The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1889-11-27
THE ROBBERS A P
1t Was Not the Fault of Those Who Gave Them
a Spirited Chase of Several Miles.


Early yesterday morning five men. whose
faces, bearing and the plumber they had,
excited the suspicious of farmers whom
they met ON the way to this city. were
chased several miles. The five had reached
a point near Irvington when their trouble
began. Stores in Greenfield had been WIS.,
tied the night before by burglars, and a
farmer living between that place and Irv-
ington said he had been waylaid and
robbed. These events put the ~neighbor-
hoods along the line in a state of excite
ment, and the counsel of a few led to call
ing out the members of q horse-thief de-
tective association. The summons was
sent along the road. aud fifty or more sturdy
tillers of the soil. with their sons. nephews
and cousins. some on horse and others
afoot, responded. They were of
all ages, from the hard-fsted and
honest farmer of three score and ten 10 tie
youth of sixteen or eighteen years of age.
Every one of them had a gun or pistol OF
some kind, from the best-approved repent
ing rifle To the antique shotgun. from the
! latest pattern of revolver to the old single
barreled pistol. When the march began
toward indianapolis 1t was conducted with
an activity and eagerness that threatened
hard lines for the five men the p%ursuers
"a httChs Inv coibl0 A t<tAAto -
sight of the objects of their search, farmers
near lrvingtOn had taken up the chase
on their own ccOunt. The robbers did not
wait to parley or explain where they, got
bundles OF overcoats and dry goods which
each one was carrying. They started on the
run with the Irvington contingent keeping
pace at a lively rate of speed.
About this time the fifty or more de-
tectives, with the riders lashing their
horses, and the footmen ~gasping, came in
sight. When they saw the pursued ahead
of them another squirt of speed, with
hallOs and shouts. was made. The rob-
bers began TO tighten their loads, and
threw oyercoats here. boots and shoes
there, and packages and bolts of dry goods
wherever they would fall. The detectives
threatened to shoot, but the robbers paid
no attention to them and confined their
thoughts and legs to widening the distance
between them and their wOuld-be captors.
The detectives were restrained from
firing by the thought that every one
der. 1t was this that saved the pursued
from having their bodies perforated by
bullets. or peppered with shot. But the
earnest farmers were soon discounted by
the five men turning upon them with re-
volvers and dashing in their direction.
compelling them to retreat. With this
slight advantage. the robbers again started
for the city as fast as their legs would carry
them. The detectives gained their lost
ground, but not sufficient TO bring the pur-
sued to cover Thus the chase went ON I'M
til the Belt railway crossing was reached.
but at that point stood a freight train, which
the pursuers looked upon as the end of
the race. Butthe robbers dashed under the
cars. and on the other side, IN turn, became
pursuerS. Ahead of them was a farmer
with a team and wagon driving in the di-
rectlon they wanted to go. The farmer
looked around in answer to shouts to stop
and seeing the threatening gestures of the
five men whipped his horses to a gallop in
an effort to get out of the way. The rob-
bers overlook him. however, and jumping
into the wagon one took the reins while
the other four caught the farmer and. hold
ing him between them and their pursuers
cried out to the latter. who had
by this time passed the cross
but in the meantime had sent a telephone
message to the police station and resumed
the chase. 1t continued through Prospect
street to Shelby, where the race practi-
cally ended, after having been carried on
through many streets in that part of the
city. The police responded. two squads
taking up the search, one under Superin-
tendent Travis going to the northeast, and
the other, commanded by Captain Camp
bell. following whatever traces of the rob-
bers they could obtain in the Sh~elby-street
district. Campbell and his men got within
a square of the ~rascals, but soon lost them.
The farmers stopped at the corner of Shelby
and Orange streets to rest. and then went
to the ~station-hOuse To tell their story of
the pursuit.
No arrests were made up to a late hour
last night of either of the five men, al
though at least two are we'll known at pO-
lice headquarters. The notorious AL Kerr
is believed to be one of the ringleaders,
and from the description of another, as
given by the farmers, the police think he
is a ~well-known crook who has been in the
city recently. Officers have been detailed
to watch closely the resorts of Kerr and the
suspected crook, and they are confident
of capturing them. Captain Bruce
on. %ha mr. 4haA H. 49,
are those who have been under surveillance
for the past two weeks. While the Green
field ~rascals are known to be hardened in
crime, and one or two of them have grown
old in it, the other gang confines it's opera
tiOns to confidence games.