The Aberdeen Democrat. (Aberdeen, South Dakota) 1???-1909, 1905-09-08

Another foul murder has been COM
mitted in this county. A gang of
desperadoes held up a freight car con
tanning ten laborlng men Monday
evening just as the Chicago s. North
western train pulled out of Hecla
One man was killed and several were
relieved of their earnings. The crime
was the work of desperate, cold blood
ed men who went about it deliberate
ly and carried out a well made plan.
GOT ON AT ABERDEEN
Mondays freight carried a number
of box a passengers. They were
men who had been working here
abouts, some getting on at Redtield
others here. Ten of them got to
gether in a car here and had a lunch
and several bottles of beer. They
were all we'll dressed and above the
grade of an ordinary hobo. Coming
up from Redfeld on the train, though
not n of this party, was another
man whom the bunch of boys did not
like. He swung off the train at Aber
deem and joined three other hard
looking fellows who had either beer
here overnight or had come up on the
same train but in another car. The
four were villianous looking and wher
they swung onto the a where the
other fellows we're they were treated
as men to be feared and given pretty
much as they wanted.
TREATED THEM
The boys who had the beer invited
these four to have some with them
and they accepted and then left them.
The fellows we're relieved at this and
spoke of the fact that the four were
hard looking customers and good ridd.
ance. After the train left Aberdeen
there was no trouble. The four men
were seen by the others but let them
alone. At Hecla, however, it was al.
most dark as the train pulled out.
SWUNG INTO CAR
Just as the freight was getting un-
der way two men, wearing masks
owe their eyes, swung onto the Car
where the ten men were and flashed
a lantern on them, at the same time
ordering them to throw up their
hands. Five of the ten jumped from
the moving train but five others had
to remain. Some of them tried to
secrete their money and n of them
must have either resisted or unsuc-
cessfully attempted to leave the train
with the others. There were a num-
Der of shots fired. One of them grazed
the head of one mar as he jumped and
came within a fraction Of an inch Of
finishing him then and there. One of
the other men who jumped was struck
on the head with the butt end of a
revolver but not seriously hurt. The
unfortunate man who remained was
seen to be scutfling or fighting with
some Of the robbers. The was a muffled
Shot and he fell to thief floor Of the car.
The robbers got some of his money,
probably about $40, and also secured
some from the others. They then left
the car and, it is thought, leaped from
the moving train.
WARNING SENT TO LUDDEN
Among the five men who jumped
from the train were two who had left
suit cases in the box car. They at
once went to the agent of the railroad
at Hecla and had him wire the agent
at Ludden to get the two cases from
the car. Later on they went up to
the Arlington hotel and told of the
attempted hold-up, though they were
then ignorant of the murder which
followed their leaving the train. One
of the five said that he had lived at
Gettysburg for a number of years
where he cooked in restaurant. He
spoke with a pronounced German ac-
OOAOs Lie ~ W0o WIN OO udllOWly GS-
capped death when the shot grazed his
head. All of the men agreed on the
description of the robbers and told the
same story.
SUSPECTED MAN PRECEDED THEM
A few minutes before these men
came into the hotel a stranger had
come in and asked for a room. The
landlord did not like his looks and
told him that his house was full and
that he could not be accommodated.
A farmer, sitting in the hotel lobby,
spoke up and offered to share his room
with him and he accepted and went
to the room and to bed. The others
came in within a few minutes and
told of the robbery and described the
men who had done it. Their descrip-
tion of one of the two Tailed exactly
with the description of the man who