American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1876-09-02
A Daring Effort to Rob the
Dallas State Savings Bank.

Inc DdlldS IeN) HeTUG gives lne
following particulars of the re cent dar-
ing attempt of two desperadoes to muir
der the President of the State Savings
Bank, and to plumber the institution;
Yesterday, about / O'Clock while Mr..
f. II. Gruber, Pre- sident of the State
Savings Bank, was sittin G at the desk,
two men entered the bank and, SPRING
ing over the counter, grappled with
him. When he got to the counter, one
of them struck him blow with q
stunning him. He made a brave and
desperate resistance, and held on to
the money he had in his hands. The
men grabbed up a handful of currency,
a few hundred dollars only, and ran
out of the back door toward and over
the fence in the back yard, one of them
presenting a pistol at Master Gruber, a
lad of about fourteen years of age, who
pulled the door shut between himself
and his murderer's pistol. The men
must have had their plans well laid, as
they mounted their horses, one bay,
the other a sorrel, and rode Off; the
one on the sorrel out Lamar street with
a pistol in his hand, the other, it is
said, went down Commerce toward
the bridge.
A pistol and part of false beard
were picked up in the back yard. One
of the men-the one who wore long,
black, false beard-is described as
thick-set, with dark eyes. He rode the
sorrel horse.
The robbers went out through the
Cedars, on Eryay Street, toward Brow
der Springs and the Central Depot, fol-
lowed by party in pursuit.
Mr.. Gruber received painful, but
not dangerous, wound in the back of
his head, cutting through the skin to
the skull, about an inch in length, with
bruise in the face, all of which bled
profusely. The moment the robbers
jumped the counter he saw their OBJ
ject was robbery, and murder, proba-
bly,. Unfortunately, they happened to
get between him and the place where
his pistols were, otherwise he might
have killed one or both of them. Mr..
Gruber is a small man compared to the
robbers, but he made most gallant
resistance.
A gentleman who had rushed in found
him bleeding profusely and somewhat
faint with the loss of blood, but still
held the money grasped in his hand.
He was taken into the Directors room
of the bank, and had his wounds dressed
by Drs. Holland, Storey, Locke, and
other gentlemen.
A lady who saw the robbers after they
came out of the bank says that their
horses were tied in the vacant lot near
the engine-house, which is Immediately
in the rear of the bank, and separated
by seven-foot close board fence. One
rode sorrel horse and drove bay and
gray in front, evidently the horses of
the robbers who went into the bank, and
the one who staid outside and had been
taking notes of the situation few min
utes before the robbery, by pricing mil
linery in an adjoining store. The man
on the sorrel horse rode out of the lot
into Commerce Street, turning into La
mar Street. Before doing so the other
two men must have mounted the gray
and bay horses, as the one on the sorrel
horse was seen alone, going out Lamar
Street, pistol in hand, near the COM
press, by Mr.. Joe Record, and after
ward to pass the colored school-house
beyond.
Mr.. Gruber states that when the rob-
bers presented themselves at the coun-
ter, he was sitting at his desk, and look
ing up he saw them, and while approach
ing the counter they drew down on
him with their pistols, and scrambling
over the counter closed in on him, one
of them knocking him down with his
pistol. He thinks the shot was the re-
suit of the blow given him, or one OF
the men may have fired at him while
down. He thinks they struck him in
the face, hoping to blind him, and that
they did not anticipate any difficulty in
effecting the robbery, when they level
ed their pistols at him and climbed over
the counter.
This is the most daring robbery ever
committed in this city. In broad day
light, in the business center of the city,
two men enter a bank, and terrific
struggle, and regular death grapple
occurs, and it is not seen on great
thoroughfare. People are probably
passing at the time, but the plate-glass
windows in front, covered with signs,
and the bank counter and glass panes
prevented any one from seeing what
was going on behind the counter when
the struggle took place.
Some days ago Hugh Stapp, noto-
rious desperate, was arrested here and
lodged in Jail. 1t is surmised these rob-
beers may have been friends of his and
part of the John Wesley Hardin gang.
As yet no clew has been discovered as
to who the robbers are. Another
theory, based on the robbers perfect
familiarity with the suburbs, trails in
cedar brakes, country roads and short
cuts, is that they belong to the Young
er-James gang, the Youngers having
once resided in this county, near
Haught's store, east of this city.
The affair created intense excitement
at the time, and the streets were crowd
ed with men for hours, discussing the
extraordinary daring and audacity of
the robbers.
l., IL