The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-11-10
SHOT DOWN IN THE STREET.
WASH BROWN SLAIN IN 4 QUARREL
WITH CHARLES MAYS.


Brown Refused to Refraet an EPI-
thet He Had Applied to Mays and
the Latter Fired Four shots From
RevoIver-One Ball Entered
browns Breast and Another His
stomach and Death Was Instanta-
neous-He Ran n Few PAGES and
Fell Dead on His Face-His slayer
LeisureIy Reiterated and Made
Good His Escape-His Arrest Ex-
pected Soon to he Accomplished.
Wash Brown, a negro. was shot and in
stantly killed by Charles Mays, another
of his race in front Of b. Wetz saloon,
at East Bread and Harris streets, shortly
after 10 O'Clock last night Mays succeed
Ell in effectng his escape and has not been
captured.
The stories of the eye witnesses 10 the
killing indicate that Mays had some pro
vocation for firing the fatal shots though
1t is further shown that he had been mak-
ing reckless statements Of his intention 10
kin some d niger" before the night
was over, and it may be that he found pro-
vocation in words al which under other cir
cumstances he would not have taken Of
tense. Certain it is that the ne ghborhood in
question is the resort Of many bad char
acters, where the vllest Of profanity IS OF
the most common occurrence and rarely
of itself provocative of violence.
The two men had had some previous
difficulty, it would appear, and met few
minutes before the killing in the bar OF
Weitz. where they both took drink.
Then they went out, the statements of the
witnesses differing as to whether it was
Mays or Brown who first left the bar. Al
any rate, they met soon after Mey We're
both on the sidewalk in front Of the place
and the angry coloquy was recommended.
The first part of it was carried on in
such low tones that what was said did
not reach the ears of the bystanders, but
It gradually increased in vigor and noise.
Brown said to Mays you are --
-" using the viest expression that his
Imagination could muster. Mays demand
ed that he retract IT, threatening in the al
tentative to XIII him, and Brown stuck to
his original opinion, that he would not
vary or take back, Then the shots were
fired.
The men were standing so close 10 each
Ot4ti lial luelf UOultS were HtdI4N NOuIll-
ing when Mays drew his revolver from his
hip pocket and began firing. He did not
even raise the weapon 10 the hight of his
eye but fired, as the saying Is, from the
hip. -Four shots rang out in quick she
cession and as the echoes of the reports
died away. Brown ran few PAGES away
and fell on his face These few. steps
were the last spasmodic actions Of his life
and when those closest to him reached the
spot where he fell he was quite dead.
Two bullet holes one in the breast ana
another in the stomach either of which
would have suhced, had caused his dea h.
The slayer ran .eisurely in a diagonal
direction across East Broad street. in the
direction of Liberty reloading his revolver
as he ran. Arrived at Liberty he con-
tinued his way across and down that
street in the direction of the eastern sec
ton. For some distance he was pursued
by half a hundred of the negroes who
gather nightly in that part Of the cltySn
which the shooting occurred. and by Pa
trolman Halford, who reached the scene
a minute or two after the fatal shots were
fred Mays managed finally TO throw the
crowd Off the track, and lost himself IN
The maze of small houses. yards and bind
alleys that lie between Wheaton and Ran
doph streets, north of Liberty.
Within a few minutes after the shoot
ing was reported at the barracks the su-
perntendent had all the possible avenues
of escape from the city closely guarded,
and it is not thought that Mays viii be
able for any length Of time to elude the
Vigilence of the police. He Is well known
to almost every member of the depart
ment
The body of Brown was removed to Cor
oner Goette's undertaking establishment,
where il is probable that at inquest Will be
held to-day or Tomorrow The dead man
Is a butcher. who for some time has been
in the omploye of William Hayden, at
Price and President streets. His slayer Is
a bartender who up to short time ago
was employed in one of the places in the
neighborhood of which the shooting was
done He left when the place was closed
up.
Both Mays and his victim are natives
of Charleston, and il is thought possible
that the former viii endeavor TO make his
way "over home" When the shooting was
done Mays was quite drunk and the too
free use OF liquor had put him In an ugly
mood and perhaps caused the fatal con-
sequences to Brown. The epthet applied
by Brown TO his slayer is in common use
among the worst class of negroes, who FREE
quent the locale of the tragedy, almost
as a term of endearment and no particu-
lar Importance would appear 20 attach TO
its application to any one Of this crowd.
The explanation of the shooting must be
found either in the reckless condition the
effects of the liquor produced in Mays or
else in a preconceived and arranged plan
to take ne life Of Brown. Mays an
nounced determination to kill some
damned Niger" made without effort al
concealment only a few minutes before
the shooting was actually done and ac-
ccmpanied by a display of the weapon,
would seem to lend color to the former
hypothesis.