Fergus County argus. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1886-1946, 1893-10-05
READY FOR The ROBBERS
Railroad Officials Informed of a Plan
to Rob an Express Train.
They Send a Out Dummy Train Loaded With
Officers Heavily ~Armed-Two Robbers
Killed and One Captured.

A bold attempt at train robbery
was cleverly frustrated Just after mid
night one night last week. As a re-
suit two would-be train robbers are
dead, and three are now behind the
bars in Jail. OF the six men who
attempted the robbery only one
escaped. The robbers who were killed
are Fred Kohler and Hugo Gleitze.
The three men captured are n. A.
Hurst, Henry Carver and Charlie
Fredericks. John Gleitze escaped.
The train which the bandits had at
tempted to rob was passenger train
No. 3, on the Kansas City, st. Joseph
& Council Bluffs railroad, which left
Kansas City at $50. p. m. Sunday
night and which arrived at st. Joseph
at 1896 Sunday morning. The officials
of the road had been notified that a
robbery had been planned and they
notified the police. When the train
arrived at St. Joe a dummy train was
madeup and sixteen officers, under
the command of the chief of police,
were put aboard. In order to thor
oughly deceive the robbers the train
was made an exact duplicate of train
No. 3, and consisted of an engine and
tender, an express and baggage a
and the usual coaches and Pullmans.
When the decoy reached APPOINT two
miles north OF st. Joseph, the engi-
neer's attention was aroused by a
lighted lantern moving to and fro be-
tween the rails. He obeyed the signal
and soon six masked men surrounded
the engine. One ofthe bandits mounted
the engine and presented a revolver
at the engineers head and another at
the fireman, keeping them in subiec-
ton, while the other five men FASTENED
to rob the express ar. They ordered
the messenger to open the door, which
he did forthwith. The bandits entered
the car, leaving two without to guard.
The policemen who were guarding the
train were distributed in variouscars,
the majority OF them being in the ex-
press car.
Immediately the three bandits who
had undertaken the work of robbing
this car entered the door the police
men ordered them to surrender. The
robbers were taken completely by sur
prise, but they opened fire at II C
upon the police. The police returned
the fire and a general fusillade fol-
lowed. About twenty-five shots were
fired on both sides. When the smoke
cleared away the ~lifeless bodies OF
Kohler and Gleitze were lying on the
floor of n car. They had been shot
through the heads. The bullet which
pierced Kohler's head produced in
slant death. He never stirred after
he was hit. Gleitze was still breath
ing but died shortly after he was
taken to st. Joseph. Fredericks, the
third robber engaged in the fight, was
not injured, and was placed under ar
rest. None OF the officers were injured.
The bodies of Kohler and Gleitze
were taken to st. Joseph on the
dummy train, which returned to that
city soon after the encounter. They
were taken to an undertaker's. The
prisoners, Fredericks, Hurst and Gar
yer, were brought in on the sametrain
with their dead comrades and were
locked up at the police station. All
the robbers lived in st. Joseph.
The police and railway officials had
been kept informed of the robbers in
tentions, and were prepared to meet
them on each occasion. Hearst. Fred
ericks and Carver, the three men
placed under arrest, it now appears,
were not genuine robbers but decoys
in the employ of the authorities.
Henry GleitZe, said to be the sixth
and last member of the gang, was cap
tured at $50 o'clock the next morn
ing at the house of Mary Elsnes in
South st. Joe. His pockets were full
of ammunition and three fingers OF his
left hand had been shot off. He de-
MED having taken any part in the at
tempted robbery, but refused doggedly
to talk further.