The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-08-02
Relieve thePsssengers Of$1 900
in Cash and ValuabIes.
HERDED In ONE CAR.
Victims Were Forced to Pile
Their Clothes I'm the Aisle.
Bandits Worked So Quietly and
systematically
That Trainmen Didn't Know
Until All Was Over.

Chicago, Aug. 2.-Four highwaymen,
all heavily armed and two of them
wearing masks, held up the passengers
on the Illinois Central Chicago-St.
Louis express train known as the Dia-
mond special as it neared Matteson,
Ill, last night. The robbers secured all
the money and vaIua bles carried by the
thirty passengers in the two Pullman
sleeping cars, stopped the train and
escaped in the darkness.
The forward sleeper was entered first.
the occupants were aroused and with
nothing on but their night clothes, were
marched back to the Pullman car be-
hind. Two of the passengers who were
slow in responding to the demands OF
the robbers were hit on their heads
with a hatchet and one was seriously
injured.
When the passengers in the two cars
had been lined up two of the robbers
stood guard. one at each end of the
car with drawn revolvers. The third.
VINO is supposed to have been the lead
er, ordered the passengers who had
been compelled to bring along their
clothes from the first car to throw the
garments on the floor of the cars; the
passengers in the rear car were then
commanded to return to their berths
and deposit their clothes in the same
heap. Then the leader with the utmost
GOODNESS began to search the clothing
for valuables. When he had finished
this search he made a close examina-
tion of the passengers to see if any
money might have been secreted. When
the search had been completed all the
booty was placed in flour sack and
the three robbers Joined their compan-
ion who had stood guard in the vesti-
bule of the train. Pulling the bell rope,
the signal to the engineer to stop was
given and wnen the speed of the train
had slackened sufficiently the robbers
after having locked the doors of the
car jumped off and fed in the dark
ness.
with so little confusion was the robbery
accomplished that the train crew was
unaware of what was going on. It
was not until the engineer in response
to the signal brought his train to a
stop and seeing nothing of the remain
der oS the crew walked back to the rear
train to ascertain what was the mat
ter that he learned of the robbery
No attempt was made to rob the mail
or express cars.
The robbers secured more than $1,000 in
G. H. Groce, superintendent of tele-
graph for the Illinois Central, who was
Kankakee and notified the Illinois rail-
way detectives in Chicago The latter no
titled the central police station and dep
uties We're sent out on a train to begin
the search for the robbers.
SUPERINTENDENT
Kankakee was as follows:
THE men must have boarded the train
out when they appeared at the door of
the last Pullman and curslng the brake
Emokng maa nea eompar3ment They '0 wene
through the car and ordered all the men
affair a joke. and did not hasten. one OF
the bandits then fired into berth, whose
came scrambling out in a hurry and the.
rest responded more readily to the or
ders after that.
years old, was partly awake and the shot
startled him. He, too, was slow and
aisle the robber struck him with hatchet
and he was cut severely.
ing Compartment and there two of them
searched while the other stood guard
in the doors. They took 500 from me
and $500 from a man near me-. guess
these were the largest individual amounts
who were yet awake, but did not bother
those who were in the berths where the
Pullman there were only fve or six pas
sengers and they had an experience Ike
II The train. Which left Chicago at s:27
o'clock. carried many passengers 1or tne
train, despite their experience.
Those Who Were Robbed.
ST. Louis, Mo, Aug. 2.-It was
learned today after the arrival of the
Diamond special on the Illinois Cen
robbers who held it up obtained prob
ably less than 1000 and number of
watches from the passengers William
Toolan of Lansing, Mich, and Leonard
Christmas of Ontario, Canada, who
were beaten on their heads, were able
to walk from the train but Toolan was
in a dazed condition. The injured
were in the care of DIR. H. c. Fair
brother of East st. Louis, one of the
company's physicians who boarded the
train at Harvey, Ill.
Among the passengers who were
robbed were the following:
I. J.FeigeI, Cleveland.
!. x. Mueller, Chicago.
o. S. Pfluger, Chicago.
William Toolan. Lansing, Mich.
Leonard Christmas, Ontario.
Stephen Coffey, Connecticut.
w. H. Lavel. Canada.
A. ]. Siegel, st. Louis.
L. V. Coombs, conductor of the train,
made the following statement:
"I am positive that the men who
robbed US were former railroad en-
ployes.'
n