Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1881-11-24
The Wisconsin Murderer.
HIS ARRIVAL HOME.
Special Telegram to Madison Democra

| Ed. Williams, the outlaw, OCcasIOned
considerable excitement; and this fore
noon large crowd gathered at the
Jail to get a glimpse of the notorious
desperate. Only a few persons were
admitted to his cell, and in order to
satisfy the crowd, he was taken to the
court house, and all who wished, were
permitted to see him. He is a 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 desperate char.
acter. He talked freely, and answer
ed all questions IN a courteous manner
He admits that he and Lon we.there
parties who shot the Colemans, but SAYS
they did it 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: GLOW could you shoot
my boys" Ed. was visibly affected
and tears came to his eyes as he re-
piled MADAME, 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
tain no fears that the people there will
harm the prisoner, and believe the
! general opinson is to let the law take
its course.
ANOTHER DISPATCH.
EAU CLAIRE, Wis, Nov. 1S.-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 P. NJ. to-day, with a guard of
SIX men. The examination in the case
will be held tomorrow, and tn en- Max
we'll will be taken back to Menomonee,
if he is not lynched of which there is
good prospect in Durand. Maxwell
is nervous. He says he does not ex-
pect to live long. He said he and Lon
shot the Colemans III 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 desperado. He has
a rather short but sturdy frame, with a
mild and rather pleasing countenance,
IN which is set an eye that. when close
ly examined, would seem an eagles.
He has a very pleasing address, and
after the ice was once broken he talk
ed freely about his situation, and only
In one or two instances did he refuse to
answer questions propounded. 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, and
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 a Willful
murder. He admitted that they had
been guilty of other crimes, such SIS
burglaries, thefts, etc, hut only when
they were hard pushed, and when their
lives were at stake, had they taken hu-
man live. When they killed the Cole
man brothers it was life against life, and
| they looked out for themselves. He
gave brief desert Upton 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 a number of days-how
| mo 10 ~
eighty-five hours without food. At
one time party who were in pursuit
of them passed within a few feet of
where they were concealed, but did not
see them. Finally they reached the
Mississippi river near Maiden rock,
| and, 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 fear
personal violence on his arrival near
the scene of their crime, he smiled
gravely and said: "No, sir, [ do not
fear it; but men who have led such
life as | have for some years past, ex-
pect death at every moment, and when
my time comes [ shall not whine, for
l 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-
Oner seemed to be the most uncon-
cerned of those present. In answer to
an inquiry Sheriff Knight stated that
he did not anticipate any trouble on
his arrival with the prisoner. He
should remain at Men0monee tonight,
and take the prisoner to Durand, Pc
pin county, tomorrow, to await his
trial.
The Pioneer Press reporter, who &C
companied Ed. Williams and the
sheriff7s posse to Menomonee, tel
egraphed the following: "All
along the road from st. Paul
crowds thronged the various 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 trife 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