Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1877-09-26
Daring Train Robbery.
A UNION PACIFIC EXPRESS CAR RELIEVED OF
$50, 900 BY ANOTHER ORGANIZATION OF
THE JAMESES

An Omaha special Of the 10Th to the
Chicago Tribune gives the particulars of
the Big Springs train robbery. The dis
patch says:
/ One Of the most daring and success
full railroad express robberies ever per-
petrated In this country occurred last
night at about 1916 o'clock at Big
Springs, small and isolated station on
the Union Pacific railroad, 361 miles
west of Omaha. The details of the
robbery | have obtained from Union
Pacific officials, who, early this morn
ing were in receipt of dispatches an
nouncing
THE STARTLING NEWS
Just previous to the arrival of the ex-
press train No. 4, bound east, in charge
of conductor Patterson two masked
men stepped into the office of the
station agent. Mr. Barnhart, who was
taken completely by surprise They
pointed four cooked revolvers at him
and ordered him to tear up his telegraph
instrum ent. Barnhart tried to deceive
them by taking up his sounder, but
they stopped him and made him take
up his relay. which they carried off
with them. The person who gave the
orders was the captain, and seemed to
be an intelligent man, and Mr. Barn
hart is Of the opinion that he is a tele-
graph operator. They then ordered
him to put out his red light, all the
time
KEEPING HIM COVERED WITH REvoLvERs.
After the red light was hung out on the
track they commanded Barnhart to get
his mail ready as usual.
Their arrangeme were now COM
plete for receiving the expected train,
which soon came along, and, of course,
stopped in obedience to the red-light
signal. The masked marauders, there
being seven Of them in party, then at
once began to carry out their well-aid
plans. The four who had Barnhart in
charge took him to the door of the ex-
press car and made him knock as he
usually does when he wishes the ex-
press messenger to open the door, Mil
Ter, the express messenger, having no
suspicion that any other person except
Barnhart was outside, opened the door
a little way when three of the robbers
caught the door, and, throwing it wide
open, presented their revolvers at the
messenger. They then went through
one of the safes in the car and secured
the treasure-book, containing 100000 in
gold coin. The through safe, which has
~ combination lock which is only I'M
locked at each end of the Union Pacific
road they did not touch, as the messen-
ger did not know the combination, and
could not therefore, reveal the secret to
them, Notwithstanding their threatened
demand. The robbers did not inter
fere with the
UNITED STATES MAILS,
but went from the express car into the
first class passenger coaches and robbed
the passengers, after which they disap-
peared.
They had no horses in sight, but it is
supposed that they had their steeds
concealed near by. Above are the par
ticulars according to Barnhart's dis
patch Further details are learned
from Conductor Patterson's kilograms,
in which it is stated that the party num-
bered from
TEN TO FIFTEEN MEN
When he arrived at Big Springs Sta
ton they had, as stated above, captured
the agent, cut the telegraph instruments
and hung out red light for orders.
When he stepped upon the platform TO
with cooked revolvers in each hand told
him to throw up his hands, which he
did. They had already captured the
express messenger, engineer and fire
man. Besides the coin they got $45S
in currency from the express car. From
a passenger named L. Morris they got
a gold watch, $430 in money, and a
ticket to Chicago While they were
robbing the passengers,
FREIGHT TRAIN NO. 10
came along, and this interrupted them
in their plundering process among the
passengers. AS the freight was ap-
preaching, Conductor Patterson was al
lowed to go under guard to flag it. A
guard accompanied him until he passed
the sleepers, when the guard rejoined
the main gang, who then quickly disap-
peared. They had extinguished the fire
in the engine of the express train, and,
when the freight train came up, Conduc-
tor Patterson started the freight-engine
out to spread the news and get up
party to pursue them. Miller, the ex-
press messenger, was somewhat bruised
about the head, but not dangerously, at
the hands of the robbers, who took his
revolvers away from him.
SHERIFF MCCARTHY, OF SIDNEY,
started out early this morning with
posse in pursuit of the thieves, and
Sheriff Bradley, of North Platte, has al
SO gone after them The country in
which the robbery was committed is
wild and dreary, and some trouble may
be experienced in striking the right
trail. It is thought they have gone
north, and that they are the same rob
bers who have recently been plundering
Black Hills stage coaches.
Upon receipt of the dispatches in
Omaha, before daylight this morning,
they were carried to General Superin-
tendent Clark, at his residence, and he
was soon at his Office The first thing
he did was to notify all telegraph sta
tons along the line and in the Black
Hills, offering
REWARD OF $4,000
| for the cantllrn IF tho tbiavnc opd