The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1910-03-30
VERY SMALL CLEW
LED TO THE CAPTURE OK TWO
TRAIN ROBBERS.
They We're Traced by an Old Ha,
Which They Had Stolen From a
Car Years Before

Car Years Before.
The two bandits who recently held
up and robbed p fast mail train
on the Missouri Pacific road. near
Eureka, Mo, have hc-n captured and
are now in jail at St Louis. each
held in default OF $4,000 bail. and
il is probable that each will get q
prison sentence extending over the
rest of his natural life. B:'l Lowe
and George Eberhng are the two
men who participated in the hold-up.
and IL is the story Of their careless
ness in leaving al old slouch hat
LAYING around that finally led 10 the
capture.
The train robbers. under cover OF
revolvers. compelled the engineer and
fremen Of the train TO detach the
two mail cars and run them up the
track for q mile and then get out
OF the engine cab and walk back
20 the rest OF the crew. Then
the robbers ran the train about Ave
miles further up the track. where
they colly looted the two cars. The
post Office authorities detailed In
specsor Perkins on the joh. and. az
ter looking over the ground and the
clews. he decided that an old, gray.
felt hat. left near the sceae OF the
robbery. was The best one 70 fol-
low
IN tracing the hats owner. he dis
covered that it had been stolen with
lot Of other loot from freight
car robbed n ST. Louis some months
before. The next move was 20 get
line on the suspects at the time the
hat was stoier. and who might have
stolen It from the freight car. In
! looking up these worthless the III
spector was impressed by the rather
dubious antecedents OF cae Jim
Lowe. who had been employed by
the Missouri. Kansas and Texas road
at the time OF the robbery.
The inspector was still further i'm
pressed with the fact that Jim had
! brother Bill. who some Il years
| before had been connected with the
younger Jesse James in the
hold-up OF a train. Inquiry re-
specting Bill Lowe showed him as
being for the moment engaged in
the sale OF mining stock. with an
Office in the Granite building. in ST.
Louis. and as osteasibly reformed
and conducting an honest and legiti-
mate business.
However. the inspector says, a
sort OF feeling crept into his mind
/ that as Bill had the nerve TO hold
up train II years before. ne might
be tempted to try the old trick over
again. At any rate. the inspector
found that Bill was in ST. Louis and
handy for the JOB about the time @:
the robbery.
Furthermore Bill! had beea an en-
gine driver and in q pinch could have
done just as one Of the robbers did
in running fre miles up the track
with the mail cars at Eureka. And
then IL in the latter job might he
not have worn the old hat found 81
the scene OF the holdup. and further
more might not his brother Jim have
given 1t to him. after all? Then
the developments came quick and
surprising. indicating the inspectors
line Of logic to have been well found
ed.
A quiet search OF Jim Loves
home resulted IN the finding Of the
goods stolen at the same time the
OLD gray hat was taken from the
freight car. Then Jim was asked 10
explain and upon being shown th"
hat after awhile hesitatinsly admit
ted that it was "one that had been
given to him by friend" about a
year ago. and which he later gave
to his brother Bill. Then, the in
specto- says. all was plain sailing
in the matter OF running down the
robbers