The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1907-02-16
MASSACRE PLANNED
SAYS NEGRO SOLDIER
Brownsville Citizens Challenged
Them TO Come Out
ALL lNN0CENTLY ASLEEP
This Is the Testimony Given Before
Senate Committee BY Ex-Member
of the 25th-A Sensa-
tonal Story.

Washington, February 15.-Testimony al
leging plans to massacre negro soldiers
at Brownsville, Tex, by men in the town,
who fired over the barracks and chal-
lenged the soldiers to come out was
given by ex-solders today at the investi-
cation before the senate committee on
military affairs. The most sensational
story was told by William Mapp who
was a member of Company c, Twenty
fifty infantry. He was on the stand when
the hearing adjourned for the day.
Mapp was asked If he had ever heard
any discussion of the shooting which
caused him to suspect any persons Of
completely. He replied that at breakfast
the morning after the shooting he had
heard Wilburt Yoschelle, the reservation
corral boss, and a white man who had
been in charge of the corral prior to the
arrival of a battalion of the Twenty-ffth,
say:
We'll, it's a good thing it happened as
il did. I was out in town last night and
the crowd came In front Of me. The
plan was to catch a lot Of you fellows in
Allisons saloon and massacre you"
Mapp said that the remarks was not
addressed to him, and that he did not
question Voschele. Voschelle has been
SuDpOenaed as a WltneSS
Before giving this testimony Mapp said
that on the night of the shooting he had
been awakened by the firing and had
gone to the window of his quarters, and
from there he saw several guns flash
and the shots seemed to be directed over
the barracks A man with "a deep voice.
he said shouted: Come out, you black
-" using an opprobious epethet, and
Mapp said this was repeated several
times But the call to arms was then
sounded and he hurried to get dressed
to fall in. He said the shooting and
shouting was outside the wall at the end
of Company B barracks. Mapp told of
the confusion in quarters, and said that
he got his gun from the rack and 1t was
broken and he was one of the first to
fall in.
Thomas Jefferson, who was the room
orderly in Company G barracks, said he
heard the shooting and thought there
were ten or twelve men firing The shots,
he said, came from the rear and near the
end of r barracks. He said he saw the
flashes and thought the garrison was un-
der attack. He said that he had made
O. sta tement at the war department. before
Judge Advocate General Davis for the
purpose of clearing his name OF suspi-
cion, because of statement in the papers
that President Roosevelt would permit
men to re-enlist who proved their inno-
cense. Senator Foraker asked that a
subpoena be issued for General Davis.
Solomon II. O'Neil, also former mem
ber of Company G, testified that the
shooting was from near the wall at the
end Of Company B barracks and that the
shots were apparently over the barracks
He said he heard a man shoot and yell
Come out" This occurred several
times, said O'Neil before he was COM
PEELED to leave the window and dress
lie testified that there was great excite
rnent in the barracks; that there was no
light and the men could not get their
own rifles.