The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1906-05-16
The Car Barn Bandits
(SECOND INSTALLMENT.)

and the motorman had gone deeply into
debt to establish himself in a place Of
his own. His wife and two little chill
dren were at home on the night that The
husband and father was shot down il
cold blood.
1t was still early Sunday morning
when l stopped in front OF the little
home. Then, for the first time, real
lied that it was up to me to notify the
little woman of the fearful deed that
had been committed. Those who have
ever notified any person of the death OF
a loved one, can appreciate the sadness
of my mind as l thought of the awful
news that would have to be told on this
beautiful Sabbath morning Neverthe-
less, l steeled myself for the occasion
l first Weakened a lady neighbor, think
ing it would be more proper TO have one
with me than to go in alone. . knocked
at the door and almost breathlessly
awaited the summons to enter. | list
ened and heard the. patter of bare feet
on the hall floor Then, almost timidv,
az though she suspected the message
that she would receive, Mrs. johnson
peeped through the crack.
The neighbor woman spoke to her
and asked that we be permitted to en-
ter. We did SO and in few moments
we were all standing there, awkwardly
staring at one another, while Mrs. John
sons facial expression began to change
in such a manner that it seemed cruel
to speak out boldly. So, l retired to
another room and sobbed as the neighbor
told the story that l had brought to
that quiet little home
Mrs johnson bore the news calmly
and the two babes, scarcely able to tod
die, wept quietly in sympathy with their
stricken mother. She told us that her
employee, was shot while ON duty. AT
ter securing a photograph of Mr.. John
son, | left for the Stewart home.
The Stewards were all awake and
there was the stiffness of stricken
home about the place that made it seem
like brazeness for me to enter. But
Mr.. Stewart, who was trusted en-
ployee of the company, treated me with
the greatest courtesy and gave me the
a.. t..l
gedy. l also secured a picture of Frank
Stewart and then started out on my
hunt for Biehle, as he was reported to
be only slightly wounded and could, no
doubt, give me the story as an eye
witness. After long and weary hunt,
all day long, finally, in company with
Captain Martin Hayes of the Wood
lawn station. we discovered HIM in the
home of a relative, many miles from the
scene of the crime.
All the efforts we put forth to get to
interview the wounded man were futile
and even the presence of captain Of
police had no effect on the relatives OF
the young man. They were obdurate.
l returned to the Tribune office to-
wards evening and then wrote the long
est newspaper story l had ever tackled
N all of my career. Photographers had
been busy all day taking pictures around
the scene of the crime and the Monday
morning Tribune was one of the most
complete papers that had ever been pub
lished on a big crime. 1t was, without
doubt. the deepest mystery, for the
magnitude of the crime that had ever
occurred in the city.
Then followed one of the most clever
hunts that ever any police force in the
nation has been called upon to prosecute
Without a single clew; without any lead
of any kind; with two OF the witnesses
silent in their graves, and the other so
thoroughly frightened that he stood out
IN the community as a confessed cow
ard, the police were seemingly power
less. The desperate work had been
P~AAANu NoitiuilS lioL trace OF any
kind was left behind to tell of the per
petrators OF the deed.
Rumors spread wildly all over the city
of the existence OF a band of outlaws
that would stop at nothing to accom-
plish their desperate robberies Within
the next few days succeeding the com
mission of the dastardly thing as we'll
as several weeks before, there had been
an epidemic Of murder and everything
seemed to point to the same gang of
criminals. Every policeman and all the
detectives in the city spent hour after
hour and day after day, hunting, high
and low, all to the same end but seem
ingly to no purpose.
One morning the Record Herald
seemed to have "seooped' the other pa
pers by coming out with a big story
about the capture of the car barn ban
dts by Inspector LAWN of the Harrison
dne.