Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1911-08-16
MONTANA BANK ROBBERY.
Former Decorahian Sees Attempted
Robbery of Bank at Har-
lem, Montana.


have received the following letter
from their granddaughter, Ruth
| Headington, daughter of Herb.
Headington, formerly CT this city,
describing her thrilling experience
with the bank robbery at that place
Harlem, Montana,
Aug. 8, 1911.
Dear Grandma and Grandpa:
1t isn't long ago since | wrote you
letter, but l must tell you about
the bank robbery here last Monday.
About IL a. m. three men on horse
back rode up to the back part of the
bank, two of them dismounted and
went around to the front door of the
| bank while the other one stayed on
his horse and held the reins of the
other horses. The two men that
went into the bank of course held
up the banker and cashier and asst
cashier, also lawyer One of the
robbers had them lined up along the
wall covered with revolvers, while
the other one went after the money,
and while he was in the vault he
discharged his gun accidently, so of
course that aroused the marshall,
who was over at the hotel He hur-
ried to the bank and went in the
door, and just as he looked in the
door the robber was coming out of
the vault The marshal fired at
the robber, who had $4,000 in
sack and the robber fired at the mar
ch u-ion cho1
and the robber fell dead. The other
fellow who was holding the bankers
lined up along the wall, seeing his
partner fall, ran out the front door
of the bank and around to the fel-
low holding their horses, mounted
and rode away, firing at the mar
shall and others near the bank, who
were also shooting at them They
didn't ride at all fast for the first
half mile but after that they rode
as fast as their horses could go, 60
ing straight for the reservation. I
was only few rods away from the
whole works, Gin the telephone Of
tice), so | saw nearly every move
they made. A number of people
started after them, in automobiles,
but they didn't follow very far, for
fear of being shot. One of the shots
fired by the robbers as they were
riding away hit the hotel and an
other one hit Barton's store, and it
surely was a miracle that no one
else was shot for the guns were just
popping steady for about three
minutes. Grandpa, you know old
! George Powell, well he was just
about two rods from the robber that
was holding the horses. George fir
ed at him and he fired at George
neither hitting the other. OF course
everyone in town swarmed to the
bank to see the dead robber. He
sure was hard looking customer
He wore a heavy beard, and that
made him look so desperate. He
was shot straight through the heart
On examining him they found two
bullet wounds in his shoulder about
a week or ten days old, and this
leads the people to believe that he
was one of the men that held up
the Northern Pacific in N. Oak,
him the day after the robbery, after
taking his picture, for there is a
large reward for any of the men that
held up the N. p. in n. OAK
1t surely was lucky that they
didn't get any money, $4,000
would have been quite a haul for
one day, wouldn't it? They think
the fellows that got away went eth
er to the Bear Paw mountains or
else to the bad lands down on the
Missouri river. Just as the fellows
got on their horses to ride away,
tried to phone to the agency, on the
reservation, but they had cut the
wires, and also those in the Bear
Paw mountains. / got one of the
empty shells from the dead robbers
revolver that / am going to keep for
a souvenir.
They have offered $500 reward
for the capture of either of the es-
capped robbers, dead or alive, but
they don't think they will ever be
cought because you see there is so
much rough, unsettled land for
them to hide in. The horses they
were riding were stolen about sixty
miles from here. Well, | think that
is all the particulars about the rob-
berry. RUTH.