The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-03-16
.ONE MAN ROBS
 LIMITED TRAIN Gets Aboard In GuiSe of Mail
 Inspector 0VERCOMES TWO CLERKS Remaining on Car Four Hours Robber Rifles Mail Sacks and Distri- hutes Mail Sacks to Way
 Stations.

Spokane, Wash, March 15.--A bandit boarded the mail car on the westbound Oriental limited of the Great Northern railway at Bonners Ferry. Idaho, before daylight today, bound the two mail clerks, robbed the mail car and he delivered way station mail for 100 miles. Then ne dropped off the train and escaped. The robbery was not discovered until the train reached Spokane, five hours after the ban dit boarded the train
 The train carried the through mail and much of it was registered. The amount stolen will not be known until the registered mail has been checked up.
 When the train arrived at Spokane at 9:20 o'clock the mail car was closed. Elm ployes at the station opened the car and found one of the mail clerks lying bound
 on the mail sacks. The other, clerk was
 locked in closet. They said that a ban
 dit boarded the car at Bonners Ferry,
 point 100 miles east of Spokane. The rob-
 Der boarded the train as 1t left the Bon ners Ferry. subdued the clerks with
 revolver, bound them and went through the registered mail. At each stop, the robber threw off the mail sacks for each
 point and took the outgoing sacks, but
 at smaller places, where the train does l not stop, he did not throw off the mail. He jumped off the train at Oregon Rail- 1 road and Navigation junction, two miles east of Spokane.
 Spokane, March 15-Man Clerks Ben icY Inf Toh m | night told of their experiences. Locked in a closet, hardly two feet square, Nys- tun almost suffocated after the train l had pulled into Sand Point, 94 miles
 west of Bonners Ferry. Tapping on the
 door he pleaded with the robber to allow him some fresh air.
 The bandit responded willingly, leaving l the door ajar about an inch, secured l with a piece of rope. Twice afterwards 1 the robber ceased his work of rifing the
 mail sacks to inquire how Nystun was
 feeling. When Stumpf remonstrated with 1 his captor that the cords that bound him
 were cutting into his wrists the robber l loosened the letters somewhat and made
 every effort to make 1t as comfortable l as possible for his victim. While ripping
 open the registered sacks the robber l dressed like mall inspector cut one of l his fingers and many pieces of mail were  1 bloodstained.
 It was under the guise of a postoffice in- l spector. giving the name of c. w. Ben l nett that the bandit gained entrance to l the mail car. Nystun was on duty While i Stumpf was asleep under table. The robber, according to the story of the ! clerks, inquired if there was any mall ] for him, explaining that he was an inspec- l tor
 Nystun looked. and turning to inform
 the pretended inspector that there was 1 none he faced a revolver. Warning Nys- l tun to make no outcry the bandit pushed l him into the closet and locked the door. l Tn about four hours, Stumpf, who hao 1 Awakened when the bandit first entered 1 the car, and had gone to sleep again pe- 1 lievjng an inspector was aboard aWoNe' l Thinking 1t strange that he had not been called. Stumpf looked toward the mai | ia hIe and saw the stranger asserting let-
 ters. AS Stumpf was crawling rom pe- I meath the table the bande drew re- volver and ordered him to be stiii. ne l then threw a jumper over Stumpf heao, l hound his hands behind him and seated 1 him in the far end of the car.
 Six sacks of registered mail Tor coast noints were cut open and rined. lhe
 sacl.s for Spokane were not disturbed
 From the bloodstained mail scent was l obtained for bloodhounds to 1olloW' put l the trail. after being followed tnroush several blocks was lost.