The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-05-18

lotCe- but Tor the timely arrival of a.
trolley car, which frightened his as
saliants away, Kerlin would have been
Killed A sergeant stationed at Fort
Mcpherson, who heard cries for help,
ran to the place and found Kerlin I'M
| conscious.
AT midnight County Policeman
Gotden heard that Kerlin's five assail-
ants were located in a house on Nc
Daniel street, and he FASTENED to the
city and secured warrant for their
arrest from Justice Orr
Policeman Golden was Joined nv Of
ficers Ozburn and Chesire and accom-
panied by number of Kerlin's neigh
bors, including Owen Heard, the party
started for the hiding place of the
nVe negroes, arriving at 1870 O'clock
this morning.
The house was dark, but as the Off
GERS approached the inmates opened
f1re and Owen Heard fell to the
ground. He was borne out of range
oy his companions. The house was at
once surrounded by the posse and day.
light was awaited before making an
other advance. The officers, however.
mad determined to make the arrests
unaided. The house in which the ne
gro Richardson was located belonged
to Annie Milburn, also colored. Rich
ardson owned the store adjoining the
house. Here he Kept ammunition and
guns and was therefore we'll prepared
for a fight
Renewal of the Battle.
At o'clock this morning the group
of officers who had been watching the
house all night approached the place
and called upon those within to sur
render. The answer was a volley of
shots and County officer Battle drop
ped dead. The attacked party retreat
ed some distance, and from behind
trees and telegraph and trolley poles
commenced firing into the store In
few minutes the door of the house was
thrown open, and Will King, a negro,
ran out and gave himself up to the
officers. Inside the house Richardson
had an unobstructed view in three di-
rections. One block away Policeman
Tom Grant stepped from his shelter to
fire into the house. A shot from the
besieged house killed him before he
could fire.
The attacking party sent word to po-
lice headquarters and Chief of Police
Hall dispatched the reserves to the
scene in several patrol wagons.
Desperately Deadly Aim.
The officers to whom King had given
himself up determined to make use of
the negro. and at the point of rife,
they forced him to walk up to the
rear of the house and fire it. AS soon
as the flames started the officers, eager
to get the inmates of the house, step
ped out of their shelter in every direc-
ton. Again there was a shot from the
house and this time officer Edward
Crabtree met death.
An instant later there was another
shot and County Policeman Robert o.
burn fell dead.
The shooting had by this time at
tracted hundreds of people and nearly
every man who came to the scene car
ried a rife. The shooting into the
house became general, citizens and Of
ficers firing together.
MiIitia Ordered out.
Gov. Gambler was advised by tele-
phone of the rioting and ordered out
the militia Capt. w. w. Barker, Of
the Fifth regiment was ordered to pro-
coed with fifty men and a platoon gun
to the scene of the shooting and CO.
operate with the city authorities and
the sheriff of Fulton county. Chief of
Police Ball hurried to the scene on
horseback and was Joined a few min
utes later by Sheriff Nelms.
The desperate Richardson had been
lost sight of. The house burned rapid
ly and a number of inmates were seen
to run to the store to a woodshed and
to a barn in the next lot. Orders were
quickly given to fire these buildings
and in a few minutes several of the
buildings were burning.
w. T. Jackson, a street car conduc-
tor in uniform, was one of those at
tracted to the scene by the shooting.
AS he was nearing the house he was
shot in the right hip, presumably by
Richardson.
A negro cabman, driving a spectator
to the vicinity of the rioting, was
struck in the hand by a bullet.
Call officer Spradlin, speeding to the
scene on his bicycle, received wound
in the arm.
Caught Like Rats in Sewer.
A main sewer which runs through
this part of the city was utilized by
two of the negroes as a possible means
of escape, but to no avail. The crowd
had increased until at least 5000 peo-
pie, 1000 of whom were armed, sur
rounded the burning area.
Milton Rosby, a negro was seen to
emerge from the mouth of the sewer.
A shout went up and the fleeing ne
gro was shot dead. His body was sur
rounded and was literally shot to
pieces.
The crowd of enraged citizens had
scarcely finished this work when an
other negro was seen coming out of
the sewer. He, too, made a run for
life and managed to get into the back
yard of one of the neighboring homes,
where he was shot to death.
The fire which had been started by
the attacking party spread rapidly and
soon the entire block of buildings, al
most wholly composed of negro houses,
was destroyed. The police were busy
arresting the few negroes found in the
vicinity. Two of them, Steve Nisbot
and Jim Singleton, believed to be
members of Richardson's gang, were
arrested. The police had great diff |
Guilty in getting out of the crowd of
enraged people with the negroes. A
mob of 1000 surged around the patrol |
wagon and clamored for the lives of
the prisoners. The officers, throwing |
their men into the bottom of the wag-
on, drew their revolvers and forced a |
passage through the crowd, finally |
lodging their prisoners in safety in the |
Fulton county Jail on Butler street.
DeSperadO's skull and Rifle Found. |
In less than an hour the block of |
wooden houses was burned to the |
ground and a search of the ruins i'm
mediately followed. In a woodshed in |
the rear of Richardson's store was |
found skull and near to it the steel |
barrel of rifle. 1t is believed that the |
skull represented all that is left of the |
negro who did the shooting.
The police believe they have secured |
all the negroes directly concerned in
the shooting, but have been given or