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HEPPNER, OREGON, JULY 9, 1914
NUMBER 11
D
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REMAINDER OF TRIO CAPTURED AND ALL LOOT IS RECOVERED
Herald
VOLUME 1
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PENCIL HOLDER DEFLECTS COURSE OF WHAT
E
WOL
OTHERWISE
E
A FATAL BULLET
Deputy Sheriff George McDuffee
of Heppner, was the hero of a des
perate and deadly duel last Thursday
morning and put a quick stop to the
hold-up of O.-W. R. & N. train No.
near Meacham. Charley Manning
'Cokeville, Wyoming, leader of the
f robbers, was killed by the
1 shot from McDuffee's revolver
and McDuffee himself was painfully,
though not dangerously wounded, a
bullet from Manning's pistol striking
him in the right breast and being de
flected downward by a brass pencil
case, came out just above the hip.
It made only a shallow wound and will
not incapacitate him for more than a
week.
Mr. McDuffee was on his way home
from Canyon City where he had been
as a witness in a horse stealing case
and it was evidently a lucky thing
for both the passengers and the rail
road company that he happened to be
riding on this particular train.
His own words tell the story better
than anybody else possibly could.
"I was Bitting in the rear seat of
the third day coach and was dozing
when the robbers and trainmen came
through on their forward trip," said
McDuffee in narrating his part of the
exciting happening. "It flashed
through my mind that it was unusual
for porters and trainmen to be all
together but I never suspected any
thing was wrong. Pretty . soon I
heard another passenger remark that
some of the men wore masks, 'No
those were just colored porters' said
another and that's what I thought.
"A few minutes afterwards I
heard the first passenger say that
the passengers in the car ahead were
being robbed. This roused me and
I saw it was a robbery. I drew my
revolver but, as I only had four car
tridges in it, I reached for my grip
DEAD BANDIT NOT HUGH WHITNEY AS FIRST THOUGHT
and secured a handful. I had just
taken my seat when they entered and
came toward me. They appeared to
be in a hurry to get to the Pullmans
and only made two passengers give
up their valuables. 'Hurry up or I'll
blow your brains out,' said the lead
er, who carried a gun in each hand
and the man addressed threw a dol
lar into the sack carried by the short
fellow in advance. They did not ask
me for anything but hurried past. I
had decided not to shoot until they
were by me because I was afraid of
hitting some of the passengers. As
soon as they were past, I jumped up
and shot twice at the big fellow's
back which was not six feet away.
He turned and began firing with
both revolvers but the shots were go
ing over my head. I fired again and
hit him in the head. He seemed too
dazed to take aim and backed
through the door into the vestibule.
I fired one shot at the other man
and heard him say, after asking the
big fellow if he were hurt, "I am
too."
''It was about this time I received
the bullet and I think the little fel
low had grabbed the .45 automatic
from his companion and had
me. My cartridges were loaded with
black powder and made a big smoke.
I am satisfied that they could not see
me very well because of the smoke.
I only fired four shots in all and then
some passenger cried for me not to
shoot any more, I did not realize that
I was shot until it was all over. I
guess I am a lucky man to be alive
for it was only my pencil holder that
kept me from being drilled through."
"It never occured to me that I was
taking chances,". he said. "I knew it
was my business to interfere and I
decided to shoot and to shoot to kill.
I ought to have got both men, though."
The body of the bandit killed by
Deputy Sheriff McDuffee was thought
for several days to be that of Hugh
Whitney, tha notorious Idaho bad
man, upon whose head a price of some
$0O had been set by officers and
.arious private individuals of the
Northwest. The body was positively
identified by several personal ac
quaintances to be that of Whitney
and there certainly was a strinking
resemblance. Added to this was the
fact that Manning had in his posses
sion a watch, with the words "Hugh
Whitney" engraved upon it. The ar
rival in Pendleton of F. W. Stoffers
of Cokeville, Wyoming, on Sunday
set all doubts at rest however, as he
made a thorough inspection of the
body and,said there could be no mis
take but that it was his sister's hus
band, Charley Manning. In the mat
ter, nf a reward, however, there is
slight WobtHwit that the railroad
Company will make our hero, McDuf
fee, a present of a sum of money
that will , in a partial manner, repay
him for the chances he took in put
ting to a stop one of the most daring
hold-ups ever recorded upon the pages
of the history of this Eastern Oregon
country.
M DUFFEE EXPRESSES SORROW FOR WIFE
FAMILY
LAD
OF
HE
DEAD
IS
DOTY
ACCOMPLICES
Mill
TAKE
E
OF
HILLGARD MAKE FULL CONFESSION AND
ASSIST IN RECOVERING BOOTY
HOLD
A
SPECTACULAR
W
MARCHED
T
HROUCH
E
AND GUARDED IN EXPR
E
The hold-up of train No. 5 near
ham last Thursday morning in
-h Deputy Sheriff McDuffee of
.ppner was the hero was spectacular
in the extreme. The plan developed
desperate' daring on the part of the
bandits, with supreme courage and
cool judgement by the deputy who
killed one and wounded another after
he had himself been wounded by his
foe.
At Kamela, a point on the main line
where a helper engine is taken on to
help on the steep grade, a masked fig
ure stepped out of the inky darkness
as the flaeman. Frank Earles, was
it and can't do anything against all
those revolvers you're pointing this
way, so I'll go with you but remem
ber, no killing."
And then the conductor joined the
sorry procession through the car of
drowsy passengers.
Some of the passengers vaguely
thought the crew was ejecting some
boisterous passengers, and others
thought they were going to the other
end to fix some damage. Conductor
Fergus managed to kick one or two
of the passengers warningly in the an
kles as he headed the procession, but
as the passengers' backs were turned,
Albert Meadors and Clarence
Stoner, the two bandits who escaped
after robbing the passengers in the
daring hold-up last Thursday morning
and who were put to rout by Deputy
Sheriff George McDuffee of Heppner,
who chanced to be a passenger on
the train, were picked up at Hilgard
Saturday night by Deputy Sheriff
Batcheler of La Grande and are to-
gnot day prisoners in the Umatilla Coun
ty jail at Pendleton with a long jail
term confronting them.
They confessed their crime to
Sheriff Taylor of Umatilla" County
and Chief . Special Agra, WCod f the
O.-W.' R. & N. Co.
They admitted that their dead
companion and leader in the robbery
was Charley Manning, a professional
gambler and "stick-up" man of Coke
been establishe by Sheriff Taylor
been establshed by Sheriff Taylor
and Chief Agent Wood during the
night through tracing a check found
on his person. The dead man was
also identified Sunday evening by
F. W. Stoffers of Cokeville, a brother-in-law,
and the body will be taken
back by him.
Satisfied after their hunt through
the woods Friday that the two miss
ing bandits had headed east and
would likely hover in the vicinity of
La Grande for a few days. Taylor
and Wood instructed Supt. Bollons of
La Grande to keep a close watch of
the railroad and to detain every sus
picious character. Deputy Sheriff
Batcheler was one of the officers sent
ou on the watch.
About 9:.'i0 he met the two men
walking on the track just at Hilgard
'hich is only 17 miles east of the
M-ene of the robbery. He questioned
vhem and asked if they knew Huph
Whitney. "He is my cousin," prompt
ly admitted Stoner and il was this nn
ir.i.ision that decide:! the officer to
hold them. He did not search them
tnen but upon reaching La Grande
found $355 cash on thorn. This was
another suspicious circumstance and
notification was sent to Sheriff Tny-
lor, who, with Chief Agent Wood
was en route to Kamela to run down
another clew. They wired back to
hold the men until their arrival.
The two ofiVors reached La Grande
about 5:40 a. m. and went directly to
the county jail. The La Grande
officers had iailed to shake the
prisoners in their story that they
knew noth;hj of the hold-up and ad-
n.ittud autwnrd?.that they . would
probably have released them laler.
After ccinpariij? them with the de
scriptions received from the railroad
men, both Taylor and Wood were
convinced they were the robbers and
commenced to "work" upon them.
It took but a few minutes for the
officers to get a full confession from
the two young bandits and securing a
special train, the four men were con
veyed to the point where Deputy
Batcheler had arrested the men.
There they recovered the big dia-
Pendleton, Or., July 7 (Special to
The Herald) "I'm sorry for his
wife and children," said Deputy
Sheriff George McDuffee, hero of the
recent train robbery, when informej
that the man he had killed was Chas.
Manning, of Cokeville, Wyoming.
Propped up in his bed at St.
Anthony's hospital, McDuffee listened
eagerly to the news of the capture
and subsequent confession of the two
accomplices, told by a group of news
paper men, until mention was made
of the dead robber's family. He was
visibly saddened by that. For awhile
he seemed to lose interest in the
story. McDuffee has a wife and six
children of his own and his ov " nar
row escape only made it easier for
him to realize the sorrow which his
bullet had caused. Mrs. McDuffe,
sitting by her husband's side, was also
greatly affected.
"It's too bad it wasn't Whitney,"
one of the newspapermen said to the
officer. "That reward money would
come in handy."
"I don't care about the reward but
I'm sorry the man had a family. Still
I'm not sorry for my acfipn. He was
a bad man and was prepared to kill
at the first sign of resistance. He is
better out of the way whether Whit
ney of Manning. It's pretty hard on
his family though," he kept repeating.
1 "cDuffee has almost, completely
re 'cred from his wound. The sore
ness is gone and, but for the doctor's
orders he would be on his way home
now. The doctor has ordered that he
remain here several more days.
Mrs. McDuffee has been in con
stant attendance upon him since the
day of the shooting, refusing all in
vitations to dinners and auto rides.
Pride for her hero husband radiates
from her face. She agrees with him
that he only did his duty and like
about to signal to the rear where the 1 and the captors and captives passed
head brakeman, Clyde Enoch and Con
ductor W. E. Fergus were attending to
their own details of getting the train
off. Conductor Fergus states that no
signal came, and an investigation was
s ahmit to be made, when a ierkv signal
bbed in and out in the darkness.
i'hat happened next was in flash,
rapidly that none of the crew had
time to figure out its meaning until it
was all over. It then developed that
the flagman had been forced to signal,
and make it appear that all was well.
A moment or two Inter, the robbers,
each with s revolver in each hand, and
wearing black masks, secured the cap
ture of the brakeman, Engineer John
son, Fireman Murphy, the porters, the
Pullman conductor and cook, march
inr all toward the express car, and
BRAKES
RELEASED
.5.
mond ring stolen from H. B. Royce of', . . , , . ,
,.r i. ,., n i have been captured. She seems to be
nana nana, ana iwo oiner rings, one i
set with opals and the other with an !
emerald. Meadors had had them tied
together in a back pocket when
picked up but, pleading that he want-1
ed a drink, was permitted to stoop
over the water. Undetected hi lifted
up a rock In the bed of the stream
and deposited the tell-tale rings un
der it. This was in Five Point Creek
Another smaller diamond ring was
found along the track where Mea
dors had thrown it as Batcheler or
dered them to step aboard the ca
boose of a passing freight.
Having secured this much of the
booty, the train went on to Meacham
mid while Chief Agent Wood kept
(Continued on Page Six)
as much interested in criminal catch
ing as is her husband and has a con
siderable knowledge of the ways of
criminals.
In speaking further of his adven
ture, McDuffee yesterday declared the
only time he was nervous was when
he was waiting for the robbers to
reach him. "After they entered my
car," he Baid, "and I had decided to
wait until they got back to me before
shooting, I admit I was nervous. The
suspense until I began shooting was
awful. I won't say I was scored a lit
tle but I wasn't nervous after I started
shooting. Things were happening too
fast. I was after the big fellow for
I knew he was the leader but I ex
pected to see him fall at my first two
shots. They didn't even stagger him,
though. He flinched a little and his
arms seemed to draw as he turned
and began firing. He was firing at
right angle from me, not having
turned far enough when I sent a bullet
into his head. Even then he didn't
fall, just staggered out into the vesti
bule and sank down. I fired my
fourth Bhot at the other man and I
believe he shot me after taking the
gun from his companion's hand.
"I felt no pain at the time but the
force of the bullet from the high
power gun almost knocked me down.
It was just as if I was hit a terrific
blow."
The wounded deputy has been given
every consideration by the railroad
company whose property he protected
at the risk of his life. Agent T. F.
O'Brien gave orders to the hospital
and to the physician to spare no ex
pense in treating him and making
him comfortable, and through Gen
eral Superintendent M. J. Buckley,
McDuffee was ndvised that he would
not be overlooked in the final settle
ment. This is taken to mean that he
will be rewarded in a finunriul way
for his valiant service.
GRIP
WHEEL
MIGHT
V
E
GONE
TO
E
hurriedly through, the full significance
was not realized by the passengers un
til the party vanished in the express
car.
Then the travelers began to under
stand, and most of them acted upon
whatever presence of mind they could
scare up in their dazed and startled
condition.
The bandits with the train crew
proceeded to the express car where
they "ere kept under fuard by o i!
of the rob'wrs. Two of the rowei
thin proceeded through the . coai hes
PROGRAM OF VARIED EVENTS ENJOYED BY
LARGE CROWD AT IE CELEBRATION
The big celebration is over. For first and second money,
three days the Independence spirit In the half mile race the following
was generated and it is thought that horses were entered: Stockings by
enough was manufactured to last
another twelve months. There were
four big features on the program, the
speech by Dr. Withycomle, the dances,
the ball games and the races.
Early Thursday morning the eagle
was heard to screHm and the celebra
tion began. The program for the day
begun with the hand concert by the
Ben Swaggert; Mumie by Hank
Cramer; Shannon by J. A. Reis; (lin
ger by W. C. Canon and Black Dude
by J, A. Blake. Shannon and Stock
ings won first and second money for
the 1100 purse.
The dance whs held at the rink and
was well attended. "Biz" Englemen
win in charge and the bent of order
was preserved. The music was furn-
In tuking the engineer and fireman
off the engine and compelling them to
enter the baggago car, the bandits
who were routed by Deputy Sheriff
McDuffee, exposed the passengers on
train No. 5 to a graver danger than
confronted them in the revolvers. At
the point where the train was brought
to a stop, the track was on a two and
one tenths per ccn t grade and had
the brakes rclensed their grip on the
wheels, the train would have crashed
down the mountainside at a terrific
speed and undoubtedly would have re
sulted in the greatest catastrophe in
the history of the road. This is the
statement of several officials of the
ruilroad.
The air brakes are not designed to
lock the train for any considerable
lone Cornet Band on the Main Street.
demanding rioney and valuables o" the There was not a large crowd but is
male passengers. Their work was increased as the day advanced. The Portland and they are certainly a class
stopped short at the end of the second speeches and singing were heard in A organization. The floor was as
coach when McDuffee started battle. ', the park following the band concerts 'smooth as glass. There was a check
length of time, according to railroad
men, and with tho weight of thirteen
cars pushing against the engine, it
was only a question of time before
the bruke must give way. With no
one in the engine to control it, the
train would rush forwurd to the doom
of everyone.
There was another danger from be
hind. It is the custom of the helper
engine to follow No. ft down the hill
from Kamela in order to assist No.
10 up the mountain. With no rear
flagman to dinplny the warning sig
nal, there was danger of the engine
crashing into the back end of the
train. However, tho promptness of
Deputy Sheriff McDuffee's action in
opening fire on the bandits put an end
to the robbery in such a short time
that both dangers were short lived.
4TH OF JULY AT JACK DEVORE'S OD RHEA CREEK
Fourth of July was fittingly celc-1 lwis ('anon was the prize rider, how
hrated in Rhea Creek. Jack Devore 'ever, of them all. I,ewis rode all (if
inhed by the Parson's Orchestra of invited them to lake possession of his the homes that the rest couldn't get
The unwounded man then dropped
off the train and hollered to his pal
gathering them up at they progressed j who joined him and with their stolen
along the tram. The procession, with I goods Ihiy took to the mils.
uplifted hands, reached Conductor Fer
gus last of all.
The conductor stopped to tcmporire.
"Don't kill anyone, boys," he said.
"If you're going to rob thee folks,
that'll U bad enough, but to kill any
of them will be h I'm up against
Earnest Leisure left ll;ppner Mon
day morning for a few days work on
the Cecil school house. Earnest says
that he is the original man with the
lath hatchet even if his last name is
connected with rut.
on all dsys, the afternoons ling given
over to the ball games and street
races. On Thursday afternoon the
following horses entered for the
quarter mile running race, Martha
W by F. T. Ely; Blanche by Walt
Seal; Black Dude by J. II. Rlske;
Shannon by J. A. Rie, Dora by E. II.
Turner. The purse was tlOO, $70 to
room and stand which sold soft
drinks and every convenience tending
lo make the affair a sucrens whs pro
vided. Thursday was probably the hottest
day of the celebration. All the lemon
ade stands reported' good buine.
The hotel was full and many compli
ments were vxprenxed by the guests
to the winner and $10 to the second on the good meals and treatment.
hore. Shannon and Black Dude won' (Continued on last page)
grove and told them to let joy be un
confined It rained in the morning
but they had such a good lime that
many stayed over till Sundsy. The
I ares in the morning were the most
exciting seen in this part of the coun
try for some time. Jim Cowans won
most of the footraces and James
Adkins and the Wilkinson boy crippled
theniHclve slightly, m hard did they
run.
Roy Brown was the champion mule
tider. He mounted the beast which
did not even attempt to throw him.
near. Herb Cook whs trying to help
him while riding another horse and
was thrown off. Norman Florence won
one of the running rm-es and Jess
Hall got under the wire first with his
home in another. Frank Mi'Collough
went into the Inn king hole contest
iind landed on a stump,
The dance in the evening w.ii the
big event of the Fourth. The music
uiih f .unbind by Piof. Otto and Miss
Thoi ley. Dunces are not held ver
often in Ithea Creek but everyone
(Continued on last page)