Kootenai County Republican. (Rathdrum, Idaho) 1899-1903, 1902-01-10
THEY BLEW OPEN THE Vaults
THEY STOLE $4,000 IN COIN.

OverpOWerc0 the GW0ruS W"u 90
Masked Mem Blew Up the National
stock Yard. Bank mt st. Louf" ana
ESCAPED with the Money-Left All
Papers.
St. Louis. Jan. Six masked men en-
tered the National Stock YARDS pahk'
north of East St. Louis, ILL.,, and after
choking and gagging the TWO n'sh'
watchmen and the fireman at the steam
plant and blowing open the vaults win
dynamite secured $4,000 in coin and cur
rency, with which they decamped. FROM
7 o'clock .. IN. until a a. IN. they were at
work on the vaults without being inter-
fered with. The entire East st. LOUIS
police force, aided by the st. Louis po-
lice force, are guarding all avenues OF es-
cape, but as yet have obtained no clue as
to the whereabouts of the robbers, who, 1t
is believed, escaped on horseback.
Lee Philpot, one of the watchmen,
Rough Rider friend Of President Roose-
velt was standing near the Exchange
building, in which the bank is located,
when he was addressed by three men, who
sprang out of fence corner with revoi-
vers in their hands, They said, I'VE want
you. Philpot," and overpowered him be-
fore he could reach his revolver. The
three robbers took Philpot to the COM
posing room of the Daily National Stock
Yards Reporter, near by, and laid him on
the floor. He was bound hand and foot
and gagged with towels.
While lying there three other men
came in. Philpot heard the leader of the
gang say, "Let's kill him." He was dsl
tered from doing this, Philpot says, by
the other robbers. One of the six men was
sent out with instructions to secure the
others.
| Albert Estep, the other bank watch
man, was caught on the steps of the Elk.
change building. The robber went up to
Estep and addressed him by name. Think
ing it was friend, Estep was taken I'M
awares and when revolver was thrust
into his face was not in shape for de-
Tense. Under threats of death he was
lOICcu W ~ " TIC composing AOOAAA'
where he was also bound and gagged.
Night Fireman L. w. Clark was taken
unawares in the steam plant of the Ex-
change building. He resisted and was
badly beaten with sandbag before being
subdued. He was also taken to the com.
with his two companions.
About midnight one of the robbers was
left to guard the three captiyes, while
the other five went into the bank, which
is located on the first floor of the Ex-
change building, near the center. With
nitroglycerin the robbers blew open the
steel doors of the vault. These doors are
of double thickness of steel and were
shattered and the banks books and pa
pers blown into shmds. Entering the
vault, the big steel safe, with quadruple
plate doors, was next encountered. The
plates We're drilled and charge of nitro
glycerin inserted. The explosion destroy
ed more books and papers and scattered
about 5000 in gold and silver upon the
floor. This money was not taken by the
robbers.
They took all the other currency and
coin, amounting to about $4,000, as nearly
as the bank officials can estimate. The
five men left the building and signaled
to the one who was guarding the captive
watchmen and fireman. This man Joined
his companions.
] Five minutes after the robber guard
left the composing room, Estep, who had
not been bound securely, worked loose
and released Clark and Philpot. This was
about o'clock. Estep then ran to the
telephone and called up Charles I. Jones
general manager of the stock yards, and
informed him Of the robbery. President
G. Gordon Knox of the bank was also
called, and he soon arrived at the stock
yards.
> MIR. Knox said if the robbers had made
: their haul the night before they would
have secured about $4,000 more thar
they got. They did not take any of the
banks papers, most of which were dam
: aged by the two explosions. The robbers
who were all masked, appeared to bt
: middle aged men, none of them under 3:
years of age. The leader, man about 40
I. was tall and slender, probably about 81,
feet two inches, with sallow complexion
short brown mustache and black ewes