The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-11-28
ROBBERS STILL FREE.
Sheriff and His Posses Pressing
Them Hard.
wooLERY OFFERS $500 REWARD.
Plan or Pursuit Kept Very Secret
Rumors OF Capture Prove False
Incidents OF the Robbery.

The Hot Springs train robbers are still
at large, but they are being vigorously
pursued and the Northern Pacific officials
are confident Of their early arrest.
Sheriff Woolery is bending al his
energies to their capture. and has
we'll organized force placed at
every point that the robbers might be
reasonably expected to pass in trying to
reach the coast. He is very reticent about
his movements and so far has refused 20
give any information to the press. He
wired Chairman Gasch, of the board
of county commissioners, on Saturday,
urging him 10 offer a reward for the cap
ture of the robbers, and, as the board has
not yet taken action, he yesterday offered
a reward of $500 himself. His offer Is as
follows;
$500 Reward.
Tho sum of $500 will be paid by me for the
apprehension aud conviction of the men
who robbed passengers On Northern Pa
cifc railway train No. l. between
Hot Springs and haywood, on the night OF May
"A. 1872. Information leading to the arrest OF
the robbers viii be Literally rewarded.
JAMES II. WooLERY,
Sheriff OF King County.
Last night there were many rumors con-
corning the capture OF the gang. nut none
of them were authenticated. Early in the
evening II was said that SheriffW ooery had
come in from near the Summit with one of
the men and had placed him in the county
Jail. keeping his movements secret in order
that he might not be placed at adisadvan-
tage in the pursuit of the other men. The
story was denied and laughed at by the
deputy sherifs. who say that il Sheriff
Woolery was in the city yesterday.
they had no Information of the
fact. The jailor also denies The
story. which was only made plausible by
the manner in which the sheriff has done
this clever trick on one or more previous
occasions. A dispatch received from Ia
coma at midnight said:
TACOMA, Nov. 27.-ESpecial. lit was rumored
here tonight that the Hot Springs train robbers
had been captured and were Ell route TOR the
King county jail on train No. l, due
hero ut 1920. This train was two
hours late, and when il arrived here at a. m.
Conductor Cameron said none OF the captured
robbers had been placed aboard his train en- route
for King county. None had been taken aboard
and none were transferred at Meeker Junction
for Seattle. There have been rumors along the
Northern Pacific line today that the robbers had
been captured. r F. Latfoon, of this city,
who returned tonight from Hot Springs,
says ten minute fuse had been picked up ut
Ho. Springs, which it ia supposed was one Of
the possessions OF the robbers. This Is the
only clue so far picked up a. Hot
Springs. An effort is being made TO find where
the robbers secured the fuse. As it was iourd
ashort distance below Ho; Springs. where the
robbers boarded the train, it is sup
pofed they had intended to use
1t in slowing down the train
% that they could board 1t. The fuse had not
been used, as IL was not necessary, because the
train slowed down at that point on account of
recent washouts, in order to run slowly over
the bridge. When fuse is dropped on the track
II burns for ten minutes ana the engineer. on
seeing it, understands that a train has passed
ten minutes before, therefore he slows down in
order not to run too close on the forward train
The finding OF the fuse strengthens the belief
that the robbers were ex-trainmen or led by an
ex-trainman.
A dispatch from Meeker station said
that 1t had been rumored there,
after the passing of the train. that
the robbers had been caught at May
wood and taken to Tacoma. At O'Clock
this morning Sheriff Price. Of Pierce
county. said he had heard nothing of the
capture.
When the Eastern train arrived here at
Las Conductor Long said he had been
told by Conductor Cameron, of train No.
], that the robbers had not been caught.
Among the passengers on the train
when it was held up was Mrs. H. e.
Thornton, wife of the ex-chief of
police, who was returning from q
visit to North Yakima. She was
not disturbed in sny way. Mrs. Hegg,
who was close to her, had quite large
sum of money, but the robbers re-
lieved her husband, Dr.. L. L. Hegg,
of Portland, Of all the money he
had in his pockets, 50 III silver and his
gold watch. The women all escaped being
robbed, and 1t is thought they had more
money than the men.