A deadly plan

When the Dalton gang members rode into Coffeyville with robbery on their minds, town residents rallied a defense. All five gang members were shot; four died.

The bodies of four Dalton gang members were laid out and photographed after they were killed during a double bank robbery in Coffeyville in 1892. Gang member Emmett Dalton, upper left, survived.

Emmett Dalton, shown above in a photo taken years later, was among gang members who hid out in Meade at the home of their sister, Eva Whipple. The home and an escape tunnel leading to a nearby barn now are tourist attractions.

SENSATIONAL SERIES

This is the second installment in The Topeka Capital-Journal's "Sensational Crimes" series, which will run for 12 Mondays on the Local & State page.

ON THE AIR

Hear Topeka Capital-Journal reporter Tim Hrenchir talk about the Sensational Crimes series this morning on WIBW-AM Radio 580.

ONLINE

If you miss any stories in this series, you can find them online at www.cjonline.com.

NEXT WEEK

Kidnapped: Verne "Bea" Horne had read about three rules for dealing with kidnappers, and one was to not turn away. After being abducted in 1989, she lived to testify about her experience.

ABOUT THE WRITER

Tim Hrenchir has been a police reporter since 1989 for The Topeka Capital-Journal, where he was hired as a copy clerk in 1980. He became a reporter in 1986.

ALL IN THE FAMILY

Famous cousins: The Dalton brothers were cousins of 1870s outlaw brothers Cole, Jim, John and Bob Younger, who rode with Frank and Jesse James.

Family tree: The Daltons' mother was a half-sister of the Youngers' father.

Gun fight: John Younger was killed in a shootout in 1874.

Jail terms: His brothers were wounded and captured in 1876 after two townspeople were killed in a bank robbery attempt at Northfield, Minn. All three were sentenced to life prison terms.

Deadly disease: Bob Younger died of tuberculosis in prison in 1889.

Suicide: Jim Younger committed suicide in 1902, less than a year after being paroled.

Fatal attack: Cole Younger also was paroled. He died of a heart attack in 1916.

THE DALTON GANG

Family history: Grat, Bob and Emmett Dalton were among 15 children of Lewis and Adeline Dalton. Grat was born in 1861, Bob in 1869 and Emmett in 1871. Their brother, Frank Dalton, was born in 1859 and shot to death while serving as a U.S. marshal in 1887. Another brother --- Bill Dalton, born in 1863 --- became an outlaw and was killed by U.S. marshals in 1894.

TOURIST ATTRACTIONS

Museum: The Dalton Defenders Museum is at 113 E. 8th in Coffeyville. It is open daily, except on Christmas. Hours are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. From June through August, the museum closes at 7 p.m. Admission is $3 for adults, $2 for youths 13 to 18 and free for children 12 and younger if accompanied by an adult. The museum is about a block from the former Condon bank building, which houses the Coffeyville Area Chamber of Commerce. The First National Bank building is gone.

Hideout: The Dalton Gang Hideout is at 502 S. Pearlette in Meade, which was where J.N. and Eva Whipple once lived. Eva Whipple was the sister of Bob, Grat and Emmett Dalton. The house and a nearby barn are linked by a 95-foot escape tunnel. The barn contains a museum. The hideout is open daily, except on holidays. Hours are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and 1 to 5 p.m. Sundays. During the summer, the museum closes each day at 6 p.m. Admission is $3 for adults, $2 for children 7 and older and free for children 6 and younger.

By Tim Hrenchir

THE CAPITAL-JOURNAL

Two masked outlaws were armed to the teeth as they entered Coffeyville's First National Bank on Oct. 5, 1892.

Bob and Emmett Dalton, of the notorious Dalton gang, each carried a rifle and at least two loaded revolvers as they walked through the bank's front door shortly after 9:30 a.m.

Across the street, three members of their gang were robbing a different bank.

Bob Dalton cursed at the four customers and three employees inside First National Bank, telling them to stand still and put their hands in the air.

The Daltons forced a bookkeeper to hand over all the money from the counter and cash drawer. They threatened to shoot him because he was moving too slowly. The bookkeeper didn't know the combination to the bank's safe, so cashier Thomas Ayres was forced to open it. He gave Bob Dalton money and gold, putting it in a grain sack.

Bob Dalton asked if he had gotten everything. Ayres lied, pushing the safe door shut and saying that was all. Bob Dalton wasn't fooled. He opened the safe door and found two packages containing $5,000. "What's this?" the outlaw asked.

Angrily, he threw the packages into the sack, bringing the amount of money it carried to more than $20,000. Bob Dalton emptied some silver from the vault onto the floor but didn't take it. He picked up a box containing gold watches, but put it back after the bankers told him it contained only papers.

The Daltons ordered the others in the bank to walk out the front door ahead of them.