The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1879-07-10
MEXICAN BANDITS.
How They Rob Railroad Trains and Stage
Coaches.
lAIerican Correspondence. J

| Coaches.
Mexican Correspondence
The brigands have reduced the rob
bling of railway trains to a science. As
each train is accompanied by military
guard, the usual freights and the money
in the passengers pockets are not worth
the risk of capturing. 1t is only when
the Government or some banking firm
sends large quantity OF specie on one
OF the trains that there is any likelihood
of an attack; and the thieves seem to
have some sure means of learning when
there is a large sum of money aboard
The trains on the railway from Mexico
to Vera Cruz are usually very long, all
drawn by huge double locomotive. At
the rear end of the train is always a
small car, about half the size of the
others, very much like the "caboose" at
the end of American coal trains. This
is for the escort or military guard, a
dozen or fifteen men, under command
of an officer. These men, like all the
Mexican soldiers, are unprecedented,
full or half-breed Indians, clad In very
light stuff, wearing sandals, and very
small in stature. Thespecie is on one Of
the freight cars that go ahead of the pas
senger cars-the thieves easily find out
which one. Besides the escort on the train
there is a small military guard that
meets the train at each station, and
gives the country the appearance, to
traveller by rail, of being full up to the
brim with soldiers and running over. On
account of this latter guard. the thieves
FL L LII chon
be committed between stations. They
have a very ingenious way of getting
rid of the military escort that accom-
panies the train. They get in the cars
separately at different stations, and,
when the proper time comes, one of the
band, who has previously been selected,
goes to the rear of the last passenger
car and uncouples the car containing
the soldiers. This is always done on a
sharp curve, when the engineer cannot
see the end of his train, and always on
an up- grade, so that the uncoupled car
will soon stop; and there are plenty
of such places on this steep and crooked
railroad. Then they go through the
train till they come to the treasure car,
break into it, saw hole through the
bottom, and, when the place is reached
that has been determined upon, the
boxes containing the money are dropped
out through the hole. Another part of
the brigand party, of course, are await
ing at the appointed place, and pick up
the specie and make off with it as soon
as it is dropped. The specie and the
brigands disappear together, and the
Government, the only loser, bushes up
| the story as much as possible, and
seizes another church to make up for
the loss. The passengers, perhaps,
know nothing about the robbery, or, If
they do, they know better than to in
terfere. And all this time the twelve
soldiers in the rear car, finding that
they are in no personal danger, sit still
and resolve to defend their car to the
very last gasp.
The process of robbing a stage coach
is very simple. cannot tell it better
than in the words of man who had
had the experience:
"The first thing we knew said he,
"there were forty or fifty brigands
around the diligence, and the horses
were stopped. Before I had time to
turn around, I had arevolver pointed at
each side of my head, and L was told to
hand over my money. 1 had $500 in
notes along, but had hidden that in
one of the cushions, and lad only 81 or
50 in silver in my pockets. They helped
themselves to my watch and everything
else in my pocket that I cared anything
for; but my having so little money
seemed to excite their suspicious. and
one of them took me to one side of the
road. away from the coach, making me
bring along small sachel l was carry
ing with me. He told me to take of
my clothes, and did. The sachel con-
tanned an old suit of light clothes be-
longing to friend of mine, much too
small for me; but he said he thought
my clothes would about fit him, and he
made me put on the old ones. He did
not take time to search the pockets, as
he was taking clothes and all; but, when
[ told him that l should need two or
three more meals and lodging before
| got to the end of my journey, he gave
! me back the g or So in silver. But he
left me bad-looking specimen, in the
old suit of clothes, though was better
off than most of the other passengers,
for they were sitting around IN their
underclothes, and one woman, whose
clothes had been stolen, was wrapped up
in horse blanket. Then we went on.