The Oskaloosa herald., 1904-12-01

In county nlSt0ryr-Wn6n the
country was new and the times were
strenuous. During the war a"Skunl
River" army Of, rebel sympathizers
was organized in Keokuk county con
tanning about five hundred men. Many
men from Mahaska county Joined ane
the force became so formidable thai
Governor Kirkwood had to send
troops to quell the disturbance and
dispense the army" Their first and
only maneuver was a march on South
English and is known in history as
'HTally's Raid" taking its name from
the leader, "Bill' Tally. Among the
state troops sent to put down the 10.
cal rebellion was the Muscatine Rang
ers, Washington Provost Guards
Brighton Guards, Richland Home
Guards, Fairfield Prairie Guards. Mt.
Pleasant Infantry, MI. Pleasant Artil
Iery and the Sigourney Home Guards,
eleven companies in all. Governor
Kirkwood himself came to South Eng
lish along with stores of ammunition
for the state troops. He made several
speeches which had a quietinS effect
and the skunk River Army quickly
melted away.
The Peoria Riot.
Shortly after the Tally raid an oc-
currence took place in the northwest
ern part of the country in some re-
spects similar, according to Union
Historical Company's history Of Ma
haska county: On the 22d of Aug
ust, 1868, a so called Democratic raj
ly was held about one-half mile west
of the town of Peoria, on Buckley
Creek. Here we're assembled in mass
meeting several hundred men, most
Of them Democrats. There were at
that time near Peoria two soldiers
OF Co. H of the Third Iowa Infantry,
who were home on wounded fur
Tough, having been wounded at Jack
son, Miss. These were Capt. Simon
G.. Gary and Sergt. Abraham T. AL
loway. Gary attended the meeting
in the forenoon and had had some
words with his political opponents
In regard to wearing butternut badg-
es. He returned to Peoria about
noon and met Alloway. Gary was
quite severely wounded in the thigh,
and Alloway but slightly in the hip.
Gary borrowed a single-barreled pis-
toll from a friend in Peoria, and hav-
ing INDUCED in some of the town
beer, as was shown on testimony at
the trial, he and Alloway started fer
the meeting. While Capt. James A
Sewers Of Oskaloosa was addressing
the meeting they arrived on The
grounds and soon after got into a
war Of words, when some of the SOL
4a Gfe5 81 .luIes ana fpTE2aeefGaf6ai4safrles s'ta
get them off the ground. While they
were moving away a farmer namej
Mart Myers stepped up in front 81
the men and declared, with an oath
that no man would dare remove his
badge. He had no sooner spoken
than the offensive emblem was
snatched from his lapel by n Of
the wounded men. He and Alloway
(who was unarmed) Immediately
clinched, and while they were Etrug
Cling Myers drew his revolver ant
shot Alloway through the body, Thu
latter snatched the revolver from
him, and throwing him on tn
ground, tried several times to shoe
him through the head, but tho pisto
snapped, and after striking Myers
couple of times with the butt of TIL
pistol he fell back exhausted. A
soon as Myers fired tho shot an in
discriminate discharge Of weapon
took place. Gary emptied his pistc
without effect and was himself sho
through the wrist, and d DIR. Span
was shot in the leg. This, Of course
broke up the meeting, and the voic
Of Capt. Sewers above the din Q
battle ordering every man to hi
home, cleared the ground IF ever
Democrat in a very few minutes,
Few Republicans were present, an
these placed Sergt. Alioway in
spring wagon, but ne 1ieG befor
reaching Peoria. His body was tai
en- to the house of B. f. WintermutC
from whence the funeral took place
few days afterward, and The process
sion is said to have beel one ar
one-half miles in length, shown
that by some in Mahaska a soldier
life was not lightly valuel. Allowa
was to have been married in a fe'
days to a cousin Of his murderer.
The day after the shooting Sherii
Anumbaugh and two marshals, Jess
Dodd and VIM. Johnson, went up I
Sugar Grove and after some difficu
ty succeeded by strategy 10 ~arrestin
Myers, who was lodged in Jail at o:
kaloosa.
After a trial at Ottumwa and agai
at Abba, without successful convic
ton, and in the last of wnicn test
mony was introduced to prove tina
Gary had fired the ball which kille
Alloway, the county already havin
been involved some thousands q
dollars In costs, resolved to dismis
the case, and Myers was allowed t
60 unpublished.