NEGRO AT BAY.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 357, 7 April 1910, Page 7

NEGRO AT BAY.

DEFENDED HOUSE AGAINST THE POLICE. LOXg BATTLE WITH DESPERADO. Toronto, February 15. Aft-vr having »not to death his wife and iiiotiKi'-iii-Uuv. William Withers, a n<i£[u, successfully defended for three hours a brick house at 27, Elliott street, against about 50 members of the Toronto police force, armed with revolvers and shot guns, after which he ended the siege by putting it- bullet into his own head. The first intimation of the affair was conveyed to Ponceman Creighton, tae oiiicer on the beat, by u boy who liearu the shots. The constable rushed to the house, and tried to get in, but found all the doors locked. "Reinforced by two more constables, he broke through a window at the rear and entered. At the foot of the front stairs they found the body of Mrs. Withers, with a bullethole in her head.

Upon attempting to mount the stairs,! however, they were met by a fusilade v.-f revolver shots from Withers, 'who was upstairs, one of which struck Morris in the left leg above tlie knee. , On 'in threat of Withers to shoot again if they did not get out, the constable*, who were unarmed, assisted Morris with all possible haste 'by the way they had entered. Morris was taken to the general hospital, while 'word was sent for further reinforcements. Detectives -vigg, Gtithey and Murray were tfle first to arrive from headquarters. They re-entered the broken window at the vi:. opened the front door, and carried out the body of Mrs. 'Withers, In the meantime other policemen had arrived from Xos. 4 and 8 stations, and the remainder of the detective staff. The crowd on the street had grown to tremendous proportions.

HOUSE WAS JiIsSIEGED. The siege of the house began with the man they were after on the first nor about the ground. The police held undisputed possession of the ground floor, but immediately anyone attempted to gain the next list shots rang out, and builets whizzed above their neaas. The house was surrounded by detectives and .policemen, all armed and watching trie windows. A rapid exchange of shots invariably followed any attempt to mount the steps until the desperado was driven to cover in one of the rooms. The fusilade of shots from outside evidently became too much for Withers' comfort, and he took himself to the top floor, which could be approached only by one extremely narrow staircase. The detectives then took possession of the second floor, and there found Mrs. Davis, Mrs. Withers' mother, lying on the Itoor, with several buiiets in her head and breast. She was carried out, and lived but a very few minutes.

A few shots were sent by Withers out of one of the windows, upon which something approaching a panic was caused among the crowd, which scattered apart with wonderful rapidity, leaving a clean space right across the street for some distance in either direction. In the meantime Inspector Duncan hjiii Detectives Moffatt, Sockott, Armstrong and Archibald had armed themselves with shot-guns, and a constant fusilade was kept up for a matter of half an hour, their object being to keep the negro from the windows, for 'he could easily have created disastrous havro.| among tie crowd below had he dared to expose himself. Several attempts by those within to gain the third storey were met and repulsed by shots in rapid succession. On one occasion Inspector Miller, of -No. 8 division, attempted the ascent, followed by Detective Young. Shots rang out, and bullets lodged in the wall not sii inches from his head. Making a .hasty descent, he stumbled and fell on top of Young, who feared for a moment that die Inspector had been killed. Withers then adopted new tactics. Sinee he dared not expose himself to take prober aim at his enemies, he began firing through the floor at them, and forced them to seek fresh quarters. With the idea of smoking him out, the police then secured some sulphuric acid and salt, rich, they mixed at the foot of tfle fairs in two pails. The fumes arose in great quantities, but did iiot have the desired effect, owing, presumably, to the fact of all the windows being open; in fact, the police themselves were nearly suffocated, and that scheme had to be abandoned. PARLEYED WITH WITHERS.

After the siege had lasted about three hours, Detective Wallace called up to the negro to come down and give himself up, that he had made a fool of himself long enough. "Who is down there? Is that you, Mr. Cuddy?" the man returned. "Yes, this is Cuddy/' Wallace said. "All right, then, boss, I am coming. Look out!" was the response, and immediately five shots came down the stairs. A loud laugh came from above. '•Come right up here, Mr. Cuddy, and I will give you what is coming to you." A few minutes later a call came down again: "I guess it's all up. I am going > shoot myself." One more shot was heard, then eomf groans, and the most sensational shooting affair in the criminal annals of Toronto had ended. ' Detective Guthrie was the first upstairs. He found the man who had caused the excitement lying face down on a mattress in a front room, bleeding "om the mouth and the top of his head. He had, with one of two 38-calibre revolvers, sent a shot into his month, which went right through the brain and n out the top of his head. Both revolvers were filled, with the exception of the shot he had turned on himself', 'id he had about 20 rounds more of ammunition. It is thought that he fired altogether 80 rounds. Both the revolvers in his possession were ne«\ Estimates of the ammunition used by the .police were about 150 rounds. Jealousy of a colored man, John Miller. 'io lived in the house, is given as the «e of Withers' crime.