Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1899-10-14

se4t HOLD-UP
g
Band Of Robbers Sc cure SIS, 600
Right in the Suburbs of
Chlcsgo.
WHOLE TRAIN CREW TIED UP.
$4,000 Reward Offered For The
Arrest of The Rot-
bers. IL
21aH A-

Chicago, Oct. 14-The following re
port of the robbery of the Northwest
ern Fast Mail, No. ., last night has
been received: Three or four men
masked, and heavily armed, came tc
the office at Tower wv" Block Sta
ton, located half way between Ell,
burn and Maple PARK. They told the
operator to hold up his hands. This
was about 1850 p. m. He thought
they were fooling, but they then tied
MIN down with buckskin. There was
train coming and the operator told
the, men it was freight 119 and the
men cleared the block. But No. 8
was approaching close, the men saw
it was that train and dropped the
train order signal, stopping the train
They Immediately blew open the safe
of the American Express company's
car, looted it's contents, then cut off
the engine, and ran to point two
miles west of Maple Park and escap-
ed. The express train was badly dam
aged"
1t appears that when the engineer,
Dan White, brought the train to a
slandstill, two masked men jumped
on the steps and pointed guns at him
and the fireman. Throw up your
hands" they shouted The railroad
men did so. The two robbers then de-
tached the engine from the train and
White was told to pull out two miles
up the track. There he attempted to
make fight and recapture the, en-
gine. He struggled manfully, but
finally one of the robbers shot at him,
but failed to hit him. Meantime four
other men attacked the conductor and
brakeman. Numerous. shots were
fired to intimidate them, One brake
man escaped in the darkness and rae
ed to Elburn, where he sent an alarm
to the train dispatcher's office, Chi
cago. The robbers ordered the ex-
press messenger, Frank Hobson, to |
aumit them to the -ss1'
you open up that care, .onaAos...,,e.
ip." Back from the car came the |
shout: "You try to force it open and |
I'll shoot the first man who shows his |
head"
A volley of shots was the reply.
After several bullets whistled past
his head the express messenger
opened the car. They put revolvers
to his head and compelled him to give
up keys of the local safe. They then
blew open the through safe with dyna-
mite, the explosion breaking the car.
The robbers grabbed all the money
and express packages they. could and
fed. 1t is estimated by the officers
of the American Express company in
Chicago that there was $4,000 in the
safes besides some jewelry.
When the special train bearing Cen
eral Superintendent Sanborn reached
the scene of the train robbery they
found not only had the operator been
bound and gagged but the conductor,
engineer and firemen of the train had
been tied securely to the express car,
the robbers thus preventing imme
date pursuit. The trainmen were
only able to give the railroad officials
the direction the robbers had taken
in making their escape. Another
special bearing General Manager An
tisdel of the American Express COM
pany with a Pinkerton and a number
of detectives arrived and organized
pursuit was begun. A good descrip-
ton of the robbers was given by Op-
orator Whistler. Blood was streaming
from Whistler's face where he had
haan struck with a revolver. He was
almost dead from suffocation when re
leased as the towel used as a gage had
been stuffed down his throat.
The Chicago and Northwestern rail-
way and American Express company
together offered a reward of $4,000 to-
day, for information leading to the
arrest and conviction of the robbers.