The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1893-09-21
OYNAMlTER AT WORK,
They Hold UP n Traiu and Wound tho
Engineer.

EnS1neer.
CHICAGO, Sept. 13.-Twenty masked
men held up a Lake Shore train, l2O
miles from Chicago, near midnight, and
after wounding the engineer blew open
the safe in the express car AMI stole it's
contents. it reached KendalyilIe. a
small station in Indiana, a little short
or four hours late. 1t went past the
town and had hardly gone q mile
through stretch Of timber land when
the engineer slowed up near a curve,
AS the engine ratified around the turn
t@ne @ engineer saw a red light ahead.
Wheh Che train came to u stop q dozen
men sprang into the cab, shot the en-
glneer, seriously wounding him, and
then blew open the express car with
dynamite and drilled open one of the
safes, getting safely away with their
booty, whatever it was. OF that there
Is no certain information, and all sorts
or wild theories are atloat, placing the
amount all the way from $3OC0(i to a
quarter OF a million. The car dyna-
mited belonged to the United States
express Company, and General Super
lntendent Crosby OF that company de.
clared this afternoon that the total
loss Dy the robbers is way below $2O,-
OOO. lie says the robbers thought they
were carrying away national bank
notes, but secured mostly papers worth
less to them, and they overlooked SIS.
oOO of gold bullion. Crosby emphati-
caliy denied the reports that $275,O 200
had been taken.
There was not one tenth Of that
amount on the whole tram, he says. In
the sale blown open was Il sealed bag
full of packages done up about the
size and shape of packages of bank
notes. These packages were marked
Sl,o ,ooO $1,000 and so on. These figures
Indicated the value that the packet was
llSted at, but practically they were
worth nothing more to the robbers
than the paper they contained. Their |
contents consisted of settlements with |
agents, receipts for money, legal pa
pers, etc, which can all be duplicated !
AFTER time. 1t WAS a load Of this na.
ture and very little actual money
which the robbers secured. Only five |
or SIX men, he says, were concerned in
the robbery.
The 1umor that the safe contained 4
shipment of $2oO,OOO from a Chicago to
a New \ ork bank could not be con
llrmed, the only fact lending any cred
ence TO the story being the recent rise
IN the value of New York exchange.
None OF the bank officials admitted
having made shipment and the eX-
press company's officers denied there
was any such amount on the train.
resident Newell, OF the Lake Shore
load, this afternoon offered a reward
)t $1,000 for the capture and conyic-
ion of the robbers.
"A tramp who was stealing ride on
he train claims to have seen thewhole
occurrence, and says there were at
east twenty men in the gang, and ,
ome or the train men put the number
IS hlgn as twenty-five. The dynamite
iaVlng wrecked only the express car.
ne robbers cOntented themselves with |
ettlng this alone and made no effort
% 1orce an entrance to the other cars.
ne passenger cars were not mOleSted
" hen the robbers climbed on the en-
;lhe, Engineer Knapp had one hand on
he throttle and he attempted to start
ne train. One of the dpSperadoes
pushed big revolver against his
houlder and fired. The bullet passed
nrough, tearing a hole in which Il lead
'encll could be laid. The noise caused
~ the crashing of the express car door
"hen the dynamite bomb was hurled
galnSt 1t was the first intimation the
passengers had that the train was in
ne hands of robbers. There was Il
lVely scramble among the passengers
crawl under seats and Secrete what
allaoleS they had in sight, but their
recautlonS were not necessary. The
mount stolen by the robbers is $50
~. About a hundred trained detec.
yes are already on the track of the
)bbers.