Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1889-08-05
HighVaynen Bold.
They Ply Their Trade With In.
different Success.
A PLUOKY CONDUCTORS FIGHT.

He Makes Himself So Unpleasant That the
Robbers Jump from a Flying Train and
Escape-One Coach of Passengers on the
Wabash Relieved of Vaiuabies-opera-
tions on the Fort Worth i'm Texas-The
Mail aud Express Cars Visited-Criminai
DoIngs of Varied Atrocity.
KANSAS CITY, Mo, Aug. 5.-One of the
boldest and most daring train robberies ever
perpetrated in Missouri occurred on the
Wabash train which left the Union station
at $50 o'clock Saturday night The train,
which was made up of a smoker. two sleep
ers for St Louis. an Illinois Central coach
and the st. Paul coach in the order named,
had pNled out of Harlem where it was due
at s;S5, and had run distance of about four
miles, when two men entered the rear door
of the St Paul sleeper. One of them had
utilized a white handkerchief as a mask, and
the other n red one.
Hold Up Your Hands"
They ordered all passengers to hold up
their hands, and enforced their orders with
brace of Colts revolvers. One of them ap-
preached each passenger and, while the
other kept watch Of the victims, took every
| thing OF value that could he conveniently
found. There were only few pass n gers in
| the car and the work of robbery was soon
| complete As soon as all had been relieved
| of their Notwithstanding to S175 and
| two gold watches-the robbers backed out
of the front door of the car, being careful
TO keep their shooting irons pointed toward
| the helpless travellers
| They Meet the Conductor.
They stepped on the platform, and just as
| they we're about to enter the Illinois Central
coach Conductor r ,ach came out of the
door, being on his first trip through the train
to collect fares One of the robbers pushed
| his revolver under the conductors nose and.
| with oath, ordered him to hold up his
| hands The conductor supposed from the
| nature of their disguise that number OF
| railroad men who had taken passage on the
| train We're playing a practical joke on him.
And Catch n Tartar.
With a laugh he attempted to push past
| them and enter the sleeper. just then a gust
| of wind swept aside the masks of the robbers
and then he knew that the affair was one of
/ dead earnest He had no weapon, but he
carried his lantern in his hand, and with that
| he dealt one of the men a vicious blow or
the head, smashing the lanterns glass and
| eXiinguishing the light simultaneously
with bis assault the other robber fired a shot
at him from his revolver. The aim was bad
and the bullet missed its mark The frs
robber had by this time recovered himself,
| and he, too, TOOK a shot at the conductor
| His aim was no more precise than his part
/ ner's
| Desperate Break for Liberty,
| The robbers then with one more parting
shot, swung OFF from the steps of the car.
/ The train was running at the rate of twenty.
/ five miles an hour-too fast for any one, ex
/ cept under desperate chances, to jump of
/ without risking his life, and Conductor
| Roach did not attempt it. He swung on
beyond the side of the car, however, and saw
| the robbers arise and make with all haste
for the dirt road that leads to Kansas City
That was the last seen of them One of the
| passengers in the St Paul coach, who had
| been robbed, when ne heard the firing on the
| platform pulled the cord that connects with
| the air brake, and the train came to a stand
still BY this time the train had run a mile
| beyond the place where the robbers had es
capped
A Posse in Pursuit.
| W. II Bonnell, special agent of the road,
| was n passenger in the smoking car. When
the train came to sudden stop he rushed
out to ascertain the cause. Learning from
| the conductor the occurrence of the robbery
he Immediately set to work to begin the
chase for the robbers, He ordered the en-.
gineer to run the train to Randolph, a few
miles ahead, and there he uncoupled the en-
CINE and ran it back to Harlem. There hs
found Deputy Sheriff Tomlinson, who a
once organized a posse and started in pur
suit of the fleeing robbers. Up to 8 O'CLOCK
yesterday morning no one Of them had beer
discovered Mr.. Bonnell, after he had taken
evesy possible step to insure the capture OF
the fugitives at Randolph. came to Kansas
| City, where arrived at g O'Clock, and re-
ported the robbery at police headquarters.