The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1893-09-27
window. I saw great number of peo-
pie and pistol flashes"
MAC NORRIS sTArENE,

'front.' OF the mayors office. About z
o'clock went home to supper and few
minutes after returned yell and q
crowd came up by the hotel. went out
In the middle OF the street.
"a boy II or Is years old, Will Davis,
In his shirt sleeves, who lives on Fourth
avenue and Old Lick road, was in the
crowd. l caught hold of him as he ap-
| preached the corner of Campbell
avenue and Commerce street. The
crowd jerked him loose. l hung on to
his shirt sleeve and it was pulled off. 1
said, Il have better sense than to hit a
boy When the second rush came 1
fell back in front of the mayors office.
This Same boy and Mrs. Bishops son
were in the lead.
Mayor Trout called out. Il call on
you as good citizens, for Gods sake to
go home. beg you as good citizsns to
| CO. saw the military poke their guns
out OF the window and got back from
that side. fell back to the window on
the corner. There was firing out of
that window. My intention was to come
to the front and they were firing there
and got between the window and the
corner of the house. went to Sergeant
Griffin and asked for pistol He sent
me to the chief didn't find him.
had no pistol. 1 haven't had pistol
since last winter.
Mayor Trout ordered the crowd back
two or three times. At night did not
see any pickets down on the corner,
Just before the firing the rear guard
was called in by Captain Bird. The
fret firing l saw was from the window,
the upper window on the west side of
tho mayors Office. There were three
or four shots there at first. / did not
hear any orders. Mayor Trout came
out in front and begged the people to
go home.
THE last time saw Mr. Trout he
was in front of the Jail. I did not see
any firing in the crowd. There was
great confusion and noise Sergeant
Griffin caught hold OF the Davis bow and
told him TO go home. / stayed all night
in front OF the Jail. left at z O'Clock
next morning. went to breakfast and
| came back and remained on duty until
| IL o'clock.
81 heard Captain Bird make some
| proclamation from the window and saw,
Get back 1 saw MIN put his face in
the window and hollow. didn't under
stand all he said. The shooting began
in not more than one minute. I didn't
see police officer shoot MIR. Trout
passed through the crowd and said, For
Gods sake 60 home as law abiding citi-
zens. The guns are loaded with bullets.
l was in position to see the crowd. l
think l saw no firing from the crowd
before the firing from the window. /
heard Captain Bird warn them once.
Mr.. Curry, a member of the jury, was
then by me.
l. rAYNE's TESTIMONY.
A. L. Payne-"Wednesday evening
| at o'clock l went to the clerks Office.
noticed the crowd Assem- bling l then
went to Hotel Roanoke and took dinner.
| Then walked up toward the courthouse.
| | went around Salem avenue and Roa-
noke street to the south side of Camp
bell street and walked down Campbell
avenue to the front of the mayors
office. recognized no one in there ex-
cept Chief Terry. AT that time the
crowd surged on the door on the west
SIDE All at once l saw three militia
men rush across the room toward the
window In moment afterward 1
heard another blow on the door At
that moment saw the men raise their
guns and fire. At once there were
number of pistol shots fred.
"Afterwards l saw Mayor Trout
brought in the Ponce de Leon. The
first firing 1 saw in front of the Jail was
from pistol shots in the crowd. I didn't
fear the militia and thought the danger
was from the pistol shots. 1 saw the
crowd on the west side was very tur-
bulent crowd. Demonstrations were
being made against the Jail, so much so
we left them. They were certainly not
body of law abiding citizens. The
first intimation l had that the crowd in
front was disorderly was the great num-
Der Of pistol shots fred.
III certainly think if there had been
any firing from the muskets in front
before the pistol firing was going on
around | certainly could have known
it. I was in line with the range Of that
fire il it had taken place. That firing
couldn't have taken place until moved
away. Until the pistol shots were
fired. could see their flashes and the
arms OF the persons holding the pistols.
said to my friend we must get out of
| these pistol shots. / went on the ground
and compared my position then with
the spots of blood left on the street
| car track. The pistol shots was almost
simultaneous with the firing on the
west side.
~ heard the demonstrations against
the door. l heard very severe blows.
S. II. GRAVES ON THE STAND.
S. Hamilton Graves-"On the night of
September 90 I urged several friends
not to go up there to the jail 1 was
sitting in my office window. Could only
see about to tho Jail. About o'clock
shots were fred down tho street. Then
| twenty-five or fifty men rushed up to-
wards the jail and I heard knocking up
there like it was on the door. The first
shot heard fired was from a pistol at
corner OF courthouse yard. saw a man
near Walsak's fire four or five shots
back into the crowd
w. +. Blackwell-"I was on tho cor.
| ner OF Campbell and Commerce streets;
then l went up to the front OF the jail