San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1879-02-01
BANK ROBBERIEs,. !.
From the Brooklyn Eagle

--~s.t~ Wl
The performances of the bank burg
lars strike the community with alarming
affect, owing to their extensive charac-
ter. The thieves seldom attack a bank
without having first possesst d them.
selves Of some knowledge of what is TO
be gained by success, The act of burg
larry is an investment from which large
fruition is expected. II costs the burg
lars less thought as to how they will
cover their tracks than as TO how they
will go through with the job of getting
at the bonds or money in the vaults,
Still, their retreat is frequently as bold
and audacious as their attack. Sow
Allan Pinkerton has had o greater
and more varied experience with bank
thieves in all parts of the country than
any other living detective, and, it may
be added, has been more successful in
outwitting them, recovering their boo
ty, and in bringing them to Justice.
Having made close study of the burg
lars and their ways and means, the re-
suits of his observations can not fail to
be instructive to the general reader,
and especially to all who place constant
reliance upon the security OF safes and
their combinations. Mr.. Pinkerton
says one of the most common. methods
of opening safes has been by drilling
and blasting with powder, gun-cotton,
and occasionally nitro-glyeerine. With,
the ordinary firesproof safes the COM
mon drill is sufficient, but with chilled
iron and Franklinite, which can not be
touched with steel drill, diamond dust
and emery are effectively used by the
thieves. Au'j sGaa Tia '4sl4 ~ %
1t has also been practice to draw
the temper Of hardened irons with tn.
blow-pipe, consisting of spirit and oil
lamp and bellows especially made for
the purpose. This is quickly done, af-
ter which the safe may be drilled with
common steel drill.
Astute burglars make practice OF
acquainting themselves thoroughly with
all the particulars of the construction
of safes, as well as of their locks, and
some safes have been opened by drilling
out all the riveting of the inner lining,
and Of the bolts and lock which fasten
the same to the shell of the door, OBJ
tanning the position OF these, rivets by
exact measurement from the outside.
Some safes are so constructed as to
leave no receptacle for powder or blast
ing material, except in certain aper-
lures Of the lock, but SO well acquainted
with their mechanism do the thieves be-
come as to be able, by measurement
from the outside, to know exactly
where to place their drills.
The most ordinary safes have been
made to yield to the ordinary jack
screw, which is applied in two ways,
either by drilling hole in the door,
generally about three-quarters of an
inch in diameter, then with a screw-tap
cutting thread for slightly tapering
steel screw, which, by lever, is made
to tightly fit into the hole. An attach
ment is then made with the screw and
jack, the latter being supported by
rough frame, and held from the safe
with timbers placed against the jambs,
when the shell of the door is pulled out
by main force, breaking the rivets.
The other method Of using the jack
screw is to force the door inward,
breaking it into pieces that are easily
removed by the jimmy. When an
abutment for the jackscrew can not be
obtained by placing the timbers against
asolid partition or other object, brace
is obtained by securing long timber
to the aoor, and blocking up the other
end, so as to be in position central to
the door of the safe; against and be-
tween this and the door the jack is
placed.
Many safe doors have also been
opened by means of wedges, principally
used in forcing off the frames around
the panels. Very fine steel wedges are
first used, then larger ones, as the aper-
ture becomes sufficient to receive them.