Democratic Sentinel, Volume 15, Number 49, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 25 December 1891 — BOLD MAIL ROBBERY. [ARTICLE]

BOLD MAIL ROBBERY.

FIVE MEN HOLD UP A DRIVER AND SECURE RICH PLUNDER. tinder .a Threat of Having Hl« Bralna Blown Out John Creighton Is Forced to Surrender Two Registered Letter Pouches on the Streets of Chleago. Held Up Uncle Sam. A United States mail wagon filled with registered and other matter was stopped by five men In Chicago the other evening and robbed of its contents. The robbery occurred about 7 o’clock, and was so quickly and quietly done that before the affair was reported to the postoffice officials and the police tho robbers had over two hours’ start This they made good and the efforts of the entire city police force failed after a six hours’ <»earch to do more than unearth in a manure box on the North Side, three miles from the scene of the robbery, the cut mail pouches and their rifled contents. Tho wagon was on the way to the main Postoffice with mail trom the Stock-Yards and Southwest stations. It was in the charge of John Creighton, an experi»need driver, who. after collecting his valuable ioad, drove down Blue Island avenue to llalsted street, and then turned east on Mather street. He was half way to Desplaines street when five men sprang from the ridewalk. One seized the horses by the reins while the others covered Creighton with revolvers and commanded him to keep quiet The team was then led to the alley extending north from Mather street and there, while one of them covered Creighton with a revolver, the others forced open the door of the wagon, arid hastily selecting the registered pouches from the others made off through the alley. Creighton s guard kept the captive covered for five minutes, and then left him. The frightened driver whipped up his horses and drove as rapidly as pos iblo to the main Postoffice, where he reported tho affair. An inventory Was then made of the contents of the wagon, and it was found that the two registered mall-pouches from the Stock Y’ards sta* tion at Forty-third and Halsted streets and the Southwest Station, No. 543 Blue Island avenue, were missing. t According to the red tape methods of Uncle Sam, it was fir?t nece-sary to find Inspector Stuart, of the Po-toffice, and report to him, and then word was sent to the Central Police Station. By this lime it was nearly nine o'clock, and the thieves had a start of two hours and a half. There was little for the police to work on Creighton, in the dark, was unable to distinguish the features and scarcely the fo.rmsof the robbers. Shortly before 10 o'clock Paul Kolamar, a boy living at 225 Veils street, ran into the East Chicago Avenue Station and told ihe Desk Sergeant that he had found some mail-bags in the manure box at the re ir of his father’s barn. He found a number of letters in the lottom of the box. The poli e on arriving at the barn found five registered mail pouches which had evidently been inclosed in the two larger bagssto'en from tho wagon. Beside tho bags were tumerous letters which had been rifled of their contents. All the stolen mattewas taken to tho station. Driver Creighton told Inspector Stuart that tlie robber who kept guard over him was about five foet ten inches tall and wore a dark cap pulled over his eyes. Creighton could give no more definite description and knew nothing of the appearance of the others. About a year ago one mailbag mysteriously disappeared from the wagon on the same route, but it was never definitely known whether it was lost or stolen. The bag was found cut open and minus its contents beneath a sidewalk on Milwaukee avenue. As nearly as can be estimated the robbers secured 5-r,tOJ in currency and &2(.0,f.00 worth of non-negotlable paper sent by the Drovers’ and the Stock Exchange National Banks. Postmaster Kctcliam of the StockYarde Station said: “I only wonder how it did not occur long ago. Since the attempted robbery of tho bank hi re we have sent the collections down-town every night, and it was an (asy matter for some of the desperate characters ot the district to have learn, d of tho change. ” Mr. Ketcham admitted that this day’s collections were probably 5:2,500. Driver John Creighton told the following story of the robbery: “I had been to the Stock-Yards Station and had received two letter pouches there and had driven to the Southwest Station at Fourteenth street aha Blue Island avenue, wheie I got another letter pouch. Because of a jam at the Chicago & Alton crossing I was late and drove fast down Blue Island avenue and crossed to Halsted street, intending to drive north to Van Buren street. There was another jam, however, and I turned east on Mather street. “As I got opposite the alley I saw several men running out into the street, but paid no attention to them until one cf them grabbed the horse’s head. Two men jumped up on the seat, one on each side of me, and put revolvers to my head. They threatened to blow my brains out if I said a word, and the man at the horse’s head led the horse into the alley. Once inside they demanded the bag with the Stock-Yards registered mall, but I said there was nona. They threw out three bags and one of the men cut them open with a pockotknife, and in the third one they found the two registers. As soon as they found the registered mail two of the men ran through a vacant lot, and tha two who had been on the seat ran after them, followed by the one at the horse's head. As soon as they were out of sight I pulled up the lines, but I found that one had been cut. As soon as it could be mended I drove direct to the Postoffice. “It was so dark that I could not get a good view of the men, but one of them was quite stout, wore a short coat, and had a heavy black mustache.”