Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1902-02-01
FUGITIVES CAPTURED.


from the Allegheny county jail 10 Pitts
burg Pa, Thursday morning last. and
Mrs. Kate Dht 'ich Sofiel, wife OF
Wsrden Peter Sofel, were captured
We .rdsy afternoon near Prospect,
about nine miles weIt OF Pttiburg,
after bloody copAi,t, by Detectives
Charles McGoverD, John Roach, and
Albert H. SuiDehesri. Ed Biddle is
lyioe In tie B. tier county jail 10 dy-
ing condition; Jack Blddle, mis- brother,
ls 10 the adjoining cell, riddled with
bucEsbOt. HIS condition is not con-
eidered serious. Mrs. Sohel sht her.
self 10 the LETT bres aud drove the
bail clesr to the back, but her condi-
tion is utt serious. She was also
wounded by flying bullets OF the
detectives. The woman is DOW In the
Butler county General Hospital. The
detttt YES are uDirjured. There were
about thirty shI u exchanged In the
fray. The capture was completed
about one and one-hslf miles from
Prospect The Biddle brothers. who
we're uuder sentence of death for
sbe murder OF Thomss D. XahDe,
escaped from the Allegheny couttJ
lail in PIT sburg Thursday morning,
after saving their way through the
bars If their cell, and THROWING one
suard over the railing to the stone
floor. sixteen feet below. Mrs. Soffel,
the wife OF the warden, had furnished
the saws and the revolveTs, and the
men escaped through the wardeu'S
house, which adjoins the Jail. Mrs.
Soffel fed with the Biddles. The three
remained hidden 10 Allegheny, and left
10 10 evening, walking on the plank
road ward Butler. Late at night
thew stole q horse and sleigh from o
farmer living nssr Perrysville. The
fact that a slsigh had been stolen was
telephoued to Pitisburg, and the officers
were thus put on the track. Yester'
dsy word was telephoned 10 PitIburg
that q sleigh COZ lining two men and
woman, the latter half frozen, had
psssed along the road near Prospect.
Detectives John Roach, Albert Swine
neart ard Charles McGoverD were
ordered out from Pittsburg to But or.
There they received q telephone mes
sage saying that the patty OF fugt yes
had been It OoopertowD, twelve miles
from Butler. The detectives took q
two. horse sleigh, driven by james
SNYDER, and stsl t ID OIL on the road to-
ward the Newcastle pike, and 1t
farmhouse they learned that ths
sleigh containing t1e men aud
woman had passed. They gol
the same Information st grht
| mill farther on. At Mount Chest
nut they received telephone message
| ,htt the party had taken dinner ct q
hotel, and were getting ready to depart.
The detectives hurried on and were
Joined by sleigh COT iinirg number
OF Butler citizens, among them the chief
of police OF Butler. Half way betwean
Mount Chestnut and Prospect the de
teotivss saw the objects of their search
| on a little rise iu the road, coming to-
ward them. McGovern recognized the
| Biddles when tue two .sleigbs were 100
ysrds apart, and OF the same momeI
the desperate fnR yes saw that they
we're cornered and prepared for bat
le to the death.
The detectives sprung from their
sleigh and called on the Biddles TO sur
render. Ed. Biddle rose in his seat and
taking careful and deliberate aim with
his shot gun fred at McGoverD. The
load scattered hsrmlessly on the road
alongside the detectives. McGoverD
and Roach fred at the men, who sal
together, while Mrs. Sotfel sat on one
side, Jack Biddle sprung to an up
right position aOd fred three shttjtt t
the dtt olives, but Swinehesrt, steady
ing himself nd aiming, fred bullet
from a 70 t,-6ve Colts revolver thai
disabled jacks arm.
| McGoveru rushed forward and liter
ally shot the so men out OF the sleigh
Ed Biddle stumbled out on the road
and Jack, who had been trying u pro
tect the woman, by interposing BIZ
oody v between her and the rain of bul
let from the officers guns, fell on tel
of his brother. Their weapons fell be
side them.
Mrs. -offel collapsed 10 the sleigh ant
tls horse rao away, but was caught b.
the men 10 the taer sleigh OF pursuer
who had come up ct the last momeLt
in time to FIRE wild volley ct tl
Biddles.
The detectives approached II
: wounded men cautiously. Roach say
Ell Bidde reach iut) his cobt pocket
where a revolver was sfterwsrd found
sud shot him again. Then Dstec,iv
McGovern ran up snd fred his Wiz
/. chester at the two brothers. The Bid
y dies yielded and the detectives, hand
: cufi0g and shackling the legs of II
I criminals brought them to Butler.
Mrs. Soffsl was made as comfortabl
az possible IN the sleigh end was tike
20 the hospt Il at Plttsburg. None {
the deteolives was hut. The she ttyu
which Biddle had was stolen from leh,
tel at which the part bad eateu dinne
When the wounded Biddle bows WEI
taken into all 1t was thought EI WI
dying. He asked for q priei and Est n
Welsh was summoned. Before tIlkli
o privately t. the prizes. Ell spoke 10 u
dtt olives. AZ have been accused
great many serious ciimes," ne sa'
n II admit that could have commit
manu Tha onno,f I tnifiaa 0f than Or