News: Unity - Local News (22 Dec. 1905)

Contact:  Lani Bartelt

Surnames: Johnson, Keefe, Holder

----Sources: Marathon County Register Newspaper (Unity, Wis.) Dec 22,1 905

COLBY BANK ROBBED

Two Robbers Secure $4000. in Broad Daylight. Bandits are Captured and the Money Returned.

Last Saturday afternoon the citizens of Colby were treated to a genuine hold-up and bank robbery, one of those kind that used to be in vogue twenty-five years ago.

"Hold up your hands, we want no monkey business, give us $5000." Was the gentle way in which two deciples (disciples) of Jesse James broke the news to assistant cashier, Roland Johnson, who was alone in the Colby State Bank.

Johnson looked into the muzzle of two wicked looking six shooters and not desiring to be made the connecting link between those guns and that plot of land studded with marble slabs which lies a couple of miles west of the city, he proceeded with great alacrity (considering the circumstances) to obey the mandates of "the man behind the gun" and handed over about $4000. when the robbers stepped out to the street where they had a horse and buggy in waiting, jumped in, and frove hastily out of the city, a posse of citizens was soon on their track.

They drove north to the vicinity of Dorchester, then in a circuituous route to Withee, back to Abbotsford, then northwest to the vicinity of Milan, where they left the rig at a farmer’s after giving the farmer’s boy several dollars and telling him to wait until Monday or Tuesday, then take the rig to the livery barn at Colby, they then started on foot to Edgar where they arrived early Sunday morning. The suspicion of a Martin Keefe, the Edgar liveryman was aroused by the large rolls of new bills the pair displayed he notified the marshall who soon had them ironed off to the Queen’s taste.

Deputy Sheriff Holder was notified and he came over from Wausau and escorted them to the county jail. They had all but a few dollars of the booty on their persons when arrested.

They were taken to Neillsville where they plead guilty and were given six years.

In case the money had not been recovered the bank would have lost nothing by the robbery as the funds are protected by insurance against such contingencies.