The Wichita daily eagle., 1893-12-19
ROBBERS HELD UP.
CONCERTED PLAN TO HOLD UP a
ROuKI>LANDT TRAIN THWARTED
Plucky Guard Dumont finds Bold
Bandits in Every Car and Breaks
up the Scheme by Disarming
Their Ring Leader.
Train Last Night Was
Heavily Guarded.

| armed guards were on the Rock Island
passenger train that. went sonth last even
ing.
There is no doubt that plan was on
| foot to rob passenger train No. On the
X ok I-land road going south Saturday
night through the territory. But for tbs
| s'lrewdness Of an express guard every
coach would have been gone through and
every passenger robbed.
| There was robber in every car and at a
given signal, the whole train would have
been at the mercy of the bandits.
The story of how these men were foiled
makes unique chapter in railway out
!awry.
Passenger train No l. bound for Fort
Worth, left Wichita at 7:30 o'clock p. m.
Saturday evening 1t carried IA baggage
car, an express car, a smoking car, chair
Car, Pullman vestibule sleeper and an
emigrant sleeper.
| The train Was a few minutes late when
| it left Wichita. but before it reached Euid
| it had made up the lime. The express
company has guards Oh all its trains ruiz
ming through the territory. Sometimes it
has half dozen guards on a single train.
with the train. Their passes entitie them
! to ride anywhere on the train.
One Of the guards. j. f. Dumont, for a
number of years an officer on :he Topeka
police force and known as ''Monte," was
sitting 10 the smoker when the train
pulled into Enid. Mindful of his business
he observed rough looking character
with his trousers tucked in his boots and
ii blue ribbon around his cowboy hat
| walking up and down through the coaches.
A minute later he saw another man
walking up and down the train on the out
side. Both men were observing things
with great scrutiny. When the train
reached Hennessey, Dumont saw the same
| two men 20 through tie same maneuvers.
Immediately the train left HeInessey.
| Dumont went to the conductor. Joe Reed,
aud asked him where the man VINO had
been walking up and down the aisle was
going. Reed said lie had paid his fare to
FL Reno. He asked him where the man
was going who had been walking up aud
down on the outside. at the same time de-
scribing him.
''There is no such man on the train" said
| Conductor Reed.
81 saw him at Enid and Hennessey," said
Dumont.
''Go through the train with me" :" said
the conductor, land point him out.'
Dumont aud Reed went through the
train. They did not find the man in the
coaches. Dumont, in searching around,
| opened the vestiDuIs side door of the Pull
man aud found his man seated on the
Car steps.
"Come up out of thatf' commanded
Dumouf. The man started to jump, but
rs the train Was going at a good rate, he
| hesitattd.
Dumon. grabbed him and pulled him
up on the platform. Tue fellow had big
! Colts revolver strapped with a full cart
ridge belt outside his coat He reached
! for this. bu, Dumont quickly poked his
revolver in his face and commanded:
Hands up" the hands went up, aud at
he point of the revolver ID imont aud he
conductor marched the fellow down to th q
smoking car, where the other express
guard disarmrd him. He then took a seat
| in the Car without the least protest.
Presently he moved over and sat down
with the confederate. They talked TO-
gether for SONS time. Damont, the
conductor aud the other guard slipped
out No sooner had they done this than
the two men leaned over and nudged two
other men, who claimed to be sleeping.
They got no in a hurry and the four men
j at once put their heads together. When
/ the conductor entered again they all
lodged apart and held their tongues.
Dumont was now on the lookout for
ANYTHING He waited uutil kiugfi
was re ,ched for developments. They We're
! forthcoming. The rough character with
J the blue ribbon on his hat walked back in
/ the chair car and whispered s;ealthlly to a
man W ho was in sleeping posture. When
/ the train pulled out again, Conductor Reed
/ aud Dumont took u close survey of this
! man in the chair Car, aud their eyes
stuck out when they discovered II Win
chester rifle lying almost concealed at
. his feet. Here were four suspicious men
/ In the smoker and one in the Chair Car all
/ acting toge, her and Dumont decided to
| look into the Pullman sleeper. just as
! the train was leaving El Reno, he went
back into the sleeper and saw man talk
ing o the Pullman conductor.
| He had not noticed this man before aud
he went back to the flagman on the Rear
platform aud asked him if had noticed
anything queer.
Yes" toe Fl ,gman said, II have. Here
at Ei Reno TWO men slipped around this
rear coach out OF the shadow OF some
freight cars. and SAW one man put two
revulvers in his grip"
"Whers did be gos"
"He got on this sleeper and is in there
! now"
The conductor. brakemen, express and
baggage men, engineer. fireman aud the
two guards got ready for business.
They came TO the conclusion that If the
men attempted to rob the train it would
be done OF the siding just below Chick
asna where the south bound Passenger is
.idetracked for the north bound. This
suspicion was ciuchsd from the manner
in which the six men paid their fsres-that
is the four in the smoker, the one in the
chair Car aud the one III the Pullman.
They paid for King fisher at first, then they
paid for FL Reno and sgsia FOR Mlneo.
As the Chickashs sidiug WAS approached
the six men We're all covered. they would
have been captured aud bound the second
they made hostile movement.
But they evidently kew that they were
foiled and did Ii OF hing except to hold surrep-
titious conversations when the guards aud
conductor left the smoking car Many OF
the passengers had received HAT of the
danger and there would have been Lively
fusilade, had the attempt been made, as
most of them were armed had their re-
volvers ready for action.
Oae of the men got of at Chickasha,
another at Minco, another at Rash Springs
and three went on to Fort Worth. AT