Los Angeles herald., 1892-05-22
WAITING TO BE ROBBED.
The Passengers Were All Ready for the
Bandits, but They Came Not.

Bandits, but They Came Not.
A gentleman from Kansas tells a
rather interesting story of a sensation to
which he and his fellow passengers were
treated a short distance from Vicksburg.
The train was tagged at Cleveland, a
small station in comparatively unin-
habited section, at which passenger
trains are not scheduled to stop. The
station officials boarded the train with a
badly frightened negro, who informed
Conductor Clark that as he was walking
along the track about two miles below
the station he had seen six masked men
working at the track with a crowbar.
evidently bent on displacing the rails
and ditching the train. They had their
ponies tied to trees near the track and
every saddle had Winchester rifle
slung across it. The darky did not care
to disturb them, but as he was trying to
steal away unobserved one of the would
be trainwreckers called out to him, COM
manding him to halt. This was Just
what the negro did not wish to do, and
plunging into the thicket he scrambled
through the thick underbrush and over
fallen logs as rapidly as his legs
would carry him. He had just reached
Cleveland in time to warn the station
agent to flag the down express.
This was startling news, and Con-
ductor Clark at once made preparations
to guard his train against attack. Every
light, even to the headlight of the loco
motive, was extinguished and Winches-
ter rifles were placed in the hands of
the train officials, while the negro porter
was armed with revolver and placed
in the baggage car to guard its con-
tents
Before the lights could be exsinguished
in the passenger coaches it was neces-
sary to inform the passengers of the
reason why such an extraordinary pre-
caution had been rendered necessary,
and then it was that some curious scenes
were enacted. Some put their money in
their boots; others, pulling off their
coats, slowed away small rolls of bills
in their shirt sleeves. Others appeared
to think that the lining of a mans hat
made snug little pocket in which to
stow away small sums of paper money.
But the disposal of their valuables did
not appear to the passengers matter of
such vital Importance as the defense of
the train and the lives Of those upon it.
Money, iewelry and watches were quick
ly hidden away, but when it came to
fishing their pistols out of valises, "grip-
sacks" and hip pockets the business of
hiding away valuables was mot in it.
The Kansas man who told the story
said that in his day he had seen a great
deal of rough life on the frontier, but he
had never seen anything approaching
such show of firearms as was sudden.
ly displayed on that passenger train in
peaceful and prosperous Mississippi.
All the money, he said, on the train
would not serve to make the first pay
ment ON that grim array Of firearms,
even on the weekly installment plan.
One man had no weapon, but he was
promptly supplied by a Mississippian
who had three 44-caliber Colts in his va
lise. The stranger accepted the loan
rather timidly and walked to the door
of the car with it in his hand. He put
his head out into the darkness and the
first object that met his eyes were three
solemn looking men with Winchesters.
1t was dark and he took them for rob-
bers. Fortunately he did not open fire.
On the contrary, he dropped his pistol,
and running back to the middle Of the
car tried to crawl under 4 seat.
In the meantime, all being ready, the
darkened train ran slowly down the
track to within 100 yards of the spot in
dicated by the negro and stopped. No
robbers appeared and then lanterns were
lighted and party of armed men went
ahead to search for them, but they had
made their escape. The advance guard
found the hoof prints of their horses in
the thicket where the negro had seen
them tied to the sapplings, and the
track, though left in good order, gave
evidence of having been tampered with.
Something had evidently disturbed the
wreckers- possibly the escape of the
negro, whom they knew to have seen
them-but at all evenks the train
reached Vicksburg in safety.-New Or
leans Times-Democrat