Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-11-12
Daring Attempt at Western Union
Junction, Wis.
EXPRESS CAR END BLOWN OPEN.
A Great Storm in Southwestern
Ireland.
THE CHICAGO ANARCHISTS.
DARING TRAIN ROBBERY.
Bandits Boarded an Express at q wisconsin
Hamlet Early This Morning.

Bandits Boarded an Express at q Wisconsin
Hamlet Early This Morning.
MILWAUKEE, Nov. 12.-The midnight
train from Chicago on the Milwaukee and ST.
Paul railroad was robbed by masked men near
Western Union Junction at o clock this morn
ing. The train had been out of the junction,
twenty-three miles south of this place, about
half a mile, when the fireman Edward Averill,
who was putting some coal into the furnace
was startled to hear a noise behind him. he
turned around and discovered two heavily
masked men clambering over the engine tender.
Both leveled their double barreled muskets at
the fireman and the engineer, Bill" Mckay,
with the injunction: Don't move an inch TIL
We tell you to or We will blow the tops Of your
id heads off"
Engineer Mckay was directed to run the
train to within a point about one mile from
Western Union Junction.
Both men were ordered TO step down out Of
the cab and get in line ahead of the robbers.
They were marched to the express car under
the cover. and then the work of blowing open
the express car began. Several bombs, the
fireman thinks they were were thrown into the
car. and explosions were terrific and must
have awakened every passenger on the train,
but nobody appeared on the scene.
The robbers undoubtedly we're not less than
six or seven in number. judging from the man
ner In which they conducted operations. The
with which to cart away the safes, which were
taken bodily out of the
FIREMAN AvERuL's STORY.
Fireman Averill's story is the most compre-
hensive. They made me walk ahead Of them
to the express car, )" he said, ''and they gave me
jimmy to pry open the boxes. had to move
all the dead matter off the boxes and do their
dirty work generally, but was glad to get off
with a whole skin.
They got the messengers keys. though he
was In no hurry to give them up. and they will
have no trouble in getting away with all the
money"
The train was held for over half an hour, and
If the plans of the robbers had not been per-
feet they would not have been delayed much.
Their entire efforts were conferred on the eX-
press car and not passenger was molested.
The fireman thinks there were half dozen
men guarding the coaches however.
WHAT MESSENGER MURPHY SAYS.
LESS than five minutes out of Western
Union Junction, said Messenger Murphy, 1.-THE
train slowed up suddenly. musket was
poked through a top window of the car and a
| second later q terrific explosion occurred tina,
knocked both myself and Mr.. Cook in a heap.
Half dozen more explosions followed and
both doors few off the bolts. Then two men,
wearing big black masks. clambered quickly
into the car and covered Us with double-bar-
| releQ mushets- we were cauuOneC TO main
tain silence at the penalty of getting our heads
| 'blowed off,
after CHANGING hurriedly about the car. the
| robbers fastened their eyes on the two iron
boxes OF the American Express Company. The
robbers brought the fireman in a little later
| and went through all the boxes They COM
PEELED us to hand over the keys. They dumped
the box out on the road bed. One of the rob-
bers kept us covered with his musket all the
| time. while the other robber superintendent
operations of tine fireman.
Messenger Murphy stated that he had Sc
cured all the bills of the money contained in
| the safe and that the sum undoubtedly q
very large one. 1t is probable that the total
| amount of the robbers booty will amount 70
SIO0, 600 and possibly more. An official of the
! st. Paul road said that the train which was
| held up was the one which generally carried
| all the money received by the Milwaukee banks
from tine east in the morning.
Agent John I. Bell Of the American Express
Company said TO reporter after Messenger
Murphy had made his report that an approx
mate statement of the amount taken by the
robbers could not he learned. He said that
| 81, 1000 in local packages was certainly gone.
besides sum contained in two sealed en-
| velopes.
Some of the passengers who were asleep did
| not know anything about the ''hold up" until
the train arrived in Milwaukee. Some passen-
| gers thought there were twenty or thirty of
| the robbers others thought they saw only a
4
dozen. while others said there were more rob-
bers than passengers When the train started
| up again the passengers saw the safes lying be-
side the track, but the robbers had disap-
peared.
When the train arrived at the union depot
| at 2:20 o'clock the express presented an appear
| ance that would indicate il had been attacked
| by heavy artillery. Every door and window
had been blown out and the platform and walls
| were shattered in a half dozen places while
l fba ter IL ed in ind hal IL
heap in the center of the car. Messenger J. c.
Murphy and his assistant, Z. II. Cook, were
| found gathering up fragments of wayhills and
| looking over the remnants left by the robbers.
The first news Of the robbery was brought to
Western Union Junction by a fagman. The
Milwaukee and Racine police were telegraphed
| for Immediately, and Detective Hansen was
provided with special train, on which he left
at 2:40 oclock.
CHICAGO, Nov. IA report of the train
robbery near Western Union Junction has been
| received by General Manager Earring Of the
Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul railroad,
which states that the safes have been recovered
and that the robbers did not get any booty.
Train Robbers Beaten on.
BIRMINGHAM, ALA, Nov. 12-At Collins
vile, Ala, at 10 o'clock this morning gang of
fifteen white men, well dressed, captured the
railroad station and lay in wait for passenger
train No. Of the Queen and Crescent line
from Cincinnati for the purpose of robbery.
Officers appeared and drove the gang away.
As the train pulled in four of the robbers re-
turned and attempted to board il. The citi-
| to the woods. One, who was slightly wounded
| was captured. Officers are now securing the
country for the remainder. The name Of the
prisoner Is unknown.
DECLARED BANKRUPT.