The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1892-03-03
Express Robberies-A Series Of Oar.
Ing and Successful Attacks Upon
Express Cars.


Express Cars.
The remarkable feat of Oliver Curt
Perry, in attempting to rob the expires
car near Rochester, N. Y, on the 21s
has called forth the following detaile
statement of other similar attempts j
recent years. A letter dated at Roches
ter, February 22nd, reads as follows
Daniel McInerney, the express mes
senger who had such a thrilling exper
! fence with train robber yesterda
morning. was brought to his home j
this city and surgical aid summoned
He was under the influence of anas
| thetlc this forenoon and his surgeon
would not allow him to see strangers
His worst wound is that through tn
right thigh
McInerney told his family that whel
he found himself in the power of TIN
robber he rolled out some of the les
valuable packages and covered valuab!,
ones with them. The robber was i'm
patient to get the currency and threat
ened to shoot if it was not surrendered
He said to the messenger, You cam
fool me. I've been in the business be
FORE" While the robber was waiting t,
get the money the train reached Lyon
and the game was up.
J. B. Prentiss, agent for the American
Express Company in this city, went tt
Lyons last night and had an interview
with the robber. Mr.. Prentiss said thi
morning: He is the same man who
committed the Utica robbery. Oliver
Curtis Perry. He admitted the whole
thing and told where he had been
Since the Utica robbery he said he ha6
been in Canada, down South and in the
West. He says he always went under
his own name, and was indignant at the
statement that he took any other name
He told me he knew when they were
after him in any place, and avoided ar
rest by changing his voice and putting
on gold spectacles.
Perry is one of the brightest and
coolest fellows ever saw. He has been
a cowboy and we know that he has been
in the State prison in this and ether
States, although he did not tell us so.
He told me that his health is failing and
that he knew he would go to prison for
this and never come out alive. He had
sixteen cartridges when he surrendered
and three revolvers, one large and two
small. The larger one had bore you
could put your finger down. He said !:
McInerney was a good man, but indis-
Greet. He ought to have thrown up his
hands. did not want to kill him, but
only wing him."
Before Perry was captured he had q
mustache, but shaved himself with a
razor which he carried. Detective Hines,
of New York, a Pinkerton man, saw the
prisoner this morning. He claims that
Perry has travelled throughout the West
and South and has charges of all sorts of
crimes laid to his credit.
Express and train robberies are often
enough reported, but it is seldom that
one occurs in section so thickly settled
as that which Perry chose for his two
exploits on the New York Central Rail
road. His first attempt, so far as is
known, to get rich at the expense of the
express companies WAS on September
Both, of last year, when he cut his way
into car near Utica. He made $500
by that piece of work and escaped.
Altogether Perry's crimes can be classed
among the most daring in the history of
train robbery especially when it is re-
that he worked wholly alone.
Six weeks after Perry's fist robbery
November Ian express car on the st.
Paul road was rified in a region almost
as closely populated as is the country
around Lyons and Utica but there were
two robbers instead of one. They board
ed the car at Western Union junction,
near Milwaukee, at II o'clock at night.
They compelled the engineer and fire
man to stop the train and then cons
pletely wrecked it with dynamite bombs.
They secured only 5000, and did not
attempt to open the great safes contain
ing more than 100000.
The most famous train robbery that
has ever occurred i'll 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 Company,
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
an express messenger. Fotheringham
admitted him to the car unhesitatingly.
About half an hour after the stranger
appearance and after the train had been
ed on Fotheringham and overcame and
bound him. The robber then rifed the
money packages, meanwhile telling the
PROSTATE messenger that he was Jim
Cummings, the last of the Jesse James
gang The robber finally escaped with
$4,000 in stolen money and was not cap
tured for long time. Fotheringham
was accused of completely, and after
wards sued the express company for
100000 damages.
A remarkable series of train robberies
took place in Texas in the fall of 1887
First eight men held no train at Fla
tonia on the Sunset line. They got a
large amount of money. Two robberies
in North Texas by what was sup
posed to be the same gang netted them
about $4,000, and they secured $4,000
more by four hold ups in the neigh
borhood OF Ell Paso. A fifth effort near
the same city resulted disastrously fol
the robbers, but covered Express Mes
senger J. E. Smith with glory. Two
men stopped the train. Smith at once
put out the lights in his ca, found 8
pistol in the dark and k'Ilel the robber
neare> t him. Then with double bar
relied shotgun he disabled the second
desperado.
An attack was m lde on train on the
Sonora road at Agulzarca, Ariz., in May
1888. The conductor, tiIenan and ex
press messenger were all killA'l, and the