The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-03-22
KILLED NEAR KENT.
Murderer Blanck Dies
Fighting Seattle
Posses.
BATTLE IN A SWAMP.
Not Until Riddled as a Sieve
Does the Desperate
SuCCumb.
woUND1Na OF A PURsUER.
The Body of the Criminal Reaches
Seattle Amid the Wild Cheers
Of Thousands.

| OEAl LIE. w aSn., MarCn Zl.-InOmdS
Blanck, double murderer and jail-breaker,
is dead, shot through the head and body
| by bullets from the rifles of John Shopich
and Robert Crow.
The encounter took place on the North
ern Pacific Railroad track, about mile
north of Kent, at $50 o'clock this even
ing. About sixteen shots were fired, and
when the smoke cleared away Thomas
Blanck lay lifeless corpse and John
Shepich was Frustrated with wounds in
his left side in the proximity of the heart.
Blanck was shot through the ear, nose
and, according to general observations,
through the body. His remains were i'm
! mediately taken to Kent, together with
the wounded deputy. The injuries of
Shepch, while serious, are not thought to
be fatal
The battle was one of the most desperate
kind imaginable and was fought out with
only ten feet separating the men. Blanck
shot twice before the deputies opened fire.
He refused to throw up his hands and in his
usual bold and reckless manner drew his
revolver and opened fire. Fast and furious
was the shooting, the two deputies firing
almost simultaneously.
| The full story of one of the most desper-
ate of all battles with criminals that have
ever taken place in this country was told
to reporter by w. L. Whittimor of Kent,
who saw the fight from distance and
was one of the first to arrive after the
| struggle was over. He said;
"This afternoon a report came to Kent
that Blanck was penned in near Orilla. AS
soon as the news was heard large num-
| Of c+o foI Dol
Crow and John Shepich, who carried rifles,
started up the Northern Pacific Railroad
track. When they were about mile
north of Kent they saw man coming to-
ward them down the track.
| ''They had no idea when they saw the
man approaching that they were going to
meet the desperate, and got to within ten
feet of him before the real danger de-
veloped itself. The stranger walked along
without saying word, and finally Grow
and Shepich called to him: Throw up
| your handsp
'Their commands fell on deaf ears, for
Blanck without further delay drew 3S-
caliber five-shooter revolver from his
pocket and opened fire. Whang, bang,
rang out two shots from his revolver, but
the bullets went wild. Then the men with
the rifles commenced pumping bullets into
their antagonist
'It was regular fusillade, and it was not
until the desperate had emptied his re-
volver of all its shots, wounded Shepich
and was bored through and through that the
battle was over and the desperate lay on
| the track lifeless. Shepich and Crow had
| killed the most desperate criminal of the
Pacific Northwest-Thomas Blanck, alias
] Frank Hamilton"
| Blanck's body was brought to this city
this evening. When the train arrived at
7:30 o'clock with the body the depot was
black with people and great excitement
prevailed. A few moments before the
train pulled in the patrol wagon ratified
down loaded with twelve policemen, who
kept the mob back.
As soon as the train stopped the baggage
car door flew open. Sheriff Vandeventer
poked his head out, and the mob cheered
| him. Half dozen officers climbed into
| the car, and there, on the floor, lay the
| body of Blanck. A coffin was showed
| in, and the body slowed away.
A moment later the coffin was
showed out and four men started through
the crowd, headed for the dead wagon.
| Several thousand men Immediately went
wild and cheered and shouted and the
| twelve policemen had to use thier clubs to
keep them back. AS soon as the body was
| in the dead wagon the horses were whipped
up and the mob followed to the morgue.
| When the wagon arrived at the morgue
| Coroner Askam made an examination of
the murderer's body. Blanck had been
shot seven times, three balls passing
| ~, nd inin in fhol
| He was shot in the lobe of the left ear, the
ball penetrating the brain and coming out
at the center of the back of the neck.
Another shot took effect in the right
arm, near the shoulder, went through the
arm, then into the body, passing through
the right lung and coming out just above
the right nipple. Another shot entered
the right wrist and came out at the fore
arm. This is evidently the wound that
compelled him to drop his weapon.
There were three holes in the back over
the right lung. There was also another
wound from behind the left shoulder,
showing that four balls were fired into
him from behind, three of which would
have meant instant death. He was COM
pletely riddled.
| Blanck's face was thin, and WEAKNESS,
loss of sleep and extreme hunger were
written in every line of his countenance
The clothing on the body was wet through
| from rain, and he must have suffered
greatly from the cold while in the swamp
between Renton and O'Briens. He was
clothed in a pair of dark colored
cheap trousers, and on his feet were
the same pair of shoes he wore when he
| had his famous but unsuccessful fight with
| Cudihee and Corbett last fall 'Gold
Brick George Knowlton's coat was on his
back, and he also wore black alpaca
shirt, while an old checked silk handler
| chief was about his neck.
Blanck was evidently afraid of being
| shot from the rear at long range, and had