Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1919-04-16
EDGEW00D Man SHOT
BY UNKNOWN man
JAMES s. WAIT VICTIM OF ASSAS.
SINS BULLET WHEN HE OPENS
DOOR,.
IS STILL IN CRITICAL CONDITION
No Clue to Assassin. $1,000 Reward
Is Offered For Arrest of Guilty
- Party.

James >. wait, one OF the we'll
known citizens of our neighboripg
city of Edgewood, has been in a criti-
cal condition as result OF wound
inflicted by a 3S-calibre bullet, fred
into Mr. Waits neck by some unknown
party, at an early hour on the morn
ing of April 9th. For a time it was
feared that the injury would prove ia
tai. At this time members Of the fam
lily have hopes Of Mr.. Waits recov-
cry. Officers from Clayton county
have been working diligently on the
case, but at this time no clue as to the
guilty party has been established.
A reward of $4,000 has been
offered by the family for in
formation that will lead to the arrest
and conviction of the guilty party
The Edgewood Journal of last week
gave the following account of the af-
fair:
"For a law-abiding citizen to ans
wer rap on his door at one O'Clock in
the morning and be shot down in cold
blood without word or moments
warning by the assassin seems to be
an event of the dark ages, and yet
that is what happened to James S.
Wait at his home here in Edgewood
yesterday morning, April 9th.
about one o'clock in the morning,
Mr. and Mrs. Wait were awakened by
!, knock at their front door, and Jim
got up to answer it. He turned on
he light and as he approached the
ioor he asked what was wanted, but
'aceived no reply. Going to the inside
door, he opened it and with his foot
pushed the storm door open
when he saw man, rather stout
and smooth shaven, reach out from
behind the storm do0r and fire re-
volver directly at him. The bullet
struck Mr.. Wait near the shoulder on
his right side, causing him to fall
but fortunately not killing him. Mrs.
Wait rushed to his side, turned Off the
light and quickly called for assistance
on the telephone. Neighbors re-
sponded at once and assisted in get
ting the wounded man onto a bed and
summoned Drs. Gray and Hanson.
AS soon as they saw that Mr.. Wait
was not mortally wounded. search
was made to see what clue could be
found of the man who did the shoot
ing, and although it was raining at
the time, they found fresh heel prints
leading north, past J. NJ. Rob'in4son's Rob i4
home. Sheriff Lush of Elkader was
Immediately notified and he and De-
putty Sheriff Porter arrived about ten
o'clock. In the meantime F. NJ. Shores
at Waterloo was notified to send his
bloodhounds and Perry Fry, the train
er, arrived on the nine o'clock train
with two of them.
AS soon as the sheriff came the
dogs were taken to the Wait home,
started on the scent from one OF the
heel prints (Which had been covered
with tin CAM and took up the trail.
They went north past the Robinson
house q short distance and then turn
ed into the field. To all appearances
the man walked around in the field
there waiting for the opportune time
to do his dastardly crime, as from
there the hounds tracked him in a
southwesterly direction right to the
Wait home and around the northwest
side Of the house to the southwest
door where the shooting was done.
The dogs were SO persistent in their
work and gave such clear evidence,
It was determined that there must
have been horse waiting for the as
sassin north Of Robinson's, as it was
impossible for the dogs to trail the
scent further.
although the bullet was fred from
a SO calibre revolver at close range
vet Mr.. Wait did not lose conscious
ness and was able to converse with
his family and friends all day and
IN to late hour last night. DR..
;ray located the bullet and succeeded
in extracting it during the forenoon,
and it is now in the hands Of the
proper officials Mr.. Wait was badly
wounded and in serious condition,
but as he is a strong man physically,
he still has fighting chance for his
life"
NOTICE CATTLE FEEDERS DAY
To be held at the Iowa Experiment
Av,oc Inu,o Anri1 90 1910