The morning call., 1893-06-23

Evans and Sontag this can be said: that
they took some chances themselves while
committing their robberies. The new
gang of bandits. on whose track the de-
tectives have just started, take no chances,
but aim by poison to render helpless their
opponents and then TO sneak away with
the money they may obtain.
That some more than cunning brain out
lined the plan OF the rObberies attempted
within the past few days is evident. and
the man or men who made the plans were
as heartlesS as they were cOwardly.
The night after the capture of John Son.
Tag near Visalia an attempt was made to
rob the WellS-FargO eXpress-car attached
II the through train on the Atlantic and
Pacific Railroad near Coolidge. n. Mex.
In all the history of train r0bberes the
attempt made near Coolidge was at once
the most unique and pulling to the officers.
Every fact concerning the ATTEMPTED
robbery was carefully suppressed and all
that the public were allowed to know was
that an attempt TO rob the car had been
made, but had failed. 1t was only yester-
day that the truth concerning the Coolidge
robbery SwaS learned and then bys acct
dent. A Wells-Fargo detective visited
several chemists in this city, to whom he
showed chips of wool. partly burned and
covered, where the fire had not touched
them, with minute white crystals. The
chem SITS were asked to tell what sort of
chemicals had been used In Saturating the
wood. but were unable TO say at a glance
or by the ordinary counter tests, and in
consequence pieces OF wood were left with
them Tor chemical analysis. One chemist,
seeing the wood partly burned, suggested
that If the facts concerning the specimen
gwen him for examination were fully ax-
planned he might be able TO arrive al a
more satisfactory conclusion in case the
crystalline substance proved battling in
analysis.
1t was then the story of the attempted
robbery of the eXpress-car a. Coolidge was
told, and about as follows: shortly after
the car left tn e station named the express
messenger was startled by a fash of fire
that seemed to run all over the end of the
car, and second later the whole car was
filed with binding smoke. The meSsen-
ger was working at his waybills, and be-
fore be was fairly on his feet the smoke
was choking him. He made a wild grab
for the bell cord, and as he fell to the floor
pulled it hard enough to signal the engi-
neer to stop. As the train slowed down
two men were seen to jump from the cars
and run away into the darkness. The
trainmen ran to the eXpress-car and had
to break in the end door. as they could II OF
get an answer from the messenger. When
the door was opened a cloud of smoke
rolled out that drove them from the plat
form. They described it as a singing
sticky smoke that made them dizzy. The
messenger was found almost unconscious
on tie floor of the car. No attempt had
been made TO enter the car and nothing
hal been disturbed.
''W hen the trainmen looked around they
found a brace and bit living on the plat
form OF the car, together with q small
piece of rubber nose. On the platform of
the car there was wet spot, showing that
some kind of liquid had been spilled there.
iph
auger-holes bored almost through the door.
and on the inside OF the car was found
streaks of some kind of whitish LIQUID that
looked as If it had been forced into the car
by pump. 1t was this stuff that burned
ana made the smoke. 1t seemed to burn
off the surface of the wood. These chips
are taken from unburned portions of the
CAL"
This statement made, the chemist was
, mere puzzled than ever, and declined to
express an opinion as To the nature of the
crystals until he had made q careful an
alysis of them. He stated. however, that
there were several infiammable solutions
that might create a sitting smoke that
would be poisonous and which would leave
aresidue such as that shown on the chips.
When Detective Thacker of Wells
Fargo Express Company was seen he at
first refused 20 admit or deny anything
but when the details as above given were
related 10 him he admitted that ii was true
holes lad been bored in the car door and
some sort of solution injected that left
residuum of small whitish crystals on
the surface of the wood when the liquid
portion had been absorbed He also ad-
mitted that the messenger was over
powered by the smoke and then he
stopped only adding, they got nothing
aud when they tried it TWO nights later
without their poison they got nothing, the
messenger standing them off,
As 10 whether the nature of the liquid
used had been discovered or concerning
what steps, if any, the express company