N&W in 1903 -- Winchester Rifles

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TRIED TO KILL NEWS AGENT AND BRAKEMAN
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Drunken Negro Makes Unprovoked Attack on Members of Train Crew and Only His Bad Aim Saves Their Lives
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    A most unprovoked attack was made on Brakeman Charles Duncan and News Agent R. J. Dudley, of train No. 2, yesterday afternoon, and only the bad marksmanship of their assailant saved their lives.
    At Keystone, a number of negroes boarded the train.  They had been participating in a shooting match there, and were all armed with Winchester rifles.  Soon after leaving Keystone one of the negroes, Robert Whitten, began to load his rifle, and created much terror among the women in the car by the manner in which he handled the weapon, pointing it in all directions while he was slipping cartridges into the magazine.
    About this time Mr. Dudley passed through the car with a basket of fruit, and stopped for a moment near the negro, who seemed to resent his presence and spoke to him gruffly, saying, "What do you want?  What are you doing in this car, anyway?"
    The news agent did not reply, but quietly continued his journey through the car.  Meeting Brakeman Duncan a few moments later, he described the negro to him, and told him he had better be on the guard, as the man, who was drunk, was loading his gun and evidently had it in for some one.
    When the train reached Elkhorn, both the news agent and the brakeman swung off onto the platform, as is their custom.  The negro also alighted from the further end of the car, and the news agent pointed him out to the brakeman.
    Just as the train was leaving the station the negro leveled his Winchester and fired, it is thought at the news agent, who had just caught on to the steps of the car, and the bullet lodged in the rear end of the coach.  He quickly fired again, this time evidently at the brakeman, but again missed.  A third shot struck the brakeman on the arm, but did no damage other than to tear open his coat sleeve and just break the skin.  The brakeman after the second shot returned the fire, but ineffectively.
    What Whitten's motive was for trying to kill the news agent and brakeman cannot be imagined.  A general fight had occurred among some negroes in the car just in front of the one in which Whitten was riding and Mr. Duncan had found it necessary to interfere and to use force to quiet the combatants, but it not certain that Whitten even knew of this occurrence.
    It is not known whether Whitten was arrested or not, but it is said that he was so drunk that he was utterly reckless of consequences and would probably make no attempt to get away -- at least, while he had any loads left in his gun.

Bluefield Daily Telegraph
November 27, 1903

[Today it is "Wild and Wonderful West Virginia," but in 1903 it was "Wild and Woolly West Virginia."  They boarded a passenger train with Winchester rifles!  Where was the TSA?]

Gordon Hamilton
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