The age-herald., 1899-03-28
MINING CAMP AT DOLOMITE
 INFESTED BY ARMED MOBS
SMITH WILL CHALLENGE
 DRENNEN FOR JOINT DEBATE

man and he was taken before the justice and discharged for want of evidence.
 Constable McBee then got out warrants for this negro and two others who were mixed up in the melee. With the aid or Lee Mattingly, Bob Carroll and H. A. Me Kinney the three negroes were arrested and brought to Birmingham late Sunday afternoon. They gave their names as Cal win Bell, Eugene Williams and Richard Howard. Bell who was discharged by the magistrate, was charged with assault and battery on Constable McBee, Williams with carrying concealed weapons and How ard with using abusive and obscene lan- guage.
 Their arrest greatly incensed the negro miners. They armed themselves and form ed mob near the railroad track between the Woodward furnaces and Dolomite, swearing to wreak vengeance on the first white man who showed himself.
 An Innocent Man Shot
 It was not long before white miner, not suspecting trouble, came walking along the railroad track returning to his home after call on a friend in another portion of the camp Two negroes with Winchester rifles halted him. He was made to lay his watch upon the railroad track and was told to run. The frightened miner had not gone far when several shots were fired. One took effect in the right side of the neck, coming out under the eye and barely miss ing the jugular vein. He is in a precarious condition, but has some chance of recover ing. His name was not known by the of- ficers who returned last night.
 FITl.- Ar stimulate the lawless spirit that had al- ready taken possession of the frenzied ne- groes. A posse of them fired into house occupied by white family. Several men were on the front porch at the time and young Mac Chambers was slightly wound- ed in the side by bird shot,
 White Men Arm Themselves
 The news of these two outrages spread and as the word was passed from house to house the white men armed themselves and began laying plans to protect their fami- lies. In a few minutes there had gathered an armed body of men determined to sacri- flee their lives if need be-
 This was the existing state of affairs when Sheriff O'Brien was notified at o'clock yesterday morning. He immediate ly sent several deputies post haste to Dolo- mite
 A Stormy Day
 Yesterday morning both white and negro miners refused to go to work. At 1 o'clock yesterday afternoon the situation was so serious that Sheriff O Brien, with Deputies Ball, Wadrop, Bergen and Green left for the mining camp. They met MT. Wood ward, and with the assistant general man. ager of the mining company, they went to where the negroes were congregated. Sev- eral of them were armed with shotguns and Winchester rifles. The sheriff in- formed them that he came for the purpose of settling the trouble in a conservative way if possible. He was not speaking for effect but meant just exactly what he said. If it became necessary he would get every white man in Jefferson county to suppress any act of lawessness. He told them that the trouble had grown out of the attempt to arrest one of their own color for an assault on negro. This made the excuse for an uprising less. At this juncture one negro asked the question if an officer had the right to abuse prisoner The sheriff told him certainly not and ex- plained the law on the subject, telling them to have such an officer arrested. The talk had a quieting effect on the negroes and they scattered out.
 There were at least sixty white men, all armed, gathered at Browns store The sheriff appealed to them as men and good citizens to do nothing rash.
 It was not over an hour until every armed man had disappeared. The white miners held meeting and decided to re- sume work this morning.
 Sheriff O'Brien returned to the city last night, leaving Deputies Ball and Waldrop in charge.
 Ex-Chief of Police Barnard, Policeman James Weaver, Mayor Hudnall and John Pascoe of Pratt City arrested William Dell, T. C. Brown, P. J. Edwards, J. w. Lacey and J. B. Brown, parties who are supposed to be mixed with the riot at Do- lomite Sunday They took from the men two Winchesters, one or two pistols and about 300 cartridges.