Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1876-02-03
$65O,OOO!
PrOdigiOus Bank Robbery In
MassachESetts-T Cashier
and His Family Guarded
and Gagged in Their
Own Homes.

| SPRINGFIELD, MASS, Jan. 27.-Tht
burglars who entered the Northampton
Bank Wednesday night, first securing
the cashier in his homezand taking
from him the keys of the vault, took s
large amount Of securities, consider
able portion'not being negotiable.
Later.1
Boston, Jan. 27.-Later details of the
! Northampton National Bank, al
Northampton, Tuesday night, by mask
ed robbers, state the result as some
thing appalling. The table of securities
taken shows total of S670,000. Ol
course, much of this is not negotiable
so that it is difficult to estimate The
real loss to the bank aud its depositors
| The bank officers offer reward OF $25,-
O00 for the return of the property and
the conviction of the burglars. The
loss falls comparatively light on the
bank, the greater part of the securities
belonging to special depositors.
THE DETAILS OF THE ROBBERY.
The robbers entered the house ol
Cashier Whittlesey, and bound and
gagged and guarded him for hours.
They compelled him to give them the
combinations of the safe vault and safe
with only one OF the four keys needed,
they took q large amount of securities.
An expert had to be summoned from
New York, and the lock was not open.
ed until an early hour this morning.
Chashier Whittlesey, when asked to
give the three combinations 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 the attempt
to mislead them, and the exhibition of
pistol compelled 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 house of the
other bank officer. AT o'clock a. m,
Whittlesey was taken to downstairs
bedroom. The whole family were gag
ged, and four of the burglars withdrew
to operate on the bank. Three hours
after, Mrs. Whittlesy succeeded in free
ing herself and giving the alarm from
window. The whole party speedily
liberated, and the cashier, still wearing
the handouts, went to the bank. The
wOrkmen soon after fitted a key, and
all persons handcuffed were released.
An examination of the bank showed
that the cracKsmen had unlocked the
outer door, but were apparently balk-
ed by the safe lock, lacking three of the
requisite four keys. They tried to get
off the door with bars, and wrenched
OF the dial which served as an index
for the working combination. They
were entirely unmolested, the watch
having gone home. There is every
indication that SIX, and perhaps all of
them left on the O'Clock train. Five
of them had tickets previously bought,
and one paid his fare. Many Oi the ap-
planes, it was remarked, were home
made. The gags were children,s rub
ber balls pierced with astiff wire. The
masks were drawers legs, some with
one hole and some with two for the
eyes. When the robbers saw that
Whittlesey was watching them care
fully for some marks of Identification
they blindfolded him, but he observed
that one of them was of very COM
manding stature. The two or three
robbers left to guard the premises at
the house took their departure in sea-
son to catch the Springfield trim.
At the latest advices no information
had been received of the robbers.