The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1937-07-22


Traxler, a bullet near his heart,
was given a blood TRANSMISSION and
fifty.fifty chance to survive. He
was wounded and his comrade in
crime, Fred Tindol, was slain
wien the two men they had alb
Quoted overcame them.
The desperado's reign Of terror,
which aroused three States and
set bloodhounds, airplanes and
more than 800 officers on his
trail, ended abruptly late yester.
day when he literally was caught
mapping.
Trimmer Tells Story
The two veterans, John E. Ben
ton, A, an oil field worker, Of
Asher, Okla, and Frank Trimmer,
so, farmer near HoleSworth, Okla,
accomplished the Staying and cap
ture without help after both had
been abducted and forced to &C
company the bandits.
The dramatic story of how the
tlss unarmed veterans overcame
the Ieg-weary desperadoes, achiev-
ing alone what hundreds Of Off
GERS had been unable to do, was
told simply by Trimmer. He said:
1--WE had been driving several
hours over back roads. / was at
the wheel, and one of these fel.
lows (TindOD had q gun at the
back of my neck.
"They forced me to turn down
a lonely road and stop about
eight miles north Of Boswell,
Okla. Traxler was sitting be-
side me in the front seat, and
Benton and Tindal were in the
back seat.
KNEW WHAT TO DO
"When we stopped, I looked
over at Trailer and noticed he
was doing. I looked back at
Tindol and saw that he, too, was
asleep. Then ] glanced at Ben
ton.
"At first had thought BEN
ton was another bandit, but
somehow 1 realized he was in
the same boat 1 was. We didn't
say anything to each other, but
when I glanced at him we both
knew what to do.
II made a dive for Traxler'S
gun, and Benton grabbed the
gun TindOl had on his lap. /
turned around and fired at Tin
dol at the same time Benton
did. Both of us hit him.
"Traxler came to, and started
to get out Of the car, but Ben.
ton shot him in the back. He
was a pretty scared bandit after
that, and begged us to get him
doctor"
Benton, who was on vacation
when seized by the bandits at the
home Of his parents near King
ston. Okla, told how he was forced
to drive the gunner until his car
ran out of gas, then forced to ac-
company them while they kid
440HCN l. 1A1A4AC1s
Three Shots Registered
Describing the shooting, he
said:
81 fired two quick shots, both
hitting Tind0l in the abdomen.
Then / fired at Traxler as he.
started to get out of the car"
If Traxler RECEIVERS, two States,
Oklahoma and Texas, will fight it
out for his custody. He is wanted
in Oklahoma for the murder of a
policeman and numerous cases Of
armed robbery and kidnapping.
In Texas, he is wanted as q
fugitive from the Eastern State
Prison farm, from which he cS-
capped with Tindol and others.
Traxler fell within police range
Tuesday morning, when he dar.
ingly returned with Tindol to Vet
den, Okla, to pick up his pretty
30-year old wife, Nell Traxler.
Two Gun Battles
Two-gun battles followed, dur
ing the second of which Nell Trax-
Ter tainted and was captured.
Traxler and Tindol we're forced to
flee into the Washita River bot
tom lands. They pierced a cor
don of police thrown about the
river bottom when they abducted
Benton.
Mrs. Traxler, who predicted
that her husband would never be
taken alive, was hysterical when
she learned he had been wounded
and captured. She begged:
"Take him to a good doctor.
I'll pay. I've got the money"
Originally charged with viola
ton of the Dyer act, which she,
supported by local officers, denied,
Mrs. TraXler is now charged with
harboring fugitive from justice,
her husband.
An intensive search was under
way today for Charlie Chapman.
another fugitive from the Texas
prison farm who was with TraXler
in some of his exploits.
Chapman was with Traxler
when they kidnapped Baird H.
Markham, jr.. scion of a wealthy
New York family and a Yale Uni