St. Paul daily globe., 1893-07-21
BLOODSHED AND RIOT.
Fierce Battle Between Miners
and Militia in Kansas.
ONE HUNDRED SHOTS FIRED.
Many People Were Injured,
but None Killed.
STRIKERS LED BY 100 WOMEK
STRIKERS LED BY 100 WOAEK
Men in the Strip Forced to
Flee For Their Lives.
THE TROUBLE JUST BEGUN

WEIR CITY, Kan, July 2O.-The ex-
pected crisis has come in the Kansas
miners strike. Miners who were will
ing to work quietly and peaceabIy have
been attacked by the strikers, and blood
has been shed. The feeling which has
been growing more and more bitter for
several days eliminated today In a
fierce battle at Clients pit, one mile
south OF this city. All the forenoon
there were murmurings of the approach
ing storm, and the feeling was universal
that serious trouble was at hand.
just before noon a band of
five hundred strikers, headed by
100 women, which had been marching to
the various strip pits. reached Clements
pit and sent in committee TO persuade
the miners working there to quit. This
they refused TO do, and when the com.
mittee reported the entire body of ;
marcherS moved ON to the works to
force the men out. The strip men were
ready for them, and when they
passed the trespass line they were
fired upon and general battle
followed, in which Winchester rifles,
100 shots were fired, and it is nothing
short of a. miracle that nobody was
killed. One man was wounded iusthe
forehead, another in the leg, boy in
the foot and one of the women got bull
let through her arm. None of the
wounds are fatal, and it is believed that
none of them are dangerous. A num-
Der on both sides were badly beaten up
with clubs and dubbed guns. The
wounded were quickly removed by their
friends, and their names have not been
learned.
AS result of the battle, the men in .
the strip were routed by the strikers
and were forced to flee for their lives,
pursued by the bowling mob which
would have lynched them had they
been caught.
The owner of the strip. Clements, his
son and man named Big Dick Reed
are said to be the ones who did the
shooting, and they. have given them
selves up, and were run out Of the
the county for safe-keeping. The eX.
citement was intense after the shooting,
and 1T was feared that matters would
become worse, but a prominent striker
George r. Fulton) made the crowd a
speech i'll which he advised them to
keep cool and counseled peace. 1t is
rumored that a quantity of firearms
have been received here tonight The
excitement continue at high pitch and
further bloodshed now seems inevitable.
The strikers were led by one hundred
women, and in the vanguard were also
an equal number of children. They
were evidently placed in the front rank
in the belief that the guards and the
men at work were not fires upon them.
The men followed behind and
the whole body, men women and
children, were armed with sticks
and clubs and some with firearms. In
the front rank four flags were carried,
one big United States flag and on either
side of it two black flags. The latter
were carried by German woman. When
the men at work and the guards
fired upon the strikers the chill
dren fled, but the women entered
boldly into the fight and fought
with as much ferociousness as the men.
They welded their clubs with vigor and
precision, and many sore head tonight
has its cause in the clubs in the wOmen's
hands. The list of wounded, so far as
can be ascertained d. is as follows:
A boy named Defender, shot in the
foot.
Alex Gava, striker, shot in the fore
head.
Joseph Burgendi,a a striker, shot in the
breast.
An unknown woman, shot through the
arm.
Dick Reed. strip miner, slight fract-
ure of skull.
Simon Bergh, strip miner, shot in
the leg.
James CIemmons, dubbed on the
head.
The sheriff of the county has been
appealed to to furnish guards for the
miners, but he declines to take any
action. He is Populist, and is in SYM
pathy with the miners. He says he
can do more to prevent bloodshed by
the use of moral suasion than with all
the armed guards in Kansas. The mine
owners do not take this view of the
case, and Will speedily place guards
around their property at their own ex-
pense.