Birmingham age-herald., 1894-07-03
AN ATROCIOUS CRIME. A Kansas City Bridge Fired and
 a Watchman AND INNOCENT CHILD Shot own While Trying to : inguish the Flames.
 No Clue.
INNOCENT CHILD

"For Gods sake don [ shoot my chill dren!" is what Watchman William Mc- Claiu, who watches the twin trestles one and one half miles this side of Adamsville, on the Kansas City, Memphis and Bir- mingham railroad, is said to have screamed when he, with his two little children, were fired upon by mob of cowardly van dals under the cover of darkness and se- creted in the woods near a bridge they had just fired.
 About o'clock Sunday morning one of the twin trestles, watched by Mir. William McClain, was fired by murderous villains, who sought not only the destruction of property, but the destruction of innocent lives.
 This bridge is about 400 feet long, 35 feet high and one and one half mHes this side of Adamsville.
 Six hundred feet this side is another tres- tie 500 feet long and 25 feet high. Between these trestles is tent, from which Watch man McClain guards both trestles and in which at nights sleep his two little orphan children, aged and F years, their mother having dIed about one year ago.
 few minutes past o'clock, while these little children, who are their father's only company during the weary hours of the night, were sleeping soundly and inno- gently, Watchman McClain discovered the high bridge on fire.
 Arousing his children and gathering some buckets, he rushed toward the scene of the burning trestle. When he had got ten about 100 feet upon the long trestle, his two little girls on either side of him, with out a word from the infamous devils who lay secreted in the woods under the cover of darkness with murder in their hearts, he was fired upon.
 Shouting for the mercy of his children in the exclamation quoted above did no1 good, for the fire from ambush was kept up. After being himself shot, aud his 12- year old daughter, too, and the. fire being kept up, be saw nothing else to do but to take up his little ones and flee for the sake of their lives.
 Gathering up his wounded and bleeding child,i stinging himself with pain, he fled W tn them. Both were bleeding pro- fusely'trom the wounds made by guns in the hands of forms too unwortns<to ever be called human beings.
 Going to the section houses fsff fessi In secured assistance and again proceededfo Co the burning bridge,, which now presented a furid sight. .s, s,a.a.-s
 When he returned the vandals had taken to their heels, evidently thinking their job complete or fearing that some of them might suffer from the effects of pierced bull let's.
 The bridge reached, by aid of the bar reled water that IS always kept upon the trestle, the fire was soon extinguished, but not until several feet of it had been burned and considerable damage done.
 An examination was then made, and it was found that the bridge had been satu- rated with oil. As soon as possible Kansas City, Memphis and Birmingham officials were on hand with timber and men, and the work of repairing begun.
 Sheriff Morrow and posse of deputies, with dogs, went to the scene, but could do nothing, as the men who did the work came there upon horseback and left the same way.
 The, horses were tracked about one mile in the direction of Pratt mines, when the trail was lost.
 As to the number of men in the mob it is not known, nor is it known from whence they came or who they were.
 The trestle has been repaired and trains are now running on schedule time. It was thought for some time that the wounded daughter of McClain would die, and even Sunday night little hope of recovery was in her favor, but last night she was better and has chance of recovery. She was shot four times in the hips with large size squir- rel shot. McClain himself is badly wounded, but not so much so as his little daughter.
 Officers are at work on the case and will leave nothing undone to run down the murderous will s.