Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-12-24
DETECTIVE ALSO FIRES
Four Men Hold Up Passenger Filler
Near Springfield, III.
ATTEMPT TO BLOW OPEN SAFE
Uncouple Engine and Express Car,
Forcing Engineer to Take
Them Two Miles.

AN-H->A'-N.1 VI ho. IettinpSi Af-
To Walter Daniels. colored porter of
Kansas City. should go the credit for
saving the valuable consignments in
the through safe" Of the express car
OF st. Louis and San Francisco train
No. 112, Oklahoma City to Kansas City,
which was held up near Chandler,
Okla, last night. according to pas
sengers on the train, which arrived
here today. Daniels shot and killed the
colored bandit while the latter was in
the act of robbing the express car.
According to passengers. the robber
got on the train as it left Chandler,
about o'clock He first entered the
chair car, where he robbed the con-
ductor, and compelled him to lead the
way to the express car.
Shot in the Back.
The robber had forced the express mes
senger and conductor to open a small
trying to force them to open the larger
safe when Daniels, who had obtained a
revolver from a passenger, shot him in
the back w S. Gordon, private de-
tective, reinforced the porter and eighteen
shots were fired before the robber lay
still. The body, unidentified, was taken
back to Chandler.
THAT porter was the only one of US
mot scared to DEATH" said George Peter
son of Tulsa, a passenger in the chair
car. THE porter sneaked into the next
car and got revolver while the rest of
us were under the seats. AS he came
back following the hold-up man to the
express car he asked somebody with a
revolver to come and help him. No one
in my car seemed to have one. The
bandit paid no attention to passengers"
Posse Fails to Find Men.
SPRINGFIELD. ILL.,. December 24.-At
noon the posse that started early today
to renew the hunt for the four bandits
who held up the Alton Hummer" fast
passenger train on the Chicago and Alton
shortly after midnight, near lies
Junction four miles south of here, had
failed to find the men.
After uncoupling the engine and eX-
press car from the train and compelling
the engineer to take them more than two
miles down the track, the robbers made
five unsuccessful attempts to blow open
the express safe with nitroglycerin and
dynamite. According to the railroad and
express officials, the bandits secured only
a few packages, which were of small
value
with the engineer and fireman Flagman
Horace Smith slipped away to lies June
ton, where there is telegraph Office.
and notified the railroad officials here
and at Bloomington. The robbers work
ed forty-five minutes in the express car,
thus giving a switch engine carrying Of
ficers time to reach the scene before the
highwaymen could get away.
When the robbers heard the engine ap-
preaching they fled firing a few shots al
the officers as they disappeared in the
darkness. The express car safe. it is
and valuable jewelry, shipped by Chicago
jewellers to Christmas purchasers. The
money safe was badly shattered, but was
not opened.
Car and Engine Uncoupled.
The passenger coaches and sleeping
cars stood on the tracks more than two
hours until the engine and express cars
We're brought back and the train started
on it's way to Kansas City. 1t is be-
lieved the highwaymen boarded the
train at lies Junction. which is an outer
yard of Springfield and an order point.
They rode on the blind baggage until
the train was short distance out of
the junction, when they covered the en-
gineer and fireman with guns, compel
lin., them to stop and uncOuple the eX-
press car and engine.
After firing a number Of shots at pas
sengers who ventured out to learn the
cause Of the delay. the robbers COM
PEELED the engineer to run down the road
some distance, where they ordered the
express messenger out of his car and
proceeded in their attempt to blow open
the safe The safe withstood the dyna-
mite charge, and they We're compelled to
flee before securing any booty of value.