Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1894-06-09


the track a number of miners and their
wives were grouped. As the squad OF
soldiers in advance Of the train appear
ed, two or three Of the miners became
| wildly excited, shook their lists at the
troops, and hurled what seemed TO Dc
epithets at them IN Hungarian ana
Italian. No attention was paid to them,
bu: when miner with an axe In his
hands called upon his friends to rally,
it was different.
LETS go out and show them we are
men," he said, land fight them"
A man with him sounded q tin horn,
but there was no response from the
other miners on the bridge and over on
the pike, and in a few minutes an order
to the SQUAD to clear the footbridge
met with no opposition. a guard was
posted.at its north end, on the pike,
and henceforth no one was allowed to
cross it.
After reconnoitering the situation,
General Howe ordered the Rattling
guns taken off the cars into a held on
the south side OF the railroad tracks,
and between it ana the miners, and
while this was being done one regiment
was gotten out Of the cars and formed
in line of battle on tho same field, but
in advance of the battery, two or three
companies, however, being retained on
the railroad track. Later two OF these
were sent down TO the creek bank and
deployed along the stream as skirmlsh-
ers, facing the crowd upon the pike.
They were greeted with yels OF deri-
sion and cries of "You blue-coated -!
Look at the scabsI" "Sheep" etc.
To this no attention was paid. In few
moments q line OF skirmishers was
thrown out in advance OF the regiment,
and orders were given to clear the track,
| the mining village, and its vicinity OF all
! SPECTATORS, During the long halt OF
| the troops, hundreds OF men had waded
across the creek, by removing their
shoes and stockings, and the order to
clear the ground caught probably a
! thousand men and no inconsideraole
number of women on that side. The
men fell blackstone rapidly, and others
sullenly-but numbers OF the women re-
fused to bulge an inch. One woman
advanced down the railroad toward the
soldiers, carrying milk can 10 her
| manu-. quo " % bOlN uSh RO NOSA3
but refused, and headed for the creek,
There she met the skirmishers deployed
along the edge OF the water, aud
at last was forced to wade the
stream through water almost up to
her hips, and 10 sight OF two thousand
j people. This action made the miners
hot, aud their jeers and yells were re-
doubled. As the troops advanced, many
men found themselves In FIX, aud hun
dreds had to wade the creek, often in
water up to their knees. Others, more
lucky, crossed In wagons and in bug
! gies, and others still retreated TO and
across the third bridge, in the direction
Of the cut where the miners had been
encamped.
The troops advanced slowly, making
repeated halts, but by aQuarter of eight
they had passed through the village OF
the miners, leaving guards, pckets and
skirmishers everywhere, and at a quar-
ter after eight they reached the third
bridge. The long train was
then cut In two, and half OF IL, contain
ing the other regiment, was run on sid
ing back in the field where the GattliDg
battery was stationed, while the ad-
vanced regiment continued to drive off
spectators and miners and by half-past
eight were in undisturbed possession OF
the railroad up to and through the
cut beyond the third bridge. Nowhere
was any resistance shown, the miners
and their friends contenting themselves
with epithets, yells and boots from the
safety Of the pike, northot the creek,
where, at half-past eight, the crowd
was not less than four thousand, many
OF whom were from Wheeling. Soon
after eight o'clock the soldiers not on
active duty alighted from the cars, and
began preparations for supper and for
camping for the night.
visit to the military camp at nine
o'clock revealed an interesting scene.
Each man had his part to perform in
the preparation Of the meal, and the
blazing Of the camp fires, the sound OF
the axes chopping the wood, and the long
rows Of bayonets, formed scene which
those looking on will not soon forget.
The bridge which is used by the miners
for a foot passage In times OF peace
echoed with the tramp of the sentry on
duty, and along the railway tracks
clear from bridge No. to the cut were
soldiers on guard with fixed bayonets.
From the bridge the sentry line was ex-
tended nearly TO the mines, aud around
by the school house on the hill back to
the cut, where but Yesterday so many OF
the strikers were encamped, and where
they held up the two trains but yester-
day morning. Along the bridge
across the creek just little beyond the
end of the street car line there were
lively scenes all evening, The sentries
were on the other side, and the strikers
would gather at the north end of 1t and
take pleasure in shaking the rickety
structure. When the men would be
driven away by the sentries they would
only return In a short time and begin to
make q swing out OF the bridge again.
Sentiment ran very high among many
strikers in the crowd. About O'clock
in the evening the local train on the c.,
L. & w. passed the camp. FROM the
hillsdes and the road came the jeers Of
the miners, mingled with Kisses and
oaths. To hear them yell one would
think there was q thousand OF them.
Not long after the camp had been pitch
ed, one of the soldiers was sent to one
OF the neighboring groceries across
the foot bridge TO get some
supplies. He had to run
the gauntlet of foreigners ragged 90
each side of him, amid their Kissing and
jeers. But the law was respected, and
the uniform awed the strikers where
other means would have failed. Later