Chariton courier. (Keytesville, Chariton County, Mo.) 1878-current, 1919-11-21
BANK LOOTED
Forrest Green Bank Burglarized
Deposit Boxes Ransacked
Safe Resisted

history and the second bank in
more than a decade has been
the object of cracksmen, The
Farmers Bank at Forrest Green
being the victim Tuesday morn
ing, one of the two in the coun-
ty which has suffered assault in
the county at the hands of rob-
bers in more than fifty years.
Monday night there was a
dance in the neighborhood of
Forrest Green and residents say
that an unusual number of auto
mobiles and other rigs were thru
the town until a late hour, but
the pretty little village is the
half way place to many other
places and is usually livelier than
many of the more pretentious
centers of population in the coun-
ty and if dulness threatens, a
negro killing or some other mild
excitement takes place to relieve
probable monotomy. However,
looting their bank was never in
tended for advertisement by
stockholders or depositors and
every effort will be made to dis
courage any such course for en-
livening the town in the future.
1t was about 1890 Tuesday
morning when Miss Freda Ges.
ling and her mother who occupy
the residence where the central
telephone of the town is located,
across the street and two doors
north of the bank and Miss Freda
the night central operator, were
awakened by a sort of scratch
ing or scraping against the south
west corner, as they supposed of
the building, and Mrs. GesIing
and her daughter thot it a COW
or horse rubbing against the
house, no fence around the prem
ises an1 no enforced stock law.
The scraping continuing, Mrs.
Gesling arose from bed and look
ed out of the back door to dis
cover the intruder. She saw a
man saving on the cable of the
telephone and so told Miss Freda
what was disturbing them. Miss
Freda stepped to the door but
the sawyer told Mrs. G. to get
back in the house, shut the door
and her mouth, go to bed and
keep quiet. Miss Freda went to
the front door to give an alarm
and was met there by another
man who advised her to tuck
herself under the covers, go to
sleep and forget it and neither
she or her mother would be mol
ested, Miss Freda tried the
swith board but nothing doing.
the work on the cable having
progressed to the point where
connection with the outside world
was cut off. The cable cut,
things were quiet for a short
time but both watchmen on duty
at the central Office, one back
the other front.
Presently the women heard
what appeared to be a motor
truck or big auto approach from
the west and stop in the street
near the bank. Nothing more
but peeping out to see if the
guards were still on duty until,
in few minutes a touring car
came by the office from the north
and stopped in the street near
tie bank. 1t never occurred to
the women what was going on
really and their bravery in stick
ing about the house instead of
making a dash from it, speaks
for itself. Presently a Ford car
hove in from somewhere and
stopped near the bank and it was
not long before an explosion of
some kind shook the building, as
it did several other residence in
the town, awakening some of the
residents. The explosion was
followed by another in a few
moments. tnen quiet. Another