Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-06-03
CAVALIERS In MASKS
Fight Two Brave Men for an Hour to
Break Into an Express Car.
THE CRIME LAID TO THE DALTONS.
Cash Guardians Surrender Only to Spare
Two Innocent Lives.
A WE'LL BRED GANG OF DEsPERADOES

! UUTdRIE, OKLA., June Zine oetb1s
Of the robbery last night of the Wells-Farge
Express car of the Santa Fe passenger
train, make story Of une1ampled outlawry
| on the part of the bandits, and of brave re.
sistance on the part of the custodians Of the
express company's property. The robbers
were at work the best part Of an hour at
tempting to intimidate the express mes
sengers into submission, and during all that
time the messengers were risking their lives
In the defense of the company's property.
The robbers got everything in sight Dur
ing battle between the messengers and the
bandits, in which fully 200 shots were fired,
not a man was wounded. The robbers were
Of gentlemanly appearance and conversed
pleasantly with the trainmen who were not
pressed into their service and with the
passengers
The Daltons We're the Perpetrators.
The robbery was doubtless committed by
the notorious Dalton gang, for whom large
rewards are still standing, and who were
even then being tracked by detective and
his posse who were behind them not more
than days journey on horseback.
1t was 10 o'clock when the train reached
Red Rock, In the northwest corner Of the
Otoe and Missouri Reservation In the Indian
Strip. Just as it was pulling out few
minutes later two men with black masks
covering their faces jumped suddenly into
the engineers cab from the tender, and
covering the engineer and fireman with
their revolvers, commanded them to run the
train down to the stock yards and to stop at
given signal. Carl Mack, the engineer,
and Frank Rogers, the fireman, obeyed the
command. To have resisted would have
meant death. When the train stopped the
two robbers were Joined by five masked
companions. Their leader commanded the
engineer and fireman to walk back to the
express car, and commanded the fireman to
break open the door with his coal pick.
Resistance Of the Messenger and Guard.
E. G. Whittlesey, the messenger, and j.
A. Riehl, the guard, anticipating what was
going on when the train came to a standstill,
had blown out the lights in the car and re-
fused to allow any one to enter. The bandits
then opened fire upon the car from all sides,
but the two men within 1t responded
promptly, aiming all their shots at the door.
The highwaymen shot into the car from all
quarters, even getting under it and shooting
through the floor, but the messengers bravely
stood their ground.
In the meantime one Of the robbers had
chopped hole into the door of the car large
enough to admit mans body, and the fire.
man was told to crawl through it into the
car. This placed him literally between two
fires, and Engineer Mack seeing that it
meant death to his companion, explained
the situation to the messengers within and
told them to cease firing.
When the robbers at last entered the ex-
press car, they covered those within with
their guns, and with sledge hammer and
chisel broke open both the way and through
value. They also took $50 and a gold watch
from the guard of the express car. Messen-
ger Whittlesey had hidden his money and
watch, and the robbers got nothing from
him.
They Were q Polite Set Of Rasoals.
The robbers are described bv several of
the passengers who talked with them, as
being well-dressed and of gentlemanly ap-
pearance and bearing. This is especially
true of the leader, who apologized to the
engineer for remark made by one of his
crowd, and promised him that it should not
occur again. The leader, in conversation
with passenger, asked for some smoking
tobacco. The passenger reached into his
coat-tail pocket for 1t, when the robber told
him if it was in his hip pocket he had better
not attempt to get it.
The amount secured by the robbers is un-
known, as the express company has made
no statement. After the robbery the men
mounted their horses and rode off to the
Southwest The Daltons are charged with
the crime, and, judging from the descrip-
tion given of the robbers by those who are
acquainted with the Daltons, it was un-
doubtedly the notorious gang.
Only day or so ago, one of the gang
bought 18 boxes of cartridges at Oklahoma
City and afterward escaped tho vigilance
of his pursuers A strong posse was organ
is thought the robbers can be easily tracked
on account of the wet ground.