The Big Sandy news. [volume] (Louisa, Ky.) 1885-1929, 1914-08-21
F|VE unknown italian BANDITS
KILL AND ROB mine OFFICIALS.
Glen ALUM TRAGEDY death TOLL eleven,
WITH TWO OF SHER|FF'S Posse WOUNDED
Eleven Lives Lost and Two WOund6d In Bloody Battles Near
Glen Alum. W. Va. One Of the Most Horrible
Tragedies In History Of MlngO County.

party but three probably have escaped.
One Of the bandits, Harve Prater,
late tonight entered the Alnwick sta
ton OF the Norfolk g. Western rail-
way several miles from War Eagle and
ut the point of revolver ordered the
telegraph operator 70 signal a light
engine TO stop. Prater clambered into
the cab and. covering the locomotive
driver with his revolver, made him
proceed west. The operator telegraph
ed to War Eagle to have the engine
stopped, but Prater made the engineer
disregard the signal and ordered him
to proceed TO within half a mile OF
Glen Alum where he made him stop
and escaped.
Judge Damron's message can be
taken as authentic and the mortalities
thus far number more than q dozen
including the three men slain when the
payroll was stolen--two deputy sher-
IFS killed when the bandits ambushed
the posse; two robbers killed tonight
when they were surrounded; and at
least half dozen Of the pursuers killed
when the posse became disorganized
in the darkness and fired into its own
ranks.
The posse will remain at War Eagle
until morning and then try to run
down the bandits A posse has been
formed to search for Prater at Glen
Alum.
The situation is momentarily be-
coming more serious and alarming.
Either the bandits were in greater
numbers than anticipated OF they have
been reinforced since being traced to
the Spring Fork branch OF Ben Creek.
The widest excitement prevailed
among the posse because Of the firing.
1t was reported from War Eagle at
10:50 that two Of the bandits had
escaped from thicket and entered a
cave. The officers sent to War Eagle
for explosives and win blow up the
cave. This message confirmed report
Of killing OF two bandits, and stated
that n third was wounded.
The names of but two OF those kill
ed in the battles today are known.
These were:
G. T. Epling, Baldwin Felts detec-
tive, stationed at Thacker, this county,
for a number of years.
William Burwell, of Twin Branch,
nsA""Sh SO"''5' oiso pou"iH-
felts uetectiVe'
ia mounts, one OF Sherlii hatnelus $
posse, was snot througn the MP ana
may pe iataiiy wounded
both hphfs anu burWeli uleu on tne
nrlns iihe, tne oandits having nrst
peeIl run 70 their lalr on niue stream
D. Graas p'e '
IN natural iortress high up on the
mountainsioe tne panuits at nrst hao
al tne auvantage OF tneir pursuers'
Ihe nrst battle was iought ABOUT noon
touay wneh Ten mempers OF snerin
aatneius posse VINO had peen not on
the traii all uay hrst came within rine
range nunureo OF more shots were
exchanseu ana aiter NOUNS was
wounded, tne posse urew OH 10 await
reiniorcements ana TO give nanking
parties time TO come up. Ine panuits
aiso kiiied one OIL the pioou MOUNDS.
Epling, Burwell and a number of
other Baldwin -Felts men were first to
come up after Mounts had been
wounded Brave and fearless, these
two men with others following at
tempted to ascend the mountain. their
plan being to take the bandits by sur
prise II possible. The trees and under
brush did not afford complete conceal
ment and they were picked off by the
bandits, who are armed with high
power guns. The bodies Of the two
men were recovered with great difi-
Guilty.