The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1875-07-15
DARING AND DESPERATE.
AN ATTEMPTED RAILWAY ROB
Berry
An Attack Upon Train of the Van
dalia Line with Fatal but
Fruitless Results.
rHE ENGINEER MURDERED.

ATE ATTEMPT TO PLUMBER THE N6hr
EXPRESS ON THE vANDALIA LINE-SEVERAL
PARTIEs ARRESTED. rf
A most outrageous attempt at express
robbery was made on the Vsndslia fast
train coming east early yesterday
If it had been sue
cessful it would probably have been by
far the largest haul of the kind on record.
AS it is the life of the engineer has been
lost. Sentinel reporters, by careful and oil
jpent inquiry, are enabled to give TIE puDnc
the true account of the sffdir In connected
manner. as the many little facts gathered
show the attempt to have been MADE. III Is
we'll known that the through New York
trains from st Louis over the Vandalia and
Pan Handle routes, and going west as wen,
carry an express car for the Adams Com
papy the entire distance. Owing to the
rapid transit the banks and the government
also use this means of transferring large
amounts of currency. Often the car, when
leaving St. Louis, hes as much as thee
quarters of a million dollars, money being
RENTED by banks in payment OF exchange
drafts The safes in which these moneys are
placed are sealed at st. Louis, and the mes
senger in charge of the car even does not
know what vast sums of money are under his
control, The train, leaving st. Louisnight
before last, had a car in charge OF an ola
and trusted messenger named Burke, whose
trip ends at Columbus, Ohio, where another
messenger takes the car. At few minutes
of 1 o'clsck the train in charge of Conduc-
tor Joe Fraley and Engineer Milo Ames
stopped as usual at the Longpoint water
tank. four miles beyond Casey, Illinois.
which is about thirty miles west OF Terre
Haute and consequently lob miles from
here. Jim Snaveley,
THE FIREMAN, SAYS
81, . ,a
pipe over the water hole with his back to
the cab when he heard some one say
in a hurried voice: "Pull ahead
oujck. pull ahead" and in a moment,
after Ames comprehended the situation, he
recognized the engineers voice saying, "AIl
right: I'll DO it," Then, before he could
turn about, the report OF two pistol shots,
almost simultaneously, were heard, and
Snaveley jumped to the ground. feeling, as
he did so, the engine pass from under him.
Before he could regain an upright position
on the ground the engine and the
Adams Express car, which is always
placed next to the engine, was fairly flying
to the East. From the best authenticated
reports the story in regard to the perpetra-
ton of this daring act is as follows: AT St.
Louis two well-dressed meD, wearing
linen busters and SLOUGH hats, took
seats in the first passenger
who was sitting near them, and ultimately
lett the train at Brazil, noticed that they
were constantly conveTsing and looking
about at every one in the car. He had
large sum of money in a satchel, and, sus-
pectinO they were no better than they
should be, lett the coach and took a seat in
the next car. Before the train Stacked up for
the watering place the two men went to the
front platform.
THE THEORY
is that as soon as the train stopped they ran
around the baggage car and uncoupled 1t
from the Adams car in front. 1t was all done
20 quickly that they were both on the cab and
demanding of the engineer to "pull ahead
before the fireman had arranged the water
pipe. The engineer probably saw there was
no good OF resisting the two villains, who
stood with revolvers pointed at him, and ac-
ouiesced in their demand to start the engine.
de had the oil can and torch in his hands at
the time, about to get down and oil up
When he turned to open the throttle the
dastardly wretches shot him in the Eeart,
and he fell dead to the floor of the cab
In an instant the throttle was opened and
such draft made that the red Goals went up
out the stack, making q grand sight as the
engine and one car sped along the track at
the rate of fully sixty miles an hour. A
mile and a half from the tank a country
heart of a dense, swamp woods
Burke, the messenger, heard the reports OF
the pistols and in moment realized his sit
uatiOn. He says the car fairly jumped along
the tracks, so fast were they going, and he
expected every moment that IL would be
thrown from the track. When they had
gone a mile Burke thought it was ten,
loud, short, sharp whistle came
from the engine and Immediately after be
telt that the engine had been reversed and
they were stopping. Before they had fully
stopped he recognized above tie wheeling
OF the engine the voices OF
FOUR OR FIVE CoNFEDERATEs
who were in waiting at the exact spot where
| the men on the engine bad so skilfully
brought the ride to an end. Said he, sit was
| as nice stop as L ever saw made" The in
slant his car came to q dead stop, some oil
| the robbers came to the side doors OF the car
(there beng no doors in the end of these
carsl, and said. slack, let US in" Burke
replied, you SIS OF BIS you can't get in
here. If you do 1 am ready tor you" They
! then began begging, and said II
he would let them in his life
| would be saved. Again he answered them
by saying, "if you get in here you have got
TO xiii me hrsI." Then they began station
ing themselves on all sides of the car, dur
ing the time threatening him with all the
violent deaths known II he did not let them
in. Finding threats OF no avail, they began
firing into one end of the car.
The bullets would lose their force by the
time they had passed through the thick
planks of the ear, and drop on the floor.
As is often the case, the baggage car on
leaving ST. Louis would not contain all the
baggage. and a number of trunks had been
placed in the Adams car. Burke
made barricsde of these,
against the end of the car, from which the
shooting came and stood with two revolvers
in his hands expecting every moment to see
the doors at the side broken in with sledge
hammer or an ak which he heard two of the
men calling on the others to bring to them.
The trunks proved of some service, as in four
of them bullets were found. Seven or eight
shots had been fired when he heard one
OF them say Bring me the crowbar, and
wilt fetch him." In a moment more he
heard them working a erowbar on the
bottom OF one of the doors. He
felt his way along TO the ceutsr OF the car,