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Show ' } s u w n a c i l b u p e R n i a t n u o M rChe Fnte MAGAZINE SECTION ees COPYRIGHT First Com BY JAMES ELVERSON. plete Stor Hold-up o ee Fort Worth. Zixpress eas Ea a eeate " need A \\ i A al a wa dited for the officers. "Once more w " ha il of shot filled the air. All of the bullets, strange to say, missed their mark, but presently pursuer and pursued came to close quarters and then came a hand-to-hand fight which resulted in the capture of the two train robbers. They were bound and taken to the nearest town, where they were at in jail preparatory to their rial. Zs Geet ary we > PRR eas trious Pennyweight Powell made his appearance in the community. He came : 2 ~ O.ond 4 no ff x bry Gre CAUGHT BY STRATEGY. The Powells, Sam and Pennyweight, were still at liberty, and it was desirable to secure them before the authorities would go on with the trial of the other bandits. Incidentally, it might be remarked that while these notorious criminals were evading their pursuers, they were whiling away the time by minor hold-ups in different parts of the country. Pennyweight Powell was the most indus- to his home one night and was im- mediately spotted by the men who were on guard. He managed to leave his house with a satchel, but was followed H1Seis the thrilling story of the chase and tapture of five desperate train determined the law. robbers iby of the caSe appeared in print irom time but the present narrative is full and complete Lwo represeitatives Fragments account ot have to time, the first of one gaveéd the most hair-raising adventures that have ever occurred in the southwest section of the United States. One which bound tion in pulled mit the and man began express porter off a systematic brake- enginecr, fireman, the and ee value. was train, exploration ol the Nothing car. immediately thieves The the brought ol proceeded found, however, and they an d reto vo through the day coaches ve their valulieve ve the passengers Oo! Having finished this function, ables horses and disappeared they mounted in the woods. THE ON "Papa, d a great deal ot The incident cause the railat the time and excitement of ely put two ediat 1mm road officials inwith case, their best men on the {| punish to apprehend and structions Two ; any cost. r robbers‘rs ata » train Sp¢ peEames, Chiet C. : O ate ae day s Jater Pacific Missouri the ol Agent {| at were Thiel H. G. Railw Railway, and investigation an making Oliphant on e enous xh to get aon They were fortunat immediately, an almost trail the had captured two within two hours - e ali a y the day. regarding While they the were I want to ask you of some- thing.' ‘What is it?' asked the father. ‘l want to know what the five men in the spring house are going to get for breakfast."' C.0. Lanes and feet Agert of the \lbert Mansker were found in the Brady and two men and, at the | hese woods point of the pistol, confessed that they were part of the gang that had robbed - the Fort Worth After a little further i xpress. persuasion, they admitted that the gang had been organized in a little town in the western portion of Arkansas, bordering on the Indian Territory, and said it was composed of six men, consisting of themselves, Samuel and Penny weight Powell, James Wyrick and contessed Padgett. They that had ridden in a lumber wagon two hundred miles of rough across country for the purpose of holding up the north-bound train that usually went on the siding at Oliphant and which, as a rule, carried a large amount of money The and round They two men were placed then the officers up the remainder organized a posse In started of the prison out to gang. consisting BE (Inited States marshals and deputy sheriffs-men who were noted for their fighting qualities and who would die before they would surrender. They learned that five members. of the gang had started across the country on stolen ‘horses, leaving two animals for Brady and Mansker. These two worthies had paused at the town of Batesville long enough to call upon two young ladies with whom they were acquainted-a call which resulted in their arrest. A HARD LEAD. Che railroad officers started out in the intention of covering every road, every bridle path and searching every town and every house in that section of the country. They divided their party into four squads of five each for this purpose. The country was hilly and alinost trip rough, and they unparalleled lasted for five met hardships. weeks and was scarcely an hour of any day ing the time it lasted which was filled with thrilling adventure On the morning of the third they met for consultation with The there durnot day at a farm- house which was located in a sort of hollow next to a hill. They had break- fast at this place, and afterwards their and, started MTSSOHFI kexcrhic KF of the robbers named John ' If a gun had been shot off in that little room, it could not have caused more excitement. Eames and Thiel Ciel Foetal John they TRAIL for talking, the five-year-old daughter the farmer came in and said place, W hile the train was waiting on onnell, the siding, the conductor, Mc and in the best of spirits, whistling bullets in a conference program night the Fort Worth Express, due to meet the northWas train at Oliphant, a small stathat section south of Newport, into the siding 1n order to pernorth-bound train to pass that stepped off the first car and began walking up and down the platform Suddenly, without beside his train. the slightest warning, he found himcelf surrounded by armed men, With moment's hesitation he pulled out a shooting. out his pistol and began re The strangers, who were masked, ‘was result the and fire, the turned him that the plucky conductor found inchester self pierced by several W | eee ot en- assistants jumped feeling for their out to the to their pistols, springhouse. But the men in hiding got the alarm and had a little start on the deputies, They chased the fugitives through the woods on foot, firing and being fired at, constantly. Finally, they reached an open cornfield but the robbers had sought refuge behind a hill and after a while secured their horses and dashed away. [he journey was resumed and although the officers and their men were very much wearied, they never for a moment entertained the thought f giving up the chase. Finally they reached Siloam Springs, where the eang of train robbers were supposed to have been organized. They discovered Padgett that had James Wyrick not been seen and John in the lo- cality for many days, but that Pennyweight Powell and his brother Samuel had been in the vicinity within the previous twenty-four hours. Officers Eames and Thiel divided their men up and permitted them to obtain a much-needed rest A DUEL WITH PISTOLS. Hour after hour and day after day passed, and still the men who were wanted did not make their appearJust as the pursuers were beance: give up hope, however, ginning r to by Thiel. He got as far as Denver and then a duel with pistols took place between the desperate criminal and the determined officer of the law. Thiel, however, managed to arrest his man and placed him in jail, but in the encounter he was shot in the knee, which caused his death. \ day or so after that the pursuers got on the trail of Wyrick and Padgett. They came toa house far away from any railroads where the men had stopped mer who his for owned visitors had breakfast. the place black The far- said that silk handker- chiefs which they had ased as masks, and from their talk, he was satisfied that they were train robbers. This was a sufficient clue to work upon, and the officers and their assistants went into the woods, following the trail which had been indicated by their informant. The chase lasted all of that morning and part of the afternoon. Towards dusk Eames and Thiel became separated from the remainder of the party, and at that critical stage of their journey thev suddenly and _ unexpectedly came upon the two men of whom they were in search. Instantly they raised their pistols and, leveling them at the two men, demanded their surrender. But desperate characters of this kind are not subdued by the mere sight of a gun. They fear neither man nor devil, and the prospect of hot lead has less terror for them than the thought of imprisonment or death at the hands of the authorities. After the rick and through ‘Thiel first exchange of shots, Padgett started to the close on woods with their heels. Eames Wyrun and "Tf you don't stop,' shouted Thiel, "Wwe will shoot you down in your tracks." 7 "Shoot away and be hanged," was the cheerful response. Still the chase kept on, the fugitives sometimes gaining, sometimes losing. Up hill and down dale they ran, stumbling over rocks, fallmg into ravines, every now and then pausing to level their pistols and send a shot back at their pursuers. All this had continued for neariy an hour, when the two robbers stopped short and in this respect, and it was re- solved that he should be obtained by means of a little strategy. Information was spread broadcast that at a certain hour on a certain night one of the rich men in that vicinity would take a journey in his carriage, going from one town to another and carry-: ing with him a large amount of money in gold and bank notes. The train robber heard of this, and his professional instincts were immediately aroused. It was a moonlight night, and an hour before the time the carriage was to pass a point three miles out of the town he was on hand with one or two confederates. In the meantime the carriage, which was a closed one, started on its journey, but without the gold and bank notes. Officer Eames, however, and several of his assistants tucked themselves snugly in the interior and waited for developments. In the meantime another squad went into the woods and, by making a detour, managed to get in the rear of the place where Pennyweight Powell proposed to make a stand. It was a clear, crisp night, and \the train robbers, who looked on the prospective hold-up as rather an amateur proceeding, were in the best of spirits. Presently the carriage came jingling along-because to add to the humor of the situation, they had placed sleigh bells around the horses' necks. Just as it reached the place appointed Pennyweight raised his rifle and shouted in stentorian tones: "Halt! Your money or your life!" A peal of laughter came from the closed carriage. While the astonished bandit was wondering what had happened, the sound of shooting in the rear attracted his attention. He turned to find what was the matter. A half dozen deputy sheriffs were rapidly approaching, firing in the air as they came near to their man. Before he had time to recover from his astonishment, Eames and his assist- ants had leaped from the carriage and the famous hold-up man was their prisoner. Train robbery is punishable by hanging in Arkansas, and summary justice was meted out to all of the captured men. Brady, Mansker and Wyrick were hanged, while Pennyweight Powell and Padgett each re-} ceived ten years in the State Peni-( tentiary. Thus ended one of the most, famous criminal hunts in American: history. "~~~ mare ; |
