The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1902-08-09
TRAMPS ARE
GETTING BOLD
They Try to Rob Hotel on
Twenty First Street.
ONE ROBBER FIRES GUN
Charles Rathburn Was Barely
Missed By Bullet
ONE R0BBER FIRES GUN

There was a good deal of excitement
in the north part OF the city Thursday
night over an attempt of three men to
rob the Hotel Reiser on Twenty-first
street, opposite the new Dold packing
house.
A few minutes before 10 o'clock the
people in that section were aroused by
the report of a gun and some OF the men
got cut to investigate the cause of the
shooting. It was soon learned that the
shooting was at the hotel, Tor the in
mates OF the house were neeing from it
Ike rates from burning barn.
Charles Rathburn. courageous young
man, who cards at the hotel, came near
losing his life trying TO protect Mr.. Rel
ger and his family. One of the robbers
fred two shots at him. one not missing
his neck more than an inch. Speaking
of the matter to a reporter for the Eagle
yesterday Dir. Rathburn said:
i am a boarder and was at the house
last night. Anortly after o clock two
white men and a negro came TO the
house. The two white men came in and
l was suspicious that they did not mean
any good. Two or three times one of
the men went out and whispered some
thing to the colored man, who had stop
ped outside the door, and sat down on
an empty beer key. 1t occurred to me
that he was sitting outside to watch and
report If he saw an officer coming At
ter little while one Of the men began
to make threats against Mr.. Reiger and
he slipped into the dining room from the
office. There was a revolver lying on the
shelf behind the counter and the col
ored man said the two men aimed to get
hold of that before starting any trouble,
but they did not succeed.
When Mr.. Reiser went into the din
ing room one of the men ran out The
front door and 1 followed him He went
along the west side Of the house, and
when I saw him trying to look into the
window of the dining room I thought
he was going TO try to shoot Reiger
through the window. l started towards
him, and when ne saw me coming he
turned and fired two shots. one OF the
balls from the revolver coming so close
TO the side of my neck that l could feel
the heat from it.
After the shots were fired. retreated
as rapidly as l could TO the corner of
the house and the two men ran down
Topeka avenue, towards the railroad.
Just as I turned the corner of the house
I met the colored man and thinking
that he belonged to the gang 1 grabbed
hold of him and told him TO surrender.
He said he would make no resistance,
but said that he had nothing TO do with
the other fellows He, however. told ne
that they had intended to get he re-
volver behind the counter and I Ton-
dered how he knew that if he mad moth
ing TO do with them. I think the men
were tramps and just wanted to scare
Reiger out Of the room and then rob
the money drawer or perhaps hold UP the
people in the house and take what money
they had.
-Oficer Washburn, 1 suppose. was at
tracted by the shots and came after the
two men had run away. / turned the
colored man over to him, but / was in
formed that he turned him loose. being
that he was not connected with
the other men. was down in the Mis-
souri, Pacific switch yards, just below
Ninth street, after noon today and l saw
the two white men in a box car I made
a rush for the car and tried to shut the
door and keep them in. but the opposite
door was not fastened and they slipped
out Of il and ran down toward the power
house I reported to the police. but the
men could not be found
Mr. Reiger and the women about the
housed seemed TO be alarmed and thought
the men were dangerous characters. One
Of the women IN the house said she was
afraid because they were so far from
the police station. She said that she had
yelled for the police when she thought
they would all be killed.