, 1889-04-17
A Leader" Reporter Visited the
Place Yesterday.
Graphic Accounts of the Affair by
Eye Witnesses.
Smith and the Robber Struggle for
the Revolver.

day forenoon.
While awaiting tidings from the pur-
suing party the citizens c~ongregated
discussed the interesting affair. Cashier
Smiths recital of his en- counter with the
holdup is quite graphic and though
modestly related is good evidence that
the gentlemen has assimilated plenty of
courage and bravery while growing up in
the west.
II thought nothing unusual of a rap
at the entrance" says Mr.. Smith, ''as
the door has been obstinate since the
recent heavy rain. l dropped my pen,
swung off my stool, walked through the
bank enclosure, across the lobby and
gave the door a vigorous jerk, swinging
it wide open. l forced back m y usual
come in and felt myself paling as [
glanced along the barrel of a revolver
and into the face of a cowboy. He said
he wanted all the money in the place and
backed me into the bank Office. l saw no
escape and told him to help himself. He
replied that l must wait on him and
opening a bag which he carried told me
to filing it. My first
contribution was a bank sack
containing SOS in nickles and dimes.
He used both hands in holding
open the receptacle and [ noticed that he
became very nervous when lowering the
pistol arm. This gave me courage and |
grasped the weapon, pointing it upwards.
He was too much for me physically, and
after a brief struggle threw me off with a
threat to hurt me- if | did not carry out
his commands in a hurry. The next ante
was fifty silver dollars in a bank bag.
When the pistol went down | grappled
with him again and we wrestled all aver
the room. He held to the revolver and
thwarted my desire to gain possession of
it. In this round the weapon was once
discharged. The ball glanced from the
ceiling to the wall and fell to the floor. I
rather thought the fellow was becoming
desperate and did not tackle him again.
Both of us thought that the shot would
alarm my neighbors, but no one appeared.
| gave him several more parcels of silver
and some gold and bills. There is a
none drawer in our counter and l
opened it for him on demand. He APP
propriated the bills and gold in sight, but
left quite a lot of silver. This makes me
think that he believed that the bags in
his possession contained only gold. This
is a horse on him. Seemingly satisfied
with the financial result of his visit the
fellow drew a rope from his pocket and
told me.to face the vault-that he was
going to tie me. | thought a bluff would
work here and fatty refused to obey. He
did not insist, but ordered me to get my
hat and stand on the sidewalk and watch
him until he was out of sight. l started
for the headgear-in a back room-dou-
bic quick. There was a revolver and a
Winchester there that | needed in my
business. The robber, as luck would
have it, saw the Winchester before | en-
tered the room. He called me back and
helped himself to the rifle. Then he went
out the front door and | out the back"
The story of Ed. Reed, manager of f.
A. Gillespie's store at Grover, onnects
nicely with the FOREGOING. Here it is:
II was chopping wood in my back yard
when the robber and Charlie (Mr. SMITH
were having their matinee in the bank.
| heard some unusual noise in the place
and started over to investigate. Near the
bank | met Charlie, who hurriedly said
that he had been held up, and asked me
to get my shot gun. l rushed back to the
store and grabbed my Winchester tried
gun with which l have killed many ante
lope on the run at long range. When |
returned Charlie was emptying his Win
chester at a cowboy who was riding
towards the hills as fast as his horse-a
good one too-could carry him. Without
a second thought l dropped on one knee
then Mr.. Boln called to me not to shoot,
that l would kill him, and that 1 had no
right to fire on him. l hesitated an in
slant, and the flying pony carried him out
of range. 1 don't believe L was excited,
but somehow it never occurred to me to
wound the horse. | did not understand
that there had been a holdup, but took it
for granted that if Charlie was shooting
at the fellow he had good reasons for it,
[ am sure that l would have killed him
had | fired. Perhaps its best that l
didn't"
The robber ran his horse until the base
of a hill two miles away was reached.
The ascent was made leisurely. 1t was
while the robber passed over the hill that
the posse of twelve men took the trail.
His horses tracks were followed through
a broken country until night. At dusk
the pursuers found the robbers horse
| with another, that had evidently been rid
den a great distance rapidly. This was
convincing evidence that the hold up had
n nal awaiting him in the hills. Both