The sun., 1907-11-29
SAN JUAN HILL FLARES UP
NEgROES FIGHT POLICE FROM
STREET AND HOG SETOP.

LOnRshOremaD johnson Called Onseer FAnn
run" "-WeserVes out Twice, Last
Tlme 60 stay. 70 saneRch the serses
Of Berapp That Came mpHMt AI~nS.
The holiday was celebrated yesterday
according 70 the best lights Of the residents
OF San Juan Hill by gsDsral rioe against
their old enemies, the police. As is the
custom with tho turbulent negroes who
live between FiSty-ninth and Sixty-third
strsses and Amsterdam avenue and the
river. tho fght started whsn q policeman
trisd to arrest one Of thsir number.
Policeman Ed Finn, the smallest man
OR che West Sixty-eighth street station
squad, found Melvin johnson, q negro
lOnEahorsman, drunk and discrderly at
Amsterdam avenue and Sixty-seoOnd street.
johnson weighs close to 100 pounds and In
considered One Of the very bad men Of all
San Juan Hill.
When he answered the pOliceman's COM
mand to move on with reference to Police
man Finn as -runt" the policeman put him
under arrest and started to take him to the
station. Immediately a crowd Of thirty or
forty negroes. spelling for q hght. sur
rounded the lone policeman and trouble
began. First they took Finn's stick away
from him and broke 1t. Then as johnson.
the cause of the trouble. took il on the
run for a basement further down the street
the negroes surrounded Finn and began to
land blows on him. Some one fired three
shots at Finn, none Of them hitting the
mark.
Finn pulled his revolver before his as
sailants could get IL and fired twice over
the heads Of the toughs TO scare them.
One Of the bullets found q mark in the left
foot Of John Collins, a white man who lives
at 177 WillOughbv street. BROOKLYN. and
who was watching the fight. Policeman
John Flemming came running and as soon
as he appeared the regular San Juan house.
top brigade got into action.
Half bricks. heavy cans and crockery from
the roofs on both sides Of the street spat-
tered about the two fighting policemen.
But Flemming had sent in a call FOR the re-
serves before tacklinR the crowd. Acting
Capt. Langdon and Sergt. James Donohue
OF the West Sixty-eighth street station
rushed around to the scene OF the trouble
fighting and the volleys from tho housetOps
ceased almost Immediately
A vain search was made for johnson, the
big longshoreman. After getting an am
Dulance surgeon from Roosevelt Hospital
to dress the wounded foot Of the white man
LanGdon called OF part of his reserves and
went back to the station.
Almost Immediately the negroes were in
arms again. One Of the reserves spotted
LOngshoreman johnson coming out OF a
basement where he had been hiding and
attempted to put him under arrest. william
Nelson a negro who lives at PSI West Sixty
second street. interfered. Then came more
negroes from every tenement and more
bricks from the r'pDfs until all the southern
end OF the black colony was in eruption.
second time a riot call was sent into
the station and LangdOn brought the rest
Of his reserves around and charged the
blacks. After some sharp fighting and
plenty of catapulting of missiles fro m the
roofs the San Juan citizens desisted. John
son was arrested with Nelson. who had
helped him. Langdon. fearing further
trouble, left all Of his reserves at the scene.
About 10 o'clock four white men started
things going once more by attacking some
negroes at Sixty-third street, but the white
men were promptly arrested and locked
up In the station. All Of the reserves stayed
on until midnight