The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-11-13
Three Suspects Held in Connection
With the Maple Plain
Murder.
One Victim swears They RobbeE
Him on the Great Northern
Train.

I (.
Edward Belize. Thomas Donovan
and James Williams are under arrest
at the central police station under sus-
picion of having murdered Cotton G..
Gordon of Vail, Iowa, who was found
lying dead beside the Great Northern
tracks at Maple Plain, Mimi, Wednes-
day, morning. having been forced by
moving freight train. The men were
pointed out to the police by Edward
Alton, one of the victims of the high
waymen, who was searching the city
for them.
When taken to, the station the men
stoutly denied all connection with the
robbery and said that they had been in
the city for several days. They were
sweated separately and their stories
failed to agree even in the general de-
tails Williams claimed that he had
been in Minneapolis for three weeks
and had stayed at the Salvation Army
barracks Tuesday night. Belize
claimed that all three had come to the
city from the harvest fields about ten
days ago and had spent most of their
time about saloons since then. Dono-
van said he had been taking aconite
and did not appear to understand what
was said to him. :
and was able to pick the trio out Of
crowd of forty men. He says be-
fore they held him up. one of them
/ lighted cigarette and by the light of
the match he was able to get a good
| look a. their faces.
The police will take the men before
Keller, who is at ST. Mary's hospital
suffering from a broken leg. Keller
was in the car where the oily waste
| was fired, and was able to get a good
look at the trio Of highwaymen. He
is able to identify two of them posi-
| lively and thinks he would know the
third man. In addition to this, F. M.
Williams and John Cater, two other
victims who are at Maple Plain, will
| be brought to the city to identify the
suspects.
Not the Men," Says Ford.
| Charles Ford, companion Of Frank
| Keller, the man who is lying at st.
Mary's hospital and who was also held
up by hlghwaymen and compelled to
jump from the Great Northern freight
| train near Wayzata, Tuesday night
| went to the central station this morn
ing and saw the three men held there
under suspicion of being the highway
men. He says he is positive that they
are not the men who held up him.
Keller and four companions. He says
that he had a good look at the hold
up men and can see no resemblance
between them and the trio under ar
| rest. .,.-,..-
Otto Wenzell of Milwaukee, who was
also victim of the holdup, but who
| was not on the same car with Keller
and Ford, nor on that, in which the
dead man. Gordon, rode, also called al
the station and he, too, says that the
police have the wrong men. The
largest man Of the three bears some
resemblance to the leader of the hold
UP gang, but he is certain that it is not
he. The other two men do not even
resemble the bandits.
Robbed Near Wayzata.
(. Ford says that he. Alton, Keller and
| three other men were in the same car
and that the hold-up men entered the
+ car just as the train was leaving the
water tank at Wayzata. Alton was
the first one robbed, and he was com.
PEELED to jump. The second man tc
be robbed jumped and has not beer
4 seen since. Heller was the third tt
jump and was followed by two others
when the highwaymen devoted theil
attention to Ford. They took all Of
Ford's money, but gave him back q
cents to get his breakfast. When Fore
jumped the train was mile and hal
east of Wayzata. He walked back anc
found Keller and had him taken tt
the station and then sent to the city.
WenZell was in a cattle car with
three others, neither of whom was thu
dead man, and they were held up ant
compelled to Jump about two mile:
west Of Long Lake. All four escaped
without injury.
Gordon and Williams and Gates
the two men at Maple Plain, were on
car which was gone thru before Wen
zell was held up.