Shiner gazette. [volume] (Shiner, Tex.) 1893-current, 1897-01-27


New Orleans Jan. GA special
from Birmingham, Ala, says:
For the second time within month
three unknown masked men last
night held up train No. 80 of the
Southern railway near Berry station,
seventy miles wet OF Birmingham.
and robbed the Southern Express
ccmpanys car.
The scene of the robbery is within a
mile of the former robbery and they
were almost identloally alike in every
detail.
Train Nc. IS left here at o'clock
yesterday afternoon for Greenville,
Miss, in charge of Conductor Wilmot
and Engineer BrowlL 1t reached Berry
at s o'clock, being thirty minutes late.
AS it pulled out from that station,
which Is a small place in the widest
section of Alabama. masked man
heavily armed climbed into the engine
cab and, presenting pistols to the en-
gineer and fireman. ordered them to
obey his commands at the peril Of their
lives.
At the same time two other masked
robbers boarded the front end of the
express.
When the train reached a secluded
spot near North River. three miles
from Berry, it was halted. The engi-
neer was ordered back to the express
car, where the other robbers were wait
ing.
Express Messenger ]. j. Ward was
commanded to open the door. Evi-
IDENTIFY suspacting that something was
wrong, the messenger did not obey.
The robbers then began cursing and
firing Off their pistols to intimdate the
trainmen and passengers, none Of
whom dared to interfere.
Under the direction of the outlaws
the express car doors were broken open
by the engineer and fireman and pis-
tolls thrust into Messenger Wards face,
his safe keys wer@ secured and the To-
cal safe quickly opened and rihed OF
its contents, which the express officials
say amounted to S15O
Before leaving the car the robbers
secured from among the freight pack
ages four-gallon jug of good whiskey
and appropriated it. They then backed
out. pointing their pistols still at the
trainmen, and disappeared in the dark
ness. 1t is thought they had horses in
waiting and, mounting them. made
their escape.
The entire time Of the robbery as
Shown in Conductor Wilmots delay re-
port, was twelve minutes. The express
officials here deny the report that the
robbers broke omen the through safe,
which contained a large sum of mon
ey. They say that the messenger had
10 key to this safe.
w. C. Agse, route agent of the South
ern Express company, who happened
to be aboard the train as a passenger, |
reports that only the local safe was
robbed and S155 taken.
The posse, headed by Chief Detect
i've D. p. Burns, Of the Southern Ex-
press company and Chief Special Agent
o. A. Piclcard of the Southern Pacific
Railway company, left here on a spe-
cial train last night fer the scene cf
the robbery.
At Coalburg penitentiary they secur-
ed seven bloodhounds, with which they
will endeavor to trail the outlaws.
There is no doubt in the minds Of the
express and railroad officials but that
both last nights robbery and that of
month ago were committed by the
same parties and that the robbers reside
in the mountains near the scene of the
robbery. which is the old stamping
ground of the once famous Burrows
gang of train robbers. The robbers
obtained $500 in the first haul. A Wig
orous search for the guilty parties will
be prosecuted.