The Cairo bulletin., 1907-01-15


(c) The assault with intent to XIII
Mr.. and Mrs. Hale Odin, and the r
little boy who were in the window Of
the Miller hotel,
Cd) The hocting into several pri'
vate residences In the city Of Browns
Vile three of them containing wo'
men and children.
(e) The shooting al and slightly
wounding Of Preciado.
These crimes were certainly com
mtted by somebody
As to the motive for he commits
sitn of the crimes, II appears tina
trouble of more or less serious kind
/ had occurred between individual
members OF the companies and indl'
vidual citizens of Brownsville, cul'
minating in complaints which resulted
in the soldiers being confined within
the limits of the garrison on the even
ing of the day in que sticn.
/ The eyideDce, as will be seen shows
| beyond any possibility of honest ques'
ton that some individuals among the
colored troops whom | have dismissed
committed the outrages mentioned;
and that some or all of the other IN
dividuals whom dismissed had
knowledge of the deed and shielded
from the law these who committed IT,
SCOTS Story of White Raiders.
The only motive suggested as pos
frN plGp
desire TO get rid of the cOlored troops,
so strong that it impelled the citizens
of Brownville to shoot up their own
houses to kill one OF their own num-
bar to assault their own police. wound
ing the lieutenant who had been an
officer for twenty years-all with the
purpose of dScredting the negro
troops The suggestion is on its face
so ludricously imposs bic that ii Is
difficult to treat il as honestly made |
This theory suposes that the assail' |
ants succeeded in obtaining the uni |
form of the negro soldiers; that be- |
fore starting on their raid they got |
over the fence of the fort rnchalleng |
ed. and without discovery by the ne |
gro troops opened fire on the town |
from within the fort; that they black
en- their faces so that at least fourtes n |
eyewitnesses mistook them for ne
groes that they disguised heir voices
so that at least six witnesse who heard |
them speak mistook their voices as be.
ing these of negroes. They were not
Mexicans. for they were heard by var
ious witnesses 10 speak in English.
Shells Alone Are Proof.
Taking the shells and the bullets
together the proof is conclusive that
the new Springfield rifle was the Wea-
pom used by the midnight assas ms
and could not by any possibility have
been any ether rife of any kind in the
world. This Of itself establishes the
fact that the assailants were United
States soldiers. and would be concu-
sive on this point If not one soldier
had been seen or heard by any resi-
dents in Brownsville on the night in
question, and If nothing were known
save the finding of the shells, clips
and bullets.
Fourteen eyewltnesses testified that
they say the assaila9ts CT some OF
them at varying distances, and that
they were negro troops most Of the
witnesses giving their testimony In
such shape that there is no possibility
of their having been mistaken. Two
other witness es saw some of the as
sailants and testified that they were
soldiers (the only soldiers in the neigh
Dor hood being the colored troops
Four other witnesses. testified 10 hear
ing the shooting and herring the voices
of the men who were doing it, and that
those voices were those Of negroes.
but did not actually see the men who
were doing the shooting.
About twenty-five other WITNESSES
gave testimony odsroborating to q
greater or less degree the tetimony Of
these who saw the shooters OF heard
them.
The testimony OF these eye and ear
witnesses would establish beyond all
possibility of contradiction the fact
that the shooting was committed by |
ten or fifteen or more Of he negro
troops from the garrison and this
testimony Of theirs wo Id he amply
sufficient in itself if not a cartridge or
a bullet had been found; exactly as
the bullets and cartridges that were
found would have established the
guilt OF the troops even had not
Jingle eyewitness seen them or other I
witnesses heard them.
Details murderous Assault.
The testimony farther shows that
the trops then came ont over the |
walls. some Of them perhaps going
through the gate. and advanced a dis
lance of three hundred yards or there
abOuts into the town During their /
advance they shot into two hotels and |
some niue or ten other houses. Three |
Of the private houses into which they /
fired contained women and children. |
They deliberately killed Frank Naius, |
the bartender shooting HON down |
from distance of about - yeards |
They shot At A man and woman. Mr. |
and Mrs. Odin and their lille boy. a