The record-union., 1895-02-26
Special to the RECoRD-UNIoN.


ATLANTIC Qa.), Feb. 25.-The First
National Bank of Griswold, Cass County,
was entered last night by burglars, who
blew open the vault, doing over So. 500
damage. The noise was so great that the
burglars made hasty departure. Over
$500 worth of stamps belonging to the
Postmaster and Sl20 in nickels inside the
vault and probably other valuables were
taken, but the wreck is so great that it is
impossible to tell what was stolen. The
burglar-proof safe inside the vault con-
tanned $4,000 cash, which is probably
safe.
BATTLE WITH THE DESPERADOES.
OMAHA, Feb. ga Council Bluffs
| Ia.) special to the Omaha Bee says: A
spirited fight between bank robbers and
the local authorities occurred here late
this afternoon, in which several persons
were shot and much powder burned.
| Officers had been notified to watch for
| the men who this morning robbed the
| Grlswold, Ia, Bank.
| Just after dusk, as one of the officers
was patrolling his beat, he noticed man
sitting in the office of the Kiel Hotel who
| answered the description telegraphed
| from Griswold. Sheriff O'Brien was
/ notified, and concluded that he was one
of the men wanted, and called to his as
| sistance Deputy Sheriff Hooker, and in
| company with Officers Peterson and
| Ware the party entered the office and in
! Vited the suspected man to Jail. AS the
| five men left the hotel two other hotel
| guests rose and followed, keeping several
| yards behind.
Just as they reached the steps of the
| Courthouse O'Brien dropped behind, tell
! ~ tn IL ttNt
| did this, the two men who had been fol-
! lowing the party commenced firing at
! the officers. Pulling their guns, the Off
! GERS returned the fire, the prisoner and
the two strangers separating from the
| officers and shooting as they ran. For
| some minutes the fusillade was kept up
| citizens and other officers Joining in the
battle, which had become general all
along the line, until the desperadoes were
overcome and two of them placed under
arrest and taken TO Jail, where they gave
| their names as John Riley and James
| Wilson.
AS soon as they were secured behind
| the bars, the officers started 10 look for
! the wounded, and in the search they dis
| covered o. Brien severely wounded, ball
having struck him in the abdomen, en-
tering the body and lodging near the
| spine. Riley was hit in the groin, the
! ball penetrating two inches. The third
man escaped and lied toward the river
| pursued by a posse of citizens, but he
managed to elude them. 1t is thought
that he is now in Omaha, and the police
have been notified to be on the look out
| for the man.
Searching the men at the jail, their
pockets yielded a large number of post
age stamps and a quantity of small
change, which tact convinces the officers
that the two prisoners now under ar
rest are members of the gang that robbed
the Griswold Bank.
While the shooting was going on Motor
man Scullen met with a peculiar acci-
dent His train was in the vicinity of
the battle, and just as he was about to
seek the seclusion of the inside of his car,
bullet struck brick building near by,
and, glancing, flew back and struck him
between the eyes, cutting the flesh to the
| bone.
The men under arrest refused to talk on
the subject of the robbery. They say that
| they are farm hands. In regard to the
shooting, they state that they were
scared, and did not know that the men
whom they were fighting were officers,
| and that they shot, as they supposed, to
defend their lives.