The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1936-11-05
PRETTY BOY" FLOYD


FLOYD, who notched hi S
" watch ten times to keep tab
on his killings, feared death
in the electric chair far more than
he did bullets of the Omen.
He weighed the prospects of both
and chose the latter. The result
was inevitable, under the circum-
stances.
Federal bureau of investigation
agents have been accused of shoot
ing him in the back, in "col d
blood"
There were rumors among critics
of the bureau that Floyd fell on his
knees and begged for mercy as
ruthless agents poured lead into his
body.
1t has been reported Floyd re-
peatedly offered to surrender be-
fore Omen caught up with him,
but that ]. Edgar Hoover rejected
the offers and ordered his men to
kill Floyd on sight"
There is no doubt there was con-
siderable sympathy in scattered
places for this notorious outlaw and
killer from the Cookson hills.
Yet this was the man who cody
turned a tommy gun on F. B. l..
agents and police in the Kansas
City union station massacre, and
then cut four more notches on his
lucky piece" fob and watch; and
who killed, kidnapped and plum
dered his way to the top of the
list of public enemies.
The record of Floyd's crimes pro-
vides CORY chapter in the books
of the federal bureau of inveStiga-
ton. Finis was written to that
story when a squad of F. B. I.
agents and police shot Floyd fatally
in an Ohio corn field on the after
noon of October %, 1884.
The true details of that shooting
and the events Immediately preced-
ing it have been unfolded to me
by the F. B. l., so that the public
may judge whether Floyd's death
was Justified"
Hoover's men began their hunt
for Pretty Boy after the ambush
ing of four officers and their pris-
oner, Frank Nash, early on the
morning of June II, 1888, as they
arrived in Kansas City, Mo-, from
Hot Springs, Ark, where they had
captured Nash.
When the officers started to get
into waiting automobiles in front
of the station, three men opened
fire with machine guns, killing Spe-
cial Agent Raymond Caffrey, Chief
of Police Otto Reed of McAlester,
Okla, and Detectives Hermanso2
and Grooms of the Kansas City
police. Nash was killed also, in
the cross-fire.
Eyewitnesses picked photograph
of Floyd as that of one of the
killers. 1t was learned, moreover,
that Floyd and his pal, Adam Rich
ETH, had driven into Kansas City
the previous night in the car of a
salesman whom they had kidnapped,
after abandoning stolen car in
which they had .iiinaped the Sheriff
of Bolivar, Mo.
Cooperation of police in various
parts of the country was enlisted
in the hunt for Floyd and Richetti.
Months passed. Floyd was re-
ported in nearly all parts of the
country - often at the same time.
All tips and leads, however minor,
were run down by the tireless
agents.
Here are the facts on Floyd's
offers to surrender.
An emissary of Floyd relayed to
Hoover what he claimed was
message from the fugitive, the ennis
sary explaining he did not know
where Floyd was, but that pretty
Boy" was willing to consider" CIV
ing himself up if the government
would promise not to send him to
the electric chair.
Hoover sent word back to Floyd
that such a proposition was out of
the question, that he and his men
intended to make Floyd, sooner or
later, pay the full penalty of the
law for the merciless massacre at
Kansas City.
Hoover ordered his men to in
tensify their hunt for Floyd and
Richetti, but it can be said definite
ly that at no time were "shoot on
sight" or shoot to kill' orders is
sued to the Omen by Hoover.
During this time, Floyd and
Richetti, with two girls who had
been in shooting scrapes with them
in Ohio in years past, had been
hiding out in respectable apart
ment house in Buffalo, N. Y. The
men seldom ventured out of the
apartment. Neighbors afterward
said they often heard someone walk
ing up and down the floor at night,
as though pacing restlessly.
After staying in Buffalo more
IL