The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1918-07-11
HOLDUP COMES ON M. X. &
T. TWO MILES SOUTH OF
PAOLA, KANSAS.
WAS O[D-T|ME TERROR
Highwaymen Go Through Coaches
and Fire Away at Ceiling and
Floor, then Uncouple Mail and
Express, Rob Them and Flee.

OF 2OU or more men early today was
patrolling the banks of the Marais-
de-Cygne river near here awaiting
the signal to rush large patch OF
timber in which it was believed a
dozen men hid late last night after
holding up uth-bound Missouri,
Kansas 4 Texas passenger train at
Koch Siding, short distance south
OF Paola, shot four persons, loote.
the express and mail cars and made
their escape.
]. f. Williams, negro from Ok
lahoma. was wounded by a bullet
in the hip.
The posse is composed of MEM
bers of the County Anti-Horse-
Thief association, and Home Guard
from Ossawatomie, and is led by
county and railroad officers.
The possemen were called togeth-
er within an hour after news of the
robbery became known and imme-
diately started in pursuit OF the
fleeing bandits, who left the scene
of the holdup in motor cars. A re-
port reaching here early today was
that the bandits closely pursued by
the possemen, abandoned their cars
and took refuge in the timber which
is many acres in extent and affords
an excellent hiding place.
Train Was Texas-Bound.
The train, which left Kansas City
last night, was bound for Parsons,
Kansas, where it was to connect
with a St, Louis train for San An
tonic.
Details of the robbery in which
two of the train crew and a woman
passenger were. wounded by bullets
from the bandits guns, as related by
railway employees, seem to indicate
the robbers shot up" the train to
terrorize passengers and crew. NO
attempt was made to rob passengers.
The train was tagged down as it
was backing from Koch Siding,
two miles south OF here, and the
bandits swarmed about the engine,
forcing the engineer and fireman at
the point of revolvers to go into the
smoking car.
The doors of the smoking and
dav coaches then were locked and
several of the robber party ran up
and down the aisles, shooting into
the floor and through the roof,
stray bullets from their guns strik-
ing Fireman X. f. Carter in one
ankle and c. r. Witcher, the train
auditor. in one thigh.
Uncouple from Train.
Occupants of the two cars being
reduced to abject terror, the ban
dts boarded the mail and express
cars. uncoupled them from the rest
OF the train and with one of their
own men at the engine throttle, ran
out onto the main line and backed
north. AS they passed the standing
coaches, they fired into the win
dows. and it was then that Mrs
l.. d. William OF Achille, Bryan
County, Oklahoma, 4 woman pas
senger. was wounded. She was shot
in one OF her shoulders.
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 then breaking ii
open. They also are said to have
taken a quantity of registered mail
The sum OF money taken from the
mail bags could not be estimated
According to the express messen,
Ger and mail clerk, who were forced
into the smoking car with the en-
gine crew. there was not 4 large
sum of money in either car.
Flee in Motor Cars.
When the two cars had beer
stripped of valuables. the bandits
lied in motor cars. which had either
been left nearby or brought up by
confedcrates. Members of the trair
crew started for the city and touno
the engine and two cars deserted
They ran them back to the coaches
coupled up the train and proceeded
with the wounded TO the neares
bospital. at Parsons, Kansas.
Bandits Were Young Men
The bandits are described a.
Young men, although all were
masked. Their familiarity with th'
train schedule and their handling
of the engine and detached cars wa
the feature that attracted the par
ticular attention of railway men
as il was taken to indicate at leas
some of them had had raiway ex
perience. One of the masked met
was reported to have warned
companion. Don't shoot that maj
that's lake Darkes." Darkes wa
a brakeman on the train.
Other fragments of conversation
overhead, indicated a thorough
knowledge OF train operations OF
the division. Koch is a blind sid
ing" with no buildings or resi-