This Summer I Hear The Drumming, Four Dead In Ohio
Did You Come To Shoot Me Down Bury Me On My Own Home Ground
Bicycle Trip
Madison, Wisconsin
May 12, `72
Around 4 p.m. the next day, we biked into in Madison,
Wisconsin. Mike and Denny stopped at a restaurant while I went into
a downtown bookstore. We agreed to meet at the Capital building at 7
p.m. I didn't find the book I was looking for, but I bought some
books anyway, and then went back to the Capital and started reading.
At 7:30 p.m. Denny came walking up to me and told me that he and
Mike had been waiting on the opposite side of the Capital for over
and hour. When we left to look for a place to camp, Denny
said, "There's a city park not far from here."
On the way to the park, we cut across the University of Wisconsin's
campus, and, in the large square there was a protest rally going on.
We dismounted from our bikes and listened to the guy talking on
stage. The students were pissed at the asshole move by Nixon to mine
the North Vietnam harbor. This was a very anti-establishment crowd.
Holding our bicycles, we stood on the edge of the crowd, listening
to the speakers harangue both Henry (Kissinger) and Dick. More
people gathered around. The dude next to me asked, "Where you
going?" and I replied, "West, to British Columbia, Canada." I told
him we were from Michigan as he handed me the piece of paper he was
writing on. The paper had his address on it. He said, "Don't be
afraid to use this." I thanked him just as the speaker on the stage
said, "Here they come." Nate, the dude who gave me his address,
pulled his bandanna up around his face as the people behind me
started screaming. Teargas started dropping, and the stampede was
on. I just caught a glimpse of the cops in riot gear, as I started
following Denny.
People were scattering and we hadn't gone far when a canister of
teargas dropped right in front of me. I couldn't breathe. My eyes
were burning, and I was choking. I got off my bike and was hanging
onto it when this person came up to me and covered my face with a
wet bandanna. Another person grabbed my bike and the two of them
helped get me over to some stairs. Denny never looked back, so he
was long gone as these people helped me down the stairs. Once I got
below the gas, I was able to breathe once again. I had barely
recovered when Mike pulled up and said, "Let's go." I could hardly
mount my bicycle, but the road was downhill, so I coasted behind
him. We went out the same way we came in. The gas had cleared
somewhat, and the pigs were chasing the resisting students (the
students with gas masks). Finally, we made it off campus.
Pigs were all over the city, carrying their nightsticks and
teargas canisters. Mike and I figured we would go to the Capital and
wait for Denny, since that was our designated meeting spot in the
beginning. The streets were full of tear gas and with pigs in riot
gear; getting to the Capital was impossible. On one occasion, the
pigs told us to "Turn around and go home." Instead, we went looking
for Nate's place. On the way there, we were questioned by more pigs
and when they decided to let us go, I said, "How about an escort; a
person could get killed around here." One of them was not amused. He
turned towards me and pulled his baton. Fortunately, one of the
other officers called him off before he could start swinging. Then
Mike screamed at me to "Shut up!" When we finally reached Nate's, he
and his black friends (Nate was black too) welcomed us with genuine
hospitality. We were treated to good music, beer, and pot.
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