Los Angeles herald., 1892-08-05
Particul lars of the Coils
Express Robbery.
One of the Boldest Hold-Ups on
Record.
The Express Car Badly Shattered by
Explosives.
Messenger Roberts Behaved Well Under
Trying Circumstaces-Only Two
Robbers Seen-The Amount of
Their Booty Unkhewn.

LRAscNO3 mug AO k0AA W hAcA Ue>S
held up by masked robbers, between
Rolinda and Pratton, late last night,
was the south-bound night express,
leaving San Francisco at 5 80 q. m. The
exact sum contained in the messengers
safe has not been ascertained, but it is
thought to have been between $4,000
and $4,000.
The Dalton boys are supposed to be in
Idaho, and it is a conundrum to the
railroad officials who the parties are
that were concerned in the robbery.
Whoever they may have been, they
were bold in their operations.
Several deputy sherifa from the
southern counties of the state are stated
to have been on board the train, but no
resistance was offered to the robbers.
General Freight Agent Smurr, of the
Southern Pacific, was in special car,
with party of gentlemen, bound east.
Messenger George d. Roberts, who was
wounded by the explosion of dynamite
bomb, was pronounced by the physicians
to be seriously injured. He resides at
Los Angeles. a4s
HOW THE HoLD-UP WAS ACCOMPLISHED. oe
Two robbers boarded the tender of the
engine as the train was pulling out of
Collis, about fifteen miles west of
Fresno. They covered the engineer and
fireman with double-barreled shotguns,
and announced that they had to obey
their orders under the penalty of death.
When the train had passed Rolinda
station, the engineer was ordered to
stop. The fireman was ordered with
lighted cigar to touch off the fuse of a
dynamite cartridge which the robbers
placed on the piston OF the driving wheel
on the left-hand side of the locomotive.
The explosion which followed was ter
rife, breaking the piston-rod and partly
disabling the engine. The robbers or
dered the engineer to get off the train
and walk short distance along the
track, while they proceeded to lombard
the two doors of the express car by ex-
ploding dynamite cartridges, about eight
in all, which tore the doors into splin-
ters and smashed the floor of the car.
The robbers were masked and COM
pletely disguised. They entered the ex-
press car, and covering George D. Roberts
with q double-barrelled shotgun, or
dered him to open the Wells-Fargo safe.
Roberts set about doing this, but was 30
excited and nervous that he forgot the
combination and SO informed his cap
tors, who thereupon struck him heavy
blow on the head with gun, and threat
ened to kill him if he did not immedi-
ately open the safe. With trembling
hands he did so, and they took out the
sacks of coin.
When the desperadoes exploded the
first cartridge under the engine, the pas
sengers poked their heads out of the
windows to see what was being done,
but they drew them back again when
they felt pistol bullets and buckshot
whistling past their ears. A panic, and
passengers making a wild scramble un-
der seats to Keep out of range of the
flying missiles, succeeded.
After the highwaymen had made their
escape into the darkness, the engineer
sent shoro dispatch to the depot in this
city, announcing that the train had been
held up, and proceeded slowly on his
way. The train arrived here at l 80
a. M, an hour and twenty minutes late.
The time occupied in blowing open the
car and securing the treasure was not
more than twenty-five or thirty min
utes- A large crowd was awaiting the
arrival of the train at the depot.
AttlOUkn OniJ bWO Iucu dDDtdTtQ W
do the principal part of the work, it is
believed that there were several confed-
crates, for several buckshot were found
imbedded in the rear OF the last passen-
ger coach.
A PASSENGERS STORY. o.
Among the passengers was s. w. Hol-
lister, representing @. H. Perkins & Co..
of Newark, Nj. He made the follow
ing statement to q representative of the
Republican.
I'VE left Coils on time, and after we
had gone about seven miles brakeman
came through the train and announced
that the next station would be Fresno.
j stepped out on the platform and heard
. bomb explode. / did not pay any
particular attention to it at the time,
because thought it was railroad sig
nal torpedo, and this belief was confirm
ed when the train slowed down and came
to halt. Invent back to my seat, and
heard the reports of guns or pistols,
apparently fred at the coaches, and it
created panic among the passengers.
They got down on the floor and under
the seats and between seats, but the
robbers did not come into the coaches.
There were eight or nine bombs fred in
ali, and hall dozen or more gunshots." :"
THE FIREMAN's ACCOUNT.
William Lewis, the fireman, said !:
''We were about six miles east of Collis
when the engineer, AL. Phipps, and /
saw two men crawling towards us over
the water tank. They were heavily
armed. Each had revolver in his belt
and shotgun hanging from q strap
around them. Hold up your engine i
cried one of them with an oath, and the
other man ordered us to hold up our
hands. Both were pointing revolvers
at US. and we did as we were told. We
were then ordered to get off the cab and
were told that we would not be harmed
II we did as they ordered us. The rob-
bers then gave each of us cigar and
told us to smoke"
ssDid you smoker" asked the re-
porter.
ssYou bet we did," answered the fire.
man.
Continuing his story, the fireman
said: "The engineer was then ordered
to put out the headlight and 20 ahead
about quarter of a mile and wait. He
did 80. They made me get under the
gang plank, and fred several volleys. in
order, I suppose, to keep any body in the
cars from venturing out. The robbers
then left the engine and went to the
express car. / did not hear them ask
the messenger to open the door, So far