Palestine daily herald. [volume] (Palestine, Tex.) 1902-1949, 1907-08-31
so SAY THE NEGROES, AND HAS
THE POWER OF APPEARING
AND VANISHING AT ANY
TIME AND PLACE.
Bullets viii Not Hill Him
Many Have Fired Point Blank at the
Mysterious Man, and He Dissp-
pears Observation-Disclosures
of the Community Are
Terrified.

The night raider who has been
striking terror to the hearts of Pal
estine negroes. and who is charged
with long list of michief, is a ghost
so declare those who claim they
have seen him. Surrounded by mys-
terry. and immune from capture, this
ghost, phantom, goblin or devil, ap-
pears at will and vanishes in so mys-
terious a manner as to battle the Off
GERS, and If all the tales that reach
the officers are true, the mysterious
night raider is a terror. Some who
claim to have seen him describe MIN
as a heavy-set black negro who has
the power of appearing and disap-
pears at will. Some claim to have
shot at him at close range, only to
see him disappear into thin air. Some
times he runs away, but so noiseless-
" that he cannot be followed. Win
dows are thrown up, a man appears
in the darkness of the room, often
half-clad or entirely nude, and when
discovered, vanishes. Bullets do not
stop him; when he goes he goes.
Other negroes declare the myster-
ious negro is tall and angular. One
negro says he met him, and conversed
with him. and that he is negro who
was sentenced from this county some
years ago to a long term in state
prison, and that his name is Bev.
Brown.
Bev. Brown was sentenced on three
or four counts-for highway robbery,
assault to murder, etc. At the time,
as is recalled by many, he was arrest
ed by a deputy sheriff, after he had
terrorized the whole negro population,
and the deputy had started with him
" jaii. when he in some way secured
the officers gun, and sEifh y ureda-
officer dismount, took the officers
horse and made his escape. He was
afterwards captured, after he had
made a murderous assault on negro
woman. and was tried on the several
charges before Judge Gill, then dis
trict Judge. and was sent over the
road for a long term of years. Bev.
Brown is. or was. big. angular. raw
boned gingerbread colored negro, and
fits very well the description given
of the night raider by some who de-
clare they have seen him.
The mysterious negro was reported
on the war-path again last night, and
the things he did lends additional ter
ror to the already terrified negro pop
ulation in the West End. Negroes are
sleeping with barred windows and
doors these hot nights. and the little
pickaninnies are tucked away at night
with the terror of the bad negro in
their 1maginations, only to dream Of
the terror in their sleep, while the
older ones are armed with every mag
Unable weapon, from a brOom-handle
TO an old army rifle. The result will
most likely be some innocent person
is going to meet death at the hands of
some Of these terror-stricken negroes.
Nightly the shooting Of guns and
pistols is heard in the West End. and
officers hurrying to the scene are told
it was some one shooting at the mys-
FERROUS negro. And IL is usually about
as hard to locate those who do the
shooting as It is TO locate the negro
who is supposed to be prowling
around, breaking into houses, fright
ening women and children. etc.
Last night before 9 o'clock some
negro women appeared at the jail. and
reported having seen the mysterious
negro. and that he had opened the
window Of one of the women's home
An investigation failed to reveal his
pre- sence.
The officers say il is their opinion
that the devilment being reported to
them night to night is not the work
Of one negro, but Of several. who do
these many acts OF devilment either
rs a good joke or just for cussedness,
taking advantage OF the condition of
terror prevailing TO scare the negroes.
They deplore the fact of the condi-
ions existing. and expect TO see some |
party killed as a result