Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-07-24

morning of the riot at Homestead, the morn
ing OF July 6?
A. Yes sir.
Q. Were you on either OF the parges9
A. Yes sir, l was on both of them, bacb
and forth.
Q. What position had you with regard te
the men?
A. was captain.
O. Where did the barges land?
A. At the Carnegie mills.
O. Was it break of day at the time?
A. 1t WAS breaking day.
O. Did yoC sec any people on the shore be
fore the barges landed2
A. les. sir, three or four or five hundred.
@ Were any shots fired before you reached
the landing?
A. Yes. sir; from the shore and from q
rowbcat.
Q. How far below the Carnegie mill did
the first 1lring take place?
A. should judge a quarter of a mile or
more below the railroad bridge.
Two of the Pinkertons Shot
O. Was there any firing from the bank
after the boats pulled into the bank7
A There was; yes, sir.
Q. What was the result of that firing from
the bank?
A. One man was shot, a man named Klein,
and Captain Hinde, who was in charge of
the men, and was putting out the gang
plank.
@. Where is Klein now?
A. believe he is dead.
@ Did you see in that crowd upon the
bank the defendant, sitting behind Mr. Cox?
A. l did; yes, sir.
Q. Did you see him among that crowd
upon the bank before the firing started?
A. Yes, sir.
@ Did you see him after the firing Rad
started?
A, L saw him after the firing commenced.
yes, sir; when we attempted to land.
z. state to the Court in your own way
just what was said and done, as near as you
can remember, at the time you attempted to
land.
A There was good deal of talk, they
caLed us scabs Pinkerton --, and said
If we attempted to land every one of us
would be killed. Mr.. ODonnell did not
seem 70 nave very much to say himself.
We said we were going to land, to protect
nrst man that lands will be a dead man." 1
gave the order to put out the gang plank,
and as did so they all rushed down the hill
toward us, with stones and clubs, and one
man threw himself across the gang plank,
lying on his back and began shooting with a
revolver at the men on the boat.
Captain Hinde the First Victim.
Captain Hinde was shot before we fired a
shot. After the fight began / could not rec
ognize anybody in particular. L told the
men not to fire until 1 gave them orders
After that firing some time O'Donnell called
out from the bank: 1--WE will protect this
property, and there is no occasion for you
any one else to come here" i said: 1--WE
didn't come here to kill anybody to get
killed, simply to guard these mills" He
one man who seemed to be the leader who
said If we landed we would all be killed.
Q. Who was that man?
y. / don't know who he was; he had on a
flannel shirt, checked shirt; pink, be-
lieve. He was the man made the surren-
render to.
Q. When this man said you could never
land, how far away was O'Donnellf
A Fifty or 75 ieet.
Nj. Bremen crosS-eXamiI1ed the witness
quite sharply, asking:
Q. You saw that man who threw himself
on the gang plank lay on his back?
Q. You are sure he was on his back?
Q. Don't you know that he was shot in
the back?
A. No. sir; don't know anything about
o. Don't you know that he tripped and
fell, and that when he was down he was
shotc
A Ido not.
Didn't See the Man Shot
Q. We're you Immediately behind Captain |
Hiude when the gang plank was pushed |
out9 |
A. No, sir / was at the left.
Q. Who was the man just behind Captain |
Hinde?
A. don't know.
@ Didn't you see that man reach under |
Captain Hindes arm and shoot the man
who lay on the gangplank?
A. No sir, did not.
Q. Where do you live?
A. At 5l1 Pacific street, Brooklyn.
"ow long have you been in the Pinker- |
=. , .y-fls~- years and never lost a |
day.
o. You sort of lost that day up there?
a. We'll, yes we did, in one way.
w. H. Burke was sworn. He said he
lived in Chicago and worked for W. A.
pinkerton. He was on the barges in charge !
of the Chicago gang. He said that he saw
O'Donnell on shore about five minutes after
the gang plank was pushed out O'Donnen
was standing about % feet to the right of
the path that leads up the bank and about
125 feet from the boats. The people who
shouted out that the guards would be killed
ran down the bank from the vicinity where
O'Donuell was standing. Atterward, when
the Little Bill went away, the witness saw
O'Donnell again. He was standing up the
river % or 80 rods above where he was be-
fore. The shore was then black with peo-
pie. Mr.. Bremen cross-examined as fol-
lows:
O. Did you help to pull out the gang planki
\. Yes sir.
Q. What did you do then?
A. 1 went back into the boat.
@ How many men were on the front Of the
boat at that time?
O. Were they armed with Winchester
rifles?
A. Some of them were
Had a Dozen Winchester Rifles.
@. About how many of themf
A. About dozen.
Q. Did you have one?
A. No, sir
O. How long did you stay back in the boat!
A | came right out again.
Q. WHY did you go back theref
A. l went back to get my men.
Q. Did you see themf
A. Yes sir.
q. What were they doing7
A. They were in the boat there.
Q. Were they armed?
A. Some OF the men had arms believe.
Q. Did your Chicago gang have rifles?
a. Yes sir: they had.
Q. Had there been any firing from the
shore up to that time?
A No, sir: not after the boats landed.
Q. Did you tell your men to shoot?
A. No, sir.
Q. Were your orders to shoot if you were
shot upon?
A. Yes, sir; we all knew what to do.
Fred Primer, nervous man with gray
isb mustache, was sworn, and said that he,
too, was a Pinkerton employe. He was on
the barges, and said that he saw O'Donnell |
on the bank at the time the barges landed.
He saw him sgain at the Homestead rink in
the evening, and thanked him for his kind
ness He said he had been employed five
wears bv the Pinkertons, making home off
and on in Philadelphia. Prior to five
months ago he had served for half year on
the coal and iron police at the Carnegie
works at Braddock.
Thanked O'DonneH for His Kindness.
Mr.. Cox asked: "W hen YOU saw O'Don-
nell in the evening you thanked him?'
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