The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-06-18
TRAIN ROBBERS FOILED
ONE FATALLY SHOT AND ANOTHER
CAPTURED BY OFFICERS.
Attempt to Hold Up Ii. q o. Flyer
in IIlinOis-The Scheme "Given
Away" by One of the Gang.

ST. LOUIS, June 17.--E. P. Garner, car
accountant of the Wabash Railway with
offices in East St. Louis brought to this
city to-day details of an attempt to wreck
and rob Baltimore & Ohio Southwestern
passenger train on culvert between Odin
and Salem, Ill, about sixty-fve miles east
of st. Louis. Mr. Garner is a brother of
A. {. Garner, ex-city marshal of Salem
who was Sheriff Barness lieutenant in
thWarting the wreckers plans. Mr. Garner
said there were three men involved in the
attempted wreck, and two of them We're
caught, one of them being fatally shot.
The Would-be robbers are residents of Sa-
lem and were known about the village as
hard characters. Abe Tweed, the robber
who was shot, was out on parole from the
Chester [Ill) Prison. Thomas Schumacher,
the other man captured, is an eX-conyict
from the Indiana penitentiary, by his own
confession. These two men, the one who
escaped and fourth banded together not
long ago TO do a general business in the
criminal line. After they had planned to
hold up the New York express on the Bati-
more & Ohio Southwestern the men had a
difference and the plans were broken up
in row. One of them told Sheriff Barnes,
on the sheriffs promise to protect him and
not divulge his name, of the plan to wreck
and loot the train, but he said he did not
know the date and place selected. He prom
ised to find out and report these particu-
lars, and he kept his word. Returning to
his former pals, he said he was sorry he
had left them and begged to be let in on
the fat thing they were about to pull off,
The rogues relented, took back the deserter
and then proceeded to lay bare the plot
The night New York express, they said,
was the train likely to yield the best, and
then the Schenefelt cut was picked out as
the best and safest spot. All day Wednes-
day the three men hauled railway ties 10
the treStle.
About o'clock in the afternoon the man
who ''peached, and who, by some pre-
text, was excused from the days work, re-
ported the situation to Sheriff Barnes. The
sheriff collected posse of six men and
started from Salem along the track. About
10:30, when they came near the Schenefelt
culvert, the three robbers could be seen,
and almost in the interior of the trestle
express trains track The wreckers We're
gathered together on a side of the embank-
ment in convenient position to jump aboard
the ears as soon as the train came to d
standstil Sheriff Barnes and his posse got
within thirty yards of the wreckers before
they were discovered When they saw they
were caught the wreckers ran down the
side of the embankment. The express train
was due in about twenty minutes. Sending
back TWO or MS men TO nag the train, the
sheriff Mr.. Garner and two others went
after the fugitives. "Halt!' called out Mr..
Barnes and one of the wreckers who
turned out to be Schumacher, surrendered.
The other two continued to run and Gar
ner fired A man who proved TO be Tweed
fell and Garner sent two more bullets after
his fleeing partner. Neither shot took eff
feet and the man escaped.
The prisoners We're taken to the Salem
Jail and locked up. Tweed cannot live.
Both robbers admitted that they intended
to rob the train. but denied that they
wished to derail the engine or to touch any
of the money in the express car. They
said they had designs only on the occu-
pants of the six or seven sleeping cars,
and placed the ties on the track only to
force the engineer to come to a stop. Then
they were to board the sleepers lock the
conductors and porters in the toilet rooms
and hold up the passengers. 1t is said that
the train which left ST. Louis Wednesday
evening carried more than 100000 in the
express car The trainmen are confident
that if the engine had run into the pile of
ties ii. with several cars, would undoubt-
edIy have been derailed and thrown down
the embankment entailing a great loss OF