Mexico Missouri message., 1909-11-18
SHERIFF TRAMPED ALL NIGHT IN
EFFORT TO KEEP NEGRO
FROM PURSUING MOB.
IS FOUND HIDING IN THIGKET
Lived on Nuts and Persimmons Until
Hunger Forced Him to Enter
Store Where He Was Reeos-
nlzed and Posse Informed.

Cairo, Ill. - Sheriff Davis, bag
gard and unnerved from the anx-
ieties and hardships Of his 24-hour
flight over hills, and through woods
and swamps, trying to get Will James
out of the hostile zone, made a state
ment telling of his experience. He
said:
when l left Cairo Wednesday
evening with the prisoner l did not
know what my destination would be.
knew that unless the negro was taken
out of town he would be lynched that
night. My only thought was to get him
if possible, to some city in the central
or northern part of the state.
After the train pulled out of Cairo
I made up my mind that it would not
do to stay on the train and try to get
through Anna with him. That was the
former home of the girl he was ac-
cused of killing, and l knew that the
news that we were coming that way
would be telephoned and telegraphed
to Anna in time for her friends to
collect mob at the depot that would
JdhO ulm lTOn me.
Stopped Train at DoneoIa.
so | had the train stopped at DON
COLA and we struck out in the dark
ness across the country eastward. l
had hopes that we would be able to
catch a freight on the Chicago & East
ern Illinois at Perks, and my deputy,
Tom Fuller, and myself hurried with
the negro along the bottom road as
fast as we could.
At Perks we found that there
would be no train through before
morning and we pushed on toward the
Big Four, for the double purpose Of
putting greater distance behind US
and possibly catching a train sooner
than the G. G. e. l. We tramped all
night through the woods. Three times
we were lost and did not know in
what direction we were going. We
kept away from farmhouses because
we feared that information of our
movements would be telephoned to
Cairo.
I'VE had nothing to eat except
such nuts and perslmmons as we
could find.
Toward noon Thursday we struck
the Jopp branch of the c. & e. l. near
Karnak. / did not think that anybody
knew me there and l CHANGED a visit
to the store to buy some more sub
stantial food. The storekeeper re-
cognized me and asked me what was
doing out there. l hoped that he had
not heard of our taking the negro out
of Cairo and told him l was looking
up some witnesses in case. He asked
me about the negro under arrest at
Cairo, and told him I did not know
much about the prisoner.
when I returned to the swamp,
where had left Fuller and the negro,
we decided that word of our where
abouts would be sent to Cairo, and
after a hurried lunch we pressed
ahead up the Big Four to the water
tank, and then took to the swamps
between the two railroads.
when we discovered late IN the
afternoon that mob was trailing us,
we travelled as fast as we could, in
the hope of keeping ahead until dark.
If we could do that l figured we
would be able to catch northbound
freight on the Big Four before morn
ing.
But the pursuers closed in on US
and when we found that we were in
greater danger of being seen If we
kept on than if we hid where we were,
we concealed ourselves in the bushes
and waited, hoping that they would
pass US by, but they found us.
MY object in taking James away
was to gain time for a more thorough
search Of the evidence than was pos
sible with him in the city. l Ques-
toned him a great deal while we were
in the woods together and he insisted
all the time that he was innocent.
am very much in doubt whether he e.
the guilty man or not"