St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1885-06-04
A Maniac Captures a Train.
A Real Western Story.

Passenger train No. q on the Wa
bash, st. Louis and Pacific railroad
reached Chicago Saturday an hour and
Il half late, in charge of Il mailman.
Out of the IL or Is men, officers and
citizens, who finally secured him, one
officer is dead, shot through the body,
another probably fatally wounded and
several citizens injured. The lunatic
was mortally wounded, with three bull
lets in his body. Shortly before noon
the station policeman at the Wabash,
ST. Louis and Pacific depot on Polk
street received this dispatch from Con-
ductOr Putnam at ChenOa, H.. 81
have an insane man on my train, who
has possession of one car. The police
at Kansas City, Jacksonville and PeO
ria were all afraid to take him. Please
send 10 or II policemen to take him,
when we arrive in Chicago. They had
better come in citizens clothes. They
will have to look sharp or some one
will get hurt Nine officers i'll uni
form and five in citizens clothes under
the command of Lieut.. Tough, made
up the squad which arrived at the
depot, 10 minutes before the train was
due. The train being delayed, as was
subsequently learned, by Intellectual
efforts to capture the lunatic, the pO-
lice were forced to wait more than an
hour. As the train approached the
whistle sounded number of warning
notes in quick succession. People
hanging halfway out the car windows
were seen to gesticulate wildly to the
crowd. Before the train had come to
a stand-still, dozen passengers jump
70 = lao n
back with blanched faces. Officer Bar
rett was the first to observe the lunatic
who with leveled revolver glared at
him from the front platform of the
chair car. Barrett turned half round
and stopped instantly, but too late. A
ball from the lunatic's revolver struck
him in the side and in five minutes he
was dead. 1t was evident that while
his ammunition lasted the maniac
would not be taken alive. The officers,
after removing their wounded COM
rade, began fusilade through the win
dOws of the smoking car, where the
mailman had taken refuge. After a
minute or two he plunged out on the
platform, fired couple of shots into
the crowd, leaped from the train and
dashed down Fourth avenue with Off
matte fired the last shot in his weapon,
but without effect, and then awaited
Laughlin's coming with cleaning eyes
and frothing mouth. They clinched
and both fell, the mailman meanwhile
beating Laughlin numerically on the
head with his revolver. The officer
was in citizens clothes and was set
upon and terribly pounded by an eX-
- ].
the prisoner. The rest of the squad
arriving shortly after the maniac was
Overpowered, taken first to a cell and
then to the hospital to have his wounds
dressed. When he realized that furth
er resistance was useless, the prisoner
grew calm and said quite nationally
that his name was Louis Reaumea, that
he was 80 years old, and was en- route
to his home in Detroit from Denver.
The train men tell thrilling story
of the trip from Kansas City. When
the man boarded the train at that place
he remarked that people were after
him to lynch him, and that if left alone
he would modest no one. AT Ell PaSO,
H., he he anne violent, and, with a re-
vOlver in mis- hand, ordered the train
men to cease making some changes in
the construction of the train. The pas
sengers all left the chair car, which the
mailman made his headquarters and
were locked into the others. No one
dared approach the lunatic, and after
he had exchanged several shots with
the city marshal, he ordered the train
to proceed. From there to Chicago
his will was the only law Obeyed.
The case of state VS.. Arthur Scott of