The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1889-10-09
A DARING ROBBERY.
A Mail and Passenger Train
Plundered by DesperadOes.
The Expressman Made to Sur
render at the Point of a Pistol.

The Mobile and Ohio south bound mail and
passenger train has been held up by train
robbers at Buckatunna, Miss, station sew
enty miles north of Mobile, Ala.
Just before the train left Buckatunna two
men disguised mounted behind the tender Of
the train and covered Engineer Jack Terrell
and Fireman Thomas Hust with revolvers.
The leader ordered the engineer to pull out
and stop at the bridge, two miles below
Buckatunna, and to place the train SO that
the express and mail car should be on the
furthur side Of the bridge from the rest OF
the train, the bridge being trestle over
desP rt creek; a5.r ,n.+,,ctions or it's death he
said.
The engineer reluctantly obeyed and ran
the train where the men with the pistols
wanted it, :.
Then there appeared third robber, dis
guised like the other two. These three mace
the engineer and fireman come Wi them to
the express car and the engineer had to call
out to Expressman J. W. Dunning to open
the door of the car. Dunning, taking in the
situation, opened the door and the cher
robher Jumped in, the other two remaining
outside to guard the engineer and fireman.
The leader made the messenger dump the
contents of the safe into a canvas sack, put
noticing that he was not closely watcned,
Dunning showed some Of the money aside, SO
that about $1,000 was hidden, the robbers get
ting 5000. All this money belonged to the
Mobile and Ohio Railroad Company. Along
side the express car door was pile OF $7O. 0oO
Government money. en- route TO Florlda,
which the robbers failed to notice.
Then the robbers made the e1pressman geG
out of the car and go with them to the mall
car. W. C. Bell the mail agent, had suspect
ed that robbery was going on and tr1sd 10 ge1
into baggage car with number OF regis
tered mail packages just as ne stepped 70
the end door of the car he saw through
glass that the robbers had intercepted nim.
The leader, supposed to be Bunch, raced h1m 2:
pistol in hand. and, finding Bells arms full OF
packages, said:
dump those here on my left arm"
There were twenty-four packages In al,
and Bell dumped them as requested. Inc
robber then made Bell hand him registered
pouch and ordered the agent to open 1t, but
Bell had no key, so the robber carried the
pouch Off with him. The pouch was made
I'D at Meriden and the contents and value are
unknown.
Just then Billy Scholes, the conductor, who
had been trying to find out what tne Iroqole
was and had armed himself with Wlnches,
his lantern and shouted:
'sWhat's the matter"
The robbers fired two shots at him, crying
out: "Come up here and you'll see wnats
the matter"
The engineer told the robber to let up on
shooting. as the train hands would open tre
and shoot their own men.
There was no more shooting and the tram
was ordered to pull out at once, which 1t
cid, the robbers disappearing in the under DE
Growth on the west side of the track. The
train pulled down to Citronyille and swapped
time with the accommodation train, and Ine
accommodation train engine and car was
sent back to the scene of the robbery WIN
detectives and an armed posse.
The leader of the robbers is q man SIX feet
high, of about one hundred and seventy
pounds weight, dressed in common clothing
and slouch hat. His assistants wore COM
mon clothing and nothing to distinguish
Them When the handkerchief slipped down
a little off of the leaders, face the express
messenger says he saw he had black mus
tache and he thinks he had beard.
The leader Of the robbers is believed to be
Rube Burrows, a noted desperado, the man
for whom search created so much excite
ment in the northern part of Alabama Few
months ago. At that time it is believed ne
was organizing gang to head up some train,
and the Mobile and Ohio company, anticpat-
ing an attack, armed all its train hands with
Winchester rifles. This was made public.
and was doubtless what the robber referred
to when he said during the progress OF ROB
bing the mail car: "The Mobile and Ohlo
dared me to hold up train, and wanted to
show them could do it."
Another Train Robbery in Texas.
At late hour in the night, as the north
bound Santa Fe train was pulling out OF
Crowley, ten miles south OF Fort Worth,
Texas three men boarded the
train and two others jumped ON
the locomotive. The two on the engine
placed pistols to the heads Of the engineer
and firemen and .old them to stop. y.
The robbers :ut the engine, baggage, mall
and express sars from the rest Of the train
and mads the engineer pull half mile
furthc.. One of the men then got into the
express car and ordered the messenger
to show them the money. He pointed
to three bags of Mexican silver dollars.
One of the men ripped open sack and shov-
elled the silver out of the door, while the 9th
er one threw out the other sacks They took
two packages, said to contain $4,000 each, but
overlooked three or four money packages Tor
Fort Worth. The engineer was then made
to couple up and move. =,
The train reached Fort Worth at mid
night, and posse Of twenty men started In
pursuit at once.