And now for the situation in California other than in Sacramento. The news of the success of the strikers in Sacramento was received enthusiastically by the public all over the State. So great was the hatred of the public for the Southern Pacific Company and so warm was their sympathy for the strikers that when the Examiner, a San Francisco daily, placed upon their bulletin-board a notice of the fact that the first train that left Sacramento since the commencement of the strike had been derailed and a number of soldiers killed, the crowd standing in front of the bulletin-board actually cheered for what was one of the most heinous crimes ever perpetrated. The public seemed to be lost to every sense of right and wrong. Upon the great body of strikers the retaining possession of the depot against the attempts of a large body of the National Guard to dislodge them had a very marked effect. It made them very confident and defiant. They evidently believed that the possession of the depot was of the very greatest importance, and since the first attempt to dislodge them had resulted so successfully for them, they were determined to hold that advantage even though they had to meet a further advance of the troops with their own weapons. These sentiments were expressed by most of the strikers but it was extremely doubtful, whether when the time came, they would put them into practice. It is certain that none but the most desperate would.
Dunsmuir and Truckee are conceded to be the hardest railroad towns in California. The situation at both these places was very one sided, as none but strikers or their sympathizers were allowed to have anything to say. The striking railroad employees at these places were of the most desperate kind and ready to go to any extreme that they thought would help the cause. These are the kind of men Leader Knox of the Sacramento Branch of the American Railway Union turned to when it became known that the National Guard had been ordered to Sacramento. In response to his call for assistance a train bearing 125 strikers fully armed, left Dunsmuir at 12:20 P. M. on July 4th, while another train with 100 strikers equally well armed, left Truckee at 4:20 P. M. on the same day. The destination of these trains was Sacramento. Their journey was attended by the wildest demonstrations. Through every town they passed they were loudly cheered; bonfires blazed forth in honor to them and brass bands greeted them with the tune “See the Conquering Hero Comes.” To show the sentiment of the public toward and the encouragement it gave to the strikers to perform lawless deeds, the following extracts taken from the daily papers are given.
Redding.—“Two thousand people greeted the arrival of the train and gave the committee assurance of their support with men and money if needed.”
“At Red Bluff, Company G of the Eigth Regiment Infantry, stationed at Willows, was ordered to stop the train containing the strikers coming from Dunsmuir. Half the company on receipt of orders proceeded to arm themselves and prepared to intercept the train. This action so incensed the citizens that they repaired to the station to the number of two hundred, and got in readiness to oppose the militia and see that the strikers’ train went on its way unmolested. A conflict seemed imminent, when the company received orders to return to their armory and disband. When the train arrived, many people of the town and country surrounded it, and amid bonfires, firing of cannon, and the playing of a brass band, the A. R. U. men were given an oration.”
Cottonwood.—“Thousands of tons of fruit are spoiling here, yet all the people in Cottonwood valley sympathize with the A. R. U.”
The military authorities learned of this movement on the part of the strikers, and Colonel Park Henshaw was ordered, at one o’clock P. M., July 4th, by Major General Dimond, to call out the troops of his command and “to intercept and arrest the strikers en route from Dunsmuir to Sacramento.” Colonel Henshaw immediately, upon the receipt of these orders, called out Companies A, B, F and G of the Eighth Regiment, Infantry, N. G. C. The men responded promptly. Two companies were ordered to deploy along the line of Chico Creek; one on the east side and the other on the west of the road. A twelve pound Parrott gun, loaded “with eight and one-half pounds of blasting-powder, the only kind that could be procured, and twenty-five pounds of one ounce lead bullets and other projectiles,” was posted in the middle of the track to sweep the strikers’ train if it failed to come to a standstill at command. Just as they were in a position to achieve a notable victory Marshal Baldwin, at Sacramento, fearful that a movement like this would precipitate things to such an extent that the strikers would retaliate by burning snowsheds and destroying bridges, asked that the order, calling upon the National Guard to arrest the strikers, be rescinded. This was done, and the four companies were ordered back to their armories and disbanded. The strikers arrived in Sacramento on the fifth of July.
The strikers began aggressive operations in Oakland on July 3d. On this day two trains were seized at Sixteenth street and the air-brakes cut. The regular running of the local trains was stopped; and throughout the day there was but a spasmodic service. On July 4th the strikers determined to prevent the moving of any trains on the local system. In large numbers they invaded the railroad yards at West Oakland, overran them, took possession of the shops, entered the offices of the yards and chased out the clerks engaged therein. The self-sacrifice of these strikers was worthy of the noblest struggle. Like martyrs they were willing to lay down their lives for their cause. To prevent the running of the trains they threw themselves, a living barricade, upon the track, their heads resting upon one rail, their feet upon the other, and opposed to the iron front of the locomotive their bodies, unmoved by the fact that their lives depended upon the simple pressure of a hand upon the throttle of the engine. This was a very dangerous but still an effective method of bringing trains to a standstill. Engineers and firemen were torn from their posts with no gentle hand. The Fourth of July saw things settled, until July 13th, as far as the running of the local system was concerned.
On the same day, July 4th, a company of regular soldiers, stationed at Benicia, was ordered to Oakland, while Colonel Fairbanks, commanding the Fifth Regiment, Infantry, was ordered to assemble his regiment at the same place. Owing to the fact that no request had been made by the sheriff for troops, the six companies of the Fifth Regiment were bivouacked at the armory of Companies A and F of Oakland. When the troops arrived in Oakland on the evening of the Fourth the situation had become somewhat quieted, and on July 5th Colonel Fairbanks was ordered to dismiss Companies A, F and G, “until further orders.” On July 10th Companies C and E—D having been ordered to San Jose—pitched camp at Piedmont.
During this interval, from July 4th to July 13th, the strikers remained masters of the situation in Oakland. It was not until July 12th, that any signs became evident of a movement to contest their position. On this day about two hundred sailors and about fifty marines of the United States Navy arrived at the Oakland Pier, while on the following day the Second Regiment Artillery, N. G. C., Lieutenant Colonel Geary commanding, arrived from San Francisco.
On July 6th the sheriff of Santa Clara county made a call for military assistance, as he had “exhausted all the powers of the county and was unable to disperse the mob stationed at the depot and yards of the Southern Pacific Company.” Company D, Captain Elliott, Fifth Regiment, Infantry, then at Oakland was ordered to reinforce Company B of the Fifth stationed at San Jose. These troops were placed under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Whitton. Owing to the hesitancy of the sheriff of the county to give an order calling for aggressive movements against the strikers, in spite of the fact that he was continually urged to do so by Lieutenant Colonel Whitton, the troops remained inactive until July 10th, bivouacked part of the time at the armory of Company B, and part of the time at the fair grounds. During this time Lieutenant Colonel Whitton received instructions from Major General Dimond telling him how to act in case he was called upon to do so, which showed that those officers of the National Guard who conducted the operations on the Fourth at Sacramento were not beyond redemption, there was one redeeming feature, they were not too old to learn. Lieutenant Colonel Whitton’s instructions advised him, that in case he was ordered to go to the depot, to get the necessary order empowering him to use force to clear it, “for,” the instruction continued, “if you should go to that place and then have to go for an order, it might cause a delay that might be disastrous to yourself and men.”