Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1904-10-27
OFFICERS BATTLE
WITH DESPERAD0ES
Three Dead and Three Mortally
Wounded as Result.
THE CROOKS OPENED FIRE
In an Attempt to Capture Gang In
Pine street House, Chief Des-
mond's Men Meet Desperate
and Deadly Resistance.

st. Louis, Oct. 22.-In a desperate
battle in a front room of the house al
1924 Pine street at four o'clock Friday
afternoon, two detectives and a sus-
pected train robber were killed,one 9TH
er detective and another suspect were
probably MORALLY wounded, and a
third suspect, who vas under arrest as
the officers entered the room, was
beaten almost unconscious by the two
officers when he attempted to take
part in the battle in aid of his friends.
The Dead.
John Shea, detective.
Thomas Dwyer, detective.
AL Rose, suspect.
The wounded.
James McClusky, detective; also in
critical condition.
C. C. Blair, fugitive, shot four times
through the body.
Harry H. Vaughn, fugitive; badly
beaten about the head by detectives.
The dead detective is John ]. Shea.
Detectives Thomas Dwyer and James
McClusky can hardly recover from
wounds through their bodies. They
are at the city hospital. The dead sus-
pect, AL Rose, shot through the neck,
was taken to the city dispensary, where
the body remained stretched out on a
table until it was taken to the morgue.
G. G. Blair, another suspect, is at the
city hospital, shot three times through
the body. His recovery is regarded as
impossible. Harry H. Vaughn is the
suspect who was beaten. He was treat
ed at the city dispensary. 1t was not
thought necessary to send him to the
city hospital.
The police learned Friday afternoon
that Rose, Blair and Vaughn were in
st. Louis. They were suspected OF
completely in a train robbery near Cen
tralia, ILL.,, a few weeks ago, and off
GERS we're sent after them. The posse
consisted of Shea, McClusky and Dwy'
er and Special Officer Harvey James, OF
the st. Louis force, and Detective Ed
ward P. Boyle, of Kansas City.
The detectives had reason to suspect
that the men they were after were in
the neighborhood of Fourteenth and
Pine streets, and began to shadow the
neighborhood. They took up their po-
sitions in a grocery store at the cor
ner and watched.
h Battle begins.
A few minutes before four O'Clock
they saw Vaughn come out of the
house at 1924 Pine street and go into
the house at 1926 Pine. In a little
while he came out of this house and
walked to the corner.
The detectives arrested and searched
him, and then started with him toward
the house from which they had first
seen him come.
Shea, McCluskey and Dwyer were
leading; Boyle and James were behind
with the prisoner between them.
The five officers and their prisoner
entered at the front Of the house. A
door leading into the front on
the first floor was open and the detec-
tives saw two men sitting near the
window.
The detectives started into the room,
Shea, McClusky and Dwyer still in
front, and the others bringing up the
real.
As the officers crossed the threshold
I.,nro woo n TaroJvrar shot fp1louyaH h
others in rapid succession. There was
a fusilade, both the men in the room
and the three st. Louis detectives fir
ing.
At the first shot Vaughn tried to
break away from his captors and join
forces with the other two men. His
captors began to pound him with the
butts of their revolvers. In the few
seconds that the battle lasted, Vaughn's
head was pounded unsparingly.
Ammunition Gives Out.
When the last shot had been fired
and the r%evolvers of both detectives
and suspects were empty, Shea was
dead, and McClusky, Dwyer, Rose and
Blair were helpless from their wounds
Crowds of citizens and policemen
rushed to the scene, and a hurried call
brought five ~ambulances from the city
dispensary.
Boyle and James, still retaining
their hold on Vaughn, walked him tt
the city ~dispensary, where his wounds
were dressed.
At the city hospital, Blair, though
weakened by his wounds and SUFFERING
excruciating pain, did not lose an ali
of bravado.
He was boastful, declared he wa
glad he had "got" one, and with pro
fuse profanity regretted that he hat
not had another revolver, SO that h
could continue shooting.