The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-02-08
"SAFETY F|RST'
 CARRIED THE DAY Sanguinary Battle Narrow
 ly Averted
TWO BRISK STEAMSHIPS
Gang of Negro Boys Drove Whites From Ball Diamond But Later Gathered Achievements and
 Battle Seemed Pending
Nv RALPH K. SILVER

Fly RALPH K. SILVER
 Only that instinctive sense of 'safety first,' which is a part of every human being prevented this story from being two columns long and incidentally saved Birmingham undertakers from stren- ous violation of the Sabbath
 Otherwise it would have called Tor rel erences to the police, hospitals, ambu- lances and so forth; as 1t is, 1t merely furnishes an excuse to help fill up the Monday morning paper with tale Of puerile battle as waged yesterday evening between white and negro boys in the forest" which tops the hill between North Highlands and North Birmingham.
 Imagine the amazement of peace loving pencil-pusher out with his family for an afternoon stroll on the outskirts of Birmingham yesterday. when, as the edge of the wood above Fourteenth ave- nue was approached, he saw young American not 40 yards in front of him crawling on his hands and knees. using great care to keep behind bush and dragging in his right hand an enormous ly big shotgun. Believing the boy had a tcmcat treed in a pine bush near, the stroller stopped to see what would hap pen.
 Slowly the army" squirmed along on it's stomach until the bush was reached. A red head then cautiously worked sky ward to reconnoter and poised there few moments. The enemy" apparently was not in sight The boy with the ar senal waited few more moments, then stood up and gave cat call.
 Roderick Calls Henchmen The effect was as startling as if pair of lions had walked out of the bushes beyond. Not unlike that memor- able stroll of Rodericl Dhu, when he | walked into the midst of his enemys camp and suddenly found every bush and | shrub about him turning into humans, in answer to that cat call the entire woods ! swarmed with boys where not boy there | was to be seen before except the young ster with the gun. Simultaneously every | kid let out warwhoop and with the armed leader in front they formed a con- | glomerate mob and rushed the breast | works on the top of the hill
 l Wondering if he had read so much cen
 sored war news from Europe that he
 was seeing things" in broad daylight,
 the peaceful stroller timidly but curiously brought up the rear, and as the puerile 1 army rounded the crest of the hill, be- fore his eyes there unfolded the sight
 of the invading horde. Down in the hol-
 low, huddled into a compact group, were about 50 negro boys armed with sticks | stones and every conceivable article oi defense It was plain to be seen that the African army of invasion was holding a council of war to determine whether or not. In emulation of Immortal Hannibal it should cross the Alps The leader was 1 a little yellow negro with slough hat Little did he anticipate that the white
 army he had routed so completely and
 drove over the hill into the woods would l so quickly reform and renew the attack, | for his ranks were thrown into utter con fusion when the yell of the onrushing white boys was heard as they swarmed
 over the hilltop and the leader In front
 was cited with the shotgun.
 "Stidy dar! Stidy, stidy dar' he shout 1 ed to his followers as they showed signs
 of panic. Keep yo' eye on de en'my! | Cha ge!'
 Artillery Into Action
 But simultaneously with his shout of
 charge there rang out from the top oi
 the hill the report of the heavy artillery Twice the old shotgun roared, belchins forth smoke and fire down the hillside
 toward the Africans. The exhortations oi
 tho leader stopped as suddenly as they
 began, for he himself changed his "Stone' wall Jackson" pose for something whicf
 would afford more speed and beat 1t to- ward the shelter of the great siag pile ir the hollow with his army coming pell. mell at his heels.
 l The white boys started in pursuit, em-
 boldened by the magical effect of the
 noise from their howitzer. But they, too
 soon reconsidered. No sooner had the
 negroes succeeded in finding shelter, thar
 one of them must have remembered he also was armed, for quick and fast came the staccato reports of small pistol.
 There and then 1t all ended. The white boys did not know how many pistols those negroes had, and they didn't propose tc tackle them with one shotgun. They ma. jesucally turned their faces and filed back
 through the woods to North Highlands.
 When the Trace war'' started or where the boys refused to divulge. They re- luctantly stated, however. that they had
 been playing ball when the negroes came
 at them 50 strong and with rocks and clubs drove them off the diamond, up the hill and back into the woods. where their leader hid his army in the bushes until he returned with the shotgun, which
 was the time that the afternoon stroller had unwttingly entered upon the field of battle.