The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1898-10-14
FIRST shot FROM TRAIN.
50 Union tIiners Testify at Inquest
Yesterday.
ARMS OF VIRDEN COAL COMPANY
C0NFISCATED BY MILITIA.

There were I25 Springfield Rifles and
$500 Rounds of munition-EVi-
dence of the Terrible Firing When
| Eyester was the Target.
| Virden, ILL.,, October 13--The day
passed without another outbreak of yio-
lencs but aside from the restraining in-
fiuence of the militia no progress has bsen
made toward permanent peace. The idle
miners are excitabls and determined
W hile the Chicago Virden Coal company
has shown no sign of purpose to
abandon It's plan of operating its mines
with imported negroes. Yesterday S
shooting has resulted in fourteen deaths
| SO far.
| The number of injured will not much
exceed twenty. The ooroner's inquest
| today brought out no evidence of imporo.
| ance.
| Virden, ILL.,, October 13.-Coroner Hart
impannelled a jury of six today and
began the inquest. The ejurymen include
Justice of the Peace A. j. Roberts and
j. d. Foley, member of the executive
| committee of union miners. Six union
| miners were examined. They were
! unanimous in testifying that the first
| shots were fired from the train yesterday,
| while the train was about f1G0 feet south
of the station. They claim their men did
not return the fire into the train until
the train reached the stookade. They
| testified that their men shot into the air
| until the train came to stop. This af-
ternoon all the arms and ammunition of
the Chicago. Virden Coal company were
oonfscated by Captain Feryior, COM
manding the state militia. There were
1876 Springfield rifles and $500 rounds of
ammunition.
The rear of the Climax Trading COM
pany's store and adjacent buildings bear
evidence of the terrific firing that took
place yesterday when ]. E. Eyester was
the target, springing across the roofs.
The plate glass windows in the front of
the store are broken. In the rear the
building is riddled with bullets and buck
shot, All the window panes bear bullet
holes and the roof of the coal shed was
moved by a charge of buokshot that W as
fired at Eyester just as he sprang through
the skylight into Miners hall. Gun wads
and cartridge shells lie scattered around
the rear Of the store. Six feet from the
rear door of the Climax store stands the
delivery wagon in which Eyester made
the trip to the stockade with physicians
vest erday afternoon. A load of buckshOt
riddled the rubber curtains, dents from
bullets are visible in the sides of the
wagon, the tongue is broken off short and
the stub end is bloodstained. 1t is learned
that the team of horses, shot and goaded
to madness by the wounds, broke the
tongue and ran. They went two blocks
and both fell dead.
The windows in the store under
Miners hall were broken when the mob
dragged Eyester into the street. A side
from this there are no other buildings
damaged.
A meeting of the executive committee
of the strikers was held late this after
noon. Chairman Belgar asserted that
not a man among the Thiel agency and
Pinkerton detectives stationed within the
blockade had been sworn as deputy
sheriff. He declared that all of them
could be held as accessories on charge
of murder.
He stated that fifty Pinkerton and
Thiel men acting as guards were on the
train bearing the negroes which stopped
at the shaft yesterday. He said none of
these men were residents of the state and
consequently Sheriff Davenport had re.
fused to swear them in. The matter was
dis cussed ard it was decided to employ
counsel and lay the matter before the
grand jury. There was great excitement
here tonight when it became known that
a special train consisting of one box car,
three apparently empty coaches and a
caboose that passed through here this
evening, bore two carloads of negroes
taken through here to Springfield yester-
day. The train went South and sue
ceeded in passing through Virden without
Interference. A big crowd Of miners was
at the station but the militia held them
in check When the train stopped at the
stockade, Captain Fowler VINO was in
command there shouted: Don't allow
any one to disembark from that train. :"
The gate was opened and a file of SOL
diers ushered out at double quick with
the train. General Manager Lukens made
formal request that his employees be
allowed to land and enter the to3kade.
Captain FEWER declined to grant this.
Then Mr. Lukens put it in the form OF a
demand, but the officer replied that he
was under orders from Governor Tanner
to prevent the Decentralization of any
negro miners at the works.
General Manager Lukens protested in
vain and The train pulled out, healed
South.
BY this time, the advance guard of
strikers gathered at the depot, had al
vanced up the track to within 100 yards
of the stockade. where they remained
until the train passed. After the depart
ure of the train, Mr.. Lukens said:
"From my own personal knowledge
can say that no shots were fired yesterday
from the train carrying the negro miners