The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-03-18
NEGROES ARE
 SURROUNDED Climax to Wilcox County
 Man Hunt Near. CHASING WILL PET0MIE Posse Determined to Take
 Desperate Negro. Believed That Fugitive Who Shot Pro- fessor Hardy win Fight to the
 Death and the Pursuers are
CHASING WILL PET0MIE
BY WILL R. HAMILTON.

BY WILL Hs HAMILTON.
 Selma, March 17.-(Special.)-Tne man hunt in Wilcox County continues but the climax is near. Two posses to- night are surrounding a swamp on Bear Creek near Schuester. where indica- tions are hat Will Petomie the negro would be murderer of Professor Claud Hardy is hiding and 1t is likely that he will be in the hands of the posse at any hour
 The officers and citizens who are closing in on Petomie do not expect to bring him from the swamp alive. They think that he will fight to the death and they are prepared for any emergency.
 Ed Petomie, a brother of the negro who shot Professor Hardy. who accom- panied him at the time and was one of the participants in the affray. is also Petomie Tn that case the posses will have two desperate negroes to fight.
 Late developments are said to threat en race war in the vicinity of Pine Apple and Allenton but the officers and citizens are so enthused over the chase of the assailants of Professor Hardy that they are paying little attention to outside reports. This morning when merchants of Allentonfawoke and went to their places of business they found posted over their doors warnings in crude handwriting which read will Burn Allentcv" The~statfon agent at Allenton Is in possession of three of the mysterious and threatening warn ings and the citizens are preserving many others that were found.
 Negro Secret Society.
 Allenton is the seat and center of a negro secret society which is thought by citizens of that community to be dominated by an anarchistic creed. The negroes there are known to be wrought up over the persistent efforts of the whites to capture dead or alive Will Petomie and his brother and 1t is be- lieved that the negro society used that method of attempting to bluff the com munity of whites.
 The wonder is why threats have been made to burn Allenton. It is small town three miles from Pine Apple and near the center of the man chase and most of it's inhabitants are negroes. Only one man from Allenton. 1t is said, is joining in the hunt for Petomie. Why, then should the negroes want to burn Allenton ,when the citizens of Pine Apple are using every effort at asailant of one of her most prominent men.
 Nevertheless the threat is regarded as coming from the negroes and the citizens at Allenton are looking on 1t with grave concern They too are pre- pared for any emergency that may arise and once the negroes make an attempt to carry out their threats there is no doubt but that there will be se- rious trouble.
 The Advertiser correspondent has been all today near the scenes of the attempted murder of Professor Hardy and of the hunt for the Pctomie me- groes. When he left Pine Apple to- night a second posse was forming to join the first one which 1t was thought was in the vicinity of the swamp where there is little doubt that Petomie has taken refuge
 Posse GrimIy Determined.
 The scond posses propsoed to join the first one in surrounding the swamp and canebreak. taking in a cave they think the fugitive may be hiding in. Gradually the two posses intend to close in on the negro and at the first glimpse and at a single command they will bear down on their prey. If Petomie shows fight he will receive no mercy at the hands of the pursuers They are law abiding citizens. cool and conservative, and they are not praemitating a lynching but they say that they do not Intend that the des- perate negro shall drop one of their number. They say they know he Is well armed and they know he will show fight.
 Where the ngro is located. say the well informed members of posse No. 2. is in a swamp within a short dis tance of schuester and within rour miles of Pine Apple. If he Is not in the swamp he is in cave near the