The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1892-02-24
"HOLD Up YOUR HANDS. "
A Command Which Irainmen Have
Frequently Heard.
FAMOUS ROBBERIES RECALLED BY
PERRY'S EXPLOIT.

Few Were in ThickIy Settled Regions
as the New York CentraPs Desperate
Chose-Fifty Thousand Dollars the
Booty in One Haul-Records Show
That Passengers Have Sometimes
Fought Well-The Texas Crimes.
New YORK, February 23.-The daring
exploit of Oliver Curtis Perry, the man
who attempted to rob the American Ex-
press Company's train ON the New York
Central, Sunday, has called attention to
other mail and express robberes on the
iron highways. Train robberies are Of
ten enough reported, but it is seldom
that one occurs in a section so thiekly
settled as that which Perry chose for his
two exploits on the New York Central
railroad. His first attempt, so far as is
known, to get rich at the expense of the
express companies was on September &c
of last year, when he cut his way into
car near Utica. He made $500 by that
piece of work and escaped. Altogether,
Perry crimes can be classed among the
most daring in the history of train rob-
bery-especially when it is remembered
that he worked wholly alone.
Six weeks after Perry's first robbery,
November IS, an express car on the st.
Paul road, was rifled in a region almost
as closely populated as is the country
around Lyons and Utica; but there were
two robbers instead of one. They
boarded the car at Western Union juno
ton, near Milwaukee, at II o'clock at
night They compelled the engineer and
fireman to stop the train, and then COM
pletely
Wrecked 1t With Dynamite Bombs.
They secured only $4,000, and did not at
tempt to open the great safes containing
more than 100000.
The most famous train robbery that
has ever occurred in the United States
was committed in October, 1886, between
ST. Louis and Pacific Junction. A man
presented letter to Messenger Fother-
ingham, of the Adams Express Compa-
ny, just before his car pulled out of st.
Louis. The note purported to be from
the superintendent, and ordered Fother.
ingham to take the stranger with him ON
his trip and teach him the duties of an
express messenger. Fotheringham adj
lritted him to the cav unhesitatingly.
About half an hour after the strang
er's appearance and after the train had
been in motion for some time, the man
Jumped. on Fotherineham and oyercame
and bound him. The robber then rifled
the money packages, meanwhile telling
the PROSTATE messenger that he was Jim
Cummings, the last
OF the Jesse James Gang.
The ro5ber finally escaped with $4,000
in stolen money and was not captured
Tor long time. Fotheringham was ac-
cused of completely, and afterward sued
the express company for 100000 dam
ages.
A remarkable series of train robberies
took place in Texas in the fall of 1887.
First eight men held up a train at Flato-
MIA on the Sunset line. They got large
amount of money. Two robberies in
North Texas by what was supposed to be
the same gang netted them about $4,000,
and they secured $500 more by four
'shold ups'' in the neighborhood of Ell
Paso. A fifth effort near the same city
resulted disastrously for the robbers, but
covered Express Messenger j. E. Smith
with glory. Two men stopped the train.
Smith at once put out the lights in his
car, found pistol in the dark and
Killed the Robber Nearest Him.
Then with double barreled shotgun
he disabled the second desperate.
An attack was made on train on the
Sonora road at Aguazarca, Ariz., in
May, 1888. The conductor, fireman and
express messenger were all killed, and
the robbers only secured S130 booty. A
few months later an attempt to rob a
train on the Union Pacific near Rawlins,
Wvo., resulted in a battle between the
trainmen and passengers on one side and
gang of marked men on the other, dur
ing which more than 100 shots were
fired and four men were wounded. De-
cember Is, 1888, in fight with train rob-
bers near Duck Hill, Miss, brave
young passenger named Chess Hughes
of Jackson, Tenn, who fired on the rob-
bers with Winchester, was shot dead.