Evening journal., 1906-08-30
WILMINGTON MAN HELD
PRISONER IN CAMP ON
BLUE RIDGE RANGE
lcontInued frOm FIrst Page1


that will help you in"
ION August 4 I went out to work
and was given dinner to carry for nine
mon. 1 carried It all in a quart bucket
and the meal consisted Of one-half
cooked cabbage. fat pork and blue
moldy Italian bread. In the afternoon
we refused to work The following
Thursday 1t rained and we did not
have to work. on Friday morning,
August 10. McIlroy and five or six
other natives came to our shack and
ordered US all out in a hurry. saying
II we didn't get out at once he had a
chain gang in which we would have to
work. One Of the men said he had no
overalls nor trousers in which to go
TO work In. McIlroy said. I'll be --
49, If you don't have to work, pants
or no pants, and he got him an old
pair Of worn-out pantaloons and set
him TO work blasting rock. The man
had no shoes on his feet"
Summoned as Witnesses
"On August a Deputy U. S. Mar
shall looked over the camp and made
an investigation as to its conditions.
a report having reached the authorities
that we We're being ill-treated. The
result was that several arrests were
made and / and two or three others
were subpoenaed as witnesses. In
answering the subpoena. the men in
charge allowed us to go to Marion,
where hearing was held on August
IL before the Police Commissioners,
and on the following Monday we we're
again before the commission. am to
appear before a third commission on
December II in Charlotte. n. c."
"On August Q. the day after the first
hearing a man named Barrett came
among the men and took the names of
those who did not work on the prev
ious day. He then informed us that
we would no longer be compelled to
work, but If we did not the commits
sary and shack would be closed TO us
and we all knew the road 90 Marion
Barrett, however, was the only decent
man in camp"
Wrist Broken
Bowen says the natives. mount
aineers from that section OF the
country who worked in the camp,
laughed at the hardships inflicted on
l
eral OF these natives were chopping
down a tree within a short distance of
where Bowen was working. and al
though 1t was their custom to give
the other natives a cry OF warning
when a tree was about to fall. they
gave him none. He happened to see
the timber topple and managed to
escape with as slight an injury as a
broken right wrist This injury was
caused by his stumbling and falling in
an effort to escape. His wrist was
fixed up by a foreman Of the camp
until a physician came, who put it in
rough splints.
Bowen. after the last hearing in
Marion, concluded to return to Will
mington, and left that place on Mon
day last at a. m, arriving in VIII
mington on Tuesday morning at 11.45
o'clock. He brought with him two in
teresting mementoes Of the camp. one
a rough spoon" resembling a concave
chisel. which he cut out of the inner
bark Of tree. and with which he was
compelled to eat The other is a bras.
check, resembling a baggage check, or
which is stamped "Spruce-Pine $50.
]
Der while in Camp No 6. He has
placed his case IN the hands of an at.
torney and a charge Of peonage viii bt
brought against the railway company
Bowen also states that there were tw,
Italians shot to death in the camp il
May and that the italian Governmen
has taken a hand.
The Ash eville Citizen. under date o.
August 22. contains the following story
told by one of the men who were at tn,
same camp with Bowen:
Thirteen men from the mountain
surrounding Asheville had been workinl
for some time in the cotton mills a
Spartanburg. We were we'll paid an,
well treated, having no cause for com
plant. An agent of the South and West
ern Railway came ana proposed to Civ
us employment in the construction Of
railway near Marion. n. c., eight mile
from here. to be exact, the place beini
known as Camp No. s. We were prom
ised $3.50 per day. free transportation
lodging and table board at 80 cents pc
day. The thirteen of US agreed to go an,
arrived at the camp February 9.
Upon beginning work, we found tha
we were being charged 40 cents instead o
90 cents for our board and would b
forced TO pay our transportation. an,
that other things would be exacted con
trary to the contract with US.
Guarded BY Riflemen
The agent. Mr.. Redricks, further toll
US that when we reached camp If we di
not find all things as represented, W
could leave at once. But the very frs
night in camp We were placed unde
guard, two men staying up all night nea
US. each armed with a l6-shot repeatin
Winchester rifle
After the first night we worked hal
a day. but finding their intention to mis-
treat us. some of the boys tried to leav
at noon. About half way between camp
and 9 we were overtaken by two me
on horseback. who ordered as to stop an
return to camp. We refused. They dre'
pistols and commanded US 10 go TO Cam
No. 9. where. they said was the EN-
ploying agent, who would make every
thing right
Locked Up BY Bogus Sheriff
ARRIVING there we were turned over 1
man whom they called Sheriff. II
commanded us to follow him 10 th
lookup Three Of us were taken an
locked up early in the afternoon. remain
ing there till about o'clock. The locS
up was a dwelling house OF two rooms