Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1873-04-17
SHOT IN THE SIDE.
Did He Intend to Steal the Meafe
Affair,

Mention was made in these columns yes
teIday of Mr.. Frank Kuhn, a butcher
having shot, the night before, "a negro whom
be caught, under suspicious circumstances
in his slaughter house, Kuhn having had
stolen from him at various times large QuaE-
titles of meat. at the time the report OF
the affair was published it was impossible to
obtain the facts in relation to the shooting,
hut reporter on this paper visited bot q
Mr.. Kuhn and the colored man yesterday
and obtained from each statement regard
ing the unfortunate circumstances.
He found the negro at his house, mis-
cradle hut of house on North Front street,
near the gas works, where he occupies the
upper story with his family, consisting of a
wife and three children, the youngest being
baby three weeks old.
The wounded man was lying on a bed
made on the floor in front Of Ehe fire, his
head and shoulders being supported by an
old chair. The room co tanned no furni-
ture but few ricketty chairs and a dirty
bed. Half dozen black women were
gathered about the i,e, buSying themselves
with efforts to make the situation of the in
jured man more comfortable. The latter,
in answer to questions put by the reporter,
told the following story:
My name is Bob Nixon. l am about
twenty-five years of age, and have been in
Nashville three years. have often work
ed for the butchers here, helping
them TO make sausage, kin beef,
and such work as that. l have
been going into the slaughter houses at all
hours of the day and night. The night
was shot was down there and l wentin
and stood by the window whistling, and
looking at the watchmen on the boats put
out the signal lights. 1 started to go out,
and as l went along in The dark struck
agin a shin of beef. had stump of cigar,
and l felt around for the wall so that
could strike match and light my cigar.
Just as | struck the match stubbed my
foot sgin something, and as sort o. reach
ed down, Mr.. Kuhn jumped cut with
gun aud said "You s-n OF b-h I've
caught you, have I?" Then he put the
gun close to me and fred. The gun was
so close that the power set my clothes
on fire and burned my arm. l said
Ooh, MR. KUHN, DON'T SHOOT ME,
Oh, Mr.. Kuhn, don't shoot me-" Another
man was with Mr.. Kuhn, end he struck me
on the side of the bead. Then run out at
the back door, for l was afraid he was go
ing to shoot me agin. The shot went in at
my hip, and burt me good deal then. l
feel easier now, bat am mighty sore and
tired like. l didn't think anything about
stea!in' meat, and If had, had been there
long enough to have stole it and gone. l
think I'll git along all right now. There's
been q doctor to see me, and he told me
what kind of poultices to put on, and if
git the right kind Of treatment, believe
I'll git wsll agin.
Nixon is mulatto, and told bis version
of the affair in straightforward kind of a
way.
MR.. KUHN's STATEMENT.
Mr. Kuhn has this to say relative to the
shooting:
There was six of us butchers who used to
kill down at the slaughter house, and this
Nixon worked for US occasionally. l
would get him to do things once in while
for me. That was about three months
ago. We have been missing things off and
on, and for three weeks past we have
missed things almost every night. Aleck
Warner wanted to poison a piece of meat,
but gave up that notion for fear some limo
cent person might get hold of it. l loaded
who works for Aleck, to go down to the
slaughter house with me. We got into
the building, and about fifteen
minutes after eight, we heard some one
come in. He went to the window and
looked out the back way, and then came
back and commenced feeling at the meat.
began to laugh little, and he heard me
and came towards me and commenced feel
ing of the barrel of my gun. pulled the
trigger, and he called, "Oh, Mr.. KuhD,"
and tried to grab the gun. John HINES
grasped cleaver and tried to hit the negro,
but missed him the first time, and split the
stock of the gun. The next time he hit
him and knocked him down, and then the
negro jumped up and run against the back
door, which be burst open and jumped
down twelve or fifteen feet. | got
three policemen, and we took lantern
and went back to the slaughter house, and
found that the negro had been taken home
and the doctor was dressing his wound.
We found clasp knife near the meat and
a hat close by the knife. Nlxon's wife
to the hat, but she said she
didn't know anything about the knife.
The negro told the policemen that he
went to the slaughter house to look at a
boat, but he could look from his own house
and see boats just as well as he could from
The slaughter house.
As our readers are aware, Mr.. Knhn gave
himself up Immediately after the shooting.
but he was released On his own recogni-
ance, aud he was alb put the city yesterday
engaged in bis regular business.