The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-08-01
RAPACITY FOILED.
A Thrilling Tale of the Ice Mania of
1904 Fortune Melted Away.
From the Chicago r i5ltne.

From the Chicago r hume.
| Clad in his bullet-proof coat Of mail the
trusty guard of the ice wagon sat in the
/ iron-plated turret on the hurricane deck Of
the vehicle, with his Winchester rife in his
hand, collection of hand grenades within
easy reach, and his belt full of navy
revolvers of the largest size. On
little shelf in front of him was
pair Of sabers ready for instant use in an
emergency requiring hand-to-hand fighting,
and a powerful field glass for detec5-
ing an enemy at long range swung
on pivot in such a way as to command
view Of the landscape in every direction.
The driver of the wagon. as heavily armed
as the nature Of his duties would permit, sat
in bomb-proof enclosure, and guided the
horses by means of lines passing through
portfolios in front, while the athlete who
occupied the responsible and dangerous
position at the rear of the wagon and de-
livered the ice to customers, was equipped
with bottles of vitrol FIR defensive use, and
wore under his outer garments a suit of
chain armor that had belonged once to a
base ball umpire
Under the watchful protection of the
guard on the roof the wagon had stopped at
Its regular places, the man in the rear had
made several deliveries Of ice to customers
In perfect safety, and as the driver turned
down wide street in a thickly settled por-
ton of the town, with few pers ms in sight
except children at play, the vigilance of the
trio In charge Of the ice wagon relaxed and
sense Of security stole over them.
suddenly as they passed an alley troop
OF horsemen dashed out of it with a wild
yell, half dozen lassos few through the
air, and before they could recover from
their confusion the guard on the roof and
the man on the rear steps of the wagon
fha,,.
the ground and bound with ropes. This
done, part Of the gang opened fire with
reviewers on the bomb-proof casemate
where the driver sat and succeeded in oc-
cupying his attention, while the others with
crowbars and sledge hammers forced open
the iron doors in the rear.
The plans of the daring robbers had been
lalo with care, and in less time than it takes
10 tell or 1T they had succeeded in their des-
perate undertaking, and were on their way
out OF the town with their booty, a chunk
OF Ice weighing at least ten pounds, wrapped
in a blanket.
The knowledge that the news Of the rob-
berry would be flashed through the place and
telegraphed far and wide, accompanied by
offers OF large rewards for their capture.
dead or alive, lent wings to the fleeing viii
lains. They had held up many a train on
the plains Of Texas and in the rocky fast
nesses OF Missouri, but had never engaged
before In scheme of plumber on so gigantic
scale, and they rode from the scene of their
exploit with the wild haste of men fleeing
for their lives
In little clearing In the heart of dense
wood, miles and miles from the town they
had invaded, these men halted at dusk.
Turning their jaded animals loose they
gathered eagerly alb ut their prze I'm
rolling IL with the utmost care they Toasted
their eyes on its glitterlng outlines, and
with hands trembling with excitement, they
prepared to divide it.
mo cheating" Numbered Broken Nosed
Pete, as gaunt villain with saw drew it
across the block little to the left of the
line he had drawn across it with dagger.
Hare-Lipped Nose sprang to his feet with
terrible oath, knives flashed in the air.
derringers were drawn, and the sounding
alsles of the dim woods rang with the voices
OF men in angry strife
| High rose the din of conflict. The pity
ing sun looked down on Goggle-eyed Hank
| and Grizzly Jake, the Terror of Bloody
Gulch, engaged in fierce combat, while
| Comanche Dick and Wild Mike rolled over
and over on the ground, biting and gouging
one another IN frantic rage. Daredevil
| Sam and One-Eyed Jackson emptied their
pistols at each other aud then fought at
close quarters with brass knuckles and slung-
shots. In this way the battle had ragged for
some time without any decisive result, when
a frlghtful and blood-curdlng yell from one
| OF the combatants caused a suspension of
hostllltles. He had stopped fighting and
was standing in wild dismay over the spot
where the captured treasure had lain.
1t had vanished.
| While they had been fighting over its
possession the sun had melted away a for
tune!