Oxford eagle. (Oxford, Lafayette Co., Miss.) 1876-current, 1892-07-14
WAR AT HOMESTEAD.
CarneGfcs Locked-Out Men Resist
Pfnkerton Interference


NJ lock No. 7. on the MonongaheIa river
bank. that two boat loads of strange
men had arrived there in charv. of the
steamer Little Bill. and were on their
way tn Homestead.
The Information had no sooner been
received than the largo steam whistle
At the electric light plant was blown
and its mournful, far-renchinu voice
rose and fell on the morning air. wax
Ing the weary sleepers within a radius
OF many miles and telling them that
the Pinkertons were coming. The per-
fectiou of the unparalleled system
Of signaling which had been adopted
ny the Homestead men. was well
demonstrated. for the moment the
whistles were heari fash lights were
brought into play from different points
en- the surrounding hills
The little battleship Edna. which II
ever ready for duty. Joined her shrill.
small voice in the call to arms. but AZ
ter shrieking for few seconds put oft
down the river in search Of her enemy.
The scntinels on the outposts in the
m,sn time were not idle. as hundreds Of
slSy-roekets were sent towards the
| heavens 10 make assurance doubiv .ur,
that M man, woman or child in Home
stead would sleep while their town was
| menaccd
! Within two minutes after the first
blast of the large whistle. 900 half
clothed but wideawake people wrr- on
the streets hurrving towards the river.
! Jostling each other In their eayerne~s
to get the first glimpse of the PinIer-
ton fleet They pccred into the dense
fog which overhung the Mofaongahela
I waters in vain. and no s,und was
I heard save the calls and answers of the
water scouts who were plying the
river in forty slsiffs searching for the
enemy. For fully an hour IL seemed
ss though the people had been hauled
from their beds for no purpose aud
many of the tired ones returned 10
their homes
At 4 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: ITO the
| river, tn the river: the Pinkertons are
| coming
| At the same moment the whistle for
the second tim. since the sun had set
/ sent out its 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
one, and as the 10000 people scurried
through the streets toward the river. a
shrill whistle from the bend below the
town announced the coming OF the lit
tie boat Edna and her peculiarly
| plaintivc cry carried with il an awful
significance.
| Nearer and nearer came the little
boat Then IL was seen that she was
| followed closely by long. low-lying
float being pushed rapidly mp stream
by 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 Pinlkertons''
was raised Then there was a
rush made toward the mill fence.
Rushing. screaming and falling
over each other. the crowd reached
the twcnty-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 $500 workmen and
their families was strained toward
reaching the only landing place in adj
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 il was necessary
| To go one at n 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
rumbling 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 q
club at least and fully eight out OF
every ten carried revolvers Women
with babes in arms ran feetly along
the foot paths bent on reaching the
scene of the struggle.
As soon as day broke the workmen Sc
cured n small brass ten-pound cannon
and planted IL 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
| force of more than 200 men took
up position on the opposite side of the
| river, and also placed a cannon which
they protected with q 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 ,bombardment was
kept up. The stout oaken timbers
forming the sides of the boat were
splintered. bat 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 and in
ficted terrible injury to the imprisoned
men
The first shot of the engagement
came from the barge. 1t was aimed al
big Hungarian who stood at the wa.
tsr's edge. The ball went wide OF the
human target. but it was the signal tc
the Pinkerton men 10 begin, and for q
fail ten minutes they continued TO fire
The 1rst man 70 fall was Martin Merry a
| heater in sss VI The a!lIs lie wss sho-