The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1883-10-06
INITIATING THE JAMES BOYS.


Robbery of an Express Car on the wabash
1'oad near Peru, Indiana, by Masked Men
The Messenger Bound and Gagged and
Otherwise Roughly HandIed--The Rob-
bers secure 81 800.
INDIANAPOLIS, IND, Sept %.
Bert LOOMS, the Wabash Express mes
senger and baggage-master on the Detroit
express, which arrived in this city at 2:15
this morning, was overpowered by robbers
about midnight between Roam and Peru,
on the main line, and large sum of money,
supposed to be about $500, was taken
from the car. The robbery was unknown
to any Of the train men until Peru was
reached. Loomis was the only one in the
baggage car, and, not appearing at Peru,
where the train stopped, investigation dis
covered him lying insensibhe on the floor OF
the car, bucked and gagged, and badly
bruised and bleeding. His legs and feet
had been tightly bound with quarterback
cords, his hands twisted and tied immova-
bly, behind him and his mouth filled with
handkerchiefs, heavily knotted. Conductor
c. +. Wells and his brakeman Immediately
relieved the messenger and instituted
search for the robbers, who apparently had
had things their own way and had success
fully escaped with the money packages.
The train brought all the parties to this
city and gradually the true story was
learned, but not until the widest rumors
had Obtained wide circulation. The sum
stolen had reached, by rumor, $4,000. The
facts as narrated to reporter by Mr..
Loomis are sufficiently thrilling, although
the amount taken is shorn down to $1,000.
He says: "After the train had passed Lake.
ton, twenty miles from Peru, three masked
men entered the car froAl the rear. There
was no other train man besides myself in
the car. Two of them stopped to fasten the
door and the third approached me with
cooke revolver and said, Throw up your
hands, l dropped behind a chest and, pull
ing my pistol, answered, mot by a.
sight followed up my remark with
shot, which he quickly answered with an
other. We then clinched, and l threw
him behind the coal-box. Meantime, the
other fellows took hand, and 1 heard one
Of them say: Knife him II he will not give
in.' / was struck heavily in the pit of the
stomach and became insensible and knew
nothing further until | heard some-
body calling my name at Peru" MIR.
Loomis further stated that he was GER
tain that only 81 800 was taken. The money
was in the safe, which the robbers opened
with the keys taken from Loomis' pocket.
1t was railroad money consigned to the
Third National Bank of st. Louis.
The messenger to-day exhibited the evil
dences of harsh treatment. The skin was
peeled from his wrists by the tight cords,
and his neck was swollen and black from
the effects of the vise-like choking at the
hands of the robbers who came to the help
of their mate. Mr.. LOOMS is well-built,
muscular young man, and has the reputa-
ton of having everlasting grit. His home
is in Detroit, and he runs regularly between
that city and Indianapolis. Wells theory
of the robbery is that the masked men
boarded the train in the woods about the
-. .l,<..A h.
last stop was made this side of Laketon.
They passed at once into the express and
baggage car, the door to which by some
mischance had not been locked. Two sus-
pcious characters have been arrested at
LoSansport, supposed to be implicated in
the robbery.