The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1913-06-19
BANDITS GOT AWAY
WITH BOOTY OF
ONLY $500
Train Robbers Failed to Get
Into Safe
HOLD-Up NEAR SPRINGFIELD
Conductor Called Police But Bandits
Escaped Capture With Small
Spoil.

Springfield, H., June 1.-Two
masked bandits held up the Illinois
Central Diamond special from st.
Louis to Chicago 10 miles south of
this city, soon after midnight Tues
day, fought a pitched battle with
posse of deputy sheriffs and city po-
licemen from Springfield, who came
upon them while dynamiting the safe
in the express car, and escaped after
themselves running the engine to
point near the city limits of Spring
field. The train was brought to
Springfield early yesterday. The rob
bers obtained $500 from small safe
in the express car They failed to
get several thousand in a second and
larger safe. A reward of $1,000 was
offered for the capture of the robbers
In addition to fighting pitched
battle with the officers the bandits
captured a policeman anda newspa-
per reporter and lined them up be-
side the express car with the
messenger and curious passengers
who came from the coaches of
| the train to ascertain the cause of the
| stop. No one was injured by the
shots as far as known. The engine
| and express car were cut off from
the rest of the train by the train
crew at the point of revolvers.
Conductor McWilliams, on seeing
the engine and express car pulling
away from the train, started to in
vestigate. A little further down the
tracks toward the city. he heard an
explosion. He fastened to the home
of a farmer and sent the warning to
Springfield. Sreiff Mester and Chief
of Police Underwood soon had offic-
ers securing the country. A switch
engine in charge of General Superin-
tendent A. +. Cliffe of Clinton, left
Springfield about 2 O'Clock and on
reaching Twentieth and Laurel streets
came up TO the engine and express
car of the passenger train. The
switch engine returned to the city
and the passenger engine was sent
back to Glenarm for the train.
Engineer Shell reported that fol-
lowing the battle between the rob-
beers and posse, the bandits took pos
session of his locomotive and ran 1t,
making him sit quietly upon his box.
One of the men performed the duties
of fireman, while the other acted as
engineer. The bandit handled the To-
connective, using the reverse lever,
throttle and air brakes as though ia
miliar with their operation. Farmers
telephones played an important part
in quickly notifying the authorities
of the holdup. Reports of the explo-
sions of dynamite used repeatedly up
on the safe in the express car, awak.
ened the farmers for distance of
several miles.
Fireman Peter S. Miller SAYS he
has no idea when or where the ban
dts boarded the train. The first he
knew Of their presence was when
one of the masked robbers slid over
the tender with revolver in each
hand and covering both engineer and
fireman, said, stop her" Engineer
Shell obeyed the command. One ban
dit uncoupled the express car and
gave the command to pull ahead. AT
ter going about a mile another order
was given to stop. Miller is of the
opinion that the dynamite was appli-
ed to the safe half dozen times be-
fore the sheriff's posse arrived at
the scene and engaged the bandits in
a pitched battle.