The Abilene reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1886-03-18
GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY.
Messenger Nichols Brutally Muir
dered on the Rock Island.
The Messenger Makes a Desperate Re
sistance-The Robbers Beat Him to
Death and Obtain an Immense
Booty.

CHICAGO, March ia Joliet H.,
special says one of the most daring and
bloody express robberies ever perpetrated in
Illinois occurred on the Chicago, Rock
Island & Pacific west bound express last
night between this place and Morris. The
facts as learned from the baggage man are
that shortly after the train which leaves
here at II As q. H., had left here he heard
q rap at the baggage car door, Thinking it
was the express messenger he opened the
door and was met by masked robbers who
covered him with revolvers and demanded
the key to the express car. The key was
given up.
THE ROBBERY.
One robber. who was OH top of the bag
gage car, held revolver on the baggage
man through the transom in the roof of the
car, while his confederates turned their at
tention to the express car. He thought
they raped at the express car
door, and informed the messenger
that the baggageman wanted to
get in. At any rate the express car was
opened and the desperadoss entered, and
then occurred one of the most bloody and
desperate struggles OH record.
DESPERATE RESISTANCE.
Being confronted by the murderous vii
lans, Kellogg Nichols, the messenger,
fought for his life and the property in his
possession. The interiOr.Of the express car
shows that he fought the robbers from one
end of the car to the other, but at
last the murderOuS blows that they rained
on his head, with an iron poker, forced him
to succumb, and he was left dead III the car.
rba fbo, rif bic Of for ha
keys to the safe. which they robbed of all
its contents, various.y estimated at from
$500 TO S10O,O Checks and valuable
packages not containing money they left
scattered about the floor.
THE DISCOVERY.
Nothing was known of the occurrence
until the train reached Morris, the first stop
west of here, except at the coal chute,
where the train stopped to take on coal.
At Morris the local express messenger
raped on the express car door as sum-
mons. Not being answered. it was thought
the messenger was asleep. Upon
the door of the car being opened the
horrible evidences of the desperate struggle
and the dead body of the messenger were
discovered. In one hand the hero had a.
lock of dark -coored hair that must have
been torn from the head of one of his
aSSalantS.
PURSUING THE ROBBERS.
The news was at once telegraphed to OF
tawa aud Sheriff RetZ and Chief of Police
Murray at once organized a posse
and started on a special engine for
Norris stopping OH the way at the coal
chute, two miles west of here, to see
if they could find where the despera-
does boarded the train. At that point snow
was falling slightly and the tracks were
nearly covered. A large force of officers
and men from this place and Morris
is now securing the country, and it is
thought the guilty men will be captured,
in which event they will probably be
lynched, as public opinion in this town IS
at fever heat and it will not be safe for the
murderers to be caught here. The dead
messenger was married man and had been
in the service of the United States Express
Company for about ten years and was one
of their most trusted employees. His home
is at Chicago.
EXCITEMENT AT CHICAGO.
General Superintendent kImbal OF the
Rock Island road speaking of the robbery
and murder, said: ut is likely that the
men boarded the train at the coal chute,
where the train stops, about one mile west
of Joliet. They either laid in wait there
1OT lu6 lId1Il vi Iclb oOillC VI OlhOA Noio
of the train when it stopped, and went for
ward and entered through the baggage car.
Our best information is that the baggage
man saw two at least of the robbers" At
the murdered mans home it was learned
that Mr. Nichols left his home at an early
hour last evening and was at the theater
until the time to go to his cal. There was
the greatest excitement among the unfOrtu-
nate mans fellow employees as they came in
from trips and heard the news. Six passen-
ger tickets were sold last night at the depot
ticket office, good from Chicago to MinOOka,
n little town about twelve miles this side of
Morris, and the circumstance was regarded
as suspicious by railroad men.
TIE BAGGAGEMAN'S STORY.
The baggageman, n. ii. Watt, who is
young man about twenty-fOur years old,
told the following story: II was sitting i'll
the car. The chains were up on the door
which went back to the train, but the door
in the front part of the car was not locked,
as the car ahead was the one in which was
ND his runs l sat OH a trunk and
lust after they had whistled for
Minooka, l heard sort of scraping
sound on the floor but not much, just as
though some one had rubbed his foot on
the floor Before L could turn around,
big gun was poked over my shoulder and
man said: You open your mouth or move
a muscle and I'll blow your brains out
could only see the lower part of his face.
IL was covered with some cloth or paper.
| sat looking toward the back part of the
car toward the rear of the train when L
heard some one at the safe, which
was behind me, and l could hear, the
rustling and tearing of papers. This
went on for a while and the man who stood
over me said to me, If you move or stir
hand or foot before the train stops at Nor
ris that man up there will blow the top OF
our head off, | rolled up my eyes and
here was mans hand stuck through the
yentilator with gun in it. In about five
minutes as it seemed to me, the train
slowed up for Norris and l looked up.
The hand was gone and jumped out of the
car. | heard no noise nor any shooting.
The first heard was, as l said, the man
Speaking to me, and at the same time put
ting the gun over my shoulder They
must have gotten into Nichols car first
and got the key TO the safe before they
CAME in 10 me-"
To make Coney Island once more a
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