St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1881-09-24
The Recent Train Robbery in Missouri.
KANSAS CITY, Mo-, September

Shortly after nine O'Clock TO might the i'm,
| coming Chicago IL Alton passenger train
that left Chicago Tuesday at l2:%&l was
stopped and robbed by band of robbers
three mcs east Of Independence al,l four
teen east of Kansas City. The train WAS
Tagged AMI tAen ten or twelve men entered
the cars and robbed the express car. bag
gage-ma>ter, conductor, Pullman con lurt-
or, and all the passengers, except in the
rear car.
The ,ailes in the >lcepin4-car. me- III
teen III number, were relieved If diamond
earrings, rings. watches and money They
got about =, 800 from the passengers, ana it
is thought about the same amount from the
express safe. The express messenger, H.
A. Fox, was terribly beaten over the eaC
with revolver, and at last gave lid the
keys Of the safe, and the robbers tool, all the
contents. VIXEN they entered the Pullman
car, five in number, all were masked. and
while one held an open bag or pillow cast.
each person was relieved of his or her yaIu-
abes, which We're thrown indiscriminateIy
into the bag. The car conductor. J. J,
Price, lost his watch and chain and 500,
j. NJ. HaZelbacher, the train conductor,
ran through the train, alarming all pa,sen-
gers, and telling them that the robbers were
on board, and then ran back and tagged a
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 pokcd revolver into his
face, and said: -" That is the pistol that killed
Westfall, on the Rock Island Road, and it.
will kill you if 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 bridge. # 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 Citv. to
go and get Il drink and quit railroading out
i'll 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 al 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
where the Alton train was robbed
in 1879 by Jesse James and gang, when they
secured nearly SIS, 200.
As soon as the robbers had gone through
all the passengers, they told the engineer to
pull out, and said: 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 highwavmen,
il possible.
7. 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
heard voices and oaths on the back plat
form. / said, in moment: we are going
to be robbed Then one of the robbers
cried out: We are coming in and going
freight-train was just behind us, and
heard it coming up. Jumped off and ran
with my lantern down the track. They
commenced shooting at me. The bullets
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 t-ese
people, Then one of them threw up his
arms and cried: stop shootngn I rolled
into the cut and waved my lantern. The
freight-train was stopped onlya car-length
off. When came back one of the robbers
aid: Have you lost anything?' answered,
fifty cents for interest. Then I heard one
OF the robbers say to the engineer:
Choppy Foote, you are too good man
to keep up this business. Here's s. to buy
! drink in the morning, and to drink
It for Jesse James. l warn you you'll be
silled 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
ering rewards for ia. We've no grudge
against the Pullmans, and Wen switch off
heir cars and b'rn all the rest | am the
man who killed Westlake, at Winston. He
was too smart, and drew revolver" Bur-
on did not believe it was Jesse James, nor
my OF his gang. They all acted green at
he business, and he thought they were men,
living in the vicinity. They made no attempt
to disguise their voices.
Frank Lombard, the news-agent. was in
erviewed By Tribune reporter and said:
- was sitting in the smoking car talking
With the conductor, Jack Hazelbacher. We
we're then on the up grade, about four miles
rom Independence. All of sudden the,
rain came to stop. said to Hazelbacher:
There is ano Their freight-train incur way,
suppose We heard loud voices and pis-
oil shots. looked out and saw lanterns
lashing. We knew that train robbers were
N us. Hazelbacher ran back into the train
md warned the passengers. They were all:
ooking out OF the windows until the rob-
'ers called out to them to pull in their
'ers had stopped the train by putting
n obstruction on the rails and signaling. l.
m sure there were dozen of them,
nd some of the passengers place the
lumber at sixteen. Everybody was panic