Evening star., 1901-12-26
RACE RIOTS I'M HARLEM
NEGROES AND WHITES ENGAGE IN
STREET BATTLE.

STREET BATTLE.
| The New York Tribune of today says: A
| race riot broke out in Harlem yesterday
afternoon, which in few minutes became
battle between negroes intrenched in ten
ement houses and white men in the street.
The negroes were armed with reyolyers,
razors and other weapons, and the whites
| with stones and clubs. There were a hun
dred ightings each side. The negroes
were at first victors, but the police drove
them back into their tenements after they
| had charged the whites with pistols and
| razors. Foruteen negroes were arrested.
Four whites, including a policeman. were
badly shot or cut. Many others are be-
lieved to have been hurt. Those reported
| as injured were:
Connolly, policeman, of the West 125th
street station. cut on the forehead and left
| eye.
Thomas Geraty. laborer. No. 2.340 Broad
way. siashed on the right side Of the head
| with a razor.
John McHale. No. 1.424 Amsterdam ave-
| nue., two razor cuts on the neck.
| Michael O'Meara, laborer. thirty-two
years old, No. 1882 Broadway. shot in the
hip.
| The rioting was started when some white
boys stoned two colored girls. Margaret
Glenn thirteen years old, and Hattie Mar
tin. fifteen The girls ran and the boys
kept throwing stones at them TIL they
| reached their homes The girls told their
| friends, and dozen negroes ran out Of
| the houses, and, Selling the white boys
| boxed their ears and struck several OF them
| in the faces. The lads ran to 130th street
! and Broadway and told some white men
there.
| About forty white men ran toward the
| negroes. picking up stones as they went
| They stoned the colored men, driving them
4 back toward the tenement houses and curs-
ing them Many Of the black men were hit
and bruised, but no one was seriously in
| jured in this first attack
The white men drove the negroes Into
their houses. The boys kept on telling
white men hanging round corners Of the
negroes beating them, and about forty or
| fifty more white men Joined the first band,
and were In time to help drive the last Of
the colored men into the houses.
| All the male negroes in the houses seized
weapons They appeared at the windows
| armed with reyolyers, sticks. bricks. stones
] and any other weapons they could find
The white men bombarded them with
stones and other missiles. They smashed
| windows by the dozen. broke doors ana
| woodwork, and in many instances threw
stones accurately enough to land them in
| rooms, where furniture was damaged.
| The negroes fired q volley at their antag-
onists. Four men dropped to the pave
| ment, bleeding Two got up again at once,
| and the whites responded with rocks and
pieces Of wood. Several black men were
4
| they were Immediately replaced.
The whites were astounded by the shoot
| ing. They saw men in their company fall.
! and in dismay started to run. The negroes
| drew razors and dashed downstairs. Out
| In the street they poured, and rushing after
| the white men, slashed right and left
| They cursed and acted like maniacs. Those
| who had no razors used clubs and broom
| handles. and beat their antagonists with all
4 their strength.
}, The whites were game. and. turning. met
1 Had q Aa
coonsr' and stood their ground for a few
|, | minutes. The razors were too much for
4 them, however. and they gave in I'm some
} cases. In other instances. however. the
| blows with clubs on the negroes. and dis
tributed hundreds of bruises among the
] colored men.
The battle was watched from both ends
o. the block by hundreds OF people. Sew
eral women tainted as they saw white men
| go down from razor slaShes.
Patrick Donnelly. Waterman in the
worsted works. opposite the negro tene-
| ment houses. saw the fight. and at its be-
ginning telephoned TO police headquarters.
| which communicated with the West l2oth
| street station The reserves went on the
run to the scene of the rioting.
The policemen, with drawn clubs. started
for the negroes. The whites dispersed as
quickly as possible: Ins ne plaeas ,;Ss sOught sa1t
lowed and beat them on the heads and
bodies with their clubs The negroes after
1 ward Saad that the ponce 1Oai0weQ tnem
into their Railways and clubbed them.
| The street was cleared In two minutes
| from the time of the arrival of the reserves.
| Then four men were found lying In the
| street.
| The colored men who took part In the
= fight are employed In the construction OF
the rapid transit tunnel In the neighbor-
hood of the rioting, They work for sub
contractor named Smith. who, 1t Is said.
imported them from Maryland and other
southern states. Since the arrival Of the
co1ored men there has been considerable ia
feeling. Numerous petty nights have taken
4 place recently.
The story Of the origin Of the trouble told
by James Hudson. one Of the colored men
arrested differs from that told by the po-
lice. He says that he left his home. No.
613 West l30th ST., at pm. to go to Muir
tha's saloon. in broadway. Five small
| boys were tormenting colored man known
as Bud by throwing stones at him.
| bud" chased the boys. Outside the sa-
loon were a number OF white men. One
of these said to Hudson:
| Whats the matter with that COON
| down thcre?"
Hudson says he replied that the man was
drunk. and that the boys were teasing him
We'll. you had better take him home or
! there viii be trouble" the man replied.
Hudson tried to get Bud to enter his
tHndson'sa home. Bud refused to go.
and pulling a revolver from his pocket
i pointed It into the air and exclaimed. Hud-
| son declares:
"Fm looking for trouble"
4 f1uuSO1 SdyS ne nadfay managed 10 get
| Bud" into the house, but the latter in
| sisted that thirty or forty white men were
trying to Kill him. and, accompanied by
| Davis, another colored man. he left the
house. The men talked together on the
sidewalk tor few minutes. and then Da-
! Wis ran back into the house and got his re-
volver. Both coiored men went to where
4 the white men were standing at lsOth
l street and broadway and became engaged.
| In fight, HUDSON sayA The nofse was
heard By other colored men Ia the tene-
r. md In n Far