The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-08-14
TIVE MASKED MEN ROB PAssEN-
GERS AND MAILS AT CANEY,
INDIAN TERRITORY
EXPRESS car IS DYNAMITED
Postal Clerk Forced to Collect VAL
uabIes of Passengers in
.Hv an Empty Mail
Pouch.
ONE PASSENGER IS BEATEN

FORT WORTH, Tex, Aug. 18.-The
south bound Missouri, Kansas & Texas
Train No 8, due here at 6:30 a. m. was
robbed at Caney Switch at 1905 o'clock
this morning by five masked men. The
express car was blown open, the safe
wrecked and the mail car entered All
the passengers were robbed of their
money.
Caney the place where the rob-
berry occurred, is side track
thirty-nine miles north of Deni-
son. 1t is in the Choctaw nation of
the Indian Territory and the population
surrounding the station is only 125. The
train does not stop at Caney except on
signal and the proper signal was given.
The engineer whistled his reply to the
signal given and the train slowed down
tor the stop.
Instead of the hurried signal to go
anead, the engineer and fireman were
confronted by two men with faces yelled
with black netting. About the Same
time, the express messenger and the mail
clerk were communicated with through
the closed doors of their car Three of
the robbers shot wildly and then the
call went to the messenger and clerk:
"Open up, here, open up, and dent be
too slow about it,
From within came no response. The
two men could not be seen. They await
ed only the result. When there was no
reply from within the robbers again
called out: open the door, or we will
blow it open and blow you to nell
BANDITS USE DYNAMITE
There was no response to the second
call and the firing again began and
fully twenty shots were discharged
Still there was no response to the firing
and the three men placed a small blast
of dynamite against the car door. in
the meantime the shooting had awakened
the passengers The first intimation that
had come of the "hold up" sent the con-
ductor, brakeman and porter back into
the train and as they came in and called
out: It's a hold-up" the passengers
tried to hide their valuables. The dyna-
mite blast was exploded. 1t was a small
one and intended more to frigaten than
anything else. A larger blast of dyna-
mite was prepared and exploded, This
did the work. 1t tore the side off the
car.
The robbers leaped through the opening
and the frightened messenger had moth
ing to do but accept their orders. lie
was oVerpowered and narrowly escaped
being torn to shreds as was MS car. He
was ordered to open the safe, but he
could not as the combination was at
the end of the run. The robbers then
put a charge of dynamite to the safe
and blew it open. They demolished the
safe, but got only $150, as the money
had all been left at Muskogee to be
picked up by the katy Flyer" which
runs through the territory by day The
messenger and clerk were forced to as
sist the bandits in their work Every
mail pouch was emptied and the mail
considered valuable by them was taken.
PASSENGERS ROBBED.
Then with Postal Clerk Tulley holding
an empty mail sack the robbers went
through the coaches and robbed every
passenger. They got $3.50 in one coach.
A negro who refused to give up his
moneYeswas J,seVerely beaten The pas
sengerS were compelled to throw their
VHluabies into the pouch.
Supt. Sam Gaines, of the railway mail
service, says ne does not believe the rob-
hers got much money out of the mail
pouches.
After the work was done the robbers,
who seemed to enjoy the situation, say
around nd.andvIaughed over the matter ana
one even went back into car to get
something After holding the train two
hours the robbers left, going east into
the dense bottom timber for which the
torGIous Caney Creek is noted. The
lnmen cut out the wrecked express
4 r and ran down to Caney station and
advised officers up and down the road.
Within two Hours posses of United States
marshals with blood hounds were on the
tran. The express company says that
it. lost nothing, and the conductor est-
mates the passengers loss at about $4OO,
not counting the jewelry. The robbers
gave the engineer, Lanham, a diamond
ring and a Shirt stud. Both safes were
demolished by the explosion and the car
is d wreck