The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1901-08-08
TRAIN IS
HELD UP
Mail Car Dyna-
mited and Rob-
bers Fooled.
NO MONEY WAS
CARRIED AWAY
A Gone ationai Incident In, In diana
A Sensational incident in. indiana
Which Ended Without Much
Damage to Railroad.

CHICAGO, July 31-The Chicago and
Baltimore passenger train from the East,
which was due to arrive in the Grand
Central station Chicago, at O'Clock
tonight, was held up by five masked
men at o'clock tonight between Edge
mere and Grand Calumet Heights, Ind,
thicty-one miles from Chicago. One of
the mail cars, which contained no
money, was dynamited and wrecked.
The attempt at robbery was made after
| the two mail cars had been detached
| from the train and run a quarter of a
mile ahead. The failure of the robbers
| to make a rich haul was due to the fact
| that the express car, which contained
| the trains treasure, was in an unusual
train. After wrecking the mail car and
obtaining no booty, the men disappeared
| in the darkness without attempting to
rectify their mistake. The only loot
| that they carried away with them as
result of their adventure was the gold
watch of the engineer
i The train was the New York and
| Washington vestibule limited. Most Of
the trainmen We're shot at and had mar
row escapes. No person was injured
either by the dynamite or firearms The
place where the robbery occurred is a
lonely district where houses are few and
| far between. The train was running at
| high rate of speed as it passed Calu-
met Heights, and Immediately On pass
| ing out of sight of the station Engineer
j. w. Collins saw directly in front of his
engine a large fire on which some rails
had been placed. He slowed down, and
as he did so, three men wearing masks
over their faces jumped into the cab
and covered Collins and his fireman,
James Whpple, with revolvers.
Just before climbing into the cab the
three men commenced to fire with their
revolvers to brighten away all assist
ance. The shots produced the liveliest
kind of panic in the sleeping cars, where
| the passengers made every effort to
hide their money and valuahles before
the robbers could get at them No at
tempt was made, however, % .ob any of
| the passengers.
After mounting into the cab of the
lengine the robbers, covering the en-
gineer and fireman with their reyol
vers, made them step down and go back
the length of two cars. They orlerei
the men to uncouple the first two cars,
which was done. They then hustled
the two trainmen back into the cab,
with revolvers. directed him to pull up
some distance from the rest of the
train.
Engineer Collins ran up 200 feet. and
was then directed to stop. He did so.
and while one of them remained to
guard him, the others jumped off. and.
hurting dynamite at the door of the
car which they judged to be the express
car, burst open the door. Hastily
oil y1,hi II 70 rot of ba 70 yyor
astonished to find that they had broken
into a mail car. They threatened the
engineer with death for not telling them
that the cars which he had uncoupled
| were not express cars, and ordered him
to return at once and uncouple the next
car behind the baggage cars.
| Climbing once more into his cab, Col
Inns backed his engine down, coupled on
to the third car which the fireman was
made to uncouple at the rear end, and
! still with the muzzle Of the revolver at
| his head, Collins was ordered to run
down the track as before. He drew away
| IF ON the remainder of the train about
the same distance as on the first occa-
sion, and the robbers still leaving him
under charge of one of their number at
tackled the other car. When they reached
| it, they found, to their great wrath. that
| they had opened another mail car and
that it contained no money. The train
had been delaped now fully thirty min
utes and, fearing that if they delayed
any longer, help would be coming to the
train crew, the robbers gave up their at
tempt to rob the train and ran into a
thicket of scrub oak at the side of the
! track and disappeared. The train came
on to Chicago and officers were at once
sent after the robbers. Within an hour
after the robbery a large posse was on
their trail. Charles A Crosse conduc-
tor of the train, brought into the city
several sticks of dynamite that had been
left by the robbers at the side of the
track
F. A. Apologize of Newark, O., was
the express messenger and was alone in
his car. He had no idea that a robbery
was being attempted until he heard the
shooting on the outside. He then seized
| a rife, and, climbing on top of the SAFE
| awaited developments, determined to
make the best fight in his power. He
was not molested in any way however
| He said that there was considerable gold
and silver in the car and that the rob-
bers might have secured quite sum if
they had come to the right place.
! Local express officers refused to say
! tonight how much there was in the car.
1t is estimated that $4,000 was stored
In the express car, and it is believed the
robbers knew of the large amount of
money and ValuableS aboard
After leaving the train the robbers
| turned toward Lake Michigan. 1t is be-
lieved they made their final escape in a
boat.
| CHICAGO. August mo clue has as
yet been obtained of the men who held
up the Baltimore and Ohio vestibule
limited last night near Miller's station,
Ind. AS soon as the. attempted robbery
was reported to the railroad officials in
lf.l. a
a fast run was made to the scene of the
hold-up The train carried officials OF
the road special detectives and officers
Of the Chicago police department. Blood
hounds were secured from Long Beach,
and these aided in the search for the
desperadoes 1t is the firm belief OF the
police that the robbers escaped IN
boat which they had concealed on the
shore of the lake. Police patroiled the
shore from the vicinity of the hold-up