The Yale expositor. (Yale, St. Clair County, Mich.) 1894-current, 1911-07-06
GANG HOLD Up
EXPRESS NEAR ERIE
$4,000 STAKE INSPIRES THE
TRAIN CREW TO FIGHT OFF
THE BANDITS.
PASSENGERS IN PANIC; TWO
SHOT AND TWO INJURED.
The Hold-up Was One of the Most
Daring Ever Attempted East
of the Mississippi
River.

One of the most desperate train
robberies that ever has taken place in
the east occurred on the Philadelphia
& Erie railroad at an isolated spot
five miles from Erie, Pa. AS a re-
suit four men were injured by the
bandits, two of them with bullets; the
mail and express cars were stripped
of valuables and the lives of many
passengers were in peril, not from
the bandits, but from death at the
bottom of a deep ravine.
Just how valuable the registered
mail and express packages were is
not known. 1t is believed, however,
that the amount will run into thou
sands of dollars.
An hour after the hold-up the train
was brought into Erie. The passen-
gers were panic-stricken. Half
dozen women passengers, who had
tainted during the robbery, together
with a score of others in a hysterical
condition, had to be given medical at
tention.
Not a Trace of the Bandits.
Although there were at least 10
men, and possibly II, connected with
been found.
The robbery was crude. But what
it lacked in cleverness was made up
in daring. The bandits used revolvers
with the utmost freedom, firing in
discriminatory around the cars of the
train and at any person who showed
himself
Shortly after the train passed Belle
Valley, the last telegraph station on
the road before Erie is reached, the
engineer saw an obstruction across
the track. The train was rounding a
sharp curve and the speed had been
materially reduced This fact, for
tunately, prevented a serious wreck.
The sudden stopping and subse-
quent jar when the train hit the OBJ
struction gave the passengers and
members of the crew, except the en-
gineer and fireman, the impression
that the train had collided head-on
with another train.
Covered With RevoIvers.
The engineer and fireman, however,
knew that an attempt had been made
to wreck the train and swung down
from the cab to investigate AS they
reached the ground they were covered
with revolvers by two of the bandits
Engineer Carey Immediately closed
in on one of the men. The engineers
encounter was only one of many in
cidents. Other members of the ban
dit band were replying to volleys sent
at them from pistols in the hands of
Block, the mail clerk, and Conductor
Rooney
Taking in the situation at a glance,
Block opened fire few minutes after
the train had stopped. He stood in
the doorway of the mail car He
dropped finally with a bullet through
his side.
At this juncture several of the ban
dts climbed into the mail car and
began cutting open the mail sacks.
While thus engaged, Bemis, the brake
man, burst in the rear door Of the
mail car from one of the coaches.
His appearance was met with a vol
ley and .Bemis fell. stunned by bull
let through his arm. One of the rob-
bers dragged Bemis to the platform
and kicked him off the car.
Conductor Rooney had only four
cartridges in his revolver. He fired
all of them at the bandits nearest
him, but without effect. While he
stood dazed and undecided a stone
hurled at him by one of the men
struck him on the head. AS he fell
another stone hit him in the back
Recovering later, Rooney crawled
out of sight of the train. Then get
ting to his feet he ran for nearly
mile to a farmhouse, where he got
into telephone communication with
the railroad officials in Erie.