Among the brothers and sisters Dad had, there was “Uncle”. His name was “Robert”. He will be called “Uncle” hereafter. Uncle was a kind and gentle person, generous to a fault. It was said that one time he saw a man on the street car whose shoes were worn out, having holes in the sole, with very little hesitation, and not having been asked for anything, he quietly handed the man a five dollar bill. Uncle worked for the Washington Gas Light Company. I believe it was in Alexandria at the time.

He apparently was working with a group of black men, then known as Negros. It seems that one of them, maybe more, took it upon themselves to beat up on Uncle. I can’t think of any provocation for this, but, beat up on Uncle they did. When Harry found out about this, he obtained a pair of “brass knuckles” and went to the Gas works. When he found the man, Harry was apparently on a coal cart or wagon. He jumped from the wagon and, so the story goes, did a first class job on Uncle’s assailant.