The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1892-01-08
TRAIN RoeeER CAPTURED.

The Leader OF the Gienuaie iNOoDers NUM-
ed Dowr nnd Capturee-He Has Already
Served a I ERIN For an Express Robbery
Interesting History of His Exploits and
Capture.
ST. LOUIS, Dec. 31.-The leader OF
the gang who robbed the Adams exc
press messenger. MUlrenny, on the
Frisco road at Glendale. a suburb of
St. Louis. on the night of November 50,
is under arrest. A female accompllce
is also in custody and the capture of
the remainder of the gang seems only
a matter of time.
The leader turns out to be Adelbert ID.
sly, a noted ex-convict from the Mis-
souri, penitentiary.
The latest series of exploits by Sly
and his fellow bandits began with the
robbery of the street car barns at Oma-
ha in October, in which they used dy-
Mantle and secured large amount OF
monev. They committed a robbery on
the Metropolitan street car barns In
Ka.sas City, Kan. the same month, and
then came the robbery of the Pacific
Express Co. on the Missouri PACING
railroad, near Omaha, on the night OF
November 4, and the American express
robbery near Western Union Junction,
Wis. on the night of November II. IN
ali of these robberies SlS figured as a
leader and their engine of war, almost
invariably, was dynamite.
After the robbery at Western Union
Junction William A. Pinkerton found
out that Sly in 1888. while acting as
driver for the American Express Co. at
St Joseph, Mo, decarped with pack
age containing $40, 800. After long
search Sly was apprehended in Cali
fornia by Pinkertons. He was returned
to Missouri and sentenced to seven
years in the Missouri penitentiary at
jefferson City. On coming out 1t was
learned Sly became associated with
a gang of rough burglars who
made their headquarters around
Kansas City and Omaha On
the theory that Sly was possibly
concerned in the robbery at Western
Union junction, the Pinkertous quietly
began investigating towards locating
Sly and succeeded in tracing him to St
Louis a few days previous to the Glen
dale robbery on the Frisco road. Pink
erton's force and the force of Chief of
Police Harrigan, of St Louis, soon
Joined hands, and some days after the
Glendale affair Chief Harrigan received
valuable information from a furniture
dealer, who furnished houses on the in
stallment plan, concerning woman
and four men renting house on Swan
avenue in St Louis on the outskirts OF
the city.
Robert A. Pinkerton at this time
was in California, and on the
eve of departure for the east but re-
manned and assisted the San Francisco
police, who had been communicated
with. Sly, il was ascertained hal gone
by way of Denver to southern Cali
fornia With this information K. A.
Pinkert1n went at once to San Diego
and searched that place thoroughly.
then going to Los Angeles, arriving
week ago.
On the afternoon of Saturday Mr..
Pinkerton observed a man in the post
office at Los Angeles. who answered to
the description of Sly and resembled
the cid photograph which he had very
closely. Tapping him on the shoulder
and stepping up and taking his hand
so that he could not attempt to use
a gun, as Sly is desperate character,
Mr.. Pinkerton addressed him by the
name of Sly. Sly denied his identity
and said his name was A.
S. Denton. That settled 1t in
Pinkerton's mind at once, for Sly's
right name is Adelbert Denton Sly. He
was at once taken into custody and
searched. In his possession was found
s.. 900 and a lot of personal property,
and on his person was found the gold
watch taken from the person of Mes
senger Mulreuny, of the Adams Express
Co, after he had been injured by the
explosion of dynamite at the robbery
November So at Glendale, Mo.
sly refused to make any statement
whatever, knowing full well that being
an ex-convict in the Missouri peni-
Tertiary that his next imprisonmen
if convicted, means life. The search
of the house on Swan avenue gave
Chief Harrigan positive evidence
against the thieves, as in this house
was found parts of paper and other ev-
/ idence taken from the express car,
which had not been thoroughly de-
stroyed
Adelbert L. Sly is better known in
| the crooked fraternity as Bert Slv, is a
native of Wisconsin,, was born and
raised near Oshkosh. After commit
ting the express robbery in St Joseph,
for which he was sent to the peniten-
tiary in 1884, his family moved to st.
Joseph, Mo-, where they now reside.
His avowed ambition was to be Sec
ond "Jesse James"
The Lynching Continued.