The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1886-03-15
DARING RxphEss ROBBERY
Aud Murder on the Chicago, Rock Island
a Pacific Road,

I
JOLIET, liz, March lS.-one ofthe mos
daring and bloody express robberies eve
psrpeIated in Illinois occurred on thC
Chicago, Rock Island& Pacific Westbount
express last night, between this place ant
Morris,
The facts as learned from the baggage
man are that shortly after the train which
leaves here at l2;45 A, NJ. had left thil
city, he heard rap at the bRggsge'cal
door, Thinking 1t was the express meS
senger, he opened the door and was mel
by masked robbers, who covered him with
revoIvers and demanded his key to the
express car,
The key was given up, and one robber
who was on top Of the baggage car, held
revolver on the baggageman through .
transom in the roof Of the car, while his
confederates turned their attention to the
express car. 1t is thought that they
raped on the express car door and in
iolmed the messenger, II. s. Nichols, that
the bsggageman wanted to get in.
AtRny rate the express car door was
opened and the desperadoes entered, and
then occurred one Of the most bloody
aud desperate struggles on record. Being
confronted by the murderous villains 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 oi the car 70 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 in the car.
The robbers rihed his pockets OF the
keys to the safe, which they robbed of
It's contents, SO 900, CheCkSA aud valuable
packages, not containing money, they left
scattered about the floor. Nothing was
known OF the occurrence until the train
reached Morris, the first stop west Of here,
except the coal shute where the train stop.
ped to take on coal,
AT Morris the local express messenger
raped on the express car door, but as the
summons was notAnAWered, II was thought
the train messenger was asleep. Upon
the door OF the car being opened the hor-
rlble evidences OF the desperate struggle
nAN tA9 Hghu bpuy VI ttlo ulebb6uktT Whd
discovered. In one hand that was clutch
cd the dead hero had lock Of dark col
ored hair, that he mgat have torn from
the head OF one Of the assailants.
Nichols throat was cut from ear 10 ear,
the wound being a Jagged, uneven cash,
as Il 1t had been inflicted With q hatchet.
The dead messenger was a married man
and lived in Chicago,
II is thought that the men who COM
mitted robbery and murder are OonyiCts
lately releaAed from the Joliet Peniten.
tIary. The brakeman Of train No. 16 says
he saw six men walking along the edge Of
the woods near An Sable, which ID close
to Morris. Officers from Joliet are out
alter the men.
No stops were made between plaCes, and
Tor that reason It Ia thought the murderers
boarded the train at Joliet,
CHICAGO, March l4,-The Inter Oceans
Joliet special says! by comparing notes
Conductor Wagner and several passengers
Of the train aboard OF which express mes.
senger Nichols was murdered Yesterday.
had accepted tha theory that the murder
aud robbery was perpetrSted by four men,
three OF whom boarded the train at the
Chicago depot aud the fourth at Blue
Island. One OF them travelled on pass
Issued to r. D. Martin and one good be.
tweori Chicago and Kansas City. Before
reaching Joliet the conductor be.
came convinced that the mon
wore suspicious characters and asked
to see their passes again. On second in.
speCtion Of that issued as above stated the
conductor noticed that 1t had been orig.
inally dated 1884, and that the figure Of
the date had been neatly covered by a
paster bearing the figure 0. Upon this be
refused to return the pass and ordered the
men to leave the train at Joliet. They did
so, but are believed to hSVs boarded the
train between the baggage and express
cars Just as 1t pulled out. No clue to the
men has yet been discovered.