Democratic Sentinel, Volume 2, Number 18, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 14 June 1878 — A Wild English Mob. [ARTICLE]

A Wild English Mob.

The Lancashire mob, which burned mills and houses, and had its own wild will for a single night last month, sprung up as if by magic and set out for the stone mansion of Col. Jackson, the Chairman of the Masters’ Association, stopping on the way again and again to ravage and destroy the property of manufacturers. The window-blinds of Brookhouse Cottage were torn down and converted into banners, which were carried at the head of the lawless procession in tne direction of the Clitheroe. For about three miles this headlong course was pursued, until the mansion was reached. Thousands vowed that they would have the life of Col. Jackson, on the ground that he had been prime mover in the attempted reduction of wages. There were two roads that ran to the mansion, and, on hearing the mob coming, he darted out at the back door and down toward the Bull’s Head, where he managed to get a hired cab; then he drove on toward Blackburn by an old highway and reached the Town Hall. The mob took possession of another cab which was seen on the other road and wrenched open the door. Mrs. Jackson and her children were inside, crying bitterly: Tue mob allowed them to go on, and then swarmed about the house. The best chairs, a piano and other furniture were brought to the door and smashed, and the bedding was tossed out of the windows. The mansion was set on fire in a dozen places and burned to the ground. Then a carriage was taken from the stable and trailed down the turnpike road to the town. On Salford bridge vitriol, spirits and combustibles were applied, and the vehicle was burned amid shouts of approval from the crowd. Some of the rioters at the house were mad enough to be unwilling to hold their hands when it was learned that two women servants were still in a bedroom. “Let them burn,” was the cry; but happily they were allowed to escape. Col. Jackson’s old port wine was drunk up, and probably added something to the fury of the uproar with which the mob returned to town.