The Waxahachie daily light. [volume] (Waxahachie, Tex.) 1894-current, 1908-03-09
a DOUBLE TRAGEDY
TO AVOID ARREST NEGRO KILLS
WOMAN AND TURNS WEA-
PON ON SELF.
Many SHOTS ARE FIRED
Constable McCalpin and Deputy
Sheriff Hick kman Have Close
Call in Fight with Desper-
ate Negro.

Barricading himself in a small
house on the Gibbons farm nea
Rocket Sunday afternoon and defy
ing arrest, Willie Williams, alias
Bud O'Bryant, engaged Constable
McCalpin and Deputy Sheriff Hick-
man in a desperate pistol battle.
Evidently believing that resistance
was useless and that his capture was
inevitable, the negro shot and killed
Mary Williams, a negress who was
in the house with him, and then
turned the weapon on himself, in
flicting a wound that is supposed to
have produced instant death. When
the officers finally forced an entrance
into the house they found the body
of the woman lying on the floor cold
and stiff. The body of Williams was
on a bed which had been set on dre
by a spark of powder from the shot
that ended his life. When the officers
got into the house the room was tlll-
ed with smoke and the bed clothing
were blazing. Several buckets Of
water were required to eXtinguish
the flames.
Before killing the woman and
himself Williams fired fifteen or
| twenty shots at the officers. Deputy
| Hickman was so close to the negro
that powder from the first shot
burned his cheek, and another bull
let went through the ear of Consta-
BILE McCalpin's horse. The officers
shot into the house several times but
so far as known their bullets did not
harm the occupants.
The exchange of shots between
the officers and negro was the result
of an attempt to place Williams un-
der arrest on alleged charges of un-
| lawfully carrying arms and disturb
! ing the peace. Williams and the
woman, while of the same name,
were not known to be related, came
| to Ellis county from South Texas,
| The negro had worked some on the
/ Gibbons farm. and last fall was en-
ployed for time at the compress in
| this city. Friday night the woman
came back to WaXahachie from a
! trip to South Texas, and Saturday
night Williams found her in a store
| ;,, o;t 10 I,.n,r
+, in threatening manner and told her
she had to go with kim. When the
/ woman resisted Williams seized her
| by the arm and dragged her from
the building and forced her to ac-
company him to the house, where
the tragedy of Sunday afternoon oc-
CURED. The action of Williams was
reported to the officers and COM
plants were at once filed against
him. About 3 o'clock Sunday after
noon Constable McCalpin and Depu-
ty Sheriff Hickman rode out to the
house occupied by Williams to place
him under arrest. When the officers
reached the house they called for
Williams to come out but received
no answer Deputy Hickman dis
mounted and started toward the
door when it was opened by the ne
gro who opened fire on him with a
revolver. The face of the officer was
powder burned and another bullet
from the negro's gun cut hole II
the ear of Constable McCalpin'
horse The officers were completely
taken unawares and the negro free
several times at them before they
could get their guns in to action
The officers returned the negro's fire
until their ammunition became eX
hausted. They then retired to a saf'
distance and while Deputy Hickman
kept guard over the house Constable
McCalpin telephoned to town for re
Inducements and more ammunition
After procuring supply of cartridg
es loaded with buckshot, a shotgun
and one or two Winchester rifles
Deputy Sheriff Sweat, Jailer Clarl
and R. S. Bynum responded to th'
call for help. They were shortl.
followed by Deputy Constable Le'
and Policeman John Beckham II