The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1898-04-05
A MURDER0US
MIDNIGHT BRAWL.
Fight Among Tramps Comes Near
Finishing Four of Them
ONE BIG TRAMP DOES THE WORK
4 Hot Fight i'm an Old Shed-Four
knights of the Road Are Badly
Hurt" Whiskcrs "A Whirl-
wind-At the Hospital.

The tramps held an executive session
last night in an old tool house about a
hundred yards west Of the Chesapeake
and Ohio Second-s;rset shops.
Closed doors were a feature al the ses-
sion. and il the meager utterances Of four
wounded men at the almshouse can be
relied on the meeting was a hot one and
most Of It's transactions were done stand
ing.
The chief figure Of the ahaire de sam
gum was one "Whiskers before whose
Efforts as a dictator the deeds OF car
Reed fall into nothingness. After hold
ing the awful sway for fifteen minutes he
successfully decamped.
MEDICAL RELIEF.
IL was about IL o clock when the ambu-
lance In charge of tireless Or. Baughman
was hurried down 10 the Second-street
shops. The message that brought the
CORPS was exaggerated into a quadruple
murder, and the Doctor expected night S
work to come Of his journey.
In the oil room OF the round-house
when the wagon arrived there lay four
grooming wounded men with features
bloody and distorted with pain. They
1OulQ not give even an iitN'it'A '''N ~ 49,
of what had happened.
The railroad men who had found them
bleeding and PROSTATE on the floor Of
the Toulouse half an hour previous
could not tell how II happened.
one of the men whose name was af-
terward found to be Fred. Ritter, SEEM
ed to be the worst of. He was bleeding
copiously from his lett breast and at
first sight the hurt looked dangerous.
The Doctors anticipations Tor an all
night job were confirmed. so he communi-
Gated with the hospital To prepare ac-
commodations for four patients placed
all Of them I'm the wagon and conveyed
them TO the almshouse.
STORY OF THE WOUNDED.
A Times reporter was on hand. and in
the operating room wrung somewhat
connected story from the groaning
Weary Willies.'
one OF them who gave his name as
Mike Smith to the reporter and who was
hurt the least. having a slight knife wound
back OF the fifth rib. said that all five,
including a man whom he called
"Whiskers" had crawed into the tool
house to sleep and had built coy IRE
near which he. Smith. had b5en doing
comfortably when he was awakened by
a scrap" between "Whiskers' and one
OF the Other wounded men.
Smith had jumped up and as he did so
'Whiskers" lifted a heavy iron club and
struck HIS antagonist Smith then TOOK
a hand, wrenching the club away and re-
ceiving for his interference the cut In
the back from the knife which "Whiskars'
then suddenly drew.
Smiths speech died out at this point and
the connecting links were furnished by
one OF the others. who would not give
any name but Texas
II appears that minister's had START
ed the fight with Texas ana frisco
Slim" Harris. whom Texas pointed OUT
TO the reporter. ri. -.
'Whiskers' had first laid Harris GU.
with a blow after which he assaultea
.',roxaS, inaieting a terrible scalp wound.
when the club had been taken away
"Vhiskers" got In his work again on
.''rexas'' with the knife, staobing him
under the right shoulder blade. lie then
had cut Ritter in the breast.
NATURE OF THE INJURIES.
ritter was very weak from loss OF
Hood and could talk but little He said
that ne had been sick. and, like Smith
had been awakened by the fight. He was
50 weak that he could not avoid the at
tack by "Whiskers'' who mistook his eff
forts TO get away TO be aggressive.
The wounds OF Smith and Harris are
not serious from the fact that the blade
OF the knife was short.
Texas" thought that bis lung had been
nunctured but the doctors destroyed that
Apprehension.
Rftter's was the most dangerous wound
It was right over the heart and with