The daily morning journal and courier., 1905-05-03
WILD WEST METHODS USED
BANK ROBBERY IN NEW FORK
 STATE VILLAGE.

Place in the Dead of NIght-Escape
 With Booty Estimated at s5,000 to
 s10.0O0-Pursuing Villagers Halted
 by Pistol Shots.
 oneonta, N. r., May "A band of masked robbers rode into the sleeping village of Gilbertsyille, about eighteen miles from here, at o'clock this morn ing, blew open the modern and sup posedly burglar proof safe in the pri- vate bank of E. c. Brewer and made good their escape with booty estimated at between s5,0OO and s1O,0OO. When the startled villagers were awakened by the muff1ed roar of the explosion and had been halted by the pistol fire of the retreating bandits they fouIid that the robbers had completely isolat- ed Gilbertsville from the outside world by cutting all the telegraph and tele- phone wires. Efforts to communicate with neighboring towns were futile and when the village folk finally started in pursuit the robbers had gained a lead which could not be overcome.
 Tonight parties are searching the woods in every direction in the hope that the robbers have sought shelter in the thiekets and will seek to leave the vicinity of their daring exploit un- der. cover of to-night's darkness, Sev- eral teams which had been stolen from various barns and used by the robbers in their approach to the village and their subsequent flight were found abandoned by the roadside. Daylight found the bandits not far from Gilberts- vile and it is believed that they then left the highway and went into the woods afoot. ..sss. 5z .
 Gilbertsville, which is a community of five hundred souls in a populous dis triet of Otsego county, is dazed by the bold attack, which rivals, in the details of its thoroughness, it's daring and its success, the exploits of the most noto- rious bandits of the western country. It is believed there were five men in the band That all were heavily armed was shown by the frequency of their fire when the first of villagers arrived in the vicinity of the bank The men first pried open the front door of the bank. Not a light giimmered in the village and they evidently set about their work leisurely. Two holes were drilled in the heavy steel doors of the. newly installed safe, and into these the explosive, believed to have been nitro- glycerine, was inserted. The explosion wrecked the safe and shattered every window in the bank building. Portions of the safe were found many yards from the building.
 The robbers hastily gathered up all the money exposed by the explosion ana started on a run just as the first of the awakened villagers reached the scene. Among the first to arrive at the bank were w. F. Ward and c, A. Daniels, who encountered the robbers and were held in check by their threats to shoot. Other residents quickly came up, but in the meantime the invaders were making good thei reseape, firing as they went.
 The alarm spread rapidly through the town and in short time everybody was awake and hurrying to the bank. Then an attempt to communicate with the neighboring towns was made in the hope of intsrcepting the burglars. Tel- egraph offices and the telephone ex- change were opened, but the operators found only dead wires. Then plans for pursuit were quickly made. Postmaster w. $. Root and c. P. Root, his broth CT, started for Mount Upton, the near est railroad station, six miles away They had gone but half mile, when they came upon a team hftched to a telegraph pole. One of the horses had become entangled in the harness and had fallen. The robbers apparently had made an attempt to right the harness, but finally abandoned the effort and made off. The team proved to have |been stolen from neighboring barn. 2
 Continuing on their way Postmaster Root and his brother came upon a one horse surrey near Mount Upton. An axle of the vehicle Wais broken and a short distance away was the horse be- longing to a farmer in the vicinity, and taken from h.s barn during the night.
 It is believed that after this vehicle failed them the robbers made their way into the woods, as no further trace of them could be found. EE
 From Mount Upton word of the rob- bery was sent to all of the nighbor, ing towns. Posses were organized, but their efforts to locate the men have So far proved futile. The search Is being continued tonight. A good description of the men is lacking, and if they have separated, as is possible, their capture will prove difficult task. tt
 MT. Brewer, who has conducted the bank at Gilbertville for many years, said to the Associated Press tonight that he could make no statement as to the extent of the loss at this time. It is believed that nearly $10,000 in cash was kept in the safe. MT. Brewer is wealthy, and is said to be able to make good the loss to depositors.