New-York tribune., 1902-02-01
THE BIDDLES SHOT DOWN
JuRS. SOFFEL TRIES TO KILL
THEIR PURSUERS.
OFFICERS WOUND BOTH MEN AND THE
WOMAN SHOOTS HERSELF AS
EDWARD FALLS

! in a precarious condition. and Mrs Peter X.
/ Soffel lying in the hospital with a self-inficted
/ bullet wound in her breast is the sequel of the
! sensational escape OF the Biddle brothers from
! the Allegheny County Jail, aided by Mrs. Soffel.
! the wife of the jail warden, on Thursday morn
/ ing The story of the close of the Biddle trage-
dy which occurred at 5:45 this afternoon is
| thrilling
! The scene was a snow covered road two miles
east of Prospect, Butler County Mount
! Chestnut and the exact place at McClures
! barn, where two double team sleghs, filled with
! eight officers of the law three of them Pttsburg
! detectives. John Roach. Albert Swinehart and
| Charles McGovern, met the two Biddles and
| Mrs. Soffel riding in one horse sleigh, which
they had stolen at Perrysville, and at once
! opened fire the trio. The Biddles jumped
! from the sleigh and returned the fire.
Mrs Soffel was shot through the breast.
Edward Biddle was shot in the left arm, in
the breast and in one leg.
John Bidde's breast and head were riddled
with buckshot
The Pittsburg officers were met at Butler this
afternoon by Deputy Sherifs Rainey and Hoon
and Frank Holiday and Aaron Thompson, po-
lice officers under command of Chief of Police
Robert Ray of Butler. The officers were GER
tain that they were on the right trail. 1t was
only question of time when they would over
take the condemned murderers and their guilty
companion.
The Biddles and Mrs. Soffel ate dinner at the
home of 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 Pittsburg officers, only few miles In the
rear. took the wrong road for about eight miles,
but when they found their mistake they made
up for lost time by telephoning and telegraphing
ali freS They reached Mount
Chestnut not less than half hour after the
Biddles and Mrs. Soffel. Here William Watson,
storekeeper. had fresh horses awaiting them.
and the chase continued.
The two seighs with the eight officers aboard.
started westward and met the Biddles and Mrs
Soffel at McClure's barn, two miles from Mount
Prospect The Biddles had learned that they
were almost overtaken, and, taking what they
considered their only chance for safety. drove
eastward The officers armed with Win
chester rifles and revoIvers Of large calibre.
They shot to kill. The Biddles tried to Kill, and
fought TO their last bullet, but not one of the
eight officers was hit.
MRS SOFFEL SHOOTS HERSELF.
When the detectives got within about sixty
yards of the fugitives. they opened fire. Ihe
Biddles promptly answered with shotgun ana
revolvers When Ed Biddle fell and Mrs
Soffel saw she was about to be captured. she
fired a bullet into her breast. Physicians who
examined the wound say that she will recover.
as the bullet was detected by her corset ana
the wound is comparatively slight.
Ed Biddle got bullet in the breast which
penetrated his right lung, and will probably end
his life before morning. John Bddle may re-
cover none of his many wounds having reached
a vital spot.
The escape of the officers is miraculous The
Riddles have demonstrated on several occasions
that they are good marksmen, and why they
should have failed to-day to bring down their
men is a mystery.
After the Biddles fell to the covered
ground, the officers picked up the apparently
ufeless bodies of the men and their companion.
and returned to Butler. bringing the stolen
sleigh, patched up harness and worn out horse
with which they had tried to escape.
The story of the fight. told by one of the
detectives. is follows:
The Biddles were sitting on the right side of
the cutter when caught up TO them MIS-
Soffel was on the left s!de. Ho!d up your
hands and surrender" cried Detective Mccoy
ern Ed" Biddle jumped up from his seat and,
aiming shotgun. fired at McGovern. but missed
Charged their Winchesters at Ed" B!ddle. Both
shots took effect. Jack Biddle rose from the
seat and discharged his revolver at the three
officers Detective Swinehart steaded himself
and fired his 40 Colts revolver at Jack The
ball took effect in Jacks" arm. Then the de-
fpctiVeS
cession The shots knocked them out of the
sleigh. Ed" fell sprawling on the snow. and
jack fen on top Of him. Their hrearIns zen
alongside of them. The Blddless Morse Inen pe-
| came frightened and ran away across a heid
1t was at this time that Mrs. Sofel was seen
to collapse in the sleigh. The detectives APP
preached the wounded men, and Detective
Swinehart rushing in on them When De-
tective McGOvern called to him 10 stay oach'
that the Blddles only feigning Detective
Roach saw Ed" Biddle reach in his coat POCKET
as if for q gun, and the detective shot hlIn
again Then Detective McGovern ran up to
within five feet of the boys and emptled his
Winchester into them. The Biddles then yield
ed, and taken TO Butler.
Mrs Soffel who had fallen from the sleigh
when the horse ran away, was picked up and
placed in the detectives large sleigh with her
companions and taken TO the hospital at Butler.
EDWARD MAKES CONFESSION.
At the Jail tonight Edward Biddle called for
a priest and made the following statement:
I have been accused of great many serious
| crimes l want to say now that | dld not XIII
Detective Fitzgerald. did / shoot Thomas
Kahney nor was my brother implicated in the
latter affair Mrs. Soffel aided us in getting out
of the county Jail, and had it not been for her
would have made our escape to-day She
gave up everything for us, and L was bound TO
back her. / did not shoot her. she shot her
| self. oh, father, bless me and tell me that my
sins are forgiven.
Although l have been pictured to you as
desperate man. l still have some heart and
gratitude for the woman who helped us to es-
cape. She merely did it out Of good sympathy
for us l persuaded her to do it. told her
/ was guiltless of the crime for which l was
about to be executed. and she was impressed
and Welded TO my suggestion. planned 1t ALL
Looking UP he saw several reporters. and
recognizing some of them he said:
| Won blackguards! You are the Of the
| 4lot hoc hApn a