The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1874-10-21
Bank Robbery at Milford, N. H.
A Second Bowdoinham Affair.

One of the boldest bank robberies on record
was perpetrated in Milford Monday night, the
cashier of the Soubegan National Bank being
forcibly taken from his home by a band of
masked robbers, and forced to open the vault
and deliver up its contents The bank is stu
ated nearly in the centre of the town, and is
located in a brick building built expressly for
its use. In its immediate vicinity are stores
and other places of business, while on the
street are a number of residences. The cash.
ier Mr.. Frederick 7. Sawyer, resides about
quarter of a mile from the bank, and the first
intimation he had of the affair was soon after
midnight, when he was suddenly awakened by
the appearance of a number Of masked men in
the room, who presented revolvers at both him
and his wife, and warned them that death
would be the penalty if any cutlery was made.
The robbers then proceeded to handcuff Mr..
Sawyer and his wife, and placed the latter, to-
gether with two young boys, in closet, which
was securely fastened. One of the robbers
suggested they would suffoca.e in the closet.
whereupon another of the party bored holes
through the door to admit air, at the same
time cautioning the prisoners against making
any noise. A third son of Mr.. Sawyer was
likewise confined in the closet, and to make
matters sure the robbers gagged the four in
mates. The next move was to gag young
daughter of Mr.. Sawyer, whom they left in
charge of young babe in a room adjoining
the one occupied by Mr. Sawyer and his wife,
The next room visited was one in which a SER
want girl slept, and here severe scutfie ensued,
the girl making desperate resistance, though
w Q q nd nonU
Mr.. Sawyer has long been in the habit of
leaving the keys of the bank in the possession
of the postmaster of the town, whose Office is
about quarter of q mile from the residence of
Mr.. Sawyer. This precaution was taken by the
latter in order to guard against such scheme
as the robbers were then pursuing. The parties
engaged seemed to be we'll aware of the dispo-
sition of the keys, and after placing cord
around MIR; Sawyer.s neck to prevent any out
cry, they forced him to accompany them by
threatening to kill his babe in case be refused
to comply with their demands. Arriving at the
post Office the robbers effected an entrance by
removing pane of glass with diamond, and
the keys of the bank were soon in their posses
could be found in order to avoid any deed of
violence which the robbers were determined
upon unless he acquisced in their desires. The
work of opening the vault and securing its con-
tents occupied but few minutes, and only
short time had elapsed after leaving Mr.. Saw
session nearly $4,000.
After the job had been completed Mr.Sawyer
was led back to his house, and after placing
bands of wood across his body and screwing
them to the floor, the robbers disappeared as
myste1iously as they came.
As nearly as Mr.. Sawyer can calculate it
must have been about three o'clock when the
men left his house, and his family would have
had to reman securely fastened in all probabili-
ty for several hours, had not one of his sons
succeeded in bursting open the door of the
closet and releasing his father, who in turn re-
leased the other members of the family.
Near the house of Mr.. Sawyer resides a
butcher, who, with some Of his employees, was
at work between three and four o'clock this
morning. The fact Of the daring robbery was
at once communicated to them, and in short
time the entire town was aroused and vigorous
efforts were made to capture some of the band,
though without success at last accounts. The
town is about fifteen miles from Manchester
and eleven miles from Nashua. and it Is quite
probable that the robbers went in the direction
of one of these places, Manchester being con-
sidered the objective point in the minds of
those who are interested in ferreting out and
bringing to justice the parties concerned.
The robbery had evidently been planned for
a long time and every preparation made to in
sure its complete success, though from several
indications it is doubtful if it was done by pro.
fessional burglars. Mr. Sawyer is quite conf
dent that on his way to the bank he saw thir-
teen men in the gang, and the general impress
sion based upon other circumstances seems to
be that twelve men were engaged in the affair.
All the men were masked and carefully dis
guised themselves to avoid Identification in
case future developments shall lead to their ar
rest.
Mr.. Sawyer is about fifty years of age and
has filled the Office Of Cashier for about seven
years. Fortunately, the only marks he bears
of the severe treatment he received are several
cuts on his neck, produced by the tightening
of the cord to prevent his giving an alarm while
going to and from the bank. Neither his wife
or children were injured but the servant girl
was seriously bruised during her desperate
fight.
The robbers had evidently made arrange
ments on Monday to get the keys of the bank
from the post Office, as during the day the post
master discovered that the bolt on the door was
missing. He caused new one to be placed on
the door, and when the robbers reached the
building they found it necessary to remove a
pane of glass in order to unfasten the door.
As far as can ascertained, no suspicious per-
sons have been seen lurking about the town of
late, and the mystery is how such bold rob-
berry could be executed without something hav-
ing occurred to throw light on the movements
of some of the parties conccrned.-Boston Jour
ndI
100000 Worth of Securities Taken.
Further developments show that that tho
amount of the securities taken from the MIL
ford Bank must approach 100000. VIM. b.
Towne, j. Fleeman, G. Wadleigh and G. S.
Averill are heavy losers having securities de-
posted for safe keeping. A pc rti0n of the
bonds are registered and not avail liable.