The morning call., 1893-09-22
BRAVE TRAINMEN.
They Fought the Bandits
Desperately.
ONE ROBBERY THAT FAILED.
Met With Stubborn Resistance
From the Start.
)NE ROBBERY THAT FAILED.
ONE BOLD THIEF KNOCKED DOWN
And the Others Looked Into Loaded
Guns and Saw That the
Game Was Up.

CENTRALIA, H.. Sept. 21.-It goes on
record for once that a well-planned train
robbery failed of success. At midnight
last night the New Orleans Limi ted from
Chicago reached here. Four men had
secreted themselves on top of the express
car, and when the train stopped at a coal
| chute a short distance further on to take
coal the robbers climbed down and over
the tender, calling on the engineer and
| fireman to throw up their hands. Instead
of doing so they made for the robbers,
who fired, wounding both severely.
! The robbers then attacked the express
car. firing numerous shots through the
| door, the express messenger and con-
ductor, who happened to be in the car,
replying in kind till the door was shot full
of holes.
The robbers finally broke open the door
with sledgehammers and, letting them
selves down over the top ot the car with
graphing irons, renewed the fighting with
tue messenger and conductor, who mean
time had harricaded themselves behind
the boxes and hampers.
While this was going on brakeman
warned the passengers. who proceeded to
conceal their valuables.
Among the passengers was an old-time
brakeman, Jake Sanders, of Duquoin,
who had a shotgun. He went at once to
the eXpress-car and succeeded in shooting
one of the robbers. Seeing the game was
up the other three Obbers fed, having Sc
cured nothing. 1t is understood a large
amount of money was in the express safe.
The wounded robbers name is d. L.Jones
and he is from Oxford Mills, la. He is
evidently a railroad man, as he carried a
card from the Order of Railway Train
men. issued at Chicago. and aswitchman's
card from the Atchison, Topeka and Santa
Fe at Kansas City. He was hit With a
monkey wrench by the fireman ana so
badly hurt that he soon fell exhausted.
The robber shot by Sanders escaped with
the others.
Engineer Young received a bullet in the
shoulder, coming out at the elbow, and
another in the back, lodging in the hip.
Fireman Mcdowell was also twice
wounded. once in the leg and once in the
neck. Conductor Odum was wounded
slightly in the hand.
After the flight of the bandits the train
was backed up here and an alarm was
given by the passengers and the men in
charge. A new crew was at once put on
and the train proceeded on its way, but in
the meantime the whole city was aroused
by the ringing of irebells, and the cap
tured bandit was threatened with lynch
ing unless he made full confession.
A posse turned out to hunt the robbers,
men being sent in all directions, and Jones,
seeing that he had determined men to deal
with and rightly judging that the threat of
Iynching would be carried out, at last
made a full confession. He said the other
members of the gang were Charles
O'Dwyer of this city, James Harding of
Danville. H., and man named Nichols
He also implicated a man named Martin
Of Duquoin in the plot, though he said
that Martin had taken no part in the actual
robbery.
From the story told by the wounded
bandit, it would seem that O'Dwyer was
the leader of the gang, although it seems
probable that Martin planned the affair
O'Dwyer had learned that the train it was
attempted to hold up would be the most
profitable to rob of any coming into the
city, and accordingly the crowd had got
together, and the three men had secreted
themselves on the roof of the car. After
the robbery. the success of which had
been counted upon onfidently, it had been
arranged to meet at O'Dwyer's house,
where the booty was to nave been divided
Jones was to have had the larger share,
according to his own story. because his
father is poor man.
After Jones had confessed, O'Dwyer's s
house was Immediately surrounded and
his surrender demanded. His mother re-
fused TO surrender him, and the party
watched till daylight, when O'Dwyer gave
himself up and is now in jail with Jones.
Jones is a switchman, and came here
from st. Louis on Monday with the other
members of the gang.
This afternoon Mayor James Benson
was notified that move was on foot to
lynch the two bandits Immediately after
sunset. The Prosecuting Attorney and
the police magistrate accompanied the
Mayor to the CiGy Jail. and laid the mat
ter before Jones and O'Dwyer, who had a
preliminary hearing. They were then
handcuffed and. accompanied by officers,
hurried TO a carriage in waiting, and be-
fore any one was aware of what was going
on the conveyance, closely followed by
the Mayor in buggy. was speeding across
the country to Salem, the county seat.
The Associated Press correspondent held
private interview with the prisoners just
before they were spirited out of the city.
O'Dwyer positively denied completely in
the crime. but when he leaped from the
train he dropped his mask and was recog-
nized. James Hardin, third robber, was
overhauled near Nashville this afternoon
and brought to this city at 10 o'clock on the
Chicago express. Mayor Benson went to
the train with several resolute men to see
that the prisoner passed through un-
harmed. He was taken TO Odin and from
there to Salem. over the Ohio and Mississ-
ippi Railway, and was landed in Jail with
O'Dwyer and Jones.