The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1905-05-30
White Man Seriously Wounded
BY RObbsr on Fiftitth
Street in WOOdIaWn
WILL PROBABLY DIE
FROM BULLET WOUND
Hlghwayman Stepped From Behind a
Telegraph Pole and After Few
Words Shot the Man and
Made His Escape.

While escorting his sister, Miss Maud
Fowler, home from the street car last
night, Ed Fowler, a plaster contractor
who lives on Fiftieth street and Motley
avenue, woodlawn. was shot and prob
ably fatally wounded by a negro.
He is lying at his home now In Sc
rious condition with bullet through his
side, penetrating his bowels, and the
physicians state that the chances are
against his recovering.
The shooting occurred about 10 o'clock
last night and without provocation. the
negro stepped from behind telegraph
post on the Southern railway crossing
and shot Mr. Fowler after a few seconds
conversation.
Woodlawn is aroused over the affair.
A large number of citizens were notified
of the shooting last night, and responded
to a call to aid in tracing the negro. 1t
is the second startling affair of some
what the same nature that has occurred
in the last five days in Woodlawn ana
the entire community is thoroughly
aroused and very indignant over the ire
quent crimes.
After the shooting last night an at
tempt was made to secure some blood
hounds to follow the negro, but 1t was
! impossible to procure them. With
good pack of hounds 1t would probably
have been possible to get the negro, as
he struck across the country going south
toward Red mountain.
Miss Fowler's Statement.
Miss Maud Fowler, who is employed
as a telephone girl in the Peoples tele-
phone exchange in Birmingham, gave
the following account of the affair last
night:
ED always meets me at the car when
come home at night. l get away about
o'clock from the telephone exchange.
We were walkin across the tracks on
Fiftieth street and he was telling me
that 1 had to stop working at the teie-
phone exchange as it was too late at
| night for him to meet me-
| Eve were nearly across the tracks
when the negro, who was very tail and
who wore overalls and black coat,
! stepped from behind the telegraph pole
and started towards us. Ed told him
| not to come any closer, but the negro
| did not pay any attention to him and
| kept coming on. Ed told him again and
ordered him to stop, at the same time
reaching down as If to pick up rock
| or something to hit the negro with.
Then the negro said, Amt nothing
| going to stop me- and shot Ed in the
| side. He ran south towards the noun
| tain end soon disappeared in the dark
| I rppDQnizp
/, him again If | were to see him.
ED thinks that the negro was waiting
| for him to rob or kill him. My
brother says that he has noticed the ne
gro hanging around the crossing several
nights recently, but did not pay much
attention to him. When Ed was shot 1
screamed and several people ran up.
"rhe negro was very tall. could see
him indistnctly.
Seen Hanging Around.
| Mr.. Fowler stated before he went to
| sleep that he had seen the negro hang
| ing around the railroad crossing several
nights, but had not thought much about
| him. He did not know whether the ne
gro held a grudge against him or was
merely waiting to hold him up and rob
| him.
| The first people to reach Mr.. Fowler
were C. o. McGouirk. yard clerk in the
| Southern railway yard office at the Fiji
tieth street crossing; ]. C. Collins, whose
house faces the railroad about fifty feet
from where Mr.. Fowler was shot, and
H. E. Samuels a carpenter in the South
ern shops who lives in the same house.
| Other neighbors rushed up and they car
ried the wounded man home. Drs. j. c.
Collins and DR.. Bell were summoned and
after making an examination stated that
the bowels had been penetrated, and that
the chances were against the recovery of
Mr.. Fowler. They said, however, that
it would be several days before they
| could tell definitely.
| The place chosen by the negro for
highway robbery was a lonely one. Fiji
tenth street, running south from the
East Lake street car track, turns a lit
tie before crossing tie Southern railway
| tracks 1t Is very dark across the tracks
the gloom being lit up by only switch
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