The Dickinson press. (Dickinson, Stark County, D.T. [i.e. N.D.]) 1883-1927, 1891-04-25
A PITCHED BATTLE.
The EvictionS in the PENNSYLVANIA
Coke Region Result in a
Bloody Fight.
The Women, Armed With RevOlvers
and Axes, Resist the Evict-
ing Officers.
The Strikers Come to the Aid of
Their Wives, and q General
Melee Ensues.
A PITCHED BATTLE.
More Bioodshed.

More BiOodshed.
UN1oNTowN, Pa, April 23.-This was
one of the most troublesome and excit-
ing days since the great coke strike was
inaugurated. A serious riot occurred
at Monarch this morning and another
was reported this afternoon, in which it
was said five men and two women had
been killed. Fortunately, however, this
report of the second riot was without
foundation. Though the riot of to-day
resulted in probably the fatal wounding
of one man, and serious injury of
woman, the sheriff of Fayette county,
with his deputies has been defed and
the sheriff himself assaulted, shot in the
hand, and beaten, and cut with an axe,
IN the hands of infuriated Hungarian
woman. Since the ugly Morewood
affair, women have taken a principal
part i'll defyipg deputies. This morning
Sheriff Mccormick and deputies went to
Leisenring No. 3 to evict ten families of
the striking Slavs and as was their ex-
perience at Adelaide yesterday, they had
bloody battle with the infuriated mob
of men and women. 1t was about IL
o'clock when the sheriff and his deputies
reached house No. 125, occupied by
Thomas Farr. The sheriff at once read
the writ of eviction to Farr and by the
time he was through with it a crowd of
300 or 400 men and women had collected
in front of the premises.
THEN THE TROUBLE COMMENCED.
Men and women in broken English
yelled defiance and berated the sheriff
aud his deputies in the strongest Ian
guage they could command. The sheriff
tried to reason with them. but without
avail. Their blood was up and nothing
but frst-class battle would satisfy
them. Andy Blashko's wife, who lived
in the other half of the house, and who
had given birth to child only two days
before, hearing the tumult, rushed out,
and, spying the sheriff, made dive for
him, pistol in hand. The sheriff saw her
coming, and just as she was about to fire
at his breast he struck the pistol a down
ward blow with his left hand and at the
same time fired the revolver he had in
his right hand at her. The two pistols
went off simultaneously and both took
effect. The sheriff had shot the woman
in the tleshy part of the left thigh and
she had shot him in the left ankle. The
ball, however, struck him only glancing
lick and did not do him much injury.
The shot in the woman's thigh seemed to
infnriate her more, and she made sec.
ond dash at the sheriff, who showed her
back. She fell to the ground and was
carried into the house in half conscious
condition by friends. Andy Blashko,
seeing his wife was being roughly han
dle!, made dash at the sheriff with
club, but the nervy little officer was too
quick for him, and, taking deliberate aim,
shot Blashko in the left ankle, the bullet
making an ugly hole in the flesh and
sliyerins the bone. BY this time
THE sHERIFFs BLOOD WAS UP,
aud with cooked revolverain either hand,
stood with his back against the end of a
house and informed the mob that the
first one who made move towards him
he would shoot, and shoot to kill. For
a moment the crowd held back, then
Martin Scroupka, who lives at Leisen-
ring No. l, left the crowd and rushed at
the sheriff with huge club uplifted.
The sheriff waited until Scroupka got
within five feet of him and then fred.
The shot took effect, the bullet striking
Scroupka in the mouth, knocking out
two OF his teeth and lodging somewhere
in the back part of his mouth. The
wounded Slav wheeled and started to
run along the end of the house and
the sheriff followed him firing as rapidly
as he could. But none of the shots hit
| the Slav. Some one shouted to the
sheriff to look ont and turning saw Farr,
the man on whom he had served the
writ, coming toward him with an axe
| The sheriff pointed both his revolvers at
him and Farr retreated. By this time
| Captain Frasher of company @, who
hearing the shots and uproar had brought
soldiers up the road on double quick
and their presence at once quelled the
si,ter, g nd the sheriff and his deputies
PROCEEDED TO THE WORK OF EVICTION
and in very short time the household
enee.s Oh 'nlf'een s'rlkers were WI p'iea IN IN
front OF SO many houses. Ihe sheriff
and his deputies, accompanied by the
militia. then went to the Trotter works.
located about one mile west of New Ha-
Ven' anu evlc'ea ."elSe iam'lles' all OF
"nom are hngilsn speak1ng' Wnlcn TASK
was accompilsnea Win ht!ie trouble
Sheriff Mccormick arrived here this
evening with Thos. Farr, whom he ar.
.