Democratic Sentinel, Volume 16, Number 6, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 26 February 1892 — HIS HIDE FOR LIBERTY. [ARTICLE]

HIS HIDE FOR LIBERTY.

BOLD ATTEMPT AT TRAIN ROBBERY IN NEW YORK. The Bandit, After Shooting; the Messenger, Steals a Locomotive and Tries to Escape—A Running; Fight on the Ball Follows—Final Capture. In Jesse James Style. The shooting of an express messenger on a Central Hudson train; the rifling of a valuable safe; the flight of the robber on the engine of another train, from which he drives the crew at the point of a revolver; a running fight from the engine for miles followed by another engine filled wfth railway men; and the final capture of the desperado by a sheriff’s posse in a swamp, after a wild pursuit across the country, are some of the sensational features in the most desperate attempt at train robbery in the history of the Central Hudson Bailway, and which cast in the shade as an exhibition of coolness and nerve the famous exploits of the Jesse James band or other outlaws of Western fame. Says a Bochester, N. Y., telegram: Train No. 31 on the Central-Hudson is known as the American Express Company’s special. It runs every day in the year between New York and Buffalo, and carries only goods and property shipped by that company. The train leaves New York at 9 o’clock each evening and is due in this city at 7:05 in the morning. Nearly all the cars are run through to Chicago and contain the most valuable express matter. One car is known as the “money” car and in it is sent the specie from the United States Treasury for Western banks, as well as the money in process of exchange between the banks of New York and the West.

Daniel T. Melnehiey was in charge of the money car on the -trip Saturday night The train was made up of eight cars and one day coach for the accommodation of the regular train, crew. When the train was near Woedsport tho conductor, who was in the coach with his two trainmen, thought he heard the air whistle sound very faintly. It was enough to arouse him to the belief that something was wrong on the express car. 'Going out on the platform, of the coach, he. climbed onto it, and, looking through th# hole which the bell cord comes through, he saw the upper part of a man whose face below the eyes was concealed by a red flannel mask. The messenger he could not see, and he went back, set the air brakes, and called his two trainmen. The three stood leaning out from the platform looking forward along the sides of the express car. Suddenly a form appeared at the aide door of the express car. 'Bevolver bullets whistled past their eye 3, and a voice was heard commanding them to signal the engineer to go ahead or take the consequences. The trainmen were unarmed. The conductor told one of his men to jump off, run back to Jordan, and telegraph along the line to Bochester that they had a train robber on board. This was done and the conductor signaled the engineer to go ahead at full speed, thinking that the robber would not dare jump and would be captured at the next stop. The train went to Fort Byron. Here the brakes were set again and the conductor and trainmen went to the express car. The car showed signs of a desperate struggle. Money packages and jewelry were lying scattered, about, everything Stained with blood, and Messenger McInerney was lying bleeding from several wounds and almost unconscious. The robber was nowhere to be seen and was supposed to have jumped and made good his escape. Mclnerney wanted to be brought on to Bochester, and the train went on to Lyons, the next stop. The news had spread all along the line by this time, and the station at Lyons was alive. Among others in the crowd was a well-dressed young man wearing gold eyeglasses and carrying a sachel slung over his shoulder. Now, it happened that the trainmen had noticed the young man at the station at Syracuse before the train had started out. An attempt to arrest him was made, but he pulled two revolvers, held the crowd back, and backed across the yard until he reached a coal-train, the engine of which had steam up ready to pull out for the West. He pulled the pin holding the tender to the first car, climbed over the coal into the cab, drove tho engineer and fireman out with his revolvers, pulled open the throttle and started the engine.

Conductor Laas and one of the switchmen procured a shotgun, freed the engine of the express, and, with the fireman and engineer, started in pursuit of the fugitive. The Central-Hudson is a four-tracked road, and the engines, though they were going west, were not on the same track. The express engine soon overtook the robber, who suddenly reversed his engine and let his pursuers pass him, pouring pistol bullets into the cab as his pursuers went by. Then the pursuers stopped and the pursued went ahead. About seven miles further on the robber found his steam going out of his engine. He dropped off at a crossroad and started across the country. He managed to terrorize a farmer into letting him have a horse, and rode on about two miles farther south, where hd procured another horse. The party in the express engine had returned to Lyons, where the Sheriff of Wayne County had organized a posse, which, under command of Deputy Sheriff Collins, started in pursuit. Meantime the farmers along the robber’s line of retreat had also turned out, fully armed, in pursuit. The robber was sighted about five miles south of Newark. The roads are very bad and he had made very poor speed. He abandoned his horse and ran across lots to Benton’s swamp, but the swamp proved to be too full of water to be penetrated and the fugitive took up his station behind a stone wall and faced his pursuers. After some parley he surrendered to Deputy Sheriff Collins. He was taken back to Lyons and lodged in jail. He gave name of William Cross; said he was from New Mexico, and had been boarding in Syracuse for some time. He admitted he was the man who attempted the train robbery to Chief of Detectives Hayden of this city. He is believed to be the much-wanted Oliver Curtis Perry who robbed Express Messenger Moore near Utica last fall. The story of the attempted robbery, as far as can be gathered, is this: The express messenger will not talk. Cross boarded the train when it pulled , out of Syracuse and climbed on top of the express car. He was provided with a hooked rope. Fastening the hook in the slight corhice of the door on one side of the car he let himself down onto the other, and resting his toes on the ledge that runs across the car, he looked in the glass of the side door and saw the express messenger in front of one of the safes, which was open, making up his bills. He smashed the glass with his revolver, covered the messenger, and shouted to hold up his hands. Instead of doing so Mclnemey reaohed lor the signal cord with one hand and lor his revolver with the other. A bullet smashed the hand, but not before the signal had been given that aroused the conductor. Then Mclnerney fired on the robber and put a bullet through his coat. Then the robber shot the messenger twice— once in the right leg and onoe In the left leg. He climbed into

the car and a desperate struggle took place which did not end fmtil the train was stopped for the first time, near Weedsport. It is evident that the robber had climbed on top of the cars and remained there until the stop at Lyons. So far as can be learned the robber secured absolutely nothing.