Iowa voter. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1867-1874, 1873-08-07

DulliOn. lie supposed IL was COIN, anu
that there were bags full of gold in the
safe. He didn't believe that the gold bars
and silver bricks on the floor OF the car
were anything better than lead.
At last the bold villain thought it time
| for him to leave. So he picked up Mr..
KS satchel, containing register books,
package of letters, and few private
articles, and babe the whole five get
out before him, at the same time pointing
his revolver at two of them, and telling
the men at the door to keep sharp watch.
Out the five gentlemen walked, and then
| for the first time got view Of the wreck.
| The chief directed them around the place
where the engine lay, at the same time ex-
pressing the hope that nobody was killed
they didn't want to kill anybody all
they wanted was money. He asked if
anybody was killed-and just then Bur-
CESS saw the engineer sitting between the
engine and tender, both on their sides.
| He went up to him, found that he was
| dead and told Mr.. Royce so. The head
robber expressed his sorrow, and really
spoke as if he meant it, and repeated his
| remark that they didn't intend to hurt
anybody. Then all the robbers went off
toward their horses, which We're hitched
! about hundred yards south of the track,
| and, mounting them, rode away toward
! the southwest. Mr.. Killingsworth felt
/, certain, however, that only five of the
/ robbers were mounted. In fact he saw
but five, though others said there were
seven all told. They did not run to their
horses, but walked in deliberate man
| ner and went across the country just as
| deliberately.
The above includes all the main fea-
lures of Mr. KS statement He was
some time in relating his experience,
but he said the "whole thing did not last
| more than five minutes" and in fact no
person had time to recover from astOnish-
| ment before the robbers were gone. 1t
seemed incredible to him that SO much
| should have been said and done in so
short time After Superintendent Royce
and the rest had been released frsm sur
Vigilance they had opportunities to view
the situation.
The robbers had chosen good place
| for their deed-and this and the way in
which they ditched the engine, were the
only evidence of smartness they gave. The
! locality was one of the most lonely on the
whole line, and the place of operation was
in a cut, with the banks fifteen feet high
| on either side, and was at the rounding OF
curve, too. The way they managed to
throw the engine was to unspike rail,
and remove fish-plate at one end; they
| tied rope to this end, and when the en-
CINE was within few yards OF the place
the rail was pulled to the other side OF the
track-and thus the engine would fall
from instead oftoward the scOundrels who
| held the rope, and were concealed among
the weeds in ditch. The engineer had
Stacked speed little on the curve, but
still was going at the rate of nearly twenty
miles an hour. The engine and the front
| baggage car--which contained the
through baggage of the Chinese and other
passengers, and was locked-turned near
ly across the track, with one end up the
embankment, while the express car went
crashing against the baggage car, and then
veered for the embankment left the track,
and turned on one side, as described
above. The passenger coaches dld not
leave the track; the forward trucks OF the
advance coach went off, and that was all.
Now we come to the other doIngs OF the
robbers we mean the FRANKS OF the chaps
in regard 10 the train generally.
The passengers-there were three
coaches of them-heard the firing and
shouts of the robbers, and then, with the
noise of the crash. in front, were all
erally by the smashup ahead. The
Chinese all lay down fiat on the floor, and
were in that position when Mr. Claire
went to them Some Of the passengers,
after the train stopped, put their heads out
of the windows and the scOundrels on the
sides of the cut fired down, anu told them
to stay in or they'd be shot Several
stepped out upon the platforms and were
told to get back, and, not liking the looks
of the revolvers leveled at them, they
obeyed. A few got off at the rear and
started to run away, but the robbers called
To them to come back: 1--WE don't want
to hurt YOU" and the passengers returned,
and were told to get into the car quick,
which they did. There was one plucky
old gent who got off the rear platform and
started toward the engine; robber told
him to 90 back he told the robber to 60
to regions below and called him damna-
BILE scoundrel, and cried to the passengers
TO s'come out and 90 for the villains, and
not let them rob the whole train!' But
nobody was infected by the old mans
heroic conduct, and he stood and vented
his indignation at the villain on the bank.
The firing was almost constant from It's
opening until the leader gave the Call TO
put for the horses. The fellows on the
banks kept firing down the embankment,
without taking aim at anything. The
passengers told Mr.. killingsworth
that one chap was drunk, and
fred with wabbling arms" as
they expressed it. No bullet holes were
found in the coaches, nor their windows.
The death of the engineer, the brave John
Rafferty,, excites desire for vengeance in
the hearts of all who hear the story.
There was report yesterday that he was
not killed by pistol-shot, but that his
neck was broken when the engine turned
over. The account of his fireman, Dennis
Foley, as Mr.. K heard him give it, rem
ders it pretty certain that bullet did the
work. Foley says that he was shoveiing
coal into the furnace, and was bending
with his face to the door, when Rafferty,
pulled his Westinghouse brake, reversed
his engine, and then fell right across him
(Foleyl, and sank to the floor of the cab.
The fireman asked, Jack, how's this"'
and Just then the engine went Oh and
turned over. Foley was sure the fall o.
his engineer was before the displaced rail
was reached. The engineers body was
placed in box car with the mails and
L enNr