The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1892-03-31
BLOOD, BLOOD, BLOOD,
THE COUNTY JAIL TURNED INTO A
vERITABLE SLAUGHTER PEN.
Five White Prisoners Become Engaged in
a seraps with the Result that All Of
Them were Hurt, One Of Them
Possibly Fatally.

hO WiAoOo 1Ao . oOSi OANS~J
and sickening sights in his experience
in newspaper work, but none of them
approached the disgusting sight that
met his gaze when he entered the
county Jail yesterday afternoon about
half past five o'clock. Turn which
way he might nothing was to be seen
but blood. On the right of the door
way lay man on bloody blanket
with horrible cash in his stomach
and another in the small of his back,
while over him stood Drs. Bennett
and Seth Morris staunching the flow
of blood preparatory to sewing up the
: wounds. To the right of the door lay
another man on his side with deep
cash extending nearly the entire
length of his left arm, with DR.. Frank
Mclaughlin at work on him.
The cells in the Jail are arranged in
the form of square with six or
eight foot passage way or "run
aroundn between them and the stone
wall. The sights so far seen were al
most enough to daunt the reporter
and cause him to turn back but he
finally mustered up sufficient courage
and picking his way through the
pools of blood continued on around
the passage way and on turning the
first corner came upon another victim.
The man lay flat on his back, deep
and awful looking cash, beginning in
front of the lower end of his left ear
and extending around to the back of
his neck showing how badly he had
Jared. Blood also oozed from slight
cut in his right shoulder. DR.. j. w.
Mclaughlin had him in charge and
was rapidly plying his needle and
sponge, closing up the gaping wound.
The next corner was turned and the
fourth victim was found with City
Physician Graves ministering to his
needs. He was sitting on a
box with the top of his head split
open in two places, the hair having
been cut off in order to enable the
doctor to sew the cuts up.
The fifth and last man had been
locked up in his cell. He it was who
had wrought most of the bloodshed
and destruction around him, and he
was then nursing broken arm, his
memento of the conflict, and a slight
cut on the top of his head.
THE FIGHT.
Just how the fight commenced, and
in what it had It's origin will be a
hard matter to determine. The first
intimation the officers had that any
thing was going wrong in the jail
was received when they noticed an
unusual noise and yelling among the
female prisoners, and one of Sheriff
Whites little boys rushed over from
the Jail to the court house and told
Deputy Sheriffs Meredith and Thorp
that q fight of some kind was going on.
1t is said by eye witnesses that
Deputy Meredith covered the dis
tance between the court house and
Jail in three jumps, closely followed
by Mr.. Thorp, Judge Won Rosenberg,
Commissioner Newning, Justice Fish
er and number of others.
Deputy Meredith was the first to
enter the Jail when he found terrific
scene of conflict and bloodshed.
Nearly every white man in the corri-
dor seemed to be mixed with neighbor
while the negro prisoners in the ad-
joining cage and the women in the
seperate cells were yelling in the most
approved style. Mr.. Meredith order
ed the white men back in their cells
but they were too busily engaged in
fighting to heed him. He then drew
his pistol and renewed his order
when all who were able to navigate
complied while the others lay where
they had fallen. The wounded men
were then carried out of the corridor
and placed on blankets in the "run
,aroundn and doctors hastily sum-
moned.
THE WOUNDED MEN.
The men who received wounds in
the fracas were the following:
jeff d. Miller, charged with forgery.
He is the man who was brought here
on charge of having forged sheriff
warrants in Bee county last fall, men,
tion of which was made in The
STATESMAN at the time. He was the
most seriously wounded OF any, his
wounds being two in number. One
cut was in the stomach, slightly above
the navel, about two inches in length;
the other was in the small of the
back, on the right. 1t was about
three inches in length, and was quite
deep, extending into and penetrating
the intestines, as stated by DR.. Ben
nett. His condition was considered
of very serious nature. and last
night he was conveyed to the city
and county hospital, and left under
the charge of Deputy Sheriff Matt
johnson.
Tom Shelton, who is charged with
perjury, in having sworn a certain
gang of boys had no pistols in
their possession, when it was
proven by other witnesses that
they had was the man whose left arm
was cut open. 1t was horrible CASH
DIR. Mclaughlin having to take
eighteen stitches before the opening
was closed, after which the arm was
tightly bandaged, and with the ex-
ception of loss of blood Shelton ap-
parently suffered little Inconvenience,
as he walked about quite uncon-
cernedly.
Alex Meuley, the man who was
charged with murder in Laredo, whose
name was brought to Austin on
change of venue, and who was sem
fenced to a term of seven years in the
penitentiary, his wounds consisted OF
a cash in the neck, described above,
and another slight cut in the right
shoulder.