The Oskaloosa herald. (Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa) 1885-1919, 1912-05-02
HOWARD BURTON SHOT.
With a Companion Who Escaped
He Was Robbing Freight Car.

y
Special Agent William Mehan of the
NJ. & ST l.. Railway. Burton and an
acComplice We're i'm the act of rob
bling freight car Officer Mehan at
tempted to arrest the men. Burton
showed fight. In the scuffie that en-.
sued the officer was getting the worst
of it and he used his gun in self
defense. Burton died in the hospital
at 1l;07 Mehan promptly gave him
| self up to police officers. Papers
We're made out and the agent is being
detained pending official inVestiga.
ton of the affair. .t-
Two bullets, possibly three, fired
| from a forty-one calibre Colt revol-
YER took effect on the body of Burton.
One shot hit the man in the left leg
about midway between the knee and
the ankle Both bones OF the leg were
| shattered by the bullet Another bull
! let to take effect and the one that
caused death. entered the abdomen in
the region of the groin. 1t coursed
downward. severed the femeral ar
terry and came out the back of the left
leg. A third wound was found on the
back of the right hand where a bul-
let had seemingly passed through the
skin. This possibly may have been
Mr. Mehan stated that he fired three
shcts. The first was fired into the
ground with intent to intimidate the
man. but the use of the gun tended
rather to infuriate the man, who
fought with renewed energy. The
second shot was in the leg TO stop the
attack. but not until the third shot
was fired was Burton satisfied that
he had had enough. Even then, with
leg broken and wounded unto death.
Burton crawled beneath a car onto
another track and attempted TO get
to his feet He fell by the side of
the track from where he was later
carried to the police ambulance and
taken to the hospital.
Every care and attention possible
was given the wounded man, but to
no purpose. The shock and the loss
Of blood had been too great. Drugs
were administered. but with little eff
feet. Loss of blood had been severe
and the life went out after a couple
of hours.
Saturday evenings robbery OF the
refrigerator car of beer was the last
of a series of car bUrglaries perpetrat-
ed in the NJ. & St l.. yards in Oska-
loOsa covering a period Of greater or
less extent. Car entries have been
particularly frequent of late and the
loss heavy. Special Agent VIM. Me-
han of Minneapolis was sent to Os7
kaloosa and had been engaged here
and in the vicinity several weeks in
the effort TO locate the guilty parties.
Only last week cars were entered
and provisions and merchandise stol-
Ell. A quantity of cured meats, hams
etc, was one OF the heavy losses, and
couple OF cases of shoes went the
same way. Liquors have Of late
seemed the special quest of the bur
glars. A whole case OF whiskey was
recently taken from a car south
bound, and at another time jugs con-
tanning liquors were taken. While
the thefts have covered a period of
many months, they seemed to be
growing worse Of late and the losses
were growing greater.
Nj. Mehan was in Abba Saturday
watching the arrival of trains and
noting the nature OF merchandise
cars. He detected the car OF beer
consigned from st. Louis to Canada
under government seal as well as UNI
der shippers seal. The thought came
! to him that this car might be likely
subject for the work of thieves. He
accordingly boarded train and
reached the city a little after six
O'Clock. He ate his supper at the
Brooke Hotel and Immediately there
after took a stroll through the yards
/ to locate the car of beer The car
! had been set out on the siding in the
south yards on the fourth track from
! the west and little south of the gas
house on Third avenue west. This
I brought the car about on line east
of Burtons house. which is No. ia
| Third avenue west. The officer not
| ed a couple of men walking through
/ the yards ahead of him and he be-
came suspicious of their actions.
They disappeared to the west and he
lost trace of them. Mehan continued
his examination through the yards
! however. and came upon the car OF
beer. In looking about the surround
ings he noted a coal rack standing
near the beer car and he climbed in
to this in preference 10 going between
or on top of the cars. He had beer
in his position less than ten minutes
when he heard voices approaching
They came from west OF the tracks
crossed to the east side OF the beel
car. where they broke the seals AM
then came the sounds OF pounding ant
breaking wood within the car. Th'
voices continued and Mehan though
to give the men plenty OF time q
make evidence He waited possibi.
FIVE minutes, then left his hidinl
place and was upon the thieves a
their work before they had time Z
move.