The Baltimore County Union

DARING ATTEMPT TO ROB AN EXPRESS CAR.
A dispatch from Terre Haute, Indiana, dated July 9th, says:
Long Point, Illinois, on the Vandalia railroad, was the scene of a daring attempt at express robbery last night. The place is situated in the middle of a dense wood, no person living within a mile and a half of the station.
Last night at midnight, when passenger train No. 5, bound east, conductor Fraley, and engineer Milo Ames, in charge, stopped at the water tank, two men boarded the engine, one from each side, and ordered the engineer to start the engine. The engineer, after a few moment's hesitation, obeyed the order. After the starting of the train one of the robbers remarked, "we will run the thing ourselves," and immediately both robbers fired at the engineer, killing him instantly. The fireman, who was standing upon the tender, ran to the rear of the train to alarm the trainmen, he having heard the conversation and comprehending the situation at once. While this was taking place on the engine a confederate of the robbers had detached the Adams express car from the cars in the rear.
The whole party of robbers then ran the train to a point about two miles from the station, where they stopped, and proceeding to the door of the express car, demanded admittance. The express messenger, Mr. Burke, told them he was ready for them, and that if they entered they would be dead men. The robbery then commenced firing into the car, and the messenger says it seemed to him that there were a dozen of them, as the shots came from all sides. The conductor and trainmen, seeing the position of affairs, got about to pursue the robbers, but could find only one revolver on the train. They however discovered that soldiers armed with carbines, and with these weapons the trainmen and soldiers started after the robbers. When they came up to the train all was quiet, the robbers having fled. They found the dead body of the engineer on the floor of the cab. A freight engineer named Jack Vandergrift happened to be on the train, and he and the fireman ran the engine back to the train and brought it in. The robbers failed to gain an entrance to the express car, it being one of the close kind, having no windows and very strong. Had they detached the American express car, which was immediately in the rear of the Adams express car, as it has opening windows and doors, not very strong.
The finding of a hammer used to knock out the coupling-pin may serve possibly as a clue to the murderers. The trainmen speak in very high terms of the pluck and courage displayed by the express messenger Burke. There is intense feeling among railroad men over the death of engineer Ames, and should his murderers be caught it is very generally believed that their prosecution would not cost the State anything. Several suspected persons are already in custody, and there is reason to hope that all the robbers will be caught. The railroad company offers $1,000 reward for their apprehension.