The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1888-02-15
OUTLAWS RUN. DOWN.
A Daring Gang Of Train Robbers
in the Southwest Captured.
Adventures of Detectives in Search
of the Plunderers.

News has been received to the effect that
the gangs which had been committing the
numerous train robberies in Arkansas and
Texas had been broken up by the detectives
and many Of the robbers arrested For
the last two years or more there
has been regularly organized gang OF
train robbers operating successfully in the
northern and eastern part Of Texas and the
southeastern part Of Arkansas. Their last
robbery was that Of an express car on the
st. Louis and Arkansas Railroad, near Genoa,
Ark, in Dec. 1887. Pinkerton detectives
finally captured one of the gang named
Brock, and Brock declared that the leaders Of
the band were two Burrows, brothers, who
were then at their old home near
Vernon, Alabama. A Sheliff's posse
surrounded a cabin, supposed to be
that of the brothers, about daylight one
morning. As the posse were about to enter
the house their guide, one of the deputies,
suddenly discovered that he had made
mistake, and that they were at the
next house and after surrounding it, as
they were Just about ready to enter,
the deputy discovered that he had again
made q mistake, and that the house they
we're in search Of was further on. 1t was
now daylight and the detectives and the
Sheriff were about to go back into
the pines and wait until night before
making any attempt to capture the Burrows,
when man was seen in the distance who was
supposed to be one of the brothers and rnn
was made for him. He was captured, but ne
turned out to be man named Thompson.
A consultation was then held, and it was
concluded to go ahead as there was
danger Of its becoming known that the
Sheriff and detectives were after the
Burrows brothers. They pushed on
through the pine woods, and as the
Sheriff came suddenly into the clearing
where Jim Burrows house was located he
was seen by woman, who ran into the
house, as McGinn supposed, to give the alarm.
A run was made for the house, the sher,
if and McGinn going for the front and
the two detectives for the rear. AS
they came near the cabin they saw
a man plunge through the rear door with a
pistol in hand. Firing was Mt once com.
lnenced between this man and the detectives
who were making run for the rear door,
but the man got into the timber.
Detective McGinn had an oppor-
tunity of shooting this man with
his Winchester, but just as he had drawn his
gun one of the posse called out to him not to
covered that the man who had been captured
was not one of the Burrows brothers.
The man who escaped was Jim BurrowS
An attempt was made to follow him
through the timber, but it was impos.
sible to trace him, although the de-
tectives were satisfied that he had
been wounded. The detectives surrounded
the house of the father of the Burrows broth
ers. The house was searched, but Rube was
- fo% efofn fhof ha a
left home the day before and had gone to
Kennedy, an adjoining town.
The posse was then divided, and two OF the
detectives were sent to Kennedy to intercept
Rube but it was learned at Kennedy that pre-
vious to the arrival Of the detectives relative
of Rube Burrows had gone on horseback to
Kennedy, and the word had reached Rube,
and he had taken to the timber.
The country was thoroughly secured by the
posse, but the boys had taken te the noun
tains, and, as the mountains OF that part OF
the country are filled with "moonshiners, "
it was impossible to find them.
The towns on the line Of the railroads we're
telegraphed to and messages were sent out to
all neighboring inland towns in order to hedge
the boys in and capture them before they left
the country. They succeeded, however, in
getting to the railroad, but as they boarded
a train party at the depot, who had heard
that they were being searched for, told the
conductor, and he telegraphed ahead to
montgomery to the Chief of Police
that the Burrows boys were passengers
on the train. Captain Montgomery, OF
the Montgomery police force, was at
the depot on the arrival Of the train and
arrested them and took them to the police
station. As they reached the foot OF the stairs
leading up into the station, they made break
for liberty, and Rube slipped and fell into q
ditch and was captured, but Jim, who is very
fleet of foot, was distancing his pursuers
when Captain Martin called on Neil Bray, a
compositor to head him off. Jim drew a
pistol and fired on Bray, shooting him
through the body and mortally wounding
him, and thus escaping.
Burrows was finally traced to a cabin ten
miles from Montgomery. Three of the posse
surrounded the cabin and called on Burrows
to surrender. Instead Of doing so Burrows
Jumped through window and made for q
swamp near by. The officers fired at him and
wounded him. He dropped his hat and
boots, and, turning, fired four shots at the
officers, slightly wounding one of them. He
escaped to the swamp, but at last accounts
the swamp was surrounded with men, and a
pack of bloodhounds from convict farm
TT = o,, R,,rro,yo'S trail