The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1918-01-17
OFFICER SLEW FOUR MEN.
Army Captain Robbed Bank and l'o
Wholesale Murder.


Camp Funston, Kansas, Jan. 10
Details of the manner in which Capt.
Lewis J. Whistler robbed the bank at
the army cantonment here and killed
with a hand axe four of five men
who were in the building were told
to army officers today by kearney
Wornall. who himself seriously
wounded, was the only survivor OF the
captains fury.
For forty-eight hours Wornall'
who was cashier of the bank, had
hovered between life and death. But
TODAY his progress was so satisfac-
tory to the army physicians that they
permitted him to tell the full story
Of the tragedy which ended in the
death of Capt. Whistler, self-inf1icted
at the moment of detection yester-
day.
No Money Found.
In the meantime a systematic
search of the cantonment has failed
to reveal any money which was stol-
en- from the bank by Capt. Whistler.
It transpired today that note
Capt. Whistler wrote after he had de-
cided to kill himself, was addressed
to a young woman at Ottawa, Kan
sas, but army officers are making ev-
ery effort to keep secret both her
name and possible relation to Whis-
Ter.
Wornalls story differed slightly
from that which had previously been
pieced together as army officers had
questioned him during his infrequent
intervals of consciousness. Today
Wornall told how he was in the bank
with C. Fuller Winters, vice presi-
dent of the National Reserve Bank
of Kansas City, Mo-; John w. Jew
ell. editor of the Camp Funston pa
per; Carl Ohlson, of Kansas City,
and o. M. Hill, a clerk in the bank,
when Capt. whistler came to the
bank.
Whistler Enters Bank.
It was about 1880 o'clock Friday
evening. The door was unlocked and
Whistler gained entrance to the bull
ding. Walking around the counter,
he drew a heavy automatic pistol
and told the men he was "short in
his account" and he believed that
this was the "best bet to remedy,
it.
Wornall says that the officers re-
marks were treated as a joke until
he took an axe from under his over
coat and struck Mr.. Winters with its
fiat side. All of the men were then
forced to lie face down on the floor
while Whistler selected money, most
Nv bills of large denomination, and
threw them into a sack. Wornall
says he then was forced to bind the
other men. His own hands were tied
nv the officer and all of them were
gagged.
Remembers No Further.
Here, says the staff officer who re-
ported Wornall's statement, the cash
ier's mind is blank and, he recalls
nothing that happened until he be-
came conscious in an ambulance on
the way to the hospital.
Wornan had been found by SEN
try wandering aimlessly outside the
bank about an hour after the crime
was committed. He could not an
swer questions, but mumbled untel-
ligibly according to the sentry:
Don't strike him again. Are you
a fiend?" and finally murmured'
tsBank robbed" Then the alarm
was given.
That Wornall knew perfectly well
what he was doing list night when
he positively identified the body OF
Capt. Whistler as that of the, robber
was attested today by staff ofhcer
who was present at the identification.
Before the body of the army ofhcer
( was wheeled into Wornalls presence
the wounded cashier was made to
read from a magazine to show that
be could see and understand.
Recognizes Body.
Then Whisler's body, dressed in
his olive drab campaign uniform and
upright in chair, was wheeled into
the ward and placed before Wornali.
"That's the man. That's the cap
tain" exclaimed Wornall, according
to the staff officers story. Wornall
then made a sworn statement that
Whistler was the man who had rob-
he'd the bank and committed the