The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1895-07-25
HELD nr TILE TRArN.

Robbed by six Masked Men-A Large
sum of Money Taken-Passengers Not
Molested.
Toledo, July 24,-Traln No. 81, the
west-bound New York and Chicago eX-
press on the Lake Shore and Michigan
southern railroad, was held up by six
masked men a 1880 this morning at a
lonely place in the woods known as
Reece Siding, between Archibald and
Stryker, o. about TEN miles west of
| Wauseon,
| The train stops there TO let the eastern
express pass, The latter train was APP
preaching when the robbery took place.
The robbers were mounted and rode out
of the woods which are dense and close
to the track.
| Conductor Darling, who was standing
near one Of the coaches, wasordered in
side at the point of a revolver.
Admission to the express car was OBJ
tanned by the same means, and the mes
senger was forced to open the safe. The
robbers were evidently entirely familiar
with the train, and it is thought that
employees of the railroad company or of
the express company must be implicat-
ed, either as principals or as confeder-
ates. 1t was undoubtedly known 10
the bandits that an unusually large sum
was in the express safe last night.
The amount given out as having been
obtained by the thieves is $4,000, but it is
believed that a much larger sum was
taken.
No attempt was made to modest the
passengers, none OF whom knew amy
thing Of the occurrence. When the
thieves had secured the contents of the
safe they rode quietly away.
General Superintendent Commit, As
sistant superintendent Blodgett and
Chief Detective Robinson, with party
OF detectives, left here Immediately by
special train. The country is being
secured for traces of the robbers,
1t is in the neighborhood Of these
dense woods at Reece Siding, where the
train stops unprotected, that the high
waymen operated successfully last year
and the year before. Large sums of
money We're secured both times
WHAT THE, MESSENGER SAYS.
Chicago, July 24.-Express Messenger
1Nettleton said in regard to the robbery.
Il was doing in my chair near the safe
labout 70 o'clock last night and the train
was making about forty miles an hour.
I knew there would not be another stop
for half am hour, so I was surprised and
startled when the brakes began to jar
on the wheels. The train came to q
stop and / suspected something was
wrong. | had no sooner come to that
conclusion when there was shock and
report under the forward end of my
lear. The glass in the window next to
my corner was shattered into a thou
sand pieces.
II grabbed my Spencer "a little short
shotgun) and stood at the door, which
was unlocked and had been partly open
In the darkness I saw two men with
guns pointed at me / lodged back in
to the car and, raising my gun, let them
have ii, as I thought, full in the face
Apparently 1t didn't hit. and after that
they would not stand any monkeying
"If you put any value on your life
you will put down that gun and let us
. in one Of the men said.
Then / gave UP and they came in
and went to work They got into the
way safe easy enough, but after ex-
ploding six charges of dynamite against
the other one they gave it up. Three
times they left me in the car while
they exploded the dynamite, and three
times they took me up. They kept me
covered all the time with their guns.
There were two who were working in
the car and two who stood outside on
guard The men had handkerchief
tied over theirofaces and ! could not
, recognize them. was not frightened
, until 1t was all over"
AS soon as the train arrived in Chica-
go this morning the express car was
run on the side track next to the United
, States Express freight office, where the
superintendent and others boarded It,.
| Every window had been smashed and
| the side Of the car next to where the
, safe stood has one board missing. The
inside wall was smashed to kindling
wood. The big safe showed circular,
J concave dent about six inches in diam
i eter where the dial had been. The dial
| itself had been blown off and frag-
ments of it lay about the car. Among
! the other trophies left by the bandits
: was a four-inch stick of dynamite.
The way safe which was opened is a
: small affair, and is no more than an
, iron bound chest about the size of a
steamer trunk The facts as to the
. actual loss are hard to get at, inasinuch
| as everything given out has had to
pass the approval Of Superintendent
Wygant Twice when telling his story
the messenger stopped and appealed
to that gentleman to know whether
his narrative was meeting with approx
al. A rumor that found some currency
was to the effect that $4,000 worth of
jewelry had been put on board at Cleve-
land and that this was known to the
; robbers and that their raid was planned
= with this in mind
superintendent Wygant of the United
states Express company to-day places
the loss at $780,