The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1899-01-07
Sc Stowen in order to secure the col
fession.
Ex-Governor Crittenden Interested.

feSSlOn.
Ex-Governor Crittenden Interested.
One of these is Ex-Governor Critten-
den who is a friend of Jesse James, -Jr..
and who had much to do with rearing
the boy The governor has expressed
his Willingness to devote his fortune
to proving that Young James is in
nOcent of the crime with which he is
charged and he is naturally interested
in having the crime fastened upon the
proper person. The fact that the
Stowen confession entirely removes all
od1um from the head of Jesse James
has made it more interesting to the eX-
governor than it would otherwise have
BEEN The story told by Stowell impi-
Gates three others but James is not one
OF them and their names can not be
printed until the officers are enabled to
secure their arrest which may be today.
The trip of Undersheriff Williams,
Chief Strauss and Sergeant Jake owen
to the supposed hiding place of the
money this week was full of incidents.
Though the place is in an out of the way
location, far from a town, the officers
found that they were watched from the
moment they got off the train. They
walked over the ground but the eyes of
detectives were never off them while
they were in Missouri They were
| tracked back to Kansas City and only
when they started for Topeka was the
vigilance relaxed.
Every officer in Kansas City is on the
alert for the least clue that will throw
light on the mysterious robbery. Every
| OTI1cer IN missouri mas Deen cOInpelleQ TO
| admit at some time or another during
! the progress of his Investigations that
| he was at sea.
The Topeka officials who are in Mis-
souri, today will return to Topeka to-
morrow and before they return they
hope to have put the finishing touches
| on the best detective work that has been
| done anywhere for many year.
There have been no more train rob-
berries in Kansas City since September
%. There have been no attempted rob-
| lief of the Topeka officers that Stowell
! has told the truth and that the real
| leaders of the bandits were in the coun-
| ty jail.
More Revelations to Come.
Undersheriff Williams says that he
! has more revelations that will Startle
| the whole country. He refuses to say
| what they are now but says that they
| will come out in a short time. 1t is
| believed that several mysterious muir
! ders We're committed by the gang of
/ young bandits and that Stowell or Rose
| brook will soon tell everything con-
| nected with their lives during the past
| two or three years. AS they are only
| IS years old now their career of crime
| could not have extended over a period
! of many years.
Account of the Robbery.
The following account of the famous
] Missouri Pacific robbery which Chad
| Stowell has confessed was committed
/
! printed in the Associated Press dis
| patches in the State Journal on SepteIn-
| ber "a:
| Kansas City. Mo-, Sept. 24.-Seven
| masked men held up the west bound
Missouri Pacific passenger train known
as the Little Rock and Wichita express.
| at point in the woods between Leeds
! and Dawson, seven miles from Kansas
| City, at $40 o'clock last night To
| prevent interference they first smashed
| the telegraph instruments at the Belt
| line station, the junction of the Belt line
| and the Frisco, near the scene OF the
| hold up and marched the operator. D.
| NJ. Hisey before them to a point half a
| mile east.
| While two men covered Hisey, the
| others tagged the train as it ap-
! preached, quickly covered Engineer Slo-
| cum and Fireman Watson and compel
| led them to dismount and detaching the
| engine and Pullman express car, ran
| them down the track a mile and half
| toward Dawson. The passengers were
unmolested but the porter who attempt
ed to interfere was quickly sent to COW
| er by a shot directed by one of the
| roadmen. At a desolate spot up the
road, the baggage car was quickly bro
| ken into, great quantities of dynamite
| placed upon the through safe and the
local safe placed on top of it. So
| much explosive was used that the car
| was literally blown to spl1nters and
the safes thrown away to one side Of
the track
This morning nothing but fragments
! of the local safe could be found, and the
| through box was a wreck, the top hav-
| ing been blown off and the door
| wrenched and otherwise damaged.
Explosion Heard In Kansas City.
The explosion which was Of such force
| as to have been heard distinctly in
| Kansas City, undoubtedly destroyed
| any valuableS that the safes may have
contained. That the robbers themselves
| were not blown to atoms seems strange,
| so terrific was the blast The express
| officials examined their one remaining
strong box this morning. They abso-
their loss, saying simply that it was
small
Superintendent Moore of the express
company insists that the train carried
but little treasure A small army of
detectives was at the scene early this
morning, but up to 10 m. no tangible
clew to the robbers had been secured.
The belief that they were old hands at
the business and by this time are safe
from capture is general
Flying debris from the shattered ex-
press car carried down the telegraph
wires along the Frisco track, which
parallels the Missouri Pacific at the
point of the robbery and completed the
stoppage of telegraphic communication
begun at the Belt line station. 1t was
therefore some time before the news of
the robbery became known and still
longer before a wreckiniy crew could be
gotten.
A new engine had to be secured as
that the road men had been killed" It
was $3.50 this morning before the
wrecked baggage and express matter,