The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-04-28
AMERICAN BURGLARS
ROB AMERICAN EMPRESS OFFICE
IN PARIS.
DID A VERY CREDITABLE JOB
DYNAMITED SAFE AND TOOK AWAY
10000 FRANCS.

Negro BOY, Who Was Sleeping on
Second Floor, Bound. Gagged, and
Held Prisoner While the Rob
berry PrOceeded-The Safe Blown
Open with Much Noise, but Paris
Police Did Not Hear It-They Have
Arrested the Negro hoy, However.
Paris, April 27-Three masked burglars
entered the American Express Companys
Office last night. surprised the watchman
esleep. gagged and bound him. and es
capped with 10000 francs
The burglary was carried out most au-
daciousy and was evidently the work of
American experts.
The manner in which the burglars pro
ceeded indicates that they were familiar
with the arrangements of the office The
street door was opened with the proper
key, as the lock, which is equal to a
safe lock, was not scratched
An American colored boy who was
sleeping on the second story says he was
awakened at about o'clock in the morn
ing by a choking sensation and found a
man, with his face half hidden by a hand
kerchief. kneeling on his chest with his
thumbs pressed on his windpipc An
other man beside the bed. pointing a re-
volver at his head third man held
portable electric light. the light from
which was shining in his eyes, and the
latter said, with a good American accent:
Don't move or I'll shoot you. We have
come here to do a little job and mean
to do it."
The burglar, 1t is claimed. then stuffed
a towel into the mouth of the boy, who
said he was almost scared to death, and
tried to wriggle his head whereupon one
of the men dealt him heavy blow on the
head with his fist, which left big
bruise. The burglar, still according to
the boys story, then tied his legs and
arms so tightly as almost to cut the flesh,
while he left the marks of his knees on
the boys chest.
Tive OF the burglars after -ceRversa-
ton in English, Ieft the room, and the
third, according to the story told, quietly
brought a chair and sat by the bedside
with revolver pointed at the negro, and
the rays of the lantern i'm his face. The
burglar, the boy added, again said:
Now, lie still and you will not be hurt
but II YOU are troublesome | will blow
out your brains"
Burglars Laughed mt Their work.
The boy, continuing his story. said he
then heard the noise of the burglars work
ing below. drilling, hammering and laugh
ing. apparently with not the slightest fear
of interruption. Later, he said he heard
an explosion and then second detona-
ton, which shook the premises. After a
short interval his guardian who from
time to time had exchanged kind of bird
whistles with his confederates below,
smeared something on the boys face. and
said:
81 am going down stairs to help my
pals for ten minutes. II you move I will
Kill you when l come back"
But the boy said he never came back
The boy said he then lost his senses and
had evidently been chloroformed When
he recovered, he asserted, he was afraid
to move.
An office cleaner who arrived at the ex-
press companys office at $50 a. IN. found
the street door ajar, the safe dynamited
and the boy gagged and bound, lying on
the floor beside the bed. upstairs The
burglars had collected the heavy carpets
from the reception rooms and wrapped
them around the safe in order to deaden
the sound of the explosion.
An astonishing feature of the burglary
is that the policemen heard or saw moth
ing of the burglars, in spite of the fact
that the latter worked loudly and that
the sound of the explosions was sufficient
TO waken porter on the top story of a
building across the street and cause him
to search his own house for intruders.
Later it became known that the police
had detained the negro watchman, not be-
ing satisfied with the story he told of the