The morning call., 1893-06-13
A CAREER OF BLOOD.
The Midnight Robbery and Its Sub
sequent Events.


| September 14-Richard Olsen.
| May 26-s. j. Black.
June 11-Fred Jackson.
This is the record of the bloody deeds
| committed by Chris Evans and John Son
tag since the midnight robbery of the ex-
press train from San Francisco, August
| 8, 1892, between the stations of Rollin da
and Pratton.
Since the days of such noted freebooters
as Joaquin Murietta and Tiburco Vas
quez no such deeds of crime and daring
Rave been perpetrated in the State till
Evans and Sontag began their short but
fearful career of outlawry. For men who
proclaim their innocence of robbery the
| list OF dead and wounded who fell by their
hand is something appalling.
On the night of the train robbery, nearly
year ago now. the through expires from
San Francisco was boarded at Coils by
three masked men, supposed to be Chris
Evans and John and George Sontag. About
! ten minutes before midnight the train was
| brought to a standstiIl between the sta
! tons of Rolinda and Pratton, about seven
miles east of Fresno. Engineer Al Phipps
and Fireman William Lewis. who were in
| the engine alb. were confronted by leveled
rifles in the hands of masked men and
| given the order to take to the woods ana
run for their lives. This order was cour-
fernandez and the men made TO run ahead
| a quarter of mile and then halt.
The robbers then bombarded the ex-
press-car with dynamite. Inside. the
Wells-Fargo messenger. George D. Rob-
erts, was sitting at his desk when he heard
and felt the explosion. immediately he
extlnguished his light and lay down in the
corner of the car. awaiting events with a
cooked revolver. The dynamite blew ope n
one of the sides of the car. Through this
| the robbers entered and demanded Of
Roberts the keys to the treasure.
With two shotguhs pointed at his head
the messenger could not but obey orders.
| though be tried to della, the proceeding a
| little by preten ding TO forget the combina-
ton. Thereupon one of the robbers
sought to refresh his memory by striking
him over the head with the butt end of a
gun. Thus persuaded, Roberts finally
opened the sale. The highwaymen took
their booty and made away in the dark
ness. Fiom $4,000 to S25.0 is supposed
to have been the net earnings of that
nights work, though the total expenses TO
the railroad company for an injured car
and engine went con siderably beyond that
! figure.
When the freebooters had decamped the
| fireman and engineer came back and the
train proceeded slowly into Fresno. where
it arrived a. 80 A. NJ, about an hour and
| twenty minutes overdue.
1t was said by those present at the time
that the robbers had the nerve of old
timers in the business. They did every
| thing in a cool. determined way. and
seemed to be perfectly familiar with all
the requirements of the occasion.
Messenger Roberts sustained only slight
| injuries, from which he speedily recov-
| cred.
| a dav later the railroad company and
Wells Fargo combined offered a joint re-
| ward of $1,000 for information that would
lead to the capture and conviction of the
train-robbers. who were then known only
| by description.
On August George Sontag. the brother
| of John Sontag, was arrested and locked
mp as an accomplish in the train robbery
Detectives George Witty and viii Smith
attempted to capture John Sontag and
| Chris Evans the same day at Evans house.
| Both robbers fired on the officers and
wounded them both. While in the house
| the officers saw the masks the men had
used IN their robbery of the night before.
aud enough other evidence to make 1t clear
that they were the men wanted.
Evans and Sontag at once appreciated
the position they were in and made such
good use of their firearms that they not
only eluded the big posse of officers and
sherlffs that started out to capture them,
but secured the booty besides, which was
taken away from Chris Evans house at
Visala in George Sontag's trunk.
On the morning of August party of
officers went to search Evans house,
whittier the bandits had returned. They
surrounded the house until after dark, and
during their vigil one of their number,
Oscar Beaver, was shot down and killed
by volley from the house.
After this scores of men from all over
the country came to hunt for the bandits.
The reward was more than doubled, and
though the officers were very active they
never succeeded in getting near enough to
the bandits to effect their capture or to
shoot them down.
September IA the robbers were surprised
at place called SIMPSONS Flat, in Jim
oungs CABIN, about fifty miles east of
Fresno. Evans and Sontag opened fire on
the posse and killed two men and wounded
two others. The dead were Deputy
United States Marshal Victor C. Wilson
of Tucson, Ariz., and Richard Olsen, a
mountaineer of that locality.
Since that time the utmost holiness has
characterized the actions OF the bandits.
Though they were trailed by Indian scouts
and sought after by the keenest of detect
ives and man-hunters. they always man.
aged either 70 evade the officers or escape
from them by a free use of their rifles.
They have frequently visited Evans family
and even penetrated into the towns and
villages in that vicinity, in spite of the
large reward offered for them. Once, even.
they stopped stage on the mountain road
and looked over the passengers to find Off
GERS in search of them, whom they threat
ened to shoot dead on sight.
In the latter part of May, NJ. J. Black, a
Deputy United States Marshal from San
Diego, was shot down by the bandits and
seriously wounded while entering his ca bin
at Camp Badger. Black was down in that
vicinity trying to locate the bandits.
Evans and Sontag had many friends and
sympathizers at Visalia and in the noun