The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1893-08-10
COlOred Man Killed.

OO1OT0O III an k1ll0Q.
Last Thursday morning a young
negro man named Colonel Lewis, who
belonged in Raleigh, was found on the
Raleigh & CASTOR railroad in the
southern edge of town, with his head
severely cut and the left arm severed
from the body just below the shoulder.
He was lying in the ditch near the
track in al unconscious condition.
while the dismembered limb was lying
between the rails where it had been
crushed off by the ponderous ma
chlnery of a passing train some time
during the night. He was taken up
and brought down town and by order
of the railroad authorities was given
proper attention. Drs. Tucker and
Cheatham made an examination of his
injuries and found three bad cuts on
the head, top and front. The nature
OF these was such that it was thought
the man could not live but after wait
ing few hours for developments as
the patient did not appear to be in
sinking condition the surgeons pro-
ceeded to amputate his arm, or rather
to finish the work of amputation in a
more skillful manner than it had been
done by the engine and car wheels,
and to sew up and dress the wounds on
the head. This was skillfully and
quickly done but Lewis died in a short
while afterwards. The doctors did all
in their power for him but from the
nature of the wounds on the head it
was apparent that he could not re-
cover. Yet they wanted to give him
every chance and help him as far as
possible in the fight for life. Neither
the railroad officials nor Drs. Cheat
ham and Tucker wished to do anything
less, nor could they have done any,
thing more for the unfortunate man
than they did.
The cause that led to Lewis:s death
is somewhat shrouded in mystery. The
evening before he was here drunk. He
wanted to get Oh the fast train and 90
to Raleigh but was not permitted to
do so in his condition. It seems he
walked down the track some time after
the departure of the train and in the
early part of the night he went to sew
eral houses near where he was found
and created disturbance. A messen-
ger was sent in for the sheriff or po-
liceman to 60 and get him away.
Officer Moss went to look for the man
but he had left and could not be found.
Nothing more was heard of him until
next morning when he was found as
above stated. The engineer on the
train which appears to have cut of
Lewis's arm says he was not aware Of
having run over man but remembers
to have seen some object near the
track at that point. His fireman is
positive that he saw a man in his shirt
sleeves walking away from the railroad
just as the train reached that spot. The
opinion is held by some that the negro
was beaten to insensibility and either
left on the track or was carried anC
put there for the train to run over in
order to cover up the crime and ward
off suspicion. The character Of the
wounds on the head as we'll as the
further fact that the man is said to
have created some disturbance at ont
or two places, is the basis of sucl
opinion. The cuts on the head haC
the appearance of having been pro
duced by some sharp edged Ills .rument
The skull was cut through in three
, places, smooth and even, instead o
being crushed and jagged edged, while
the scalp wounds were such as nigh
have been made by keen, sharl
blow
The opinion of others is that tn
man being drunk laid down on the tract
and went to sleep. Lying on the out
side of the rail, his left arm throw
across it, his face toward the approach
ing train, he was struck on the hea
by the sharp edge of the COW catche
and this together with the jagged an
keen edged rocks used for ballast pro
duced the wounds thereon, while tn
wheels cut off his left arm. The verdic
,, Of the ccroner's jury was in substanc
,, that the man was drunk and went
sleep on the track; that he was ru
over by the train and came to his deaf
from injuries received thereby; that h
Q alone was responsible, and that n
, blame whatever attached to the enginee
or the roailroad
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