A. A number of railroad employés of our road and other roads and parties I didn't know, but supposed them to be not railroad men.
Q. Who seemed to be leading the crowd at Torrens?
A. A man who had been in our employ until the morning of Thursday—Andrew Hice. He notified the parties that he would be damned if any stock should move there, and that no train should pass there until the matter was settled.
Q. Was he an engineer?
A. He had been at one time a conductor on the road. Up until that Thursday morning he was in the employ of the company as a flagman. I might here state that when I directed Mr. Garrett to go out and see the men, he was told to notify all those employés who were called upon, and who refused to go out, that they might consider themselves as discharged. One party was paid off immediately; the others had not come for their pay, and nothing was said about paying or reporting them discharged until after the troubles were over.
Q. Did you have any conversation with those men yourself at that time?
A. Which men?
Q. With that crowd—those leaders?
A. I did have a conversation at Twenty-eighth street, before going to Torrens. I called upon the crowd to disperse and leave the ground of the company, that we proposed to move our trains, and did not desire to have any trouble.
Q. Did they make any demands at that time, and if so, what were the nature of those demands?