Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1904-08-03
Bandits Make Genuine
Assault Near Chicago.
Passengers on Train Give Up
Their Goods.
Over One Thousand Dollars in Money!
and valuabIes Secured by ALLEGED
Bad Men-Two Were Injured but
None Seriously in Mix-up.

Chicago. Aug. -Four highwaymen
all heavily armed and two of tbar,
wearing masks, Monday night hold m.
the passengers on the Illinois Centrars
Chicago and St. Louis express trai,
known as the Diamond Special" on
the outskirts of Chicago as It nearad
Madison, III.
The robbers secured all the moncv
end valuables carried by the 30 mas.
s'enSers in tie two Pullman sleenip.
cars, stopped the train and escapei in
the darkness.
Inc forward sleeper was entered
first. the occupants were aroused and
with nothing on but their night cIothe,
were marched back to the Pullman car
behind. Two of the Messengers who
were slow in responding to the COM
nands of the robbers were hit on their
heads with a Ratchet and one was So
rlousiy injured. 1t was impossible.
Monday night. to obtain the names or
the injured passengers.
When the passengers in the two cars
mad been lined up in the rear Pullman.
TWO OF the robbers stood guard, one at
each end of the car with drawn revolt
Eers. The third. who is supposed to
have been the leader, ordered the pas.
sensers who had been compelled TO
bring along their clothes from the first
car, TO threw the garments on the floor
OF the car. The passcngers in the rear
car were then commanded to deposit
in, hn
the leader with the utmost coolnes,
began to- search the clothing for yalu-
ables. When he had finished this
Search he made a close examination
of the passengers for any money they
nigh. have secrcted. When the search
had been completed all the booty was
placed in a flour sack and the three
robbers Joined their companion who
had stood guard in the vestibule of the
train.
Pulling the bell rope the signal to
the engineer to stop was given. and
when the speed of the train mad slack
ened sufficiently, the robbers after hay-
ing locked the door Of the car, jumped
Off and fled in the darkness.
So systematic was the work Of the
robbers and with so little confusion that
the train crew was unaware of what
was going on. 1t was not until the en-
gineer in response to the signal brought
his train to stop and seeing nothing
of the remainder of the crew walked
back to the rear of the train to ascer-
tain what was the matter 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 money and valu-
ables.
f.. P. Groce. superintendent of tele-
graphs for the Illinois Central, who was
one of the men robbed, left the train
at Kankakee and notified the detectives
in Chicago. The latter notified the CEN
trail police and detectives were sent out
on train to begin the search for the
robbers. Superintendent Groce's story
as told at Kankakee is as follows:
THE men must have boarded the
train at Harvey for we were but few
miles out when they appeared at the
door of the last Pullman, and cursing
the brakeman and porter, ordered them
into the smoking compartment. They
went through the car and ordered all
the men out At first the men seemed
TO think the affair a joke and did not
hasten. One of the bandits then fired
into a berth whose occupant was slow
or than the rest. He came scrambling
ont in hurry and the rest responded
more readily to the orders after that.
lone other passenger. boy, Is years
of age, was but partly awake. and the
shot started him. He, too. was slow
and when a bandit told him to get in
to the aisle, the rObber struck him with
a Ratchet. He was cut severely.
"They drove all the men to the smok-
ing compartment and there two OF
them searched us while the other stood
guard at the door. They took 800 from
me and $500 from a man near me. I
guess those were the largest individual
amounts they obtained. They searched
the women who were yet awake but did
not bother those who were in the berths
where the curtains were drawn. In the
second Pullman there were only five
or six passengers and they had an ex-
perienee like the rest of u.s."
TIL train which left Chicago at 9.27
o'clock carried many passengers for
the ST. Louis fair and all remained on
the train despite their experience.