hisCharlesxBennett.mark
Sworn to before me this 31st day of August, 1900.
Geo. P. Hammond, Jr., Notary Public (164), N. Y. County.
City and County of New York, ss.:
James Joseph Lockett, being duly sworn, deposes and says:
I reside at No. 323 West 37th Street, in the Borough of Manhattan. I am a cigar maker, and am employed by Gahio & Roverie, on East 37th Street. On Wednesday, August 15th, 1900, at about eightP. M., accompanied by my wife, I called at the residence of Thomas H. McGuire, a friend of mine who resides at No. 410 West 36th Street, where we remained until about 11:15P. M.We walked east on 36th Street to 8th Avenue, where we met four police officers in uniform on the northwest corner. We passed them and turned into 8th Avenue, walking on the west side of the avenue, towards 37th Street. We had not gone over fifty feet when the officers ran after us and beat us with their clubs. One of the officers said to me. "You black son of a b——, you have a knife!" and struck me on the head with a club several times, and then led us to the station house. There we were searched by the officer, who took eleven dollars in money—two two-dollar bills, one five-dollar bill, and two one-dollar bills—one rent receipt for thirteendollars and fifty cents for August, signed by Herbert Peck & Co., none of which has been returned to me. The sergeant, in uniform, was behind the desk, and the roundsman made the entry. I was charged with being drunk and carrying a knife. My head was bleeding profusely from the wounds inflicted by the police officers, and the police surgeon at the station house had to dress them. After this I was placed in a cell. The next morning I was arraigned in the Magistrates' Court on West 54th Street. The officer swore that I was drunk and disorderly and carried a knife. The magistrate held me in $500 bail, and I was bailed by Mr. Garner. I was not drunk on the occasion in question. I had drunk three, and positively not more than four, glasses of beer at Mr. McGuire's house. I did nothing which would justify this conduct on the part of the police officers. On August 23rd an officer called at my house. He said he was generally known as "Bootsey," and was sent by the Captain to obtain a statement from me, which I gave him. He was in citizen's clothes. He called again on August 24th, and said that Captain Cooney wanted to see me at the station house. I did not go to see him.
James Joseph Lockett.
Sworn to before me this 28th day of August, 1900.
Stephen B. Brague, Notary Public (125), N. Y. County.
City and County of New York, ss.:
Lavinia Lockett, being duly sworn, deposes and says:
That she is the wife of James Joseph Lockett, and resides at 323 West 37th Street, in the Borough of Manhattan. That on August 15th, 1900, at about eight o'clock in the evening, she with her husband visited Mr. Thomas H. McGuire, a friend of ours, where we remained until about 11:15P. M.Walking easterly to 8th Avenue, we met four police officers in uniform on the northwest corner. We had gone about fifty feet, when the officers ran after us and struck my husband with a club and said, "You black son of a b——, you have a knife," and when deponent screamed she was struck in the mouth and chest with a club by one of the officers. We were taken to the station and locked in cells; my husband was charged with being drunk and disorderly, and we were held in bail in the sum of $500. Neither my husband nor myself was intoxicated, and saw no crowd orany row and no excitement on our way home until we were assaulted.
Lavinia Lockett.
Sworn to before me this 28th day of August, 1900.
Stephen B. Brague, Notary Public (125), N. Y. County.
City and County of New York, ss.:
William Hamer, of No. 494 7th Avenue, being duly sworn, deposes and says:
I am a musician. I am employed at "The Fair," kept by Mr. Samuels, on 14th Street between 3rd and 4th Avenues. My wife is employed there also. On August 15th I finished my work about 11:30P. M.I took the crosstown 14th Street car and changed to the 7th Avenue horse cars. I had not heard anything of the riot. The car stopped between 36th and 37th Streets, and my wife and I were dragged from the car by a crowd of men and lads armed with sticks and stones. I ran into a stable at 37th Street and 7th Avenue, and they beat me in there and left me for dead. A stone or something hit me in the stomach, and I fell into a water trough. My wife and I were separated, and she did not find me. I crawled out of the stable into a lumber yard and lay there in my blood until threeA. M.I have been in the doctor's care ever since, and am out to-day for the first time. My doctor is Dr. Yarnell, of Park Avenue near 84th Street. When I was pulled out of the car I noticed a colored man lying unconscious on the ground. There were at least a dozen policemen standing around. They did nothing, and made no effort to protect me.
William Hamer.
Sworn to before me this 31st day of August, 1900.
Frank Moss, Notary Public, N. Y. County.
City and County of New York, ss.:
Mrs. Annie Hamer, being duly sworn, deposes and says that she resides at 494 7th Avenue; that she is employed as a musician at "The Fair," in East 14th Street; that on Wednesday, August 15th, 1900, about midnight thereof, she in company with her husband arrived at 7th Avenue between 36th and 37th Streets on a 7th Avenue car; that when she alighted from the car she found herself surrounded by a mob, and almost instantly was struck inthe mouth with a brick, thrown by some one whom she does not know. She became separated from her husband, and did not know what became of him until threeA. M.the next morning, when he came home all covered with blood. Deponent states further that she has read the affidavit of her husband, hereto attached, and knows of her own knowledge that the facts therein stated are true. Deponent further states that she has been informed by her mother that the "captain" stationed officers at the door of her residence, and told them to "not let anyone in or out, and if anyone attempted it to shoot them."
Annie Hamer.
Sworn to before me this 6th day of September, 1900.
Geo. P. Hammond, Jr., Notary Public (164), N. Y. County.
City and County of New York, ss.:
William Lemoine, residing at 68 West 43rd Street, being duly sworn, deposes and says that on Wednesday, August 15th, 1900, he started at 7:55P. M.to attend a meeting of Odd Fellows being held at 29th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues, and had reached 7th Avenue between 35th and 36th Streets, when he met two white men, who said to him, "You had better not go down that way, you will get mobbed." I said, "Mobbed! for what?" They said, "Why, they are having a riot down there." I continued on, however, until I reached 34th and 35th Streets on 7th Avenue, where I met two white women, who said to me, "Do you want to get killed? If you don't you had better go on back." I thereupon went no further in that direction, but turned back up 7th Avenue, and went as far as 483 7th Avenue, and saw a crowd coming down 7th Avenue from about 41st Street, and another from about 34th Street. Both of the crowds were composed of boys and young men who were in the lead shouting and yelling, while in the midst of them were two or three police officers. The boys would stir up a colored man and begin yelling, "There he goes! There is one of them!" and the boys would immediately run after them, and the police follow. I saw them overtake two colored men, and saw the police take them down 37th Street towards 8th Avenue. While I was standing in front of 483 7th Avenue a friend of mine, Mrs. Harriet Ann Bruna, who now resides at 152 West 27th Street, called to me from her window, and told me to come upstairs, which I did. She then said that I had better go into the hall bedroom and stay there overnight, as I might get hurt if I stayed outside or attempted to gethome. This was about 8:30P. M.I then went into the hall bedroom aforementioned, and remained there looking out of the window for about one hour and a half, during which time the blinds were closed or turned down; I then undressed and went to bed, and was in bed about an hour and three quarters, or until about 11:45P. M., when I heard a crash at the front door downstairs and heard some one coming upstairs; when they reached my door they knocked at it with their clubs, and broke in the central panel of the door, when I said, "Don't break in the door, gentlemen; I'll open it," which I did. Four officers in uniform and two men in citizens' clothes came in, and exclaimed, "Here is the d——d nigger; kill him!" One in citizen's clothes came over to me (I had fallen on the bed) and, striking me on the hip with his club, said, "Come, get up out of there, where is that gun?" I said, "I have no gun; there's my clothes; search them and the room. I have done nothing; I have been asleep." The officers then searched the room, my clothes, and myself, and found nothing. The one in citizen's clothes then said, "He has no gun; we can't do anything." The women in the house commenced to scream, and the officers then broke in the door of Mrs. Elizabeth Mitchell, on the second floor, frightening her so that she has been unable to leave her bed ever since. I was hipshodden for a couple of days, and I rubbed it with liniment for a couple of days until the misery got out of it. Deponent further says that he has resided in San Francisco for the past eight years, and had just arrived in the city the day before the riot, and did not create any disturbance at that or any other time; and further, that he did not fire any shot from any firearm on that evening; and furthermore, never owned a gun, and never carried one.
William Lemoine.
Sworn to before me this 30th day of August, 1900.
Geo. P. Hammond, Jr., Notary Public (164), N. Y. County.
City and County of New York, ss.:
Walter W. Coulter (white), 481 7th Avenue, being duly sworn, deposes and says that on Wednesday evening, August 15th, 1900, there was quite a disturbance around his place of business, and at about 11:30P. M.he saw a number of officers and men in citizens' clothes go into the houses 481 and 483, and he, thinking they were part of the crowd of roughs, stepped up to a police officer, who was quite tall and stout and of reddish complexion, and said to him, "Why do you allow those rowdies to go up into thathouse; there is no one except a lot of respectable women and children in there, and possibly one man." The police officer replied as follows: "You go on and mind your own respectability, and you will have enough to do; they just shied a brick at us." Deponent further states that no brick had been thrown; that, in fact, they could not get a brick, as he was looking for one a short while before that to do some repairing with, and could not find one; that the only apparent reason for their going into the house was the fact that a large, tall man, whom he can identify if he sees him again, came along 7th Avenue, and seeing this colored man in the window called out, "There's a big nigger; get him!" and immediately there was a rush made for the house. Deponent states further that the police knew there were none but respectable people in that house, as deponent had gone to a great deal of trouble to get rid of a lot of dissolute people who were in the house about a year ago, and in his endeavors to get rid of them had called upon the police to aid him, so that they were perfectly cognizant of the facts in the case.
Walter W. Coulter.
Sworn to before me this 31st day of August, 1900.
Geo. P. Hammond, Jr., Notary Public (164), N. Y. County.
City and County of New York, ss.:
Mrs. Elizabeth Mitchell, being duly sworn, deposes and says that she resides at 481 7th Avenue; that on Wednesday evening, August 15th, 1900, about 11:30P. M., two police officers in citizens' clothes and one in citizen's dress broke in the door of her apartments claiming to be looking for "the man that threw the bottle." She answered and said that "no bottle was thrown," and that it was a shame for them to break in the door of respectable people; that her sister, Mrs. Kate Jackson, became frightened at the uproar, and thinking that the life of her children and herself was in danger, jumped out of the window with her three-year-old child in her arms, thereby endangering the life of herself and child, and in consequence is now confined to her bed with shock, fright, and bruises. That at sixA. M.the next morning she saw a colored man and woman assaulted on the corner of 36th Street and 7th Avenue. Also at 52nd Street and 7th Avenue, between eleven and twelveA. M., she saw a colored man assaulted by a white man, and when the officer attempted to interfere and arrest the white man the motormen around the stables refused to allow him to arrest him. She states further that oneof the officers' first name was "Jim," as she heard him so addressed by the man in citizen's clothes.
Mrs. Elizabeth Mitchell.
Sworn to before me this 31st day of August, 1900.
Geo. P. Hammond, Jr., Notary Public (164), N. Y. County.
City and County of New York, ss.:
Mrs. Kate Jackson, being duly sworn, deposes and says that she resides at 481 7th Avenue, and that on Wednesday evening, August 15th, 1900, she heard a great commotion in the hallway and almost immediately a loud knocking on her door, and loud demands to open the door. She thought by the sound that the mob that she had heard and seen about the house was endeavoring to get into her rooms, and do her and her children bodily harm, and possibly murder. She caught up her youngest child (three years old) in her arms, and in her frenzy and fright jumped out the window on to a shed and thence to the yard, the child still in her arms, receiving bruises during her descent which have made her lame and unable to walk, and has suffered so from shock that she is now in bed and unable to leave it, and is under the care of her physician, Dr. William Hartley, 335 West 34th Street.
Mrs. Katie Jackson.
Sworn to before me this 31st day of August, 1900.
Geo. P. Hammond, Jr., Notary Public (164), N. Y. County.
City and County of New York, ss.:
William L. Hall, being duly sworn, deposes and says that he resides at 202 West 49th Street; that he is employed as an elevator conductor by R. H. Macy & Co., on West 14th Street; that on August 15th, 1900, he was on his way to visit a friend at 410 West 36th Street, and had reached 36th Street and 9th Avenue, when a crowd of young men and boys, from about sixteen to nineteen years of age, got around him and commenced yelling, jeering, hooting, and striking him with their fists, and with sticks, pieces of pipe, and one in particular struck him in the side with a weapon made of a long piece of wire, with a hammer head fastened to it. He ran away from the crowd, and succeeded in reaching a house in 36th Street between 8th and 9th Avenues, and succeeded in defending himself there for about an hour and a half, and finally managed to get out and home. Deponent states further that at the time of the assault, and atthe commencement of it, four officers in full uniform were in the midst of the crowd of rioters, and were with them while they (the rioters) were attacking the house with stones, and that at that time, and at no time during the assault by the rioters, did these officers make any attempt to protect deponent, or to stop the assault by the rioters, but on the contrary, by reason of their presence and inaction on their part, they encouraged the said rioters to greater deeds of violence; that the deponent is a peaceable, law-abiding citizen and a member of St. Mark's M. E. Church, on West 53rd Street, and that on the said evening he was molesting no one, and was walking quietly along with Joseph Cæser, of 121 West 46th Street, and John Hansborough, of 329 West 53rd Street, who also were attacked by the rioters.
William L. Hall.
Sworn to before me this 1st day of September, 1900.
Geo. P. Hammond, Jr., Notary Public (164), N. Y. County.
City and County of New York, ss.:
William E. Johnson, being duly sworn, deposes and says:
I reside at 332 West 37th Street. On Wednesday, August 15th, 1900, fearing that there might be trouble over the killing of Officer Thorpe, I remained in the house all day and did not go out until about elevenP. M., when I went across the street to get my mail from 331 West 37th Street, where I have a letter box, because where I live at present the letter boxes are easily rifled, and this box is more secure. Upon returning to the house, which I did about five or ten minutes after leaving it, I found a police officer standing in the front of the house, ordering the tenants who were sitting on the front stoop to go inside, and saying that if he found them there when he came back he would club every one of them that he found there. The people then jumped up and ran inside, and the officer immediately followed them, striking at them, and struck one woman across the face. As the people got inside the vestibule door the said door closed, and I, thinking that the officer would not go inside, opened the door and stepped inside, whereupon the officer rushed into the hall, and struck me a blow on the head, felling me to my knees. I said, "Officer, I have done nothing; why do you strike me?" The officer said nothing, but jumped over me, chasing some of the tenants who had not succeeded in getting upstairs. While he was doing that I went out into the street, holding my head, which had been cut open by the blow, when the officercame out of the house and, grabbing me, pushed me into the street and commenced to club me again. I ran across the street to the tailor shop of I. Cohn, at 337 West 37th Street, and into the back room of his place, and fell on the sofa, where the officer, who had followed me in, renewed the clubbing and dragged me out into the street and to the 37th Street station house; and on the corner of 9th Avenue and 37th Street they met an officer who was in citizen's clothes. The said officer drew his billy from his pocket, and struck me a blow across the neck, and put his billy back into his pocket. When I reached the station house I did not answer any questions, and the sergeant who was behind the desk knew my last name and entered it on the blotter as Albert Johnson, not knowing my first name. I was put in a cell, and after I was put in a cell two more were put in with me, and once or twice while I was there an officer came through, and going to each cell called the occupant to the door, asked them their names, etc., and would then take his billy and push it through the bars into their faces. In one case he struck one man in the face, knocking out two of his front teeth; this man was sent to the island the next day, and I believe is now there. On the Tuesday following Acting Captain Cooney called and brought me down to the station house, and asked me who the officer was that assaulted me. Deponent then described the officer to him, and after consulting the blotter he handed me a slip of paper whereon was written the name "Herman Ohm" saying that was the name of the officer who had assaulted me. Captain Cooney expressed surprise that any of the officers should have beaten me, as I was known to a great many of them. The officer charged me with having a gun, and of giving him a fight in the hallway, but did not produce the gun and was given until the next day to produce it, when he produced a revolver and a bread knife of peculiar shape, claiming that was what I had in my possession at the time of my arrest. Deponent denied then and now that he had ever had a revolver and knife in his possession, and that the only thing that was found on him and taken from him was fifty cents in money and a small penknife. Notwithstanding the denial of the ownership of the revolver and knife by the deponent, and also that the officer brought no witnesses as to his taking the said articles from him, deponent was fined fifteen dollars, which was paid.
W. E. Johnson.
Sworn to before me this 4th day of September. 1900.
Geo. P. Hammond. Jr., Notary Public (164), N. Y. County.
City and County of New York, ss.:
Edwin H. Broadard, being duly sworn, deposes and says that he resides at 332 West 37th Street; that he witnessed the action of the officer mentioned in the above affidavit of W. E. Johnson, and also the subsequent clubbing of Johnson by the said officer, and that deponent was one of the tenants who was chased off the stoop by the said officer; that the assault on the tenants by the said officer was unwarranted and without justification.
Edwin H. Broadard.
Sworn to before me this 4th day of September, 1900.
Geo. P. Hammond, Jr., Notary Public (164), N. Y. County.
City and County of New York, ss.:
Mrs. Rosa Lewis, being duly sworn, deposes and says:
I reside at 332 West 37th Street. On Wednesday, August 15th, 1900, about elevenP. M., I in company with my husband and a number of other tenants were sitting on the front stoop of our home, when an officer approached and ordered us to "get inside out of that," adding that if we didn't he'd club us. All of the tenants immediately obeyed and passed on into the hallway, and I had reached the foot of the stairs leading up to my rooms when the officer, who had rushed into the hallway, struck me over the back with his club; I was lame in my back and suffered pain from it for a number of days. Deponent states further that the staircase is in the center of the house and about fifteen feet from the main entrance; that she was using every endeavor to comply with the command of the officer, which was given in an insulting and ill-natured manner.
Rosa Lewis.
Sworn to before me this 13th day of September, 1900.
Geo. P. Hammond, Jr., Notary Public (164), N. Y. County.
City and County of New York, ss.:
Maria Williams, of No. 206 West 27th Street, and Carrie Wells, of No. 239 West 29th Street, in the Borough of Manhattan, being severally duly sworn, depose and say:
On Wednesday, August 15th, 1900, we were sitting on the stoop of No. 239 West 29th Street, talking; we had been sitting there since 9:30P. M.We had there learned of the assaults on the Negroes in this section, and heard the noise of the crowdsand the stopping of the cars on 8th Avenue. There was no crowd in the street at this time. There were white and colored folks sitting on nearly all the stoops, the same as occurs on any ordinary warm night. About 11:30 several officers came through the street from 8th Avenue and walked towards 7th Avenue, three on the north side and four on the south side. No one in the street had been molested by anyone. These officers walked up the stoops, and without any warning ordered us into our houses, at the same time striking at us. Mrs. Wells, the mother of deponent Carrie Wells, was on the stoop one step from the bottom with three of her children, aged respectively fourteen, thirteen, and twelve years. An officer who is called "Joe," and whom we know, stepped up to Mrs. Wells, and said, "Get in there, you black son of a b——," and struck her viciously across the right hip, when she ran in with her children, the officers still following, striking at her until he reached the top step, looked around, and threatened to strike us if we came out again, and he then went away. Deponent Williams looked out of her window and saw these officers go through the same procedure wherever colored folks were sitting. Nothing was said or done to any white people. We see this officer every day. At about 2:15 in the morning some officers came through the block and clubbed colored people wherever they saw them, men as well as women. Deponent Wells lives at home with her mother, and helps her keep house; deponent Williams keeps house for herself and husband. Deponent Wells is a member of the Church of the Transfiguration, at 29th Street and 5th Avenue, where I have attended for years. Mr. and Mrs. Miller, of West 29th Street, know of us; Mrs. McGurk, of No. 225 West 29th Street, Mrs. Kloze, of 223 West 29th Street, all can vouch for our character.
Carrie Wells.herMariaxWilliams.mark
Sworn to before me this 4th day of September. 1900.
Samuel Marcus, Notary Public. N. Y. County.
City and County of New York, ss.:
Mrs. Irene Wells, being duly sworn, deposes and says that she resides at No. 239 West 29th Street; that on Wednesday evening, about nine o'clockP. M., she visited a sick friend, named Mrs. Twine (who has since died), at No. 216 West 29th Street, andwhile there, and at about eleven o'clockP. M., hearing of the riot, she rushed out of said 216 West 29th Street to look for her children and get them safely at home—she having five children, and, motherlike, was anxious to get them out of danger. That while gathering her children together she noticed six police officers on each side of the street, and had succeeded in getting her children up the stoop and into the hallway of her home, and was on the second step of her stoop going upstairs, when Police Officer 1065 came along, and, striking her across the right hip with his club, said, "Get in out of here!" and made several passes at her, and pursued her up two or three steps of the stoop, but she rushed on up the stoop, driving her children before her, and escaped him and his blows. Deponent further says that she is a widow, and the sole support of her five children, by doing general housework, ironing, and washing, etc., and has done so for the past seven years; that she is a thoroughly respectable woman, and is peaceful and quiet at all times, and deems this assault by the police officer aforementioned an outrage, and without cause or provocation. There were three children on the stoop with her.
Irene Wells.
Sworn to before me this 31st day of August, 1900.
Geo. P. Hammond. Jr., Notary Public (164), N. Y. County.
City and County of New York, ss.:
William H. Ross, being duly sworn, says:
I reside at 475 7th Avenue, near 36th Street, New York City. I had lived a short time at 225 West 32nd Street. I have lived for five years in New York. I have been a messenger for General Daniel E. Sickles. At about eleven o'clock on the evening of August 15th deponent was on his way to his rooms, but was stopped at Zion's flat and advised to come in and not cross the street, as there was a riot. I went in and went up two pair of stairs until about four o'clock in the morning, and slept on the stairs. My hour for going to work that morning was five o'clock, at the Herald Building, where I was working for Marsell, who attends to housecleaning and to the building. Another man, whose name I learned was Hicks, took refuge in the building at the same time. At about half past four o'clock on the morning of the 16th we heard a great commotion in the house. Three policemen rushed upstairs; the first one said, "You d——d black son of a b——, if you move I will shoot you like a dog!"He then hit me on the head with his club, and cut my head open; the other one then hit me on the head, and both beat me with their clubs on the neck, back, shoulders, chest, and ribs until I was bloody and sore and fell down, when one of the officers poked his pistol in my face and said, "You black son of a b——, just move or say a word, and I will shoot you like a cur." They also beat Hicks and broke his nose. People whom I did not know, looking out of windows, cried out about the brutality. They then had their fun with us, saying, "You d——d niggers; get out of here." Then when we would start they would again grab us, beat us, and threaten to shoot us. I would know one of these policemen, as I saw him since on 7th Avenue, and also in September at Broadway and 12th Street. I think that I would know the other fellow. In taking us to court they swore to the most outrageous lies, without any reason in fact. They stated we had been on the roof throwing bottles on the street. I had never been in the house in my life, never had been in a room and not above the second story, where they gave me shelter. The policemen told other lies—that they arrested me before, that he had warned me before on the street, that he had arrested me for fighting a few days before. The judge asked if they had any witnesses; they answered "Yes," and he gave them until three o'clock, when we were discharged. I was never arrested before in my life. Two doctors gave me certificates of character, which I had in court.
William H. Ross.
Sworn to before me this 4th day of September, 1900.
Stephen B. Brague, Notary Public (125). N. Y. County.
City and County of New York, ss.:
Robert Myrick, being duly sworn, deposes and says that he resides at 414 West 39th Street, and is employed by Bernard Brennan, saloon keeper at 49th Street and Broadway; that on Thursday evening, August 16th, at about eightP. M., he left his work at the said saloon and walked to 8th Avenue between 47th and 48th Streets; that he entered a restaurant on that block, and after eating a meal he asked the proprietor whether there was any trouble downtown to-night. He replied, "No, it is kind of quiet to-night, but I guess you had better take a car and ride down, it will be safer." He replied. "I guess that will be the best way," and then walked out onto the avenue and boarded a car bound downtown, and had gone as far as 42ndStreet when a mob of about one hundred boys, none of whom apparently were over nineteen years of age, began to throw stones at the car and yell, "There's a nigger in the car; let's kill him!" Some woman on the car said, "Come over here, mister; don't stand there and get killed." I went along the footboard from the rear of the car, where I had been, and got under the seat, where the mob could not see me; but the mob continued following the car and stoned it until I reached 39th Street, where I wanted to get off, but was advised there by three men (who were the only passengers that had remained on the car) not to get off. I continued on until the car reached 38th Street, when the car stopped and the mob caught up with it. I then got off the east side of the car, and ran over to the southeast corner of 8th Avenue, to where I saw five men standing, and going up to one I said, "Officer, will you please see me home?" He said, "Where do you live?" I told him. He then said, "What are you doing on the street at this time of night?" I answered, "Going home from work." He then asked me where I worked. I told him. He then said. "Have you got a gun or a razor?" I said "I have neither." He then proceeded to search me, when I remembered having a razor in a case in my outside coat pocket, and I told the officer and showed him where it was. He then took the razor out of my pocket, and, striking me across the back of the neck with his club, said, "You black son of a b——!" and then struck me several times on the head. I said to him, "I come over to you for protection, and this is what I get." He then said, "Shut up!" I was then taken to the 37th Street station house, and while there I was kicked by the officers in the section room, and by the doorman, and when I protested I was told to shut up. I was locked in cell No. 13, and in the morning I was brought to the 54th Street police court, where the judge turned me loose. While in my cell I got into conversation with a colored man who is a porter for the N. Y. C. & H. R. R., and he said that he was dragged from a street car and clubbed by police officers. Deponent further states that he had the aforementioned razor in his pocket by reason of the fact that it needed repairing, and he had taken it to a barber to see if he could fix it, and finding that he could not fix it he was taking it to his home to lay it away in its place. Deponent says further that the time of the clubbing was about 8:30P. M.
Robert Myrick.
Sworn to before me this 1st day of September, 1900.
Geo. P. Hammond, Jr., Notary Public (164), N. Y. County.
City and County of New York, ss.:
Solomon Russell Wright, being duly sworn, deposes and says:
I reside at No. 129 West 27th Street; on Thursday, August 16th, 1900, about 6:30P. M., I left the house and walked to the corner of 7th Avenue and 28th Street, where I met a friend of mine, with whom I stood and chatted for about three quarters of an hour, when I left and returned down 7th Avenue towards 27th Street, and had got within about one hundred feet of 27th Street, when I was struck by a missile thrown by an Italian boy. I naturally turned around and asked him what he had done that for. I passed on, however, and had got about fifty feet east of 7th Avenue, on 27th Street, when a police officer ran after me, and seizing me commenced feeling around my clothes as if in search of something. I had an ordinary pocket knife in the change pocket of my coat, and the officer finding it said, "What are you doing with this?" I answered, "Do you see me doing anything with it?" He then took me to the 30th Street station house (19th Precinct), and while going up the steps of the station house I stumbled, and the officer then hit me on the back of the neck with his club. I was arraigned before the sergeant, who took my pedigree, and at the close of that proceeding the officer who had me in charge, and whose name is Kennedy, said to the sergeant, "What will we do with this feller?" The sergeant replied, "Kill the black son of a b——!" The said officer then brought me back, and when we reached a flight of stairs leading down to the cells he shoved me down the whole flight; when I reached the bottom some other officers who were down there grabbed me and punched and beat me with their fists. I was arraigned the next day and charged with carrying a knife, and I was committed for ninety days. I served part of the time, when I was released on bail. I was not intoxicated, and had never been arrested before in my life. I never have and do not stand around the corners of the neighborhood; and further, I am employed by the Standard Oil Company as a porter.
Solomon R. Wright.
Sworn to before me this 22nd day of September, 1900.
Geo. P. Hammond, Jr., Notary Public (164). N. Y. County.
City and County of New York, ss.:
Alfred Bradshaw, being duly sworn, deposes and says:
I reside at No. 210 West 27th Street with my wife and three children. On August 16th, 1900, I bought a revolver on the Bowery, which I intended to take home in the evening and leave there, as a protection for my wife and children. There were numerous riots in the neighborhood the evening before, and the rioters had broken into houses at all times during the day and night, and I deemed it necessary for the protection of my wife and children. I had been working at 96 Greene Street that day. I am a general housecleaner, and work in all parts of the city. As I was walking home on 7th Avenue, about four o'clock in the afternoon, between 14th and 15th Streets, I saw a man run up to a police officer and say something to him. The officer then came up to me and said, "You've got a pistol; you give it up. I will arrest you." I handed him the pistol, and he arrested me. I said as I handed it to him, "I bought this pistol to protect my family at home. I heard of this rioting, and I bought this pistol to protect my home." He said, "Why don't you call to the officers for protection?" I said, "The officers can't protect my home, because I don't know what time the riot might come in, and we can't always find an officer on beat. I heard them break into some houses and beat people unmercifully." I was taken to the 30th Street station house. While there I saw Solomon Wright, who is at present in the Penitentiary at Blackwell's Island, a Negro, being clubbed by a policeman as he was being led from the sergeant's desk into the cell. He was bleeding from his head, and his eye was discolored. I have been in the city for twenty years, and have never been arrested before. I did not show this pistol to anyone after I bought it, and intended to leave it at the house, as a protection to my family.
hisAlfredxBradshaw.mark
Sworn to before me this 4th day of September, 1900.
Stephen B. Brague.Notary Public (125), N. Y. County.
City and County of New York, ss.:
John H. Kellum, being duly sworn, deposes and says:
I was on a Broadway car on the evening of Wednesday, August 15th, at about 11:30P. M.I boarded the car at the cornerof 46th Street and Broadway, and had reached a point a little north of 35th Street, when I heard a mob run after the car and commence throwing missiles at and into the car. Among other missiles was a little bottle, which I caught, and with which I kept the rioters at bay. The car got a short distance ahead of the mob, when it had passed 34th Street, and I took advantage of that and jumped from the car and ran towards three policemen in uniform, and two who were in citizens' clothes. One of them said not to run any further, and one of the men in citizens' clothes said, "Get on this car, and I'll get on with you." I did so and rode to 32nd Street, and the said officer got on the rear platform of the same car. I got off at 32nd Street and was not molested again. Deponent further says that the officers made no attempt to disperse the mob, though they were in plain sight. Deponent further says that he has lived in the 19th Precinct for about eighteen years, and is well known to a number of the officers of that precinct.
J. H. Kellum.
Sworn to before me this 7th day of September, 1900.
Geo. P. Hammond, Jr., Notary Public (164), N. Y. County.
(This was in the 19th, not the 20th Precinct.)
City and County of New York, ss.:
Samuel Isaiah Johnson, being duly sworn, deposes and says:
I reside at No. 125 West 27th Street, in the Borough of Manhattan, and support myself by cleaning carpet, chimney sweeping, and other jobs of a like nature. I have been employed by a Mr. Webb, an attorney with an office near Jefferson Market; a Mr. Davis, proprietor of a fish market there; Mr. Andrew Phillips, 15th Street and 6th Avenue. On Wednesday. August 15th, 1900, the first night of the riots, I was on an 8th Avenue car bound south. I had been up to see my brother-in-law, Joseph W. Brown, of No. 85 West 104th Street. I had my banjo with me. I left there shortly after nine. He was out. About ten o'clock, at about 41st Street and 8th Avenue, a crowd jumped on the car, grabbed me, and tried to pull me out of the car. I was under the seat. They took my banjo, hat, coat, and belt away, and beat me all over the body and head, so that I was unable to move. The car was at a standstill while I was being beaten, which lasted from about fifteen to twenty minutes. Another colored man was being beaten at the same time. After about twenty minutes of this a man, probably a detective,jumped on the car, and the crowd allowed the car to proceed. He took me to the corner of 27th Street and 7th Avenue, and asked me whether I could get home, and he left me. I proceeded to my house unmolested. The next day I went to the hospital at 15th Street and 5th Avenue, and obtained some liniment for my bruises. I am fifty-four years of age, small in stature, and lame.
hisSamuelxIsaiah Johnson.mark
Sworn to before me this 6th day of September, 1900.
Samuel Marcus, Notary Public, N. Y. County.
City and County of New York, ss.:
Thomas Hughes (white), of No. 646 East 13th Street, New York City, being duly sworn, deposes and says:
On August 15th, 1900 (the first day of the outbreak), about 8:45P. M., I was in 36th Street between 7th and 8th Avenues. I was on my way home after having called on Rev. Leighton Williams, at 312 West 54th Street. There were quite a number of persons moving about in the street, and half a dozen policemen moving about. I noticed a colored man about five feet seven, smooth-faced, about twenty-eight or thirty years old, standing in front of a doorway near a grocery store. He wasn't doing anything, and wasn't talking to anybody. An officer with a heavy reddish mustache rushed across the street at him and said, "You black bastard, what are you doing here?" and at the same instant struck him over the head with his club, felling the Negro to the street. The Negro bled and lay unconscious. I tried to wipe the blood from him, and the officer spoke roughly to me and ordered me away. Friends of the Negro dragged him into the hallway. My journey was down 8th Avenue to 36th Street, and down 7th Avenue to 35th Street, and I saw a number of police officers strike a number of persons with their clubs. All whom I saw struck were colored persons, and I noticed that as a peculiar fact. I was accompanied by William Shea, of 332 East 23rd Street.
Thomas Hughes.
Sworn to before me this 30th day of September, 1900.
Frank Moss, Notary Public, N. Y. County.
City and County of New York, ss.:
William Shea, of 332 East 23rd Street, being duly sworn, deposes and says:
I work for John P. Kane, foot of East 14th Street. On the first day of the riot, August 15th, I was with Thomas Hughes. I had been with him to see the Rev. Mr. Williams, in West 54th Street. We returned through 8th Avenue and went through 36th Street. In 36th Street, between 7th and 8th Avenues, we saw a colored man standing. An officer rushed across the street and hit the colored man on the head and felled him to the sidewalk. The colored man was not doing anything. The officer was a heavy man with large red mustache. My friend stopped to assist the man, and the officer ordered him away. Some people from the house close by pulled the colored man in. He was unconscious. I saw a number of colored people struck by officers.
William Shea.
Sworn to before me this 30th day of August, 1900.
Frank Moss, Notary Public, N. Y. County.
Statement of Paul Leitenberger and Alfred E. Borman (white), of 105 East 22nd Street:
On August 15th we were on 28th Street, and were going home, walking up 7th Avenue, and at 29th Street a crowd was coming down about tenP. M.We followed the crowd up 35th Street, and it went into the Dorê (a dive), and yelled, "Give us a coon and we'll lynch him!" They then went to Corbett's on Broadway. He has a colored man working for him. Then the police came with their clubs and dispersed the crowd, which went up Broadway. A cable car was coming downtown, and some one cried, "There's a nigger; lynch him!" and several white men jumped on the car. A colored man was standing in the car, and with a cane or umbrella warded off the blows. The car went on with him; the gripman would not stop it, though they called on him to stop. Some of the men were thrown off of the car and nearly run over. There was a Negro on the second car behind that, and the crowd pulled him off, and the man escaped by running into the Marlborough Hotel, where he was sheltered. There were no policemen present at these times, but some policemen appeared and the mob moved up Broadway to about 41st Street, and tried to get into the Vendome Hotel. Some got in, and one cried out, "Give us the coon!" The police coming up, they moved on and went up as far as the HotelCadillac at 43rd Street, and went in to get the colored hall man, and an officer came up and clubbed right and left. Other officers came and the crowd scattered. We waited a half hour, and the police kept the people moving. We walked through 42nd Street to 8th Avenue, and saw more of the rioters, and several policemen would not allow them to make any disturbance, and the rioters spread, breaking up. The whole aim of the rioters was to catch Negroes. We saw Devery the first night. We didn't see him the second night. He was in command. We observed the first night that the police generally made no effort to disperse the crowds, but ran along with them. The only places where they attacked the crowds were at Corbett's and the Cadillac. The disturbing element were young fellows, such as frequent "Hell's Kitchen." We talked with a ringleader at the northeast corner of 28th Street and 8th Avenue, a few nights after. He said he had been a leader in the riots and would do it again—that the "niggers" must be treated the same as down South. At the Cadillac there was an officer who did splendid work in dispersing the crowd. For a while he was alone, and he clubbed the crowd indiscriminately; in a little while two other officers came and helped him, and those three men ejected the mob from the hotel, and when they were in the street other officers appeared and effectually dispersed the crowd. This showed what could be done when they wanted to. They protected the hotel in good shape, also Corbett's, when the mob tried to get in.
Paul Leitenberger.Alfred E. Borman.
Sworn to before me this 13th day of September, 1900.
Frank Moss, Notary Public, N. Y. County.
Statement of Frank H. Bertholf (white), 463 West 44th Street:
On the evening of August 16th, 1900, I saw several Negroes kicked and cuffed unnecessarily. Not a white man was touched. All happened in five or ten minutes. Not many Negroes appeared, but when one came in sight he was pounced upon by the crowd, and the policemen made no effort to take care of them, and when they got hold of them they treated them roughly. I saw two Negroes struck by rioters while in the hands of officers, and the officers made no effort to protect them. I saw an officer aim a very vicious blow with his club at a colored man; it seemed it would kill him, but the Negro dodged.
Frank H. Bertholf.
City and County of New York, ss.:
Miss Alice Lee, being duly sworn, deposes and says:
I reside at 433 West 36th Street (in the rear of the 37th Street station house). On the night of Wednesday, August 15th, 1900, also Thursday, the 16th, I heard people screaming and groaning, and shouts of people pleading not to be clubbed any more. I saw one man lying on the station house floor, apparently almost helpless. One man who was pleading seemed to be between the main building and the out building where the cells are located. An officer who was on one of the upper floors leaned out of the window and threw a bottle down at the said man, saying, "Kill the black son of a b——!" Deponent further declared that it was impossible to sleep during both of the aforesaid nights on account of the heartrending shrieks and groans coming from the station house; and further, that she saw a number of colored men lying up in a corner of the station house.
Alice Lee.
Sworn to before me this 20th day of September, 1900.
Geo. P. Hammond, Jr., Notary Public (164), N. Y. County.
City and County of New York, ss.:
Cynthia Randolph, being duly sworn, deposes and says:
I reside at 433 West 36th Street, New York City, Manhattan Borough. My home is directly in the rear of the 37th Street station house. On the evening of Wednesday, August 15th, 1900, and the evening of August 16th, 1900, I heard cries and shrieks of people being beaten, coming from the 37th Street station house—such groans as, "O Lord! O Lord! don't hit me! don't hit me!" spoken in pleading tones. This continued all of Wednesday night, with such frequency, and was so heartrending, as to make it impossible to sleep. It was not quite so bad Thursday evening. Deponent states further that it is a common thing to hear coming from the 37th Street station house cries of people, as if they were being beaten, except since last Labor Day; since which day it has been exceptionally quiet.
Cynthia Randolph.
Sworn to before me this 15th day of September, 1900.
Geo. P. Hammond. Jr., Notary Public (164), N. Y. County.
City and County of New York, ss.:
Mrs. Florence Randolph, being duly sworn, deposes and says:
I reside at 117 West 134th Street. On Wednesday, August 15th, 1900, I resided at 433 West 36th Street. On the said 15th of August I was ill in bed, and while I lay in bed I heard at different intervals during the night, and until about three or half past three the next morning, the screams and shouts as of persons in agony, and cries of "Why are you hitting me? I haven't done anything!" Deponent states that these cries and screams came from the 37th Street station house, the rear of which abuts on the rear of the house in which deponent then resided. Deponent states further that her husband was unable to reach his home for four nights on account of the disorder in that neighborhood. Further, that her husband works at 43rd Street and 5th Avenue.
Florence Randolph.
Sworn to before me this 12th day of September, 1900.
Geo. P. Hammond, Jr., Notary Public (164), N. Y. County.
City and County of New York, ss.:
Susie White, being duly sworn, deposes and says:
I reside at 444 7th Avenue, New York City. On Sunday morning, August 12th, 1900, about sixA. M., two officers in full uniform came upstairs and, pushing the door of my room open, said, "Did not a man come up here just now?" I answered, "Yes." The officer then said, "Where is he? Bring him out." I then started to call the man, but before I got to the room the officer had preceded me, and he called the man out (his name is Joe Netherland) and took hold of him, and rubbing his hand over his head said, "Got a scar?" Netherland said, "No. Who are you looking for—the man that cut the officer?" The officer said, "Yes. We're going to make it hot for you niggers!" After making a further examination they found two more men, and after making a close examination of them they found that they were not the men they wanted. After threatening to do up all the "niggers" for killing Officer Thorpe they left.
Susie White.
Sworn to before me this 10th day of September, 1900.
Geo. P. Hammond, Jr., Notary Public (164), N. Y. County.
City and County of New York, ss.:
John Hains, being duly sworn, deposes and says:
I reside at No. 341 West 36th Street. I am a laborer, and am at present employed as a longshoreman at Pier 16, North River. On the evening of August 15th, 1900, I went to bed as usual at 9:30 o'clock. About two o'clock in the morning I was awakened by somebody beating me on the back with a club. When I awoke I found six policemen in the room; they had broken in the door. They asked me for the revolver with which they said I had been shooting out of the window. I told them I did not have a revolver. One of the officers said that he had seen me shoot out of the window. Three officers then began to club me, while the other three were searching the house. They found an old toy revolver, which was broken and not loaded, and could not shoot if it had been loaded, and said that that was the pistol I had used. I denied that, which was the truth. They dragged me out of the house, and proceeded to take me to the station house. I was only in my undershirt, being asleep at the time they broke into the house, and begged them to allow me to put on my trousers and my shoes. They only sneered at this, and one of the officers said, "You'll be d——d lucky if you get there alive." Here another of the officers pulled out a revolver and said, "Let's shoot the d——d nigger," to which a third officer replied, "We can take the black son of a b—— to the station house as he is." When I got to the station house I was bleeding from my head and other parts of my body, as a result of these clubbings. There were only two other persons in our apartments that evening—William Seymour, from whom I rent my apartments, and Walter Gregory. When they saw the officers running into the house, acting as they did, they ran out of the house, leaving me asleep. They did not shoot out of the window, and we never kept any weapons in the house. Mrs. Lucy Jones, who lives next door to us, saw the officers beat me. She was in the house during all this time, and saw no firing from our windows. Her affidavit is hereto annexed. When I arrived at the station house, after the entry had been made on the blotter, I was placed in a cell. Before this I was struck by one of the officers in the station house in front of the sergeant's desk, and in his presence, without any interference on his part. After T was placed in the cell somebody (I believe the police surgeon) bandaged my head. The next morning the police loaned me a pair of old trousers, so that I could be taken to the Police Court. Officer Ohm, one of theofficers who struck me and abused me, as aforesaid, made the charge against me; he charged me with firing a pistol through the window. I was brought before the magistrate and he asked me if this was so. I told him it was not, and endeavored to explain matters to him, but he would not listen to me and sent me to the Penitentiary for six months. There were a great many similar cases before him that day, and he was very impatient. I did not have a lawyer to represent me, and I was given no opportunity to deny the false charges of the officer. While I was being taken to the station house one of the officers said to another officer who was clubbing me, "Club as hard as you can; this is a d——d hard head." Another said, "I will teach you d——d niggers to club white people. We will kill half of you." I have the sheet which was on the bed on the night in question. It is full of blood stains. I had six stitches put into my head by a surgeon at the building in which the Magistrates' Court is located on 54th Street. This was before I was taken to Blackwell's Island. After I had been there ten days I was released. I do not know the reason why. Sentenced August 16th, released August 25th, about eightA. M.The only one of the officers I could recognize is Officer Ohm, who made the formal complaint in the Magistrates' Court. I was almost beaten into insensibility that night, and all of the officers were in uniform. Last summer I was employed for the season as a butler by General O. O. Howard, at his summer home in Burlington, Vermont, and I have a recommendation from him. I am not a drinking man, and never was arrested before in my life.
John Hains.
Sworn to before me this 28th day of August, 1900.
Geo. P. Hammond, Jr., Notary Public (164), N. Y. County.
City and County of New York, ss.:
Walter Gregory, being duly sworn, deposes and says:
I reside at 107 Prince Street, Brooklyn. On August 15th, 1900, I was boarding with Mr. Seymour at 341 West 36th Street. John Hains, Mr. Seymour, and myself were sitting together at our home until about nine o'clock that evening, when Hains went to bed. Mr. Seymour and I were up until about one o'clock, when we went to bed. In the early part of the evening there was a lot of shouting going on in 36th Street, but I heard no shooting. About two o'clock in the morning we were awakened by shooting in front of the house. Seymour and I walked tothe window and looked out to see what was the matter. I did not see any colored people on the street at that time, and the shooting was evidently done by white people. Just then I heard somebody break open the front door of the house. There were several people; they were talking in a noisy manner, but I could not hear what they said. As they reached our door some one rapped on it, and said, "Open the door." I said, "I can't." Mr. Seymour and I hurriedly ran to the fire escape undressed. As we did so we passed Hains, who was fast asleep. I shook him and said, "A big crowd is coming in the house." I do not think he heard what I said, and he fell asleep again. Seymour and I went down the fire escape and into the yard at 339, where we remained until matters had quieted down a little. I could hear Hains say repeatedly, "Don't kill me!" The people in the houses were screaming. About three or four o'clock, when things were quiet again, we went back to our room. The bed in which Hains slept was all bloody. Mrs. Jones, who lived next door, and whose affidavit is hereto annexed, then told me what had happened—precisely the same as in her affidavit hereto annexed. I did not know that the people who broke into the house were policemen. I thought they were the rioters. The pistol found in the apartments was an old broken toy pistol, and could not shoot. We never had a razor or a pistol in the house. While the shooting was going on Hains was fast asleep, and there was no shooting from our windows. I am employed at present on the steamerShinnecock, of the Montauk Steamboat Company, as second pantryman. I have never been arrested in my life. Since this riot we have not lived at 341 West 36th Street, our home having been broken up by it.
Walter Gregory.
Sworn to before me this 6th day of September, 1900.
Samuel Marcus, Notary Public, N. Y. County.
City and County of New York, ss.:
William H. Seymour, of 70 Vanderbilt Avenue, Brooklyn, being duly sworn, deposes and says:
I am employed at Pier 16, E. R. I resided at 341 West 36th Street, New York City, from September, 1899, until August 16th, 1900. At no time during the period above mentioned were there any firearms in the house other than an old broken revolver which was in two pieces, having no cartridges and being entirely useless. Deponent further states that he saw thesheet of bed upon which John Hains was lying and found same to be stained with blood. This was about 4:30 on the morning of August 16th, 1900.
Wm. H. Seymour.
Sworn to before me this 6th day of September, 1900.
City and County of New York, ss.:
Lucy A. Jones, being duly sworn, deposes and says:
I reside at 341 West 36th Street, on the fourth floor front, west side. John Hains resides on the same floor on the east side. I have read his affidavit, which is hereto annexed, and so far as it relates to the occurrences at said address on the evening of August 15th it is true. I had only returned to the city at six o'clock that evening, having been in the country for two months. I had been in the house, looking out of the window occasionally. I saw shooting in the street, but this was all done by white people. There were no colored people on the street. This shooting was done mostly by white people living at 342 West 36th Street, which is a tenement, and is occupied by a very low class of rowdies, who have constantly abused and insulted the colored residents of the block. The police officers constantly go in and out of this house. On the night in question I saw a great many police officers enter this house and talk with its occupants. They were shouting and using abusive language, and saying, "Kill every d——d one of the niggers!" "Set the house afire!" etc., etc. About two o'clock in the morning I heard somebody at the door of Mr. Seymour's flat next door, saying, "G— d— you; open this door, or I'll kill every d——d nigger in the house." Mr. Hains, who was the only one in the house just then, was asleep, and he did not open the door. They broke the door open, and I saw them club Hains and accuse him of firing a pistol out of the window. He denied this. Then three of the officers beat him, while the other three were searching the house. They did not find any pistol there, so they came into my apartments, and one of them said to me, "You G— d— black son of a b——, you know a lot about this d——d shooting, and if you don't tell me I'll blow the brains out of you." I told them that they could look through my flat, which they did, but did not find anything. Then they went back to the Seymour flat, and I heard one of the officers say, "I've got the revolver; let's kill the G— d— son of a b——," and began to club him in the head and other parts of his bodyunmercifully. He begged them to allow him to put on his clothes, but the one who had the revolver said, "Shoot the d——d nigger," and he was led to the station house only in his undershirt. Another officer said, "You will be glad if you get there alive." At one time during this fracas I attempted to look into the Seymour flat to see what was going on, but one of the officers said to me, "You G— d— black b——, get back where you belong, or I'll club the brains out of you." After they left I went into the room, and I found the pillows and sheet on the bed full of blood stains. The people in 342 inspired the policemen, telling them to "Burn the house!" "Lynch the d——d niggers!" etc., etc. I am a widow. My daughter, who is about twenty-one years of age, saw this clubbing, and heard the police use this vile and abusive language. After they had arrested Hains I looked out of my window to see how he was being led by the officers. One of the rowdies in 342 said, "Look at the d——d nigger wench looking out of the window. Shoot her! Shoot her!"
Lucy A. Jones.
Sworn to before me this 28th day of August, 1900.
Stephen B. Brague, Notary Public (125), N. Y. County.
City and County of New York, ss.:
Mrs. Louisa Francis, 341 West 36th Street, being duly sworn, deposes and says:
I have been housekeeper of the said 341 West 36th Street for the past eleven years. On Thursday, August 16th, 1900, at two o'clockA. M., I heard a number of pistol shots in the street near my home, and heard shouts of "Go into 341, break in the doors, kill the black sons of b——s"—all the said shouts apparently coming from the direction of 342 across the street. Almost immediately thereafter the doors were broken in, the glass in said doors being smashed, and about seven police officers rushed into the house and commenced shooting and yelling, "Kill the black sons of b——s!" "Put your heads in there, or we'll blow them off!" They went to the fourth floor, where John Hains lived, and dragged him out by the shoulders, his feet dragging, and in that condition he was dragged out into the street. I washed up the blood down from the fourth floor down the staircase to and on each and every landing and including the vestibule. The officers, after staying some time in the house, and ordering Mrs. Freeman, Mrs. Mason, and Mrs. Jones toopen their doors, and after searching the same, crossed over the roof to 339 and went through that house.
Mrs. Louisa Francis.
Sworn to before me this 28th day of August, 1900.
Geo. P. Hammond, Jr., Notary Public (164), N. Y. County.
City and County of New York, ss.:
Josephine Bullock, being duly sworn, deposes and says:
I reside at 351 West 36th Street. On Wednesday, August 15th, 1900, about 9:30 o'clockP. M., I saw a crowd chase a colored man and beat him, on the corner of 9th Avenue and 36th Street. The said man succeeded in breaking away from the mob, and ran towards my house. When he reached the stoop some of the male tenants who were seated on the stoop told him to come in there, adding that "if they kill one they might as well kill all of them." All during the evening the rioting continued, and from the rear of the house I heard screams and groans coming from the houses facing on 37th Street. About two o'clockA. M.I heard shooting in the street, and in a short while after I saw two police officers dragging a colored man from 341 West 36th Street, who had on no clothing except a gauze undershirt. The officers were clubbing the colored man, and the man was begging them not to club him, as he had done nothing. The only answer he got was more blows and a reply from one of the officers as follows: "Shut up, you black son of a b——, or I'll kill you." Deponent states further that she got no sleep that night, as the screaming and rioting continued until about half past two or threeA. M., when a violent storm came up, and the noise subsided somewhat.
herJosephinexBullock.mark
Sworn to before me this 10th day of September, 1900.
Geo. P. Hammond, Jr., Notary Public (164), N. Y. County.
City and County of New York, ss.:
Mrs. Maggie Zeh, being duly sworn, deposes and says:
I reside at 351 West 36th Street. On Wednesday, August 15th, 1900, I saw a colored man trying to get away from the mob, who were beating him. He tried to get into No. 360, but could not. I then saw the officers who had been standing onthe corner of 9th Avenue and 36th Street run towards this man and immediately commenced clubbing him. They clubbed him so unmercifully that the man cried out, "For God's sake kill me and be done with it; don't beat me in this manner," and the last I saw of him they were taking him around into 9th Avenue towards the station house. I also saw a mob coming from 9th Avenue, with about ten or twelve officers in uniform in the lead. The officers were shooting up towards the houses on the north side of the street. Deponent declares that she heard no shooting until the officers came into sight and commenced to shoot at the houses. Deponent further states that between eleven or twelve o'clock she saw a colored man and a woman come from a house on the west side of 9th Avenue. Before this couple reached 9th Avenue she noticed two policemen, who had been standing on the southeast corner of 9th Avenue and 36th Street, enter the saloon on that corner. When the couple had passed the saloon some men who were in citizens' clothes ran into the saloon, and immediately came out again with the aforementioned officers, and pointed to the couple going up the street, and said something to the officers. The officers then followed the said couple up the street to 8th Avenue, where I lost sight of them for about two minutes. At the expiration of that time I looked towards 8th Avenue and I saw the same policemen turning the corner, having in custody the aforementioned couple, and when they reached the front of my house I saw that the man was bleeding and was handcuffed. The woman attempted to speak, when she was ordered with an oath to "shut up." While the officers who were previously mentioned as doing the shooting in 36th Street, the officer who was apparently in command and who wore a cap, and had all the appearance of either a sergeant or a captain, shouted, "Get your heads in out of there if you value your lives." Deponent further states that she has read the affidavit of Josephine Bullock, which affidavit is hereto attached, and she knows of her own knowledge that matters therein stated are true.