Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1885-05-22
ABoAp ROBBERY.

A Solitary Individual Enters an Express
Car Near HarfoIsburg Ind, Shoots
and Beats the Messenger and baggage
man, Robs tho Safe and Gets Away
with an Amount Estimated at About
$4,000.
CHICAGO, May 1.-The night express
coming north Oh the Louisville, New Albany
& Chicago Railway had just left the water
tank near Ha%rrodsburg, Ind, at eleven
o'clock, Wednesday night, when a man
armed with | hickory club entered the bag
gage-car. Messenger George K. Davis and
Baggage-master Peter Weber were lying on
the benclHs. Both were doing. The
stranger prang on Davis and beat him
over the head with the %bludgcon, and when
Weber ayoke he received the same treat
! ment. Dhvis reached for his revolver, bus
the stranger wrenched it from his grasp and
discharge it, the ball entering the side Of
| the Messengers head. Turning his atten-
ton to the PROSTATE baggage-master,
| this revolver and ordered him to
take the keys from the pockets Of the
| unconscious messenger and to open the
! safe. The safe being opened, the robber
-ifcd it with his left hand while with his
fright he still covered the baggagemaster
with the revolver. Having secured all the
valuable money packages the robber turned
and deliberately shot Weber. The ball en-
tered the jawbone. Pulling the bell-cord
the robber, laden with booty, jumped from
the train as soon a is speed was slack
ened.1 Weber, covered with blood, stag
gered into the smoking-car and gave the
alarm.
When the train stopped search was made
for the robber, but he disappeared in the
darkness. The place where he left the train
is a lonely detile surrounded by woods, and a
short distance from Bloomington, Ind. The
wounded men were left at Bloomington. In
the morning Weber. whose wounds are Sc
rious but not fatal, was sent to his home at
Louisville. Davis was still unconscious,
and it was deemed best not to move him.
The train kept on its way and arrived at
| the Polk street depot i'll this city at eight
o'clock yesterday morning. 1t consisted OF
| the b~aggage-car, two coaches and a sleeper.
| The interior of the b~aggage-car was
splashed with blood. The blood-stained
cudgel used by the robber lay in one corner.
It was a green hickory sapling three feet
long and three inches in diameter. Con
ductor j. c. Chambers said that he knew
nothing about the robbery until after the
train was stopped, when he vert forward
tothe baggage-car, and found the messenger
and baggage-master both unconscious, each
having been shot in the head. When the
train reached Bloomington a posse was or
ganizcd and sent back to search for the rob
Der. Owing to the darkness they returned
without e~tecting his capture. Only S1.5(
was found remaining in the safe. Chambers
did not know how much it contained. He
did not thilk there was over IS, 600 in it a
the time Of the robbery.
Conductor Chambers and the brakeman
went to tlb American Express office early
in the moning. They carried the blood
stained cub with them, and told the story
Of the robbery to the President and the
Superintendent. o. W. Barrett, the gen
eral ageht, said the sum obtained by thu
robber torld not be over $4,000.
Superintendent Charles Fargo received
dispatth at one o'clock yesterday afternoon
saying that Davis was still alive, but I'M
conscious. Both men in the baggage-cal
had 4 good look at the robbers face, Man
ager Fargo said, and the company was con
fident that he would be captured. All O
the station agents along the lin were tele
graphed to be Oh the lookout, and tn
Marshal Of Bloomington went out with
posse looking for the robber.