The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-01-07
GUNS WERE OFTEN USED
LEVEE SHOOTING CASE BRINGS TO
LIGHT A STARTLING
STORY
OTHER BOYS WERE WOUNDED
For Two Years They Have Been d.
vided Into Hostile Camps and
Fierce Fighting Was
Frequent.

begun during the SpaniSh-American war,
between a gang of boys living on the
bluff near the Smith, avenue bridge and
another gang living on the levee below,
two boys were shot three, weeks ago and
another, Joe F<lacetsky, as stated yester-
day. was shot at l O'clock Saturday
afternoon.
Apparently the shoetings have not
wiped out theH1feud or dampened the
fighting ardor of the youthful com
batants. The matter will be taken In
hand by the police and rigid measures
adopted to put a stop to the dangerous
lighting, which has hitherto been going
on unchecked.
Saturdays catastrophe. has revealed a
strange state of affairs on the levee.
During the Spanish American war, the
hill gang dubbed themselves the Ameri-
can army and the levee gang the Span
iards. The latter did not seem to resent
the =eognomen, on the contrary the levee
was decked at different places with
Spanish flags, while the Stars and Stripes
1oated on the hill above.
Hostiliues were begun and for time
the fighting was of daily occurrence with
varying fortune Leaders were chosen
and deposed, but the fighting still con-
tIrued The real Spaniards had taken
the remainder of their shattered feet and
armies back to the sunny land Of the
IDdt6QOEY anu Lie AiHSIlISu Ijs3IlIAhG lldSl
shifted TO the eastern islands. but the
miniature war on the levee still ragged
with increasing ferScity. These fighters
knew nothing of treaties. They were
agreed on one point and that was that
to live they must fight.
The feud grew and the fighters became
more desperate. Wien the present WIN
ter came on, boyish warfare had been
cast to the winds and forty youths rang
r. u, al ito iyta
decided they would have the real thing
and adopted firearms. After that as the
winter progressed, it was unsafe for the
levee contingent to venture out on the
ice for an hours recreation, for as soon
as they appeared their enemies on the
hill assembled on the Milwaukee tracks,
Just above, aud made it interesting for
the skaters by firing an occasional shot
into their midst.
FOUGHT A FIERCE BATTLE.
The climax was reached three weeks
ago when a pitched battle vas fought
which lasted two hours and resulted IN
the shooting of two boys. The scene
was described to Il G o b reporter bg
Harry Jackson, a resident Of the upper
levee, who was ar eye witness to the
strange affair." Said he:
THE fight was tho rstFangest that I
ever witnessed. I could scarcely believe
my eyes when / looked upon that youth
full battle. Boys less than ten years Old
thEeateningly iourishfng TevoiYers and
fighting with a fterCeness and hatred that
made one shudGer5 For two. solid hours
they fought 1t was San Juan hill re-
Versed The. Spaniart1s would charge
1iercely up the hill and then slowly re-
treat as they were met by the American
onslaught. Rifles and revolverS were in
evidence and frequently discharged.
Why more were not injus ed has besn a
source of wonder to me ever since.
Bricks and clubs were .hJrt!ing through
the air and the excitement <of the oc-
casion was heightened by the shout ng
ana ahrieking OF tn cafnhatants. when
hostilities finally ceased and the Amert-
can army s.haG prove n tctoTi0tG-:, il w as
found that two of the leyee -Spaniards
had been shot Both were taken to the
city hospital and. treated there ~
Even these serious results did mo-
quench the belligerent spirit of The juve-
frequent. and as the result Of the last one
another. boy was shot Saturday. Joe
Klacatsky, the victim, was seen at the
hospital last night. Ills story was as
For two years the two gangs have
been fighting, but Saturday was the first
time that / got. mixed. UP with them
About 1 o'clock. in the afternoon there
hill sitting around a fire which we had
built beside the Milwaukee, tracks, near
Western avenue. We had our skates
with us and were about to go down the
hill TO a place Just above the bridge where
we, occasionally skate, The other gang
always tried to stop any one else from
skating there. They were all In a dug
cut on the leVee below Where they gen
orally hang out. Suddenly we saw about
twenty CT them running towards us -four
isn'ng their clubs an64Ordering US away.
At first We did not run. One of the gang
had a rife, and when we saw him pre-
pairing to shoot we started to run.
heard two reports, and almost instantly
felt a singing sensation in my leg.
was looking at the blood and saw that
had been shot. L began to feel sick. and
as l staggered q heavy brick struck me
In the forehead and knocked me sense
less
The boy was first taken to his home
ass Banfl street, and, about an hour later
removed to the hospital. On examination
it was found that the bullet had passed
through his left leg several inches below
on his forehead, and that was inflicted
by the blow from the rock. His condition
is serious.
TWO OTHERS WE'RE SHOT.
Jackson's story to the effect that two
boys had been shot in the fight of three
weeks ago was cOrrGborated. by the ply
stcians at the city hospital One Of the
DcyS was JOHn <5dfNiS,t VINO lives at z!
Upper Levee. He was shot through tie
calf of the right leg. He told the hos
pital attendants that he was not engag-
ed in the fight, but merely had been a
spectator. The other was Louis Zinasek
who lives onethe Upper bevee. He was
shot in the right arm, four inches above
the wrist.
The members Of tie two gangs are for
the most part feTeignsrseof Polish aud
bohemian descent. Theodore Shipp. the
boy who was arrested for the shooting