The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1903-07-10
FIRE INTO
AN EVANSVILLE NOR
Seven Are Killed Outright and
a Dozen More Are Ser
iousIy Wounded.
ATTACKED THE MILITIA
A Mob of Thousand Tried to Force the,
Militiamen Back and Storm tn.
Jail and Are Met With a
Rain of Bullets.

Evansville, Ind, July s. Follow,,
four days of rioting and general law.
lessness this city saw the most terri.
ole of it's experiences with rioter,
Seven persons are dead and fourteen
are known to be injured, with at least
that number more thought to be hurt
The dead:
EDWARD SCHIFFMAN, painter
top Of head blown off.
HAZEL ALTMAN, Is years old
daughter Of Joseph H. Altman, shot in
breast.
JOHN BARRETT, shot in right lung
AUGUST JORDAN, shot through
the body and head.
TWO UNIDENTIFIED MEN, lying
In front of the Jail.
The wounded:
Fred Schmidt, may die.
Fred Happier. may die.
Lee Hawley.
Robert Miller.
Charles Preskey.
Theodore BEEN.
John Fares, may die.
Albert Kaeuss, soldier, shot while
picking up wounded rioters.
Six other rioters were seer to fall.
but got away before their names were
learned.
At b O'Clock more are thought to be
hurt. Four members of Company A,
First regiment, received bullet and
gunshot Wounds on the body; one of
them was shot through the shoulder.
another through the ankle and the 9TH
er two received slight scratches.
Two deputy sheriffs are slightly
wounded.
Fired Into Dense Mob.
At 1890 o'clock the members of Com
pany A, First regiment, Indiana Ma
tional Guard, after a day of vigilance
guarding the Jail. and 100 deputy sher-
Ifs under Sheriff Chris Kratz, fired
point blank into a mob of 1000 men
gathered on Fourth. Division n Vine
street, surrounding the Vanderburg
county jail and attempting its capture.
From Z o'clock this morning until
the hours Of tonight's catastrophe the
crowd surged about the Jail, calling the
militia1nen vile names. ~assailing them
with stones and berating the deputies
who guarded the jail.
At 9 o'clock the mob gradually be-
came more and more excited, the man
lfestations of uneasiness more fire.
quent. and at 10 o'clock it was seen
that nothing could prevent an assault
on the Jail.
At 1880 o'clock the rioters pressed
slowly forward and innocent onlook-'
erS and the curious followed.
Tried to Force Back Soldiers.
Slowly they forced the miitiamea
pack toward the jail until the alleyway
between Division street and the stona
building was reached. Then the leads
ers, with a bicycle in front as a shield
to the bayonets of the soldiers, at
tempted to enter the alley and storm
the alleyway entrance.
Captain Blum Of the National Guard
company ordered a charge on the riot
ers. Gradually the crowd was forced
bsck, the soldiers using their bayonets
and butts Of their guns.
Suddenly 8 rioter fell. A soldier
tried to drag him to his feet, but before
he could he was assaulted by a rioter.
Stones and bou1ders began to fly
through the air. A soldier was struck
with a rock and fell. A rioter was
knocked down with a u II then a
shot was fired. The shot started a fu-
silade Of musketry and shotgun fire
from the defenders of the jail and a
scattered return fire from the rioters.
Fully 800 shots were fired from the
Jail windows. the court house steps
Immediately opposite, and by the SOL
diers on the streets.
No one knows who fired the frst
shot. The soldiers claim it was the
rioters, while the rioters make no claim
and refuse to talk about 1T.