Democratic Sentinel, Volume 15, Number 44, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 20 November 1891 — BANDITS IN WISCONSIN [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

BANDITS IN WISCONSIN

MASKED MEN HOLD UP AN EXPRESS TRAIN. Doors Blown Open by Dynamite—Safes Thrown from the Cars—They Compel Trainmen to Assist-The Bold Attack Made Near Wealem Union Junction, Wls. Looted an Express Car. A passenger train which left Chicago on tho tst, Paul road tho othor night for Milwaukee, was held up a mile beyond Western Union Junction, Wla, by two masked men, and the express car was

robbed of 85,000. Safes, witji 8100,000, belonging to the American Express Co, were damped from the car. but the pair of bold robbers j were frightened away *■ before they could break open the steel boxes. The robbery *was a most daring and sensational one.

Not tho least of its features were the use of dynamite bombs in the breaking open of the boxes of tho express car, where Messenger J. G Murphy was in charge, and the fact that the attack was made in a thickly populated part of the country Tho robbers evidently boarded the train on the front platform of the front car at Western Union Junction. They put on their masks, and as they passed the water-tank, two thirds of a mile

north of the junction, they climbed over ihi tender. Each had a breech-loading doublebarreled shotgun and

a large-calibered revolver. They commanded the engineer to stop the train. He did so. They compelled the engineer and fireman to leave the engine and go with them to the express car. They tried to secure admission It was refused. They threw bombs into the car and so terrorized the messenger that when they knocked a second time he opened the door. They robbed the car of $5, COO cash, tossed out two safes, inarched the engineer, fireman, express messenger, and

his assistant up the trades for a half mile, and,marched them b:ck and forth for ten minutes, then rent them back to the engine. The crew mounted their engine and after a delay of half an hour went to Milwaukee The robbers were So frightened at the delay that they made no attempt to o) on the safes they had thrown out. Their dynamito bombs wrecked the car, tearing away heavy iron plates and tossing them fifty feet away. After the robbery the plunderers disappeared, while tin c (entry in that vicinity was scoured for them by detectives of tho railroad and of tho city police of Milwaukee. Concerning the manner in which the robbers dii tlieir work, Engineer Mackey said: “We had got about a quarter of a mile north of the Western Union June;ion. The fireman was putting in coal. Suddenly be heard a noise and 1< oked up. 1 saw there was something wrong from the expression of his face. I looked ck se by to see what it was and I saw a masked man with a double ba-reled gun in one hand and a revolver in the other. They were leveled at the fireman. Quicker than I could think another masked man appeared and pointed a gun and a revolver at me. “Fireman Av. rill got his speech first and called out: ‘What-do you want?’ “ ‘Throw up your hands’’ said the robber. Up went Averili s hands. “I asked what they wanted. ‘None of your business. We'll let you know soon enough,’ replied the man who held that big gun and revo ver pointed at me. “The other robber handed the fireman a cigar and said: ‘Light it and be quick about it, or I’ll blow your head off.’ “The fireman It .t at the water glass lamp and began comfortably puffing away at it when the robber said: ‘Give it to me.’ It was quickly handed to bim.

“•The man wlio held Iho gun at my head said: ‘Stop her, and be quick about it, too. ’ I stopped her. He said: ‘You two get oil the engine.’ We did so. They followed as. They said go up to the express car. We did so They said: ‘Get that (ar open ’ I rapped on the .side door. There are no end doors to those cars. They are w..at tramps call ‘blind baggag •’ cars. “Well, I rapped, but there was no answer from the inside. One of the robbers left 11s and crawled through under the car to the other side; the other covered both myself and the lireman with his shot gun and levolver. Soon we heard a tcirific exp'osion. That was a bomb which ho had taken from his pocket and p'aced on the ledge of the side door of the express car. “He soon crawled back under the car to us. He pulled from his pocket a bottle about eight inches long, which I could see as lie stood close to me had two fuses in i\ He lit *he fuses from the cigar which he was then smoking and which he had compelled the fireman to light He laid th s bottle on the ledge of the door and motioned U 9 to get down the embankment. We ran down. They kept us covered all the time with the guns It did not go off. He threw it away- It was picked up and is now held by the detectives from Milwaukee. “lie drew another from his pocket, lighted it from his cigar. The other robber said: ‘Throw it into the car.’ He held it until it burned down pretty well. As I stood close to him I trembled a trifle, as 1M sooner lace the revolver than the bomb. Then he tossed it through the glass above the side door. It didn't exp ode for twenty seconds. Then the exp os on threw the glass all over us and threw out great plates of iron from the car sides Then they ordered the fireman and me to go on the other side of the car. They held the guns on us and we crawled under the cars. “the explosion of the bombs had scared the express messengers, and when the robbers knocked with their revolvers on the closed doors on the other side of the car, the messengers at on re opened the doors. Express Messenger Murphy said: ‘What do you want?' ‘You know well. Throw up your hands.’ “Hp went the bands. *Get that box,’ yelled one of the robbers. Murphy replied: •! here’s nothing on the train tokigbt’ “Get down hero out of the c*r,’

yelled the robber. Out hepped Morphy and his assistant, Cook Put up your hands and hold them up,’ was the next order. Up went the hands of Murphy and Cook. One robber covered Murphy, Cook and myself, while the other helped Fireman AveriH inti the ear. Then the working robber came and helped the messenger's helper. Cook, into the car, too. He got in after them, holding lis revolver on them all the time. I got pretty tired tff holding my hands up and lowered <them a litt e. The man on guard saw this and delibe atcly leveled the shotgun at my eyes and ccolly asked, ‘Will you hold up your hands?’ I yelled, ‘Don’t shoot!’ and 1 aisod ray hands again. “Then the robber inside the car put the helper out and called for the messenger. Murphy was helped in. I don’t know what they did, for the man with the mask held the gun on me all the time. It was the funniest mask you ever saw. It was simply a pasteboard shoe box, which the man had stuck over his head, with big eyeholes in it It came from Chicago, too, and the name of a Chicago shoe firm was on it But, though I felt like laughing at it I was afraid to move. “Well, pretty soon they struggled to the door and threw out two small steel money safes. I knew these were the through safes and they generally had lots of money in them. Then he robbers came from the inside, and tho fireman, myself, the express mes ; cngcr, and his assistant were all ordered te march ahead. They walked us up the track ahead of the engine about a quarter of a mile All this time we had to hold up our hands. Then they turned us around and marched us back toward the engine. They followed us dosely with guns or revolvers covering us. Then they ordered the fireman to put out the headlight. Ho did so. Oue robber said: ‘Wo haven’t got time now. Let’s go back.’ They turned us again and marched us along the track o . o more. They marched the four of us a half mile this time. Suddenly one said: ‘Halt!’ We halted, hands up all the time, mind you. ‘Go back to your engine,’ shouted one of them. We matched slowly back. They did not follow us. To tell you the truth I thought we d be shot in the back any second. “We got back and tho four of us got on the engine We waited about five minutes. The passengers had heard the

shooting and they were hiding their valuables. There wasn’t a head sticking out of a window during the entire time. After we had waited about five minutes I started up the engine. We had, of course, to run past the place where these robbers had left us. I sat on the lookout I stood at my post for the engine was in motion and the lives of the passengers were in my I ands, but I never felt I was so near death as at the time when I pas ed the point where those men had left us. I looked out of the windows for the robbers, but did not see them, and so we got away. They detained us, 1 think, about half an. hour, but it seemed to me more like half a day. “There was no bra\ery exhibited. There was little show for any. Two robbers did the work. They secured about $5,000 from the little safe while they were in the car. The two safes they threw out they evidently intended to wreck by bombs, but were scared away, and tho e safes, which contained between $50,000 and SIOO,OLO, were not

attacked. It was a cool robbery. The men had the drop Resistance would have been madness. I guess suicide would have been about the name for it We simply did our duly by bolding our hands up and saving our lives.”

ONE OF THE MASKS USED.

ONE OF THE BOMBS.

BLOWING UP THE EXPRESS CAR.

“STOP HER AND BE QUICK ABOUT IT!”