The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-11-04
WIPED OUT THE GANG.
EXTINCTION OF A BAND OF DEs-
PERATE BANK ROBBERS.

the biggest Game-Ficrce Battles
Between Citizens and the NOtori-
Gus Mccarthy Gang.
From the Pittsburg Dispatch
Denver, Oct. 23.-The recent killing of
three bandits while attempting to rob
the bank of Meeker, this state, wiped
out of existence the last of the notorious
gang of Mccarthy bank robbers, who,
as artists in this line of the profession,
ranked with their predecessors, the James
and Younger brothers.
Thomas Mccarthy. the leader, Bill and
George, his brothers; Fred, otherwise
known as the kid" Bilrs son, Bob
Parker, Matt Warner. Ross Lewis and
Bert Madden, relatives of the McCar-
thy's through marriage, constituted the
personnel of this band of terrors.
The McCarthy's seem to have had crime
for their object since childhood. The
brothers were raised in Utah. Tom, the
eldest, was born in 1913 and the kid"
the youngest, less than q years ago.
They were all Mormons, and made their
headquarters at Moab, and up to 1899 were
we'll connected in Salt Lake City. Dur
ing their younger days they engaged in
cattle raising in the Paradox valley. with
other ranches at Haines, Utah, and Star
valley, Wyoming Their principal bust
ness, however, was rustling horses and
cattle betw Oregon, Nevada, Utah,
Wyoming ana Colorado, at which they
became quite wealthy. The one redeem
ing feature CT the gang was a strict rule
to never Wantonly shed blood. Their
downfall came simply through an over
confidence in their ability to defy the
law, created by long and successful term
of horse and cattle stealing.
In the spring of 1889 Tom Mccarthy de-
cided to branch out in a new line of bust
ness where the rewards would be greater
than in handling. Oregon cayuses and Col
orado mavericks. Intent upon making
his initial attempt at bank robbing, he, in
company with Ross Lewis, arrived in Den
Yer about the middle of March. A few
days later, at o'clock in the afternoon,
he boldly and alone walked into the pri-
vate Office of President Moffat, of the First
National Bank, with a six shooter in one
hand a bottle of nitro-glycerine in the 9TH
er, and under pains Of instant death if he
refused or gave an alarm, compelled him
to draw his check for So, 600. Mr.. Moffat
was then requested to summon his paying
teller and tell him to cash it in currency,
which the latter did without the slightest
suspicion that he was participating IN one
of the smoothest bank robberies on record.
On receiving the money, Mccarthy with
the courtesy of a Chesterfield took off his
hat and bowed himself into the street, and
before the President could recover from
his surprised and gave the alarm, he had
disappeared as though through trapdoor
into the earth to never againebe seen in this
city. A reward of $4,000 was offered for
his arrest but to no purpose.
Nothing more was heard of the band
until June %, of the same year, when Tom
Mccarthy, Lewis, Madden and Parker
rode into Telluride, Col, at noon and with
out firing a shot or creating the slightest
disturbance, held up the officers of the
San Miguel Bank, robbed the institution of
$27, 600 and were out of town inside of thir
y minutes. This second bold hold-up with
in three months, together with the post
ing of large rewards, forced the detectives
into unusual activity, and for over year
the band was supposed to have been fol-
lowed all over Colorado, Utah, Oregon,
Iowa and Wyoming, but it proved to be
an ignus fatuus chase, as the men spent
most of this time with their female COM
panions near Salt Lake City and at Mesa
Verde.
They continued their seclusion until the
summer of 1892, when they captured the
town of Roslyn, Ore, and relieved lis
bank of $1,000. The robbers came near
being captured here by a posse of citl-
zens but finally escaped the town. Hav-
ing taken the precaution to station fresh
horses at intervals along the line of fight,
they had no trouble in distancing their
pursuers and making good their escape.
Nothing more was heard of them until
they met their first Waterloo at Delta,
Col, on Sept z, 1898. A few minutes ar
ter the Farmers and Merchants Bank
had opened for the days business, five
l. 49,
from different directionss and proceeded
directly to the bank, and as none of them
displayed any armor or acted the bravo,
as bank robbers are generally supposed
to do, they attracted no particular atten-
ton.
Warren was left sitting on his horse in
front of the building, holding the others
horses, while Tom. Bill and Fred Nc
Carthy and Bert Madden entered II.
Madden walked up to the cashiers win
dow, and as that official approached to
wait upon the supposed customer he met
a cooked revolver and heard the command
throw up your hands," which he in
stantly obeyed. Bill herded the other Gus
toners into a corner of the room, while
Tom and Fred climbed over the railing
and appropriated S22,5SO.
During the few minutes taken up in this
work a revolver was accidentally dropped
to the floor and discharged, the bail pass
ing through the Dooy or one OF the pat
rons of the bank and Instantly killed
him. The report from the exploding fire
arm gave the alarm to those on the out
side, and as the bandits rushed out of the
bank for their horses they were met by a
shower of bullets from rifles in the hands
of citizens hidden behind the corners of
buildings and in alleyways Fred was
killed in the first volley and dropped
from his horse before he was fairly seat
ed in his saddle. A Winchester ball blew
away the left side Of BEl's head, the~skull
flying twenty feet into the street, and was
picked up by a morbid souvenir hunter,
who afterwards had it mounted in silver
to be used as a card receiver. After los
ing half his head the dead man sat as
upright in his saddle as a trooper, and