Rensselaer Union, Volume 6, Number 14, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 25 December 1873 — Banditti Redivivius. [ARTICLE]

Banditti Redivivius.

The bandit Cleveland rode into Kansas City, Mo., one day during the war, with fifteen followers, right under the nose of Col. Jennison and his regiment of Jayhawkers, and robbed the banks of that city. Every body laughed then and said it was only an “incident" of the war. Some years afterwards a train of cars was stopped in Cass County, and a number of officials who had been instrumental in the issue of the bonds of that county for the benefit of some impecunious railroad company, were murdered in tbeir scats. Everybody looked serious then, but they said it was the indignation of the people against “bond thieves” that prompted the deed, and the atrocity was soon forgotten. Subsequently three outlaws rode into the midst of thousands bf the departing visitors to the Kansas City Industrial Exposition, and, after firing into the crowd and wounding women and children, seized the cash-box and retired with it to a place of safety. People were astonished at the boldness of the deed, though they gloried in it as an exhibition of pluck scarcely paralleled since the days of Dick Turpin and Claude Duval. Then came the stoppage of a railroad train in lowa, the murder of the engineer, and the robbery of the passengers and the mails. This created universal astonishment all over the country, to put it mildly, and there were Governmental proclamations, the detail of detectives, the following of trails, ' arrests followed by when it was discovered that the persons arrested were not the offenders, and then the whole matter was forgotten and allowed to drop out of public recollection. All these things occurred in lhat region bordering on the Indian Territory. Whether offenses were committed in the border land of Kansas, Missouri or lowa, offenders found a secure haven and immunity from arrest and by just stepping over into the Indian. Territory, where State processes could not reach them, and where the life of a United States Marshal was not worth the crack of a Texas herder’s whip. There is very little doubt that all these offenses were perpetrated by a single band, under the leadership of an intelligent and mild-man-nered person who rejoiges in the name of Cleveland. Within the organization are embraced men of all conditions in life, from the rough, uncouth outlaw of the western frontier, to the bcgloved and perfumed city gentleman, intelligent and refined, and capable of shining in the best society. When work is to be done, the intelligent head of the organization selects his men, according to their capacity, and directs them accordingly. Beyond an occasional murder of a man, and the plunder of some belated traveler, the band has, until recently, kept quiet, since the steppage of the lowa railroad train. A few days ago, just as the shades of evening began to settle on prairie and woodland, two young men sauntered into tjje store of Bryant & Chandler, located on the Missouri State line about forty miles south of Kansas City, and not far from the village of Westpoint. The store was a decent frame building at the cross roads, half a mile from the Kansas line, and was filled with the miscellaneous assortment of merchandise usually kept in what are known as country stores—dry goods, boots and shoes, hardware, notion*, groceries and whisky, commodities alike affected by the cit and the frontiersman. These young men were between twenty-four and twenty-eight years old, elaborately, dressed, and wore tbeir hair and whiskers in qjiite the prevailing mode. They walked up to the stove to warm themselves, and entered into a pleasant and -gossipy conversation with Mr. Bryant Finally they purchased a woolen scarf, and moved again to the stove. Mr. Bryant turned hi* back to them and proceeded to replace the goods be had taken down. This labor accomplished, he turned again to his pleasant-looklng customers, and found himself confronted by two stern-looking men, and two Ugly looking revolvers, in very uncomfortable proxHhity to his head. The robbers in a very business-like tone demanded his available cash, and, as Mr. Bryant seemed inclined to dispute the demand, they quietly threw the > ew Worden scarf they had just purchased over his mouth, and pinioned his arms and leg* and set him up helplessly on the counter. They then rifled the store of S4OO cash and a large quantity of dry goods, and put thomseive* outsid* a reas-

onable quantity of whisky. While thus engaged, a farmer came in to pass away the evening and talk over the news around the stove at the cross-roads. The young men received him courteously, gallantly robbed him, and, having pinioned his arms and legs, set him up on the counter to keep company with Bryant. Two other farmers came in, were similarly received and similarly disposed of. .At last, having thoroughly cleared the store of desirable goods, their horses were brought to the front t>y a confederate, who,-tiU- then-, had remained concealed, the goods were placed on them, and, having securely blindfolded their prisoners, the robbers departed. Shortly after, one of them managed to unloose bis bonds and then loosed the bonds of his neighbors. The whole neighborhood was quickly aroused, and long before daylight numbers of indignant citizens were on the track of the plunderers. They were followed into the Indian Territory, and may be overtaken. If they are, there will be a sudden jerking of young necks with new hemp.