Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1886-12-29
ACLEVER CAPTURE.
HOW THE ADAMS EXPRESS ROBBERS
WERE ARRESTED.

Jim Cummings Turns Out To Be Fred
wittroek, a Chicago Coal Dealer-The
Pinkertons Shadow Former Express
Employe and Run All the Game to
Earth-Some Money Recovered.
CHICAGO, Dec. 29.-Fred Wittrock, the
coal dealer at 727 West Lake street, and his
wife, Rose; Tom Weaver, the proprietor of a
laundry at 7SS West Lake street; Ed Kinney,
a brother-in-law of Wittrock, and who as
sisted in the charge of tho coal office; Oscar
Cook, Kansas city cooper, and w. W.
Haight who at one time worked for the
Adams express, have all been arrested for
the famous express robbery of Oct. IS, 1886,
when $4,000 was taken from the Adams
Express company's safe. The fact that a
number of presumably respectable men have
been taken away from their little retail
establishment and their homes, where they
were regarded as humdrum, everyday plod
ding sort of characters, and that they are
charged with most sensational crime, is the
most remarkable feature of this most re-
markable crime From Wittrock and his
wife 81, 400 was taken; from Ed Kenney, the
brother -in-law, 5000; from Tom Weaver
S, 900. Nineteen hundred dollars of this
money was found sewed us in skirt belong
ing to Wittrocks wife The money taken
from Kinney was found secreted in belt
made of stockings. The 5000 taken from
Tom Weaver was found hidden in three jugs
in his cellar at as West Lake street.
All three men have been of late living the
lives of Woodworking men, but several of
how IL srhf at No
time in the employ of the Adams Express
company and made the same run as Fother-
ingham, whose safe was robbed Oct. %. He
was discharged for losing" a package which
| the express company was satisfied he stole,
but for which they did not prosecute him.
After his discharge he worked for Fred
Wittrock and also for Tom Weaver He is
described as quiet, self-contained man with
! lazy habits. 1t was in attempting to place
W. W. Haight when they were tracing up
all the discharged agents, Immediately after
the robbery, that the Pinkertons got their
| first clew to the crime. While they were
looking for Haight they ran across Witt
| rock, his whilom employe, found
| that Wittrock was from Lsavenworth
and had a queer history, and that
| he filled to a nicely the description
| of the famous Jim Cummings From the
moment that Haight was traced TO Witt
rocks employ developments followed with
amazing rapidity to involve the next of rela-
| tives and neighbors about the coal office.
| Cautious inquiry brought out the further in
| formation that Wittrock had left the city in
| company with Tom Weaver Oct %, taking
with them two valises, a double-har relied
/ nd 11l I-,t NtitfrpnE do
clared that he was going to Arkansas to looh
some land, and that they intended TO dc
some hunting Weaver returned in the
course of a couple weeks, but Wittrock wa:
still absent Bills rendered to the latter tc
his customers for coal and wood were oh
tanned and these were submitted to the ex
perts, in whose hands the Jim Cummings
letters were, for they had already commenced
arriving in the newspaper offices at st
Louis These persons unhesitatingly de
clared the penmanship to be that of the SAINT
person, for, while all the Cummings letters
were done in backhand, Wittrock wrote 6
running hand which showed its relation te
the chirography of the train robber.
Thursday night Robert and William Pin
kerton rented room near Wittrocks house
| In order to divert suspicion William repre-
sented himself as proof-reader on a morn
ing paper, while Robert was employed in &
similar capacity on an afternoon paper
Thus they explained why one was Away
leaving when the other was just arriving.
close watch was kept on the house, and at
D. m. Friday it was feared that the big mai
lWittrockl had slipped away Robert ant
his assistants came on duty at 5 o'clock. A
o'clock Kinney came out of the coal offic
and went to Wittrocks house A few me
ments later he appeared with Weaver and
after giving a signal, started down tbs street
Ten minutes later the big man, who wa
none other than Wittrock, came out Rob
ert Pinkerton signaled bis detectives that h
recognized him and that the men were t
be arrested at once. Kinney an
Wittrock went into Sparboro Bros
saloon, near Madison and Lincoln street:
Weaver having turned back The next mo
ment Kinney also started down the street
Mr.. Pinkerton and his detectives entered th'
saloon and found Wittrock talking to
man who had been seen shadowing his hous
for him As soon az Wittrock saw the thre
officers enter he started to walk out Pinl
erton stopped him and Wittrock started bac
as if to draw revolver The next momer
two detectives sprang forward with draw
revolvers and Wittrock threw up his hand:
His friend, the shadow, was also placed III
der arrest In Wittrock's pockets weI
found two 44caiiber revolvers, He had ju:
$40 on his person. Half an hour later XII
ney returned and was promptly arrested.
At O'Clock in the afternoon Weaver wa
; arrested while entering the coal yard. Il
made a desperate resistance. Wittrock
house was then searched and Mrs. Wittroc
placed under arrest.