Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1886-12-02
ANOTHER LETTER.


''Jim Cummings Keeping Up His Cores
pondence The MoberIy s.Headlisht,'
Favored This Time-A Letter That May
- or May Not Contain q C1ew-Probably a
"Blsnd" From = Sympathizing Friend.
MoBERLY. Mo-, Nov. q, The Dniig Head
light of this city has received letter from
Jim Cummings" which excited good
deal of interest IN police circles and may
possibly afford clew by which the rob-
bers OF the Adams Express Company NAV
be traced and detected. The letter came
through the mails in the regular way
reaching here at noon on the Wabash
train from the West. The envelope is a
common MANILA one, addressed in open
oackhand: editor Headlight, Moberly,
Mo-" 1t was postmarked at
Council Bluffs, Ia, November "a, $50 a. m.
Both the postmark and the stamp cancel
iatlon evidently being genuine post-office
work The letter is written upon sheet of
note paper, legal fold. The penmanship is
the same open backland seen in the letters
to the St Louis papers and shown in the
circulars sent out by the express company
and the Detectives Association. 1t reads
a follows:
OMAHA. Neb., Nov. p, 1886.
EDITOR HEADLIGHT:-I was in your city on
the 4th OF September and I guess that Jim
Blackwell will reeollect my visit there to the
IL,
viii send him the amount, as only took it as
loan. If Jim had known that was the original
jim Cummings that was to do up Fothering
ham. he would have not taken so much stock in
me- needed some money to get the things
ready for the robbery of the express company
Give my regards to the old bloke, Kelly, and
tell him if he had had any wealth with him that
night would have borrowed it from him, but
don't need any now, as have just got So, 500 of
the express company money left having spent
Sin r av,1 IIoJxr
smoke. but 1 am having good time. Tell
Kelly will yet send him race horse that car
beat any thing in the West outside of CORR
gan's stables.
Yours, JIM CUMMINGS.
THE BLACKWELL INCIDENT.
Now comes history of events that give
Importance to the above. On the 4th Of
September last, three days before the
opening of the Moberly fair, there came to
the Merchants Hotel, in this city, three
uspicious-looking men, who gave their
names respectively as Riley, Ryan and
Wilson. Riley approached the landlord,
James j. Blackwell and professed to
know him, saying that he had stopped
with him when he kept hotel at
Slater, Mo-, and alluded to some incidents
which satisfied Blackwell that the story
was true. They professed to have lot Of
race horses at our fair grounds which
tOulu DtaG tulllS III INC w est except
Corrigan's, and proposed to give Blackwell
pointers so he could win a large sum of
money on the races during the fair. They
were genial fellows and soon ingratiated
themselves thoroughly into the good
graces of the landlord and the horsemen
who made headquarters about the hotel.
They spent money freely at the bar and
could talk horse with the most ex-
perienced jockey. During the evening
Riley stated that he was about out of
change and asked Blackwell to cash ten
dollar check on the Exchange Bank. He
wrote the check and received the money.
This they also spent in treating. and finally
got the landlord well under the influence of
liquor. During the evening Marshal Lynch
had noticed the trio in a crowd on the sire
and had spotted them as crooks. He fol-
lowed them to the hotel and, seeing Riley
in close conversation with Blackwell. ask
ed the bartender who the stranger was.
The bartender replied: ''Oh, he is an old
acquaintance. who has horses here for the
fair" This allayed the suspicious of the
night the jolly horsemen got Black
well out for a quiet talk on
some beer kegs near the back
door of The bar-room. Here he became I'M
conscious, and when he awoke his friends
were gone, and likewise $780, which he
had placed in his vest pocket Immedi-
ately after securing Blackwelrs money
Riley entered the hotel office by the front
door, and approaching the clerk. returned
the ten dollars and took out the check,
which had been laid in the safe to await
the opening of the bank next day Riley
then disappeared, and neither he nor his
associates have been seen here since.
BLACKWELL RECOGNIZED THEM.
Now, when the descriptions were pub
lished of the express robbers at st. Louis,
Blackwell recognized them as the conf
dence men, Riley, Ryan and Wilson, who had
feeced him out of his money He men
toned it to our chief of police and he also
states that the description is substantially
the same-Ri1ey corresponding to
Jim Cummings" while Wilson
and Ryan represent, respectively,
Nos. l and 2 of his supposed as
sistants. It is also remembered distinctly
that the check was written in the same
back hand which characterizes the letters
to the St Louis papers and to the Daily
Headlight. 1t is hoped that this link in the
chain of evidence may result in locating the
express robbers. The man Kelly, alluded
to, Is John Kelly. painter of this city; an
excellent gentleman, but somewhat ad-
dicted to drink. They were very sociai
with him while here.