Huntsville gazette., 1893-11-18

| LlNCOLN, Ill, NOV. Ill ram NO. .,
on the Peoria, Decatur & Evansville
railway, which leaves Peoria at $50 p.
m. consisting of combination bag
| gage, express, smoker and coaches, due
to arrive at Mattoon at midnight. was
held up last night, six miles east of
here, on Salt Creek bridge, where the
trains on this road slack their speed
| owing to the effectiveness Of the
bridge. The train was in charge Of
| Conductor Chris Richmond, of Peoria,
with George Trott. of Peoria, as brake
man, and left here on time at s:45.
On the outskirts of Lincoln, at the
| junction of the Peoria, Decatur t5
Evansville railroad and the Havana
branch of the Illinois Central, is situ-
ated the citizens coal shaft, which has
always been favora BILE place for the
| tramps to board trains on either Of the
aforesaid roads
Last night when the train held up
| stopped for coal and water three men
were seen to board the front end of the
combination car, but not much atten-
ton was paid to the occurrence, as it
happened frequently. At the bridge
named, which is a long trestle, 1,O0O
feet long, at the beginning Of a heavy
grade leading into Mount Pulaski, the
train slackencd up suf1i ciently to ena-
bic men to board it.
A Shot Was Fired Into One of the
| Coaches.
A shot was fred INTO one of the
coaches, which caused the brakeman,
Trott, to saunter forth to inquire into
the cause. AS he reached the forward
platform of the next to the last coach
he was confronted by mcdium-sized
man, wearing gum coat and mask
made of a handkerchief. The robber
pointed revolver at the trainman as
soon as the two met and, without q
word of warning or command, shot the
brave man in the abdomen. One of
the passengers ran to the rescue of the
brakeman, but was halted by a shot
| from confederate. which passed
through his hat, warning him that it
was worth his life to leave the coach.
Began Shooting Into the Cars.
Immediately upon firing the shots
the two men were seen to jump off the
train, and as soon as they did so they
began shooting into the cars through
the windows, shouting to the engineer
and conductor to pull out, or we will
shoot you"
The trainmen took them at their
word and increased the speed of the
train so rapidly and suddenly that one
of the three robbers, tall, slim man,
did not venture to jump from the train,
and was carried to the village of Mount
Pulaski, where he alighted, and with
a revolver in each hand began to in
timidate whoever he met, which he
successfully did, for no one attempted
to intercept him.
A Favorable Spot for Such WORK.
The spot selected for the robbery is
;he most favora bic for such work to be
found in the state. The country is
rough in the vicinity Of the bridge, and
there are no houses within mile.
An Unlikely Train to Rob.
OF all the trains on the roads from
which haul could be made, the one
which passed through the ordeal Of
last night is the least likely to afford
any considerable revenue to train rob
bers. The American Express Co. has
charge Of the express business, and the
money was shipped from here for any
point down the road, and that he Is
positive that money is seldom
shipped from Peoria on this tram.
He is thoroughly familiar with tho
road, having had the run from
Peoria to Evansville, Ind, for several
years. He states that the cash is
usually shipped toward Peoria on the
train. The passenger travel on the
train is not very extensive, as lay
over for four hours is made at Mattoon
from midnight until a. m, when the
train proceeds to its terminus, Evans
vile.
There were aboard last night about
twenty passengers, mostly residents
of Mount Pulaski and farmers from the
remote portions of the county adjacent
to Mount Pulaski, who were attending
the opening of the November term OF
the county court.
Hands Inexperienced at the Business.
The robbers were inexperienced, as
their conduct shows by failing to gain
control of the locomotive and their fail
ure to have horses at hand with which
to escape, the country being unfavora-
BILE for such operations after holding
up a train. The appearance of the
brakeman and his tragic fate aroused
the engineer, and, as already stated,
prompted him to pull out of the trap
as soon as he discerned that the way
was clear This baffled the robbers.
Posses Organized and Surrounding Towns
Notified.
The news of the robbery reached
here about 7:40 The train was held
at Mount Pulaski and posse was at
once organized and began search. All
strangers in the place were taken into
custody and the sheriff of the county
was notified here, and with another
band of men started for the
scene. Nearly every town in
this county is connected with Lincoln
by telephone, and word was sent to
each to be on the outlook, with in
structions to village officers to arrest
and hold all stragglers until they can
be seen and examined by several per-
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