Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1899-10-19
MAIL TRAIN HELD Up.
.oaaERy ON THE NORTHWEST
ERIN RAILROAD.
Three Masked Men Blow Open = =
nres. safe with Dynamite Take i's
contents, and Make Their Hsc1p
o..a+or Bound and Gagged.

n,hroe masked men held up the Cnicago
ard Northwestern fast mail Uain No. -
honnd for the Pacific coast, at Mereoltn'
r, fortv-seven miles from Chicago
shortly after II o'clock Friday night
After they had blown the through sate
and wrecked the express car tneS
oonnlad the engine from the mall Tram
and escaped on it to Courtland. Dane1
white. the engineer, was forced TO carry
+ho,, 70 that point, where they deserted
the cab for the darkness of the surrouhu-
ing fields. a
lust about II o'clock three men entered
SIGNAL Office w Of the road, located miu-
-rov between Elburn and Maple PARK
onG asked the operator, Clifton James,
81 what time the mail train would be due.
1amas tried to avoid direct reply, but
tho lights from the windows OF the ap-
nroaching cars gave them the desired IN
formation and they stopped only long
enough to bind the operator IN ms cnair
with buckskin thongs, set the signals 70
stop the oncoming train, and render use
less the telegraphic instruments IN the
office.
THE engineer of the mail train brought
the cars to a stand in obedience TO the
semaphore signals and at once was con
fronted by the robbers. They mad ao-
iustad handkerchiefs over the lower part
of their faces and each carried brace
of long-barreled commissioning reyoaV-
ers. Engineer White made no attempt at
resistance but his fireman, Joseph Jewei,
tried to escape from the cab lie was
stopped at the point of pistol ana ne
and White were led back to the last or
the four cars that made UP the train. One
man was left to guard the train crew and
the other two attacked the express car
and forced Messenger f. A. Hopson to
admit them. First he was taken to the
rear car and then brought back to open
the local SAFE He would not do this. The
robber retired from the car again while
the through safe was demolished with
charge of dynamite which blew hole
through the bottom of the car and tore
great gaps in the roof.
Just how much the safe may have con-
tanned is not known, but it is said that
currency and packages of valuables were
hurled into the fields.
Two shots were fired during the raid,
one at James McGrath, brakeman, who
swung his lantern at the head Of the
| leader Of the bandits, and a second at
Brakeman Palmer, who crawled beneath
the cars, and ran to flag an east-bound
fast freight which was almost due.
Palmer escaped injury and stopped the
freight train with his shirt for a signal.
After the robbers had deserted the en-
CINE Of the mail train at CORTLAND En-
gineer White pushed on to Dekalb.
Brakeman Palmer had reached Elburn
meanwhile and sent word Of the robbery
to w. E. Morse, Galena division sup
| erintendent at Oak Park.
| The victims Of the robbery unite in de-
claring the bandits determined group Of
men. They went about their work
| quietly and without a sign of nervous
ness. One Of them paused to borrow a
| chew Of tobacco from the assistant ex-
press messenger, Elmer e. Painter The
night was exceedingly dark, and this
greatly aided the thugs in their escape.