The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-09-12
POSSE Of OFFICERS
HAS AL|VELY NIGHT
AMONG CAR THIEVES
Losses From This Kind of
: Robbers Becoming
Enormous
MUCH SHOOTING WAS
DONE DURING NIGHT
Immense Quantity of Stolen Whisky
Found in One Negro House in the
Sloss Quarters-Several Ne
groes Are Implicated
nv RICHARD r. LussIER

The arrest of Charley Cunningham,
Charley Montgomery and Dan Steel all
negroes. in the early hours of yesterday
morning followed wild night in the rail
road yards about the Sloss-Sheffield fnr-
naces, from Thirtieth to Thirty-seyenth
street and from First to Ninth avenue
The trio arrested are charged with bur
glary and grand larceny.
For several nights the car thieves have
been becoming more daring, and 1t has
been reported several times that they
have shot at special agents, and anyone
that approached the scene where they
were robbing cars. This unusual activity
on the part of the car robbers demanded
attention from the police and the rail-
road yards were given closer supervision.
Wednesday afternoon Detective Darnell
caught VIII Edwards negro 'red hand
ed" entering a car and stealing bag
of oats Covering the negro with his pis-
tol Detective Darnell arrested him and
managed to get out of the railroad yards
before Edwards could communicate with
his confederates Edwards was placed in
the city Jail charged with burglary and
grand larceny.
The railroad company was Informed that
one of their cars had been broken into
at Thirty seventh street and Seventh ave-
nue., and a watchman was sent to look
after the car. About O'Clock Wednes-
day night the information came to police
headquarters that the car robbers had
run" the watchman off by shooting pro-
m.scuousy with their "automatics." This
called for more action by the police.
Motor Cycle Scouts Ivey and Foley,
Policeman Crump and Detective I. X.
Trigg started for the scene and separated
in the hope of surrounding the car thieves
who were known to be in the high weeds
about Thirty-fou street and Fifth ave-
nue.. Nothing happened to Trigg and
Crump, but Ivey and Foley went through
the widest kind of an experience.
Negroes Suddenly Fire
AS lvey and Foley were walking along
the tracks of the Birmingham. Belt rail-
road. and not expecting to come near the
car thieves for several blocks, three ne
groes jumped up suddenly. and without
warning, at a distance of only about a
dozen yards began cracking down on
the two policemen.
Il was so surprised said Officer Foley,
THAT / stood STILL and those bullets just
hummed past my ears
Fortunately the aim of the negroes
were bad and Ivey and Foley escaped un-
scathed. However. even before the ne
groes had emptied their automatic pis-
tolls, Ivey and Foley had found tree
and started some shooting themselves. The
negroes also sought shelter and for sew
eral minutes brisk pistol battle was en-
acted.
1t was so dark in the railroad yard
that the officers could only shoot at the
flashes of the negroes pistols, but in all
although over a score of shots were fired,
no one was hit. The negroes. firing OF
the game of hide and seek with the Of
ficers, ran away in the darkness just a.
Detective Trigg and Policeman Crump ar.
rived.
The police returned to the city but
had no more than arrived at police
headquarters than report came in
that a freight car loaded with bonded
whisky had been broken into and most
of its contents stolen. This again start
ed the officers back to the gloom about
the sSloss quarters. 1t was a regular
posse that went out this time and it
was composed of Police Sergeant Shir-
ley, Detectives Trigg. Garner, DAILY, Mo-