Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1902-04-15
No light ON The
PETERSON MURDER
Detectives Have No Tangible
Clue to Perpetrtor Of the
Shocking Crime.
Every Apparent Lead Has Proven
False..Bloo odhounds Thought
to Be Useless.
Negro Miners are Determined to
Protect Their Race From Un.
Just Accusation.
Farmers in Vicinity Of TRAGEDY
Threaten Violence-.Further
Details Of Murder.

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tectives Bracket. whosis in full charge
Of the investigation of the murder case
ot Highland Park, stated this afternoon
that he has no clue which has any ap-
pearance of leading to the detection OF
the murderer, and that the officials are
as much in the dark now as to the per-
netrator of the crime as they were
Monday morning. Every apparent clue
"a found to have been misleading. Sew
eral private detectives have gone to
work on the case and some Of them are
claiming that they have good clues but
refuse to divulge anything. 1t was de-
termined this morning that in view of
the fact that several thousand persons
visited the scene Of the crime yeterday
1t would be useless to secure blood
hounds In an effort to track the crimi-
mails and none have been brought here.
The governor this afternoon issued his
proclamation offering reward for the
conviction of the men.
There Is much Ill feeling in Highland
Park and at Saylorville and in. the vi
cinity Of the murder. The negroes at
work at the mine are determined that
no harm shall come to any one unjustly
accused. while the farmers living In
that part of the county are understood
to have formed an organization this
morning and notified the owners of the
coal mines that they must discharge all
the colored miners at work The city
officials are not convinced that the
murder was a colored man and state
that 1t might have been white man.
Further Details.
The cruel murder of Lena and Thorn
as Peterson is perhaps the most flend-
ish crime in the history of Polk county.
Excitement over the affair continues at
the highest pitch. The public is norri-
fed at the fiendishness shown by the
murderers, whose sole motive seems to
have been qualification Of their lust.
The police are working on the theory
that two persons were concerned in the
crime.
Tracks of two persons led across a
field away from the scene of this trag-
ody. This circumstance, together with
the fact that neither Of the children es-
capped or was able to make sufficient
outcry to attract help, leads to the con-
clusion that there were two murderers
The nature of the crime and certain
Of the early circumstances caused the
conclusion to be reached that it was
the work Of negroes, altho the police
are not proceeding on that theory
alone.
The police dragnet was thrown out
yesterday and last night eight suspi-
cious characters were held at the city
fail charged with vagrancy. The
strongest evidence was found against
John Hutcfison, q negro, who wore a
bloody overcoat, but he explained the
blood and last night was able to show
considerable evidence of the possession
OF an alibi.
The streets adjoining the city hall
were thronged yesterday afternoon and
last night, but at no time was there
danger of violence.
The first intimation of the murder
was obtained by Mr.. Peck and Miss.
Speer, who were driving home from
church and on passing the scene, of the
tragedy when the latter suddenly put
up a warning hand and leaning forward
exclaimed:
Ralph, did you hear that noise? 1t
sounded like the growl of cat"
Mr.. Peck drew rain on the horse and
brought the vehicle to a pause. Both
listened intently,. but not hearing the
sound repeated, he was about to drive
on when Miss Spear seized him by the
arm and cried out:
There it is again, don't believe it
is cat either Drive on"
Finding Of the Body.
They drove hurriedly to neighbor's
and search was begun, others in the
meantime having been notified joined
in the search.
Passing slowly forward and looking
over every foot of ground, the party
had gone perhaps $50 feet eastward of
the summit of the knoll and descended
into slight depression in the roadway
before reaching a bridge in the hollow
beyong, when Mr.. Day. who was on the
north side near the fence, came to q
sudden halt and exclaimed:
Here it is Someone has been mur-
dered. Look here
The others hastened to where Mr..
West was standing. There, lying in a
shallow ditch, within three or four feet
of telephone pole, was the bloody and
mangled body of a boy. He was un-
conscious, but at intervals low means
of agony issued from his dying lips.
crlmsoned with the ebbing tide Of his
young life. His hair, matted and damp
with blood, was thrown in terrible
angle about his fair face. A gaping
aperture in the base Of the skull, with
two supplemental wounds on the side of
the head showed he had been cruelty
beaten in the attempt to end his life.
An inspection of the roadway for
radius Of twenty-five feet showed he
had exhausted his youthful strength in
resisting the assault "A trail thru the
sand. over which the body had been