Omaha daily bee., 1902-04-07
BULLETS GREET OFFICERS
Sheriff MOrtally Wounded and Three Men
Killed in Pistol Fight,
TOWN IN HEAT OF GREAT EXCITEMENT
Omcers Are Fired on by Desperate
negro and Latter is shot and
Throws In Burning
BuiIdinG.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. April s.-A special
to the Age-Herald from Tuscumbia, Ala,
SAYS:
Three men are dead, three MORALLY
wounded and four seriously wounded as the
result Of Sheriff G%assaway attempting today
to arrest VIII Reynolds, a desperate negro.
The dead.
HUGH JONES. shot through head.
BOB WALLACE.
WILL REYNOLDS.
Fatally wounded:
Sheriff Charles G%assaway, shot through
the arm and abdomen.
VIII Gassawpy. shot through abdomen.
P. a. Prout, shot through the stomach.
Seriously wounded:
Payne, shot through the chest.
Jim Finney, shot through right shouleer.
Robert Patterson, shot through leg.
Jesse Davis. shot through jaw.
All KILLED by One Man.
All the foregoing casualties except the
death OF Reynolds himself are the result OF
the deadly Ere OF Reynolds with a 45-cali-
bre rife. The negro was in his turn riddled
and thrown into a fire.
This morning at IL o'clock Sheriff CASA
way went to a negro settlement, "Knard-
lONu " dETtbl VIII ENcyOllub " uUNdlh-
ing goods under false pretenses. The on
Ger was met by the negro, who opened FIRE
with a rife, %woundipg the sheriff, and i'm
mediately firing upon the deputy, VIII
Gassaway, who was som 300 yards away,
mortally %wouRding him.
As soon as possible every man in town
who could procure a gun was in the neigh
borhood. but owing to the location none
dared to venture within the open space.
Dynamite was procured and the house IN
which the negro was %barricaded was fred
upon. but to no effect.
Az l o'clock Captain Simpson OF the
Wheeler Rifles, arrived with twelve guns
and 1000 cartridges. which we're distributed
among twelve picked men. This company
was stationed around the house and riddled
1t, but the negro had taken refuge in the
cellar and returned the fire, killing Jones
and wounding Flnney. Coal oil was then
procured and after four hours Of hard work
the houses adjoining that in which the
negro was located were fired.
Place of Refugee is Fired.
About s o'clock the house in which the
negro was located was fred by the Wheeler
rifles who had arrived on the scene. The
negro took refuge in the shed and opened
uT6t hlllIuB WdlldCb duu WOunuihS DeNlSt
but the people and some militia riddled the
negro and the crowd numbering 1000,
grabbed the body and threw it in the burn
ing building. Wallace. who was killed,
was closing in on the negro, who shot him
through the body. His body fell in the
burning debris, but was recovered. Davis,
wallace and Falkner we're the men who
fired the building.
Relic seekers cut OF the negro's fingers
and such parts OF the body as could be
procured. Three houses were burned In
the effort to reach the negro. Several
horses were killed in the battle.
Tonight 1t IL reported that the sherif
and his brother annot live. So deadly was
the negro's aim that It was possibly an
hour before the body OF Prout could be
recovered. Not a shot fred by Reynolds
failed to count when those he was firing
upon could be plainly seen by him.
The excitement today was intense, but
there is no fear of an uprising among the
negroes.
Fully 1000 people from Florence and
shefheld were here and every surgeon In
the two towns was pressed into service.