River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1889-09-26
q SNIIG SLIM

- 0iNOo 0Om.
IL Is Secured by a Daring Craeksman
at Hurley, Wia-He Goes Through the
Vault of the Iron Exchange Bank. Se-
cures Nearly $40, 0oe, and Escapes With
out Leaving Trace OF His Identity.
ASHLAND. Wis. Sept 81 The most clev-
erly planned, daring and successful bank
robbery in the criminal annals of this State
was executed at Hurley Friday night, when
the Iron Exchange Bank was entered by
robbers and nearly $4,000 in cash. left
there for the night by the United States
Express Company, was taken. Periodical
ly the Ashland and Germanfa Mining Com
pany pays of its employees, numbering
over 1000, who work in the iron minee
near Hurley, and for this purpose s4l, 40
was shipped from the Ashland National
Bank To Hurley Friday The treasure was
sent in a dozen sacks and upon its arrival
in Hurley a little after Q o'clock p. m
it was removed TO the Iron Ex-
change Bank in wheelbarrow The time
lock of the safe inside the vault had been
set and the cash could not be put inside OF
it The company's agent consented 70
have the money placed in the vault outside
the safe for the night 1t was not con-
sidered a deposit, and the agent was given
no receipt
After the express package containing
the mining companys money had been
locked up the cashier, Mr.. Reynolds, with
the paying teller left the place and went
TO the theater. They were very late. as
the affair at the bank had kept them until
nearly 10 O'clock A little over
an hour afterward Mr.. Reynolds
returned to the bank, in which
building his sleeping apartments
are situated, and as he passed the door
with J. D. Langdon, a friend who intended
spending the night with him, he looked
into the brightly-hghted room and saw the
vault door was aiar With an exclamation
the young man opened the door and en-
tered the counting-room, followed by
his companion The outer vault door was
nearly half open, and touching against
It., wide open, stood the inner vault
door. The package which the cashier
had left an hour before on the stone floor
of the vault was gone. The othor contents
of the vault had been disturbed but little,
If at all, but over the floor, out in the
counting room, and even in the sleeping
room adjoining, gold and silver coins were
found. The package had been opened, and
some of the coin was rejected, as it was
found in a corner of the vault
The alarm was given at once, and in an
hour the whole town was aroused, and hun
dreds of detectives, professional and anna
teur had begun the task of finding the
robber couple of gentlemen who passed
the bank at 1879 said they saw a
man working at the door of the vault,
but ss he had on the cashiers we'll
known Office coat and cap, and as the cleo
trio lights were so bright that no thought
OF any one rifling the place could be enter
tanned, they passed on without suspicion
that the man they looked at was the COOL
est robber on record and that fortune was
Just In his grasp. Following quickly on the
heels of this statement came man bearing
the cashiers coat and hat, which he
had found in an alley short
distance from the bank The roads,
both rail and wagon, leading from
town were al once put under guard, and
men went gallopIng out on every highway
In the hope of oyertaking the fugitive, but
there was absolutely no trace of him.
Some person had entered the bank either
by transom over the rear door or by a
key, had opened the outer want door, to
DO which he must have known the combi-
nation, and had opened the inner door,
which required Yale key OF pattern not
easily duplicated
Cashier Reynolds, when seen. said that
90 one but himself and Assistant Cashier
Perrin had ever obtained the combination
Of the vault door. The officers of the bank
held a meeting Saturday, and after the
most careful inquiry decided that Cashier
Reynolds and the teller could not have
been implicated in the affair. It
was agreed that as the bank had
given no receipt for the money and
only accepted the custody without recon-
Denso in an irregular manner and purely
from accommodation, they could only be
1eld for ordinary care, which was eXer-
~fSaA bpr, hnfh 1pnrl loptypd ~ IA
treasure. Consequently the express COM
pany must lose the money.
The original package contained SAL, 600;
nearly 4, 200 was left behind, either in the
vaults or scattered about the floors Con-
sequently the robber must have secured
$4,000 The weight of the money is so
great that no man could carry it
On his person any distance without
lrousing suspicion, and this leads to
me belief that the coin has been buried
somewhere at or near the town and that il
will probably remain there until it is safe
:or the daring culprit TO return and dig it
Ip The paper money could easily be
carried by one man without suspicion,
out all travellers will be subjected to Sc
we're espionage for weeks to come. Hurley
always honored with the presence of
large number of rough characters. Some
lines they are men who work occasionally
1t the mines. but oftener they belong to
The class that never tolls. These persons
are being watched tonight and every sus-
oicious act is noted Ii is thought the
regular custom of sending these large sums
of money from Ashland to this city has
been known to outsiders. aud that they
have been planning this crime for months
They could have secured the keys and
waited till the favorable opportunity Of
Tered. and TO learn the combination would
then be their only task
The Iron Exchange Bank has capital OF
So, coo and is differed as follows: James
G. Reynolds. presidents Willis S. Reynolds,
cashier Ii is a State bank and was in
,orporated in 1880
The mines of the Ashland Mining Com
pany and those of the Germania Mining
Company are located here. The Ashland
Mining Company is composed OF the Hayes
Bros OF this place and the Colby Br S. of
Milwaukee, The Germania mine is owned
by the Hayes Bros
MILWAUKEE. Sept % A special from
Hurley says there are no developments in
the bank robbery which was committed
there late Friday night, and by which
thieves obtained nearly $4,000 belonging
10 the United States Express Company. No
slews have been found and no arrests as
yet have been made, Sunday morning the
man who found Mr.. Reynolds coat and hat
found bag containing s735 in silver dollars
on the site of the old foundry. This amount
was Immediately turned over to the ex-
press company.
HARD UP.