 50 that
| Pedestrians could not pas. TIE doors oi
the counting-Toom were closed, but the gas
wa, lighted, AMI old Ephraim K. Jenny and
u
The l;ag and confusion wa; inde5criba-
| liz ieIrl juggling of glass on the
| raven mt saw ri h an | knew that
the doors had been broken open, AMI that
the office was being sacked. l saw in the
| twilight bun He's Of newspapers, ledgers and
stationery, hurled throu5h the windows, A
nundle o. newspapers was eau sht b. man
wearing a linen coat, whose ferority wa, SO
.reat that lie tore the loo Tribunes in bits
with his teetd.
"fhe mob had possession of the Countin,
room fully ten minutes The aiTrightsl
comp05IturS climbed up a narrow ricksty
stairway ieading t. the roof cf tine building
AMI male their escape through the Scutti;
on Tamm3ay hall. Oaiy four Of them rs-
mainel ia the comp 'singroom. The-e foui
were: Pst.r Haciett, now dead; Sylvester
Bailey. now competitor on The Sunday
| Democrat, nry brother also dead, an my
SELF After what had seen at Fred aricks
AMI CnancellorsviIle this row SCENE to be
only a farce | conll conceive of nothing
more ridiculous A to leaving the bnild
ing never thought of it. We got the oil
printing turtles, for there was no stereotyp
ing then, together AMI barricaled the dooI
Of the composing room with them l hal {
revolver and the three mon with me arme,
themselves with lead sile-stickS. We knew
That we conld holI the narrow iron stair
way against 1909 men if necessary
L .iley ami my brother had beef
in the army with me and ware oil soldier
Peter Hackett had lsarnel military tactic
at Irish fairs
After barriraiin5 the doors | went /,
the front wnlews, Tho mob had sct til
counting room on fire, and many of Their
were in the street shouting tn me to com
down and avoid being burned with til
building. | draw the revolver AMI wa
| about 10 fire Mt the crowd when Myroi
Il ,uker, now editor of The Albany Pres
aul knigkerboi ksr, and then night edto
OF The Triuune, caught ma bg the arm an
sud:
'Dhn't shoot, for Gods sakeI 1t is blt
enou, a it lsV
"ua had come up stairs from the edit ria
room and clmbsl over the turtles l tool
his aaF.e- \ part of the mob stDo
aroun The 5 grnce street entrance to tn
composing room, aul several Of the com
positors, editors AMI reporters, who ha
. tried to escape in that way, had bee
roughly handled.
Squad OF POLICE.
while was stan ling nt tbs window
Jaw a dark line of msn coming n
Spruce street Very few gas lamps had bee
lighted. The upper windows o. The Time
builting vera filled with compoiitors an