Mexico weekly ledger. (Mexico, Mo.) 1855-1956, 1879-10-23
TRAIN RORRERIES.
History of Those that Have Oc-
Cured i'm Missouri,
And Some Account of the Men
Who Participated i'm Them.
The RObberies at Lexington,
Gad's Hill, OtterViIie and
Glendale.
TRAIN RORBERIES.

From the st. Louis Post Dispatch.
Long after peace had been declar-
ed in the struggle of '65, there re-
manned class of men in Western
Missouri who chose not to throw
away their arms and engage in some
lawful vocation. They we're mostly
young men who had been schooled
in the most desperate of wars, ard to
whom life OF adve nture and daring
deeds is almost second nature. The
first bold robberies after the war in
this State were comrniLted by these
men. They were supposed to have
been led by these famous rough ri
ders, the James brothers and the
Younger brotlsers. These men and
their followers carried on their opera
tions in peace Just. as they had done
in the latter years of the war. They
were known to be not only brave but
desperate, well-armed and splendid
shots. Here and there in the state
they had friends who were always
ready to afford protection These
friends had perhaps been comrades
during the war, and were perhaps of
ten 10th to believe the enormity OF
the crimes perpetrated by those they
entertained and protected. The
Jamcses and Youngcrs ranged from
Missouri to Arkansas, from Arkan-
sas to- Texas, and from Texas TO Lou
isiana. They rode the finest and
heetest horses, and sometimes made
Incredible marches on their eXpedi
tiOrs from one point 70 another. A
favorite place of rendezvous in the
South was the vicinity of little viii
lage named Floyd, on the west side
OF the Mississippi, opposite Vicks-
burg. They had friends thele and
carried much of theil booty to that
neighborhood, where they lived the
life of q genuine band of bandits and
dcsperaloes.
These men inaugurated that re-
markable series of railroad train and
bank robberics that startled the whole
country with the boldness and sue
cess with which they were executed.
Banks had been robbed before the
war, but always by burglars, who
stole in at night and did the work
secretly. but these men, who had
been educated to bold deeds by q
long and bloody guerrilla warfare,
went not at night, but rode openly
into villages anI towns with pistol III
hand and ordered cashiers to open
their vaults. Ii they refused they
were shot. This was done ut Colum.
bus, Ky, and at other places. The
appearance of an armed force on the
streets would generally so overawe
The citizens that they could not or
ganize for protection till the robbers
had their plunder and were gone to
some safe hiding place. Finally, the
career of the Youngers closed with
the attempt to rob a bank ut North
field, Minnesota, in September, 1876.
They were then captured, and are
now i'll the Minnesota State prison
TOR life. 1t is supposed the James
brothers were in the same company,
but they made their escape, and it is
not believed they have ever figured
in an expedition OF the kind since til!
the Glendale affair.
The bOldness that conceived the
robbery Of Il bank in broad daylight,
with hundreds of people in the streets
TO witness the deed, only led TO the
still more startling deed of capturing
Il railroad train and rAing the pas
sengers and express company's safes
of their valuablcs.
Unfortunately Missouri is distin-
guIshed by the fact that upon her
soil the first tair"ad train robbery
was committed. And it is humili-
ating to say further that not single
one of these train robbers is now IN
the Missouri Penitentiary. There is
no longer any sufficient excuse for
not capturing these men, and il
would have been done long ago had
the Legislature and Governor taken
the proper precaution. Governor
Hardin is the only one of the Chief
Executives in Missouri since 1870
who has made any particular exer-
ton to have these marauders captur-
ed. 1t looks rs though the people
had taken the law in their own hands
in the case of this last train robbery,
and the result will probably be that
part if not all the perpetrators will be
captured.
just at this time sketch of the
train robberies in Missouri may be
found interesting:
THE LEXINGTON ROBBERY.
This was not exactly train rob
berry, but the next thing to it. II
occurred late in the summer of 1874.
The Kansas City ana Northern day
passenger train had come up ftom
st. Louis aud landed the Lexington
passengers at the Richmond and Lex
ington Junction. They were carried
down to the depot just across the
Missouri from Lexington, and there
took busses and started to cross the
river on the ferryboat. Lexington
stands on the eastern bluff of the
river and is sufficiently elevated to
command view of all the counties
west of the river, extending up dis.
tance of five miles to the Richmond
and Lexington Junction. 1t was
about O'Clock in the evening and
the busses were in an open space
midway between the river and the
little depot. Suddenly there broke
forth from the neighboring woods
six or seven masked men on splendid
horses and tlourishing' their revolvers S
in the air. A shot or two was fired
into the air, and the two busses Or
dered to halt. The order was obey
ed punctually and implicitly. There
was nothing else to do. The wo-
men screamed and the men turned
white in the face. 1t was the first
affair of the kind that had happened,
and nobody knew just what it meant.
The intention of the gentlemen on
horseback, however, was soon made
manifest. They ordered all the pas
seupers to oct ont and ranoe them-