Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1876-01-28
A $4,000 ROBBERY.
"The Biggest Thing Yet"-Further Par
ticulars from the Northampton
Bank Robbery.
How the Bold Cracksmen Proceeded
with and Accomplished their
WOrk-List Of Securities
Stolen.

the robbery at Northampton Tuesday
night by masked rebbefs state that the
result is something APPALLING. The table
of securities taken shows total OF six
hundred and seventy thousand dollars.
OF course much of this is not negotiable,
so that it is difficult to estimate the real
loss to the bank sud depositors. The
bank officers Offer q reward OF twenty
five thousand dollars for the return of
the property and conviction OF the
burglars. The los falls comparatively
light upon the bank, as the greater part
OF the securities belonged to special de-
positors.
The robbers entered the house of
Cashier Whittlessy, and bound, gagged,
and guarded for hours seven people.
They compelled him to give them the
combinatiors OF the safe vault, and
waited until they knew the night watch
man had gone home, and then getting
into the vault and safe with only one of
the four keys needed, they took large
amount Of securities. An expert had TO
be summoned from New York, and the
lock was not opened until an early hour
this morning, Cashier Whittlesay,
when asked to give the cOmbi-
nations to the vault for the outer,
inner and chest doors, gave them
wrong twice and thrice, but the burglars
wrote them down and made him repeat
them. OF course they caught him in
an attempt to mislesd them, and the eX-
hibition Of pistol caused him to tell
the truth, though he told them that
four keys were necessary to open the
patent lock, three of which were at the
houses of the other bank officers. AT
four o'clock this morning Whittlesay
was taken to downstairs bedroom.
The whole family were gagged, and
four of the burglars withdrew to operate
on the bank. Three hours after Mrs.
Whittlesay succeeded in freeing
herself, and gave the alarm from
window. The whole party were
speedily liberated, and the cashier,
still wearing the handouts, went
to the bank. At tie house q workman
soon after fitted key and all persons
handcuffed were released. An examin-
alton of the bank showed that the
cracksmen had unlocked the outer door,
but were apparently baked by the safe
lock, lacking three OF the requisite four
keys. They tried to get off the door
| with bars, and wrenched off the dial
which served as an index for working
the combination. They were entirely
uumolested, the watchman having gone
home. There is every indication that
six and perhaps all of them
left on the six o'clock train. Five of
| them had tickets previously
bought, and one p1id lis fare. Many of
| the appliances, il was remarked, were
| homemade. The gags were children's
rubber balls, pierced with stiff wire.
| The masks were drawers legs, some
| with one hole and some with two for the
| eyes. When the robbers saw that Whit
| tlesay was watching them carefully for
some marks Of Identification they blind
| folded him, but he observed that one O:
them was of very commanding stature.
| The two or three robbers left to guard
the premises at the house took
| their departure in season to catch
the Springfield train. At latest
| adVices no information had teen
received of the robbers. The table
of the funds taken is as follows: Mis-
souri, State bonds, $500 Chicago,
Rock Island and Pacific railroad, $4,000;
aud Lake Shore and Michigan Southern
shares, $4,000; Chicago, Burlington and
Quincy eights, $1,000; Cleveland, Colum-
bus and Cincinnati, $4,000; Union Pa
| cific, $44, 600; Ohio and Mississippi Sec
ond mortgages, $165, ,000; United States
bonds, S55 0l0; AtchisOn, Topeka and
Santa Fe, SIS ,000; Ft. Wayne, Jackson
and Saginaw, $4,000; Ogdensburg and
Lake Champlain, S6O00; Missouri Pa.
cific, $50 600; registered stock and bonds
of the United States, and various
corporations .$350,000 to $400, 900; green
backs and national bank bills, $40, 900;
Detroit, Lansing and Lake Michigan,
$1,000; New York and Etie bonds, $1,000;
Maine State bonds, $4,000; Hudson
River railroad bonds, $4,000. The follow
ing are number of the securities alb
stracted: Missouri Pacific, No. 1929, due
1885 and No. 1879, due 1886; North Mis-
souri, railroad, No. 1884, due 1885, and
No. 22SS, due 1886; Cairo and Full
ton bond No. $40, due 1889; consoli-
dated Cairo and Fulton, No. 1896,
due 1888; No. 1897, due 1888; No 5000,
due 1888, and No. 1901, due 1888; five
Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific bonds,
Nos. 872, 1928, GAS, coo and 693; two G.
G. G. and l. bonds, Nos. ia and lis;
two Ohio and Mis- sissippi bonds,
Nos. 1898 and 1894; two Lake Shore and
Michigan Southern sinking funds, Nos.
CO. 81 and %, and $42, 600 Union Pacific
sinking fund coupon bonds, of $1,000
each, Nos. 5l13 to 5154 inclusive.
or the total amount stolen, loss of
only Sl2, 900 falls on the bank. A small
safe in the vault, which the burglars
considered too insignificant to touch,
contained $50, 900 deposited by Harvey
kirkland, and S25, 900 in bonds belong
ing to Hopkins academy, and much
other valuable property. By locking
the doors of the vanlt the burglars got
twenty-fonr hours start OF the detectives,
besides having time to negotiate much
OF the stolen property before the fact of
tie burglsry was known.
A dispatch received to-day at the treas.
ury, from the Northampton National
bank of Massachusetts, states that $1,000
in unsigned five-dollar notes Of the bank
were secured by burglars on the night Of
the twenty-f tn instant. The numbers
of the notes are as follows: Bank No.
to I45, and department No. 229,7 Isl to
229, $50, series of 1875.