Iron County register., 1892-07-14
WAR AT HOMESTEAD.
Carnegie's Locked-Out Men Resist
Pinkerton Interference.
A Bloody Battle. Lasting All Day. In
which the Pinkertons were Finally
Compelled to Surrender-A
Most Deplorab1e Affair.

HOMESTEAD, Pa, July About 2:30
this morning word was received at
Homestead from the scouts stationed
at lock No. 1, on the Monongahela river
bank, that two boat loads of strange
men had arrived there in charge of the
steamer Little Bill, and were on their
way to Homestead.
The information had no sooner been
received than the large steam whistle
at the electric light plant was blown
and its mournful, far-reaching voice
rose and fell on the morning air, wax
ing the weary sleepers within radius
Of many miles and telling them that
the Pinkertons were coming. The per-
fection of the unparalleled system
of signaling which had been adopted
by the Homestead men, was well
demonstrated, for the moment the
whistles were heard fash lights were
brought into play from different points
on the surrounding hills
The little battleship Edna, which is
ever ready for duty, joined her shrill,
small voice in the call to arms, but af-
ter shrieking for few seconds put off
down the river in search of her enemy.
The sentinels on the outposts in the
meantime were not idle, as hundreds of
sky-rockets were sent towards the
heavens to make assurance doubly sure
that no man, woman or child in Home
stead would sleep while their town was
menaced.
Within two minutes after the first
blast of the large whistle, 1000 half
clothed but wideawake people Were on
the streets hurrying towards the river,
jostling each other in their eagerness
to get the first glimpse of the Pinker-
ton fleet They peered into the dense
fog which overhung the Monongahela
waters in vain, and no sound was
heard save the calls and answers of the
water scouts who were plying the
river in forty skiffs searching for the
enemy. For fully all hour. it seemed
as though the people had been hauled
from their beds for no purpose and
many of the tired ones returned to
their homes.
At o'clock the streets of Homestead
were almost deserted, when three
horsemen. their steeds bathed in foam,
came flying up the river road into
Homestead, and separated in different
directions, shouted wildly: ''To the
river, to the river; the Pinkertons are
coming"
At the same moment the whistle for
the second time since the sun had set
sent out it's dismal warning, this time
sounding the death call of many Home
stead people who had sprung from their
beds but two hours before.
This time the alarm was a general
through the streets toward the river.
shrill whistle from the bend below the
town announced the coming of the lit
tie boat Edna and her peculiarly
plaintive cry carried with it an awful
significance.
Nearer and nearer came the little
boat. Then it was seen that she was
followed closely by long, low-lying
float being pushed rapidly up stream
by a steamer. The vast army of men,
women and children on shore were not
long in learning the character of the
strange craft, and the cry of ''Two
model barges full of Pinkertons''
was raised. Then there was a
rush made toward the mill fence.
Rushing, screaming and falling
over each other, the crowd reached
the twenty-foot fence, which ex-
tended down into the water, and the
advance guard began tearing down the
boards. They were for getting in the
mill, for it was seen that the Pinker-
tons intended landing inside the works
Every nerve of the 4, 800 workmen and
their families was strained toward
reaching the only landing place in ad-
vance of the Pinkertons. In less time
than it takes to tell it, they had torn
down the fence, through which the an
cry crowd had poured in a stream.
Along the foot-path skirting the river
bank they rushed pell NELL, and
though in some places it was necessary
to go one at time, the mad pace set by
the lightfooted leaders was not relaxed
and those who were unable to keep on
the path rolled into the river. The
noise of the wild assembly was like the
rum bling of a storm. The shrill cries
of the foremost ones were answered by
shouts of encouragement by those be-
hind. Every man was armed with
club at least and fully eight out of
every ten carried revolvers Women
with babes in arms ran fieetly along
the foot paths bent on reaching the
scene of the struggle.
AS soon as day broke the workmen Sc
cured small brass ten-pound cannon
and planted it within a steel billet en-
brasure. SO as to command the barges
which were moored at the bank of
the river. At the same time
a force of more than 1000 men took
up a position on the opposite side of the
river, and also placed cannon which
they protected with breastwork of
railroad ties. The fire from both sides
was kept up. the barges being pierced
along the sides.
Shortly after o'clock the cannon
were trained on the boats, and for sew
eral hours an awful :bom bardment was
kept up. The stout oaken tinbers
forming the sides of the boat were
splintered, but the heavy steel plates
on the inside prevented the balls from
penetrating the interior. Many of the
strikers, however, were expert marks
men, and they sent shot after shot
into the portfolios of the boat md in
ficted terrible injury to the imprisoned
men.
The first shot of the engagement
came from the barge. 1t was aimed at
a big Hungarian who stood at the wa
ter's edge. The ball went wide of the
human target, but it was the signal to
the Pinkerton men to begin, and for
full ten minutes they continued to fire.
The first man to fall was Martin Merry,a
heater in one of the mills He was shot