The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1877-09-21

The LEADER mas gwen all tue news
concerning the great train robbery at
Big Springs, Nebraska, last Wednesday
night, and we present this morning,
fresh from the lips Of the men named
below, the details of their personal ex-
periences with the robbers. We shall
begin at the head of the train, and
therefore give first
THE ENeINEER's STORY.
George Vroman was engineer of the
Inflated train on the night in question.
As he approached Big Springs he saw
the red light and signal that orders
awaited him at the telegraph office. He
shut off steam, reversed his engine,
and as the train was Stacking noticed a
man in the ditch at the side of the
track, pointing a rife at him. The
fellow called out, ''come down out of
that - and Vroman, %supposing a friend
was joking with him, stopped to pick
up n piece of coal, with the view Of
throwing it. As he did this a shot was
heard and 3 rifle bali whizzed past his
head, striking a tallow-can and rid
ding it. Vroman looked around and
saw a man on the tender aiming a rifle
at him. He sprang through the win
dow of the cab, ran along the foot
board, and climbed over b boiler,
hiding behind the dome. A third man
had covered the fireman with = revolt
yer and ordered him off the engine.
After the rilemen had tried to get
sight of Vroman, intending to shoot
him, they called him down and placed
him under guard with the fireman and
others. This was the only shot fired
during the affair, save n accidental
and harmless discharge of a revolver
by a robber.
After the train had been plundered
the thieves threw water on the engine
fires, and ordered the engineer to empty
the water tanks, but he evaded them
and the result was that when they left
he fired up with waste and tallow and
had a full head of steam in q few min
utes, after telling the robbers that he
could not get up steam under two
hours.
THE EXPRESS MEssENGER's sToRY.
Charles Miller, express messenger on
the plundered train, passed through an
experience the memory Of which will
leave him only with his dying breath.
In relating it he says that all the events
of that horrible night seem like some
terrible nightmare, in which he took no
part beyond suffering intense pain
throughout. When the train reached
Big Springs he had been asleep some
fifteen minutes, it being his usual GUS
tom to sleep between Julesburg and
North Platte when not busy. He was
awakened by the private signal used by
agents of the road at night, and which
signal, as we have heretofore stated, the
agent, Barnhart, had been forced by
the robbers to give at the door Of the
express car. Miller arose, looked out
of the window in the upper part Of the
door, saw the red light at the station,
and opened his door a triie. Barnhart
had been taken away Immediately after
calling Miller, but several of the gang
stood beside the car, and rs the door
began moving open they seized it, threw
it back and sprang into the car. Cow
ering Miller with their revolvers they
secured his pistols, searched his person
for other weapons, then broke open his
way safe and took out some S4OO in
currency.
The combination through safe was
the next object of solicitude on their
part. 1t is fastened to the iron work
of the express car, and the combina-
ton is known only to the agents at
Ogden, CHEYENNE and Omaha. This
safe is directly under the folding berth
occupied by the messenger. The rob-
bers went directly to it. and one of
them, placing his revolver at Miller's
head, ordered him to open the safe. |
When the revolver touched his face
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