River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1893-09-28
A WARM RECEPTION

In Missouri Whose Plans Were Known
In Advance-They Attack a dummy
Train Loaded with Officers-Two OF the
Thieves Are Killed and Three Captured
ST. JOSEPH. Mo-, Sept 20. The Kan
sas City, ST. Joe & Council Bluffs rail
road foiled an attempt to rob one of its
passenger trains. killed two OF the bar
dts and captured three Others al
Francis. / 4 miles from this city, at i:sC
a. IN. The dead are Ed Kohler and
Higo lndall. The captured men are
Frederick, Hersh and Harvey.
Train No. 3 was the intended victim.
1t left Kansas City at 9:05 Sunday night
and arrived here at 1890 Monday
morning. The officials of the road had
been notified that the robbery of the
road had been planned and they mott
fled the police. When the train arrived
here dummy train was made up
and sixteen police officers under COM
mand of the chief of police were put
aboard. In order to thoroughly de
ceive the robbers the train was made
an exact duplicate of train No and
consisted of an engine and tender, an
express and baggage car and the usual
coach and Pullmaus.
When the dummy reached a point 2
miles north of St Joseph the engineers
attention was arrested by a lighted
lantern moving 20 and fro be-
tween the rails. He obeyed the
signal and six masked men sur
rounded the engine. One of the six
mounted the engine, and presenting
one revolver at the engineers head and
another at the fireman's held them in
subsection while the other five men
FASTENED to rob the express ear. They
ordered the messenger to open the door,
which he did forthwith.
Three OF the bandits entered the car,
leaving two without to keep guard.
The policemen who were guarding the
train were distributed in the various
cars, the majority of them being
concealed in the express ear. Upon
the three bandits who had undertaken
the work of robbing the car entering
the door the police within ordered
them to surrender.
The robbers were taken completely
by surprise, but they opened fire at
once upon the police. The police re-
turned the fire and a general fusillade
followed. About twenty-five shots
were fired on both sides. When the
smoke cleared away the lifeless bodies
of Kohler and Indall We're found lying
on the floor of the car. Both had been
shot through the head. The bullets
which pierced Kohler's head produced
instant death. He never stirred after
he was hit. Indall was still breathing,
but he died shortly after he was
brought here.
Frederick, the third robber engaged
in the fight in the car, was uninjured
and was placed under arrest. None of
the officers were injured. While the
fight was going on in the car those of
the police not engaged in it were look
ing after the two robbers who had been
left outside to keep watch. The police
quickly took them in and placed them
under arrest.
The bandit who had been detailed to
guard the engineer and fireman quickly
realized the situation when he heard
the battle going on in the express car
and promptly made his escape. A de-
tail of officers was put on his track and
quickly took up the pursuit, with every
prospect of capturing the fugitive.
A remarkable feature of the fight in
the express car was the escape of all
the officers from injury. The three
robbers in the car were each armed
with brace of revolvers and used them
freely, but still they did no damage.
The bodies of Kohler and Indall were
brought here on the dummy train,
which returned 10 the city soon after
the encounter. They were taken to an
undertaker's. The prisoners, Freder-
lex, Hersh and Harvey, were brought
here on the same train with their dead
comrades and locked up at the police
station. All of the train robbers lived
here.
The place picked out by the robbers
IS an ideal one for train robbery. The
district Immediately north of St. Joseph
is not thiclzly populated. The road
runs through a series of sand hills
along high entertainments thanking the
Missouri river. In the riprapping that
Is necessary to keep the river
banks intact at this place huge
piles of stone and rubble have
been dumped on the one side
and banks of sand flank the
tracks on the other The strip Of land
is so poor agriculturally as to offer no
inducement TO farmers. and hence after
leaving st. Joe the passenger sees rath-
or dreary prospect until the railroad
branches away from the river little.
The chances for robbers to escape at
this place are also good. The Missouri
river can be easily crossed and with a
boat in waiting party of maraud-
ers could be in Kansas in half
an hour. Directly opposite st.
Joe and for Is miles down the
stream the only evidences of life
are jack rabbits. The territory be-
tween st. Joe and Atchison, Kan, was
a favorite one for desperadoes twenty
years ago. who would pillage in the
wealthier sections of the state and lose
themselves in the tenantless wastes not
far away IN the adjoining counties.