The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1893-10-01
HARDIN MAKES A CONFESSION.
The Centralia Train Robbery Planned
Three Months Ago.


Three Months Ago.
CENTRALIA, Ills, Sept. 30.-Hardin,
the last of the Centralia gang of train
robbers, who was captured last night in
Cincinnati, was taken from Detective
Smith at Odin this afternoon by Sheriff
Helm on a state warrant, while bein g
conveyed to ST. Louis on the Ohio & Mis-
sissippi train. The detective was unwil-
ling to surrender his prisoner, but ne had
no paper on which to hold him and he
was conveyed to the 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 that
the news of his detention in Odin had
been telegraphed to Centralia and SOC
railroad men were en- route on special
train to lynch him.
This completely unnerved the bandit,
and ne begged the officers to hurry him
off to jail. He then made full COMES
sion of the robbery. s'There were three
OF us implicated. Jones, O'Dwyer and
L. yself, % he said. s'The robbery was
planned at ,313 Choteau avenue, st. Louis,
over three months ago. Jones was toe
drunk to play his part we'll. He held up
the engineer and fireman before O'Dwyer
and / were ready to attack the car, and
our plans were thrown into confusion.
When we entered the car l found myself
in the grasp of Baggageman Armstrong.
| saw man coming into the car with q
gun, and supposed we had been trapped.
From that moment my sole object was to
get out of the car. | endeavored to keep
Armstrong between myself and the shot
gun. and did so pretty successfully until
/ impulsively reached for the bell cord tc
stop the train. 1t was then Saunders shot
me in the arm. The shooting filed the
car full of smoke, and l managed to jump
out at the east door. O'Dwyer was few
feet ahead OF me. We both landed out
side about the same time.
ave ran east until we reached
| O'Dwyer's house, where he stopped.
passed on in q circuitous route until re-
turned to the Illinois Central track,
nearly mile from where we held up the
| train. My arm was palning me fear
fully, ard crawled into a culvert and
LAID down. While lay there wild en-
| CINE bound for st. Louis on the Air Line
pulled up to the depot and stopped.
While the engineer and firemen were in
the telegraph Office, l crawled out and
secreted myself on the engine, on which
rode into St. Louis. I went directly to
Mrs. Rays, about O'Clock in the morn
Al oisSA 1A1C 4OOOOAys AOR0 &4iJ SCI
secreted during the day in the vicinity Of
the Relay depot in East st. Louis, and at
D. N. on September II, boarded an
Ohio & Mississippi train and rode to Gin
cinnati. No one on the train suspected me
have friends in Cincinnati and went
direct to the City hospital, after resting
up little, and had my arm dressed.
registered under the name of Kay.
have been reading the papers regularly
| nd h
ing for me in Missouri and Indiana. II
was this that caused me to be off my
guard when l was arrested. l think il
was the description of my wound given
to the press by the st. Louis woman thai
caused the City hospital authorities tc
identify me and give me away
The bandits arm is in no means bac
condition, and he can use it freely
Hardin told the officers that he left
Colts revolver in the culvert where ht
rested the night of the hoid-up and they
could have the weapon.