The herald., 1895-03-22
SHOT DEAD IN HIS TRACKS
Desperate Blanck Brought to
Time With Rifles
IT WAS DEATH OR LIBERTY
The Outlaw Fought the Officers With a
Small Revolver
Ignored and the Fugitive Fought
Wlnchesters With q Pistol

SEATTLE, Wash, March 21.-Thomas
Blanck, the murderer and Jail breaker, is
dead, shot through the head and body by
the bullets from the Winchester rifles of
John Shepich and Robert Crow,
The encounter took place on the North
ern Pacific railroad track about mile
north of Kent at s 80 o'clock. About six
teen shots were fred, and when the smoke
cleared away Thomas Rlanck lay lifeless
corpse and John Shepich lay with wounds
in his left shoulder in the proximity of
the heart. Blanck was shot through the
ear, nose and, according to general OBJ
servation, through the body. His re-
mains were Immediately taken to Kent,
together with the wounded deputy. The
injuries of Shepich. Will serious, are not
thought to be fatal.
The battle was one of the most desper-
ate kind imaginable and was fought out
with only ten feet separating the foes.
Blanck shot twice before the deputies
opened fire. He refused to throw up his
hands, and in his usual bold, blood
thirsty manner drew his gun and went at
it. Fast and furious was the shooting,
the two deputies firing almost simultane-
ously: The full story of the most desper-
ate of all battles with criminals that have
ever taken place in this country was told
to Post-Intelligencer reporter by w. L.
Whittemore of Kent, who saw the fight
from distance and was one OF the first
to arrive after the job was done. He said:
This afternoon a report came to Kent
that Blanck was penned in near Orillia.
AS soon as the news was heard large
number of men started for the place. For
tune had it that Bob Crow and John
Shepich, who carried Winchester rifles,
started up the Northern Pacific track.
When they were about mile north of
Kent they saw a man coming toward
them down the track. They had no idea
when they saw the man approaching that
they wer2 going to meet the desperate
and gocto within ten feet of him before
the real danger developed itself. The
stranger walked along without saying a
word and finally Crow and Shepich called
to him: Throw up your hands there
Their commands fell on deaf ears, for
the man. without further delay, drew a
black Colts 38 calibre tive-shooter revol-
yer from his pocket and opened fire.
Whang. bang. rang out the two shots
from his revolver, and still the deputies
were unhurt. Then the men with the
Wnchesters commeuced pumping bullets
into their antagonist. 1t was regular
fusillade, and not until the desperate had
emptied his revolver of all it's shots,
wounded Shepich. and being bored
through and through that the battle was
lifeless. Shepich and Crow had killed the
Jesse James of the Pacific Northwest,
Thomas Blanck. alias Frank Hamilton
1.-The body was taken to Kent and held
awaiting the order of Sheriff Vande-
venter."
Blanck was probably the most desperate
criminal ever confined in Jail here. He
has killed two men within the last year.
and last Sunday night he held up the
jailer with piece of wood shaped like
revolver and with nine other prisoners
escaped from jail. When taken into court
for trial he pleaded guilty to murder in
the first degree and was sentenced to be
hanged. After the court had sentenced
him he asked that his execution be imme-
diately carried out.
Blanck's body was brought to this city
tonight and when the train containing it
arrived at the station several thousand
people were present. 1t was with great
difficulty that the crowd was driven away
in order that the body could be placed in
the dead wagon and conveyed to an un-
dertaker's.
The coroner and several other persons
made an examination of the body and
found that it had been riddled with bull
lets. Three shots in the back within
radius OF four inches had produced death
but there were four others in his body,
two of which were in his right arm, one
in his ear and the other in his neck. In
side of his coat and almost directly over
his heart the desperate had several thick
nesses of blanket in order to protect him
self from the bullets of his pursurers.