himself. He was drinking, and developing a villainous temper, and he
stormed and cursed and raged at his men, and drove them until they were
ready to drop with exhaustion.

Then one day late in August, a superintendent ran into the place
and shouted to Jurgis and his gang to drop their work and come. They
followed him outside, to where, in the midst of a dense throng, they
saw several two-horse trucks waiting, and three patrol-wagon loads of
police. Jurgis and his men sprang upon one of the trucks, and the driver
yelled to the crowd, and they went thundering away at a gallop. Some
steers had just escaped from the yards, and the strikers had got hold of
them, and there would be the chance of a scrap!

They went out at the Ashland Avenue gate, and over in the direction of
the "dump." There was a yell as soon as they were sighted, men and women
rushing out of houses and saloons as they galloped by. There were eight
or ten policemen on the truck, however, and there was no disturbance
until they came to a place where the street was blocked with a dense
throng. Those on the flying truck yelled a warning and the crowd
scattered pell-mell, disclosing one of the steers lying in its blood.
There were a good many cattle butchers about just then, with nothing
much to do, and hungry children at home; and so some one had knocked out
the steer--and as a first-class man can kill and dress one in a couple
of minutes, there were a good many steaks and roasts already missing.
This called for punishment, of course; and the police proceeded to
administer it by leaping from the truck and cracking at every head they
saw. There were yells of rage and pain, and the terrified people fled
into houses and stores, or scattered helter-skelter down the street.
Jurgis and his gang joined in the sport, every man singling out his
victim, and striving to bring him to bay and punch him. If he fled into
a house his pursuer would smash in the flimsy door and follow him up the
stairs, hitting every one who came within reach, and finally dragging
his squealing quarry from under a bed or a pile of old clothes in a
closet.

Jurgis and two policemen chased some men into a bar-room. One of
them took shelter behind the bar, where a policeman cornered him and
proceeded to whack him over the back and shoulders, until he lay down
and gave a chance at his head. The others leaped a fence in the rear,
balking the second policeman, who was fat; and as he came back,