Omaha daily bee., 1886-09-15
THE FAMOUS VERDI RAID,
Remarkable Train Robbery Committed in
Nevada Fourteen Years Ago.
PRINCIPALS
STORY.
The RinCieadcr Now Travelling
Agent for a Sacrament House
The Capture OF the Gang
and the PIundcr

that robbed the overland express east OF
Verdi in 1872, is now travelling agent for
firm IN Sacramento dealing extensively
in lamps Squrcs recently visited this
city, says the Virginia City (Ncv.) Chron-
icle, US agent for the sale of II coal-oil
lamp, and burner of nov pattern. One
evening during his stay on the Comstock,
in the course os convcrs alton, he related
the following interesting narrative OF
the circumstances which led TO the rob
berry, and of the robbery itself.
He was residiag in Fl6wcry district at
the time the robbery was planned, and
was partner of the lGte Jack Davis in
| several mines. They had exhausted their
money in prospecting, and it was neces-
sarv to resort to strategy to raise moro to
develop their property, which Sqrircs
to-day maintains contains untold wealth,
needing only com to uncover it. Davis
| had the reputation of having been inter
| ested in several stage robberies prior 10
entering into co partnership with Squircs,
but up to the time of the train robbery
| Suuircs says he was never connected in
any manner with dishono rable trans
actions.
| As staging in this part of Nevada was
nearly at an end mt that time, il was sug.
| gcsted by Davis that they put up a job to
| stop the overland express train on the
| Central Pacific and rob Wells Fargo S
| car. After severa! consultations il was
| decided to resort to that means TO rNplen-
| ish their depicted eXchequer. In order
to successfully carry out their plans it
was necessary to take in several accom-
| plices. Three men let into the secret had
| friends IN another gang who had also
been arranging train robbery.
Three of this gang were taken in order
| to keep them from giving the business
away, which they might have done had
they been kept out Among these was
| Gilchrist, who afterwards turned state s
| evidence.
Souires was selected to lay the plan for
the robbery and WAS unanimously chosen
leader of the gang. After a careful sur
vey of the situation he decided upon the
quarry side track at Hunters crossing
Reno, as the most eligible place tor com
mitting the robbery.
Verdi at that point was the meeting
and passing point of the east and west
bound overland express trains, they both
being due there shortly after midnight. =,
Squires went to San Francisco and
spent several weeks in ascertaining the
! amount Oi cOiE Snlppeu Da w cuS, EaiSo
| d Co., and he says that he knew to Il
dime every day the exact sum that left
| the Office every day on the overland ex-
| press.
On the night of the robbery the gang,
which had been concealed in the timber
in the hills back of Verdi, assembled at
the station a short time prior to the arri-
val of the express train from San Fran,
| cisco, and just as the conductor signalcd
the engineer to pull out of the station
Squires and four of his men stepped upon
| the platform between the baggage and
express cars, and Davis, Parsons and an
other man got aboard on the platform OF
the mail ear, next to the locomotive ten
der, and climbing into the cab of the en-
| glne, covered the engineer and firemen
with shotguns, and ordered them to keep
quiet and obey orders.
Meanwhile Squires and his men had
| been observed to step on the forward
platform of the baggage-ca and brake
man, thinking they We're tramps, fol-
lowed them and ordered them off just as
the train started. Squires quietly dropped
the brakeman on the ground from the
opposite side of the train while it was in
motion.
Meanwhile, the conductor, baggage
master and q brakeman opened the for
ward door of the baggage car to see who
was on the PLATFORM but were ordered to
close it by Squires, who held the muzzie
of a shotgun in dangerous proximity to
the heads of the employees, remarking as
he cooked the weapon that too strong a
draft came. through the open door.
After the train had got about three
miles east of Verdi, Squires cut the bell
cord and pulled the pin between the bag.
gage and express cars, and the engineer
was ordered to pull out for the quarry
side-tracK.
| IT., t1 chic +,,,o +bo .obbars x,,aro M,
aware that the west-bouDd train WAS be-
hind time. but thought it had passed al
Verdi. On arriving at the switch the en-
gine and two cars were side-tracked, and
Wells-Fargo's messenger opening the
door to see what was the matter, found
| his person covered with three shotguns
He was ordered to throw up his hands,
and Squires and three of his companions
entered the car, and after securin the
messenger proceeded to remove the com
from the safe. They got away with
$4,000 altogether. Pending the removal
of the coin flom the express car the mail
agents were summoned to the door oi
their car and covered with guns until
after 1t was accomplished. The coin was
horses standing ready saddled, and when
the signal was given the gang mounted
and rode rapidly away across the bridge
in the direction of this city
After the west-bouni train came along
and the east-bound was backed up TIC
Verdi, the gang recrossed the bridge and
bivouacked in the hills on the Peavine
road. The coin was divided in two par
GELS. One half was given to Squires and
| DAVIS, which the former cashed in the
hills, seven miles north of Reno, after the
other members of the gang dispersed.
The story of the confession of Gilchrist
and subsequent capture of the gang and
recovery of most of the com is too famil
lar for rehearsal Squires served eleven
years and half in state prison, and
Davis was killed several years ago while
attempting to rob the Typo stage in the
eastern part of the state.
After his release SquIrcs returned to
his city and called upon Mr.. Prender
gast, agent of Wells, Fargo d. Go. IIC
approached the counter and asked Prem
dergast if he recognized him. Being an
swered in the negative he asked Pen. t.
take a good, square look, remarking
My name is Squires; have just been
pardoned out OF state prison after sory
ing nearly twelve years for robbing the
express car at Verdi. 1 understand thai
you have employed spies to watch my
movements. and | want you to keep q
sharp lookout for me-