Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1901-08-03

-Four masked men held up the New
York and Chicago express train on the
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad at Calu-
met Heights, near Chicago, at o'clock
Wednesday night. They secured no cash.
They blew open one Of the baggage cars,
thinking it the express car, terrorzed the
trainmen and passengers by shooting, and
escaped in the scrub oak to the west, GO
ing toward Tracy, Ind \ reward of
5000 has been offered by the superin-
tendent of the road for any information
that will lead to the arrest of the ban
dts. The express car which the rob
bers intended to raid contained a 500 900
shipment to Chicago banks.
The attempt at train robbery is one
of. the boldest on record There is little
doubt it would have been successful had
there been a safe in the baggage car as
the robbers expected. The train was
brought to a stop by the swinging of a
red light across the tracks. 1t was in
a lonely place with open prairie studded
here and there with scrub oak None of
the trainmen made any resistance to the
robbers, the shooting kept up by the ban
dts efectually preventing them making
fight or following the men.
Dynamite Used.
AS soon as the train came to a stand
still two of the robbers mounted the en-
gIne, and placing reyolvers at Engineer
j. w. Collins and Fireman T. S. De-
Veny's heads, told them to get down and
waste no time. The robbers followed,
and while one stood guard over the en-
glneer the other walked the fireman to
the rear of the baggage car, which was
the second car back Of the engine, and
compelled him to uncouple the two cars
from the train. Then they returned to
the engine, and the engineer was ordered
to go ahead about 200 feet.
AS soon as this was done one of the
robbers produced Il bunch of dynamite
sticks, and, placing one a the door of
the baggage car, lighted the fuse and told
the engineer and fireman to stand back
The explosion did not blow open the door,
but loosened it, and the man with the
dynamite then lighted another stick and
threw it into the car through a wide
crack that had been made. This explo-
sion blew Il big hole in the side of the
L
compelled the engineer and fireman to
get up into the car with them, and a
quick search was made for the safe.
Kept Up Incessant Firing
All the time the bandits were operating
with the baggage car, they kept up a
constant firing to keep the crew in SUBJ
lection, and to compel the passengers TO
remain inside the coaches.
Not finding what they sought, one Of
the robbers said:
What will we do now?'
Inc other said: Lets get out of this -
Both leaplng to the ground, they ran
to the side OF the track, climbed the
fence and were lost in the darkness.
Whlle this was going on in the front
part OF the train the other masked ban
ats We're Keeping watch over the train
standing on the track. They fired fire.
quently, but no one was hurt, the passen
gers remaining in the coaches. and the
crew making no sign. Just before the
robbers who were with the engineer Quit
the spot, one of them wrenchcd the cngi-
neer's watch from the chain. This was
all the property that was taken.
The dynamited car was badly wrecked
on one side, and the second exnlnsiop
threw one wheel off the rail. After the
disappearance of the robbers the crew
assisted in getting the car on the track
again, and the damaged car was pulled
TO Chicago. The men left forty-six sticks
Of dynamite.
10 insure the stopping of the train
three on four bags Of sand and two short
rails were placed across the track. The
red light seen by the engineer was waved
about 800 feet from this obstruction.