Huntsville gazette., 1892-02-27
A DARING ROBBER.
A Masked Mans Bold Attempt at
Express Robbery.
The New York Central the Scene-A Due
Between LOcomotives-The Mes
senger Wounded and the
Robber Captured.

ROCHESTER,, N. Y, Feb. 2o.-Daniel
L McInerney, messenger in the en-
pl y Ut the American Express Co., lies
at ,is home in Waverly place in this
cit. =, with three bullet wounds on his
per son, the result of an encounter with
a most desperate train robber.
The American Express train which
reao ohed this city at 7:15, on the New
YORK. Central railway, left Syracuse
yesterday morning at 5 o'clock, ON time,
in charge of Conductor Emil Laass and
Engineer Caleb Cherry.
About half an hour after the train
left Syracuse Messenger McInerney
was startled by the sound of breaking
glass. Before he could discover its
cause masked man sprang through
the broken window and confronted him
with revolver. McInerney drew his
weapon and both men fired at the same
time. McInerney missed his mark, but
the robber did not. His bullet pene-
trated McInerney's left hand and it
was followed by two others, one of
which entered his leg, and the other
grazed his forehead. The robber
knocked him senseless with the but of
his revolver and went at the packages
in the car. The story is told as fol-
lows:
Between Weedsport and Jordan the
conductor, Z. Lucas, thought that he
heard the air signal sound, but as no
one else had heard it he paid no atten-
tion to it. In few minutes it sounded
again, this time Enthusiastically, and the
conductor said There is something
wrong, and in the express car ahead,
where McInerney is alone" He and
brakeman, II. A. Culver, accordingly
went TO the platform between the two
cars. The conductor raped at the
door, but received no reply. Then
climbing onto the iron hand-rail,
he peered into the car through
the opening that the bell rope ran
through. He saw nothing of McIner-
ney, but instead saw a strange man
standing in the car over whose head
was drawn red hood which covered
all of lis face but the nose and eyes
and fell below his chin to his breast.
Stepping on the platform the conduc-
tor said to the brakeman, "There is
something wrong in there" and sig
nailed for the train to slow up. Then
beth he and the brakeman leaned off
the platform on the south side of the
Ear and at the same time the red
hooded head of the robber protruded
from the door of the express car and
a voice said: &c d you, shove
al 1~af -
ply or dodge back bullet
whizzed past their ears. Both
sprang back into the coach and
the brakeman locked the front door.
The train was running very slowly,
and without stopping it the conductor
directed the rear brakeman to take
both the red and white lanterns and go
back to Jordan, signal any train he
might meet and telegraph to this city
concerning the affair. The train then
swung rapidly ahead, but on nearing
Port Byron, again slowed up on ac-
count of the semaphore being set
against it. Arriving at the station the
conductor set the brakes of his train
and jumped on to the depot plat
tor. Presently McInerney appeared
in the door of his car and
called for help, saying that he was
wounded and was all alone in the car
On hearing this the conductor supposed
that the robber had become frightened
and left the train while it had been
running slowly, but future develop
&c 10 cJ h ,nl, hn
was mistaken. Another messenger
was put in the car to care for the
wounded man till they should reach
Lyons.
The conductor and his crew returned
to the rear coach. and the train pro-
ceeded on it's way to Lyons. The train
pulled into the depot of the last-named
station, McInerney was taken off and
cared for and then the train backed up
to take water. The conductor re-
manned on the depot platform talking
of the occurrence to the station agent,
and some dozen or fifteen others who
happened to be at the station, stating
that he thought the robber had left the
train before reaching Port Byron, when
the agent interrupted with the remark
that he had seen man jump off his
train while it was standing at the
depot.
While Conductor Laass was looking
over his train just previous to its pull
ing out of Syracuse he had seen
man lettering near it, and sharply
scrutinized the face, as it was a new
one around the depot to him, but he
supposed it was some one on duty
there, and so thought nothing of it.
Now, as the agent made this remark,
he turned around and found himself
face to face with that same individual
The man had evidently gotten off the
further side of the train while it stood at
the depot, had walked around both
train and station, come down the street
as if from the town, and was now lean
ing coolly and carelessly against the
building.
Turning to the brakeman who stood
near. Mr.. Laass said: Didn't we see
this man in Syracuse?"
To which the brakeman replied:
"Yes that's him; that's your man,
hove