The Savannah morning news., 1901-09-03
RIOTING AT TYBEE
SOLDIERS, POLICE AND CIVILIANS
FOUGHT AT SOUTH END.
FIVE PATR0LMAN INJURED.
MANY WERE WOUNDED WITH
KNUCkS AND KNIVES.

Fought for Hail an HOur-serSt'
Fleming Lost a Tooth and Was Cut
on the Fnce-Omcers Eivers, Deig-
nan, Hicks and Harrison Were Al
so wounded-Tom Rossiter Was
Cut over the Eye-SeveraI I'm
known Soldiers Done Up and One
kicked in the Abdomen-Men From
Fort screven Brought ON the
Trouble and Were Trying TO Start
"A Rough HOuse-An Ofticia1 Inves-
tfgatiOn Will BE Asked for.
What came very near being a full
fedged riot, if it was not one. took
place at Tybee last night, between
soldiers from Fort Screven, members
of the police force and civilians. 1t is
charged that the soldiers went over to
the South End for the purpose of rails
ing a rough house. and that there were
innumerable slight conflicts and bat
ties of words. before the real trouble
began.
Mounted Sergeant of Police Walter
Fleming had a tooth knocked down
his throat with brass knucks, and was
cut with a knife on the upper lip and
left cheek: Mounted Patrolman P. ].
Eivers was struck over the eye with
brass knucks. and otherwise bruised;
Mounted Patrolman ]. j. Deignan re-
ceived a cut on the nose from a pair
of brass knucks: Patrolman William
Hicks was struck with knucks: Pa
trolman w. H. Harrison was struck
in several places, and was unable to
report for duty last night; Tom Rossi-
ter, a civilian, was painfully cut over
the right eye; an unknown soldier was
cut over the eye, and kicked in the
abdomen. and was unconscious for
several minutes; another soldier,
whose name could not be learned, had
half dozen wounds on his head from
a billy. and fell from loss of blood.
Other soldiers and civilians bear marks
of the fray which lasted for some
twenty minutes.
Two of the soldiers and Rossiter were
attended by DIR. NJ. Saliba, and their
wounds are not considered serious. The
artiIIeryman who was kicked in the alb
domen was brought around all right
and was ordered sent TO the Fort hos
pital by the physician. DR.. Saliba stat
ed that while he was dressing the
wounds of one of the soldiers the man
made an effort to get away and renew
the trouble. According to the police,
there were some twenty-five or thirty
soldiers and they got in some good
work before they were beaten down by
the civilians and patrolman. At one
gagged in the fight, and it is probable
that in the mixup soldiers, patrolmen
and civilians pummeled each other.
Knives and brass knucks were the only
weapons used, and it is almost a mi
racle that no one was killed or fatally
injured.
Rossiter and soldier were engaged
in a fight between the dancing pavilion
and the bar when the real trouble be-
gan. 1t first started with man named
Jim Brown, employed as special officer
at one of the music halls. The ver-
sion of the fight is that Brown put
some of the soldiers out of the concert
hall several nights ago for acting in
a disorderly manner, and that they
legged that several of the artillerymen
crowded around Brown and cursed and
struck him. 1t is said that at this
stage Rossiter got in the mix up and
was fighting with soldier when the
crowd began to gather.
Patrolmen Deignan. Eivers and At
kinson were attracted by the scuffie,
asaI In 90 70 hsa hal
ents. The soldiers then turned on the
officers. who had gone to the island to
take part in the tug of war contest,
with the team from the fire depart
ment. This scuffie was going on when
Sergt. Fleming ran over to where the
trouble was taking place. According to
the police officer, a soldier had Eivers
down, and another was striking him
with knucks The scene that followed
can be told best in the words
of Sergt Fleming, who bears marks of
the battle.
II took hold of the soldier who had
Eivers, and was smashed in the mouth
by another soldier. He used brass
knucks, and one of my front teeth
went down my throat. The next min
ute 1 saw the blade of knife coming
down, and lodged my head to one side.
received a cash across the mouth. A
soldier made d cut at Eivers' back, and
] don't know how the knife missed its
mark. The soldiers were crowding on
us then, and the boys from the East
Side began to gather too. Patrolmen
Hicks and Harrison got in the game
with Deignan, Eivers and Atkinson,
and we had TO swing right and left
to get out of the jam. There were sew
eral hundred people scrapping In
about a minute, and no man can tell
what happened during the twenty min
utes that followed. 1t was scrap from
the word go, and a man didn't have
time to make any notes of what was
happening to the other fellows. / had
my hands full in fighting, myself, with
out seeing what else was going on.
1t was easily twenty minutes before
the row ended, and saw many bloody
heads. The soldiers withdrew, finally,
and no arrests were made"
1t appears that the men from Fort
Screven began to get rowdy early in
the afternoon and picked quite a num-
Der of quarrels before they got up a
general fight.
There were several encounters be-
fore the mixup with Rossiter, the
East Side man. The artilleryrnen were
drinking and appeared determined to