St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-10-12
ANOTHER HOLD-Up.
MARIA AVENUE STREET CAB
CONDUCTOR ATTACKED by
ROBBERS
WAS TAKEN BY SURPRISE
WHILE CHANGING THE TROLLEY
FROM ONE END TO THE
OTHER.
THE TWO MEN WITH MASKS
Did the Work Quietly and Carras
Of the Money and
Watch.

The masked highwayman waA
abroad again last night. He has,
however, changed his base of oper-
ations. His last appearance was out
on the Fort Smelling line. Last night
ne appeared in the other extreme of
the city. He picked out a Marie
avenue car as being good enough.
and this he held up as successfully
as the one on the Smelling line.
The job last night was done at
s;5o o'clock. A car that had dropped
all OF its passengers reached the end
Oh the Marie avenue line. which is
at Mound street. Conductor Lowell
Pierce stepped off the car and
seized the rope attached to the troll
ley. Motorman Matthias Petschl
walked through the car, and was
about to adjust his cranks. Con-
ductor Pierce pulled the wheel off
the overhead wires. The light went
out. He started to walk around the
car with the trolley, when two men
appeared out of the darkness. They
wore black masks and went at their
work quietly, but hastily.
Throw up your hands, said one
OF the robbers, as he produced a re-
volver and held it up in the con-
ductor's face
Pierce thought it was some one
who was joking, and went on ad-
Justlng his trolley, but when turned
round, and in the glare of the light
gaZen into the muzzle of a big gun.
his hands went UP like sky-rockets.
Then, while the fellow with the
gun kept him covered, the other
robber went through his pockets,
taking all his cash, S13, and a silver
watch. While they were complet-
ing the job Motorman Petschl was
walking about in the car, and the
fellow with the gun, thinking
Petschl was probably coming out to
see what the trouble was, yelled out
in stern voice:
Don't you come out here or I'll
send bullet through you," and
Petschl didn't go out.
1t was but the work of a minute
to secure the, booty, and, with a
word of warning that it would be a
good deal safer to let the car stand
where it was until they were out
OF sight, the robbers turned and
walked down the street, soon dis
appearing in the darkness.
Then Pierce explained to Petschl
what had happened, and the latter
said ne had no idea of what had
been going ON that he did not hear
the fellow with the gun threaten to
shoot him if he went out. The car
was then started back toward the
city, and at the corner of Third
street policeman was found to
Whom the car men related the cir
cumstanceS of the crime.
Pierce is unable to give any accurate
description of the two men. further
than that the fellow who held the grn
was large man dressed in dark
ciothes and wore a black SLOUGH hat.
Ihe robbers were evidently novices.
else they would have insisted on the
conductor obeying the order to hold up
MS hands before he adjusted the troll
ley and lighted up the car.
Some years ago number of high
Waymen made life miserable for the
street car conductors of Omaha. Thev
Kept up their robberies until a driver
named Woolr.dge had a revolver
showed in his face one night. Wool
ridge had gun Of his own and in
stead of holding up his hands he open
ed f1re on the highwayman There
was dead robber in the street in a
lew minutes. The coroner's Jury of
Omaha exonerated Woodbridge and the
citizens collected a handsome sum of
money and gave him in recognition
of his services. It was suggested last
night that if some one of the ST. Paul
conductors would follow Woolridge's
example the work would cease, as it
did in Omaha.