The Union times. [volume] (Union, S.C.) 1894-1918, 1912-07-26

cerity, and personality which is mag
netic and engaging, E. S. Reed, the
detective who while posing as Henry N
Porter, a Chicago attorney, claims to
have entrapped Sam ]. Nichols, a
Spartanburg lawyer, into negotiations
which may involve Governor Blease of
South Carolina in the charge of sell
ing pardons, is one of the most sue
cessful and remarkable sleuths of the
present day. E''
Mr.. Reed, who is the right bower
of William j. Burns, is spending a
few days in Atlanta, the guest of
Attorney Thomas B. Fielder, in whose
employ he was when he secured the
evidence against Nichols and Blease.
1t was Detective Reed who exposed
the Atlantic City grafters, 80 of
whom have been. tonvis&t1s by the
grand jury; and it was he who traced
Harvey Logan, the famous Montana
train robber, to South America. A
history of him and his work would
read like real dime novel.
Began When Sixteen.
1t was back in 1889, when Mr.. Reed
then boy of 16 years, pulled off his
first big detective stunt. He had
been assisting his father, who was
also a detective, in running down
some of the criminals who infested
the Black Hills country in South
Dakota following the Sioux Indian
uprising.
One day Judge by the name of
Wood, who had learned of young
Reeds familiarity with the trails and
passes of the then wild and undeveI-
oped territory, came to him and Of
fered him large sum to locate
little girl who had been abducted
and who was believed to have been
carried into the Black Hills.
Judge Wood told Reed that the
child's name was May Chase; that
her grandfather, an unscrupulous
Chicago millionaire, had hired dar-
ing cowboy to kidnap her and hide
her away. 1t was explained to Reed
that the child's mother, the daugh-
ter of the millionaire, had been her
fathers private secretary and in this |
capacity had become familiar WITH
many of his crooked deals. She de-
veloped religious tendencies and her
conscience prodding her, she threat
ened to confess her fathers rascality.
Becoming alarmed, the father sought |
to force her into marriage with a |
man whom he had selected, believ-
ipg the marriage would close her
lips.
The ceremony was arranged and
when the prospective groom appear
ed the girl spat in his face and de-
clared to the officiating minister that |
she would not marry the man. Meth
er threats nor persuasion would
cause her to relent and her father
made her prisoner in her own home.
One day she sought to elope with
former sweetheart and, in jumping
out of a window, broke her leg She |
was kept to her bed for months, but |
finally escaped, married the sweet
heart and disappeared into South |
Dakota. A little girl was born to
three years old it was kidnapped. Af-
ter considerable search it was locat-
ed and returned to the mother, only |
to be kidnapped again when it was six
years old.
Finds the Child
1t was the second case that Reed
was engaged to run down. He laid
in a supply of clothing and food,
purchased carriage and two mus
tangs and traced the child to a ranch |
house in the Black Hill country,
where he found she was in the care
of an old woman and guarded by a |
half dozen cowboys.
Reed awaited his opportunity and
one day, while the cowboys were
absent at roundup, he came upon
the old woman and girl at a spring.
He seized the child, bore her away
in his arms to his carriage and drove
night and day until he got her to
Yankton, where he took train for
city in Michigan where he turned
her over to an uncle. On the wild
ride from the Black Hills, Reed was
followed by one of the cowboys, who
overlook him. Breaking the glass
out of the rear curtain of the car
riage, the detective took deliberate
aim with Winchester and shot the
horse from under his pursuer. He
says the rescued girl is now married
and has a small family of her own.
Detective Reed was employed by
the Great Northern Railroad tn rim