The sun., 1907-03-10
SHIELDED NEGRO SOLDIERS.
CAPT. MDONALD ACCUSES THE
OFFICERS AT. BROWNSVILLE.

FORMER Ranger COmmaEiler whom Major
PenrOse Called a Coward starts for
San Antonio TO Talk 10 the Major AMI
CnDOSORls Himself About the Case.
| AUSTIN, Tex, March g-Nhen Capt. Bill
! Mcdonald. the former ranger commander,
/ read to-day the remarks made by Major
/ Penrose. who il on trial before a court
/ martial at San Antonio in which Penrose
! referred 10 him as a contemplate coward.
/ the Captain decided to go to San Antonio at
| once.
Il have no other business over there at
this time" he said 1T is a matter that |
don't care to talk about. Iprefer to discuss
1t with Penrose personally"
Capt. Mcdonald left TO- San Antonio on a
| late train. He will probably not get to see
! Major Penrose until tomorrow Before
leaving he issued a statement giving the first
account of his knowledge Of the Browns
willie affair He makes some serious charges
| i'm this statement against Major Penrose.
/ 1t says:
Il have heretofore refraned from making
any statement in regard to this matter, and
| since he has seen fit to make such a state
ment l will say that Penrose was guilty OF
shielding the guilty negroes that murdered
! and shot into the houses of the citizens of
Brownsville and | caught him in the act
! of trying to cover it up.
"ln the first place he told me and my SER
| geant, w j. McCauley, that he could not find
; out anything about the guilty parties, that
! his non commissioned officers knew all about
I this matter. but he could not get them To
! tell it. After | had made comp laint against
twelve Of them and one eN-soldier he
stated in the absence Of Major BloXom that
had six of the right men but that the others
were not guilty. | then asked him who the
other men were that did do the shooting, a5
he was 80 well posted in the matter
Now he first told me that there were
but two negroes out Of the post that night.
then asked him about some of the negro
soldiers that found were out in town from
an ex-soldier who was then in Jail. | then
/ asked him especially about the first one,
who was Corporal w. II. Miller. Penrose
said that he was at roll call at and II
( o'clock and he knew he was there, for he
saw him, and that Capt. Macklin talked
with him We sent for Mackin and he
made the same statement.
Il then sent for Corporal Miller who
marched in with much gJsto and stood
there until Major BloXom had to tell him to
put his gun down, that l wanted TO talk
with him. then questioned him about his
whereabouts the night of the murder on
August 13. He stated that he was at a
saloon near the Market House when the
shooting was being done and was at Mack
Hamilton's house, and before il occurred
he was in Matamoras, Mexico, and never
got to the post until after l O'Clock.
Il asked him If he was not at roll call
at and II o'clock. ] told him that ne
must have been there. | asked him if
he did not see Major Penrose and Capt.
Macklin and talk to the latter after II
O'Clock He said no; he re7koned he knew
where he was. l then told MaCklin and
Penrose that they were trying to cover
up thia murder: that | thought more Of
the negroes than 1 did of them.
Il afterward tried to make complaint
against these officers for being accessories
to this crime, and think vet they should
be indicted as well as Others who are trying
to cover it up and hold other people re-
sponsible for the shooting.
The next person | called in was c. W
Askew. who lost his cap in the mud hole
as he returned from this murderous assault.
This cap had his initials in it and the new
one he was wearing had the same initials
in il. Askew claimed that he wrote them
there himself. Both caps were of the same
size. The cap found in the mud hole was
turned over to the Grand Jury by Sergt.
AlcCauley.
after I got into the merits of this case
sufficiently and got thirteen Of them in the T,
guard house | did not have time 10 work ;
further on the case as there was such a |
pressure brought to bear To get these men ,
away by Penrose and others who tried to |
make people think that the rangers and one !
company OF soldiers could not keep a mob !
from getting them The rangers could |
have protected the negroes themselves |
| would like to see some things that Penrose |
sent to Austin and Washington about this /
matter have since understood that Pen
rose had ordered the negro soldiers to shoot ,
me and my rangers If undertook to spot |
them any more. We would have held the !
prisoners all right anyway, however, if |
the Governor had not ordered me TO work |
under the local authorities, who seemed |
to be taking the side Of Penrose and this |
bunch.
Il think the people Of Texas ought to
resent such dastardly attempt Of Penrose |
and Foraker of trying to prove by criminals |
that the citizens Of Brownsville murdered
one Of their own citizens and shot into
houses where women and children were
sleeping"
DALLAS, Tex, March s-In the Penrose
court-martial to-day the defence stole a
march on the prosecution. The first of the
witnesses from among the negro soldiers
Of the Twenty-hfth Infantry, discharged
by order OF President Roosevelt, appeared
in the person OF Corporal Samuel Wheeler.
The unexpected advent from Washington
of the former negro corporal upset the
calculations Of Col. Glenn and after |
few brief questions he asked the Court to
grant him time to prepare for examination.
Wheeler's testimony was therefore cut
short and court adjourned until Monday
The substance of Wheeler's testimony was
that he was at Fort Brown on the night of
August l3 and while the shooting was in
progress he heard bullets whzzing in the
air over his head. The bullets appeared |