The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1902-02-07
"RECAPTURED AFTER
A FIERCE FIGHT
Both the BiddIes Wounded in
a Battle With De-
tectives.
WOMAN SHOOTS HERSELF
Wife Of the Warden, Who Fled With
the Prisoners, Attempts Suicide
Are Overtaken Near Town
of.Prospect, Pa.

ana IN a precarlOuS condition.,
and Mrs. Peter X. Soffel lying in the
hospital with a self-innicted bullet
wound in he breast, is the sequel of
the sensational escape of the Biddles
from the Allegheny county jail, aided
by Mrs. Sotfel, the wife Of the Jail
warden, on Thursday morning. The
story of the close of the Biddle tragedy,
which came yesterday afternoon, is q
thrilling one.
The scene was a snow-coVered road
two miles east of Prospect. Butler
county, near Mount Chestnut, II the
exact place was at McClure's barn,
where two double team sleiglls filled
with eight officers. three of them Pitts
burg detectives--John Roach, Albert
SWinehart and Charles McGovern-met
the two Biddles in a one-horse sleigh,
stolen at Perrysville, n at once
opened fire on the trio.
The Biddles returned the fire after
jumping out Of the sleigh. Mrs. Soffel's
wound was through the breast. Ed
ward BidGle vas shot in the left arm,
in the breast and in one leg. John Bid
die was riddled with buckshot in the
breast and head.
The Pittsburg officers We're met at
Butler yesterday afternoon by Deputy
SheriffS Rainey and Hoon and Officers !
Frank Holiday n Aaron Thompson,
the latter under command Of Chief of
Police Robert Ray of Butler.
The officers were certain that they
were on the right trail. 1t was only a
question of time when they would
catch up to the escaping condemned
murderers and their guilty companion.
The Biddles and Mrs. Soffel ate dinner
at j. j. Stephens, at Mount Chestnut,
five miles east of Butler. They had
made a detour Of the town of Butler.
and after going several miles east
turned north and then west. The Pitts
burg officers. only a few miles in the
rear, took the wrong road for about
eight miles, but when they found their
mistake they mad up for lost time by
t~elegraphing ahead for fresh horses.
They reached Mount Chestnut not less
than half an hour after the Biddles
and Mrs. Soffel. At this point William
Watson, storekeeper. had fresh horses
awaiting them, and the chase for life
began anew.
Cvertake Eldeles.
The two sleighs, with eight officers
aboard, started westward, and met the
Biddles and Mrs. Soffel at McClure's
barn, two miles from Mt. Chestnut.
The Biddles having learned that they
We're almost overtaken, and taking
what they considered the only chance
they had, drove eastward and met their
doom.
The officers were armed with Win
chester rifles and revolvers of large
caliber. They shot to kill, and thei
aim was perfect. The Biddles tried to
kill to the last of their string, but not
one of the eight officers had q wound
as a result of the battle.
When the detectives came to within
about sixty yards of the fugitives they
opened fire. The Biddles promptly an
swered with shotgun and revolvers.
Mrs. Soffel, too, stood up in the sleigh
with a revolver in each hand and
blazed AVA at her pursuers. When
Ed .Biddle fell; and she saw she was
about to be captured, she fired a bull
let into her breast. An examination by
physicians shows that she will recover,
as the bullet was DETECTED by her cor
set, and the u is comparatively
slight.
Ed Biddle received a bullet in the
breast, Which penetrated his right lung,
and probably will end his life before
morning. John Biddle may recover, his
wounds, though numerous, failing to
reach q vital spot.
The escape of the officers is niracu-
lous. The Biddles nave demonstrated
on several occasions that they are good
marksmen, and why they should have
failed yesterday to bring down their
men Is a. mystery.
After the Biddles fell TO tie snow
covered ground the officers picked up
the apparently lifelesS bodies of Mrs.
Soffel n the Biddles and came back
to Butler, bringing the stolen sleigh,
patched-up harness and worn out horse
that the trio had tried so s~trenuously
to get away with toward Canada and
liberty.
Detectives Story of Fight.
The story OF the fight, as told by one
OF the detectives, is as follows:
The Biddles were sitting on the right
side of the cutter, Mrs. Soffel on the
left. Hold up our hands and sur
render!!" cried Detective McGovern. Ed
Btddle jumped up from his seat, and
raising a shotgun fired at McGovern.
He aimed badly and the shot scattered
on the road alongside of McGovern.
Detectives McGovern and Roach dis
charged their Winchesters at e. Bid
die. Both shots hit. Jack Biddle
raised from his seat and discharged his
revolver at the three officers. De-
3tectiye Swinehart steadied himself and
fired his 45-caliber Colt revolver at
Jack. The ball too effect in Jack'sI
arm. Then the detectives opened fire.
on the men in rapid succession. The
shots knocked them out of the sleigh.
Ed fell sprawling on the snow and Jack
fell on top of hin Their firearms fell
alongside of them. The Biddles' horse
then became frightened and ran away
across a field. 1t was at this time
that Mrs. Soffel was seen to collapse i'll
the wounded men, and Detective |!
Swinehart was rushing in on them
when Detective McGovern called to
him to stay Where he was-that the
Biddles were only feigning. Detective
Roach saw Ed Biddle reach in his coat
pocket, as though for a III and the
detective shot him again. Then De-