Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1875-12-19
EXPRESS ROBBERY.
United states Express Messenger Kin
eafd OVerpOwered on the st. Louis,
Kansas City and Northern Rail-
way, and his Safe Robbed of
Between $4,000 and
S2O, ,O0O,

ST. LOUIS, December IS-Betweep
four and five O'Clock this morning the
United States express car on the st.
Louis, Kansas City and Northern train,
Que here at quarter sftersiX, was entered
DeSWeen Ferguson and Jennings station,
some ten or twelve miles from here, the
messenger, Charles Kinc2id, thrown
into large package chest and locked
up and the safe robbed Of from ten to
twenty thousand dollars in money and
bonds. Kincaid says he was lying on
one OF the packing boxes in the car,
half asleep, when he felt heavy hand
OF his shoulder. He turned his head
around and was confronted by a pistol
in the hands OF 8 masked man. Before
he could speak he was seized by the col
lar OF his coat from behind and found
himself under cover of two more pistols
in the hands of another masked man. He
was then thrust into a large
packihg,box which had been emptied of
Its packages by robbers, and the lid
closed on him and locked. He does not
know what occurred a ter that until the
train reached st. Louis and he wss re-
leased, except that he heard the men
working at the safe and supposed they
were robbing it, He says the doors Of
the car, besides locking with the ordin-
ary snap-lock, are secured by chains
fastened loosely on the inside 50 they
can be opened few inches, but sill so
secure that nobody can enter the rar.
Kincsid, on taking charge Of the ear at
Kansas City, observed that one of the
staples on the rear door hal been drawn
out, and that the chain on that door was
useless. After leaving Mexico the mes
senger has nothing to do, and usually
takes short maps on that cad of the
route. When Kincaid laid do Wn on the
packing-box he took the precaution to
place his heaviest trunk, weighing one
hundred and fifty pounds, against the
door, so that even If it
were unlocked from the outside
it could not be opened without
pushing this trunk away. This was
done, but 80 noiselessly that the messen-
ger in his half asleep condition did not
hear it. On the arrival OF the train here
he was released from his confinement in
q nearly smothered condition. The car
was in pretty good order, only a few
packages being scattered about, but the
safe was rif1ed of all vsluables. Kin !
caid can give but a very meager de- |
scription Of the robbers, and the Getsc- |
tives here, so far, haye very little in |
formation to work on. 1t is thought |
they crossed the bridge aud started east !
Immediately after the arrival OF the |
train, or that they left the train as soon |
as they finished the robbery. Kincaid |
thinks they boarded the train at st. |
but the fact that the expless-
car door had been tampered with at |
Kansas City leads to the belief that the |
robbers might have come through from
there as passengers.
Moth ng additional has been ascer-
tsined about the express robbery this
1t is not yet known how
much money was taken from the safe,
as several way-bills were carried of by
the robbers, but 1t is supposed that about
Twelve thousand dollars are missing.
No clue 10 the robbers,