Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1902-07-08
ROBBERS
GET SMALL
BOOTY
Secure But Fifty Dollars
Worth Of Jewelry in
Holdup.
CURRY BAND SUSPECTED
Robbers Are Given Big Chase But
Are Still at Larse-severaI Shots
Observation-Disclosures Still Claims to
Be Innocent.

Be Innocent.
Chicago, July Sit is officially stat
ed today by an officer of the United
States Express Co, that the robbers
who held up the Rock Island express
at Dupont, ILL.,, Thursday night, secur-
ed only $50 worth of jewelly. 1t is be-
lieved by the detectives that the rob-
bers were members of the kid" Curry
band of train robbers who are wanted
for an alleged completely in the recent
Union Pacific hold-up.
Still at Large.
Though hunted by scores of detec-
tives and crowd of citizens and far
:nei's two bandits who held up and
robbed the Big Five express train on
the Chicago and Rock Island railroad
about II o'clock Thursday night at
Dupont, village nineteen miles from
Chicago, are still at large
The chase of the robbers after the
news of the tragedy spread was an ex-
citiig one. Dupont afforded the band.
its an ideal spot for the escape as well
as the hold-up. Heavily wooded banks
fringe the sides of the track, and the
rolling country surrounding the place
is covered with heavy timber. Eight
miles west is the Wabash railroad,
: four miles east of this point is an elec.
trio car line to Harvey and Blue Is.
land.
Late in the evening the movements
of the bandits were traced to Willow
Springs, twelve miles northwest of
the spot where the train was held up.
The desperadoes stole three rigs from
farmers along the route.
Break into a Barn.
The first barn broken into was that
of James Abbey, a farmer, few miles
northwest of Dupont. There they
stole team of horses which they
hitched to blackboard. After driv-
ing at furious rate for two miles
one of the horses broke down, and
the robbers drove into the yard of an.
other farmer, Herman Niche.
The noise awakened Niche, who
fastened to get into the yard, but he
reached there just in time to see three
men wearing SLOUGH hats drive away
in his surrey drawn by his best team
of horses
Five miles farther on, in the vicini.
ty of Willow Springs. Adolph Chance
engaged in running duel with the
fugitive criminals when he discovered
them in the act of hitching a team of
his horses to the surrey
The task was about complete when
Chance made the discovery. He fired
a shot from his window, which was
returned with volley as the fugitives
drove at breakneck speed from the
yard, leading a third horse behind
them.
Chance awakened the hired man and
with light rig gave pursuit He got
near enough to shoot, but the return
fire was SO hot that he was forced to
abandon the chase.
Later it was reported that the rob-
bers had passed through Willow
Springs and had turned westward. At
that point trace of them was lost.
James e. Kahn, 5000 Ellis avenue,
the veteran messenger of the United
States Express company, who was shot
by one of the robbers. lies at the En-.
glewood Union hospital with faint
hope of his recovery. The probability
that the crime of murder will be added
to that of highway robbery is stirring
detectives and the Infatuated farmers
to every effort that might possibly lead
to running the bandits to earth.
Though the robbers secured booty
amounting to $50 in the raid, the
saving of 100000 to the United States
&c w.
Goodall, engineer of the Inflated train.
Goodall,, after he was forced to stop
the train, feigned ignorance Of the
working of the air brakes when COM
manded to uncouple the express car
and run it half mile up the road,
where the bandits could blow open the
safe, containing the $4,000, with dyna-
mite.
Delay Saves the Treasure.
Goodall tried" for half an hour, his
life in danger every moment, to I'M
couple the car. The long delay pre-
vented the execution of the robbers's
plans and they were forced to fee
without the fortune that lay within
their reach.
Charles Nesseler, one of the three
men who figured in the daring hold-up,
was captured by Engineer Goodall as
the train was pulling away from the
scene of the crime. Nesseler, who is
the son of respectable parents in Rock
Island, Ill., is now in the Harrison
street police station awaiting thor
ough investigation of his statement of
the case.
The youthful prisoner was brought
to this city last evening from Joliet af-
Cor ha had fold Tho r,olino.. n ~ 49,. -