Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1907-03-29
TRAGEDY OCCURS
In FORT WORTH
AS RESULT OF RAID ON A GAMB
LING HOUSE.
PROPRIETOR ON WAR PATH
KILLS COUNTY ATTORNEY Nc
LEAN AND SERIOUSLY WOUNDS
ONE OF THE RAIDING PARTY.
AFFAIR WAS OF MOST SENSA-
TIONAL NATURE.


Fort Worth, Texas. = Following a raid
on an alleged gambling house, County
Attorney jeff D. Mclean was shot and
instantly killed and Hamil P Scott, a
member of the raiding party fatally
wounded by Williams Thompson, prop
rietor of the resort raided. Half an
hour later Thompson was surrounded In
lumber yard within hundred yards
of where Scott was shot down, and cap
tured after desperate fight, in which
he received bullet wounds that will pro-
badly cause his death.
The tragedy, or rather series of trag-
edies, were of the most sensational ami
spectacular character, and were witness
ed by hundreds of men and women, IA
cluding many members of the state leg
islature here in attendance on the fat
stock Show
The house raided is located on Main
street, near the corner of Sixth, right in
the heart of the retail district.
Shortly before 6 clock County At.
torney Mclean, heading party of dep
uties, forced an entrance into the place,
placed a number of men under arrest,
and loaded furniture van with tables
and other paraphernaha The wagon
with the confscated furniture had Just
moved off when Thompson approached
Mclean who was standing ON the side
walk and when within few feet of the
official, fred one shot, the bullet strik-
ing Mclean in the throat, breaking his
neck and causing almost instant death.
As Mclean fell Thompson turned and
ran Il { on Sixth street with Scott in
pursuit.
Dodging in behind bill board at the
corner of Seventh anu Throekmorton
streets. Thompson ambushed Scott,
shooting the deputy three times in the
body. When Scott fell Thompson stop,
ped long enough to discard his empty
pistol for that carried by the dying
deputy and then renewed his fight.
BY this time q score of policemen and
deputy sheriffs, followed by hundre Is
Of excited men and boys were in pur-
suit of Thompson, who had found tenn
porary refuge in a lumber shed iust
across the street from the Touraine ho-
tel, the most fashionable hostelry in the
city. Here he was located by Patrol
men Bell and Lloyd.
Thompson, by this time thoroughly
desperate and with the cry of ''lynch
him" ringing in his ears, was ready
for fight to the death. While the
crowd him were willing enough to cry
''lynch him. and would have followed
a leader, the whole thing had happened
so suddenly and tragedy had followed
so closely uPon the heels Of tragedy that
the mob hesitated.
But Policeman Denny Lloyd had seen
the fugitive enter the covered lumber
yard and followed him there. Finally
Thompson was located behind stack
of lumber. He saw the officer about
the same time the officer saw him and
they fred at each other at close range
almost simultaneously. What the effect
of this exchange was is not known, but
Policeman Bell coming to the aid Of
his brother officer about this time was
directed around the other side of the
lumber pile with the idea of heading off
any possibility of escape, and while the
crowd was cautiously feeling its way
at the door Of the lumber yard, Bell and
Lloyd opened on Thompson and Thomp-
son returned their fire. But the officers
got him, wounding him in three places
and he is probably fatally wounded
AS soon as Thompson hagfs emptied
his gun and received The wounds which
may result in his death, the. officers,
whose own pistols had been emptied, fell
upon him with bare hands and bore him
together, taking the pistol away from
him and making him prisoner
The action of these officers was su-
perb. Thompson was a dead-shet, a
desperate man and they tracked him to
the lumber pile where he had every ad-
vantage end fought him 70 the finish
and won. Whatever-m may. be -said-;f
Thompson, he was, not afraid and this
fact was we'll known TO the officers who
went after him.
AS soen as the shots were heard Oh
the inside of the lumber yard, the mob
on the outside, which now numbered full
" 5000, as the fat stock show is in
progress and the Texas Cattle Raiser s
Association had just c,Jsed its conven
ton here, and the town is full of people
from all over the state and hundreds
of cattlemen from all over the west are
here.
Soon the news spread to the waiting
crowd that five officers had been kiIlsl
by the desperate in the lumber yard
and there we're renewed cries of 'slynch
him, but there was still no leader and
the crowd was Impatient.
As the story was repeated the crowd
became wilder and more and more ex-
cited and men, women and boys surged
in great sea about the streets inter