People's Pilot, Volume 3, Number 22, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 17 November 1893 — BANDITS AT WORK. [ARTICLE]

BANDITS AT WORK.

Three Masked Men Rob an Illinois Central Train. The Affair Occurs Near Cairo Leaving: the Passengers Unmolested, the Express Car Is Plundered of a Large Sum. THE THIEVES ESCAPE. Bardwell, Ky.. Nov. 14. Three masked robbers held up a north bound train. No. S 3, on the main line of the Illinois Central at 3 a. m. Saturday at Mayfield creek trestle, 2% miles north of Mayfield Junction. The express car was robbed of two money packages, one containing $33 addressed to J. & Titus, Chicago, and the other a bag containing an unknown amount of money in transfer from Memphis to Chicago. The express messenger saved the remainder of the contents of the safe. Opinions differ as to the amount of 'money contained in the “valuable package” billed on waybill 37 as No. 146. At Cairo the officials say that the consignment consisted of $7,000, but this Mr. Harahan is inclined to doubt. The only man who knows exactly what was in the package is the Illinois Central agent at Memphis who consigned it to Chicago, and his report to Mr. Harahan will not be made public. About 3 o’clock, while the train was leaving Bardwell, three men climbed over the tank, and one of the robbers said to Engineer Clark: “Pull out as soon as you can.” At the same time the robber grabbed the left arm of the engineer and one of them put a revolver under his ear, ordering him at the same time to do what they wanted or they would kill him. The fireman ran away and got on the pilot of the engine, where he remained in hiding until the robbers had finished their work.

While this was going on the passengers in the two sleepers and three coaches which made up the train were in ignorance, as all were asleep and no tiring was done to awaken them. The engineer wanted to get down and put in some coal, but the robbers refused to let him stir from his seat in the cab. One of the robbers did the firing for him from Bardwell to Tort Jefferson and ordered him to stop the train au the Mayfield trestle. The self-pos-sessed engineer insisscd that the robbers should let him put the flagman off to protect the rear end of the train and the lives of the passengers, because they had passed a freight train at Bardwell, which might run into them. This the robbers agreed to and when the tram was stopped by their orders at the trestle they forced the engineer at the point of their guns to go in front of them to the express car door and open it He shouted to Express Messenger McNeil to open the door and not to shoot, as he was in front of the robbers. One of the robbers went into the car and came out with several bundles, which he put into a sack. He told the engineer to pick up his dynamite on the platform of the car and put it in another sack, which Clark did. In the robbers’ company and with revolvers close to his head the engineer carried the train to Port Jefferson, where the robbers got behind some piling and shouted to the engineer to: “Pull out fast, old man!" In reply to Clark’s question the robbers said they were not going to bother the passengers and they kept their promise. After a conference with General Manager A. Antisdel, of the American Express, a reward of 11,500 was offered aud ordered posted in the vicinity of the robbery.