Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1894-09-29
A BOYS BOLD BLUFF.
An 1a-Year-Old Bandit Raids an
Illinois Bank.
Soaring the Cashier of an Institution ~
Mount Sterling, ILL.,, He Grabs -Four
Hundred Dollars and Runs,
But Is Captured.
AN EXCITING SCENE.

MOUNT STERLING, ILL.,, Sept. 25.--
This city was the scene of real and
thrilling western style bank hold-up
at 1O:30 o'clock Monday morning.
Ralph Conklin, aged IS. was the bold
desperate. He is native of Brown
county, his parents residing "a mile
and n half northeast of Mount
Sterling. ConlSlin, who is given tn
poring over such literature as THE
Life of jesse James," "Deadwood
Dicks Last Shot" etc, left home with
an old-fashioned muzzle-loading dou-
ble-barreled shotgun Monday morning
and started Tor Mount Sterling. On
his way he met Mac Dunbar riding q
horse. The boy bandit leveled his un
at Dunbar and commanded him to dis
mount. Dunbar slid off his horse and
Conkling mounted and rode into Mount
Sterling.
Going to the rear of the Bloomfield
Skiles bank Conklin dismounted, and
leaving boy to hold the horse he en-
tered the bank by the rear door, wear
ing mask. Approaching the cashier,
j. ID. Milstead he ordered him to put
up his hands. Milstead refused to com
ply at first and said:
What are you doing2 What's the
matter with you?"
"Hold up your hands or III show you
what's the matter with me-" spoke up
Conllin, at the same time placing the
stock of his gun to his shoulder
Cashier Milstead took to his heels
and left the bank by the rear door.
Conklin lost no time and in a moment
gathered up all the money in sight,
s411. Edward Allison, who was
in the bank at the time Conk-
lin entered, ran out upon the
street and gave the alarm
After pocketing the money Conk-
lin went out of the bank through the
rear door and was just mounting his
horse when AL Snodgrass, a constable,
| arrived upon the scene. The constable
ran up to Conklin and pulled him OFF
his horse Conklin jerked away from
him, however, and ran down the street
| in the direction of the courthouse.
John Nighswonder tried to catch
| Conklin, who opened fire on him,
shooting through his coat, but inhict-
| ing no bodily injury. Nighswonder
stumbled back blinded with smoke
| and powder and the daring
robber kept on running in ths
direction of the. courthouse. By
this time he was being followed by u
number of citizens, who had heard the
alarm given from the bank, and the
pursuit was a hot one. Men and teams
dashed in the direction taken by the
robber and guns and pistols were
brandished in the air by all classes OF
citizens.
tried TO steal horse and cart, but was
knocked of the cart by a well-directed
brickbat A few blocks north of the
courthouse the masked man was held
up at the muzzle of a gun by julie Cox
and compelled to surrender. The
mask was torn from his face and it
was then found that the Jesse James
was none other than Ralph Conlslin,
whose days and nights have been
spent in reading dime novels and yell
low covered tales of outlaws and ban
dts. The money taken was all recov-
cred when Conklin was captured.
In jail Conklin said that four men
came to his house Sunday night and
drawing their pistols made him prom
further stated that if given his liberty
he would give the names of the men
The affair created much excitement in
Mount Sterling and the officers are
now at work trying to learn if Coul<-
lin had any pals to help him plan the
| robbery