The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1877-10-04
THE GREiP TRAIN ROBBERY.
Full Particulars of the Raid Oh the
f{.jT Union Pacific. G&T
. OMAHA. NEB., Sep, 19.

OMAHA, NEB., Sep. 19.
The Union Pacific east bound express
train, due here this afternoon, was robbed
last night between 10 and II o'clock, at
Big Springs Station, three hundred and
sixty miles west of Omaha, by party of
masked men, who got away with over
$4,000. Four masked men, holding four
revolyers, walked into Station Agent
Barnhart's Office few minutes before
train time, and one of them directed him
to cut off all telegraph communication by
tearing up his instruments. Barnhart
endeavored to throw them off the track
by taking up only his sounder, but the
men bade him pull up the relay and
hand it over, which he did. The man
who gave the commands was a captain,
evidently telegraph operator. Barn,
hardt, under cover Of the revolvers, and
according to the captains commands,
next hung out his red light to stop the
express, which. soon ! came up and
stopped. $Barnhart was rushed to the
door of the express car by the four rob-
bers, who made him knock for Express
Messenger Miller, who opened the door
few inches.
The highwaymen then, by some means,
showed the door clear open, jumped in,
and coyerd Messenger Miller with cooked
revolyers. They took Miller's revolvers
away from him, bruised him about the
head considerably, and then opened one
safe, from which they obtained the treas
IRE boxes containing S6O,000 in gold
coin, which was shipment from Cali
fornia, and $458 in currency. They tried
to make Miller open the through safe,
which has combination lock, and is not
opened anywhere between the termini OF
the road, but as the messengers do not
know the combination he could BOT COM
ply with the demand, and they let him
off after explaining.
While this was going on in the express
car, the. other paffiofi the, gang had cap
tureda atheengineer and fireman, and put
out the fire jim the engine, and the mo-
ment Conductor Patterson stepped'on the
platform to see what orders were await
ing him, as indicated by the red light
signal to stop, he, too, was corralled,
being covered by cooked revolvers and
ordered to throw up his hands. Patter-
son saws there were from ten to fifteen of
them. After plundering the express car,
the robbers went into the passenger
coaches and began robbing the passen.
gers, securing about half dozen gold
watches and nearly five hundred dollars
ia cash and some railroad tickets. A
freight train now approaching from the
rear. Conductor Patterson was conducted
by a guard past the sleeping coaches a
short distance up the track, so that he
could flag the approaching train to pre-
vent collision. The guard then left
him and Joined the main body, who then
retreated from the cars. They had no
horses in sight, but had them concealed
some little distance off, They soon dis.
appeared as mysteriously as they. had
appeared, going north, as was shortly
afterward learned.
Conductor Patterson sent the freight
engine out at once to give the alarm at
the next station, and as soon as the tire
was up in his own engine resumed his
trip. By 7 o'clock this morning, Super
intendent Clark having learned all the
particulars, had telegraphed everywhere,
and offered $4,000 reward. .
Sheriff McCarty, of Sidney, and Sheriff
Bradley, of North Platte, were sent out
with a large force of mounted men.
Sheriff Bradley seems to have got on the
trail, as it is said that he found two re-
yolvers and one empty coin box ten
miles north of Big Springs. It is sus-
pected that these men are the same who
have been robbing the coaches of the
Black Hills stage line. 1t is yet a mys-
terry how the robbers opened the door OF
the express car, as it is SO, so,arranged as to
open only six inches when the machinery
is all right. 1t is also barred with boiler
iron, and messenger, if on the lookout
for such an emergency as this, could hold
the fort against a dozen.
There were thirteen in the gang, and
six of them went into the passenger
coaches and ordered all to hold up their
hands, which they did. Then they went
through the passengers systematically,
collecting 81 300, according to the figures
of Conductor Kelly. One man they
searched three times, but he managed to
conceal $400 in large bills between bis
fingers.
The robbers tried to get into the sleep
-. 49, Int tbo joor, ,vo,