The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1910-03-24

During this long fight between the lone
man and the crowd. Bethea shot John l.
Wiley a Wilmington park guard, in the
hand and groin, and shot Matthew
Haley. d barber, through the leg. He
also wounded a dozen other persons
slightly.
Finally the police ordered out fire
engine and tried to drown Bethea. who
kept shooting at intervals. He had at
least 100 cartridges for his automatic
gun. and did not stop firing even when
the hose was turned on him.
The police at last charged down the
car close TO the vestibule. and having
IfeIled Bethea with bullet, riddled his
body with successive shots, ending the
one-sided encounter
During the long struggle to subdue the
desperate Southerner. while the train
stood at the Wilmington station. thou
sands Of persons gathered. II is said that
there has been no such excitement in
Wilmington since the White lynching.
Face of Dead Porter at Window.
While Bethea was lighting against
awful odds for his life, the face Of the
dead porter. with a ghastIy smile on his
/ lips looked out at the crowd from one
OF the windows Of the chair car Czarina,
| in which the shooting began. The body
had tumbled in a heap on one Of the
chairs. leaving the face close TO the
window pane.
| Thirteen passengers, including several
women and two young girls. were in the
chair car when the conductor and porter
were killed. These persons were terribly
/ frightened and ran for shelter into the
club car at the rear end Of the train,
the women and girls screaming in ter
/ ror One woman fell PROSTATE in
faint and another had Mysteries.
| Other women and girls. scores of them,
were in the crowd that jamme,. about
the train stalled by the long fight at
the Wilmington depot The movement of
trains past Wilmington was entirely
stopped during period from 517 D m.
to 6:35 o. m. and was only resumed
when the body of the man from South
Carolina was carried from the train to
the morgue.
Do Not Believe Him Insane.
Bethea is said to have taken the Royal
Blue train at Baltimore. He had seat
No. 27 in the chair car. and the passen-
gers who were near him DO not join in
the conclusion that the shooting was the
freak of an insane man. On the contrary,
they say that Bethea was drunk, but not
otherwise mentally disturbed. But most
of the spectators at Wilmington and
many of the passengers on the train
were Of the opinion that Bethea was a
maniac.
While the train was rushing by the
small stations north OF Newark. Bethea
got up from his seat and went forward
To the end of the car. He was six feet
tall, lank. and rawboned. dressed IN the
typical Southern fashion, with faded
blue suit. the coat long, a loose black
windsor at the throat. turned-down collar.
and wearing soft felt hat His face was
salIow, indicating, perhaps, long residence
in the South I'm a hot country. He had
small mustache.
At the door of the car he said some
thing 10 Williams. the porter, and the
negro is said 10 have answered him rather
curtly. Quick as a fash, Bethea had the
big magazine gun out Of his pocket and
had pumped two bullets into Williams
body. One shot went through the porter's
heart
Calmly Faced the Tumult.
In the wild scene that ensued Bethea
took no part Men and women alike
rushed to the back of the car and out
through the vestibule into the club car
The Southerner took this unconcernedly,
with grin on his face. standing with
his back to the door II was this conduct
that led so many 10 the belief that he was
/ insane
WeIlman. the conductor. had been in
the employ of the Baltimore and Ohio
twenty-fcur years, running seventeen
years on the very train he was on. He
was remarkably cool-headed man.
When the crowd poured back into the
club car, the women screaming and men
shouting Hes shot the porter" There's
crazy man shooting" and the like, the
/ conductor faced the stream and shoul-
Persian Hug Sale as sIoan's.