Robber and hero: the story of the raid on the First National Bank of Northfield, Minnesota, by the James-Younger band of robbers, in 1876. — John Shaqi
Robber and hero: the story of the raid on the First National Bank of Northfield, Minnesota, by the James-Younger band of robbers, in 1876.Huntington, George
History
Robber and hero: the story of the raid on the First National Bank of Northfield, Minnesota, by the James-Younger band of robbers, in 1876.
Huntington, George
Bank robberies -- Minnesota -- Northfield
The dead robbers received attentions of quite another sort. The two bodies
were placed in an empty granary, where they remained during the night. The
news of the raid had been telegraphed all over the country; and the
evening trains brought crowds of curious people, eager to see and hear
everything pertaining to the affair. The next day the number of visitors
was so largely increased and the desire to see the dead bandits was so
great, that the bodies were brought out into the open square, which was
soon packed with people. Among the visitors from other town were sheriffs,
police officers and private citizens who had come to join in the pursuit
of the escaped robbers.
[THE ROBBERS—KILLED AND CAPTURED.]
THE ROBBERS—KILLED AND CAPTURED.
That afternoon the county coroner, Dr. Waugh of Faribault, held an inquest
on the three bodies, and a verdict was found according to the facts: “That
J. L. Heywood came to his death by a pistol-shot fired by an unknown man
who was attempting to rob the First National Bank of Northfield;” “That
the two unknown men came to their death by the discharge of firearms in
the hands of our citizen in self-defence, and in protecting the property
of the First National Bank of Northfield.”
The grief and indignation over the death of Mr. Heywood were intense. He
was a man greatly respected in the community, was prominent in church and
business life, and at the time of his death was the City Treasurer and
also the Treasurer of Carleton College. On Sunday, the 10th of September,
two funeral services in honor of the murdered man were held in Northfield.
In the morning came the public service in High-School Hall, the largest
auditorium in the city. The place was packed, notwithstanding the
excessive rain and mud then prevailing. The introductory exercises were
conducted by the Rev. Messrs. Gossard and Utter, the pastors of the
Methodist and the Baptist churches, and the funeral address was delivered
by the Rev. D. L. Leonard, pastor of the Congregational Church, the
regular church services of the day being omitted. The admirable address of
Mr. Leonard has been preserved in a neat pamphlet, entitled, “Funeral
Discourse on Joseph Lee Heywood,” published by Johnson and Smith,
Minneapolis, and is a valuable contribution to the literature of this
subject. As much of its biographical and historical matter is
substantially covered by the present narrative, it need not be reproduced;
but some extracts relating to Mr. Heywood’s personal character may
properly be quoted, as showing the estimation in which he was held by one
who not only knew him well, but was voicing the sentiments of the
community to which and for which he spoke.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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