New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1897-06-18
WOULD.BE TRAIN ROBBERS FOILED
ONE OF THE GANG TOLD THE SHERIFF
TWO OF THE MIsCREANTS CAUGHT.
ONE FATALLY SHOT


st. Louis June lie. p. Garner. car account
ant 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
and Ohio Southwestern passenger train on
culvert between Odin and Salem. H., about
slxty-fve miles east of this city. Mr.. Garner Is
a brother Of A. c. Garner. ex-City Marshal OF
Salem, who vas Sheriff Barness lieutenant In
thwarting the wreckers plans. He says that
there we're three men involved In the attempt,
and two Of them were caught, one being IA
tally shot
The would be robbers are residents OF Salem
and were known about the village hard char
acters. Abe Tweed, the shot was out on
parole from Chester, H.; Thomas Schumacher,
the other man captured. Is, by his own confes-
sion, an ex-convict from the Indiana Peniten-
tiary. These two men, the one who escaped and
a fourth banded together not long ago TO 90
general business In the criminal line. AFTER
they had planned TO hold up the New-York ex-
press on the Baltimore and Ohio Southwestern.
the m,n had a difference and the plans were
broken up in a row.
One Of them told Sheriff Barnes. on the
Sheriffs promise to protect him and not to di-
vulge his name, Of the plan to wreck and loot
the train, but said he did not know the date
ard place selected. He said he promised to find
out and report these particulars. 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 reented, took back the de-
serter and then proceeded to lay bare the plot.
The night New-York express, they said. was the
train likely to yield the best haul. and the Shen-
nafelt culvert midway between Odin and Salem,
icixa Cd o,,f hos md
All day Wednesday the three men hauled rail-
way ties to the trestle. About o'clock in the
afternoon the man who "peached," who, on
some pretext was excused from the days work,
reported the situation to Sheriff Barnes.
The Sheriff collected posse Of six men and
started from Salem along the track. About 1O3O,
when they came near the Shennafelt cuvert.
the three robbers could be seen, and almost in
the centre Of the treste high pile Of ties.
thrown across the express trains track. The
wreckers were gathered together on a side Of the
embankment in convenient positions to jump
aboard the cars as as the train came to a
standst The Sheriff and his posse got within
thirty yards Of the wreckers before they were
discovered. When they saw that they were
caught the wreckers ran down the side OF the
embankment. The express train was due IN
about twenty minutes. Sending back two OF his
men to flag It, the Sheriff, Mr.. Garner and the
others went after the robbers.
Halt" cried Mr.. Barnes and one or the rop-
bers who turned out to be Schumacher sur
rendered. The other two continued TO run ana
Garner fired. Tweed fell, and Garner sent Two
more bullets after his fleeing partner Neither
shot took effect and the man escaped.
The prisoners were taken to the Salem jail ana
locked up Tweed cannot live. Both ropoers
admitted that they intended to ron the traih,
but denied that they wished 10 derail the engine
or touch any of the money In the express car.
They said that they had designs only on the
occupants of the six or seven seeping-cars, ana
nlaced the ties on the tracks only 10 force the
engine to come to stop. Then they were 10
board the sleepers, lock the conductors ana por-
ters in the toilet-rooms, and hold up the passe"-
gers. ~ g. ,,,
It is said that the train which left 81 LOUIS
last evening carried more than Sl0o,OoO IN the
exnress car. The trainmen believe that II the
ongine had run into the pile Of ties several cars
would have been thrown down the empahkmeh''
entailing a great loss Of life