River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1916-06-01

have always believed the bad
Man" to be largely a myth, so far as
courage is concerned, and / think l
demonstrated this theory Of mine in
the following instance, which hap
pened while | was chief of the secret
service of the Missouri Pacific railway,
one of whose leased properties was
the Missouri, Kansas & Texas.
In the year 1882 the memory of the
James brothers was still green in the
regions of their exploits. Though
Frank James was then living the life
of a good citizen in Tennessee, and
Jesse, his brother, was also in that
any of the parts where they had OPP
Grated was enough to raise a scare.
Especially was this the case in the
eastern portion of the state Of OklahO-
ma, then known as the Indian Terri
tory, which had been the scene OF
many holdups and brutal murders.
In the year aforementioned / re-
ceived telegraphic dispatch from Col
onel Eddy, the general manager, in
structing me TO proceed to Vinita at
once, to investigate murder which
had occurred there, and to prosecute
all persons connected with the crime.
On the night of September 10, as a
northbound passenger train was being
shunted upon the main line from a sid
ing about mile north of Vinita, two
men climbed upon the front platform
of the smoker. "Chick" Warner, the
conductor, saw them and opened the
door Without a word one of the men
drew a revolver of small caliber and
fired at Warmers head, the bullet pass
ing through his cheek and inf1icting a
painful wound. The man who had
fired was Immediately shot and killed
by his companion, his dead body fall
ing across the platform of the car. The
name of the murderer was John Barnes
Sweeney, and he had formerly been q
resident Of Clay county, Missouri.
When | arrived at Vinita l learned
from the express agent there that
Sweeney, after shooting his compan-
ion, had returned to the station and in
formed him that the train had been
held up by the James brothers and an
outlaw named Ed Miller. Sweeney
stated that the gang had been camp
ing in the brush on Little Cabin creek,
about four miles northeast Of the spot
where the train murder occurred, that
he had known all the members of the
gang before coming to the Indian Ter
ritory, having been born in Clay coun-
az rao~ tho forpoor homo of tho lanes
boys. and that he was connected with
them by blood. When the gang en-
camped on Little Cabin creek, Sweeney
continued, he himself was staying with
his sister on a neighboring farm. The
James brothers had told Sweeney that
they intended to hold up and rob a
number of trains on that line, and had
invited him to join them. Sweeney
said that he was an expert rifle-shot,
and that for this reason he would
have been valuable to the gang. He
had accepted the invitation for the
purpose of causing their arrest, and
the man whom he had shot dead was
Ed Miller.
Inquiry showed that the man who
an appearance at Vinita only a few
days before the shooting He was
looking for Job. and in the course of
of his search, had gone to the farm of
Sweeney's brother-in-law, who owned
the farm near Little Cabin creek,
where the outlaws were alleged to
have had their camping place. The
brother-in-law needed help in his corn
field, and employed the stranger, who
appeared to be Scandinavian and
spoke English very poorly. Sweeney
had made the mans acquaintance
there and, it was believed, had induced
him to assist in holdup, and had sup
piled him with the revolver of small
caliber, almost a toy, with which he
had shot the conductor, and which had
been picked up near the scene of the
tragedy,