Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1893-10-06

St1nacy was thrown Off the train. It
was purely accidental that he escaped
death, for the train was moving swiftly
and the grading of the road was any
thing but smooth or level. As it was
he was laid up for months. Perhaps
it will afford some satisfaction to many
to know that this same miserable gang
persisted according to their deserts.
Three swung from a beachtree three
miles east Of Brown town, Ind, and
seven more OF them were taken by a
Jall-storming mob from the New
Albany prison and justly hanged.
The work Of the Starr gang in Indian
Territory was cruel enough, and every
one knows OF the many train robberies
that figured in it. The express mes
sengers who surrendered of them were
wise. Such determined human devils
would have rammed the cold barrel of
a A down a victims throat and blazed
away into his anatomy before they
would have been interfered with
Those who have read the exploits of
Evans and Sontag can imagine how
lone messenger with a spark of OBJ
lection in him would fare at their
hands. Those two coolheaded muir
derers lived strangely dual existence,
pretending to be quit, honest citizens
OF California, while making a record Of
crime that has appalled, the nation.
Inc deSperadoeS who push dynamite
sticks under eXpreSS-car doors or stand
erect upon the tender Of a flying engine
revolvers straight upon the cab crew
in the shadowy glare of an engine
furnace fire or moonlight beams are
fully determined and enthused Like
some crouching feline of the Jungle,
with the odor Of blood in it's nostrils.
the desire of gold is in their hearts,
and neither the sight Of human woe
, nor the thought Of eternal perdition
could stop them.
In 1876 the Adams Express company
was plundered just beyond Greenville,
ILL.,, at lonely water tank. In this
case the messenger fought the robbers
off and was wounded, though not Sc
Tiously.
In 1881 kellogg Nichols, messenger
Of the United States Express Company.
running on the Chicago Rock Island
and Pacific Road between Chicago and
Davenport, was killed by express rob
bers. The bandits came upon the train
between Mansfield and Joliet, Ill.
Nichols was alone in the express car
and back of him rolled a baggage car,
the master of which has ever since
been considered an accomplice in the
murder. How the robbery was con-
Quoted is not known. The flying train
never stopped nor was any struggle
heard. Yet when the train pulled into
Joliet, Nichols was found bruised and
dead upon the car floor, the express
safe looted and the robbers fled He
had been beaten to death with a large
iron poker that LAY near by.
The great Pacific robbery of 1886,
wherein Messenger III. d. Fotheringham
and Fred Witrock, alias Jim Cum
mings, figured, is still Il matter of pub
Ec interest. Fotheringham took into
his express car one Jim Cummings,
who bore Il letter from Superintendent
Damsel, of the Adams Express Com
pany, ordering Fotheringham to take
him along and break him in as a mes
senger. When Pacific was reached the
supposed employee turned upon Fother-
ingham and bound him tight He then
looted the express safe and fed. In
this instance Fotheringham stood in
disgrace and was prosecuted. Being
freed, however, by the court he in turn
sued the express company and secured
$4,000 damages. The company took
an appeal. and rather than have the
matter linger on Fotheringham com
promised for q smaller sum.