The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1889-08-09
TRAIN ROBBERS.
Masked Men Hold Up the Fort
Worth & Denver Mail
They Are Fooled in Obtaining Much Booty
Two Bold Men Rob Q Train
Near Kansas
City.

FORT WORTH. Tex. Aug. Sat two
| O'Clock yesterday morning six masked
| men stopped the Fort Worth & Denver
! mail and express, southbound, between
| Cheyenne water tank and Tascosa and
three men got on the locomotive and COM
PEELED the engineer to pull away from the
passenger coaches, which had been dee
tached by the robbers and left under
| guard of the other three.
After going half mile the robbers com.
PEELED the engineer to get off the locomo-
tive and bring pick to force open the
door of the express car.
Express Messenger Marsh, seeing what
was up. closed the doors of his car and
| pied up trunks against them and then
put out the lights in the car after he had
secreted all the express packages but
! three.
The robbers coming to the car ordered
| Marsh to open it and fred into it. The
| engineer hammered away with his pick
until he got the door partly opened, when
a torch was pushed into the opening and
a revolver poked in and pointed at Marsh,
who was told TO open up or be killed.
Marsh opened and three packages were
stolen, but the Pacific Express Company
| people say that very little money was Sc
| cured.
| The robbers then went to the mail car
and compelled Route Agent Wolcott to
| open his car. He had hidden all his regis.
/ tered matter. but one letter. under a sack
and turned his lights out. The robbers
| got the one package and then opened mail
| pouches and scattered the contents over
/ the floor. All the robbers were masked
After doing the work they ordered the en-
| gineer to put out the torch and pull out
when they left.
| The authorities i'm the several neighbour
| ing counties were notified and are in pur-
suit. 1t is said that the total amount
stolen is less than 5000. The robbers fired
| twenty or twenty five shots into the mail
and express cars. The passengers were
| greatly frightened. but not one of them
was molested in any way, though money
and iawelry were hid in short order.
Cheyenne is 81 miles northwest from
| Fort Worth
TRAIN ROBBERS NEAR KANSAS CITY.
KANSAS CITY, No., Aug. 1.-TWO mon
who Wore red and white handkerch lefs
ever their faces as ma ks held up and
robiei passenger train No. on the Wa
bash railway four miles east of Harlem at
S:35 O'Clock SATURDAY. night They Sc
cured $40 aud two gold watches and
would have secured a greet deal more but
they were frightened from the train by a
neIvy conductor before they succeeded in
their operations. The men were medium
sized and both wore dark clothing aud
SLOUGH hats. They We're between twenty
two and twenty five years of age, and
were lou and proiane in their demands
for money.
W. II. Bonnell, special agent of the road.
sat in the smoking car of the train aud
was notified by Conductor James Reach
that the rear coach had been gone through
by robbers He at once cut the eng ne
loose and returned as far a Harlem where
he notified Deputy Sheriff TomIinson and
they began search for the men but were
not successful in getting sight of them.
The train pulled out from this citv at
$40 O'Clock and registered its time at Har-
lem at $3.50 O'Clock. Two men boarded the
rear coach at the Harlem bridge and as
soon as II ,rlem was passed awoke passen-
gers with the demand. Throw up your
hands" Ii took them about ten minutes
to invoice" the nine passengers who
were in the coach.
They left the rear coach to ra d the next
one 'front.' anu met conductor heacH on the
front platform.
Throw up your hands, they command
ed. The conductor thought that they
Were railway acqua in:ances and laughing
at them started 10 pass on. They COM
manded again, and taking in the situation
he struck one of them with his lantern.
The other robber shot twice at Reach and
both then jumped from the train. Reach
threw his lantern after them and about
this time one of the passengers pulled the
bell-cord and the train was stopped.
Special Agent Bonnell detached the en-
CINE from the train and started back to
this city. In company with Deputy Sher-
iff Tomlinson, of Clay County. he kept
watch at the Hannibal bridge and secured
the country about Harlem until three
O'Clock yesterday morning. when he re-
ported the robbery to the Central police
station and left n description of the two
men.
The train consisted of a baggage car,
two through sleepers on the Iowa Gem
trail. coaches which are switched off at
Moherly, and the car sleeper that was
robbed.
When the men left the train they took
to a wagon road and disappeared in the
darkness. Nothing has since been heard Of
them.