Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1930-02-13
Tourists and Visitors Told
Of Turbulent Days Long Ago
BY A c RUTLEDGE

By JACK RUTLEDGE
When q stranger enters a town
with the purpose Of making 1t his
Y future home; when a tourist arrives
In the city; and when children are
raised amid certain surroundings,
they all are interested in knowing
the history Of the locality, and the
places Of interest.
Brownsville has had a lurid past.
It has been the headquarters OF
bandits and criminals. 1t was at one
time the temporary home Of a fam
Gus Confederate general. 1t was the
scene Of the last battle Of the Civil
War. In the dim past 1t was a port,
and ships navigated the Rio Grande.
Many of the ancient buildings
still stand, and others, on the main
street OF the town, have been RACED
| but recently. Old timers scattered
around Brownsville still recall in
cidents that are now history. One OF
these incidents was the negro up
| rising in Fort Brown, not so very
long ago.
Outrage Described
An old copy OF Parsons Maya
zine bearing a September, 1903 date,
and owned by Mrs. Mary Holiday.
! 1888 w. Elizabeth, carries a com
plete description OF the outrage,
written by Albert Bigelow Paine
and profusely illustrated by photo
graphs taken by Mrs. Holiday, at
that time Miss Mary Waltgenbach-
Hundreds of people now living in
Brownsville vividly recall that night
in August. 1906. when negro soldiers
stationed at the fort spread a reign
OF terror that enraged the citizens
and made life miserable for months.
On the night Of August 18th, arm
ed men numbering between ten and
twenty, colored soldiers of the
T~wenhE-fifth Infantry, appeared
about midnight upon the streets
and "Shot up the town" killing n
wbXse man, severly wounding an
6&ner and endangering the lives Of
mNny citizens.
At that time Brownsville had q
population of less than ten thous-
and, and Matamoros. on the Mex
lean side OF the Rio Grande, was
the larger town Of the two. 1t had
long been a military point, and late
in the summer Of 1906 three negro
companies were ordered TO Fort
Brown.
Bad Humor
They arrived in a bad humor, be-
cause q military encampment OF
state troops at Austin were parti-
cipating in sham battles, drills and
the like, and companies B. c. and d
were ordered south and were not
allowed TO join in the fun In adj
dition, the negroes were from the
north, and their anger grew when
they found that they were not per-
mitted to drink at the bar with white
men, They increased still further
in violence when one of the saloons
set I'D q separate bar for their ac-
commodations. They became loud
and inSolent on the street, crowded
white women from the walks, and
made themselves generally often
Give and hateful.
Attitude Resented
Many Texans resente dthe ne
groes attitudes. A m. Tate, an in
spector OF customs, whose wife was
run over and rudely joStled by q
negro soldier administered summary
correction with the butt Of his re
volver. An ex-ranger named Bates
applied similar treatment for q like
offenSe. A Mr.. Baker in q fit of
rage showed one soldier in a puddle
of mud and threatened 70 shoot him
II he bothered whites further. A
lady Of refinement. O Mrs. Evans,
dismounted from her horse and was
seized by her hair by a tall negro
soldier and dragged violently to the
ground. She chung TO the brides Of
the horse. and 1t reared and final
ly tore her free from her assailant.
who ran away. AS a result Of this
assault. passes were cancelled, and
doubtless added 10 the ire OF the
negroes.
Their retaliation was not delayed.
On Monday. August Is, at midnight.
the raid was made. Around the
midnight hour, a bartender named
Nakus, remembered by many local
re- ldents, heard a succession of
shots, loud voices, and general COM
motion from the direction OF the
fort.
That must be the niggers COM
ing, now!" someone shouted.
NatuS locked the front doors. and
al to the rear to do likewise. bur
a voliey Of shots fired point-blank
by the raiders killed him instantly.
The mob OF murdererS passed on
and fired into houses where men.
women, and little children slept.
Several were wounded. One home.