Huntsville gazette., 1883-10-06
TRAIN ROBBERS FOILED.
An Attempt to Rob an Express Car of an
Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Tram Frus-
trated-The WouId-be Robbers Kill the
Engineer and Dangerously Wound the


Engineer and Dangerously Wound the
Fireman.
KANSAS CITY, Mo-, Sept. q.
An attempt was made to rob the ''Thun-
derbolt" Santa Fe express train at Cool
idge, Kas., small station on the Kansas
and Colorado line, 450 miles west of here,
last night, news of which caused excite
ment here such as has not been known since
the Glendale, Winston and Blue Cut train
robberies. The train was the regular east
bound passenger train, which left Denver
last night and was due here tonight. Cool
idge is a small cattle station and beside the
telegraph operator is almost uninhabited.
As the train was about to pull out from
Coolidge three men appeared and ordered
the engineer to stop. He refused and was
shot dead. The fireman was also shot
through the neck and badly hurt though
not fatally. The men assailed the express
car, but Samuel Peterson, the Express
messenger, made such a vigorous fight that
the robbers were driven off. Finding the
train aroused and themselves liksly to be
worsted, the robbers then beat q retreat,
having failed to secure the treasure which
they were after.
tions along the line and a special train
started for Coolidge from Emporia with a
posse of armed men in pursuit. The dead
engineer, whose name was John Hilton,
lived at Emporia, his run being between
that point and Dodge City. Route Agent
]. G. Walkenshaw and Clerk G.. A. James
were in the mail car next to the engine,
and witnessed the whole affair. James re-
lates the details in substance as follows:
"Our train was due at Coolidge at two
O'Clock a.. m, and arrived on time. We
changed engineers and engines there, and
usually stop about fifteen minutes. While
the engines were being changed noticed
two men who, In the darkness, appeared to
have their heads and faces tied up, walk
ing up and down the platform at the side of
the car several times. L was busy at the
time and paid no special attention to them.
Just as the train was ready to pull out and
Conductor Greely sang out "All aboard,"
looked out at the door and saw one of the
men cross to the opposite side OF the track
and the other walk up toward the engine.
A minute afterward | heard several shots
upon the engine and an instant later two or
three more in the express car | looked out
again and saw the fireman, Geo. Paddle,
jump from the engine and run across the
platform. just as he reached the other edge
another shot was fired, and he fell back up
on the platform. By this time eve1sy thing
was confusion, and all of the train men, as
well as every one else who knew what was
going on, seemed perfectly paralyzed and
incapable of action. | knew the train was
being robbed and Mr. Walkenshaw and
myself began to think about preparing to
protect our car. In the meantime the man
we saw cross the track was making an at
toC a and nlanpun6 to
get inside of it. He acted as though he was
drunk and fairly fell into the side door,
shooting his revolver as he did So The
Express messenger, S. s. Peterson, armed
with a revolver. succeeded in driving the
robber from the car.
After this the man on the engine jumped
down on the platform and the robbers skip
ped out together, going across the prairie in
southerly direction. Everybody was so
paralyzed with the audacity of the attempt
that no movement was made to pursue the
robbers or do anything else for fully ten
minutes after they had disappeared. A
rush was made for the engine and we found
John Hilton, the engineer, lying dead in the
cab with a shot through the heart and an
other through the head.
Fireman Paddle was lying on the platform
opposite the engineer entirely unconscious
with bullet wound in his neck. He re-
covered consciousness a few minutes
later, long enough to state that Just as they
were getting ready to start the train a
masked man jumped on the engine with
pistol in his hand and ordered the engineer,
Hilton, to pull out. Hilton refused TO
start the engine, but tried to reach for the
whistle line to give the danger signal. The
robber saw this movement and immediate
ly commenced to shoot. The engineer fell
from his seat and Paddle jumped off on the
platform. The robber shot at him as he
ran, but missed him. Just as he was step
ping off the platform, the man who attacked
the express car came running up and fired
at Paddle, the shot taking effect in his neck.
This was all the fireman knew about it. He
was very dangerously hurt. We left him
at Coolidge to be taken care of. He was
about thirty-five years old, and had been
on the road for a long time running from
Coolidge to Dodge City. / don't know
where he lived, but l think at Coolidge.
Engineer Hilton was about forty years Of
age and had family at Dodge City. We
brought his body to that place on our train
where an inquest was held.
The town was all asleep and there were
only six or seven people besides our train
crew around the depot at the time the at
tempt was made. There is an eating house
in the depot, and the men were lounging
around inside and on the platform, watch
ing for the train to pull out. The popula-
tion of Coolidge is not over $50 souls, and
there was no show to organize pursuing
posse before we left. We only stopped
long enough to take care Of the fireman and
the dead engineer, and get new men to take
their places, and we pulled out of Coolidge
about forty-fve minutes late. Before we
left Conductor Greedy telegraphed to Dodge
City, and the officers Of the road there at
once organized pursuing posse and started
them via special train for the scene of the
tragedy. There were about fifty armed
men in the posse, and we passed them at
Cimarron.
There were only two robbers, but think
that originally there was gang organized
to rob the train, and that these two fellows
came to town to get the lay Of things and
make arrangements, and got drunk and
spoiled the scheme by attempting to do the
job themselves"
The story of Express Messenger Peterson
is very similar to that of James. He says
while the engines were being exchanged he
was living in the car, and was in a doze
when the conductor yelled "all aboard.o
An instant later masked man attempted
to get into the car, firing revolver as he
did 50. Peterson awoke to the situation,
and as the man entered the car he drew his
revolver and returned the intruder's shot,
and advancing upon him forced the man
back out of the car. At that moment the
fireman ran across the platform and the
robber fired at him, the shot taking effect
In the fireman's neck. Peterson was greatly