Richmond daily palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1876-1904, 1895-07-06
PERRY COUNTY RIOT.
Three Killed and Four Fatally Hurt at a
Picnic-A Brave German Woman
Crushes the SKULL of a Man Who
Had Killed Her Husband.

ENGLISH, Ind, July 5.-Startlins
reports OF desperate riot at Siberia
Perry county, are coming in by tele
phone and couriers from the scene o.
the encounter. DR.. VIM. Lomax, OF
White Sulphur Well, has just tele.
phoned that thousand men and womer
took part in the fight, that three mer
are dead, four fatally hurt and fifty Sc.
riously.
Siberia is but hamlet of few dozen
struggling houses and Roman Catho-
lie church, the congregation of which
is composed of Germans. They are q
simple and inoffensive people, but have
been greatly annoyed recently by per
sons opposed to their religion. Yester-
day they planned to enjoy q great pic
mic in the woods near the village. The
entire population turned out to attend
the picnic and all went smoothly
enough until several gangs of disturbers
appeared on the scene and began to
make trouble.
There was . number of booths on the
grounds where intoxicants were served
These we're literally patro nized by the
iutruders, who soon began to insult the
Germans and their wives. The priest,
who was present, counseled the people
to avoid trouble, If possible, ard to pay
no attention to the jeers of the half
drunken marauders. Mistaking this
tolerance for cowardice the intruders
became bolder and soon precipitated q
fight, which, in q few moments, as
sumed the proportions of desperate
riot, in which everybody took part.
Clubs, chairs and beer bottles were
brought into play, and the peaceful pic
mic was Immediately transformed into q
great group OF struggling, cursing men,
and screaming women.
Samuel Wilson, . leader of the out
,iders, was armed with q huge knife,
which he welded like . madman, stab
ling and outing many persons. He !
vas finally opposed by "a sturdy Ger
mad, who was more than = match tor
linA, un,;, Wilson plunged the knife
INTO his neck. As the German fell back
his wife sprang through the crowd and
dealt Wilson q terrible blow with beer
bottle, crushing his skull. During the
melee one of the intruders kicked a
woman, about to become . mother, kill
lux ucK Culiu 1uo i0LoiiJ hSAs
1t soon became apparent to the at
tacking party that they would be ami
hilated if the fight was continued, and
after their leader was stricken down
they ran hastily through the woods to
where their horses were tethered, leav-
ing three of their number on the ground
for dead. Cots and itters were hastily
improvised and the dead and wounded
were removed to the church In the vii
lage, and all the physicians in the
neighborhood called to the scene.
DR.. Lomax, . surgeon of White
Sulphur Well, and his two as
sistants were kept busy all OF
the night caring for the wounded. DIR.
Lomax states that he saw 6tty-iour in
jured, and believes that several OF them
will die. He 50. s the fight began At ]
clock in the afternoon, and continued
for an hour.
A telephone message from White
Sulphur Well this evening says that at
least twenty of the injured will die. a
courier from the scene of the battle
who was sent for supplies for the sur
geons, states that three persons ART
dead. Two of them were members o
the picnic party, and the other is Viii
son, the leader of the rioters.
Nearly all the rioters are known
though it 10 certain that in the part.
there were q number of rough charac
ters from the district lying near tn
Ohio river. Many of the rioters carries
buggy spokes concealed in their sleeves
and used them with bad effect. sparin
neither age nor sex. The local magis
trate has sworn in nearly every man il
the community as q deputy to preserv
the peace, Is it is feared the rioters vii
secure reinforcements and return TO
the bodies of their comrades, one 0
whom is dead and the other rrobabl
| fatally Injured.