Happily, a body of police appeared, and charging upon the rioters put them to flight. The policemen were relieved by a detachment of two hundred soldiers.
One of the most atrocious and bloodthirsty acts of the second day’s riot was the murder of Colonel O’Brien, who had command of a portion of the military troops. The mob having been in great measure dispersed, a temporary quiet ensued toward evening, and Colonel O’Brien took advantage of this circumstance to return to his residence, and remove his family to a place of safety, fearing the violence of the rioters against them, for he had heard many threats to that effect. He alighted from his carriage in Thirty-fifth street, and had just entered his house when a part of the mob, who had apparently been watching for him, made their appearance, and pouncing upon him dragged him into the yard, where they beat and kicked him in the most brutal manner.
Several women who were among the crowd also kicked the unfortunate man. Yelling like so many devils, three or four men seized the Colonel by his hair, and dragged him into the street, where they again kicked and beat him.
A man keeping a drug store on the corner, carried out a glass of water to give the Colonel, whereupon the mob turned about and completely gutted his store.
After beating Colonel O’Brien until he was insensible, they again dragged him into the yard and threw him into a corner, where every now and then they visited him and renewed their attack upon him.
Several persons witnessed this outrage from their near windows, and protested against it, when the mob cried out “kill them too, don’t let’s have any witnesses.” The ringleaders notified the neighbors that they intended burning the block at night, and were going to burn the body of the Colonel.
The brutal murderers watched over his body until life was extinct, refusing to allow any one to approach to give him the slightest assistance. Two Roman Catholic priests finally came up and conveyed his body in a hand-cart to the Bellevue Hospital Dead-House. He was terribly mangled, and his body was almost naked and covered with gore.
Among the acts of the rioters during Tuesday, were the following: The main track of the Hudson River railroad from Fifty-ninth to Fifty-third streets was torn up by the insurgents about ten o’clock in the morning, the Albany express train which left at that hour being compelled to back out of town on one of the turn outs. The crowd was armed with cart-rungs, small clubs, and other weapons. After damaging the railroad they proceeded down the avenue, amusing themselves by applying the torch to the house of any person whom they considered opposed to them.
The Western Hotel, the Western Drove-Yards, and other buildings, were in this manner destroyed.
At the corner of Twenty-sixth street and Eleventh avenue, the Hudson River cars were stopped and threatened with destruction, but were eventually allowed to proceed on their way.