The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1893-09-23
WHO WERE THEY?
SIX ARMED MEN TIE AID ROB s.
E LUSHA.
Thew Also Talked About Robbing the
Santa Fe Train But They
Dido. Do It.

| the hacking house about 8 o'clock last
night. The cries emeuated from the grove
on the coruor OF Lawrence avenue ana
Twenty First street. Mike Dempey was
the first to arrive in the grove and he found
Lusha tied with halter rope to tree
with "A handkerchief tied over his mouth
He rapidly united Lusha who told the fol-
lowing strange story to an EAGLE re-
| porter.
- was going home about O'Clock
and / stopped ia the shade OF some
trees for few minutes near Thrift
teenth street. 1t was but few Sec
oads when five men heavily armed rode
ND on horse back and one of them was
leading horse without rider. They
halted near where | stood aud very soon
the sixth man came up and mounting his
horse said "boys its all right, the train is
due at 9:l5 and will be in on time" Some
one of the members asked how it could be
stopped aud another replied sit must stop
at the crossing and We'll get her there. "
One man then asked whether it wouldn't
be better to throw a switch and again the
same man replied that that wasn't
| necessary AS he was sure the
They then rode on north. When they had
gone went out in the middle Of the road
| and looked after them. Ny first impulse
was to run down town and report the
| matter at the Santa Fe station, but on
second thought l deemed it more wise TO
| follow them, watch their movements and
report the matter to the police at the
stock yards. l walked north short dis
| tanca and then crossed over to the rail-
road track, where I saw two or three
| more men lettering. These, also. left
| when l appeared, and walked north, meet
| ing the men on horseback in the grove
west of the packing house. l heard them
say that there were 10 cops In
sight. and that everything was
all right. They then noticed me aud
one of the men said, that ---- is on
to US and he will give us away" Two
men then jumped from their horses, seized
me and after tieing me to tree in the
grove. robbed me OF $40 aud told me that
| if attempted to make a noise they would
| blow my brains out. I remained there
| for fifteen or twenty minutes, and when
! thought they We're beyond hearing dist
| ance gave the alarm and was released.
| The Santa Fe Waterman at the crossing
of the Missouri Pacific was notified of
what had happened and he telephoned to
the Union depot. The agent in turn tele-
phoned to the police headquarter, and
the hoodiunl wagon and three
or four policemen went to the stock yards
and arrested about dozen buns, not
knowing anything about the conspiracy to
| rob the Santa Fe, for from some cause
they did not quite catch on to the full inn
port of the telephone message. When the
depot agent was notified of the matter by
the watchman the first section of the train
was then standing on the track ready to
pull out, but as there was no express car
| on this train it was not expected that it
would be held up. Conductor Loosely,
however, was notified aud he p: .pared his
shooting irons for any emergency that
might arise The first section passed the
crossing all right and so did the second sec
| ton, which was without an express car, too.
| The third section which contained the
money and valuables was an hour late,
but when it did arrive Chief of Police
Cone and Chief Clerk Meyers of the Stata-
Fe boarded the blifd baggage we'll armed
and AN EAGLE reporter went with them SO
that no details of the expected butchery
might be lost to the public. Five or six
policemen were stationed where they
! would do the most good. The conductor,
express messenger and baggageman were
also warned, and if the robbers showed up
there might be six funerals to-day. The
crossing was reached IN few minutes,
but as nobody put in an appearance the
engine footed twice and the train went
gliding on.
The matter created a good
deal of excitement at the stock
yards add the people there believed
that a robbery was contemplated. 1t is
very hard to believe than any men would
be so bold to rob train within the city
limits. but there is no question but what
Lusha was tied and robbed by six well
armed horsemeu. The crossing is a quiet
spot, with but couple of unoccupied
shanties in the neighborhood and sue
cessful robbery could be commit ed there
without much trouble, for the indications
are that the engineer aud fireman would
not be expecting anything of the kind and
could have been made 10 yield to the rob.
bers easily, The fact that the two first
trains had no express cars on and
the third train being al hour late, might
have something TO do n foiling
the plot, besides the appearance of the
police in the vicinity with the hooalum
| wagon and the arrest of about dozen
buns might have frightened them
| away. Since the opening OF the Cherokee
strip Inducements offered TO train rob
beers 10 tackle the Santa Fe, particularly
! ~ hof Ia ~
money is shipped every night from tn,
Perry lsnd Office. IL is not improbable
that a scheme was on foot the previou.
night to hold up and rob Herbert Fem
the ticket clerk at the union depot
About 9 O'clock three suspicion:
characters hung about the depo
and watched his movement
closely through the front windows A
little newsboy was also loafing around
and be overheard one of the men say, III
has good deal of money there. - pointiu.
TO the cash box near The ticket case, -
i wouder how much is in the safe 80 Tn,
little boy noticed by their actions anC
whiSperings that they were suspicious
customers, and he quietly slipped in an,
informed Mr. Fem of his fears Mr.
Fem had suspicious. too, ana was read,
for them in case of an attack, but tn
trains came in in such order that he ha,
people around the depot in large number
. until the last train had gone, and then n
promptly locked the Office up aud wen
home Usuzlly be has n long wait for til
: Frisco. with no people around the depot
hu: on this occasion, As stated. there wer
several persons in the waiting room al
the time.