The Lamar register., 1902-02-05
BIDDLES CAPTURED
so-d ARE SHOT BY OFFICERS
Fierce Fight on Country Road
Mrs. Soffel, Who Helped Them,
Shoots Herself When They
are Captured.


Pittsburg. Pa, Jan. 31.-Edward Bid
die Is dying in the Jail at Butler; John
Biddle Is riddled with buckshot and in
precarious condition, and Mrs. Peter
X Soffel is lying in the hospital with Il
self-inhicted bullet wound in the
breast None Of the officers was
wounded.
This is the sequel of the sensational
escape of the Biddle brothers from the
Allegheny county Jail, aided by Mrs.
Soffel, wife of the Jail warden, Thurs
day morning.
The close of the Biddle tragedy came
1T 5:45 o'clock this afternoon on II
snow-covered road two miles east of
Prospect, Butler county, near Mount
Chestnut. The exact place was at Nc
Clure's barn, where two double-team
sleighs, filed with eight officers, three
of them Pittsburg detectives. John
Roach, Albert Swinehart and Charles
McGovern, met the two Biddles In n
one-horse sleigh stolen at Perryville,
and at once opened fire on the trio.
The Biddles returned the fire after
jumping out Of the sleigh. Edward
Biddle was shot in the left arm, in the
breast and in one leg. John Biuu,e
was riddled with buckshot In the
breast and head. Mrs. Soffel shot her
self in the breast.
The Pittsburg officers We're met at
Butler this afternoon by Deputy Sher-
ifs Rainey and Hoon and Officers
Frank Holiday and Aaron Thompson,
the latter under command Of Chief of
Police Robert Ray of Butler.
When Ed Biddle fell and when Mrs.
Soffel saw that she was about to be
captured, she fired a bullet into her
breast.
Ed Biddle got bullet in the breast,
which penetrated his right lung and
will probably end his life before morn
ing.
John Biddle may recover, as his
wounds. though dangerous, failed to
reach vital spot The escape of the
officers seems miraculous. The Biddles
have demonstrated on several occa-
sions that they are good marksmen and
why they should have failed to-day to
bring down their men is n mystery.
After the Biddles fell to the snow
covered ground the officers picked up
the apparently lifeless bodies of Mrs.
Sofrel and the Biddles and took them
back to Butler, where they also took
the stolen sleigh, patched-up harness
made use of in their flight.
The story of the fight. as told by one
of the detectives, follows:
.The Bddles We're sitting on the
right side of the cutter. Mrs. Soffel
was on the left side. When Detective
McGovern called to them to hold up
their hands and surrender. Ed Biddle
jumped up and. raising IL shotgun, fired
nt Ia nj M Inc
shot scattered alongside the road. AL
: most simultaneously Detectives Nc
Govern and Roach discharged their
WiIchesters nt Ed Biddle. Both shots
took effect. Jack Biddle raised from
the seat and discharged his revolver at
the three officers. Detective Swine
hart steadied himself and fired his re-
volver at Jack The ball took effect in
Jacks arm. Then the detectives open
ed rapid fire on the escapes. The
shots knocked them out of the sleigh.
Ed fell sprawling on the snow and Jack
fell on top of him, their firearms falling
from their hands.
"The Biddles' horse then became
frightened and ran away across n field.
1t was at this time that Mrs. Soffel was
seen to collapse in the sleigh. The de-
tectives approached the wounded men
and Detective Swinehart was rushing
in on them, when Detective McGovern
called to him to stay back. that the Bid
dies We're only feigning. Detective
Roach saw Ed Biddle reach in his coat
pocket as If for a gun, and the detec-
tive shot him again. Then Detective
McGovern ran up within five feet of
the boys and emptied his Winchester
into them. The Biddles then yielded,
and Roach and McGovern handcufred
their hands and feet and they were tax.
en- to Butler.