The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1898-05-09
BOTH BLAMED.
Much Feeling Between CO1Ored
People and Volunteers
Caused by Bouncing in Blan-
ketS at Camp Leedy.
GEN. M'CRUM ORDERS
That Such Performances Shall
Stop at Once.
COlOred TOughs Attack Inn0-
cent Men After NightfalI.
Sheriff and Chief of Police
Should Stop This Instanter.


Several days ago it is said a small
colored boy was found pilfering from
one of the tents at Camp Leedy He
was seized and tossed in a blanket and
warned that if he ever came into camp
again he would receive another dose.
1t was not long until another and larger
colored boy was found stealing and he
was also bounced in the blanket.
Some of the companies in camp, es-
pectally the newest ones, took up the
tossing or "blanketing'' of colored boys
as a paStime and one colored boy found
in camp was tossed Unfortunately
the tossing did not stop here. 1t spread
until any colored man who entered the
camp was either tossed or threatened
with tossing. Many excellent and re-
spectacle colored men were ordered out
of the camp under threat of tossing"
Gen. McCrum issued an order that
"blanketing'' must cease. 1t did cease
for almost a day. Yesterday the sport
was again taken up by some of the SOL
dfers and it came near terminating ii
Yesterday afternoon about o'clock
a small colored boy was backing the
shoes of member of the Hutchinson
company when a large colored tough
stepped up to him, kicked him and said:
You don't have to black the shoes OF
that - - The man whose shoes
were being blacked took no notice of
the colored man down with a blow
from his fist. The colored man
jumped to his feet and reached for his
pocket as if to draw a revolver or razor
Before he could get his hand in his
pocket he was seized, thrown into
blanket and tossed. When the tossing
stopped he was told to go and was es-
| corted out side the lines by a crowd OF
| soldiers. The soldier paid the boy for
| backing his shoes and conducted him
| safely through the lines. This was one
In the northeast corner of the camp
| where several unoecupied tents are
| pitched two well dressed colored boys
| were walking through the camp. A
crowd of soldiers saw them, yelled for
| them to stop and when the colored boys
! ran and tried to get out side of the
camp the sentry stopped them at the
point of his bayonet and the soldiers
| caught them after fight in which the
| colored boys hats were crushed and
umbrellas broken. They were tossed"
and run out of camp. In this case It
| was clear that the soldiers were the
aggressorS.
A crowd of colored boys congregated
just outside the lines where the boys
| had been run out and the soldiers in the
camp and the colored boys on the out
side began calling each other names
| and throwing rocks at each other. In
| this case the blacks were to blame. Gen.
| McCrum was notified of the trouble and
| he ordered Capt. Green of the Atchison
| company to take a guard of 30 men and
| marched his men to where the fighting
| was going on. He marched his squad
| in between the colored boys and the
soldiers and commanded both to stop
| throwing stones. He ordered the SOL
| diers back to their companies and told
| the colored boys that they would be al
| lowed to visit the camp if they behaved
| themselves but warned them against
exciting the soldiers to violence. For
/ an answer the cOlOred boys Showered a
volley of rocks and bricks at Capt.
| (4Tpn1 (HTnQn
| was struck on the head by flying brick
| and it was all he could do to keep his
men from charging bayonets on the col
Ored boys.
| Sergt. Taylor of Company B, said:
| ''The trouble started by the co1ored
| boys not behaving themselves in camp.
The older companies tossed several
| they caught stealing and run them out
| of camp. We did that only with ones
| who were not acting properly and we
| disturbed no others. Some Of the
/ newer companies from the western part
| of the state did not understand what
| the trouble was about, took it up and
| tossed men and boys alike whether they
| did anything not"
| Gen. McCrum said today: There has
| been a great deal of pilfering going on
! in camp by cOlOred boys, and think it
/ but right that all boys should be order
| ed out; this does not apply to colored
| men. I have issued strict orders that
no fb1anketing' shall be done. That or
| der was broken yesterday"
1
i of the different companies, and said,
when they had assembled:
| II issued an order that no blanket
| ing should be allowed in camp. That
| order was broken yesterday. wish you
| to speak to the men in your companies
| about it and see that it is stopped. 1t
| must cease, and respectable coIored
| people must be treated with the same
| courtesies as respectable white people.
| and they are welcome here for informa-
! ton the same as anyone else.
At about 10 o'clock last night a crowd
| of 20 or more colored men and boys
| tried to overpower the sentry the
| north end of the camp. The relief guard
| was called out and the colored men and
/ boys were forced outside the camp at
| the points of the guards bayonets. The
| coIored men and boys threw stones at
| the guard and several were severely
| bruised but none seriously hurt.
| Topeka appeared to be in the hands
| of a mob of colored men last night The
| business portion and the residence pOr-
| tions adjacent thereto were patrolled by
| SQUADS of coIored toughs who waylatd
| all uniformed soldiers regardless OF
| their connection with the disturbances
| during the afternoon. It is due the re-
| spectacle coIored people of Topeka to
say that they did not take part IN this
| disgraceful incident
| When the news reached the city tnar
there had been a conflict at Camp Ieedy
| between volunteer soldiers and coloreo
/ citizens, there was a hurried conferences
of certain colored men, not the best, in
/ Smoky Row, in North Topeka and 9TH
l.