Rensselaer Republican, Volume 26, Number 49, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 2 August 1894 — A RACE WAR. [ARTICLE]

A RACE WAR.

Indiana Soil Stained With the Blood ot Intemicine Strife. A Serious Riot at Island City Between . White and Colored Miners.

A bloody fight occurred at Island City, nine miles south of Linton, on the 26th, between white and colored miners, in which Tunnel McDonald, colored, was mortally wounded, and three other negroes seriously wounded, while Jesse Thomas. Silas Payton, D. Petty and James Shiflet, all white, received painful shotgun wounds. The cause that led to the trouble is that some six months ago the Island company imported fifty negroes to work hi their Island City mine, which, had been worked byunion men.~'"TEese negroes came there unorganized and were obnoxious to the union men, as well as to the citizens. A citizens’ ’meeting was called at once, the negroes attended and agreed to leave on condition that their fare bo paid to Indianapolis. This was doiie at a cost of nearly four hundred dollars to the citizens and miners. Since that time they have been returning by fnvos and threes together with others until they number forty or fifty. The feeling against them has been growing continuously until it culminated in a bloody riot—The first shots were exchanged about 6 o'clock Wednesday evening in the Linton supply store,but the city marshal quelled the disturbance. Later in the evening five young men went to Island City to attend a dance at the .residence of a white man. and the trouble was again started by some of the parties. As a result of this skirmish four of the boys were painfully wounded by the negroes. They returned to Linton, and it was only a shorttime until the streets were crowded with frenzied people. They were wild with excitement and broke into Ferrell Hamilton's hardware and the Linton supply company’s store, securing forty guns with plenty of ammunition and marched to Island City with the ostensible purpose of exterminating the negroeSr T hey ar rived t h ere a t 2 o’ cl oc; k Thursday morning and -were met by a volley, from the negroes. The battle began and more than 500 shots—were—fired, and when the smoke, cleared away it was found that Tunnel McDonald was mortally wounded and three others more or less injured. The negroes all left, Thursday, and thus averted what would have terminated in a.great deal of .bloodshed.