Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1912-09-25
POSSE HUNTS MURDERER
Cedar Rapids Negro Murderer Con-
ceals Himself i'm yellow
River Country.
NEIGHBORHooD Is AROUSED.
Sheriff Organizes Party of Men and
Hunts Thick Woods But Fails
To Locate Criminal.

In the thickly wooded Yellow
River country southeast OF Frank
Rapids has been in hiding for several
days, and succeeded in eluding the
pursuit of an organized body OF men
who have been attempting to effect
his capture. The entire neighbor-
hood is aroused and homes have
been carefully guarded for fear
that he might visit some of them
and commit further crimes. The
school has been closed and the chill
dren kept at home. Men have not
left their homes without taking their
women and children to some other
home for protection, and everything
possible has been done to capture
the criminal, thus far without avail.
1t is supposed that the negro who
has caused so much excitement is
Reese Edwards, alias Goldie Ed
wards, wanted at Cedar Rapids for
the murder of James Henry Evans,
another negro, Sept. 14th. He is
described as being 3S years old,
feet, inches in height, weighs $50
pounds, hair gray mixed, small
moustache. 1t is also believed that
he made his escape from Cedar
Rapids by stealing ride on freight
train, and getting off at Postville
made for the Yellow River country
four miles southeast of FrankvilIe,
where there is much thick woods and
underbrush.
Saturday morning Ernest Groat's
son Frederick, aged II years, was
out in the field on the county line
between Winneshiek and Allamakee
counties herding cattle, when he saw
a negro sitting on log and went up
and talked with him. The negro in
quired who owned the farm and was
told.-Then bull came -,s2,rd them
and the negro whipped out revol-
YER, and shot at it. The boy told him
rot to it any more, and the negro
then told him to duck for home Or
he would shoot him, and showed him
a big knife in addition 10 the re-
volver
The same evening just before dark
Walter Groat, an older brother, saw
the negro about their machine shed
north OF the barn, and then they
called up Sheriff Swebakken of Wan
kon, who came over about midnight
and stayed at the house until Satur-
day morning, then went home.
Sunday afternoon at 4:30 o'clock,
Edward Stillians saw the. negro in
Charles Moore's potato patch, and
when he was discovered he ran east
into the brush and disappeared. This
was in Winneshiek county and then
they telephoned Sheriff Qualley, who
arrived on the scene in less than an
hour, and with a dozen men searched
all through the brush south of
Charles Moore's, near the Castalia
road, until $3.50 p. m, when dark
ness prevented further search that
night and the sheriff asked for voiun-
teers to assist him Monday morning,
twenty-seven neighbors responding.
Monday morning Sheriff Quailey
was on hand before seven o'clock, l..
o. Reed taking him down in his
auto, and with posse of about
thirty-hve men, organized and SUI
perintended systematic search of
the whole country for three or four
miles in each direction. They work.
ed diligently all day long, and as 1t
grew dark in the evening they we1e
thoroughly exhausted. but could get
no track of the negro. Sheriff Quail
ley then came home to look after
pressing court work, and told them
that if the negro was sighted again
by anyone to surround him and let
him know and he would go down at
once and get him. The sheriff made
many friends in that section by tRe
fearless and thorough search he
made for the negro, but it is the
general opinion now that he left the
country some time Sunday night. and
will not be seen in that neighbor-
hood again.