The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1877-10-12
q HOW 1T WAS DONE.
Victims Entertaining Account o, the
Union Pacific Railroad Robbery.


lA il.
A Victims Entertaining Account o, tn
Union Pacific Railroad Robbery.
We rolled up to Big Springs depot a.
usual The night was beautiful and thu
moon shone brightly. AS the traii
stopped, went out on the platform O
the car, where found an Omaha mer
chant, and we stood and talked Their,
about two minutes, when there suddenly
appeared before us on the ground foul
masked men, with cooked revolver IL
each hand aimed directly at as. At first
L thought it was some Joke, but when
the devils ordered us into the Cal
i'd quick, and to hold up our hands
and make no "break," and called us
hard names, concluded it meant "bus-
iness," and another look at those eight
revolvers, which just about that time
began to look like mountain howitzers,
convinced me in much less than a
weeks time that the evening air was
Immediately. In other words, 1 got,
quick. As I closed tbe car door two
shots were fired at my friend, hitting
him twice in the hand, and taking. on
about foot of the car-door casing.
That satisfied him, and he took an inside
berth tolerably lively. The robber fol-
lowed us in and commenced a tirst-class
game of talk. One of then fired OIL his
pistol in the car-not to kill us, he held
it up, but probably to give emphasis to
his remarks, which, by the way, were
more forcible than polite. Well, they
stationed one man at the front end OF
the car, one ut the rear, each with two
pistols. and to each of the remaining
ruffians was allotted the pleasant task of
robbing a row of seats, which they pro-
ceeded to do each after his own original
style.
The first man robbed was a drummer
from n New York house. He was or
dered to "stand up, hold up his hands,
keep his id mouth shut" and the
search commenced. They took from him
$3.50 and gold watch valued at $500.
The next man had only one arm. The
gentlemanly villain that was searching
him happened to notice the empty
sleeve. "H-ll," said he, "have you
only got one arm? ?"
"Only one, sir" replied the man.
Well, d-n you, take back your
stuff; we don't want your money. Sit
down and keep still"
One of the wretches yelled out as they
came in the car, "Hold up your hands.
every ----, aud keep still we
want your money, but will give each
man $40 back, and we won't hurt man
unless he makes break. We've killed
one man, and don't want to kill any
d-n you, keep still, and give it up-all
nf I'D IL e
like character.
1t was rich scene-about forty men
OF us sitting there to let four masked
scalawags 60 through us that way. But
what could we dol Not a revolver in
the car except one and that at the bot
tom of valise. There was no use for
anyone to make start. There were
several ladies in the cars. The two men
at the end of the cars covered everybody
nearly with two cooked revolvers, liable
to 60 off Mt any moment for their hands
trembled violently, showing that they
were themselves excited. So we obeyed
orders to certain extent, but not fully.
l didn't. 1 had my hands up most of
the time, except when 1 wanted to use
them down, because it was sort of relief
to my arms to change them from their
usual position, but l found time to put
my pocketbook with $400 in it down be-
hind lady's work-basket, who occupied
the next seat, after doing which walked
back about four seats and managed to
get my watch and chain off and down be-
hind my valise on the car floor, after
which little performance my hands were
up, and good and steady. l then had
nothing on my person that l thought the
thieves would take, except about 80 in
coin in one pocket, and l finally worked
up scheme to beat them ont of that
The man who was robbing the seat OPP
posite to me was much more expert than
the other and got away ahead of him.
After he had passed me about four seats,
and the other was at least four seats from
me the other way, 1 got up leisurely and
crossed the aisle, and took a seat with a
man who had been robbed, and the viii
lain, whose plain duty it was to rob me.
overlooked me entirely; so / was not
touched, and was the only man in the
car who was not "gone through"
1 think it took them about fifteen min
utes to work that car, during which they
kept talking, ordering passengers what
to do, and calling them such nice, famil-
lar uhues, no ohouSh we ali peioHSeu W
one family-names that don't look nice |
in print But they finally got through
and left, giving us final order not to
stir out of the car, or we would get shot,
and, although 1 had fully retained my
presence of mind and did everything to
protect my own and succeeded, and the
danger was all over, something like
streak of lightning or an earthquake
Atruck me just then, and l liked to have
shook myself to pieces. In fact, 1 have
hardly got done shaking yet.