River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1892-01-28
FOUGHT WITH BANDITS.

Two Masked Men Rob an Express Car In
Missouri and Afterward Kill Police
man-One Is Shot Dead and the Other
Wounded After an Exciting Chase.
KANSAS City, Mo, Jan. 25.-Fridsy
night was thrilling one for the crew
and passengers of the soulful bound
Missouri Pacific train. The train was
stopped. once by a lyuehing party that
was escorting Murderer Robert Hepler
from Nevada, Mo-, to Lamar. No,
where they hanged him. and a second
time by train robbers, who robbed the
express ear ana its inmates
The train had hardly left Nassau
Junction, where the lynching party
took possession of the train, when
danger signal induced the engineer TO
slow up again. When the train came to
a standsti1 two masked men entered
the express car and ordered the occu-
pants to hold up their hands, keep
ing them covered with revolvers. while
the train travelled IL miles to Lamar.
The robbers rified the pockets of the
trainmen, taking SIS from Baggage
master Hull, small amounts from Ex-
press Messenger Houck and Passenger
Agent Bardett. of the Missouri Pacific.
When the train arrived at Lamar,
the destination of the mob, the bandits
mingled in the crowd of lynchers and
for a time were lost sight of. One of
the trainmen, however. soon discov-
cred them boarding a passing north.
bound freight train on the Memphis
road and sent dispatch to the sheriff
and city mPrshal at Fort Scott telling
Al.
gage, rough in appearance. one some
what taller than the other" The
freight train arrived at Fort Scott at
Z o'clock Saturday morning Police
man 5. Il. Clement (coloredl was
on duty at the station Two sus-
picious-loOking characters, of the
description of the robbers given in the
dispatch, arrived. He halted them,
when one of the men drew his revolver
and fred. The bullet pierced the po.
liceman's heart, and he dropped dead
on the instant
1t also happened that by this time
the freight was just pulling out, and
the robbers boarded an empty box car
and locked themselves in. Shortly
afteryvard the passenger train from
Lamar arrived, and On it was
Detective Chester, of the Mis-
of the bandits. he. accompanied
10y United States Marshal Mapes and
Marshal Abbott, of Fort Scott. boarded
the passenger train, which pulled out
Immediately in pursuit of the freight
At Miamistown the freight was over
taken, but was just pulling out for
Pleasanton when the passenger train
arrived, the crew of the former train
having no knowledge of the dangerous
freight they were hauling.
Detective Chester and his companion.
however, succeeded in boarding the
moving freight and took possession Of
the car Immediately behind the one in
which the bandits had taken refuge
The latter had seen their pursuers en-
ter the car and immediately opened
fire upon them. The officers returned
the fire and shots were con-
tinuously exchanged through the
ends aof the cars all the way to
Pleasanton, a distance of 5 miles. A
dispatch had been sent to Pleasanton
asking that a posse meet the train,
and when the freight pulled in the rob-
bers' car was surrounded and the in
mates were called upon TO surrender.
They answered with shots from their
reviewers, and the posse returned the
fire. The two imprisoned men fired
through the side of the car at random.
and the posse returned the fire with
Winchesters and revolvers. The
fusillade lasted nearly an hour. Final
ly a shot from Winchester struck
one of the robbers in the head and
killed him. The other bandit then
surrendered. He was seriously wounded
in the side. He gave his name as
Charles Meyers, of Kansas City, Kan.
The dead robber was taken back to
Fort Scott The dead robbers name
was Francis.