Middletown transcript., 1892-03-17
DESPERATE BURGLARS.
AN EFFORT TO ARREST THEM ON AN
EXPRESS TRAIN ENDS IN FAILURE.

}. folk express, left Dover Tuesday
Il morning it had on board four strange
n men who had walked into the station
II just as the train pulled in and almost
8 Immediately boarded it. Two OF
8 them purchased tickets for Whining
4 ton and the others paid conductor
i Thomas b. Lewis their fare to the
same place. Detective N. B. Hutch
q ins of Dover, Officer John Locker
l man of the same place and County
: Constable Charles W. Smith of Cam
3 den, were at the station and boarded
> the train. The four first named were
supposed to be the burglars who blew
up five safes at Milford on Sunday
night, and the officers were on the
lookout for them when they appear
ed at the station. Shortly after leav-
ing Dover the officers attempted to
arrest the burglars, but after fierce
resistance during which the bullets
flew thick and fast, the men managed
to escape by jumping from the flying
train. One of them was captured at
Clayton the following morning and
has since died from the result of a
bullet wound in the abdomen.
On Sunday night or early Monday
morning the burglaries in Milford
were committed. The burglars must
have left Milford Immediately after
the burglaries were committed, and
arrived in Wyoming early on Mon
day evening and put up at two differ
ent hotels. Two men stopped at
each hotel. In the morning they
sauntered out and got shaved. No
one in Wyoming knew that burglar
les had been committed in Milford
and so paid no attention to the
strangers. In the afternoon they
quietly left town and walked up the
railroad track toward Dover. The
three officers named had been look
ing for the burglars in the lower part
of the State and had reached Dover.
They considered it would be well to
| watch the Dover station for the Nor
folk express when she arrived in
Dover at $50 o'clock Tuesday morn
ing.
THEY WE'RE THERE.
Just before the train arrived the
burglars appeared at the station. The
men were allowed to board the train
and the officers followed. What hap
pened after the men boarded the
train is best learned from the follow
ing story, told by the Conductor
Lewis.
CONDUCTOR LEWIS STORY.
"We were on time. The men got
on at Dover. They were all young
men and small men. They were all
smooth-faced men except one, who
had a red mustache. The four men
got on first, and Hutchins, Lock
erman and Smith got on after them.
Two of the men took a seat in the
end of the smoker on the right side
and the other two in the middle OF
the car on the same side. The man
next to the window in the front Of
the car gave me ticket and the |
other man paid his fare. The two in |
the middle of the car did the same.
"At the time there was in the car
besides the burglars, the officers and
myself, a man and his wife for New
York, a veteran from the Hampton |
Home, and Thomas Cruggs, car in
spector at Delmar, and his two chill
dren. Hutchins and his men split
just after we left Dover. Hutchins
sat on seat arm near the centre OF
the car and Smith went to the two
men in the middle of the car and
spoke to them. He then came to
Hutchins and said: Nat, those are
our men and we had better get them
Hutchins said all right. Lockerman
was told to guard the door. He
guarded the front door of the car.
Smith went to the two men in the
middle of the car and spoke to them
again. The man on the outside got
up and walked into the water-closet.
As he passed the men in the front OF
the car he touched the man nearest
the aisle. The man touched immedi-
ately braced up to Lockerman and in
stantly shots were exchanged. Smith
rushed up and was shot in the face.
A second shot struck him in the
shoulder. The man then pulled open
the door and jumped from the train.
We were then between Cheswold and
Brenford, and the train was running
thirty-five miles an hour at least.
By this time things were getting con-
fused. Smith leaned out the window
and fired his pistol with his left hand,
evidently thinking the man in the
closet was trying to get out the win
dow. The burglar returned the fire
and shot Smith in the finger. The
man then came out of the water
closet and jumped off the train.
81 then helped the man and woman
for New York out of the car. He had
her head wrapped in a cloak to pro-
tect her from the bullets. When
got them out of the way came back
and Just as I entered the baggage
master closed the door. Then bull
let went whizzing through the window
where Crugg's children were. Before
the bullet came the Cruggs children
had lodged behind the seat. When
the bullet did come I fell behind the
seat and the baggage-master on top
of me. There was no glory in it for
me. The Cruggs children had a mar
row escape. By this time the two
burglars had gotten on the platform.
The baggage-master started to open
the front door again, but one OF the
burglars pointed revolver at him
and told him to get back. Hutchins
then opened the door. The burglar
- o4%orv,, his o0mnaOioD had |