The morning call., 1893-10-01
OWNED HIS GUILT
Confession of Hardin, the
Train=RObber.
AFRAID OF BEING LYNCHED
He Begged the Officers Who Were
Quarreling Over Him to Put
Him in Jail.

CENTRALIA, ILL.,, Sept. 30.-HardlD, the
last of the Centralia gang OF train-r0bbers,
who was captured last night in Cincin-
natl, was taken from Detective Smith at
Odin this afternoon by Sheriff Holm on a
State warrant, while being conveyed to
st. Louis on the Chicago and Missouri
train. The detective was unwilling to
surrender his prisoner, but had o paper on
which to hold him, and he was conveyed
to Salem Jail, where his pals. Jones and
O'Dwyer. are confined. While the officers
were disputing over the possession of the
prisoner, some one reported in the hearing
of Hardin the news that his detention in
Odin had been telegraphed to Centralia.
and that 300 railroad men we're en- route to
Odin on a special train to lynch him.
This completely unnerved the bandit, and
he begged the officers to hurry him off TO
Jail. He then made full confession of
the robbery.
There were three of US implicated
Jones. ODwyer and myself" be said.
1.-The robbery was planned at 1913 Chouteau
avenue, st. Louis. over three months ago.
Jones was too drunk to play his part
well. He held up the engineer and fire.
man before ODwyer and l were ready to
attack the car and our plans were thrown
into confusion. When we entered the car
found myself in the grasp of Baggage
man Armstrong. / saw man coming into
the car with gun and supposed we had
been trapped. From that moment my
sole object was to get out OF the car. l
endeavored TO keep Armstrong between
myself and the shotgun, and did so pretty
successfully until impu svely reached for
the bellcOrd to stop the train. 1t was then
Saunders shot me in the arm. The shoot
ing filled he car full of smoke and I man.
aged to jump out at the east door.
O'Dwyer was few feet ahead OF me and
we landed outside at about the same time.
"We ran until we reached O'Dwyer's
house, where we stopped, and l passed on
a circuitnus route until l returned to the
Illinois Central track, nearly a mile from
where we held up the train. My arm
panied me fearfully and [ crawled into a
culvert and laid down. While lay there
a wild engine bound for ST. Louis on the
air line pulled I'D to the depot and stopped.
While the engineer and firemen were in
the telegraph Office l crawled out and Sc
creted myself on the engine. on which rode
into S Louis. l went directly to Mrs. Rays
at aboutT o'clock on the morning after the
robbery. l kept myself secreted during
the day in the vicinity of the relay depot
in East st. Louis. and at p. NJ ON Sep.
TENDER q l boarded an o. and NJ. train
and rode 10 Cincinnati.
''No one on the train suspected me.
have friends in Cincinnati, and l went d.
rect to the City Hospital after resting up
a little, and had my arm dressed. regis
tered under the name of Kay. had been
reading the papers regularly, and had sup
nosei the detectives were searching IF
me in Missouri and Indiana. LII was this
that caused me to be off my guard when
was arrested. / think twas description
Of my wound given to the press by the st.
Louis woman that caused the City Hospi-
tai authorities to Identify me and give me
away"
the bandits arm is by no means in bad
condition, and he can use it freely. Hard
in told the officers he left Colts revolver
in the culvert where he rested on the night
of the hold up. and that they could have
the weapon.