Iron County register., 1881-09-22

KANSAS CITY, Mo-, September Z.

Shortly after nine o'clock tonight the In
coming Chicago & Alton passenger train
that left Chicago Tuesday at 1880 was
stopped and robbed by a 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
gsge-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 s., 500 from the passengers, and 1t
Is thought about the same amount from the
express safe. The express messenger, III.
A. Fox, was terribly beaten over the Lead
with revolver, and ut last gave up the
keys Of the safe, and the robbers took all the
contents. When they entered the Pullman
car, five in number. all were masked, and
while one held an open bag or pillow-case,
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 pack and tagged n
freight train, running very close. He then
came back to the train, and was ut once
searched, but had thrown his watch into the
ladies' closet. and so they got nothing. One
of the robbers poked a 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
he hat
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 IL an
organized pursuit was made. Another man
I'm 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
go 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,
blunderbusses and pistols,
and had on high-top boots and farmers
clothes.
The place where the robbery took place IL
in deep cut, near where the Missouri Pa
cific track crosses it, and the country is
hilly and we'll wooded, and Just suitable for
such a robbery. 1t Is only few miles from
Glendale, where the Alton train was robbed
in 1873 by Jesse James and gang, when they
secured nearly SIS, 900.
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 ut 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:
'I was standing on the front platform oil
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
through you ALL 1 remember that the
freight-train was just behind us, and I
heard it coming up. jumped off and ran
with my lantern down the track. They
commenced shooting ut me. The bullets
whistled all around me, and struck the
rails and stone. They must have
fred 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 l rolled
into the cut and waved my lantern. The
freight train was stopped only car-length
off. When 1 came back one of the robbers
said: Have you lost anythingY Ianswered,
Fifty cents.' He gave me one dollar and
fifty cents for interest. Then l heard one
of the robbers say to the engineer:
'Choppy Foote, you are too good a man
to keep up this business. Here's 81 to buy
a drink in the morning, and to drink
1t for Jesse James. warn you you'll be
killed IL 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 Westlake, at Winston. He |
was too smart, and drew a revolver" Bur- |
to- did not believe it was Jesse James, nor
any Of his gang. They all acted green at |
the 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 |
By Tribune reporter and said:
al was sitting in the smoking car talking |
with the conductor, Jack Hazelbacher. We |
were then on the up grade, about four miles |
from Independence. All of sudden the |
train came to stop. said to Hazelbacher: |
There is another freight train in our way, |
] suppose We heard loud voices and pis- |
tol shots. looked out and saw lanterns |
flashing. We knew that train robbers were |
on us. Hazelbacher ran back into the train |
and warned the passengers. They were all |
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 dozen of them,
and some of the passengers place the
at sixteen. Everybody was panic
stricken and helpless. i ran out of the car
and found the wen 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
Fl: