The Caucasian. (Shreveport, La.) 1900-192?, 1907-01-15
EVIDENCE IS POSITIVE
President Transmits to the Senate
Testimony Secured.
SOLDIERS TO BLAME
Chief Executive In Special Message
Terms Negroes "Midnight Az.
sassins" and Says His Ac-
ton Was Justified.

Washington, Jan Is. - Presiden
Roosevelt sent to the senate Monday !
special message regarding the Browns
Vile incident, which gives additions
evidence secured by Assistant Attor
ney General Purdy and Major Block
som, who were sent to Texas by the
| president to investigate the affair
| The president submitted with the
message various exhibits, including
| maps of Brownsville and Fort Brown
and a bandolier, thirty-three empty
shells, seven ball cartridges picked ur
In the streets a few hours after the
shooting, three steel jacketed bullets
and some caps of casing of other but
lets picked out of houses into which
they had been fired. The president
declares that the evidence is positive
that the outrage of Aug. 10 was com
mltted by some of the negro troops
that had been dismissed and that
some or all of Che men bers of the
three companies of the Twenty fifth
infantry had knowledge of the deed
and have shielded the guilty ones.
The negro troops are referred to by
the president in his message as mid
night assassins," and he declares that
very few, if any. of the soldiers dis
missed without honor" could have
been ignorant of what occurred.
That part of the order which bars
soldiers from all civil employment TN
ic Cd *
clause, the president says, was lacking
in validity. The discharged troops,
however, will be forever barred from
re-enlisting in the army or navy, and
as to this the president says there is
no doubt of my constitutional and le-
gal power"
Secretary Taft's report, giving the
sworn testimony of witnesses, is trans,
mitted with the message. The testi
mony of fourteen eye-witnesses is
given, and the president declares that
the evidence is conclusive that the
weapons were the Sprin field rifles
now used by United States troops, in
Guiding the negro troops who were in
the garrison at Brownsville.
The following crimes are enumer-
ated:
(a) The murder of Frank Natus, a
harkeeper.
(b) The assault with intent to kill
of the lieutenant of police, Dominguez,
whose horse was killed under him and
whose arm was shot so severely that
1t had to be amputated.
(c) The assault with intent to kill |
of Mr.. and Mrs. Hale Odin and their |
little boy, who was in the window of |
the Miller hotel
td) The shooting into several pri |
vate residences in the city of Browns
and children.
(e) The shooting at and slightly
of Preciado, proprietor of
the saloon where Natus was killed.
The testimony of the witnesses on
the position of the bullet holes show
that fifteen or twenty negro troop
gathered inside the fort and that the
first shots fired into the town were
fred from within the fort, some Of
hem through at least from the upper
galleries of the barracks
The testimony further shows that
he troops then came out over the
walls. some of them perhaps going
through the gate, and advanced a dis
ance of 300 yards or thereabout into
he town. During this advance they
shot into two hotels and nine or ten
houses. The private houses into which
hey fired contained women and chill
lren. They deliberately Killed Frank
latus, shooting him from a distance |
# about fifteen yards. They shot at
! man and woman-Mr. and Mrs. Odin
and their little boy as they stood in :
he window of the Miller hotel, the
Juliet going less than two inches from
he head of the woman. The shot
own the lieutenant of police, who was
n horseback, killing his horse and
Vounding him so that his arm had to
e amputated. They attempted to kill
he two policemen who were his com !
anions, shooting ne through the hat
hey shot at least eight bullets into
he Cowen house, putting out light
d lamp on the dining room table.
FRS. Cowen and her five children were
a the house. They at once threw d
themselves prone on the floor and |,
Tere not hit. They fired into the
tarck house, the bullets going
lrough the mosquito bar of a bed Il
ON eighteen to twenty inches above a
here little children were sleeping R
here was light in the children's h
,om
ENGINE RUNS AWAY. C