Identifier: strikerscommunis00pink (find matches)
Title: Strikers, communists, tramps and detectives
Year: 1878 (1870s)
Authors: Pinkerton, Allan, 1819-1884 Marian S. Carson Collection (Library of Congress) DLC
Subjects: Railroad Strike, U.S., 1877 Tramps
Publisher: New York, G. W. Carleton & Co.
Contributing Library: The Library of Congress
Digitizing Sponsor: The Library of Congress

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s more densely intothe cut, in order to resist the passage of the troops, whoby this time had become almost maddened by their helplesscondition, and who, with a seeming sense of desperation,suddenly fired a heavy volley directly down Seventh Streetinto the mob. This had the effect of clearing the mob in front, but therioters on either side continued their reckless attack uponthem. Unfortunately, numbers of the city police had beenstationed at the crossing of Seventh Street for the purposeof keeping it clear for vehicles, and a number of thesepolice were struck w^hen this volley was fired. The soldiers, having cleared the cut, turned downSeventh Street, halted at the corner of Fifth and PennStreets, re-formed, and then marched out Fifth Street to thedepot, w^here they halted for the night, leaving the trainjust where it stood, and in no way affecting the condition ofaffairs in the cut, or about the delayed train, except to in-crease the fury of the mob. After the troops had returned14*
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TEE READING RIOT. 328 to the depot, the mob having become maddened by thefruitless resistance offered, and from the large quantities ofliquor, which it is alleged had been freely distributed tothem during the day by members of the Brotherhood ofLocomotive Engineers, now rushed np Penn Street, andtook immediate possession of the armory belonging to the Reading Rifles, a local military organization under Cap-tain Weinrich, and seized all the rifles at the armorj^, butthey proved to be useless, as some members of the company,fearing this, had removed the ammunition. Tlie rioters thenmade a rush for the car-shops with the intention of burningthem, after wliich they were to retire, for the purpose ofexterminating the militia, but, suddenly changing this planfrom one of those freaks common to mobs, they tore up therailroad tracks south of Penn and Seventh Streets, ranfreight-cars, loaded with leaf tobacco, off the track, de-stroyed the switches at Cherry Alley, and robbed the carsof their c

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