The original article reprinted two weeks ago was from the Buffalo Journal, Oct. 3, 1903 – just one day after the infamous raid. It was reprinted in the Tri-County News on Oct. 7, 1971, along with the following article containing more details. The reproduction of the copy from the Buffalo Journal paper of Oct. 3, 1903, was secured courtesy of the Wright County Journal Press. Additional details were recently come across in a book of early Minnesota written by Merle Potter under the title The South Haven Bandit Raid. There were strenuous days in the state and nation back in 1903. That was the year Admiral Schley, one of the heroes of the Spanish-American war, recommended a certain patent medicine as a sure cure for catarrh; James J. Corbett a sound trouncing; and Minnesota was stirred by a bandit raid and battle near South Haven in Wright County. This battle never brought South Haven as much prominence as the James and Younger boys gave Northfield, but it was quite a fracas, and before it was over plenty of “tramps” were safely housed in the Hennepin County jail. They called them “tramps” in those days. No one thought of dignifying desperadoes by referring to them as “gangsters” or “gunmen.” One of the remarkable things about this battle was that the two men who were instrumental in effecting the capture of the bandits went through a shower of bullets, only to die later in a more unusual manner. One of these men was W.G. Young, the sheriff. He came out of the affray with nothing more serious than a hole in his hat. The other was his deputy, John Nugent Jr. [John Nugent Sr.], father of Nugent County, was a Democrat in a strong Republican county, but he was elected sheriff for term after term, when all other members of his ticket were swamped by their opponents’ ballots. For twenty-five years he was sheriff and, besides that, was United States marshal for Minnesota, postmaster of Buffalo, and president of the Sheriffs’ Association of the state. His son won so much fame for himself in the South Haven battle that Wright County later elected him sheriff, too. The late summer and fall of 1903 were seasons of lawlessness in Minnesota. Roving gangs of determined ruffians terrorized many communities in the state, robbing stores and farm houses, and engaging in a campaign of hold-ups and general thievery. One of these gangs was operating in Wright county, helping itself generously to whatever it fancied. One day early in October, the five men in the outfit walked into the store of H.T. Gunnary of Annandale, made away with one hundred dollars in cash and about a hundred dollars worth of goods, and started off in the general direction of South Haven. Sheriff Young and Nugent took the first train in from Buffalo for South Haven, prepared to arrest the men. As they left the train at their destination, someone told them that one of the thieves was boarding the same train. He was taken into custody and delivered to the constable of South Haven, who lodged him in a grain elevator nearby. Next the officers learned that other members of the bandit crew had established themselves in an empty freight car where they had blandly opened a store, offering for sale the merchandise they had stolen at Annandale. Young and Nugent climbed into the car and called on the men to surrender. One spoke up and said they would go along as soon as they had their dinner and, when the sheriff curtly told them they would be fed at the hotel, the excitement began. Young whipped out his pistol and covered one of the men while Nugent was searching another in the far end of the car. Quietly a bandit crept up behind the deputy and banged him over the head. The sound attracted Young, and for a moment he permitted his eyes to glance away from the man he was covering. When he turned back, he found four guns pointed directly at him. When ordered to throw up his hands, he discreetly accepted the advice. Both officers were then disarmed and marched along the railroad track to the elevator, where the first bandit was being held. Using the sheriff and his deputy as shields, they freed him. Then the bandits lined their captives up against the elevator and had great sport making silhouettes of them against the building with bullets for artistic materials. When they had enjoyed themselves thoroughly in this manner, to the chagrin of the unfortunate guardians of the law, they abandoned the fun and set off for safety in the surrounding woods and fields. The town was aroused and a quick checkup revealed that there wasn’t a single rifle in the place, and there were only a few shotguns and revolvers – not much artillery to use in the pursuit of desperate gun-toters. The chase was taken up nevertheless, with the two officers, smarting under their humiliation, heading the posse. One party commandeered a handcar and sped down the Soo Railroad tracks in the direction the bandits had taken. Others joined the chase on horseback and in buggies. When the pursued robbers were definitely located in a small wood, the sheriff divided his forces into three groups and the assault was begun. A plan of campaign was laid out, but the bandits heard every word of the conversation and stole away to another wood. However, guards had been placed at strategic points, and their new hiding place was soon made known to the posse. When the miscreants saw that they were discovered, they made ready for battle and the fighting began. For some time the struggle continued furiously. One of the besieged men was killed and, shortly afterward, the others asked for terms which were announced as “unconditional surrender.” The bandits gave themselves up, most of them suffering from wounds. The posse had no casualties to report, although there were some narrow escapes. Because the jail at Buffalo was not large enough to accommodate the captives, they were taken to Minneapolis and confined in the Hennepin County lock-up, greatly to the disgust of some of the taxpayers of Wright County who objected to the prices charged by Hennepin County for incarcerating out-of-town prisoners. At the December 1903 term of court, the four surviving members of the gang were brought back to Buffalo to be tried on various charges. There were some attempts at jail-breaking, none of them successful. The men pleaded guilty and were given terms in the penitentiary at Stillwater. In the freight car at South Haven, where the men had started their store-keeping, were found large quantities of dynamite and other materials for systematic looting. Young never ran for sheriff again. He was heard to say that he had had enough after the South Haven episode. He moved to Canby, Minn., and when fires broke out there in 1918 he joined the fighters. He was trapped in an old well, where he had jumped to escape the flames, and perished. Nugent, who, like Young, had come through the hail of bandit bullets unharmed, was later elected sheriff. One night he went to a creamery near Buffalo to capture a man stealing butter. The creamery man was Richard Crawford. The two men arranged to take turns watching for the thief, but in some way they got their signals confused and Crawford killed Nugent. The whole past is a precious possession of the present! Thank you for your support. This Historical Society contributes to the quality of life here. If you like what Kimball’s Historical Society is doing, won’t you come on board and become a member or renew your membership? It’s only $10 for an individual, $15 for family or $25 for business membership annually. Thank you! Outright donations are accepted and appreciated also. All are tax-deductible as we are certified non-profit. Regular Historical Society meetings are held in February, April, June and October, plus our celebrated third annual history exhibit to be held Aug. 8-10 in Kimball’s historic City Hall. At our April 22 meeting, every chair was filled for the splendid program by the Women in the Military organization of Central Minnesota. For more information about the Kimball Area Historical Society, call (320) 398-5250 or 398-5743.
