The record-union., 1897-06-18
Through the Weakening of One of the
Outlaws.
Three Men Involved i'm the Attempted
Wrecking and Robbery, Two OF
Whom Are Caught, One Being
Fatally Shot-The Gang Banded
Together to Do General Business
i'm the Criminal Line.

ST. LOUIS, June 1l.-An attempt was
made late last night to hold up a Bal
tinore and Ohio Southwestern passen-
ger train near Salem, H., sixty-five
miles east of here. The attempt failed
through the weakening of one of the
robbers. who informed the Sheriff OF
the gangs plans.
With a posse the Sheriff went to the
scene of the hold-up before the tram
time He found the track piled hgh
with timbers At the appearance Oh
the posse the gang scattered and most
of them escaped though fired on by the
Sheriff and his officers. One OF the
robbers was shot and captured and is
now dying in Jail at Salem.
b. 2. Garner, car accountant OF the
Wabash Railroad, with offices in East
ST. Louis brought TO this city details
of an attempt to wreck and rob a Bal
timore and Ohio Southwestern passen-
ger train. The scene was on a culvert
between Odin and Salem, ILL.,, about
sixty-five miles east of st. Louis.
Mr.. Garner is brother of A. c. Car
ner, ex-City Marshal of Salem, who was
Sheriff Barnes lieutenant in thWarting
the wreckers plan.
volved in the attempted wrecking, and
two were caught, one being fatally
shot. The Would-be WreckerS are resi-
dents of Salem and were known about
the village as hard characters. Abe
Tweed the robber who was shot, was
out on parole from Chester Qll.) peni-
tertiary and Thomas Schumacher, the
other man captured, is an eX-convict
from the Indiana penitentiary.
These two men, the one who escaped,
and a fourth, banded together not long
ago to do a general business in the
criminal line. They were to deal in
everything from petty larceny to train
robbery. After they had planned to
hold up the New York express on the
Baltimore and Southwestern, the men
had a difference and broke up in a row.
One of them told Sheriff Barnes, upon
the Sheriff's promise to protect him and
not divulge his name, of the plan to
wreck and loot the train, but said he
did not know the date and place select
ed. He promised to find out and report
these particulars, and he kept his WORD.
Returning to his 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 into their fold the deserter,
and then proceeded to lay bare the plot.
The night New York express was Sc
lected as the train likely to yield the
best haul, and the Shennafelt culvert,
midway between Odin and Salem, as the
best and safest spot
All day Wednesday the three men
H. tA Il
About 4 o'clock in the afternoon the
man who peached, who by some pretext
was excused from the days work, re-
ported the situation to Sheriff Barnes
The Sheriff collected a posse of six
men and started from Salem along the
track. About 1:30, when they came
near Shnnafelt culvert, the three rob-
bers could be seen, and almost in the
center Of the trestle was a high pile
of ties thrown across the express trains
track. The wreckers We're gathered to-
gether on a side of the embankment in
convenient position to jump aboard the
cars as soon as the train came to a
standstill.
Sheriff Barnes and his posse got
within thirty yards of the wreckers be-
fore they were discovered. When they
saw that they were caught, the wreck
ers ran down the embankment.
The express train was now due in
about twenty minutes. Sending back
two of his men to flag 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, and Garner fired.
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.
Tweed cannot live. Both robbers
admitted that they intended to rob the
train, but denied that they wished to
derail the engine or touch anv of the
money in the express car They said
they had designs only on the occupants
of the six or seven sleeping cars and
placed the ties on the track onlv to
force the engineer to come to a sion
Then they were to board the sleeners
lock the conductors and porters in the
toilet rooms and rob the passengers.
1t is said that the train which left
st. Louis Wednesday evening carried
over 100000 in the express car. The
trainmen are confident that if the en-
CINE had run into the pile of ties If and
several cars would have been deraiIed
and thrown down the embankment an
failing great loss of life.