The San Francisco call. [volume], July 25, 1909, Page 2, Image 2

About The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913

Image provided by: University of California, Riverside; Riverside, CA

                
William A. Pjnkcrtor*
WHILE the golden age of the train wrecker
and robber has waned, ( and the pictur
esque holdup man has ceased from troub
ling to some extent, express companies in
the United States still lose thousands of
dollars annually in money, jewels and
valuables, and each of them maintains a standing
army Tor defense against bandit and defaulter.
The annals of crime directed against the express
companies are tilled with thrilling incidents. The
daring of outlaws, the bravery of messengers, the
skill and -persistence of agents of justice go to make
a story more stirring than that of any other phase
of the war waged by the desperado upon property.
Although armored cars, burglar proof safes and pow
erful private detective forces have set some bar to
activities of robbers of the James type, such men
have by no means disappeared. The chances against
them are greater, but they have still to be reckoned
with. And the situation has been complicated fur
ther by the clever inside manipulator, the package
snatcher, the thief who relies upon cunning and wit
rather than upon mask and revolvers.
In the management of an involved transportation
enterprise each separate joint in the machinery offers
some weakness, however slight. The companies have
learned costly lessons in the guarding of their elabo
rate systems, but never have they reached the point
wher» they can say that every wile and every danger
has been foreseen and warded off.
Express companies do not advertise their losses,
and more frequently than not nowadays the thefts
are unaccompanied by ostentation. When a bundle
of bills is quickly flicked from sight they do not rush
to the police with their complaint. They have a more
effective method 'than that. In their employ are the
best criminal trackers they can find or train, con
stituting a secret :»ervice as formidable and expert as
that of a sovereign government. Frequently they
are aided by the detective forces of railroads, such
as that of the Southern Pacific. Except in rare cases
they expect little of the regular police, and the first
part played by the authorities in their affairs is to
take charge of the captured fugitive.
When been recently William A. Pinkerton said
that the situation as to express companies is made
satisfactory only at the expense of constant vigil
ance. The result is obtained by tireless persistence
and watching.
Mr. Pinkerton's View of It
"The greatest help we have at present lies in the
reputation we have built up and are maintaining
among the criminal claEs," he said. "The Adams ex
press company has always taken the position that
the criminal and not the money is the thing to land.
Consequently we have never had to compromise.
When we are after a thief he knows that we want
him and he can not dicker for immunity. We get
what he has stolen, of course, if we can. But it is
much better to make an example of him than to
recover every cent he has taken."
In this Mr. Pinkerton struck the keynote of the
attitude of the 1 companies toward the class that
preys upon them. They have been forced into un
relenting tactics as the price of reasonable safety,
and when a robber makes one of them his victim he
can count upon having on his trail a pursuer that
will never rest until he has paid the penalty.
"For the last quarter of a century," said Mr. Pin
kerton, "the 'j'eggs' and holdup men have been chiefly
a western product from the cattle country. Cow
boy* with criminal instincts passed naturally through
the development of camp thieves, horse rustlers,
s;age and, finally, train robbers. Their followers and
disciples were drawn from among mechanics who
came out during the great railroad development and
who were familiar with the use of dynamite and
nitroglycerine. The original train robbing band was
usually from five to eight strong. It. dwindled to
from three to five, and of late years a number of rob
beries have been handled by but one man..
"Recently we have had to contend also with the
dishonest employei who maps out a smooth plan for
inside theft and covers his tracks skillfully. This is a
different game and calls for another kind of detec
tive ability."
A typical instance of the real train holdup con
ducted in traditional melodramatic style took place
in Montana recently. A Northern Pacific passenger
train was stopped near Bear Mouth by two masked
men. They entered the tender at a water tank and
crawled forward over the coal to the cab. Revolvers
at the nape of his neck induced the engine driver to
set his brakes, and the bandits turned their attention
to the express car. The messenger locked his doors,
suspecting the cause of the sudden halt, and the
robbers forced the engine driver to light the fuse
to a stick of dynamite that made an entrance for
them. • . r^'rJA
Having bound and gagged the messenger they
tried to open the safe, and after setting off five
charges of dynamite without result they placed an
enormous charge that blew the side. out. of the car
and hurled the safe 40 feet. They obtained about
$65,000 and made off. One of those to head a posse
in pursuit was "Kid" Curry, himself a notdrious train
robber. It was believed that the two men: were
members of his former band.
A little more than a year ago the Oriental limited,
of the Great Northern, was held up by four robbers
near Rondo, Mont. Their tactics were similar -to
\u25a0 those adopted on the former occasion, boarding the
tender and beginning operations with the engine
driver. Rewards of $13,000 were offered; for their
capture, but th^y escaped.
«The mpst desperate and dangerous of the express
**car bandits have been those whose method has been
to wreck trains in conducting robberies. Dynamite
or. ! obstructions on the track have been their tools,
and. loss of life frequently has resulted from their,
crimes, which have been the object of severe/legisla
tion, in contrast with such reckless men as. these is
the bandit of the type of -'Old BiH";Miner,Ysaid]to"
be the ir.i/st remarkable single handed express rob
ber who ever lived. Miner alwiys worked alone;,
\u25a0 •\u25a0 \u25a0 \u25a0. '
GET THE MAN!
raft and Courage of gidMime^hd ' Modern Express
Robbers Matched by Orgaiy zed Secret "Service and the '
Mandate That Makes Capture /d^
Unflagging Man Hunt v %
Their employers do not ask of. then* that
they give their lives, but it is expected that
they will' contest the attempt to the last inch,
and they dffit
never took a life and never posed as a "bad man.**
He made a startling record in the west.
A $200,000 Job
One of the largest hauls in an express car holdup
was that of a Lake Shore train near Kcssler, Ind.
The halt was obtained by swinging a red light upon
the tracks. When the engine driver slowed down
he was shot through the shoulder by one of the
12 robbers who '.were , grouped on either side.
The passengers and train crew were held at bay
by masked men with rifles while the express car
was blown open and the messenger disarmed. It
was estimated that $200,000 was taken, from the
safe. Before entrance was gained, however, v the
messenger succeeded in hiding two strong boxes
containing $100,000 in gold coin under^ a coffin and
these were overlooked. The robbers lacked the pro
fessional touch and the affair was laid to Hoosier
youths who had been reading penny dreadfuls, -v
« A similar - saving for an express company was
made about the same time on the Hannibal and St.
Joseph railroad, in Missouri. While the bandits
were forcing an entrance the messenger kicked a
package containing $10,000 under the stove" and it
was overlooked. The robbers took $47.80 from the
safe and were satisfied. * ' , •
Many are the unlauded heroes who have stood
bravely to their duty in the. defense of property in
express cars. Express messengers have repeatedly
taken the utmost risks in resisting holdups and many
of them have paid for their with their lives.
The man who undertakes to garrison a car in which
hundreds of thousands of dollars may be stowed
through vast stretches of country where train rob
bers have been operating displays no mean bravery.
Jt is a fearsome thing to hear the pounding of re
volver butts upon the doors and a command to open
from reckless men who are ready to kill and armed
with dynamite. Yet, single handed, messengers have
stood off. the fiercest attacks. Their employers do
not ask of them that they give- their lives, but it is*
expected that they will contest Jhe attempt to the
last inch, and they do it. \u25a0 .
Mystery still surrounds -the killing'of an American
express company messenger in Dallas, Texas, a few
years ago. The train was moving through the yards
and the messenger, Concannon, was seen "standing at
the open door of his car. as it passed a point six
hundred yards from the platform. There was a brief
delay at a switch and the train drew into the sta
tion. Agents fan a truck to the side of the car, but
Concannon did not appear. They climbed inside to
find, the messenger stretched upon the floor fatally
injured. There /were evidences of a struggle. His
skull had been crushed with an iron bar- The safe
was not locked and $10,000 was missing from it. The
whole affair, .murder and robbery, rhad been 1 accom
plished within five, minutes and no trace of 1 the crim
inal or the way he had entered and departed 'was
ever discovered. '
"Joe" Shannon, one of the best known express
messengers of the country, was in, the' employ of
the Adams express company for 25 years. He pre
vented robberies -a. score of times, was the rueujis of
sending 22 bandits to ,'ttip. penitentiary and killed
two. He was' overpowered in one" attack and was
tied to a. tree in the woods near Montgomery,- Ala."
Five days passed, before he was' discovered. When
he was * released "his first remark -was of satisfaction
at having shot one of -his assailants.
At Corinth, Miss., a messenger for the 'Southern
\u25a0 express company was fatally shot through/the open
door of . his car, but continued to fire his revolver
while ; he lay dying. The robber '[ took a large sum
of money from the safe.' " ',/;. '
;;On the New York Central
'Near Little' Falls, on the \u25a0 New York Central, a
masked robber boarded the -front, platform /of; the ex
press car and sawed* out-a panel of the Moor.- He,
entered while the messenger's back was turned, and
\u25a0picking up a revolver.: from the\ top of the/safe- fired,
, Feed Wftitrock. alias Jim
Cummings. Lone Train Robber.
From Tram Robberies. Trait* Robbers »nd *'Hold 4&" Mca
.Copyright by Wnu A. and Robert A. PmkertKhT
it close to the man's ear. After an introduction of
this kind he was able to persuade the messenger to
open the strong box. \u25a0 ....
.Even the detectives, whose lives have been spent in
running down express robbers yield a grudging ad
miration to , the" man whb ? .^without < confederate •or
assistant, holds up ,a trai(i, Overawes, messenger and
crew and makes his hauj successfully. _: (There is a'
forceful quality in a bandit capable of such an act
and he is no mean antagonist.
Crimes frequently have been committed against
express companies with the connivance or active par
ticipation of dishonest messengers. While the aver
age of the men employed in this capacity is high, the
opportunities offered by the position have. proved too
much, for "some men with straight records, whil«
criminals have lived honestly for years in order to
; obtain such a post. '
."The first thing to question in express robberies
is whether or not the messenger has been absolutely
square with the company/.' says Mr. Pinkerton, on
this phase of the subject. "He. is subjected to strong
temptation, and by working in "with | the bandits can \u25a0
give them a free hand while keeping an appearance
of innocence." //
This point arose in connection with one of / the
most famous express robberies of the many in which'
William A. Pinkerton and his, brother Robert were
concerned^ Just before a train on the St. Louis and
San Francisco railroad left St. Louis a stranger ap^
proached the express messenger, .Fotheringham, and
handed him a letter apparently written by the route
agent. It directed Fotheringham ,to . allow the
stranger to ride with him* in order to become familiar
with the duties of the position. At Pacific Junction,
just outside the city, ..the ( stranger drew a revolver
and planted, the. muzzle at the messenger's head.
Fotheringham submitted and ;was bound and gagged..
The man escaped with $65,000 from the safe.;
; Interest wasadded to the chase by a scries of let
ters written to a-. St. Louis newspaper by ( th ; c fugi
tive and signed "Jim Cummings." In- these he pro
tested against the arrest of Fotheringham, explain
ing that the letter he had presented had been forged
and that the messenger had been completely de
ceived. •• • * '\u25a0";. \u25a0 . .-''\u25a0-_.
Fotheringham Vindicated
Patient tracking' brought about the arrest of the
criminal, Fred Witrock, and. those who had shared
in the proceeds of the robbery.. Almost the- entire
sum- was recovered and the men were sent to prison
for long terms. Fotheringham was finally vindicated.
Of more serious character was the robbery of an
express car on the .Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific
railroad between Joliet- and Morris and. the murder of
the niessengcr, Kellogg Nicholls.' When ;AVilliam A.
Pinkerton received word of :the affair he telegraphed
to have the express, car kept- locked until his. arrival
' "The first thing 1 noticed. when 1 climbed inside,"
said Mr. Pinkerton, "was that the stove poker, cov
\u25a0:.ered with blood and hair, was hanging on its^usual
nail. Nicholls had bee'm bbeatern r about the head with
the poker and his throat had been cut. ; The thought
struck me. immediately that no outsider 'would take
the; trouble to returnV the, poker to. its place. /That
..could only,, be the unthinking act "of .-ajnan accus
tomed to keep u 1 car neat and orderly. I said rioth-.
ing about^ the circumstance, however, and questioned
\u25a0the 4rain' ; crew. • ' . . " v ' \ T* '''-*'"''\u25a0 *
"The story told .by the t\vo % witnesses; Harry
Schwartz, : a brakeman, and Newton 'Watt, the bag
\u25a0gagemen, was'that; robbers' had held them up through
the. transom of tlie^baggage, car and forced tliem; to
. give up a key to 'the express car, after which ; Nicholls
was ;killed.- I sat down with Watt 'and fchatted confi
;i4* nt ' a Hy- I. observed \u25a0thati he wore a, pair. of gloves.
i/After -I had* made him. comfortable with; a cigar l I
: lsuggested..that, it was rather -warm for' gloves. He
, agreed and, peeled'them'off."^ On 'the back/of 'his^ieft
''J'ijnd I^ saw a deep- imprint of; foiir: finger nailsSLateiv
.on examining, the' body; of Nicholls,' I"^ found -shreds
• William; Miner, an Old Time Pacific !
Coast VTraih' Robber.
ftora Trim Robberies! Train Robber* and "poJd-Up* MetU
« Copyright by Wm. A. and* Robert A. Pinfcerton.
Harvey Logan.
alias
"Xid 1 * Curry.
From Train Robberies. Train Robber*
and "Hold-OpT Men. Copyright *y
i Wm. A. and Robert A. PinVerton,
,ffany
Schwartz.
frexnttam RobbaTes. Trtitk Robbers and TfoM-D^
Copyright by Wm. A. and Robert A. Ptaiertcrfc.
pi skin under the nails <?n his right hand.' : After that
I found a scrap of bond paper in the caboose where
the men slept." .-.•. -.•
While the public pnd the authorities accepted the
story of the bandits without question Pinkerton
worked for a year' on the private theory he had
formed. He traced Schwartz to Philadelphia, where
he visited his. wife. This was of the more interest
in that Schwartz had recently married a woman in
Chicago. Oh the brakeman's return to that city
Pinkerton caused' his arrest on a charge of bigamy.
A well known PhiWdetphia attorney was brought on
to defend him.' Just a{ the. moment when Schwartz
was bailed out on the bigamy charge Pinkerton
caused him to be spirited into the hands of the
Grundy county authorities," who had papers ready for
his arrest in the Nicholls case.- Schwartz and Watt
were sentenced to life imprisonment for ,the mur
der, '
Pinkerton's effort' to recover " the $21,000 loot
came to an. end in a peculiar way. The Chicago
wife of Schwartz said that the money had been rolled
into shjatgun cartridges and that she had turned it
over 'to the lawyer. The lawyer always denied this
vigorously and there the matter rested^ Incidentally,
'Mr. Pinkerton took care of the unfortunate woma^
at his own expense until her death.
The \u25bahistory of express car holdups is not without
its touches of. humor. John Dalton,. a famous bandit,
conceived a picturesque holdup on the Northwestern
railroad. "He had a stuffed buffalo constructed for
his purpose with a space -inside in which. he could
conceal himself. Having ensconced himself in his
strange hiding place he had the buffalo shipped .by
express. •. ,^ \u25a0* ":K:^-?'h
,The messenger' sat admiring the lifelike appear
ante of the former monarch of the prairies that occu
pied one. corner of his car until the train passed
Deadwood, S. D. He was suddenly startled to ob
serve .that, one of the glass eyes had disappeared.
Presently 1 something else that he recognized as a
rifle barrel pushed at him through the socket and
a "voice that came apparently from the spirit of a
dead bison -ordered- him to throw- up his hands.
Quick as a flash the. messenger had seized, the situa
tion and with a spring to one. side jie was -out ".of
grange.'. /
.Then he vaulted to J the back of the buffalo,
reached forward and gripped the gun barrel in both
hands.' The stuffed figure sank beneath his weight
until it rested; on the shoulders' of the helpless ban
dit, -and there he- remained until the next station!
.;; Missouri Their Lair \
According to Mr. Pinkerton, Missouri has produced
more train robbers of the. traditional type than any
,other: section. Of the outlaws from- this state the
. James boys were the nips t desperate. v During the
war; they .were .-members, of QuantreH's guerrillas, and
afterward, with Cole, "Jim," John and "Bob"'Young
er, Charles Pitts, the Miller boys, the Tompkins
"brothers: and. others they held highv carnival robbing
barilis, 'trains, express cars and individuals right and
left..-;- Another" well known character wsfe Charles
Builard,: known as /' Piano Charlie," who with "Ike".
t Marsli* robbed ran express car on the Hudson River
.railroad 'of- $lUO,OCK). > Btillard afterward opened, the
notorious r American bar in Paris, which became a
.kind; of f ; international' rendezvous,; for thieves of T ;all
nations. He died in prison"; after having" been asso^
ciated with Adam .Worth,' the man who evaded t the
Pinkertqns . for :^ years/.: stole millions of \u25a0 dollars and
.the famous r Gainsborough portrait, and who came, to
a miserable end' in; poverty. : • \u25a0
The San Francisco Sunday Call
"Captain Bob" Bunch was one of the moat active
of. express" car robbers in the south, which at one
time was terrorized by, criminals of his following
and kind. He was'. finally run down and killed by
detectives in the employ of the Southern express
company.
tangled case of the "inside" variety was the dis
appearance of $40,000 in currency sent by an express
company from New York to Susquehanna. for the
payment of employes in the Erie railroad shops. It
was inclosed in a canvas pouch, with tag and seal,
delivered by the Marine national bank, transported
and locked in the express company's safe at Sus
quehanna. When the agent opened the bag he found
that it contained packages of bjrown paper neatly
clipped and tied to represent bills.
The Pinkertons were called in. They found that
the bag, seal and tag were bogus and had been sub
stituted at some point. Acting on a "tip" from a
professional thief that an employe of the railroad
was concerned, they learned that a foreman in the
boiler shop had recently obtained leave of absence.
On this slender clew they followed the man, found
he had squandered money and arrested him. He
confessed that he had taken wax impressions of the
keyholes in the safe and the office door and named
accomplices in Canada. On his representation that
he could lure the others to the United States they
let him go, whereupon he escaped to Canada.
The next move of the Pinkertons was an indica
tion" of their far reaching influence. They caused a
rumor to reach the cars of the foreman and his con
federates that they were wanted by the Canadian
police for a robbery there. The foreman boarded a
train for Portland, N. v H., at once. One of the Pin
kertons met the train at Island Pond, Vt., after it
crossed the border and caught him.
$100,000 in a Potato Sack %\% \
A singular robbery was that committed by -an
express messenger on the Chicago, Rock Island zrtO.
Pacific railroad. Two packages of currency, each
containing $50,000, were in his safe. He had brought
along seven >sacks of potatoes which he intended to
leave at Davenport, his home. While the train \va.
drawing into Davenport he had a sudden impulse »•-.
take some' money, and he stripped a ten dollar bill
from one of the packages. Then, as he later ex
plained,, he reflected that he might as well take all
as part, so he tumbled the whole $10O,U0O into a
potato sack. With this over his shoulder he left the
car at the station and walked to a barn on the out
skirts, where he concealed all but $1,000, after which
he started for Chicago.
The theft was discovered when his car arrived in
Chicago and he was captured the moment he "set foot
in that city. He accompanied the detectives back to
Davenport and the barn, and the entire treasure,
with the exception of $6, was in the hands of the
company's officials exactliy 24 hours after it had
been removed from the safe. The messenger could
never explain what his plan had been or how he
expected to evade pursuit.
A poorly dressed young man entered a trunk store
in Milwaukee carrying a valise. He selected a trunk
and left the valise, asking that it be inclosed in the
larger receptacle and sent to an address he gave.
While the clerk was following these instructions the
valise flew open. It was full of money, more than
$90,000 in all. The police were notified and the
young man was arrested when he came to inquire
for his trunk. He was a money clerk in an express
office at St. Louis and had simply walked out with
the money during business hours.
Better planned, if equally futile, was the adventure
of an express agent in Golden City, Mo. He found
that he had a bundle of bills containing $B,OUO in his
office one day, and. decided that this w^s his. chance
for a European tour. Next "day his wife missed her
husband and her best mourning ctvstmr.e, which
she .wore on account of 'her father's death. Mean
while a charming widow, quite fashionable in ap
pearance except as to the feet, was on a train bound
for St. Louis. The feet attracted considerable at
tention-in the streets and the widow was arrested on
suspicion.. The express agent went no further with
his European trip. %
i Another kind of theft for which the companies and
their secret service forces must be ever on the alert
is the stealing packages from express wagons on the
city delivery routes. A clever band of thieves, whose
method wa^ to steal horse, wagon, packages and all,
recently gave much trouble. They usually operated
by sending a small parcel by express to an address
on the top floor of a building. Waiting near at ha«"'
until the driver was upstairs, they fastener! tnfc front
door from "the 'outside with a chain and padlock,
mounted the Wagon and drove calmly aw»y.
Big Haul from a Truck
'•\u25a0 Two truck robbers of this kind made a rich haul of
eight trunks a few years ago. They were identified,
by a process of elimination, the detectives searching
out every thief in the city. who had ever carried on
this form of depredation. Their rooms wers watched
and the wife of one of them was arrested first. When
she was searched she had bracelets and brooches
worth $2,000 in her clothing and a bag containing
more jewelry. Nearly $20,000 worth of valuables
was recovered when the men were arrested.
Drivers on an express wagon in Jersey City stole
a small package marked as containing jewelry, and
on opening ' it discovered a diamond necklace of 57
stpnesi worth $5,000. They Were arrested when they
tried to pawn the gems for $75.
Another case of a similar kind occurred in the same
city last year. A collection of jeweled ornaments
valued at $32,000 was sent from New York in tare
of an express, company. A boyV 17 years old, helper
• on, the wagon, having been disappointed in some
love affair, bethought him to.%win the favor of his
lady fair by a gift^of gems. Wfjen the wagon arrived
at the Jersey City/office he picked up the parcel and
walked of! with it.
Complete: mystery surrounded the case for nearly
a week. The^boy had chosen, quite accidentally, the
exact moment , when the package was not watched
and there' was no one to observe his movements. The
first real clew that the detectives obtained, came from
the manager of a large business concern. He said
tharan office boy in his establishment had exhibited
a- pearl necklace. The boy was arrested and pro
duced the article. It was made of 85 pearls, worth
$3,000, and he had purchased it from the thief for
•25 cents; ** He said that he had also been offered
another .n ecklace, subsequently found to, have been
an emerald and diamond dog collar worth $13,500,
f0r.75 cents, but would not go so high.
The express -helper was traced and^ all the sems
were. recovered. Most of them were icund in a rag
and tucked behind an ico bo*. '
For their own preservation the express companies
have been 'forced to adopt an unvarying system in
their treatment of thieves of alKkinds that prey upon
them.- -3*hl3 , was illustrated in a striking manner a
few months ago, when one of the largest companies
in the pressed the prosecution of a wash
: woman in 'their New York office who had stolen half
a cake of soap. It was part of the accepted rule and
it had to go. forward. As one of the. most available
"channels through which great wealth in- tangible
form- passes they have occupied an exposed position
from" the first, and unremitting care is all that spells
life to them. " ' HBBEHHHBIBbHS