Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1899-09-21

In a pitched battle between negro and
white miners, fought In the main street
Of CartervilIe, ILL.,, Sunday, seven Of the
colored men were killed and two others
wounded. 1t was only Monday Of the
previous week that the State militia,
which had been ON duty there for several
months, was withdrawn, II being consid-
cred that all danger of trouble was past.
After the departure Of the troops, how
ever, it appears that the bitter feeling be-
tween the races took new life, Sundays
outbreak proving the elimination. Both
sides Insist that the other was RESPONSE
BILE for the deadly combat.
Thirteen pon-union colored miners left
their homes at Brush's mines, north Of
the town, shortly before noon and came
down to the illinois Central station in
tending to take the Paducah express for
Marion. 1t has been the custom Of
Brush's non-union negro miners for sew
cral weeks, or squad Of twelve OF fif-
teen Of them, to go to Marion every Sun
day, remain for the night services at the
colored church and return home on the
lilo p. m. train. These negroes had
been at the Carterville station only few
minutes when twenty-five or thirty union
miners, most of them armed with rifles,
appeared on the scene When they came
up they found several of the negroes in
side the waiting room. the remainder on
the platform.
The black men were Immediately or
dered by the white miners to leave there
and to leave at once. The order was soon
repeated to them, with another order
to leave the town and that quickly. Ac-
cording to unprecedented witnesses, the
negroes commenced to obey the orders,
going northwest on the railroad tracks
When they had proceeded about 100
yards to where the main street Of the
town crosses the railroad tracks one Of
the negroes turned, drew his revolver and
fired back at the crowd. which was then
advancing toward them.
This was signal for a general on
slaugat by the white miners. They open
ed deadly fire on the negroes, who scat
tered like scared sheep. The white min
ers fired over 100 shots ut the fleeing ne
groes, and 1t is said that many shots were
fired at them from the windows Of houses
and from barns and outhouses Every
few minutes one of the fleeing men would
stagger, throw up his hands and topple
to the earth. The pursuers did not stop,
but kept up their rain of lead until the
few survivors had gotten beyond range
These dead negroes fell along the rail
road track not more than 200 yards from
the station.
The Infatuated miners followed up their
bloody work and those of the unfortunate
negroes who were not killed when they
first fell were afterward riddled with bull
lets at short range or dubbed to death
with the butts OF guns. Two Of the
wounded managed to get away from the
scene of slaughter and walked to within
short distance of the mines, where their
dead bodies were found later in the day.
This clash is the outcome of differences
between the operators and union continu-
ing over several years. The strike has
been more for recognition of the union
than because of wages. Rioting, begin
ming in June last, resulted in the calling
out of State troops, which We're with
drawn from the town only n week before
Gov. Tanner, on receipt of the news Of
the riot, Immediately ordered Lieut.. Low
den of Company c Of Carbondale to pro-
coed with his command at once to Car
terville, procuring a special train IL nee
essary. Two companies of the Fourth
regiment, under command of Col. Ben
nett, were also ordered to the scene Of
the trouble