The Perrysburg journal. [volume] (Perrysburg, Ohio) 1853-1861, 1854-12-30
How to Rob a Bank.

One of the most daring and successful
Eobberies ever perpetrated in this State took
place at the Windham Bank, in the town of
Windham, on Friday night last. The par
ticulars of this affair are substantially as fol-
lows:
1t has been the practice at this bank for
many years for the clerk to sleep in the bank.
The present clerk, James Parsons, young
man eighteen years of age has for some two
years past done this, and has had for his
companion valuable dog, belonging to the
cashier. The dog was usually left in the
bank in the evening" and the clerk would go
In for the night about o'clock. This was
the case on Friday night last-a night which
it will be remembered, was exceedingly dark
and stormy. The cashier left the bank some
time after candle-light, shutting in the dog
as usual. About o'clock Parsons entered
the bank and quickly locked the outer door,
taking out the key. AS he passed through
the inner or swinging door he recognized by
the feeble light of dark lantern the forms
of three men standing in front of him. but
before he could after word he was seized by
the throat by two of them, his mouth was
stopped, and he was told that if he made
sound he would have his brains blown out.
A handkerchief was at once bound over his
eyes, he was seated in a chair, his boots were
removed, his ankles bound together with
rope, his hands were bound firmly behind
him, and gag with handkerchief wrap
ped around it was placed in his mouth and
tied with a string around the back of his
head
In this condition ne was taken into the
back room and thrown upon his bed, and
the body of the dog was placed upon the
bed with him. One of the robbers then seat
ed himself by the bed, as wat cher, and the
others went to work. The dog, it seemed,
had been fed with poisoned meat during the
evening-the rascals, it is supposed, having
opened the outside door with a false Key,
just far enough to slip in slices of meat until
he was silenced. Soon after they had COM
menced work the dog partially revived, and
by an effort threw himself on the floor, and
crawled under the bed, where, supposing he
might make further noise, one of them said
to another" Smith, give us your dirk, we
must silence this dog" The dirk was at
once used upon the poor animal, and his
body was thrown into the back room.
After an hour and half's hard labor they
succeeded in wrenchirg off the outer door Of
the vault, when they discovered that they
had still another and apparently much
stronger door to go through. This unex
pected impediment greatly enraged them.
They cursed and SwOre terribly. 1hey
went to Parsons and removed the gag
from his mouth and asked him if there was
still safe inside the vault; there was not,
but he told them there was, and he supposed
this would discourage them from proceeding
further. They then asked them where the
keys were. He told them that they were at
the cashiers house. Then said one, let lis go
and get them. This they discussed in low
voice, and finally decided it would not pay,
and went to work again. The tools they
used were simply chisel and hammer, and
steel bars framed with kind of chisel on
one end, and a curve on the other for prying
They would cut into the stone at the side of
the door, until they had formed hole large
enough to enter their bars, and then break
off the hinges and bolt Of the door by main
force.
In this manner, after about four hours,
they forced the inner door. They were not
long after this in packing up their booty
They then went to Parsons, examined the
cords that bound his hands, laid him on his
side, carefully tucked him up in his bed,
locked the door of his room, and went out,
locking the outside door after them In less
than FIVE minutes after they left the room,
Parsons was unbound, and at liberty. I'll
seems that in their anxiety not to hurt his
wrists with the cords, they had first placed