. Strikers, communists, tramps and detectives . ll l)Ginglargely manufacturing towns, contained a large populationof hard-fisted, restless fellows w4io naturally pride in dis-order, and whose peculiar ideas of law and right fitted themfor looking on participation in riot and violence in the lightof a very desirable and enjoyable diversion. These mencould have, and would have, made short work of any localofficers. When they suddenly found that they had in theirmidst bodies of splendidly-armed men, ready to try conclu-sions with them on the slightest show of violence, their de-sire for this kind
. Strikers, communists, tramps and detectives . ll l)Ginglargely manufacturing towns, contained a large populationof hard-fisted, restless fellows w4io naturally pride in dis-order, and whose peculiar ideas of law and right fitted themfor looking on participation in riot and violence in the lightof a very desirable and enjoyable diversion. These mencould have, and would have, made short work of any localofficers. When they suddenly found that they had in theirmidst bodies of splendidly-armed men, ready to try conclu-sions with them on the slightest show of violence, their de-sire for this kind of sport became controllable; and onlyone point in this entire great State was visited with disorderwhich could not easily be controlled. That city was Buffalo. In this city the general strike was inaugurated on Sun-day, July 22d, by men from the Erie road, compelling thetrainmen of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern road tojoin them ; but no rioting occurred until the next day, whenearly in the afternoon a raid was made by nearly two thou-. STRIKES AT BUFFALO AND OTHER POINTS. 361 sand of the rioters on about one hundred and fifty militia,who had been ordered to guard the round-house of theLake Shore road. They gained a complete victory, forcingthe troops out with little trouble, after which the mob tookpossession of the round-house and barricaded it most effec-tively. Colonel Flach, of the Sixty-fifth Regiment, wirlimore confidence in the prowess of his men than knowledgeof tlie stuff of which mobs are made, attempted with onlythirty men to recapture the round-house and shops. Tlieywere met with yells of derision from tiie crowd, who couldhave successfully resisted twice the number sent againstthem, and under a terrible shower of stones and bits of iron,were compelled to retreat on the double-quick, forcing theirway through the mob that had flanked and surrounded them,at the point of the bayonet. Many of the soldiers wereseverely clubbed and cut with knives. Six of the tro
Size: 1292px × 1935px
Photo credit: © Reading Room 2020 / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1870, booksubjectrailroadstrikeus1877
