The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1900-08-20
Train Express Mes
senger Murdered. |
HIS SAFE WAS Looted
Body of the Victim Was Not Found
Until the Train Reached
Columbus.

COLUMBUS. Ohio. August n.-So far asBH'
known. the trainrobbers who murdered H
Express Messenger Charles Lane, on thelE
Pennsylvania-Pitt train which ar-HE'
rived in this city at 11:3O last night, and8H
looted the local safe of all the moneyAB
and valuables it contained have not yetSE
been captured. IN
The crime was not discovered untii-theak
train pulled into the Union station here.
When Extra Messenger Sheldon. Of theAE
Adams Transfer Office. went to the car. lt
The found Lane dead. lying face downwardIk
in pool Of blood between the stove andIk
the side Of the car in the forward end. Ii
The body was found to have been rid-EI
died with bullets and there were evi-I IL
dences that desperate struggle had TAX
en- place. No less than eight bullet X
wounds were found. The robbers had
. taken the key to the local safe from the
messengers pocket. The key was left \!
sticking in the safe door. The messen-fl
gers revolver. with two chambers emp "A
, tied. was found in the safe. where It had \
, been probably laid by the robbers, after A
being wrenched from his hand.
The murder was probably committed 4
|, just after the train left Milford Center. n
\
, where 1t is believed the robbers boarded 4
) the train. Conductor Taylor saw and \
I talked with Messenger Lane there. Whens
. the body was discovered here, 1t was coldT
: and the blood clotted, showing that death
+ had occurred at least half hour previous.
q The robbers had no difficulty in getting
: irto the car, as the end door had been left
lopen on account Of the heat. The train
:. made only two stops between Milford Gem
ter and CelumbuS, one sat Plain City
IL <y1.3 - y-kk -
: five miles out of the city. At the latter
= place the train was tagged to take on a.
q passenger an old man. All the city de-
tectives were Immediately sent out along
" the line of the railroad and are securing
), the neighboring country. From the num-
n ber of bullets fired into the body OF the
n messenger 1t is supposed there were two.
:" three or four robbers.
Is Lane was "a years of age and leaves a
widow and child
= Officials of the Adams Express Company
~ profess to be unable to make an estimate
20 of the loss. They say that the safe opened
20 was not likely to contain large sum.
but that until the business has been
checked up, there is no manner In which
they can fix the amount.
Baggage-master Fletcher. whose car
was next In front of the looted car, made
oo the following statement today:
" II saw Lane put of and take on freight
ed at Urbana. After we left Urbana every
e. thing went well until we reached Capefl.
no where We made a stop. ! remember now
that / heard talking there. When firsi
10 heard the voices they appeared 70 be
et coming along the train, there apparently
" being two or three Of them. One mar
nd stepped on piece of rotten wood, which
~ attracted my attention just before the
=. train got away. I supposed they wess
80 passengers to board the train. We stop
- ped at Plain City and Milford, and
o.. heard no unusual sounds. After we 1efl
S ,,o Plain City 1 thought / would wash n
w and tried the door of the express car. buI
=, found that 1t would move only about Al
" inch. / concluded that Lane had freigh
ed against II. We stopped at Marble Clif
G,oa G and there saw two men running towarS
ne the train-one an old man and the othe
y a young fellow. They were dressed II
dark clothes"
Fletcher is able to give a sort OF de
scription of these persons and the polio
are trying to locate them. 1t is claimea
II by the detectives that the men who com
mitted the robbery and murder were per
fectly familiar with the train and the css
toms of the people on board. The ban
n. dts overlooked, or purposely left a larg
" quantity of silver bullion and numbe
OF east-bound packages of value. The
seem to have been pressed for time 4
their operations.
After leaving Marble Cliff the trail
made no stop except at the Hooking Val
nal In addition to two suspects arreste
an here, four men are held at Plain City an
Conductor Jerry Taylor has gone to fden
MS tify them, II he can.
rsd OTHER TRAIN ROBBERS SLAIN.
ith oOODLAND, Kas., August 10.-The tw
en- men who robbed the Union Pacific traf
igb near Hugo. Col, ninety miles east OF her
- yer, last Sunday morning and who shu
.ps ps and killed w. ]. Fay, an aged passenge
-. who resisted them, are both dead. On
~ was shot to pieces by sheriffs pOse
and the other was burned to death in
e, sod house In which he had taken refuge.
The two robbers met their death thre
- miles east of this city. after a battl
'ne with posse of citizens commanded b
q Sheriff William Walker. In the fight on
eV of the men was killed, but not until afts
three members Of the posse had bee
az az. wounded. two seriously and perhaps 4;
hed tally. The other robber barricaded hin
III III self in sod house and defied the poss
~ IL Sheriff Walker telegraphed to Superil
anu @ tendent DENIAL of the Union Pacific, ur,
a.. ing him to send piece Of cannon to ba
O." ter down the walls Of the house, but b.
fore the artillery arrived the house we
fired and the man hidden within we
burned to death ~
The members of the posse wounded
OF the battle and the siege which precedf
this the death of the robbers were ]. Brigg
lent owner of the Commercial Hotel Of TIL
of city. and George Culins, also a reside1
the lof Goodland. third man, whose nan
,ort cou1d not be learned sustained al{phf 4