ALIENS RUN AMOK.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 42, 15 March 1909, Page 4

ALIENS RUN AMOK.

BATTLE WITH POLICE AND PUBLIC. EXTRAORDINARY SCENES. TWO PEOPLE SHOT A.uj TWENTY INJURED. London, January 29. On Saturday morning the workingclass district of Tottenham, a northern suburb ol London, was the centre of an unparalleled scene of violence and crime. Two desperate men, supposed to be revolutionaries, attempted to seize a bag of gold just brought from a bank by a clerk. His motor-driver went to his help, and in the struggle the robbers used a revolver. No one waß hurt, but a crowd began to collect, and the men took to flight.

An amazing chase of more than two hours followed. Firing as they ran, the desperadoes put the motor-ear out of action. Due of the first constables to join in, Police-Constable Tyler, was killed by a shot from the robbers. Other police joined in the chase armed; but the men ran on steadily, firing at their pursuers. One of them, in his mad fury, killed a boy of nine. In thei" flight they seized a tramear by force and compelled the conductor to drive it till they came near a police-station. They aiso seized a inilk-cart. Eventually', after they hau separated, both were surrounded. One of them shot himself deliberately in the presence of his pursuers. The other hid in a cottage, and was shot dead by a policeman in an upper room as lie was taking deliberate aim at Iris folowers. Many of the public who took part in the flight were injured by bullet wounds, some very severely.

Xover in" metropolitan history hass such relentless savagery been recorded. The two desperate Anarchists, bloodmad, raged through the district with revolvers in their hands and their pockets stuffed with cartridges, tiring at random at everything and everybody. Bun to earth at length, tired out by their breathless chase, and with their ammunition all but spent, their nightmare career was ended on the outskirts of lipping Forest. In London, at the lip-top of civilisation, the extravagant doings ol Captain Starlight and his gang, in that breathless romance, ''Robbery Under Arms," have been more thaii repeated—at Tottenham, of all places in the world; the centre of bustling activity, the highway of busy electric trams,' husv factories, a huge population, all sf^ : ' with the "forward progress" of the 20th century. Behind the murderers for miles ran a most incongruous crowd of pursuing public and police. Special telephone messages to the police-stations brought out all the available Metropolitan Folice and Ihev bolted out of their stations, dressing'as they ran, while here, there, ami everywhere, police-whistles made shrill, warning music. On the bank of the River Lea a number of sportsmen were out after clucks with fowling pieces. They saw the murderers coming, and they saw the crowd following. Also, thev heard the shouts in a tumultuous chorus, and high over the chorus the yell of "Shoot them—shoot them!" Xntiirully enough, not knowing what had gone before, those gentlemen took the appeal more as a joke than anything, and they kept (heir tmumtmtion for the rincks. CAI'TUKE A TUAMCAR.

Kvenlually, striking the Chingford road, the desperadoes came across a stationary tramcar, and made a rush at it. According to the story of tindriver, Joseph Slow, they scared oil' tintwo passengers inside, and proceeded with cool insistence to commandeer the car. Then one mounted by the driver, and the other took to stand by the conduct,»', "Drive--drive—like hell!" ordered the man beside Slow, and emphasised his voider by holding his revolver at the scared driver's head. The revolver, by the way, was so hot that he had ri-peatedlv to change handsright to left, left to right. Mow, frightened out of his wits by this sudden vision of a wild man with a gun, considered that life was very sweet, ami bolted upstairs. The conductor, a man named AVyatt, was ordered to drive. "1 can't,'' sa'id he, in agony, "I'm only the conductor!"

But he had to. With a revolver held to his head, he switched the lever on lo full speed, and trusted to J'rovidence. Oil' went the car. groaning along the metals, and the man behind wiio was in charge of the conductor, amused himself by keeping him well in hand, and firing random shots at the pursuing crowd. One of the two passengers, who had been literally flung out of the car. was shot in the neck, and before (intra m had gone very I'm' more than "lie of the motley crowd of chasers in the rear had been wounded. The en- s|i<'d on at breakneck speed, and as it ncared the tramway depot-the driver told one I of the assassins that they were Hearing a police station. That had the desired cll'cct. The men jumped oil'. A STIIOKK 01-' FORTUNE. Here Fortune favoured them once more. They were Hearing Epping Forest; a milkman's cart was standing in the roadway, "(let down!" ordered one of the men to the driver of the carl. Seeing a revolver at his head, the man instantly obeyed. The murderers lookpossession, whipped up the pony, and away they went along Crooked Uriel;-clf's'-lano.'Walthamslow, with a howling shouting crowd ill the rear. The crowd, too, was actuated by We mV same blood lust which had moved the robbers to such deeds of madness. Had they been caught, the Hying men would have been torn to pieces by the mob. And they knew it. The wild tumult behind meant death, and nothing but des-. pair was on ahead. They saved a cartridge or two for themselves. At length one of them was nearly | captured. Seeing that escape was impossible, lie turned his revolver upon himself. He was seriously wounded, but not killed. He was removed lo a hospital, where he still remains in a precarious condition. (A cable message has since, conveyed the. information thai the mini died from his injuries.) THE LAST SHOT. Meanwhile, the other man, dead beat, managed to stumble on, and finally ran to ground in a small house within a stone-throw of the forest. By this time it was noon—the wild chase had lasted for two hours. The tenant of the house was standing in her garden, when she was disturbed by flu- shrill sound of police whistles and the sudden appearance of a constable running and shouting "Shut your doors, shut your doors —all of you!" But this door—much to (he lady's surprise—was already shut. The second murderer had already arrived, climbed over the garden fence, and entered the house by the back door. On the kitchen table was a mug of water, which he drank greedily, as the frightened children screamed at the apparition. He ran into the sitting-room, and tried to get up the old-fashioned chimney. Failing in this, ho disappeared upstairs. Meanwhile the house, was surrounded by polioe,

Upstairs in one of the rooms crouched the fugitive. He appeared at the window, anil tired two shots at the people below. Then the police took him by storm. One member of the force who had cycled some distance, armed with a service revolver, took up a position on the stairs. Three times the man was culled upon to surrender, but he gave no sign of any intention to do so. Then two shots went through the door. The man was seen to be about to lire again, but the armed police were too quick. One of them aimed, the bullet entered tiie fugitive's temple, he rolled over on to the bed. Before, the police could reach him he was dead. So far as is known, from official sources, the two men were both Russian revolutionaries of the extreme order. ANARCHIST COLONIES. A city detective is jejponsible for this statement:"There arc in London at the present time several Russian anarchists and one Spanish anarchist who are known to be 'of the most dangerous type.—men who go about armed with revolvers, and who would resist any attempt at capture to the death. Years ago, it is true, we used to be able to deal with these jicople. They kept themselves more or les to the Soho and East End parts of London, but in recent years they have begun to spread themselves into much more respectable neighbourhoods—suburbs like Holloway, Islington, and Shepherd's Hush—which have been made quickly accessible by means of the tubes. In old days they mostly met in the same known houses and clubs. Now they appoint meeting-places which, perhaps, differ every time. In fact, it is becoming increasingly difficult to keep an account of their arrivals, departures, and general movements."