Daily Texarkana Democrat. (Texarkana, Ark.) 1890-1894, 1892-08-15
MAD MINERS.
THEY BURN A sToCKADE IN
TENNESSEE.
An 0ath-Bound Society Send Three
Hundred Convicts Away
From a Mine.

NASHVILLE, Tenn, August 49,
AT o'clock this morning the stock
ade at Tracy City was burned and
the 800 convicts placed on cars ready
to be started for Nashville. AT
O'Clock this morning committee of
miners awoke Mr.. L. o. Nathurst,
Superintendent of the miners for the
Tennessee Coal and Iron Company,
and asked him that the miners be al
lowed as many hours work in each
week as the convicts. Mr.. Nathurst
replied that he would submit the mat
ter to the company and do what he
could. The committee then left, and
Mr.. Nathurst, knowing that a secret
oath-bound organization had been
formed some weeks ago for purposes
unknown, at once began to suspect
trouble. He went to Deputy Warden
Burton and together they began to
circulate among the miners who were
gathering in groups and to try to in
funce them to keep quiet. Their eff
forts were of no avail. Slowly the
ominous air of suppressed excitement
became
TINGED WITH OPEN THREATS
and promises of destruction to the
stockade or battle. At $50 the
organized body of $50 men, 100 of
them armed and fifty apparently I'M
armed, advanced on the stockade.
To capture it was the work of a
minute. Without undue confusion
every piece of property belonging to
the Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad
Company was carefully removed to a
safe distance and the convicts who
were in the stockade were led out
under guard. Then the torch was
applied, and at o'clock the buildings
were mass of flames. The miners at
once proceeded to the mines, took
possession of the convicts, marched
them to the railroad station, and load
ed them in box cars. Next the tele-
graph wires were cut, and a guard
was placed over every engine in the
yardssto preveHtsit from carrying the
news down the mountain, There has
been much dissatisfaction among the
free miners at Tracy City because of
the lease system, which allowed the
bulk of the labor to be done in the
mines by conyicts. Yet the miners at
Tracey City have been among the
most conservative in the State, snd
the company has had very little trou-
BILE with them.
THEY HAVE BEEN EARNEST 1
in their opposition to the lease, and
have been determined to support no
party or candidates in the coming
election that were not pledged to the
prompt abolition of the system. Gov.
Buchanan stated that the convicts
would be brought to the main prison
and kept until new stockade could
be built, when they would be returp
ed, as had been done at Coal Greek.
Mr.. James Bowron, Secretary OF
the company, on being asked for
further information said: "The
trouble has come from about $50 Of
the miners at Tracy, or about one-third
of the body tits the result of a secret
oath-bound organization which was
formed some weeks ago. That was
where the definite action began. The
incident was reduction Of hours ne
cessitated by the lax markets. We
contemplated shutting down our fur.
mace two weeks, but thought II better
to run even on half time than not to
run at all. The
ATTACK ON THE sToCKADE
was absolutely unexpected. l received
letter from Mr.. Nathurst this morn
ing in which he reviews the whole sit
uation mud concludes by the assurance
that everything win remain orderly,
! was shocked when ! received the
telegram" A special from Conway,
Tenn, says This morning, after the
convicts entered The mines at Tracy
City about 800 armed men walked into
the stockade, and after clearing II OF
everything Of value, set II on fire and
burun1 n IN iha ,rrnuuI Thav fhan