The Liberal democrat. [volume] (Liberal, Kan.) 1911-1924, 1917-01-26
KanopoIis Bankers Wife Ex-
changed Shot for Shot With
Gang of Robbers.
Leo ATTACK THOUGH WOUNDED
Mrs. James Cowie Also Headed Posse
Which Chased Bandits Who
Stole $500.

on the firing line at Kan0polis recent
| ly, engaged in revolver duel with
five bandits>wh had robbed the Ex-
change State Bank of this town, and.
with citizens allied behind her, fought
| the robbers in a running chase until
the men jumped into high powered
motor car and sped north out of town.
The heroine was Mrs. James Cowie,
wife of James Cowie, president Of the
bank, and mother of James Cowie, Jr.,
assistant cashier.
The robbers came into Kanopolis in
their motor car. They cut off all tele-
phone connections and then broke into
Union Pacific Toulouse and took a
pick AK They left their motor car
standing in an alley behind the bank.
Then they broke into the back door
| of the building and started working
on the vault.
The robbers fired two shots of nitro
glycerin, one forcing an entrance to
the vault and the other blowing open
the door of the safe. They took $500
in cash and $1,000 in stamps and start
ed to escape.
The explosion shattered the plate
glass front of the bank, and its noise
awakened James Cowie, president Of
the bank, Mrs. Cowie and Cowie's two
sons, Richard Cowie and James
Cowie, Jr, assistant cashier. The
Cowie family live only block away.
Dressing hurriedly. the family ran
to the bank, where the members saw
the bandits guarding the doors and
going through the drawers within the
vault. The robbers opened fire. and
the elder Cowie and his son returned
1t.
Mrs. Cowie, revolver in hand. forced
her way to the, front of the bank and
returned shot for shot with the ban
dts. She was wounded in the arm,
but kept on firing. The robbers fled
to their motor, leaped into it and raced
north A posse followed, Mrs. Cowie
being among the foremost members
and not minding the wound she suf-
fered. The robbers escaped, however.
Gilmers Not Guilty.-After DELHI
Grafton of six hours the jury in the
case of Fred and Dele Gilmer, charged
with murder, returned verdict of
not guilty. The verdict was reached
on the sixth ballot. The Gilmers were
arrested for the murder of Hannah
Gilmer, the first wife of Fred Gilmer.
Gilmer. who is nearly so, married the
present Mrs. Gilmer, who is %, and
whom he had known scarcely two
weeks, within week after his wife
had been buried The Gilmers live on
farm twenty miles north of Garden
City
Buy Wichita ReaIty.-T. C. Mitchell
& Son of Kansas City have placed a
contract with Gilligan & Stevens.
realty brokers, for the purchase Of
sites for twenty apartment buildings
which they will erect in Wichita The
buildings will cost \ million dollars
4 X 4
Child Burned to Death-Felisa, the
4-year-old daughter of Mr.. and Mrs.
Jesus Juarez, was burned to death
at Independence when her clothing
caught fire from a coal stove into
which 1t is reported she was pouring
kerosene. The child was burned be-
yond recognition. 1t
r X X
Grip Epidemic at Fort-More than
twenty OF the 346 provisional lieuten-
ants in training at Fort Leavenworth
are under care Of army surgeons. An
epidemic of grip has broken out at
the army post. One man is dangerous.
ly i'll with pneumonia.
X 4
Dairy Cattle 8urned.-A fire on the
N. ]. Roscoe farm. two and one-half
miles southwest of Paola. the other
morning. burned fourteen head Of
dairy cattle, four horses and big
dairy barn.
Editors Wife Dead.-Mrs Jennie s.
Brodrick. wife of L. R. Brodrick. jr..
editor of the Advocate Democrat of
Marysville. is dead. Mrs Frederick
was % years old. the daughter of E.
R. Fulton of that city, former state
senator. 81
-
Wichita Commissioner Dead. E.
Howard. city commissioner and, a pio-
neer miller is dead in Wichita Of
pleurisy after short illness. He was
69'years old Mr.. Howard was recog-
nlzed as one of the leaders in the
movement twenty years ago for cheap
er freight rates in Kansas.
r X X *.
Jail Bonds vold?AThe $112,O00
bonds issued to pay for sedgwick
County's new Jail are invalid because
of technicality, State Auditor w.
E. Davis refused to register them
when they were presented on the