ty, given by the sergeant to kill Charles on sight, would have
been no news to Charles, nor to any colored man in New Orleans, who, for
any purpose whatever, even to save his life, raised his hand against a
white man. It is now, even as it was in the days of slavery, an
unpardonable sin for a Negro to resist a white man, no matter how unjust
or unprovoked the white man's attack may be. Charles knew this, and
knowing to be captured meant to be killed, he resolved to sell his life as
dearly as possible.

The next step in the terrible tragedy occurred between 2:30 and 5 o'clock
Tuesday morning, about four hours after the affair on Dryades Street. The
man hunt, which had been inaugurated soon after Officer Mora had been
carried to the station, succeeded in running down Robert Charles, the
wounded fugitive, and located him at 2023 4th Street. It was nearly 2
o'clock in the morning when a large detail of police surrounded the block
with the intent to kill Charles on sight. Capt. Day had charge of the
squad of police. Charles, the wounded man, was in his house when the
police arrived, fully prepared, as results afterward showed, to die in his
own home. Capt. Day started for Charles's room. As soon as Charles got
sight of him there was a flash, a report, and Day fell dead in his tracks.
In another instant Charles was standing in the door, and seeing Patrolman
Peter J. Lamb, he drew his gun, and Lamb fell dead. Two other officers,
Sergeant Aucoin and Officer Trenchard, who were in the squad, seeing their
comrades, Day and Lamb, fall dead, concluded to raise the siege, and both
disappeared into an adjoining house, where they blew out their lights so
that their cowardly carcasses could be safe from Charles's deadly aim. The
calibre of their courage is well shown by the fact that they concluded to
save themselves from any harm by remaining prisoners in that dark room
until daybreak, out of reach of Charles's deadly rifle. Sergeant Aucoin,
who had been so brave a few hours before when seeing the two colored men
sitting on the steps, talking together on Dryades Street, and supposing
that neither was armed, now showed his true calibre. Now he knew that
Charles had a gun and was brave enough to use it, so he hid himself in a
room two hours while Charles deliberately walked out of his room and into
the street after killing both Lamb and Day. It is also shown, as further
evidence of the bravery of some of New Orleans' "finest," that one of