Evening star., 1918-07-11
TRAIN ROBBED;;3
PERSONS ARE SHOT.
Dozen Bandits Rifle Mail and
Express Near PaoIa,
KanS.
POSSE OF 200 IN HUNT

By the Associated Press.
PAOLA, Kan, July ia dozen
men late last night held up a south
bound Missouri, Kansas and Texas
passenger train at Koch siding just
south of Paola. shot three persons.
looted the express and mail cars and
made their escape
A posse of 200 men today was pa
trolling the banks of the Marais de
Cygne river. near here. awaiting the
signal to rush large patch of tim
Der in which it was believed the men
were hiding.
The posse is composed of members
OF the county Anti-Horse Thief Asso-
ciation and Home Guards from Ossa-
Watomie and is led by county and
railroad officials. The possemen were
called together within an hour after
news or the robbery became known
ana Immediately started in pursuit of
the fleeing bandits. who left the scene
or the holdup in automobiles. 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
anords an excellent hiding place.
How Bandits Shot Up Train.
Details of the robbery, in which two
OF the train crew and a woman pas
senger were wounded by bullets from
the bandit guns. was related by rail-
way employees seem to indicate that
the robbers shot up" the train to ter
rorlze the passengers and crew. No
attempt was made to rob the passen-
gers The train was tagged as it was
packing 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 smoking and day
coaches were locked and 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. E
carter in the ankle and c. T. Witcher
the train auditor, in the thigh. 9th
ers of the bandits boarded the mail
ana express cars. uncoupled them
from the rest of the train and with
their own men at the engine 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. Will
liams of Achille, Okla, was wounded.
Robbed Mail and Express.
A mile north of the siding the mai
and express cars were stopped ant
the robbers proceeded to rifle them
throwing the express safe from thu
car and breaking it open. They arr
said to have taken a quantity of reg.
| istered mail The sum Of money
taken from the mail bags could MOI
he oCffrr, AAnrnrdfpo
press messenger and mail clerks. who
also were forced into the smoking
car with the engine crew, there was
not a large amount of money in
either car.
When the two cars had been strip.
ped of valuables the bandits fled in
motor cars. which had either beer
left nearby or brought up by CON
federates. Members of the train crew
started for this city and found the
engine and two cars deserted. They
ran back to the coaches, coupled uI
the train and proceeded with the
wounded to Parsons, Kan The ban.
dts are described as young men, al.
though all were masked.
Their familiarity with the trair
schedule and their handling of the
engine and detached cars was the
feature that attracted the attention
of railroad men, as it was taken tc
iuulSdtC dl lcdot SOLic u tI1SIH mac
had railroad experience. One of the
masked men was reported to have
warned a companion, Don't shooi
that man: that's Jake Darkes.'
Darkes was brakeman on the train
Little Money Obtained by Robbers
MUSKOGEE. Okla, July 11-Ac.
according to W. P. Cotton, Kansas City
one of the mail clerks on the Mis-.
souri,, Kansas and Texas passenger
train looted by bandits near Paola
Kan, late last night, the robbers Sc.
cured but an insignificant amount OF
money from the rified mail and ex.
press cars.
Conductors Narrow Escape.
MUsKoGEE, OKLA, July 11.-R E
Cowan. Pullman conductor, narrowly
escaped death at the hands Of the rob-
bers when he reached up to extinguisf
the lights in the sleepers Before hit
fingers touched the switch, however. 8
rife was fired at him from the darkness
shattering window. A piece of flying
glass put cash above Cowan's riEhi
eye. but otherwise he was uninjured.