The times and democrat. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1881-current, 1910-09-06
BOLD BANDITS
Hold Up and Huraer Paynaster And
His Companion And Guard.
THE ROBBERS ESCAPE
The Bold Murder and Robbery Oc.
Cured in Sight Of the Brick Fac
tory, to Which the Victims Were
Going With Money to Pay or the
D.
Workmen There

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Masked robbers sprang out of the
bushes alongside of lonely road
near Hudson, II. Y, Saturday after
noon, held up Dent Fowler, paymas-
ter of the Atlas Brick Company, and
his negro driver, shot the driver
dead, wounded Fowler mortally and
| made off with chest of pay envel-
opea containing $1,000. George
Ragsdale, the driver, died instantly;
his head was torn away by two A.
caliber bullets. He was 60 years old
and trusted employe. Fowler was
wounded over the heart and died
without regaining full consciousness.
He was 81 years old. The robbers
escaped.
Saturday is pay day at the yards
of the Atlas Brick Company and, ac-
cording to custom, Fowler called at
the Newburgh bank: for his pay mon
ey, sorted it out into the proper
amounts, ticketed the envelopes and
| started back to the yards, half a
| mile out of town on, the banks of
the Hudson river. He went armed
as paymasters do and for further
protection took with him Ragsdale,
who was stable boss at, the yards:
It was raining and they rode with
the buggy top up, the boot we'll rails
ed in front and their heads far back
| in the hood. That made 1t easy for
| the robbers.
Just what happened when the
hold-up came will never be known
until the murderers are caught and
confess. Fowler died before he could
utter more than few unintelligible
words.
Although the shooting was done
within three hundred yards Of the
State Firemen's Home. and within
sight of the yards themselves, it was
neither seen nor heard. The police
have to piece together a theory of
the crime from bullet holes and foot
prints. Five shots were fired. Two
of them tore away the side, Of Rags
dale's head. A third struck the pay
master above the heart. The fourth
and fifth passed through the back of
the raised buggy top. From the
size of the holes it would appear that
the robbers used regulation army a.
calibre revolvers. From the foot
prints there seem to have been five
in the band.
The hold-up and the shooting must
have followed each other almost with
the rapidity of the shots themselves.
1t can be seen that somebody grab
bed hold of the horses bride. If a
demand for the paymaster's box was
made he never had time to refuse or
comply. There is no evidence that
he attempted to defend himself. His
revolver is still clean. Huddled in
the buggy top, muffled in the boot,
he must have been shot down like d
trapped animal From this unreas-
oning haste the police deduce that
the robbers were desperately terri
fed.
The police are inclined to believe
that the holdup was a professional
job. The robbers carried with them
the small pay chest. 1t has not been
recovered and may have been weight.
ed down and thrown into the river.
Five sets of tracks led northward
from the scene of the murder. Al
q short distance from the roadside
New York Central detectives and the
Hudson police found where the trails
separated, but they have no other
clue and no description.
1t was variously reported that the
murderers got $4,000 and $500
but adyices from Newburgh, where
the money was drawn, place the
amount at $4,000.
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