Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1901-08-07

Are Compelled, at the Point of Re-
volvers, to Assist the De peradoes.
Four masked men held up the New
York and Chicago express train on the
Baltimore and OHIO Railroad at CaIu-
met Heights. neai Chicago. at S o'clock
wednesday night They secured no cash.
They blew open one of the baggage ears,
thinking II the express car terrorized the
trainmen and passengers by shooting. and
escaped in the scrub oak to the west go-
ing toward Tracy, Ind \ reward 1t
5000 has been offered by the superin-
tendent Of the road for any information
that Will lead to the arrest of the ban
d'ts. The express ear which the rob
bers intended TO raid contained a $40. 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 ear as
the robbers expected. The train was
brought to stop by the swinging of a
red light across the tracks. 1t was in
a lonely place with open prairie stlJded
mere and there with scrub oak Mons Of
the trainmen made any resistance to the
robbers, the shooting kept up By the ban
dits etectually preventing them making
night or following the men,
Dynamite Used.
AS soon as the train came to a stand
stlll two of the robbers mounted the en-
glne, and placing revolyers at Engineer
J. w. Collins and Fireman +. 5. De-
veny's heads, told them to get down and
waste no time. The robbers followed.
ard while one stood guard over the en-
gineer 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 enc of the
robbers produced bunch OF dynamite
sticks, and placing one at 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 an ther stick and
threw 1t into the car through wide
crack that had been made. This explo-
sion blew big hole in the side of the
car and in the lioor The robbers then
compelled the engineer and fireman TO
get up into the ear 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 sub
lection, and TO. compel the passengers 10
remain inside the coaches.
Not finding what they sought, one of
the re 5bers said:
What will we do now -
The other said: Lets get out of this. =
Both leaping to the ground, they ran
to the side of the track, climbed the
fence and were lest in the darkness.
While this was going on in the front
part of the train the other masked ban
dts were keeping watch over the train
standing ON the track. They fired FREE
queRtly, but no one was hurt. the lassen-
gers remaining in the coaches. and the
crew making no sign Just before the
robbers who wer. with the engineer auit
the spot, enc of them wrenched the engi-
neers watch from the chain. This was
all the property that was taken.
The dynamited car was badly wrecked
ON one side, and the second explosion
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 pnIled
to Chicago. The men left forty-six sticks
Of dynamite.
To insure the stopping of the train.
three or 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.