Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1882-09-15
STORY OF THE KEWANEE BANK
ROBBERY. ,sss -

eNuence gwen In the preliminary examiner
tion OF ;. s. Scott on the charge of completely
In the kewanee bank robbery. After the con-
ciusion OF the testimony in this case the parties
accused of and confessinx TO the robbery were
| oeld Tor trial in the sum of $4,000: so Rlltig'
J. J. Pratt testified as follows:
| n was engaged as Assistant Cashier in the
FIRST National bank on August IL. Miss Palmer
was assisting me at that time. We closed busi-
ness about ive o clock that afternoon. There
was about $500 in paper about $500 or $500 in
siiver, ana about $1,000 in gold in the safe. and
| perhaps SAOO or $500 in use. took out $1,000
In gold Saturday night If all the money had
peen there 1t would have amounted to about
! <S0Ou. counting ever, thing. Two men came
! 70 the door and raped, and j asked Miss
raimer 70 let them in. Two came in. One
| caught her by the throat and carried her to the
vault. The other took me by the shoulder and
put me in the vault. Miss Palmer was there.
fney were stuffing rags in her mouth One man
/ was WEIGH; the other did not know Saw him
pass on Friday. WEIGH asked me if /
wished to see him. j told him didn't. They
| put the money in the sachel and bound my
! feeI ana tied cloth over my mouth. Soon
AFTER they left released Miss Palmer and
| opened the door with dimes. When got out
OF the vault the gold was all gone and most
all OF the silver. Some of the silver was scat
tered about. Igave the alarm The robbery
was the result of plan laid long before.
About year ago last spring Scott and I had
talks or doing something of this sort. He
talked with me at the gate, one evening, when
he walked home with me. Wished to crack
| Miles Minneck's safe. We talked about
drilling the safe at tho bank. i experimental
| at the bank, and thought it couli be done.
/ Scott said he could take the temper out of the
plates so we could drill them. He went to
Chicago and got some drills made. Had them
mr. IN prir
got them. He sent to welch for drills.
/ WEIGH sent two drills and a box Of
fuse. They were at Scott office. This was
! about two months before the forgery. Scott
| said WEIGH wanted to take hand. with
them. had had no talk with welch at that
l time. We intended to tunnel from the fire
| engine-room to the vault We thought to
come into the room behind the check case and
then drill the safe at our leisure. In case we
tunneled we were to put. cigar stubs and
| pieces of crackers so 1t would be thought
some one had lived in the tunnel. Scott also
thought we could get a noiseess engine to do
l. the drilling. We afterward' thought we could
| get an Internal machine into the bank by hav-
| Ing IT wrapped up in paper. ] recommended
that WEIGH should come here and represent
himself as. cattle-buyer, and come to the
| bank and inquire if money had been sent to
| him; that we should have package sent by
express and he should deposit it in the bank,
and that should take that package and put in
| its place this machine, and fix it to explode at
any time we thought best. This was before
and after the forgery. This was given up.
| first met Welch at SCOTS office, some time
| in the summer before the forgery. In case
we had blown up the safe we were to have
taken some coin bags and put something in
them and blow them in pieces to leave in the
| bank, but we concluded to do it sometime in
the daytime. Scott wished to come in the bank
! and throw pepper in my eyes when was there
alone, and go through the bank, but 1 would
not consent. Thought it would place too much
responsibility on me- Had talk with WEIGH
at the time of the forgery. When Scott went
to st. Louis he promised to come and help US
when there was favorable time. We ex-
pected him to help us this time. About two
weeks before the robbery Welch was in ST.
| Louis, and Scott wrote to me that WEIGH had
no money and asked me to cash check for
him. refused to do this, as had no money
Scott wrote me later that he had given WEIGH
some money and asked me to give him more I
saw WEIGH at Galva afterward. All the letters
| we destroyed. This correspondence with Scott
was a few days before the robbery. Iwrote Scott
| that WEIGH was ready, and now was the time
| to do the business. Scott wrote me to know
| what the plan was. wrote and informed him,
and he said he was afraid he would be recor.
nized, as he was 10 take part in the plan we
had arranged. Iwrote him that WEIGH would
! furnish DISCUSSES. for which he sent to Boston
| wrote Scott later the plan we finally carried
out. He replied that he could not leave St.
Louis without its being found out, and asked
if it could not be managed In some way with
| out him. This was the final result of our cor
| respOndenee. The understanding was that
| Scott was to share equally with us if he took
part; if not, we were TO give Scott 5000. Twas
to have $4,000. WEIGH was to give the man
| who helped him 81 900. Scott had full knowl-
| edge of the robbery up to two or three days of
its taking place. i had seen WEIGH but five
times before the robbery. ! saw him at Galva
about two weeks before the robbery. Fur
nished him money as he needed it, f
EN-. Welch testified as follows; e,,sI
/ "Have been acquainted with Scott three or
four years. Met him in Princeton. Saw him
in Chicago last Christmas, and have seen him
but once since, in ST Louis in June last. He
telegraphed me to come there. Was at Kan
sas City. We had correspondent before re-
| garding the rObbing of the First National
| Bank. talked with him about the robbery.
| some time before he left Kewanee. 1t was
| settled on the day we made the forgery that
we would rob the bank, but didn't decide how
| it should be done. One plan was made and
! Scott was TO help, but he made one at Chicago.
| in which he would not help. We intended to
| do the work on the Friday preceding and /
came to Kewanee to help do 1t, but it Was pest
| poaed till Monday Had talked with Scott be-
| fore. He first spoke TO me about the robbery
| Said he had talked with Pratt, and gave me
| to understand that Pratt was willing to help
This was some three years ago. told
him would help if everything was all
| first plan was to put us under the counter and
| when Wentworth came in Pratt was to give us
| a signal, when Scott was TO attack wentworth
| and was to take Pratt Another plan was to
| blow the safe. We were to receive an express
| package and deposit ft in the bank, and were
| to have duplicate containing dynamite to put
| in its place and blow up the safe after talk
| ing the money. This WIS the third plan. The
| second was to drill and blow the safe with
| powder. Saw Pratt Mt Galva Had talked with
| Scott about it while in st. Louis. Wrote to
| Scott few days after, either from Chicago
| or Milwaukee. We were to gag the
| girl. Scott was to help us. He was to gag
| the young lady, and was to attend to
Pratt Scott answered my letter, saying he
| thought the scheme was good one and
would work all right He wrote me again
| at Peoria Sad he was some afraid to come
! here. but did not decline to help MS 4
| wrote again tell ng him thought he could dis
| R1lise himself so there would be no danger OF
| recognition. 4 heard from him again on the
1 Wednesday before the robbery Had known
him several years. He said he would help us
| and wrote to Pratt that afternoon that we
would be down there on Friday, Saw Pratt in