The Mena weekly star. (Mena, Ark.) 1904-1977, 1919-08-14
BLACK RAV|SHER
SHOT TO DEATH
Negro Fiend Who Assaulted 7-Year-
Old Girl at DeQueen, Killed by a
Posse After Long Chase-BOdy
May Be Burned.

quarry, was finished Sunday morning
on the banks of the Cossatot, east of
Wickes, when a posse of Polk county
men ended the negro fiend's life with
a fusillade of bullets.
The search for the wanted negro be-
gan Thursday night at Grannis, when
the fugitive attempted to make way
on a stolen horse and was shot down
by Deputy Sheriff Willis Hungate.
From the time the fugitive black was
wounded the man hunt continued
thruout the south end of Polk county
until brought to a grim conclusion
three days later on the rivers bank
in the edge of Howard county.
Sunday morning the dead body of
the negro was taken back to DeQueen
and according to information received
by Sheriff ]. A Thornton while in
the Sewer county capital, the man
was the one wanted for the awful
crime committed against the little
7-year-old daughter of Tollie Kin
nard. The indentification was made
by a number of different persons
who had seen the negro in and about
DeQueen.
The dead man was a stranger in
DeQueen and up to the time Sheriff
Thornton left, no one had been found
who knew his name or what place he
called home. The body was left in
charge of the Sewer county authori-
ties, but it was rumored that it would
never be buried, mob of angry eiti-
zens having determined, it was said,
to burn it.
In chasing the strange negro to his
death between so and 100 Polk county
men participated. From the time the
fugitive was first wounded at Gran
mis-, men were on his trail all the time
until the end Sunday morning. The
hunted man was the only one of his
color in the country he so vainly
sought to find cover in, and was shot
at and harassed at every turn he
made.
When word first came from De-
Queen Wednesday of the negro's
crime and the belief he was headed
this way, Sheriff Thornton kept his
deputies on the qui vive with the re-
suit Deputy Hungate at Grannis was
the first to get glimpse of the man.
The negro is said to have stolen two
horses previous to the one he took
from the Bland barn and from which
he was shot by the deputy sheriff.
The chase grew warmer on Friday,
when Deputy Ross fired shots at the
negro near Hatton, but it was on Sun
day morning that the long trail drew
near its end.
Brown Copelin, living east of
Wickes, is credited with giving the
negro the wound that brought about
the end of the chase. Copelin was one
of the men who were on the lookout
and while watching a mountain road
near the Polk and Howard line, saw
the fugitive skulking in the brush.
Calling upon the black to halt, Cope
lin reserved his fire until the negro
started to run. A bullet from a 30-30
was later found to have
broken the negro's arm and penetrat-
ed the body.
Copelin and others, the posse be-
ing augmented by men from Wickes,
Grannis and surrounding country,
took up the blood-stained trail and
secured the woods, being led to the
negro's last hiding place by dog be-
longing to Sam Robb. The dog To-
Gated the black in a pile of drift wood
on the banks of the Cossatot river,
about 8 miles east of Wickes, and
more than a mile from where Copelin
had shot.
The posse called upon the negro to
come out and surrender, and when he
to do so, volley of rifle shots
rang out. When the black fiend's
body was later removed from the
brush it was found that he had been
instantly killed, tho he was so well
concealed in the drift he did not afford
a fair target to the hunters.
The body as taken from its hiding
place and was put on w. e. Clinton's
horse for the trip back to the rail-
road. On the way back to Wickes the
cavalcade met Sheriff Thornton, who
was enroute to the scene in Ad Dick
sons service car. The dead negro was
switched to the autos running board
and hauled to Wickes.
Sheriff Thornton was enroute to the
scene with a pair of dogs which be-
longed to mover camped on the old
line road, and which were reputed to
be first class trailers of negroes. The
sheriff had received word early Sun
day morning that the wanted black
was somewhere east Of Wickes and
was heading north. He sent Deputies
Ellsworth and Hilton to the Cossatot
country by way of Shady and expect
ed to join the posse with the dogs
near Wickes.
At Wickes the negro's body was
to B. P. Lichlyter's car and
was taken to DeQueen for identifca-
ton. Sheriff Thornton turned the
remains over to Sheriff VIII Thomas
Of Sewer. county, after it was made
certain the dead man was the one
wanted for the crime.
r. C,Io a. ~.-l -