Lincoln County leader. [volume] (Toledo, Lincoln County, Or.) 1893-1987, 1898-10-21
BLOODY FIGHT WITH Miners
strikers at Virden, Illinois,
Causing Trouble.
EIGHT KILLED, MANY WOUNDED
battle Caused by the Attempt OF Union
Miners to Prevent the Arrival of
Negroes-A Day OF Riot

Virden, ILL.,, Oct. 14.-The little
town OF Virden is paratively quiet
tonight, after day of riot and blood
shed, the long-expected clash between
the union miners and imported negl oes.
At 12:40 this afternoon Chicago &
Alton special train, bearing 200 negro
miners from the South, arrived at the
stockade around the Chicago o-Virden
Coal Company's mines, and Immediate
Iy terrific fight began. The list at 10
O'Clock tonight stands eight dead and
about IS wounded. The dead are:
Ed Walsh, of Springfield; Frank Bill
yeau. of Springfield; Albert Smith, of
Mount Olive; Joe Kitterly, of Mount
Olive; Ernest Keutner, of Mount Olive;
A. H. Breneman, of Gira1d; D. H.
Kiley, Chicago g. Alton detective; A.
W. Morgan, of Chicago.
For the past two weeks, rumors have
reached Virden daily that train hav-
ing negroes from Alabama would reach
the city, and the Chicago & Alton
depot has been surrounded day and
night by vigilant miners, determinedly
awaiting their arrival.
Today the Chicago & Alton limited,
due to pass here at 10 o'clock. shot
through en- route to Chicago an hour
late, displaying flags on the rear indi-
eating that special was following.
Immediately the word was spread, and
O 1opca nrorpJ ~ o;pocg 1;ooJ 1bo olo
tion platform, while another crowd COL
lected at the entrance of the stockade,
half mile north of the station. D.
II. Kiley, Chicago & Alton detective,
stood guard at a switch at the south
end of the station platform to see that
it was not tampered with.
At 12:40 the special train passed,
and signal shots were fred from the
south end of the train, announcing the
specials arrival. Immediately shots
were fired from the moving train and
outside, and the battle was on. A few
moments after the train had passed the
switch where Kiley was stationed, and
while he was talking with two citizens,
he threw up his arms and dropped dead
with bullet through his brain. He
was the first man killed.
The train continued to the stockade,
the miners firing into it all along the
route and the negro passengers return
ing the fire.
The moment the train reached the
stocksde. the miners opened desperate
fire with Winchesters, revolvers and
firearms of all descriptions. The ne
groes on the train answered with
steady fire. The miners and the train
were enveloped in cloud of smoke,
and the shooting sounded like con.
tinuous volley. Engineer Burt Tigar
received a bullet in the arm and
dropped from his seat. His fireman
seized the throttle, pulled it open, and.
with a jerk, the train was under full
speed, carrying load of wounded negro
passengers to Springfield. How many
were wounded is not known. The train
stopped at the stockade but two min.
utes. Its departure did not cause the
firing to cease.
The tower of the stockade was filled
with sharpshooters. armed with Win.
chesters, and they kept up a steady fire
into the crowd OF union miners. Eye.
witnesses say the dead miners were
killed after the train had Departed II
is not known how many men we're sta.
toned behind the walls of the stockade,
but an estimate placed it at between
25 and 40. Word was sent to physi.
clans in town that their services were
needed at the stockade.
The supply and provision store of the
Chicago -Virden Coal Company is known
as the Climax Trading Company, with
Superintendent ]. F. Eyster in charge.
At 2 O'Clock, after the firing at the
stockade had subsided, an attack with.
out parallel in the history of the
trouble was made on Eyster in this
store, on Main street, one block from
the depot, which will probably cost
him his life.
A detail OF militia at 10:30 tonight
killed ex-Lieutenant Of Police Tom
Preston, of Chicago, at the stockade.
He was standing outside the stockade
as guard. The military gave the by.
standing miners the command to halt,
and Preston stepped back to the gate.
The militia fred and he was shot in
the stomach. He was carried into the
Office in the stockade, where he expired.
Battery D, Of Galesburg, ILL.,, under
Captain Craig, numbering 100 men, al
riYed here tonight from Pana.
Adjutant-G General J. Q. Reece said
that Preston was not killed by the
militia. He said that when the guard
at the 1tockade had lodged into the
entrance at the militia's order of
"hands up" revolver shot was fred
from the darkness and Preston fell,
wounded. General Reece said
the militia did not fire shot, and