The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1877-09-19
Nearly Seventy Thousand DOL
lars in Gold and
Greenbacks
From the Express
Car--The Passengers
PIundered.
Complete Details of the Desper-
ate Deed.

We give our readers this morning,
lin advance of all contemporaries, as
usual) news of the most startling char
acter. Many will say 81 expected
| this" but the shock will be the same
to all. An eastbound express train on
the Union Pacific has been stopped, its
express car robbed of over one hundred
thousand dollars, the passengers plum
dered, and the robbers have ridden
away in fancied security. The partic-
ulars of the daring deed are given
as fully as w can give them.
I When the night dispatcher, A. J.
Borie, went off duty here at 1870
O'Clock last night he told his brother,
who relieved him, that the local wire
between here and North Platte was
open, and that the fault was at Ogal-
lala, he thought. The through wire
was used for the necessary business,
and it was not until IL O'Clock that any
suspicion of fonl play was felt. At
this hour Mr.. Borie noticed a slow
faint ticking from an instrument con-
nected with the disabled wire, and by
close listening, made out this message:
"Robbed passengers. Guess they
got 800, 600 off the train. They started
north. Don't send me anything. Can't
take it. Instrument destroyed.
PATTERSON.
Conductor No. 4, Big Springs"
Superintendent Davis was notified
and not many seconds later he and a
LEADER reporter were in the dis
patcher's Office awaiting further news.
Big Springs is a small way station,
1852 miles east of here, in Nebraska.
Thirteen masked robbers rode up to
the agents Office in the evening,
wrecked the instruments in the tele-
graph office, forced the agent to hang
out a red light, and when the express
arrived at 10:4s, they seized the engi-
neer and fireman, guarded the doors Of
the cars, broke into the express car,
overpowered the messenger and secured
about $4,000 in coin and 10000 in
currency. They then robbed the pas
sengers of money and valuables, and
after OBTAINING the train an hour.
mounted and rode away to the north
ward.
The agent, Mr.. j.. w. Barnhart,
managed to notify the train dis
patcher by the use of the two broken
wire ends, and thus preparations for
pursuit were begun. Parties were
ordered out on horseback from Jules
burg, ogallala and North Platte. Mr..
Davis telegraphed to Denver and
Deadwood, notifying the sheriffs, and
Offering five thousand dollars reward
for the capture of the thieves.
Shortly after the robbery Conductor
Strong's freight train reached Big
Springs, and his engine was detached
and sent on to Ogallala, whence he
forwarded a brief account of the affair.
The passenger engine, the fires of which
had been wet down by the robbers, vas
was fired up and the train proceeded
eastward.
During the robbery one of highway
men called another Burns"
THE CONDUCTORS REPORT.
Train 4 was robbed at Big Springs
by from 10 to Is men. They had the
agent captured, a red light out for Or
ders and telegraph instrument out.
When I came out on platform to get
orders two men with a revolver in
each hand told me to throw up my
hands. They already had the engineer,
fremen and express messenger cap
tured. They got Sos, 600 in coin and
S45s in currency from the express car.
They only went through the passengers
on the irst-class coaches, when freight
No. 10 came along and frightened them
off. They got $1,000 cash, four gold
watches and q ticket to Chicago from
the passengers. Miller, express mes
senger, was bruised about the head but
not seriously. They made the agent
knock at the express car door. The
express safe with combination lock is
safe with its contents. A man named
Morris lost a gold watch, ticket and
$3.50 in money. l was back tagging
No. 10 They sent a guard with me
part way, and then put fire out in pas
scnger engine.
NJ. NJ. PATTERSON,
Cond motor.