Fort Worth weekly gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1888-12-14

| gated in the hotels or on the street corners
and in front of the bulletin boards. The
| streets have been a living maddened
mass and very little oratorical pyrotech-
mics could readily organize mob whose
solemn duty would be declared to avenge
| the murder of the popular Throck
| morton and those who fell by him.
All along the walls of the city are posted
| petitions of various kinds signed by
| thousands of people. One of these re-
cites at length the fact that Sheriff Smith
! had butchered in cold blood some of the
best citizens of Birmingham by an
act as unprovoked as unnecessary and
asked Governor Seay to Immediately re-
lieve him of his duties as sheriff. An
other petition side by side reads:
''This is to hang him, - and was signed
by thousands of passerS. Great excite
ment was caused by the funeral cortege
through principal, highway of one of the
victims of last night affray The lengthy
procession was headed by brass band
PLAYING SOLEMN DIRGES.
The postoffice building is draped in
mourning and makes mute appeal to
every passer. The military were called
upon to arrest Smith and others implicat-
ed, but this was refused and
finally citizen went before
justice of the peace and swore
out warrant for the arrest of Smith and
his deputies on the charge of murder.
This was served by the coroner,
who found Smith in Jail,
and the coroner himself took
charge of the Jail, and is in custody
of that institution at present. During
the day Captain Payton Bibb, who is in
charge of the Montgomery Blues, adj
viSed that the military take Smith and
Halves out of Jail and carry them
to Montgomery away from the
scenes of the riot and for safekeeping.
This was not acceded to by the officer in
charge, there being no civil steps to that
end advised. During the afternoon Il
rumor became widespread that 1900
miners from the Pratt mines,
about fifty miles from Birmingham
would after dark march to the city armed
with guns, pistols and dynamite cart
ridges, and, with the increase to the
rBnkS that was expected,
ASSAULT THE SOLDIERS
and with dynamite blow to atoms the
Jail.
That such will be attempted is expected
even by the military, though successful
finale is not anticipated. There are already
ten military companies under the.com-
mand of Colonel Jones and five others
will arrive on special trains by midnight,
the famous Montgomery Grays, the
equally famous True Blues, the
Montgomery Mounted Rifles, under COM
manI of General A A. Wien, member of
the pretent legislature and an artillery
company IN charge of a Calling gun from
the capital city. Besides these came
companies from Tuscaloosa, Ope-
lika, Greenville Admission and
other Alabama cities. One pre-
caution against undue excitement and |
consequent violence was taken this morn
ing by the city council, VITO in special |
session ordered all SALOONS land drug |
stores to be closed until further notice.
Colonel James said at o CLOCK after |
reciting rumors that had come to hl:u of |
an organized band of miners, that he |
soldiers by scouts would be duly !
notified of their approach. He feared
some disturbance, but believed with the !
force ut his demand he could make a
successful resistance. He criticised the
conduct of leading citizens.
CIVIL AUTHORITIES
in not coming actually to his support.
The soldiers are conducting themselves
well, though several times to-day they
were hooted while marching in small
bodies TO their hotels. The only thing
that in the opinion of your correspondent,
will keep off a riot Tonight is the pres
ence of two terrible gatling guns. As to
the occurrence of last night, i'll an inter
view had to-day Sheriff Smith said:
we begged and pleaded with the crowd to
keep back, and then they fired the
first shots. Several shots were fired
by the crowd before L gave the order to
fire. We begged them to halt at the
mouth of the alley, and still they kept
coming on. We begged them to
go back time and again, and
warned them that we would shoot
but they would not listen to us. They
came half up the alley, close to the jail
door, and were shouting, "'blow up the
Jail with dynamite - After they opened
fire gave the order to fire. They continued
firing after we ceased, l feel that we
could not do anything else under the cir
and l deeply regret the ne
cessity.'