The Fort Dodge Messenger: Jan. 14, 1903

Town of Clare is Agitated

Three Sticks of Dynamite and Matches Found on Steps of State Bank.

Bank Robbers  Suspected

Supposed They were Ftightened (sic) Away Before Securing Entrance to Bank Building

Three sticks of dynamite and several matches, found on the steps of the State Bank at Clare, are mute witnesses of what might have been a daring attempt of safe breakers on Tuesday night. Where they came from no one knows. Who placed them there is equally a mystery, but there they reposed this morning, to greet the gaze of the Clare citizens as they started for their place of business.

The whole town is in a ferment over the matter and dynamite and safe blowers formed the sole topics of conversation in Clare today.

There is absolutely no clue to indicate how the dynamite came to be where it was found. The only natural supposition is that safe blowers had started to do their work on the bank, and had fled in haste, leaving their explosives behind them. It is reported that there was considerable money in the bank at the time. The people of Clare are keeping a sharp look out for suspicious strangers.

Tags: 1903