Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1918-07-11
FAILED, HOWEVER,
TO GET VERY MUCH
IN WAY OF BOOTY
Mrs. I. D. Williams Of
Achille, Okla, Most Ser
iously Wounded.
SHOT UP" TRAIN TO
TERRORIZE PEOPLE
Quantity of Registered Mail
Taken-Forced Engine
Crew Out. !,

"AeAA Gal SAAS sun pAe~J e@AAN SAAA @@A0 " -
robbery Of forty years ago. except
that they were reported to have OBJ
tanned little for their pains. dozen
bandits held up a Missouri, Kansas
and Texas passenger train near here
late last night, shot four persons. dis
connected the mail car and baggage
cars which they afterwards looted.
and then escaped into the timber
region near Osowatomie.
Sheriffs' posses, home guards and
members of the county anti-horse
thief association today had surround
ed the wooded area in an effort Of
closing in on the robbers.
The four, persons wounded are in a
hospital at Parsons, Kansas. Mrs. l..
D. Williams of Achille, Okla, is the
most seriously injured. A bullet en-
tered her left shoulder and it is
thought lodged in her, left lung.
G. T. Witcher. train auditor. was
shot in the thigh. The bullet was de-
flected by coins in his pocket
r. E. Carter, railway fireman, was
shot in the ankle and ]. E. Williams.
a negro of Oklahoma, was wounded In
the bip.
Posse Patrols Timber.
A posse Of two hundred men today
was patrolling, the banks Of the
Marats de Cygne river. near here.
patch Of timber In which # was be-
lieved we're hiding tho men s1.ho held
! First als.a s1s ragged J, .. I rain,
h Details of the robbery, ~ which two
sengers were wounded b bullets from
the bandits guns. as related by rail-
way employees seem to indicate the
robbers "shot up the train to terror
ize the passengers and crew. No at
tempt was made to rob the passen-
gers. The train was tagged as 1t was
backing from Koch. Siding, and the
bandits swarmed.. about the engine,
forcing the engineer and fireman at
the point of revolvers back into the
smoking car. The doors Of the smok-
several of the robbers ran up and
down the aisles shooting into the floor
and through the roof, stray bullets
from their guns striking Fireman r.
NJ. Carter in the ankle and G. T.
Witcher, the train auditor, in the
thigh.
Others Of the bandits boarded the
mail and express cars. uncoupled
them from the rest Of the train and
Will luSAI oWA HloH d. ,LHS eA6Auo
throttle ran out to the main line and
backed north. As they passed the
standing coaches they fired into the
windows and it was then that Mrs. l..
D. Williams Of Achille, Okla. was
wounded. She was shot in the
shoulder.
A mile north Of the siding the mail
and express cars were stopped and
the robbers proceeded to rifle them.
throwing the express safe from the
car and breaking it open.
Took Registered Mail.
They are said to have taken a guam
tity Of registered mail. The sum of
money taken from the mail bags
could not be estimated. According to
the express messenger and mail clerks
money in either car. s+s, y
When the two cars had been strip
ped OF valuables, the bandits fed In
automobiles which had either been
left nearby or brought up by con-
federates. Members q of the train
crew started for this city and found
the engine and two cars deserted
They ran back to the coaches. coupled
up the train and proceeded with the
wounded to Parsons, Kansas. The
bandits are described Nas young men
although all were masked. n Their
familiarity with the train schedule
and their handling Of the engine and
detached cars was the feature zthat
attracted the particular attention OF
railroad men as 1t was taken to indi-
cate at least some Of them had rail
way experience. One Of the masked
men was reported to have warned q
companion, don't shoot that man
that's Jake Darkes.'' Darkes was q
brakeman on the train. @.sl