The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1911-04-06
Lone Rohher Holds Up Big
Four Train Near City Linz
its and Relieves Passen-
gers of Money.
SEARCH TODAY DID
NOT MEET SUCCESS
Several Suspects Arrested,
but All Proved Alibis-
Shoot to Kill Order Given
to Officers.
tAmericau News Servire)

Muncie. Ind, April 6.---With orders
to shoot to kill if resistance was en-
countered police and deputies have
secured the surrounding country to-
day for a daring train robber without
success up to noon. 1t is believed the
robber will show fight Suspects ar
rested during the night have proven
alibis
Hands up. Everybody" coolly
commanded a lone bandit as Express
Train No. ? on the Big Four railroad
dusk last evening.
Then with "a revolver in his hand he
called upon the so or more passengers
to come forward to the spot where he
stood partly screened by a water tank
and the passengers did so without
question.
He Spurned Jewels.
Jewelry and watches the robber
cast aside. One man handed him "A
diamond studded gold watch. and the
bandit handed it back to him with an
oath, saying HI don't want that!'
He received about $500 for his
pains.
The bandit jumped from the train
when in the very heart OF Muncie.
AS the robber clung to the steps
while waiting to alight a travelling
salesman who had borrowed a revolv-
er from a trainman, fired repeatedly
through a window at the robber and
thinks he wounded him but, if SO, the
latter was able to escape.
The robber fired back boldly at the
only man who endeavored to arrest
his course, but no harm came to the
passenger
The bandit disobeyed the customary
rules in such cases by refusing to
search the coach and compelling his
victims to come to him, evidently be-
lieving that there was less likelihood
of harm to himself in that course. An
unknown man gave up $50. Others
tore their watches and rings from fin
gers and offered them to him While
the robbery was being performed the
bandit had a red bandanna handker-
chief about his face, but before he left
the car this fell off and the passen-
gers, about so in number, half of
whom were women, obtained a good
view of his face. He was about 35
years old. with red splotches upon
his face, wearing sandy moustache,
having dropping shoulders, weighing
about 14O pounds and being about
five feet six inches in height.
The women on the solitary passen-
ger coach of the express train We're
panic stricken, and several of them
crawled upon their hands and knees
in the aisles in an endeavor to gain
the smoking compartment in the rear.
out of range of the highwayman' re-
volver. Mr.. and Mrs. James l.. Swish
er of Muncie, who We're aboard the
car. relate their experience.
The first thing we knew said
Swisher. was when we heard the
sound of crashing glass in the vesti-
bule, and the next minute saw a rag
ged, unkempt man, with a rusty re-
volver in his hand and a red bandan-
way and ordering everybody to hold
up his Hands. Then he said:
Now all of you come up here and
give me your money and we all did as
fast as we could Most of the so or SO
passengers wanted to give him their
jewelry TOO. but he would not accept
that. Women implored him to take
their rings and watches. as did some
of the men. but he just laughed at
them.
Some of the men and women tried
to crawl underneath the seats and
failed Others tried to worm their
way into the smoking compartment on
hands and knees. Then the signal
was given by the engineer for the Elm
street crossing in Muncie and the ban
dit backed out OF the car"
Only about a dozen of the 80 passen-
gers were relieved of their money, the
train arriving in the heart of the city
before the passengers had time to
comply with his request to give up
their cash. The train was in charge
of Conductor Lew Zimmerman of In
dianapolis. James Jenkins, the en-
gineer. was una OF what was hap
pening until it was all over.