The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1911-12-14
TWO MEN HOLD UP COAST LINE
FAST PASSENGER.
Relief Train in Collision Delays OF.
f1cerS and Enables Bandits to Make
Escape with About $4,000.

near Hardeville, S. c., early this
morning and robbed it of one "jack-
ct" of registered mail. One man was
arrested at Savannah, but was quick
ly released. Other arrests have been
made, according to local officers.
The bloodhounds that were put on
the trail of the robbers following it
into the country for probably a mile:
then circled back to the railroad,
and officers stated this probably
meant that the robbers had made
their escape on a later northbound
train, boarding it very near the
scene of the hold up and possibly
while officers were searching for
them but few hundred yards away:
The value of the robbers booty is
estimated at $4,000.
The train was running in two Sec
tions because of the heavy passenger
traffic.
In Sight of Station.
D. H. Mercy, the night operator in
the tower at Hardeville, states that
the train reached his station in good
condition and he gave it the signal to
go ahead. Shortly after the train got
away from his station and before it
had got out of sight it stopped. He
was surprised to see this, as it had
no signal. to stop at that point.
Just about that time the second
section of the train arrived from Sa-
vannah, and Mercy advised the
crew to go ahead and find out what
the trouble was with the first section.
Arriving at the spot where the first
section had stopped, the train crew
found the utmost confusion reigning:
The robbers, two in number, had
forced the engineer to stop his train,
and, covering the fagman and the
conductor with pistols, they made
the flagman open the mail car, after
it had been detached from the train
and run some distance. Here two
mail clerks were found at work and
they were made to give up two bags
of registered. mail. The robbers
then made their escape.
AS quickly as possible, Savannah
was notified Of the robbery and
special train, consisting of an engine
and two cars, with several Coast Line
officials and detectives, was en- route
to the scene within an hour. The
special was in charge of Engineer
L. E. Rawls and conductor. The
Coast Line and the Southern use the
same tracks out of Savannah to
Hardeville and while en- route to the
scene of the robbery, the train with
the detectives on board ran into a
freight train of the Southern Rail-
way.
Charles Reddy, the negro fireman,
and Engineer Rawls both jumped and
both escaped serious injury, although
the negro was painfully hurt.
The wreck delayed the arrival of
the officials and the detectives for
some time, and they did not reach
the scene of the robbery until sew
eral hours after it had occurred. The
robbers, it is believed, boarded the
train at Hardeville, as the dispatcher
thinks he saw two suspicious looking
characters get aboard at that point.
He thinks they got between the two
front coaches and from there made
their. way to the tender and to the
engine.
The train was in charge Of Engin-
neer J. E. Farris, of Charleston, Con-
ductor Damon, of Florence, and Fire
man Abe Williams, negro. Engi-
neer Farris says, in his report to the
officials of the Atlantic Coast Line
here, that as he was leaving Harde-
Vile he looked around and the two
men had climbed into the cab and
had him covered with revolvers.
They ordered him to go ahead, and
after getting just north of the switch
ordered him to stop.
They made him and his fireman get
down on the ground on the left side
of the engine. One of them stood
guard over them while the other
looked after the others.
Conductor Damon went up to the |
engine on the right side and was shot
at by one of the men and made to go |
to the postal car and have the postal
clerks come out, the fobbers threat
ening to blow up the car if they did
not do so.
Ed. Dozier, the colored porter,
came up shortly after this and Me |