CHARLESTON
Fenian Society. The Hibernian Budget continues: “In those days dancing rarely ceased until daylight, and this occasion was no exception. After the ball the men gathered together in little groups in the street, and not very much further away were groups of Orangemen. The latter men offered a wager that a girl, Bella Newton by name, would not be permitted to ride a horse unmolested through the Hibernians. The girl accepted the wager, and having tied an orange handkerchief around her neck, she mounted a white horse and set off. As she passed through the ranks of the Hibernians they took her horse by the head and asked her the meaning of the exploit. Upon being informed that the ride was the result of a wager, they took the handkerchief from her neck and, facing the Orangemen, tore it to shreds. This was the signal for the commencement of a first-class riot. News of the battle quickly spread from north to south, and men both orange and green flocked to take sides at Addison’s. It is reported that there was not a pick-handle nor an axe-handle to be purchased within a wide radius of the town.
“As the day progressed, the Orangemen were compelled to retreat to a swamp about two miles from the town. The battle continued unabated in the mud and slush until the arrival of Warden Kynnersley from Westport, who was apparently the sole representative of law and order in the district.
“Undaunted the Warden rode his horse into the middle of the fray and, mounting a rock that protruded from the swampy ground, he appealed to the men and was successful in securing a cessation of the hostilities. The rock upon which the Warden stood is still known as ‘Kynnersley’s Rock.’”
Although reference to Orangemen is made in this report, no Orange Lodge existed at any time at Addison’s or Charleston; and none at Westport until 1890, twenty-two years after the riot.
The Westport Times of 8th April, 1868, printed the following letter:
"Sir,—In the report of Addison’s Flat riot, which appeared in your issue of Saturday, it is stated that two ladies
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