New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1903-04-15
NIGHT RAID IS FRUTLEsS
Intellectual Attempt Made to Rob
Nicollet Bank Last Thursday.
Doors of Vault Blown OFF but No
Cash is Secured by Thieves.
Two Men Who Did Job Frightened
Away by Revolver Shots.

Il
attempt to rob the bank in the village
of Nicollet between $3.50 and u'clocK
last Thursday morning. The outer doors
of the vault were blown off but citizens
frightened the marauders away before
they could begin operations upon the
safe. Not cent was taken but the
thieves appropriated revolver belong.
ling to the cashier Of the bank.
/ About $3.50 that morning Relnhart
Olson, a brother of Al Olson, of this
city, whose store and residence is direct.
ly across the street from the bank, was
awakened by an explosion. He lay
awake and listened and in moment
heard another explosion from the direc-
ton of the bank. Rushing upstairs, he
looked out of window and saw light
and the shadows of two men in the build.
ing across the street.
He instantly discharged his 38-calibre
revolver at the bank windows, which
were already shattered and broken by
the conclusions of the two explosions.
This spread the alarm. Citizens soon
gathered, other shots were fred into the
bank, but when it was at last deemed
safe to enter the robbers had disappeared.
The supposition is that they took to
fright at the first shot from Olson's pis-
tot and were we'll out of the way when
the building was surrounded. Il
An investigation made later showed
that the men first forced open the win
dow of a nelghboring blacksmith shop,
taking from there number of drills,
chisels, hammers and other tools with
which to work upon the vault. They
then went to the bank, broke outa piece
of glass near the lock of one the win
dows, reached in, unfastened the catch
and gained an entrance.
By the force of the two explosions the
outer doors of the vault were blown
completely off and utterly dismantled
and ruined. Window panes were broken
and the furniture of the bank badly
damaged. A small bottle of nitrogly-
cerine was found in the building and al
so the tools taken from the blacksmith
shop. 1...,z p.
AS to their indemnity, the robbers left
not the slightest clue. Two suspicious
looking characters we're seen sbout the
village day or so before the burglary
but there is no evidence to show that
they were in any way connected with the
affair. Hoof prints on the road leading
south from the town would indicate that
the men took that direction in their re-
treat. Ia, a.
Coming so soon after the Kasota hank
robbery 1t would seem that this is the
work of the same men. Bearing out
this theory, the St. Peter Tribune in its
issue Of last Wednesday published an
article telling of the discovery of a set
of burglar tools behind business house
IN St. Peter. They were probably the
property of the two men, who made
their headquarters in St. Peter while the
excitement over the Kasota raid abated.
Friday noon Sheriff VIM. J. Julius re-
celved a telephone message from Hanska
which informed him that two suspicious
looking characters answering the de,
scriptions of the Nlcollet bank robbers
were in tina; village. He communicated
with Cashier W. F. Siege, of; Nicollet,
who asked that they be held, and then
ordered Marshal Peter Roland, of Hanska,
to make the arrest.
That afternoon Sheriff Julius went to
Hanska and returned with the prisoners
in the evening. They gave their names
as Harry Mcclure and Ed. Cune and
claimed that they had just come up into
Minnesota from Iowa. According to
their story they had been working as
laborers upon railroad in Iowa. Quit
ting their jobs they went tc Madelia
and walked from that town to Hanska.
At $40 Friday evening Cashier Siege
and two other gentlemen from Nicollet
who had seen the two strangers, came to
New Ulm to have look at the suspects
They were unable to identify Mcclure
and McCune as the parties who were
wanted and on Saturday morning they
were released from the county Jail by
Sheriff Julius.
Sunday afternoon two men were ar
rested at Delevan and it is believed that
the right men have been captured They
refused to give their names, claiming to
have relatives near Mankato, but both
were armed with heavy revolvers and
between them they carried an almost
complete set of burglar tools, consist
ing of steel wedges, drills, fuses and tai
low candles.
Monday Sheriff MCMILLAN and Cashier
Siege went to Delevan and the latter
identified the men as those who were
seen in Nicollet. They were taken to
ST. Peter and are now in tile Nlcollet
county Jail. One says he is a machinest
and the other claims to be boiler max
er. They aver that they are innocent
of the Kasota and Nicollet robbe1ies and
assert that they slept in q school house
near Good Thunder the night the Nicol-
let bank was entered.
81 To Mothers In This Town.