The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-02-21
HELD POLICE AT BAY
NEGRO DEsPERADo FINALLY
 SHOT TO DEATH.
Room in Which He Had Taken Refuge Had to Be Set on Fire Before the Black
 Would Emerge.

New Orleans, Feb. 20.-After holding half hundred blue coats at bay for sev- eral hours, during which scores of shots were exchanged. Lafayette Sims, a des- perate negro, was killed by the police early this morning iI negro boarding house, situated on South Rampant Street.
 The room in which he was besieged had to be set on fire and the first department called out before Sims could be sdriven fl om his post AS he attempted to escape, still carrying his gun, ne was shot down. The body was taken to the morgue with out any demonstration from mob of several thousand negroes who crowded the vicinity of the tragedy. Intense ex- citement prevailed while the siege lasted.
 The origin of the trouble was trivial. Sims occupied a room in the boarding house, in which there were seven beds. On retiring last night he locked the door. and when the landlord early this morn- ing asked him to open 1t so that another lodger might be admitted, Sims refused. Then the landlord sent for the police. Ef- forts to persuade Sims to open the door failed and a hole was smashed in 1t. Through the aperture Stms~shut a pistol out of one hand and a lantern out of the other of Officer Winstein, who tried to enter. Thereupon additional police were sent for and the house surrounded.
 From that time until daylight a great crowd hung around the besieged house, expecting a repetition of the Charles tragedies of two years ago. Captain Boyle. who was in charge of the police squad, however, disposed of his men so that they might be in position to shoot and be in no danger of being shot.
 After the additional police had arrived on the scene the negro landlord and an officer again went to the room and plead ed with Sims to come out and surrender.
 No, won't" he answered with an oath. "rn shoot if you don't go away. I am not going to leave here. They'll burn me in oil. They'll fry me-"
 It was found that Sims had piled some of the furniture in the room against the door, and was prepared to fight for his life. As the landlo.d and the officer re- treated the desperado fired at them. but lis craftsmanship was bad, his only weapon being a pistol.
 All efforts to induce the prisoner to surrender having proved abortive, Super intendent Journee decided that there was nothing to be done but to smoke the negro out after making the necessary prepara- tions to protect surrounding property from destruction by fire. Accordingly an alarm was turned in and a portion of the fire department brought to the scene.
 A quantity of cotton, oil and sulphur was sent for. the cotton rolled into balls and saturated a match applied and the blazing substance hurled Into the room. every avenue of escape being guarded by armed policemen.
 The furniture in the room caught quick ly. filling the place with smoke and flame. Sims stayed in his hiding place until he was nearly suffocated and then made a break to escape. As he appeared at the door armed with pistol. Patrolman Fred Smith. who was armed with a Win chester rife, fired at him. His aim was true and the negro staggered mortally wounded. Instantly other policemen fired on him. He had scarcely fallen to the floor when he wa dead. The fremen ran a line of hose into the building and ex- tirguished the flames. and the body was dragged out. lifted Into a patrol wagon and driven through a lane of excited negroes to the police station.
 II is believed that the negro resisted arr rest because of some crime committed in the parishes, though Landlord Cain thinks he was mentally unbalanced He had acted queerly for two days. From the first attempt to enter the room, Sims insisted that the police wa ated to murder him While the fire was burning he was heard praying for denverance. Just be- fore he was smoked out he shouted that he would rather be killed than taken alive. An examination of the room fol- lowing the tragedy. showed that Sims had gotten poss assion of Oncer Win stein's revolver after shooting 1t from his hands
 The neighhorhood In which the affair occurred Is a tough one. It is a barrel house center and trouble has frequently occurred there. Sims was a tall black, well built negro. He had been employed in railroad work at ITarahan.