The news & observer., 1897-03-10
Hob 81 Try to Take Charge Of a
Freight Train.
ATTACK THE CONDUCTOR
ONE OF HIS GRAIN HANDS CAME
TO HIS RESCUE.
AND FATALLY WOUNDED ONE
Another Was Captured by the Sheriff
and is Now in Jail of Suffolk
Conductor Juokins
Hurt,

Hoboes, negro hoboes at that, FIVE
Of them, tried to take charge Of the
fast interstate freight train, No. p, on the
Seaboard Air Lime Monday night
| They were at Kilby, a small station
| in Virginia, Just this side OF Suffolk, and
they wanted to come to Raleigh. They
proposed to come on this particular train,
the conductor and train hands to the con-
| trary notwithstanding
| Result: A wounded conductor, one dy-
! ing negro probably dead by this time)
another i'm Jail, and the officers after three
| others.
! The story of the occurrence is told by
! the conductor, Capt. john c. Judkins,
| in the following dispatch to Capt j. NJ.
! Turner train master here:
| when No. 81 stopped at Kilby tonight
! (AIonday) | found five negro men standing
I near S. A. l.. car No. 1873. l asked them
/ what they were doing there. In reply
/ they said that they were going on that
| train. / told them they could not go.
Then two of them pulled pistols and said
! they would go or blow my d brains
out
MY front train hand, Mack Rose, then
came up and asked what the trouble was,
whereupon they turned upon him and sand
they would kill him (cursing him. One
| of them then fired at him, missing him
and striking me, the ball passing through
the front part Of my arm near the wrist.
Mack Rose then opened fire ON him,
striking him two or three times. After
it was all over I examined the man and
found he was hurt and left him ia care
of the station agent, instructlng him 10
get a doctor for the man.
Il dressed my arm myself and VIII
have doctor to examine it at Raleigh
in the morning Cfuesday.) ] don't think
any OF the bones are broken"
After being shot Capt. Judkins brought
his train on to Weldon where he was met
and relieved by Capt. Riddle, who was
sent from here with a crew on No. 402
This was done in response to telegram
from the sheriff announcing that he had
arrested the wounded tramp and one OF
his pals Capt Judk;ns and his crew
Immediately went back to Suffolk "a
prosecute them
A telegram yesterday Afternoon an
nounced that the wounded man was shot
three times in the stomach and once
in the head and could not possibly live.
1t is also reported here that one of the
five negroes was the brother of Tom
Burch, who was shot while burglarizing
Turner and Wynne's store more than a
week ago. This story could not be veri-
fed, though train men say that he and
another very desperate negro beat them
way down the road about n week ago
and that it is not at all improbable that
they were Monday night ON their way
back and tried to force Judkins to al
low them to ride on his train.
kilby is a great resort for tramps
Four railroads meet and cross there
the Seabord Air Line. the Atlantic
/ and Danville. Norfolk and Western
and Norfolk and Carolina. This makes i
a place for general exchange for dead
beats and hobocS from enc road 10 an
other.
Capt. Judkins is said to be man ol
great physical courage, but the night OF
the tragedy he seems to have been at q
great disadvantage, and his life was
probably saved by the timely interference
Of his train hand, Mack Rose. Report
says that the tramp. when shot. haG
his pistol to Judkins' head about to fire.
The city yesterday was filed with many
wild versions OF the affair. One Of their
was that there We're thirteen tramps il
the crowd. Another had it that two ot
the tramps were fatally shot. And still
another was that Mack Rose, the train
hand, was killed and Conductor Judkins
wounded.
The true version OF the affair is in the
above story of Conductor Judkins, given
me last night by Capt. Turner.