The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-06-30
BANK ROBBERS WEREGAME
BUT after 20 HOURS OF FIG HTING
THEY RAISED A WHITE FLAG.

Storms or Ballots Poured Int the Stable where
They Lay In . Trench They Had DuE-An
slightly Wounded = Gave Up Only IN n
Pledge Thnt They would Net ne LJncbed.
BELLE FouRcHE, 2. d.. June 2o.-After TWEEN.
ty-four hours Of constant fighting tho three
bandits who yesterday robbed tho Bank of
Belle Fourcbc surrendered to a Shcrlff's posse.
Tonight they occupy coils in the local jail, while
the town is much excited.
The men surrendered under promise that they
should not DO lynched. All tho bandits are
wounded. but their injuries are worry slight.
Several Of the posse wero injured by spent balls,
but no wounds Of . serious character were In
ficted.
Five hours after robbing tho bank the three
men had boon chased to the Three v Ranch, ten
miles to tho north. They took shelter in a small
stable. leaving their horses outside. Tho posse
was close on their trail.
The bandits werc forced thus to take refuge
because their horses had been shot In tho run.
ming fight and could carry them no further. AS
the posse came up they at once surrounded the
shack and conferred as to the best methods Of
dislodging tho bandits.
1t was known that tho men were armed only
with revolvers, so the posse knew nothing was to
DO feared as to the final result. Tho posse was
posted around the shack just out of revolver
shot.
The horses that the bandits had discarded
were first shot to prevent the desperadoes
mounting and making a final dash for liberty.
Then the guards waited a few hours for rein
forcemcnts. In the mean time not a sound came
from the interior OF tho stable.
The bandits after they surrendered explained
that during this time they were digging n trench
to lie In during the conflict that they knew was
coming.
Finally, when about 100 men surrounded tho
building. Deputy Sheriff Dillon advanced to
within speaking distance and called on the rob.
bers TO surrender.
He received no re ply. Then he retreated to a
safe distance. and the men, armed with Win
chesters, to the number of about forty. ON
menoed firing into the pen which shielded tho
bandits.
Each bullet went through and through the
boards Of the building. Several hundred shots
were fired yesterday afternoon and the place
looked like a sieve. 1t was thought the men
were dead. but when several Of the guards APP
preached q little too near they were fred upon
by the robbers and driven back. Then the posse
poured In another shove Of bullets.
The officers could not understand how any.
thing as large a. a man could live In the building
through such a storm Of shot. They had not
realized what precautions the men had taken.
After the firing this morning had been d.
rected against tho stable for two hours.
and the building was literally shot to
pieces. q white rag was observed float
ing from one OF the windows. When
q guard approached, a voice said that the rob.
bers desired to surrender II they were assured
that they would not be lynched. This was com
municated to the posse and II was agreed that
they should have q trial.
Whom the men walked out into the air they
were . terrible sight. All were covered with
blood and their thirst had not been assuagcd for
forty hours. They refused to give their names.
All arc strangers in this section. One Of them,
who seemed to be the leader. said:
we would never have surrendered II we had
had rifles. As 1t was. we could make no fight.
The hours We spent in that trench were awful.
Tho bullets threw dirt and ~splinters all
over US and frequently cut into our
clothes. We put in most OF our time
In digging the trench deeper until We were quite
well shielded from bullets. but the situation was
awful. We suffered horribly for water. Our
bleeding wounds we stopped with dirt and tried
to quench our thirst by putting the damp dirt In
our mouths. but It did little good. The rifle balls
sang in the shanty like so many bees
This was all the men would say. One of the
men was shot four times, merely flesh wounds
and the others we're shot three times. Their
clothes were ragged. partly from bullets, and
partly from the terrible struggle. Tho whole
country was up In arms and the excitement was
intense throughout