Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1868-07-14
Az EXP8Ess ROBBERY FRUs-
TRATED.
A Barring Attempt.
Two Men wounded.

/ Frem the Cincinnati Commercial, llth.l
Ths world over, there is probably no
neighborhood that furnishes more
/ thieves, counterfeiters snd murderers
/ than thst in and about the town of Sey-
mouT, Ind. For 9esrs it has been the
headquarters OF as dangerous gangs OF
ut.thFozts, " showers and makers OF
the "quser," and " crossmenD y generally,
as ever went unhung. 1t would appear
as though they have no laws there, or,
having laws, no men elected to see them
enforced.
Mnder cases of frobbsryare not exciting
enough for the gangs that meet at Ssy-
mOur and plan their jobs. They prefer
throwing railrosd train from the track,
and doing business ia wholesale. They
turn up their uosss at the idea OF small
4" sIag.o They never touch ANYTHING
lees than thousands, and, ordinarily, no.
thing less than ten thousand dollars.
Their last capture, as our readers will re-
member, was 500 000 which they took
from train that WIS approaching Ssy-
mour from Louisville.
In their last attempt, which was made
at about nine O'Clock yesterday morning,
they We're fortunately frustrated, al
though IN rather bungling manner
The affair happened in this manner
There had been another gathering of
weil-known thieves in Seymour, and it
became evident that they were eontem-
plating another exOress robbery. A few
Gays since James Flanders, an engineer
of the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad,
was enabled tOgein their confidence, and
promised to stand in with them ia the
robbery, which was planned to be
made on bis train, when it should
reach BroWns5own, eleven miles west of
seymour, on its way TO Cincinnati from
81. Louis, at O'Clock yesterday morn
ing. The plan was that they were 10
come upon him suddenly while he stood
near the engine, which would be taking
IN water, OVeTpower him, apparently, |
take possession of the engine ami express
csT, uncoup.iag them from the rest of /
Lhe train anu running them off, taking |
with them the messenger and his safes. |
In order TO secure the money without |
running risk OF being shot by the mes
sengef, they proposed, after going a GER
tain distance, to force the messenger to /
throw the safes out, by threatening to |
run the engine and express car back, |
start them at fail speed, desert them, and |
dhsh them into the passenger coaches. /
thus crushing him to death, ia company |
with the passengers. Having obtained |
his points relative to this proposed night |
picnic ana pleasure trip extraordinary, I
fIsnders acquainted the Adams Express /
Company with them, in SIMPLE time for
the arrangement Of plan for the cap. |
ture OF the party of deYils-six in num- |
Der.
So it happened that as the train
stopped at Brownstown, yesterday morn |
ing, there we're six men, armed TO tbs |
Nnca UFT4nr3iraur ELa lei
these were behind the wood, in the ten
dar, and three were behind boxes in the
express car. II would not have answered I
TO make any demonstration upon the /
robbers at BrOwnstown, with the aid of |
a large force Of train men and Dassen- /
gers, for they would have fled. The 1
only way TO capture them was to let /
them take and enter the car, and then |
shoot them down.
Therefore, when ths train stopped at
BrownstOwn, and six men, with re- |
vOlvers in their hands, and black masks |
over their faces, surrounded and boarded |
the engine, there was no resistance Of /
fered-no cry raised. The engineer /
quietly suecUmbed, with two or three re-
VOlyeTs at his head, aud allowed them to I
board the engine and throw the fireman /
oil, without raising his voice in remon-
STRANGE.
From the passenger coaches thereea |
no sign Of alarm, and all Ess client with
in the express car. Thinking they had !
things all their own way, they put on
steam, after uneoapiing the train, and \
taking passage on the engine, started off |
et the rate of twenty miles an hour. |
When they stopped after going about /
i've miles, the great mistake occurred. |
The original plan of threatening the /
messenger was not carried out, and the /
thieves prepared TO enter the car.
Here was an opportunity Of cagiDg |
them IN the car and Strengthening them. |
Instead of doing this, the guards, in the /
great excitement of the moment, COM !
meDced shooting as soon as q head was /
shown at the door, and fired o dozen |
shots at random, without touching any /
body, as far az is known.
Tne guards on the tender did better, I
shooting the leader Of the amob," Val. |
Ellis, or Elliott, as he is called, and dis /
a6iing him by wound in the shoulder. |
Taken thus by surprise, and of course |
greatly astonished, the robbers were still |
plucky enough to stand their ground for
q moment aud discharge O dozen balls
into the car, without hurting anybody. !
They then retreated and made their es-
cape, with the exception of Elliott, who |
was captured by George Flanders.
Then occurred another mistake-and q /
brutal one. George Flanders was walk /
Ing up to the express car, from the en-
gine, after the robbers had hsd, when |
some fool in the car, who ought to be
made an example of for his idiocy, shot |
st him, thinking he was rohber. The
ball struck his knee, shettering it, and
laming him for life.
After all this excitement, the engine
and express car were backed to Browns |
town, whence the train was brought on |
to Cincinnati. Upon its arrival here,
Elliott was taken to the Bremen street |
statlonhouse, and Flanders to. the hos