The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-12-04
BY A SNEAK THIEF
Passengers ON Santa Fe Train
We're Tcrrorized.
Thought an Effort Was Being
Made to Rob Train.
CAUGHT AT LAWRENCE
Name Of the Nan Is Clark
or Green; Is Wounded.
Shot a Passenger Named Ward
in the Fight.

A drunken passenger named John
| Clark or Chas. H. Green on Santa Fe
train No. II tried to steal an overcoat
| from a passenger named C. E. Ward of
/ Purcell, l. L, last night when the train
was at Holiday When Ward resisted,
/ Clark fired two shots into Wards thigh.
! There was a fight in the aisle of the car
and Clark escaped from the car by
sma shing the glass in the window of
/ the yestibule and jumping through the
hole He was badly cut, and was cap
tured later in Lawrence.
This occurrence gave rise to the SEN
sational story that there had been an
attempted hold up of the train.
There is absolutely nothing in the
! hold UP story published this morning"
said H. H. German, chief of the Santa
Fe's special agents. -.and there never
was anything to justify it. There was
a fight on our train last night at Holn-
/ day. started by drunken passenger
who was riding on a ticket from Kansas
I City to Topeka.
| 1T appears as though he attempted
| to steal an overcoat from c. E. Ward
of Purcell, l. T., and that Ward grap-
pied with him and in the scuffle was
shot in the leg. The drunken man
then made his way TO the rear of the
train and broke the glass in door in
making his escape and IN doing SO Sc
verely cut his hand.
After he alightedl from the rear of
the train he walked along side of it
until he reached the smoker and he
compelled a passenger at the point OF
a revolver to exchange hats with him.
When the train pulled out 1t is evident
he caught the rear car and rode into
Lawrence where he went to a hotel and
went to bed. The wounded hand bled
profusely and he went to one of the
drug stores and asked that the wound
be dressed.
while he was having the injured
hand dressed the porter slipped out Of
the store and notified the officers who
placed him under arrest and he Is now
In iail at Lawrence awaiting further In
police of Topeka by the conductor OF
the train notified them of fight but
did not In any way ntimate that an at
tempt had been made to hold up the
tFain.''
was brought to ToDeka and is at Stor-
mont hospital He fs under the care
of DR. r. d. Freeman.
Mr. Ward has two bullets in his
thigh. and the thigh bone is badly
shattered. He will probably be con
fined to- his bed for seven or eight
weeks. There is of course danger Of
suppuration, due to bits of clothing
having been carried into the wound,
but the exact condition IN this respect
can not be determined for about 8
hours.
one Of the bullets, according to the
medical description of the case. en-
tered the thigh from the inner aspect
Of the knee, and the other from the
outer aspect of the thigh. Both struck
the bone, and both shattered it. The
wound is therefore a serious one, but
recovery is only question of time un-
less complications ensue-
The bullets were removed from the
wound. and are supposed to be .3S
caliber-
Lawrence. Kan, Dec. 4.@sJohnny'
Clark, who threw the passengers on
Santa Fe train No. IT into panic last
night and started the report that a bold
attempt at hold up had been made, was
arrested early this morning at Law
renee while he was attempting to have
an injury to his hand treated by a local
doctor.
A short time after the train which
it was supposed had been held up ar
rived in Lawrence the man now under
arrest appeared at the Santa Fe depot |
waiting room where he left his coat, /
in the pocket Of which there were |
number of letters addressed to (
Johnny Clark. From there he went
to the Santa Fe hotel near the depot
and registered under the same name, /
where he went to bed and remained |
for an hour or So though the bed was
empty when the officers called and t
searched the room about daylight.
The sheets and bedding We're bloody /
indicating that the man was suffering /
from q flesh wound of some kind and |
in one corner of the room was bundle
OF D40Ouy rags Wnlcn naQ Deeu uSeQ dS
bandageS. About eight o'clock this /
morning man who afterwards proved |
to be Clark went into Dr. a. B. Sellard's
drug store and asked to have an injury
to his hand dressed. While the porter |
was heating water to be used in dress
ing the mans wounds, the porter called /
DIR. SeIlard's s attention to the fact Of the
reported attempted robbery of the San
Ia FHe train, and the officers were noti-
fed and arrived at the store few
moments later and placed Clark under
arrest.
When arrested Clark refused to make
a statement Of any kind other than to
say that he wished that he had not
thrown away his other gum and that
he would have given the officers some
thing to do when they arrested him.
He is now in jail at Lawrence where
he is held pending an investigation b5
the Santa Fe officers. He may be
brought to Topeka today.
When the man was searched by the
officers they found certificate of mem
bership in his pocket issued to Chas. H.
Green, boilermaker in Colorado. 1t is
therefore uncertain whether his real
name is CLARK or Green
The man under arrest is about 80
years old and refuses to talk.
Kansas city. Mo-. Dec. 4.-The
sneak thief who at II O'Clock last
night escaped after shooting e C.
Ward Of Purcell. I. T., passenger on
westbound Santa F'e train No II. at
Holiday, Kan. 13 miles west of Kan
sas City, appeared in Lawrence, Kan,
early today in search of a physician
The man 5 hand was wounded After
an unsuccessful attempt to secure the
services Of two physicians, he disap-
peared 1t is believed that the man is
In hiding in Lawrence
u 4