Thieves in the Railroad Sleeping Cars

 

THIEVES IN THE RAILROAD SLEEPING CARS

The Thief and His Companion. —An Attractive Female. —Slumbering Passengers. —An Innocent Accomplice. — Searching for the Thief. — Mr. Potter Loses some Diamonds. — Mr. Bangs on the Trail. — A Remarkable Discovery. —Advice to Travelers.

TIME and again, and at intervals too frequent for the public safety, come the reports of robberies committed upon the various railways throughout the country, and in every instance they have been perpetrated upon the famous palace cars, which are now so extensively patronized by that portion of the public who are able to afford the luxury of their superior appointments. In my own experience, I have had a number of such cases reported to me, and in my perusal of the day journals, I have found the records of many more. For the benefit, therefore, of those who have occasion to make long journeys, and, perhaps, carry large sums of money about their persons, I will detail the methods of the expert thieves, whose operations have heretofore been only too successful, and whose detection at the time has seemed to be a matter of impossibility.

The thief who commits these acts of robbery is accompanied by his wife, or a female companion, although during their journey no one would suspect an intimacy, or even an acquaintance between them, so studiously do they avoid each other.

Their mode of proceeding is as follows: In every case the thief and his companion endeavor to secure the forward sleeper, or the one at once behind the passenger coaches, and they never engage a berth at the ticket office in advance. The reasons for this are obvious. In the first place, they would thus incur the risk of being assigned to the rear coach; but what is of more importance, there would be the imminent possibility of their being separated, and it is utterly essential to the proper working of their scheme, that both the man and the woman should be assigned to the same car.

The first consideration is for the female companion of the thief to inquire of the conductor whether she can secure the stateroom for herself, or failing in that, an entire section is the last •resort. Should she be successful in this, she informs her companion of the fact by a prearranged signal, and he then secures a berth for himself in the same car. Thus far successful, but little remains to be done until the passengers have retired. In the meantime, however, the lady being alone, and as is the case, young and attractive looking, becomes the object of considerable solicitude and politeness from the conductor, who, like all his sex, has a tender feeling for unprotected beauty. To this gentleman, however, she is but distantly polite, and a few slight evidence of her contempt for him is sufficient to convince him that his attentions in that quarter are distasteful, and he therefore leaves her alone.

To the colored porter of the car, however, she is graciousness itself, and he, being but human, soon succumbs to the sweet smiles that are so lavishly bestowed upon him by the pretty and unprotected woman, who seems to rely so implicitly upon him.

While the lady is thus deporting herself with the conductor and tile porter, the male thief has not been idle. He has made a careful estimate of his fellow passengers and has satisfied himself as to which of them are the most profitable objects of attack.

As the night advances, the passengers become fatigued, and soon the porter is busily engaged in making up the berths for the night. During this operation, the thief neglects no opportunity to carefully observe, if possible, the movements of those around him, in preparing themselves for slumber. He, however, retires with the others, and soon all is perfectly quiet, broken only by the labored breathing of the sleeping passengers.

The time is now fast approaching for active work, and the female prepares to play her part with becoming tact. The conductor has already retired, and only the porter is awake, engaged in one of the manifold duties of his position. Shortly, he hears his name gently called, and he knows that the voice is that of his interesting and gracious lady-passenger. Leaving his work he hastens to her, when the lady, slipping a generous fee into his hand, complains of a sudden and distressing headache—and requests him to bring a cooling glass of water; when he returns with the desired beverage, she invites him into the room, and in a piteous tone of suffering, requests him to moisten her handkerchief with the water, and press it to her aching temples. Extremely willing to be of service, the gentle-hearted porter agrees with her entreaties, and for twenty minutes or half an hour, he is engaged in his kind ministrations. This is the opportunity for which the thief has been watching, and the moment that the porter steps into the section occupied by the lady, he begins his operations. As he steps from his berth it would be impossible to recognize the smoothly shaven, and ministerial-looking individual who had retired a brief time before. In his stead there emerges from the flowing curtains a man wearing a large and bushy beard, which entirely conceals the lower part of his face, and with a large slouch hat, which gives him a brigandish appearance vastly different from the meekness of his previous deportment. He is fully dressed, and upon his feet are a pair of cloth slippers. His right coat sleeve is rolled up as far as it can go, and thus prepared, he springs for the couch of his first victim.

 

As a general thing he finds the pocketbook or roll of money under the pillow, and in that case his success is of easy accomplishment, a few deft movements and the property of the unconscious owner has changed hands completely and effectually. Many travelers, however, retire to their berths, without removing their clothes, but if they are sound sleepers they can be robbed as easily and successfully as a person who disrobes—provided they are not lying on the side on which they carry their funds. A few seconds will serve to enable a thief to learn the location of the valuables of a sleeper, and if they are unattainable, he does not waste any time upon that victim but at once seeks another.

Should, however, a person being robbed, awaken, and the thief has calculated fully upon such misfortune, his actions are as methodical as if no danger was to be apprehended. Affording the aroused sleeper an opportunity for a full view of his disguised face, the thief at once springs for the front platform. Here he quickly throws off his whiskers and slouch hat and enters the passenger coach ahead in his natural state, with smooth face and a fine silk traveling cap, which he has worn under the slouch hat all the time. Proceeding to the smoking car, he coolly lights his cigar, and while he is enjoying the fragrant weed the conductor sounds the alarm. The porter and the aroused sleeper are both hurriedly questioned by the startled conductor.

 

 

“Did you obtain a fair look at him?” is the invariable question.

Yes, and I would know him among a thousand,” is the equally invariable reply.

They both agree upon their description of the black whiskered robber, and a journey is at once made through the forward cars, for the purpose of identifying the bold marauder. While this search is going on, the thief, throwing away his cigar, leaves the smoking car and goes back to bed, passing the search party on his way, and without suspicion of his identity being entertained for a moment.

When the thief and his companion buy their tickets for the trip, they usually do so with the view of leaving the train at some large town or city, about daylight on the following morning. Preserving their appearance of being utter strangers to each other, they go ahead to different hotels, and the following night, they are once more upon the road, prepared to work as circumstances shall provide.

The mode described above is about the general plan adopted by the expert thief for the robbery of the passengers on the sleeping cars, although occasionally a man will be found who works entirely alone, and without any aid whatever. These individuals watch the ticket offices closely and should he notice a well-filled wallet in the hands of some prospective passenger, who is likely to prove a good mark, he immediately engages passage on the same train and in the same car with him. When all have retired for the night, the thief carefully watches the actions of the porter, while he is engaged in brushing the shoes of the passengers, and if a favorable opportunity occurs, his work is accomplished in a flash, and the other passengers are left entirely unmolested. Should the porter be too watchful while at work, the thief patiently waits until this able guardian is caught catnapping, and then his object is quickly carried out. A lone thief takes similar steps to disguise themselves as previously described and uses the same approach if their victim wakes up.

Sometimes, however, dishonest people cause the sleeping cars to bear the burdens of the wrongs of others, and swindlers allege robberies which never occurred while the “poor” victim was asleep. Some years ago, the train authorities reported to me a case of this nature, in which the amount involved was quite considerable. From the statements made to me at the time, it appeared that a young and highly respected gentleman, was the victim of the car thieves to the extent of fifteen thousand dollars. This young gentleman had been engaged for a long time with a prominent jewelry house in New York, and his especial branch of business was the sale of diamonds and other precious stones to trade throughout the Western country. He often brought valuable gems worth thousands of dollars while working. Careful and responsible to a remarkable degree, he enjoyed the fullest confidence of his employers, and no accident or misfortune ever befell him until the event which I am about to relate. Mr. Potter, for that was the young gentleman's name, had been upon one extended and very successful trip to the west, and having finished up his business, in an entirely satisfactory manner, was returning to New York, with the balance of his valuable samples, which were worth fully fifteen thousand dollars. He journeyed safely and without any accidents until the morning just before his arrival in New York, and upon the New York Central Railroad. Mr. Potter had arisen after a refreshing night's slumber, and made his toilet, when on reaching under his pillow for his vest, in which he carried his valuable stock— he was horrified to 'find that this article of his wearing apparel was missing. He had placed it there before retiring and now he could not find it. The thief, whoever he was, had made thorough work of his robbery this time, and had not only carried off the valuable booty, but the clothing as well. Mr. Potter's consternation and agony were unmistakable, and after a hurried but thorough search of the train, which it is was unsuccessful, the young man hastened to the establishment of his employers and in tearful tones, related the story of his great misfortune.

Prompt measures were at once resolved upon, and Mr. Potter was at once conducted to my agency by the two gentlemen. Here he again related his experience, and the recital in no wise differed from his earlier relation. By request he made his statement in writing, and although fearfully agitated, he was enabled to declare on paper the occurrences exactly as he had detailed before. We questioned Mr. Potter's employers and they both united in expressing the utmost confidence in the young man and were very urgent in their request for a thorough and vigorous investigation into the matter as early as possible.

Before evening every employee and passenger on the sleeping car which carried young Mr. Potter to New York, had been interviewed, and their statements obtained in writing, and ere Mr. Bangs closed his eyes in slumber that evening, he had evolved a plan of detection, which he was fully prepared to put into operation on the following morning. The result is soon detailed. Within a week it was demonstrated beyond doubt or question that the irreproachable and highly respected Mr. Potter had gambled away his valuable stock, on a single evening, in one of the prominent western towns which he had to visit. Piece after piece, and stone after stone, had been staked at the gaming table and lost, and when morning dawned, he was a ruined man and a thief. Instead of acknowledging his crime, his mind was active in inventing expedients to escape the penalty of his dishonesty, and the story of the sleeping car robbery was the result. It was not successful, however, and on being confronted with the evidence of his guilt, the miserable man broke down and confessed everything. In less than a fortnight most of these stolen valuables had been returned to their owners, and the dishonest young salesperson was suing for mercy at the hands of the trusting gentlemen whose confidence he had so meanly abused, and upon whose credulity he had so wantonly imposed. The above is only one of many cases in which the guilty have attempted to screen themselves from the consequences of their crimes by charging others with the deeds they themselves have committed, and it is but the truth to say that in almost every case detection has followed, and the really guilty have been brought to punishment.

It is nonetheless true, however, that expert thieves find in the many and handsomely appointed palace cars, a bountiful field for their work, and the traveler under all circumstances must needs be careful in the disposition of his valuables and money when he retires. Should a thief be discovered in the act, be assured that the smooth-faced man, who has only been in the slü0king car, knows more about it than he cares to tell, and if there is an interesting invalid lady on the train, experience will certainly prove her complicity in the crime.

In case of a robbery being discovered, therefore, in the morning, watch the passengers who leave the train early, and see if a gentleman whose clerical appearance would disarm suspicion, and a well-dressed lady, who has claimed the ministrations of the porter during the night, are not among the number. If so, rest assured that this delectable couple know more about your missing valuables than any other living human being. The conductors and porters of the palace cars are, as a rule, I am glad to say, honest and above suspicion, and the thieves must be looked for elsewhere.

If the traveler, therefore, takes due precautions before retiring, or failing in that, will, if a sufferer, follow the directions I have given above, robberies will become few indeed, and the perpetrators can be readily detected, and promptly punished.