The Redwood gazette., 1881-09-15
ANOTHER TRAIN ROBBERY.

NOOOe0 I'm M1S0OQfl-v00 HXnRoDD
Car and Passengers Plundered-The
Villains Declare Their Intention to
Break Up the Alton 4 Rock IslanA
Railroads.
KANSAS CRY, Mo-, September Z.
Shortly after nine O'Clock tonight the in.
coming Chicago & Alton passenger train
that left Chicago Tuesday at 12:3o was
stopped and robbed by band of robbers
three miles east Of Independence and four.
teen east of Kansas City. The train was
tagged and then ten or twelve men entered
the cars and robbed the express.car, bag
gage-master, conductor, Pullman conduct.
or, and all the passengers, except in the
rear car.
The ladies in the sleeping car, some fif.
teen in number, were relieved Of diamond
earrings, rings, watches and money. They
got about =, 500 from the passengers, and it
is thought about the same amount from the
express safe. The express messenger, II.
A. Fox, was terribly beaten over the Lead
with revolver, and at last gave up the
keys of the safe, and the robbers took all the
contents. When they entered the Pullman
car, five III number, all were masked, and
while one held an open bag or pillow ease,
each person was relieved of his or her valu.
ables, which were thrown indiscriminately
into the bag. The car conductor, j. j.
Price, lost his watch and chain and 800.
j. NJ. Hazelbacher, the train conductor,
ran through the train, alarming all passen.
gers, and telling them that the robbers were
on board, and then ran back and tagged
freight train, running very close. He then
came back to the train, and was at once
searched, but had thrown his watch into the
ladies' closet. and so they got nothing. One
Of the robbers poked q revolver into his
face, and said: SC That is the pistol that killed
Westfall. ON the Rock Island Road, and it
will kill you ii you STIR" The same man
said he was Jesse James, and that they
robbed the Alton train because it had
joined with the Rock Island and
others to capture the outfit. He also said
they would burn the cars and bridges if an
organized pursuit was made. Another man
In the gang also said he was Jesse james,
and, after robbing the engineer, Choke
Foote, gave him back two dollars and told
him that, when he reached Kansas City, to
20 and get drink and quit railroading out
In this section or he would be killed the
next time. The robbers talked all the time.
and all wore white masks. Some had hats
on, and some had not, but all wore long
busters. They were armed with shotguns,
old-fashioned blunderbusses and pistols,
and had on high-top boots and farmers
clothes.
The place where the robbery took place is
in deep cut, near where the Missouri Pa
cific track crosses it, and the country is
billy and we'll wooded, and just suitable for
such robbery. 1t is only few miles from
Glendale, where the Alton train was robbed
in 1879 by Jesse James and gang, when they
secured nearly $4,000.
As soon as the robbers had gone through
all the passengers, they told the engineer to
pull out, and aid: "Good night, this is the
last OF the James boys gang" The train
came at once to Kansas City, and posses Of
men have already left by special train and
on horseback to head off the highwaymen,
If possible.
T. f. or Frank Burton, the brakeman,
made the following statement Of the rob-
berry:
81 was standing on the front platform Of
the sleeper when the train stopped, and I
heard voices and oaths on the back plat
form. I said, in moment: We are going
to be robbed Then one Of the robbers
cried out: I'VE are coming in aud going
through you ALL I remember that the
freight-train was just behind us, and I
heard it coming up. Jumped of and ran
with my lantern down the track. They
commenced shooting at me. The bullets
whistled all around me, and struck the
rails and stone. They must have
fired twenty-five shots. The engineer
said: For Gods sake, don't shoot
the boy. He is saving the lives Of these
people, Then one Of them threw up his
arms and cried: stop shootingv I rolled
into the cut and waved my lantern. The
freight-train was stopped only car-length
of. When came back one of the robbers
said: Have you lost anything3' Ianswered,
Fifty cents.' He gave me one dollar aud
fifty cents for interest. Then heard one
Of the robbers say to the engineer:
sChoppy Foote, you arc too good q man
to keep up this business. Here's So to buy
drink in the morning, and to drink
1t for Jesse james. warn you you'll be
killed If you don't leave this road. We
are going to tear up and bust the Alton and
the Rock Island Roads, for they've been Of
fering rewards for us. We've no grudge
against the Pullmans, and we'll switch of
their cars and burn all the rest am the
man who killed Wcstlake, at Winston. He
was too smart, and drew revolver" Bur-
ton did not believe it was Jesse james, nor
~ h Thov oil oofoI ~<
the business, and he thought they were men
living in the vicinity. They made no attempt
to diAguise their voices.
Frank Lombard, the news-agent, was in
terviewed By Tribune reporter and said:
81 was sittin, in the smoking. car talking
with the conductor, Jack Hazelbacher. We
were then on the up grade, about four miles
from Independence. All Of q sudden the
train came to stop. I said to Hazelbacher:
There is another freight train in our way,
l suppose We heard loud voices and pis.
tol shots. Hooked out and saw lanterns
flashing. We knew that train robbers were
on us. Hazclbacher ran back into the train
and warned the passengers. They were al
looking out of the windows until the rob.
bers called out to them to pull in their
heads and keep quiet. The rob.
bers had stopped the train by putting
an obstruction on the rails and signaling.
am sure there were a dozen of them,
and some Of the passengers place the
number at sixteen. Everybody was panic
stricken and helpless. ran out Of the car
and found the men guarding the engineer
and fireman. They were poorly masked,
but all armed with Henry rifles. Thew were
swearing loudly and shooting at random.
Some Of them passed into the mail.car, but
did not touch anything. Express -Messen-
ger Fox in the meantime had barricaded
the express car. They climbed upon the car,
ran around and began 10 shoot. They broke
into the car and knocked Fox down by q
violent blow on the head. They then robbed
the safe of everything. ran back into the
smoking car and hid most Of my money.
The robbers came in and ordered me, with
an oath, to lie down. did 80, and they
showed gun up to my head and told me to
fork over. said my money was under the
cushion. They told me to get it, and got
It in hurry, you bet. 1t was about fifteen
dollars. They then told me 10 sit still, and
they went back to the other cars. They
made wholesale robbery of money, watches
and jewclry >