The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1876-02-24
ADARING ATTEMPT.
Express Robbers Undertake the Murder
OF the Only Witness OF Their Crime,
by Throwing Her from the Bridge
Into the Mississippi River, Weighted
With Iron. a-

Express Robbers Undertake the Murder
OF the Only Witness of Their Crime,
by Throwing Her from the Bridge
Into the Mississippi River, Weighted
With Iron.
IFrom the ST. Louis Republican, Feb. Isl
Sunday night about z o'clock two
men in buggy, having third party
between them, drove on to the bridge
from Washington Avenue. On getting
opposite Main Street cry of
"HELP, FOR GODS SAKE"
was heard, and Jerry Miller, the col
lector, ran to see what was the matter.
He found that the buggy was stopped
and a negro boy, apparently, was tum-
bled out of the buggy from behind, who
begged for protection. Jerry Miller
heard one of the men in the buggy ut
ter fearful oath and urge the other to
lay whip and "drive like h"
A large crowd was Immediately col
lected around the seeming colored boy,
who claimed to be woman % years
old, and that those men were the rob-
bers of the United States express about
six weeks ago near St. Charles on the
St. L., X. c. 81 N. Railroad, and that
their names were Wilson and Holland,
and that she was the only person who
was aware of the robbery. She told
her story as follows: Having known
Mr.. Holland for several years, she had
a liason with him, of which a boy
was the issue; and further, that
she lived on Seventeenth Street
between Washington Avenue and Chris
ty Avenue; that Holland, who was
formerly railroad conductor, had since
the robbery occupied a room in the
fourth story of the building No. 314
North Third Street, over the American
Express Office, and that she had been
in the habit of cleaning the rooms and
providing the men with their meals.
Yesterday morning she went to the
room and with a key opened the ad-
joining room, where she found Wilson
and Holland engaged in examing some
of the stolen papers and articles, and as
soon as they found that they were dis
covered they at once decided to
KILL THE NEGRO WOMAN.
They chloroformed and gagged her,
and kept her there during the entire
day. Towards evening they disrobed
her and put mems clothes on her, and
hired buggy. About O'Clock, when
the buggy was brought to the door,
they, for safety, put gag in her mouth
and carried her down stairs. She says
that she was sensible when she was car
riea down the three pairs of stairs and
heard the conversation between the two
men. Wilson advised Holland to cut
her throat before they would reach the
street, but the latter objected as it
would
"LEAvE BLOOD ON THE STEPS,"
and on their clothes, by which they
could be identified. After they got her
in the buggy they seated her between
them and drove towards the bridge,
where they passed the collector, as be-
fore stated, without detection. The ne
gro woman finding that it was decided
by the men to attach a weight to her
neck and throw her over the railing of
the bridge into the Mississippi River,
struggled for freedom, and, succeeding
in getting free from the gag, used her
lungs freely in calling for help. Find
ing that they could not get her over the
railing without being caught, they threw
her out and drove off at a breakneck
speed. Special Officer Armstrong and
Collector L. A. Medallion at the east
end heard the cry and the rapid run
ming of the horse, and the former,
thinking there was runaway, went to-
ward the east pier to catch the horse.
He failed to do so, but Mr.. Medallion,
who was near the pagoda, caught the
horse and demanded of the occupants
what they meant by driving so fast.
The tall one CWilson) stated that they
were in a hurry, as a woman in East St.
Louis was very sick. He asked them
their names. Wilson replied, "My
name is Jones and my companion (HOl
land) is Williams" Medallion replied:
"YoU ARE UNDER ARREST"
At this both men got out of the buggy,
and did not stand on the order of going,
but went down the approach for dear
life. Armstrong had by this time come
up, and Medallion gave the horse and
buggy into his charge, and followed the
fugitives down the approach as far as
the return roadway over Fourth Street,
East st. Louis, where they turned and
started down towards Third Street and
escaped. The horse and buggy were
taken to Mr.. Wyatt's livery stable. In
the buggy was found four ounce bot
tie which had contained chloro-
form, new trace-chain, sledge and
railroad coupling, all of them weighing
p pounds and IA ounces, which were
no doubt intended for weight around
the negro woman's neck to sink her to
the bottom of the river.
Sergeant Boyd and Officer kohlhund
took the woman, still dressed like a
man, over to East St. Louis about II
O'Clock Sunday night. They turned
into Lee B. Mitchell's saloon to take
refreshments, where the pseudo boy
took "whisky and sugar. They then
notified Chief Renshaw, but as the fu-
gitives had start of four hours, they
were, of course, not found in East St.
Louis that night nor next morning.
THE PLANT.
1t seems certain that the story, as
given by this woman, is substantially
true, and that the men in the wagon
were, without doubt, the perpetrators
of the express robbery, which it has
thus far bafiled the skill of our detect
ives to ferret out. Immediately on
learning the drift of the woman's tale
after she was thrown from the wagon,
Officer Kohlhund took her to the Third
district police station where she was
closely questioned by Capt. Huebler
Her statement was so straightforward
that it at once inspired confidence She
said, among other things, that she knew
where the men had "planted" their
booty, which had remained buried ever
since the robbery until Saturday night
when they dug it mp and took it to the
room, intending to divide and 90 abroad
for a season. She offered to show where
the swag had been buried, and in order
to test the truth of her statement Capt.
Huebler Immediately dispatched an Of
ficer with her to prospect the place.
The exact locality visited is not dis
closed, but it was within the limits of
the city. The woman showed where
something had evidently been recently
resurrected, and in pOking over the
loose dirt the officer found a scrap of
paper which had once been part of an
express company's envelope. On one