Sacramento daily record-union., 1881-09-30
A nrmApKAsLE TRAIN KoBBsR7.

ber5 expected TO 10 with all tie things
they had collected together is as yet un-
imaginable. According to Mason they
had two picks, two shovels, axes, a
" wrench. hatchet, sledge, two pair Of
g gum boots, about seven or eight pounds
+" of nails, giant powder and caps, two
" bottles OF whisky, several shot guns, a
g lantern and q six-shooter. Whether
they expected to shed so much gore that
they would need the gum boots to wade
through it, can only be copjectured, and
it is extremely difficult to understand
what use they expected to make of the
seven or eight pounds of nails, unless they
thought they would want them to nail up
the coffins Of their victims. They also had
monkey. wrench; for what purpose no.
body can conceive; but as they forgot
this amazing tool, and left it behind
them, perhaps the failure of their enter
prise may be ascribed to that act of negli-
gence. The description of the way in
which they assembled for the tremendous
deed they were bent upon is amusing.
On their way to the railroad they met
Frazier. "It had been understood that
/" he was to make bar, and if he had not
made 1t we were to postpone the attack. "
Judging from what followed it may be
thought that his comrades rather hoped
Frazier had failed to make the bar, but he
had kept his word, and so there was moth
ing Tor it but TO go on.
When they reached the railroad they at
once pried up a rail. Then they 6 went
sito little island of sand near the tele-
graph POLE" and put on their masks.
They then "took three or four drinks of
g whisky and broke the bottles, and then
waited for the train to come" But the
three or four drinks of whisky were not
sufficient to sustain their courage, which,
like that of Bob Acres, was rapidly oozIng
out at their fingers ends. They in fact
seem to have broken the bottles too soon,
for they very soon began to feel the need
of Dutch courage. They had arranged
everything beforehand. "Stenegal was to
''go to the first engine" says Mason,
'.Rogers to the second, and Frazier, shinn
" and myself were to go to the express car
"and keep the passengers from coming
"ous." Bot when the train actually ar
rived, and was brought to stop by the
removal of the rail, everybody forgot their
instructions, and confusion ensued. When
the robbers detailed to the express car got
to it, as they supposed, they discovered
that it was fruit car. Then Mason saw
Frazier and Shinn standing opposite the
mail car. "They were both standing there
" together, doing nothing" He asked
them what they were doing g-ratherunneces-
sarily, as it would appear-and remarked
that if they were going to do anything,
"why didn't they Go it p But at that in
stant they had ceased to desire to do any
thing except to remove themselves from
the scene of action.
A feeble effort was made te effect some
thing. The expressman, who had put his
head out of the window, was told to keep
inside, and he did SO. This however was
the last demonstration of which the now
thoroughly frightened robbers were capable.
Rogers had already disappeared. Just
''then Stenegalcame down, and [ asked him
"where Rogers was. He said he hadn't
"seen him. Frazier then made the remark
that it was too big; let's go! We
then started and ran into the bushes. "
Evidently Frazier had struck popular
chord. They all thought it was too big,
and they were all eager to run into the
bushes. The cautious and conservative
Frazier, having safely reached the shelter
OF the bushes, made the further remark
that "we had done enough now, and we
had better go home" Again he had ex-
pressed The popular sentiment, and hia sug'
gestion was followed. When they me;
Rogers afterwards there were some little
" disputes as to who got scared FIRST, and
"as to who ran and who didn't" Bu'
there was very little room for controversy
on this point, for they had all gotscared,
and they had all run. And go the at
tempt to rob the train ended, and the
valiant robbers returned to their homes,
having made some effort to cover theil
tracks.
1t is evident that if anybody on the trair
had fred shot at this band of despera
does they would have fallen on their knees
and surrendered would have meekly giver
up their gum boots and their nails, theil
sledges and axes and giant powder cart
ridges and caps, and would even have
parted with the monkey-wrench. So Gen
sitive and nervous a gang of highwaymer
has in fact seldom or never been heard of,
and it is plain that they had not at al
realized what they had to encounter il
carrying out their formidable undertaking
At frat they were so frightened that they
could not even run away, for Mason saYs
that they " fell down as soon as they en-
tered the bushes. Aud these were tue
fellows who meant to blow up the express
safe with giant powder, and to immediate
all the train hands and express messengers
that dared to resist them. They had put
on masks and blaokened their faces, but ii
was quite unnecessary. for they were SC
terrified that probably their own mothers
would not have recognized them. These
young men are not professional criminals,
but merely hoodlums, apparently. They
have read newspaper accounts of train rob-
berries until they worked themselves up tc
the belief that they could emulate the ex.
ample Of the James brothers. They have
made sad mess of their experiment, but
their failure and punishment may do some
good by stripping the romance from crime
and showing that the imitation of profes-
sional robbers is not so easy as it looks
to be-
ASSASSINATION cANARDs.
II l. Il