The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1907-07-19
Emmett Dalton Steps From
Jail to Hospital.
GRANTED TEMPORARY PAROLE
Will Have an Operation Performed; is
Last of the Gang That Robbed
and Killed.


| walls under death sentence, Emmett
Dalton, the only surviving member of
the notorious Dalton band of desper-
ADDE'S which, in the early nineties ter
rorized Oklahoma and southern Kan
sas, has been released from the Kan
sas penitentiary at Lansing and will
for four months enjoy the privileges
of freedom. Dalton has just been
granted provisional parole by Gov
ernor Hoch, in order that he may
undergo surgical treatment. At the
end of four months, unless he be in
the meantime granted a full pardon,
Dalton must return to the peniten-
| tiary.
Dalton is suffering from the effects
of wound received in a pitched bat
tie with citizens at Coffeyville, in Oc-
tober, 1892, which is now threatening
to cause the loss of his right arm.
He has entered a hospital here to UNI
dergo a delicate surgical operation,
which is expected to save his arm.
| At the recommendation of the parole
board of the penitentiary Governor
Hoch granted the provisional pardon
for the sole purpose of giving Dalton
an opportunity to avail himself OF
proper surgical treatment.
| Dalton's mother, Mrs. Lucy Dalton
of Kingfsher, Okla, has been with
him practically all the time since he
came to Topeka, and until he entered
the hospital the pair put up at one
of the leading hotels. Few people
| recognized the former desperately in
the handsome, quiet, well mannereu
Emmett Dalton of today.
During his long confinement at
lansing Dalton has read much and he
is exceedingly well posted regarding
current events. He talks well, carries
himself modestly and with native
dignity that goes far toward discon-
certing the curious loungers about the
hotel Hobbies.
Dalton is now thirty-four years of
age, but does not show. the traces OF
his years or of his former desperate
career in his appearance. He was only
nineteen years old on the fatal De-
tober day in Coffeyville fifteen years
ago, when his brothers, Bob and Graf,
with two of their companions, met
death in the streets of the little Mont
gomery county town while engaged in
a desperate attempt to rob two banks.
| OF the five men who composed the
party which rode into Coffeyville to
participate in the bank robbery, En-
met Dalton was the only one to come
out alive He was shot down, cap
tured, narrowly escaped lynching and
was finally taken to the penitentiary
under sentence to hang. Under the
old Kansas law the sentence of death
was equivalent to sentence of life
| Imprisonment. So, since November,
1892, Emmett Dalton has been a con-
Wet at Lansing.
For three years prior to 1892 the
Daltons had ravaged Oklahoma and
Indian Territory, with occasional raids
into Kansas. Bob Dalton was the
leader of the gang. Two other regular
members of the gang were Dick Broad
| we'll and Jesse Powers. Both Broad
well and Powers fell with Bob and
Graf Dalton in the streets of Coffey-
Vile.
| Emmett, then little more than a
boy, was with the older brothers in
| few, if any, of their desperate under
takings up till that time, although
he was probably in sympathy with
them, as he greatly admired his broth
er Bob, who was an amazingly dash
ing and captivating man. But Emmett
was with them at Coffeyville. Some
idea of Emmet's love for his brother,
Bob, as well as an estimate of his
! own nerve, may be gained from the
1 & ~ ha ho @oI fn Poh,c
body away with him, though slightly
wounded himself While hoisting his
brothers body across his saddle En-
met was shot again, receiving the
wound which is now bothering him.
The battle in the streets of Coffey
vile was unusually bloody. Besides
the four outlaws killed, four citizens
of the town, among them being c. I.
Connolly, the city marshal, were shot
to death. Four other citizens were
badly wounded. A total of $4,000
was taken from the banks and the
robbers started out of town before
1.-THE shooting began.
While it was underway word spread
around the town that the Daltons
were robbing the banks. The citizens
hurriedly armed themselves and turned
out almost to a man. From buildings
and hebind fences a terrific fusillade
of shots from all manner of firearms
were poured into them. The citizens
were protected. The outlaws were al
most in the open. Within ten min
utes four of the five had been shot to
death and Emmett was wounded into
helplessness. The deadliness of the
return fire by the outlaws is attested
by the casualties among the citizens
| four dead and four wounded.
John j. Kloehr, a Coffeyyille livery
man was responsible for the death of
three of the outlaws. One of his
shots also struck Emmett. Kloehr
was stationed in a hardware store
armed with a rifle. He is dead shot
and as the robbers filed from the Con-
don bank he opened the fire which
resulted in the determination of the
Dalton gang. 1t is rather remark
able coincidence that almost stimuli
taneously with the release of Emmett
Dalton from the penitentiary John
VI &c 4