Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1912-09-24
a.aiseellaueo,ts Rsading.
OUTLAW A CANDIDATE
Member of Dalton Gang Now PoI
ular Politician.

Not many. robbers running for Of
lice in New York make campaign
capital of their "reminiscences Of time
when they stole from the public. A
western candidate these days Is no,
only recalling in his stump speeches
his experience as a train robber, bu
he is being we'll received by his audi
ences.
A. L. Jennings, formerly a member
of the Dalton gang, now nominated
for the office Of county attorney has
for his campaign slogan "a train rob.
Der is better than a public yegg." The
public there seem to believe what he
ought to know. He won out over
six men who ran for the office In the
primaries.
Jennings's speeches declared thai
the crimes of the Dalton gang were
tame affairs compared to the work OF
the present court house gang In that
district, who, he vowed, were embez-
zlers to the amount Of $4,000.
81 have stolen more than thai
amount from trains in this territory
he declares, land I have ridden away
with it tied behind my saddle in 9
seamless sack, but I was caught al
last, and now my greatest desire is tc
prove that I can be an honest officer
Jennings was serving ten-yeal
sentence in the penitentiary for rob.
bing the mails when he was pardoned
in 1907 by President Roosevelt. Jen-
ning's old Dalton gang was started In
1890 by four nephews Of Cole Young.
er, the notorious holdup man who was
member Of the Jesse James gang
They were reckless fellows and uI
till the time Of their first depreda-
tions held positions as United States
deputy marshals. In 1890 they rar
of a bunch Of cattle and horses from
the Usage Indian reservation and
when the country got too hot fol
them transferred their activity to
California
Their first attempt at train robbine
was made at Atila, CAL, in 1891, and
nearly proved their undoing. Grant
Dalton was arrested, charged with
completely in the affair and the other
members of the gang were forced to
fly from California. They returned to
Indian Territory and in May Of the
same year held up Santa Fe train
and broke into the Wells Fargo Ex-
press car. This hold up was success
fully done by the gang, whose num-
ber had been increased, and they
made clean escape.
A year later. July IA, 1892, a Mis-
souri,, Kansas & Texas limited" ex-
pecting an attack, whistled in answer
to stop signal at Adair, Indian Terri.
tory, and came to a stop at the unim-
portant landmark to find itself being
robbed. The train carried eight men
who were supposed to be an effective
train robber antidote, but Jennings
and company Notwithstanding, shot
up the express car, rifled the safe
robbed the station cash drawer, shot
two men, and rode of into the night
without a scratch. One Of the wound
ed men died the next day. The hold
up antidote dropped off the opposite
side of the train and failed to connect
with the robbers.
Emboldened by their success In
this venture the Dalton gang went on
and met their Waterloo at Coffeyville
Kan, Oct. 6, 1892, when an attempt
was made to rob the town bank in
broad daylight. Quick action on the
part Of the townspeople prevented
this and when the remnants of the
gang fought their way out Of Cofrey-
Vile they were minus leaders. -Four
of the robbers were killed in a run
boys was captured.
Jennings, the recently nominated
county attorney has drawn crowds
wherever he spoke by relating some
Of his experiences. He does not try
to hide the fact that he is an ex-con-
vict, and apparently the Oklahoma
voters consider him reformed sufi-
ciently to hold office.
In 1908 Jennings, with United
States Marshal Jack Abernathy, visit
ed President Roosevelt and gave a
cinematograph lecture in the White
House. Western pictures were thrown
on the screen and press accounts OF
the entertainment said that in a reel
showing train holdup Jennings him
self acted quite naturally.
How Jennings got his start as an
outlaw is an interesting tale.
In 1889 he migrated from his birth
place in Virginia to Pottawatomie
county, Indian Territory, with his
father and brothers. He was trained
for the law by his father, who held
the office Of probate judge in that
county. Jennings himself was elect
ed county attorney.
In a shooting scrape with Col
Temple Houston, son of Sam Houston
Of Mexican war fame, Jennings was
wounded in the shoulder and saw his
brother shot to death. He went out
to kill his brothers slayer. This in
cident was the thing that influenced
him to turn train robber, and it was
not long before he was leading the
wild Jennings gang"
His downfall came when a Rock
Island train bound for the west with
100000 was held up by the robbers
not far from Chickasaw. In their
eagerness to get the money the safe
was only partly wrecked and the gang
had to be satisfied with going through
the passengers pockets.
Posses Immediately trailed the
gang to a hut near Claremore, but
the fugitives slipped through the cor
don which was drawn about the place,
They were surprised and captured
several days later.-New York Sun.
IN THE GRIP OF DRUG HABIT
Cocaine is Most Deadly Of All "Dopes"
and Makes Short Work of victime.