Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1881-11-25
The Wisconsin Murderer.
HIS ARRIVAL HOME.

his ami Al k1OAE.
Special Telegram to Madison Democrat.
MkNoMoNIE, Nov. 1S.-The arrival of
I'd. Williams, the outlaw, occasioned |
considerable excitement: and this fore
noon large crowd gathered at the |
jail to get glimpse of the notorious |
desperate. Only a few persons were
admitted to his cell, and in order to |
satisfy the crowd, he was taken 10 the |
court house, and all who wished, were |
permitted to see him. He is very
modest appearing fellow, rather below |
the medium height, compactly built. !
and possessed of great muscular pow
er. His manner was gentlemanly, and
he Is the last man the ordinary observ-
er would pick out as desp crate char.
aeter. He talked freely, and answer
cd all questions IN courteous manner.
DE admits that he and Lon we there
parties who shot the Colemans, but SAWS
they did 1t in self-defense; that the
Colemans fired first
Among those who visited him at the
court house, were the aged mother of
the Colemans and their sister.
On seeing him, Mrs. Coleman
exclaimed: "How could you shoot
my boys Ed. was visibly affected
and tears came to his eyes as he re-
piled; Madame. l did not know them
or that you had any boys" The pris-
oner was taken to Durand this after
noon in charge Of the officers, and he
will be at once arraigned for prelimin-
airy examination The officers enter
tam no fears that the people there will
harm the prisoner, and believe the
general opinson is to let the law take
Its course.
smother DISPATCH.
EAU CLAIRE, Wis, Nov. lS.-Max-
well was brought to Menomonee, Thurs
day afternoon, heavily manacled, and
was put in Jail over night. All along
the road from ST. Paul, there were
crowds at the stations and great excite
ment when he passed through. Sheriff
Knight took Maxwell to Durand at two
o'clock T. NJ. to-day, with guard Of
six men. The examination in the case
will he held tomorrow, and tn en- Max
well will be taken back to Menomonee,
if he is not lynched Of which there is
good prospect III Durand. Maxwell
Is nervous. He says he does not ex-
pect to live long. He said he and Lon
shot the ColemanS in self defense. He
said of the capture that if he had his
rifle when he was wrestling with the
sheriff he would have made couple
of corpses.
To the casual observer there is little
about the appearance of Ed. Maxwell
to mark him as desperate. He has
a rather short but sturdy frame, with a
mild and rather pleasing countenance,
IN which Is set an eye that. when close
~ examined, would seem an eagles.
He has very pleasing address, and
after the ice was once broken he talk
ed freely about his situation, and only
III one or two Instances did he refuse to
answer questions pronounded He
freely admitted that he was the notori-
Gus Ed. Williams, the brother of Lon
Williams, who had committed the muir
der Of the two Coleman brothers, AID
their true name was Maxwell He, how
ever, strenuously denied that he or his
brother was guilty of murder Neither
of them had ever committed willful
murder. He admitted that they had
been guilty of other crimes, such rs
burglaries, thefts, ETC., hut only when
they were hard pushed, and when theiI
lives were at stake, had they taken hui
man live. When they killed the Cole
man brothers it was life against life, and
they looked out for themselves. He
gave brief description of their escape
from Wisconsin after the murder. He
said both himself and Lon were Sc
verely wounded in their arms and sides
by shot, and suffered terribly. They
concealed themselves in the Eau Gale
woods for number of days how
many he refused to say-and were
eighty-tive hours without food. Al
one time a party who were in pursuit
of them passed within few feet OF
where they We're concealed, but did not
see them. Finally they reached the
Mississippi river near Maiden rock,
an !, finding an abandoned skif, crossed
Lake Pepin and made their way be-
yond the Mississippi. They crossed
the country on foot, avoiding the towns
and cities and public lines of travel
He said they had plenty of money and
were well armed, and but for their
wounds would not have suffered
much. He indignantly denied that
either himself or his brother had
ever insulted any family, and said
this was not the cause of their ar
rest. In answer to the inquiry of the
reporter as to whether he did not feal
personal violence on his arrival neal
the scene of their crime, he smiled
gravely and said. mo, sir, | do not
fear it; but men who have led such q
life as | have for some years past, ex.
pect death at every moment, and when
my time comes / shall not whine, fol
am prepared and will die game"
This ended the interview, which was
carried on amid great confusion and
noise, in the middle of which the pris-
orer seemed to be the most uncon.
cerned of those present. In answer tC
an inquiry Sheriff Knight stated that
he did not anticipate any trouble on
his arrival with the prisoner. He
should remain at Menomonee tonight
and take the prisoner to Durand, Pc
pin county, tomorrow, to await his
trial.
The Pioneer Press reporter, who ac-
companied Ed Williams and the
sherlf7s posse to Menomonee, tel
egraphed the following All
along the road from St. Paul
crowds thronged the variovs stations,
and would have been much larger had
it been generally known that the train
had Maxwell ON board. | sat in the
same seat with the prisoner from st.
Paul, and until we reached Hudson he
conversed glibly and smoothly. After
that point was passed he lost trifie of
his easy confidence, though at no time
did he show any signs Of fear. At Her
sey, his old home, he was recognized by
scores of people, and told me without
any hesitation the names of various
men who called out That's him. or
How are you, Ed as he went through
the pantomime of Misunderstanding, with
his ironed hands jingling heavily. He
has dropped all pretence that he is no;
the much hunted Maxwell, alias VIII
Hams, and tod me point blank that he
and his brother Lon shot the Colemans,
though he stoutly asserts tnat they
| killed them in self defence