The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-12-02
REVENGE WAS SWIFT.
MurderOus Robbers Who Were
Promptly Run Down.
LUCK WAS DEAD AGAINST THEM.
One Case Where Railroad Robbers
Were Killed Within Four
Hours After the Crime.

One of the most remarkable cases of prompt
punishment OF robbers and murderers occurred
at silver, Mont, in June, 1882 when the station
OF the Montana Central railroad was broken into
and the agent and operator murdered
At that time the Jay Gould Mining Company
was shipping quantity OF gold bricks East
from its mine, ten miles from Silver, and the at.
tack on the station at that place was due to tho
expectation that. after being brought from the
mine, the gold would be left there over night
and be sent East in the morning. AS the COM
pany had not large enough safe there, how
ever, the treasure was sent on to Helena for
safe-keeping and sent away from there. The
robbers, not knowing this, took two lives and
lost their own in the hope OF making rich
haul.
One of the section hands who slept in the
depot at Silver had left the door OF the freight
warehouse open when he went out in the
morning, and this left the robbers an easy way
OF getting IN. They had been hanging about
the place for several days, so that they knew
how the land lay. They entered by the open
door about 1870 o'clock in the morning. forced
the way into the Office where the safe and
where they thought the gold was stored. Pobst.
the agent, and Berrll, the operator, who slept
in an adjoining room, rushed in only to be I'M
media.ely sho: and fatally wounded, the former
in the head and the latter through the body.
Pobst fell in his tracks and died in few min
window in his night clothes, carrying the sash
with him, and ran around the building to the
section house, about 800 yards distant, to give
the alarm.
This was spelling the robbers programme,
for they had evidently intended to shoot both
men dead. get away with the plumber and be far
across the Missouri river before the crime was
discovered, which might not be for an hour o.
two, as the first passenger train was not due TIL
lO O'Clock SO another shot was fred at Berrill
as he ran, wounded, half naked and barefoot,
past the window. 1t hit its mark, and another
just missed Mrs. Sears, who kept the section
house, as she ran to the door to see what was
the matter Berrill sank to the ground rs he
reached the door and lived only few minutes
more, just long enough for him to whisper into
the womans ear what had happened. The fatal
wound was the first, but it had not brought
death soon enough TO prevent the warning from
being given.
Mrs. Sears was the wife of the man who drove
the stage from Jay Gould to Silver and she i'm
mediately sent the stable boy on horseback to
warn the section gang, which was working
about mile down the track Here another of
that series of fortunate accidents happened
which eonspired to bring swift punishment on
the murderers for the first time in the memory
OF railroadmen q section hand was found who
was a telegraph operator. He jumped on the
horse, rode back to the station and, within ten
sending the message to Helena which was to
bring the pursuers.
1t happened that on that morning the officials
at the general Office were down town unusually
early, and the news was no sooner received than
the sheriff was telephoned to get out a posse,
and supply of arms was secured from gun
store. Eight men were assembled TO go in pur-
suit and they were armed with seven Winchester
rifles and one Sharp rife. A special train was
ordered out aud luck again came to the rescue.
for, while ordinarily the party would have had
to wait until a locomotive could be fired up, one
came in with steam already up and was pressed
into service. The track was clear and in good
condition; the engineer was ordered not to stop
for cattle or ordinary distractions, and in on
hour after the crime was committed the train,
having covered the seventeen miles from Helena
in'20 minutes, was at silver.
A hasty examination OF the scene showed that
the desperadoes were armed with Winchesters
The character of the crime was evide nee that
they were not the kind of men to be taken alive,
so to save life ii was essential to have the ad-
vantage OF them in the matter OF arms. The
Sharp rifle will carry 1000 yards, while the Win
chester will only carry 600, and it was desired
to have the one rifle OF this pattern in the hands
of particularly good marksmar. AS such
sears, the stage driver, well known
throughout Montana, but he was not due with
the stage from Jay Gould for an hour and time
waiting this fact when the stage hove In sight
with Sears on the box. lie explained that it
was such Il fine morning and he had such a
light load that he had started a little early and
made very good time: thus luck was again on
the side OF the avengers. The chief of the party
then made a short speech 20 his men, telling
them significantly that the company would pay
a reward of $1,000 for each of the robbers
alive and 400 dead, and a start was made, the
stage horses having been pressed into service.
After riding over the open rolling country in
the direction of the Missouri river for some
miles the posse spied two suspicious looking
men in the distance. The eight men scattered
after agreeing on signals by which they could
recognize one another and thus avoid shooting
the wrong men. The plan was to cut of the re-
treat of the murderers by surrounding tbem
and then Tor sears 10 do all the firing, as the
other men were no better armed than the fugi-
tiyes. The plan having been carried out, Sears
opened fire, while his antagonists returned it
with yigor. Almost every bullet he fired hit
the mark, but the Winches!ers sent IL reply
fell spent at his feet.
One of the pair fell, but his companion con-
tinued the battle and used the dead body as a
brcastwCek. The rest OF the posse grew excited
and, disregarding orders, closed in on the sur
viyor. At last he too fell aud all rushed up 10
examine the remains They found the body OF the
man first killed pierced with fourteen bullets
and the second with eighteen. They had fired
fifry-six times and must have continued the
fight long after they were fatally wounded
They We're both young men of the Western out
law type one about II aud the other about 20
years old, but they were not identified. They
had on them much mora money than they could
have found at the station, the inference being
that they had the proceeds OF some other raid
with them.
Tie bodies were taken TO the station and laid
in a ha gage car for removal TO Helena While
the tight had been in progress report had
been circulated st Helena that they had been
captured and tie old vigilance committee got
together again and went out on the morning
train determined TO hang them. When they
called to the chief of the posse TO deliver his
prisoners 10 them, he pointed 10 the baggage car
and they opened II to find that lead had already
done the work