The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-08-18

and when we ran up the river for our tow 1t look ed like every striker west of Pitsburg had his family on the docks to see the barb ecue accompanied | by enough cobblestones and scrap iron to ballast u battleship. All we got goin' up was repartee, but I fingered we'd need armor gettin' back. We passed 8 hawser to the Detroit, and turned the gas Into the tug, blow in for the Wells street bridge Then war began. l leans out the door just in time to see the mob charge the bridge. The cops clubbed 'em back, while q roar went up from the docks and roof tops that was like bad dream. l couldn't see her move none. though, and old man Badrich blowed again expurgatin' himself of as hobby line of cuss words as you'll muster outside the cattle belt.
 "'Soak 'emp yells, give 'em all the arbitration you've got handy. If she don't open, we'll jump her. and lets out another notch, so that we went plowin' and boilin' toward the draw.
 Tt looked like we'd have to hurdle it sure enough, but the police beat the crowd back just in time. She wasn't clear open though, and our barge ca romed off the spiles. It was like q nigger buttin' a persimmon tree-we rattled off a shower of missiles like an abnormal hailstorm. Talk about your coast defense; they heaved every thing at us from bad names to railroad iron, and we lost all our window glass tho first chatter, while the smokestack looked like a pretzel with cramps.
 When we'd scraped through l looked back with pity at the Detroits crew. She hadn't any wheel house. and the helmsman was due to get all the at i tention that was comin' to him. They'd bar r,-fo la ,f fa aIx- chicken coops and bric-a -brac around the wheel that protected 'em soIheWhat. but even while I watch ed some Polack filtered a brick through and laid out the quartermaster cold. and he was drug off. O! it was refined and aes- thetic.
 well. we run the gantlet presented every block with snuff ringin in ten sile strength from insults to asphalt pavements and noise!--say, all the racket in the world was Il whisper. I caught n glimpse of the old man lean In out of the pilot house. where win dow had been, his white hair bristly and his nostrils h'isted, embelllshin' the air with surprisin' flight of gleeful profanity.
 "Hoorayl this Is living'p he yells, spyin mo shovelin' the deck out from under the junk. Best scrap I've had in years and just then some baseball player throwed in from center field catch Ing him in the neck with a to- mato! Geei that mans an honor fo the faculty of speech.
 "I was doin' bully till cobble stone bounced into the engine room. makin' a billiard with my of knee. then got kind of peevish.
 Rush street bridge Is the last one and they'd massed there on both sides like feas, on a razorback. Thinks If we make it through here, we've busted the strike and l glances back at the Detroit just in time to see her crew pullin' their captain into the deck house, limp and bleeding. The barri- cade was all knocked to pieces and they'd nunked absolute. Don't blame 'em much either, as 1t was sure death to stand out fin the open under the rain of stuff that come from the bridges Of course with no steerin' she commenced to swing off.
 q jumps out the far side of the en- zine room and yells fit to bust my throat.
 "'Grab that wheel, Grab it quick we'll hit the bridge but 1t was like deef and dumb talk in a boiler shop while a wilder howl went up from the water front as they seen what they'd done and smelled victory. There's an awfulness about the voice of a blood maddened, club-swingin' mob; 1t lifts your scalp like a fright wig. particu larly if you are the clubee
 :" We've got one chance thinks I. but if she strikes we're gone. They'll swamp us sure, and all the police in Cook county won't save enough for to hold services on Then I throwed a look at the opening ahead and the pes simisms froze in me.
 q forgot all about the desiliency of brickbats and the table manners of riots, for there. on top of a bunch of spiles calm, masterful and bloated with oerjuries, was oily Heegan dictatfh' the disposition of his forces the light