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•u ^ am®5 ppm^ts-«c»j'-tr • "* WMPJ > \ S. K 1 « ^ J i- ^ Vv 4 J -' ;• VS ,l \ ^ J a > " •':S; sK.v; BW**m i THE McpElfRlT PLAINBEALER, McHENRY, ILL. Jt 91 XX^?y*£»/:;r& i"*r v* •• \ju'- V ..V ~ ".•*..* ~ a-^ ** -'*- J-.S* at * % ones of thr^reatcst Gases in the Career of Thomas Furlong, the Fa- hiqps Railroad Detective, •; ̂ :£* Told by Himself Copyright by W. G. Chapman I , ; The American railroad men are one the finest bodies of public servants. | , .Their sense of responsibility is admit- ,.'• -« ifedly very high. So rarely does one ' betray his trust that the following rec- '.jprd Is almost unique, and may be >e'fead without offense as the exception ."Which proves the rule. About the twentieth day of Novem- •: •t '^fcer, 1898, I received an urgent sum­ mons from Mr. Horace G. Clark, then peoeraj superintendent of the Gould 1;r System, with headquarters at St. -t#„ tXouis. I had formerly been chief of ? the secret service for th^ system and ? io lost no time in hurrying to the su- , jperintendent's office. , "Furlong," began Mr. Clark, "a hold- ,' up has been planned to take place &ear Sedalia, on the Lexington branch, and I want you to take charge of the irf' idaattet immediately. The information has been supplied by one of the con­ spirators, who is really acting in our interests." "Mr. Clark," I answered, "my experi­ ence has convinced me that it is im­ possible to rely on the statement of a man who is admittedly betraying ills companions." ^ „ The superintendent demurred to this principle and explained the circum­ stances. Adatns, the informant, had , 'lold him that the plot to hold up and ' fob one of the trains had been formed *; !fey six railway men, including himself. Uames West, an engineer, and Eli •IStubblefield, an ex-condu'ctor. The ex- •., act date and point had not been defl- :."-'-r%ltely fixed, but Adams was to furnish team and conveyance which would . ' take the would-be bandits to the place where the scheme was to be "pulled off," and after the coup had been ac- > Complished he was to take them back -*to the city of Sedalia. He further in- r formed Superintendent Clark that • - ^ . when the date and point of attack had > been settled he would at once advise • * i&lm, Inasmuch as he had only agreed to furnish the conveyance* and assist in the robbery so that ... each of the robbers might be apprehended and banded over to the law. Adams had been a faithful employe • of the company for a number of years, and was in good standing with It. He had been a locomotive en­ gineer, and his record was excellent. He was regarded in the community in which he lived as a sober, reliable and Intelligent man, and a good citizen. While oiling around his engine one day at a station the throttle had begun to leak, thereby admitting steam to the cylinders, which caused the -en­ gine to move suddenly while Adams' arm was extended through the spokes of the drivewheels. The su^Hefi move­ ment of the engine had torn the en­ gineer's arm from the shoulder and thus terminated his career. T-he rail­ road company had settled with Adams for the loss of his arm without suit, paying him a large sum, with which N Adams set up in business in Sedalia as a money-lender. He had, however, as has been said, a good reputation in the community. Among his clients were West and ' Stubblefleld. The latter was well known as a freight train conductor and was in the service of the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railroad company, being popularly known as "Katy." West had been an engineer for years, having been in charge of a freight train. Each of these men owed Adams quite a considerable sum of money. It was io the course of a conversation with them about their indebtedness to him that Adams was approached by them upon the subject of robbing the train. "We will have plenty of money to pay you all that we owe you in a few days," said one of them, and then they, asked him to join them in pull­ ing off the job, which he agreed to do for the reason stated. I had known Mr. Clark for a number of years, and, as stated above, had done considerable work for him while chief special agent for the Missouri Pa­ cific road. I had severed my connec­ tion with that line at this time and was conducting a wecret service com­ pany in St. Louis. It was on account tof the close friendship between us that Mr. Clark had sent for me, and on this account I was especially anxious to frustrate the robbery. "Furlong," said the superintendent* "Just as soon as tny time and place for this hold-up have been fixed I will no­ tify you, and I want you to take meas­ ures to prevent that train from being robbed and to catt:h- the guilty par­ ties." Early on the morning of November 23 I received a message from Mr. Clark, stating that the superintendent had just learned from Adams that the passenger train on the Lexington branch was to be held up and robbed that night at a point nine miles north of Sedalia, and instructing me to take immediate steps to protect the train and prevent the robbery. The super inte«dent placed W. W. Kay, his'spe- cial agent, at my disposal, and two more agents, Detective Frank Barnett and another, wjio joined me at Inde­ pendence. The fifth member of the party was Joseph 8. Manning, one of my own staff, from the St. Louis of­ fice. Oi» consulting the official time card of the Missouri Pacific road I found that, in order to protect the Lexington branch train against the contemplated robbery, it would be necessary to leave St. Louis that morning, in order to board the endangered train at Inde­ pendence Junction the same evening as that train was due to leave Kansas City on its eastward trip before the train from St. Louis arrived there. I also found that if both trains were on time I would have three minutes at Independence' to make connections This-was accomplished. I told the conductor in charge of the Lexington branch train at Independ­ ence of the instructions which I had received from Superintendent Clark, and instructed him that, when the train was flagged and stopped, he should Ray no attention to the parties who had signaled her, but was to de­ vote his whole time to' keeping his passengers quiet in their seats and, in particular, that he should see that none of them raised a window or put his head out. I then went over to the engineer and told him what was liable to happen. . ma In • mmm 1 HAD TIME TO TAKE ONE SHOT AT HIM. "When we arrive at the curve," t said, "you'll see the signal, which will be a red light shown across the track. You are to stop the train immediately, and under no circumstances are you to run beyond the danger signal." I further instructed him that, after stopping the train, he and his fireman could squat down on what is kno^n as! the hearth of the engine, in front of the boiler, where they would both>' be entirely safe, and could not be reached by bullets fired from the ground, as the sides of the cab, up as far as the window sills, were steel, and by stooping down below the level of the' sills both of them would be perfectly safe from any shots that might be fired. The engineer and firemen both understood these instructions perfect­ ly, but were naturally somewhat per­ turbed at the unexpected prospect in store - for them. e .. When the train reached the first station north of the curve where the holdup was to take place, and which was about two miles distant, I placed Mr. Manning on the front platform of the express and baggage car, which was immediately behind the engine. He waB armed with a .44 Colt. Detec* tive Frank Barnett of the Missouri Pa­ cific, who, as has . been said, had joined our pdfty at Independence, where the transfer had been made to the Lexington branch train, was placed on the rear end of the express car, and armed with a repeating Winches­ ter shotgun. I boarded the engine and took a seat on the engine box, white Mr. Kay was placed on the fireman's box on the opposite side. The fireman gave Kay his cap to wear, and I took the engineer's cap and put it on, so as to deceive any person upon th'&sground as to our identity. The real fireman and engineer stood on the hearth in front of the boiler head; as they had been instructed. They could attend to their duties in that place just as well as though they were seated on their respective boxes. In this manner the train proceeded southward from the station toward the curve. When they reached It I, being on the inside, was the first to see thy? signal. Adams' report had been verified to the letter and the hold-up party was on the spot in read­ iness. The signal, which proved afterward to be a white lantern with a red hand­ kerchief tied over it, thus giving it the appearance of a real danger signal, was swung backward and forward across the track vigorously. While the train was at least two hundred yard8 distant I called - the engineer's attention to it. The train was then running at a speed of about thirty miles an hour. z "Slow up!" I said to the engineer. "Get your train under control, and by all means be'sure to come to a full stop before passing the signal." The engineer shut off steam, but he did not apply the air brakes, and, since there was' a slight down-grade to the track, the tfain slackened speed very little. Eitner the engineer was too startled by the verification of my statement to remember the brakes, or else he acted under the influence of the not unnatural desire to keep on his journey without waiting for the promised battle. At any rate, perceiv­ ing that the train was bound to pass the signal, I threw on the reverse lever, or "plugged the engine," as the engineer would say, which caused the wheels to slip, and gradually brought the train to a standstill, though not before it had passed the curve. Meanwhile the man with the lantern was standing ih the middle of the track, swinging it vigorously. He did not move until the engine was almost on top of him, SEdit looked as if he was going to be run down. He leaped aside just in time to save himself as the train, with lessened speed but ter­ rific- momentum, swept by at the rate of about fifteen miles an hour. He sprang to tjke right-hind side, which was the opposite side to that on which I was posted, and immediately opened fire on the engine with what was afterward fecund to be a .45 Colt revolver. The uplftej part of the cab was riddled with bullets. The moment the firing began I sprang from my side of the engine to the gangway on the side opposite. It took me no more than an inBtant to get to that position; the gangway was just passing the ban­ dit, and I had just time to take one shot at him. It was a good piece of marksmanship, for the man rolled into the ditch. At the same time another of the men was discovered upon the right side, and he also began firing at us, sending a couple of shots at Man­ ning, who was on the front end of the express car, both of which missed his head by only a few inches. The train went thundering on and was not brought to a halt until it had passed the 6pot where the signal had been shown probably by three train lengths, or fifteen hundred feet. I had instructed Messrs. Kay and Manning that if any shooting occurred they should open fire upon any per eon whom they might see on the ground. Similar instructions bad been given to Barnett. As soon ' as the train was brought .fto a standstill Kay, Manning and myself got down and started back to the curve, where I expected to find the dead or wounded man whom I bad shot, and Who had fallen into the ditch. After we had left the train the engineer began back­ ing up faster than we could walk or run, and nearly ran the train over us. A comic interlude was now provid­ ed. At Lexington, Mo., the train had picked up an extra coach, containing about twenty passengers, members of an itinerant theatrical troupe bound for Sedalia, where they were to give a performance. They were typical "barn-stormers," and every one of the male members was provided with some sort of revolver or popgun, with which he began shooting out of the car windows. We three detectives passed along in the midst of this flying cloud of bullets, but when we reached tlje spot where the robber had fallen he f Hi 1 ii s iillttf a light fall of snow, probably two inches, on the day before the hold-up occurred, and the tracks of the man in this were plainly visible, as well as a streak of bloo-J about two inches in width, which 'ed across the line from east to west to a road running north and south. The wounded man had ta­ ken this road, which led to Sedalia. ^ While we were trying to find the trail we saw a second man attempting to get through a barbed wire fence. 8TUBBLEFIELD WAS CAPTURED NEAR HI8 HOUSE. which was in the right-of-way of the railroad on the east. His clothing had become fastened in the wire, and he was struggling desperately to extricate hituself. He finally succeeded in this attetapt, just as Manning and I reach­ ed the spot where his companion had fallen. He started to run in an east­ erly direction through a large, newly plowed field, whi^h was covered with snow but not frozen. Discovering that the wounded man was gone, and knowing that it would be a comparatively easy matter to take up his traii at a later time, we gave chase to the second man. Man­ ning succeeded in jumping over the fence, but I, imagining that the. rob­ ber had sprung the wires, and that I could follow where the other had led. tried to get through, with the result that I also got caught on the barbs and released myself^lth difficulty. By this time Manning had get quite a lead, but I put on a sprint and soon overtook him, and ho it was a neck and neck race for a hundred and fift^ yards. In the meantime the "barn-stormers" had taken the affair as a general jubi­ lee. and had begun firing on friend and< foe alike, somewhat on the prin­ ciples'of the Irishman at Donnybrook-- that is to say, whenever they saw a head, they fired at It; and, as the heads were for the most part upon the side of law and order, Manning and I soon began to hear the bullets hissing about our ears. Even the express messenger, who knew that Manning and I were running across the field, joined in* from the car with his Win­ chester rifle. However, disregarding this, since we could not do otherwise, we caught up with the robber and dis­ armed him. He fell to the ground moaning and covered wjth blood; evi­ dently he was badly jwounded, and probably during the chase, since both the pursuers had fired as we ran. Just as he fell, a bullet from the ex­ press messenger's Winchester struck the handle of Manning's revolver, splintering it, and nearly paralyzing the holder's hand and arm with the concussion. As soon as toe fallen man had been seized and disarmed Detective Barnett reached our party, and, jerking away the handkerchief which the robber had used as a mask, exclaimed: "Why, hello, Jim!" We thereby knew that this was West "Is that you, Frank?" answered West, sinking back upon the ground, apparently unconscious. The conductor and members of the train crew now arrived on the scene, and West, who was apparently unable to walk, was carried back to the train. He was placed in the express car and examined for wounds, and it was soon discovered that he was shamming. He had not been shot, but had severed some small blood vessels in his wrist while struggling in the barbed wire, and had smeared his face and cloth­ ing with blood from* these wounds. He then pretended to be drunk, but there Was no smell of liquor on his breath. Thinking that the wounded man could be located later, and not wish­ ing to delay the train any longer, we stepped aboard and soon arrived in Sedalia. Being personally acquainted with Eli Stubblefleld, and being sure that he was the man whom I had wounded, I at once sent Manning and Detective John Jackson of the Sedalia police department out to his brother's house, where Eli made his home, in the hope that they would Intercept him there and arrest him. Then, with Frank Barnett, I returned on an engine frnm s»/inHn to of the at­ tempted hold-up. Picking up the trait of the wounded man from Jtfs tracks, and the blood in the snow, we followed it out to the main road and on toward Sedalia. A house occupied by a ne^ro family was soon reached, and, on making in­ quiries there, we learned that just after the sound of the shooting had been heard a tall, slender, middle-aged man had stopped in front of the house and yelled to the occupants. He Htati­ ed that he had been hurt, and that h« would give them ten dollars if they would hitch up and drive him to Se­ dalia. They told fffm that it would be impossible to procure a horse at that time of night, and he departed for Sedalia, holding his right arm, and leaving a trail of blood along his tracks. Having thus satisfied ourselves as to Stubblefield's objective, Barnett and I abandoned the hunt, returned to our engine, and werfe soon in Sedalia once more. Within two or three hours our conjecture that otubblefieiu was on llis way to the town proved cor­ rect, for the wounded man, who turn­ ed out to be Stubblefleld, as had been expected, was captured near his house by Manning and the Sedalia police officer, who were waiting for him, in accordance with their instructions. Stubblefleld was taken to the county jail, where West had already been in­ carcerated, and a physician was called to dress hiB wound. It was found that the bullet from my weapon had passed through West's right arm, breaking the bones at the elbow. The wound soon healed, but Stubblefleld never had the use of the arm again. It al­ ways hung limp at his side. West had a double reputation in Se­ dalia. He had been at one time su­ perintendent Of a Sunday school, and stood well in the estimation of the business people of the town. He was also known, among another class of citizens, as a poker player of parts. Early next morning West was released from jail on a bond signed by two wealthy and prominent Sedalia busi­ ness men, but later in the day, on learning all the facts in the case, among which was this, that two six- shooters had been found on West when he was searched, the bondsmen surrendered him to the sheriff, and he was again locked up, remaining in prison until his trial. Adams, the informant, who appears to have played a perfectly reputable part in the proceedings, stated to me on the following day that at the last moment the other four railroad men who had promised to Join In the rob­ bery, had weakened, and backed out. Stubblefleld and West were, therefore, the only two whom he had taken out in his rig. He had driven to the scene of the attempted hold-up and waited there until the train arri^e^, but as soon as he was convinced that West and Stubblefleld meant business, and the firing actually began, he did not wait to carry his part of the bargain to completion, but hastily drove back to Sedalia. The other men who had promised to participate in the affair were all ex- railway men, with the exception of one, who was a butcher. They were not tried In connection with the crime, although their names were well known. In due course both West and Stubblefled were tried and convicted of the attempted hold-up and sent to the penitentiary for a long period of time. v Expected Too Much. Noble aspirations fired her soul. Hitherto she had been a pretty but useless little water color painting, crochet-working, piano-pounding sort of girl; now she was a farm worker. At least she had been earlier in the day; at the moment there Were signs of a strike and she was giving the farmer a piecfe of her mind. MNo;" she said, in firm determina­ tion, "I don't mind shearing the pigsr or pruning the watercress, or anything reasonable lilce that. But at mush­ rooming I draw the line. Why, my good man," she finished, with a maid­ enly blush. "I have never climbed a tree -in my life."--London Answers. Dubious Frame of Mind. "Don't you favor an investigation of this matter?" "I'm not sure that I do," replied Senator Sorghum. "An investigation so frequently results only iu arousing a whole lot of curiosity and then leav­ ing it unsatisfied." More Profitable If Farmer Un­ derstands Growth. V' 1 First Object Should Be to Wood Room in Which to Grow-- Summer Pruning Is Done Quir­ ing June or July; The pruning of thfe red raspberry will be better understood if the pruh- er knows,the habit of growth of the plant. A new cane springs up and de­ velops during the summer; the next spring this cane throws out fruit clus­ ters, bears fruit, and dies that year. The root Is perennial and the cane is biennial. The object of the pruner thea, Mould be: flrst, to remove the old wood as soon as it dies in order to give the new wood room in which to grow; second, to secure, both by thinning and by heading-in, canes to sufficient vigor and development to produce the most' and the largest fruit. There is a slight difference between the methods of pruning the red and the black raspberry, a variation due to different habits of growth. The canes of the blackberry grow long and droop to the ground, whereas the canes of the red raspberry are shorter and upright. Because of this long growing and drooping habit of growth of the ceanes, growers pinch off the tips of the black raspberry in order to make the canes branch. A branched cane is desired because it contains more fruit buds than does a straight cane. This work is done when tbe canes PRUNING THE TOMATO VINli | Here Fruit Produced Than on Ptantt Allowed to Develop With No At- jt Vi# ^ tention to Shape. Pruned tomato vines will product more fruit and a superior quality to that grown on vines that are allowed to develop with no attention as to shape and density of the foliage. The plant that must supply sustenance to more branches than are necessary for ' , supporting the crop, will have its vi­ tality so uselessly sapped by them thai. , the fruit will be small in sise and an inferior quality. -;f* No set rule can be given for prun- P ing tomatoes, which should be don* according to their size, shape and vig­ or. However, tall, top-heavy vines are to be guarded against by cutting out the tops, thus encouraging lower growth and heavier branches for sup­ porting the fruit. Long, slender branches are to be trimmed back well, else the fruit will be undersized, while the limber branches often will bend down till the tomatoes come in tact with the damp earth, causiiqi ..premature ripening and rot / Those who have had little or no ex­ perience in pruning tomatoes might , - do well to wait till the vines begin to blossom, before trimming out any of the branches, when it can be seen where the crop will be too thick^ > these 8pots being thinned out by clip- . ping off the ' smaller and weaWirf.. branches, leaving the healthy, vigor*. J Z A . I ous ones for developing and ^support­ ing the fruit. Property Pruned .Red Rabpbsrry Pfifh. are 24 to 30 inches high. Jit it is done in time the tender tips may be pinched off with the fingers and the use of shears is not necessary. The patch must be gone over more than once, since the canes will not all reach the desired height at the same time. Briefly summarized, the pruning of the black raspberry is as follows: The old canes should be cut out and burned soon after fruiting. The new canes should be pinched back when 24 to 80 inches high, and thinned to not more than five or six canes to each crown. This pruning is called sum­ mer pruning, and is done in June or July. In the spring the lateral branches' are cut back so that the re­ maining buds will develop into strong fruit clusters. PROPER PLANTING 'OF TREES Object Should Be to Place Roots In Soil as They Were Before Re­ moval From Nursery. The perfection of planting consists in placing the tree roots In connec­ tion with the soil as nearly as possible in the same direction as that in which they were before removal, and but slightly--one or two inches-- deeper than the tree stood th the nursery. If the season is very dry it will be a good plan to give each tree a bucketful or two of water when nearly done plant­ ing. * Planting should net be done too early --not before the leaves will come off easily. They must in no case be left on the trees, even for an hour or two after digging, as they carry off mois­ ture rapidly, and the trees would soon be wilted to a certain extent; and to strip off the leaves by hand before their office is completed is not a good plan. The planting may continue as long as the soil works well (is not wet and sticky) and the ground not too hard. POPULAR AS A LEGUME CROP Soy Beans Make Excellent Hay, in­ crease Nitrogen of 8oll and Do- , slrable for Pasture. Soy beans are very popular as a legume crop where they have been tried. They make excellent hay, in­ crease the'nitrogen supply of the soil and are highly desirable as a pasture crop for cows and hogs. Soy beans are sure to be highly re­ garded in the Southwest when they are planted more extensively. They may be planted in rows and cultivated like cowpeas. The Mammoth and the Ito San are good varieties. KEEPING PLANT LICE AWAY Tobacco Dusted Around Cu^umfe^l# M Vines Will Prove Efficaeious-W--^"--vr-J| Strictly Adhered To. • '.LS i f. •- Buy a sack of tobacco dust, just the ordinary cheap kind, and dust it plentifully all around the cucumber vines as soon as they come through the ground, and keep dusting it around them once a week all sum* mer. Give the melons the same treat- : ment. Plant li&«f do not like tobacco, and generally this will keep them off. It is almost impossible to fight plant lice on vines when they are once es­ tablished, but if they are kept away right from the start we can often suc­ ceed in keeping the vines free from them. Stir a little of the dust into the soil close to the roots and it will help to rid the soil of the root aphis alsp If they are prevalent. -I . • -vji HANDY TRELLlS FOR GjMEf „v «•; *•; •i : j Has Many Advantages in Growing Cs> ' ,;>t | • numbers, Tomatoes, and Tall Va-f • ""-J rietie. of Pes*. M ---- a f -"" \ For growing cucumbers, toajatoes, pole beans or the iaiier varieties Of peas a trellis has many advantages over poles or brush. Fewer cucum­ bers remain hidden under the leaves and go to seed, and it is easier to spray them on both sides of the leaves to prevent rust when they are growing on a trellis. A trellis such as lllus-,' trated is easily made, and if put un­ der cover as soon as the growing sea- S-fti WIOC -THICK Handy Garden Trellia. * son is over it will last for many years. If the two uprights are fastened to­ gether with a bolt and the end strips left off the trellis will fold up, which makes it much easier to handle.--Farm and Home. RETARD GROWTH AND THRIFT tfig Mistake Made in Crowding Young Animals--Feed and Care Will Not Offset It. Crowding any young animals is a mistake. Nc amount of feed and oth­ erwise good care can offset it. When numbers are increased till good company becomes a mob. the atmosphere of rest, growth, thrift and enjoyment of living departs--and ten­ der young life shows it quickly. ^ CAUSE OF CALVES SCOURING Trouble Can Nearly Always Be Traced to Overfeeding Skim Milk or Lack of Cleanliness. PRODUCING CROP OF CALVES Best Time to Lay Foundation Is Dj*> Ing Period of Gestation • -Qlve *- -ffc: Heifers Grain. ' i The time to feed and lay the founds- tion for a good crop of calves is during the entire period of gestation. In fact, the cows or heifers planned for the basis of a breeding herd should have extra care the year around, no matter what age or what breed they may be. The breeding herd, to give the best results in the crop of calves pro­ duced, should have every influence that can be exerted by the mother aai* mal for healthy development. Heifers should have an allowance of grain during the feeding season pre­ ceding the calving. The better they are wintered, the better the condi­ tion of flesh maintained up to thai turning out on green grass, the better the chances for a strong crop of calves. 4 •rM PAYS FARMER TO ADVERTISE Vs % Not Necessarily in Printed Form, b«t ^ in Selling Porducts and in Gen- ^ ^ ' eral Appearances. j ---- ' The successful farmer advertise rj Maybe his name never has appeared in print, but if he is really successful, he has advertised, nevertheless. Th® use of printed matter is only one form of advertising. When you sell a bet­ ter lot of apples than anybody else ta your neighborhood you advertise your fruit. When you cut the weeds along the road in front of your farm, yo* advertise. When you drive a better- looking horse than the neighbors* y$|(K , advertise. It pays to advertise. r BEST EGGS FOR INCUBATIOH Fresher fney Are the Stronger tb» ^ Chicks--Keep Them Covered aw^i '*4^, Do Not Wash Them. M, Many are forever having trouble with their calves scouring--getting off feed, etc. Nearly always this can be [ traced to overfeeding skim railk, feed- } ing coid milk, or to lack of thorough­ ness in cleaning and frequently scald­ ing the pails or other receptacle* tor^Uiem the milk feed. 'Do not batch any eggs older theJB ten days. The fre«iher the eggs tho better they hatch and the ctrungat the chicks. „ When saving eggs for tecubetkaa keep them in a temperature as close to 58 to 60 degrees as possible. Keep 'XM