People's Pilot, Volume 4, Number 15, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 28 September 1894 — A YOUTHFUL BANDIT. [ARTICLE]

A YOUTHFUL BANDIT.

'Promising Product of the Yellow Paper Covered Literature. Mount Sterling, 111., Sept 28. This city was the scene of a real and thrilling western style bank hold-up at 10:30 o’clock Monday morning. Ralph Conklin, aged 18, was the bold desperado. He is a native of Brown county, his parents residing a mile and a half northeast of Mount Sterling. Conklin, who is given to poring over such literature as “The Life of Jesse James,” "Deadwood Dick's Last Shot,” etc., left home with an old-fashioned muzzle-loading dou-ble-barreled shotgun Monday morning and started ior Mount Sterling. On his way he met Mac Dunbar riding a horse. The boy bandit leveled his gun at Dunbar and commanded him to dismount. Dunbar slid off his horse and Conkling mounted and rode into Mount Sterling. Going to the rear of the Bloomfield Skiles bank Conklin dismounted, and leaving a boy to hold the horse he entered the bank by the rear door, wearing a mask. Approaching the cashier, J. D. Milstead, he ordered him to put up his hands. Cashier Milstead took to his heels and left the bank by the rear door. Conklin lost no time and in a moment gathered up all the money in sight, 8411. Edward Allison, who was in the bank at the time Conklin entered, ran out upon the street and gave the alarm. After pocketing the money Conklm went out of the bank through the rear door and was just mounting his horse when A 1 Snodgrass, a constable, arrived upon the scene. The constable ran up to Conklin and pulled him off his horse. Conklin jerked away from him, however, and ran down the street in the direction of the courthouse. Reaching the courthouse Conklin tried to steal a horse and cart, but was knocked off the cart by a well-directed brickbat. A few blocks north of the courthouse the masked man was held up at the muzzle of a gun by Jule Cox and compelled to surrender. The mask was torn from his face and it was then found that the Jesse James was none other than Ralph Conklin, whose days and nights have been spent in reading dime novels and yellow covered tales of outlaws and bandits. The money taken was all recovered when Conklin was caDtured.