Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1894-08-30
HOLD UP 4 TRAIN.
DESPERADOES tPLUNDER AND
MURDER NEAR CHICAGO.
The Men Are Captured After Des-
perate Fight In Which Fully
100 Shots Are Fired.

Chicago, Aug. 27.-Two or three
masked men held up the freight train
Of Conductor Z. A. Largent at Deer
murdered Railway Detective Patrick
Owens. In their fight Saturday morn
ing they shot two Northwestern police
men at Mayfair. robbed another freight
conductor, stole and drove to death 4
farmers team.
The desperadoes were finally cap
| tured in the woods in Elk Grove town
ship about noon by five Chicago police
men. The men were surrounded and
| fought desperately, firing as often as
! their revolvers could be loaded. After
| fully 100 shots had been exchanged the
men both fell, seriously, but it is
! thought not fatally injured. They gave
their names as Will Lake and w. F.
! Gordon and were brought to Chicago
and locked up in a West-side police
station.
Late yesterday Supt. Barr gave out
/ the following report Of the affair:
The nOrth-bound freight on the Chi
! cago, Milwaukee and st. Paul stopped
Friday night at Deerield. Two
masked men mounted the steps of the
caboOse. The train stops at this sta
! ton, which is just over the Cook
, county line in Lake county, for water
The brakemen were well toward the
engine, which was in charge of en-
! gineer Pritchard, and only the conduc
! tor, Largent, and the road detective
| Patrick Owens, were in the cabOose
! 1t was 1920 o'clock. The masked men
/ entered the door and covered the con
! ductOr and detective with their re
! vOlvers. The detective sprang for his
! rife but before he could reach it one
Of the robbers shot him through the
! breast. The conductor threw up his
j hands and the robber who had done the
/ shooting went through his pockets, tax
! ing his watch and a small amount OF
money. AfterWard he searched the de
! tective's clothes for valuables and left
! the train just before the brakeman
! who had heard the shot came running
! back.
German said last night that he haC
! been out of work nearly two months
and Friday he had been offered a jot
as teamSter on farm near the point
Of the hold up. Continuing he stated
I'VE beat our way on freight trains
until we reached the town where the
first shooting took place. We wanted
to board the train there, but 8 man
| standing Oh top Of car told us that
/ We could not and went into the ca
bOose. We followed him and he
threatened to shoot us WhereupOn we
both fired at him. We ran away after
the shooting and caught a freight train
coming towards the city. Early n
the morning we were in a coal car
near Mayfair where we were discov-
cred. In a short time [ saw man
whom l presumed was a police officer
coming toward us. | did not propose
to be taken so l drew my revolver and
shot him. We then started to run
along the road and when we We're
cornered in a field we were so tired and
hungry that we could not see what we
were Going. 1t was not our intention to
be taken alive if we could help it but,
after we were both wounded we be-
came so weak that we decided to give
up"
German said that he is a married
man and that his home is in San Fran
cisco. He also stated that he is a strik-
ing switchman and has been out of
work since the strike commenced. He
claims that he was hungry and out Of
money and that alone was responsible
for his acts