A search that continued from 8 o’clock Thursday morning until 3 o’clock this morning failed to develop any clues as to the whereabouts of “Shine” Huggins and “Slick” James, negroes who escaped from the Cabarrus county chain gang Thursday morning. The searching party was headed by Sheriff R.V. Caldwell Jr., and many miles were covered by the searchers.
According to one member of the posse which followed the trail of the escaped prisoners, it was comparatively easy to keep the trail during the day, but when night set in the task became more difficult. Broken tree branches, smashed in briars and other signs were followed during the day but with the coming of night other means of tracking the negroes had to be resorted to.
A bloodhound from the Jackson Training School directed the posse members for several hours, but the heat became too much for the dog and efforts to secure fresh dogs failed. Sheriff Caldwell made an effort to get two dogs from Granite Quarry but their owner was in Salisbury at the bedside of a sick relative and no one else was willing to attempt to work the dogs. Members of the posse were heard to remark that at one time they could have caught the fugitives if they had had fresh bloodhounds.
Sheriff Caldwell began his search near St. James Catholic Church, where the negroes cut from their bodies the shackles and chains which held them. The search was continued on to Rimertown, through that community on into Rowan county. Another searching party took a trail that led to Cold Water Creek, and this route was followed for several hours.
The party of which Sheriff Caldwell was a member saw many signs of places the negroes had been but they were unable to get within sight of them, nor could they find any persons who had seen the negroes.
Although the prisoners wore overalls when they escaped, it is believed they secured other clothing during the day. Huggins wore stripes but James wore a plain overall suit when he escaped. The men are armed with a Winchester repeating rifle, it is pointed out, and a few persons would deny them clothing if they demand for a change of raiment.
L.D. Fryling, the guard who was overpowered by the negroes before they escaped, continued on the job Thursday after securing another gun. Mr. Fryling was none the worse off physically for his fight with the negroes except for bruised spots on his neck which he suffered as a result of the choking applied by the negroes. The left side of Mr. Fryling’s neck bore visible signs of the pressure brought to bear by Huggins’ fingers. James held the guard’s arms while Huggins choked him.
Officers in many nearby cities and counties are advised of the negroes’ escape, but so far no reports have come from them. It is believed by local officers that the negroes will keep under cover until they are well out of this section of the state, but they are continuing their efforts to apprehend them.
Another searching party started out early this morning at the point where the chase ended Thursday night, and it is planned to continue the search without interruption so the prisoners will not have much time to rest. Local officers hoped that hunger would drive the negroes to the open during the day and that they would not be fortunate to secure aid from anyone who could not report there whereabouts.
The escape of the prisoners has aroused the county due mostly to the fact that Huggins has made many threats against white men in general. He is known as a very desperate character and has threated on several occasions to kill the first man who lays hands on him.
From the front page of the Concord Daily Tribune, Friday, July 17, 1925
newspapers.digitalnc.org/lccn/sn92073201/1925-07-17/ed-1/seq-1/
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