Little Falls weekly transcript. (Little Falls, Morrison Co., Minn.) 1894-19??, 1900-12-11

|, $3.50 I a ~ "a, do NJ, - Nm,
Afag tAsir yihes g they salloped UP. "
a fortunate shot passed through tho
heart IL tic ! ns MS that II ans Nas rid;
Ing. Ustnx the aIiii.asl 2for 4 bsseast-
work, the railroad bandit hunter get
ont hsst heavy pistols and began bust
ness right there. He only shot four
times, The frst bullet he tlred passed
through the heart of the nearest rob,
Der. the next one struck one Of the
horses Of the opcoming gang and Eillcd
Il. the thirp, bullet passed through the
head Of another bandit: killing him in
stantly. and the fourth passed through
the body Of one Of the gang. and he
died later. The two remaining mem
bers OF the band surrendered and were
taken into Custer BY Hans. The men
he killed were known as Texas. Fleet
Foot and Mountain Pete. The other
two-Long Tom and Skinny-were sent
to the penitentiary TOR life. = = .s.
This 10 the kind Of man who guards
the. Northwestern treasure trains
through the territory west Of the Mis-
sissirpi river. He N probably the
t;,,vt. nv e. asrx1 isr N yr!ss t,ro
..rns:2 ~ forty -ffves,' IT the Ga. ~.
teri, or 80 years ;ugo. The fact thut ti:;'
guns are Of the vintage Of another gen
GRAFTON does not worry Fred Hans. He
has been presented by different people
- hon
pistols. but he says he can't shoot them
as he can. his old 'irons."
Discussing bandit hunting and the
methods of road agents in holding up
trains few days ago. Fred Hans said:
1T requires man Ct very desperate
road train crowded with passengers.
OF course you find men every day who
are willing to take the chances involv-
ed in spite Of the fact that few Of them
escape the consequences long enough
to enjoy whatever they have secured
in the hold up. In truth. it is not the
act OF robbing the train that requires
the greatest exhibition of skill and dar-
ing, but rather the escape after the
crime has been committed. You see,
in robbing q train the band stands lit.
tie chance Of opposition. Passengers
are. as a rule, unarmed, and the ex-
press messengers are not in position
to make much Of fight. The use Of
dynamite by road agents is terrify-
ing element for express messengers.
The minute the bandits start to make
thc;" escape. ho-o-ar. they corcc in
contact with fighting men who are as
we'll armed and well mounted as they
and know how to use their guns. This
is the element Of danger that deters
many bandits from attacking a rail-
road train.
"When a gang contemplates hold
up now. the first thing they do is to ar
range for their escape. A route Of re-
treat is selected, and the bandits 60
over the trail, so that they can follow
It night or day. They frequently Sc
crete food for themselves and horses
along the route and lay in plenty Of
ammunition. The Black Hills and the
country in southern Wyoming are "a
vorite resorts for train robbers these
days. Here most Of the desperate road
agents live. These men, are, however,
not of the class that will undertake
single handed to rob train. They op-
crate as the James gang did, but. Of
course. are not so dangerous.
1.-THE same energy, hardship and dar-
ing these men expend In robbing trains,
If turned in honest channels, would
reap them a great deal more substan-
tial things than the dangerous business
they engage In. but they are enticed by
stories Of big hauls made by train rob-
bers and dazzled by reports in the
that this or that gang Sc
cured 100000 in a raid. OF course
these raids sometimes net the robbers
a big sum, but in most cases they do
not get enough to pay the expenses Of
the undertaking. 1t costs a pile Of
money for gang Of six or seven west
ern desperadoes to prepare for train
hold up. They must have the best
horses money will buy, they must get
q city crook. as a rule, to handle the
dynamite, they must have white pow.
der for their guns In the event of col.