SENSATIONAL MAN-HUNT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21118, 27 February 1932, Page 2 (Supplement)

SENSATIONAL MAN-HUNT.

BANDIT BROTHERS' END. DEATH BY OWN HANDS. ' SIX. POLICEMEN KILLED. One of the most sensational man-htmll of recent times in America came to a dramatic end lately, when two notorious bandit brothers elected to die by their own hands rather than surrender to the police. Cornered in a lonely farmhouse in the mountains, the brothers held large forces at bay with a machine-gun* killing six police officers and wounding five others.

When the beseigers, reinforced by ,•» battery of field artillery, stormed (lie " fort " the desperadoes escaped under cover of darkness. Thousands of armed police and private citizens joined in the hue and cry across four States, and ultimately the fugitives were trapped. Reminiscent of tho famous Sidneystreet siege in London just over 20 years ago was this desperate battle, which was fought near Springfield, Missouri and which marked the beginning of the end of tho stormy careers of Harry Young, a 25-year-old St. Louis gangster, and his brother, Jennings Young. Harry Young had been " on the run " for two years for killing a police officer, and it was only when his two sisters were arrested that the authorities ascertained that he had taken refuge in a farmhouse belonging to his father. The sheriff, Mr. Marcel Hendrix. his assistant, Wiley Marshburn, and a strong force of police surrounded the building Hendrix and Marshburn boldly knocked at the door and demanded the surrender of Young and his brother, but tho reply was a volley of shots. Both Sheriffs Mortally Wounded'. The two sheriffs fell mortally wounded and when their companions tried to rush the house they were met with a deadly hail of bullets from a machine-gun. Four others were instantly killed, and the remainder of the party crawled as best they could to cover and summoned reinforcements. The entire police force of the district was then mobilised, and, together with National Guards, armed with machineguns, and farmers and hill-folk carrying all manner of weapons, hastened to the scene of the battle. A steady stream of fire was directed against the farmhouse, but the little garrison maintained a rapid rate of fire and obliged the besiegers to keep under cover. After a battle lasting two hours, which was witnessed from safe positions by hundreds of citizens, the police decided to make another attempt on the Youngs' position. By this time a battery of. field artillery had been' brought up, and nearly 500 armed men were available for tha assault. ' Under cover of darkness the attackers moved forward, and .suddenly the firing from tho "fort > ' ceased. The polico rushed forward, but found the house empty. Ihe brothers had stolen awav by the back-docr and had eluded the cordon.' They headed for the Ozark Mountains, a densely-wooded and almost uninhabited region. _ Over one thousand State police, armed citizens, and militia, assisted by bloodhounds and aeroplanes, scoured the countryside. The hunt extended through Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Texas, and guards along the Mexican border were reinforced, while a vigorous watch was placed on ships leaving southern ports. Ihe trail of the brothers Was "picked up iii Houlston, lexas, and they-were traced to the house of a carpenter where they had taken a room.

Hail of Machine-gun Bullets. This timo the police took no risks. Advancing cautiously, they poured a'hail of machine-gun bullets into the building, riddling the- doors and smashing the windows. Tho desperadoes replied with a few shots, but the attackers, getting to clojs quarters, hurried gas bombs into the house. Ihen, as the fire of the bandits died down, one of them was heard calling, "We are dead. Come and get us." The police donned their gas-masks and entered the place:' They found Jennings Young dead on the floor with two heavy revolvers under his head. Harry Young was mortally wounded, and he died shortly afterwards. It .was evident that they had shot themselves to evade arrest and trial.

When Mrs. Young, the aged mother of the outlaws, heard of the death of her sons, sho exclaimed, "Thank God!" and collapsed. In a message published througout thu country by wireless and newspaper, Mrs. Young had publicly reproved her sous for killing officers of the law, and urged them to kill themselves rather than be captured. Jennings Young left behind the following note: —" Dear Mother. We are taking your advice. We shall never be captured alive. Forgive us all the yrorry. Tho coroner in his verdict recorded that the brothers stood face to face to kill each other.

The police have rounded up six member* of tho Young gang, including Oscar Young, a third brother. Only one member of the gang is believed to be still at large —Charles Floyd, an Oklahoma bandit.