Daily camera., 1900-07-28
SOLD LIFE DEARLY

SS.0 III S.su
N urd erer Char'e On shoots Nine Mon before
His Life is Taken.
New Orleans, July 27-Tremendous
excitement reigned in New Orleans to
day while the battle went on between the
police and citizens and the negro mur
derer, robert Charles, with his Wlnches.
ter.
Sergt. Gabe Porteus and Sergt. Lally
were informed during the day by ne
gro that Charles was in hiding in house
in Clio street The officers summoned
several patromen and went to the house
They entered the side alley. and were
served like Day and Lamb. The negro
was hidden behind screen and began
furious and accurate fire.
Lally fell with bullet in the abdomen
Porteus was shot through the head, ano
dropped dead across the body of Lally
The other officers and the negro inform
ant fed. The report of Charles Win
chester, and the fact that the two officers
lay bleeding in the yard, raised tremend
Gus excitement, and armed hosts were
rushed to the scene.
Meantime. Father Fitzgerald OF St
Johns church was summoned to admin
ister extreme JUNCTION to the police officer
dying in the alley, The priest was
amounting the body of Porteus, with Al
fred Bloomfield, a young boy, standing
BY his side, when Charles again appear
ed at the window The lad saw him AMI
begged the desperate not to shoot. The
negro fired ag ,in and Bloomfield fell
dead The priest, unhurt, left the scene
after pluck,ly performing the last office S
for the dead officer.
Charles did not propose to be captured
without selling his life dearly. lime at
ter time he came to the window, and as
men, one by one. entered the alley. he
blazed away at them. In this manner
Confectoner Leclerc, one of the special
police squad, ex Policeman Evans, John
Banville and George H. Lyons were
wounded.
AT this time the extra police began to
fire at the negro and he returned their
fire. Andy Van Kuren, iallor, got buI-
let in the body and fell dead. Just after
ward H. H. Bail, aged o5, was hit and
rnortalIy wounded. About the same time
Frank b=r.uCCl received a shot in the left
shoulder and J. w. Bote one in the right
hand.
Ultimately it was decided that the only
way TO ge, Charles ou, WAS 70 burn he
building in which he was entrenched, and
the fire department was called out to
protect surrounding property, some one
went to grocery, purchased can of
oil, and pouring it over the rear steps OF
the building, applied match and soon
started fire. Picked men from the po-
lice squad and soldiers stationed them
selves about the building in order to pick
off the desperate. Adol ph And erson, of
the state militia. was one 0! the first to
see Charles as he left the steps. Charles
ran across the yard, and as he did so An
derson fired several times. He shot the
negro in the breast and Charles fell and
died soon afterward.
AS soon as the negro fell numbers of
persons, armed with WiDchesters and
revolvers, rushed in and fired into the
body.
After it was certain that be was dead
mob entered the yard and dragged the
body into the street, There the police
and mob emptied their revoIvers into the
corpse, while son of one of the mur
dered men rushed up and stamped the
face beyond recognition.
There were then loud shouts that the
body should be taken to a vacant square
and publicly burned. At this instant,
however, big squad of police arrived.
Thousands of persons had congregated
in the vicinity and it looked as If there
would be a clash. The police promptly
pushed the crowd aside, picked up the
body and threw it into the patrol wagon
The driver whipped up his horses and
the wagon started off, with 5000 people
running after it and clamoring for the
cremation of the desperate The wagon
reached police headquarters, where an
immense crowd had gathered and great
difficulty was experienced in taking the
corpse into the morgue.
Woolletts lumber and coal yards are
now loCaled corner 18th and Railroad