Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1919-10-28

make.
RetHacing the same course. the
! sheri1's car entered onto to the
Coaltown road st the foot of Tricks
! hill, which leads OF of Sixteertl
| street, and turned east. Galloa
houses along the route were Wis
tied. At the camps of Henry Yer
meeTsch and Simon Lewis, the two
at the extreme east, the sheft1f and
his deputies stopped. according 70
! Hanna. Another car came along
st the time the three were stand
! ing on the porch of the Simon
Lewis place, which was on the
north side Of the road. Shortly
after another car came from the
west and passed on east for about
one fourth Of mile, turned ana
came back.
! Deputy Hanna stated that it rzs
/ noticed the car was a roadster
! when il had passed travelling east
; When IL was seen to turn and re-
trace. Sheriff Wigers and Deputy
Hepburn sauntered down TO the
roadside while Psnns went across
the read to the Vermeersch canp
wh=rs the sheriff 5 machine was
standing It was crarksd and Wig
ers and Hepburn got in the rear
while Hanna drove.
The witness stated he vas able
to keep the tail light Of the front
machine in view, except at points
in the read where turns shut of the
sight.
His story Of the shooting as he
told on the witness stapd follows
We were driving on and could
distinguish group of people
standing along the south side Of
the road with hands held in the air.
We got within about sixty or eighty
feet of the scene when Sheriff
Wigers got out on the south side
of the car and Deputy Hepburn
on the north side and started west
( in the direction Of the group of
/ people. I PACED the motor to throw
light On the scene along slowly 10
within about thirty or forty feet.
1T was then that q shot came
from the bandits. The fash showed
the bullet to have come from the
south Of the taxi and to have been
pointed into the air, Both sides
started 10 IRE rapidly then. The
second shot from the bandits was
POiAfLE4 III Gully 81 Tue 6AEE III l4AE
third killed him. l saw him fall. !
could distinguish the flashes made
by the bandits revolver"
John Weidemann. farmer in
South Moline, residing along the
Coaltown road about mile and a
quarter south OF Prospect park,
IVES witness to part OF the revol-
yer battle. His residence is sit
uated about one hundred feet north
OF the road and the shooting, &C
coFding- to his calculation, took
place about one hundred feet west
OF terminal of the sidewalk leading
from his house porch to the road.
On the stand yesterday after
noon. he related in the following
manner what he saw and heard on
the fateful night:
Il heard the first shot, and be-
cause Of the cold night. it sounded
much like a blowout of a tire. Then
came another report and my wife
said, I believe there is a holdup.'
At that instandt the shots followed
in rapid succession and leaped
out of bed to the window and saw
the flashes made by the last two
shots. I noted they came from the
north side Of the road pointed
southeast and were fired by mau
standing behind telephone pole"
MIR. Weidemann described what
he could OF the location OF the
automobiles but said he did not no
tice a machine pull away during
the height of the shooting.
Finds PocketbOOk.
The pocl.etbook admitted as al
exhibit of the state, which was
identified by Claude Radech. was
not positively identified by Harry
Petersen of Milan, who told Of dis
covering a pocketboek containing
a registration card in a stubble
field near the scene Of the shooting
the next morning.
at the same time he noted foot
tracks in the snow leading into the
field He followed them for a dis
lance of about two hundred feet
north into the cnTnfield where
they turned about and led back to
the road at a peint about two hun
dTed feet west of the scene of the
murder. He told of noticing a few
bits Of white paper along the trail
Chester Bell, q byother-iu-law Of
EGIGGSO4- n laA IlEi lGSl0AIS bNO
hundred yards west OF Wsidemann,
was called to the stand and told Of
accepting the pocketbook from Pet
erson and turning IL over to Chief
Ben De Jaeger OF the Moline pc
lice department. He could not pcs
itively identify the exhibit. How
ever, he told Of following the foot
prints along with Peterson and OF
finding the bis Of white paper.
which he said were parts of dratt
registration certificate on which
could be made out the ramc OF
Claude Radech.
Chief Ben De Jaeser's testimony
had to do With the finding of the
stolen automobile believed to have
been used BY the bandits He said
It was located at a point east OF
Seventh street on Twelfth avenue
and stated three holes made by bull
lets were discovered. One was
through the rear of the body on
level with the wheels and another
through the rear curtain. the third
being On the side He gave It IS his
conclusion that the latter two holes
could have been made by the same
bullet.
TNern ava a--nr r5ytv In ys--