News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1885-01-15
A BADLY FRIGHTENED LOT.
SEyENTY-FIYE PEOPLE FLUNDfRED
BY THREE MEN AND A Boy.
Their VaIuabIcs Poured fute 81 Flour Bag
Will II Bia-Vorc' d M Ftoze Them
with TerrOr-lEen ~IItiug Like 81 atues.

|
presently felt the train leaving the main
track for the switch, which runs off to a
stone quarry, and which $ thiekly crsn.
grown with s6rides is5:s salflEE...s: salflEE..s:... :. !.
about d,
;, = 1u0do5a rs Epy y SsnTS pu
engineer 1me6u! eIlloq ilsFsea EkSsoo inuR
gine and calFssss!sp iDrraaRKes, ard from one
end of the train to the other there was
the greatest CONSERVATION. The train
men took to the woods, but were COM
PEELED to return by threats, and the ex-
press messenger and postal clerks
crawled under their cars and hid on the
trucks. While two or three uf the rob-
hers were doing their best to force the
safe with sledge hammers, one of them,
appropriately masked, passed through
the train, talking as he went, and giving
Instructions to the passengers.
"Sorry to int1ude, ladies and gentle
men,"
''Hands up =
"We will not detain you long"
"Get yourselves in comfortable posi-
tions and then don't move"
keep your fins where we can see
| them and We'll have no trouble"
Hands up, everybody !"
Then he would be at the end of the
car, and, looking back, he would say:
You are doing well. Now, inst stay in
that attitude. That is splendid. The
gentleman on the right there with the
Picadilly hat has a leetle too much of
crook in one of his elbows. Let him
raise it straight I do not like to
make ladies' put up their hands, but the
madam here on the left will have to obev
orders this once. There, now; that's ex-
cellent. My partners will be delighted.
There will be gentleman through here
i'll few moments"
Thus he went through three or four
cars, and had every body in them sitting
ike statues with hands mp long before
hey had seen more than one robber.
The thieves devoted a great deal of time
to the express company's safe, but, fa,l-
ing to open it, they decided that it
would be good idea TO go through the
train and make sure of something, at
any rate. Armed with an ordinary -four
sack, they Were ushereC<nto the cars by
plan with big vo,ieaaah and as they
extracted watches, Efcat, chains, and
money they placed tbsr. 4ldisorirainat te-
y in the bag Wne$ IL Iass man in
3he thfs lasAear 81 ss had l9cu.oIe oIesireee.,,ar-
-, whom +ba Nad e es'HI'asS1 .ida
tracked, and dnrih Ging S>siod not one
of the seventy-ti paal1n1iy SSssSSsd stirred
from his seat. Som 'ne 5kE4f9 KkEf ere al
most helpless with linen .c'ahd many
others were in dazed forWticn and did
not appear to apprecl ,thfuly all that
was going on. Havin'i Gone through
the train. the robbers-eturned to the
naggage car, warning The inmates Of
of each coach that they must keep their
hands up. Thus they left them, firing
few shots in the air to terrify them
still further.
After the robbers had gone some little
time the express messenger crawled out
and explored. He found the passengers
still sitting like wax figures with their
hands up, AMI as he entered the cars
the peop' @ st ,rted as if fearful that their
hands were not up high enough. He
remarked to them that they might as
we'll put down their bands and make
themselves comfortahe; the desper-
ADDE'S had gone. In the course of time
he trainmen got the cars back on the
main track, and the run into the city
was made slowly. AS might have been
expected, the affair caused intense ex-
element, and everybody who had been
resent was made hero of Immediately.
All had stories of tie most thrilling
description to tell. According to the
narrative of eome of the victims the rob-
berry was the work of a regiment of des-
peradoes just from tie plains, all armed
to the teeth, and in every case 1t was
money or life.
The unexpected snccess of the author
tiles in promptly running down the
thieves put good many OF the victims
in an awkward predicament. Three OF
the robbers were found right here IN
town, and according to the confession OF
one of them, the robbery was the work
of three men and boy, none OF them
very well armed, with no previous ex-
perience in the business and no well
concerted plan of action. They went
about their business as ii it was perfectly
Legitimate. had, no fear Of resis tance,
and were pleased gI.T-rlcs fr'ss none
was offered. They counted on soaring
the people half to death and were not
disappointed.
Cook, the one who makes the confess
sion says the whole thing was arranged
and carried out in less than weeks time,
and. though he appreciates the gravity
of the situation, he makes merry over
the foolish fears Of the passengers.
"Why," said he, 'fhere wasn't man
from the engineer to the rear brakeman
hat you couldn't have knocked down
with a feather, and half of them had
~hooting irons, too. Now, what is the
use of a man carrying O gun if he can't
use it? / was the fellow that stood at the
door of the cars and yelled, Hands up /
and then went through, talking to them.
They selected me because had a gruff
) voice, and [ made it gruffer than ever
, j lst to scare them. Some of those fell
lows ought to have had their brains
= knocked out, if they had any. One little
2 funny man kept trying to edge up to the
! coal box. knew what he was doing. He
} wanted to shove watch or some money
INTO the coal. didn't say any ything for
a while, but finally roared out:
t "'Hands up, I say Look here, I've
J good notion TO croak you right here 7
e At the same time I pushed my revolver
J light into his mouth, which opened when
!. his jaw fell. He tre1nhled al over and
/. ! swallowed hard, and finally begged me