Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1893-10-12

was going at q rapid rate and broke q
pane of glass in the side of the car
door. where he then at the point of u
revolver compelled the messenger TO
admit him to the car. He secured
$4,000 pulled the bell cord and jumped
off, but was afterward captured.
But of oil the single-handed robbers
Sam Wilson is entitled to what the vul-
gar call the bum" On the night of
the oath of May last the west-bound
Missouri Pacific train was held up and
robbed one mile west of Pacific, Mo-,
by Samuel Wilson, q gaWky country
boy from Pulaski County who carried
a pair of worthless pistols and some
dynamite cartridges, with which he
blew open the car and forced the cap
tive crew to load him down with more
money than he could carr.
The Missouri Kansas and Texas eX-
press train was brought to Standstlll
one night in July. 1892, by six masked
men near Adair, [. T., and the express
company's safe was relieved of about
SIS, 200 bv the robbers.
Some Statistics for 1898.
The Railroad Gazette has collected
statistics of train wrecking and train
robbing for the first six months OF 1893
which yield some surprising results.
One is accu toned to think Of train
wreckers and train robbers infesting
sparsely settled Western States, but
the statistics show, on the contrary,
that such crimes are most prevalent III
well-settled States. The Gazette's fig
ures show slXty-onc attempts to wreck
trains and tWenty-one attempts to rob
them. Massachusetts and Illinois head
4 h., r. 10, 70,
wreck trains, and Ohio follows. In
these three advanced States were made
more than one-half of all the att, m is
to wreck trains. and the State of New
York follows The only explanation
wrecking in well-settled and, generally
speaking. well-governed States is that
the mileage of railroads is greater in
those States than in others, and that
uramps. who are responsible for most
attempts to wreck trains, flourish IN
thickly settled regions.
The geographical distribution Of at
tempts at train-robbing are still more
curious. Iowa heads the list, Indian
Territory and Oklahoma taken toge h.
er have the same number. Texas fol-
lows. and then comes Kansas and Ne
braska. SiXty-seven per cent. OF all
the train-robberies or attempted train
robberies occurred in these four States
and two Territories.
The Crime the Increase.
This form of crime is on the increase
rather than on the decline. The per-
centage of increase is SO great that
many men are tempted to attempt it.
The majority of the cases of the past
ten wears seem to involve railroad men.
Climbing over the tender and stopping
the engineer on duty is peculiarly the
plan of the railroad man turned robber.
Police officials hope to soon make train
robbing thing OF the past. The fail
ure of the Pennock gang to blow the
Frisco safe open with dynamite will
have a salutary effect, it Is thought, as
all express companies are adopting this
form of burglar-proof safe. 1t weighs
about $500 pounds. and is Of steel, with
"a combination lock over which the
messenger is powerless. 1t is firmly
fastened to the floor of the car, and can
not be thrown off easily.
Maxim Fans Method.
When Macmillan was Emperor of
Mexico the country was overrun with
train robbers. They ma. ched about in
large bands, tore up the tracks and
robbed everybody. One day the train
from Vera Cruz to the City of Mexico
was bounding gaply along, the five
coaches filed with hidalgos. Poems,
market women and farmers. Suddenly
it came to a standstill. The train
guard cried out "banditte. Sure
enough, on either side OF the road the
ragged but desperate ruffians were
lined up. Suddenly hidalgoes, poems.
market women and farmers arose.
there was binding fash and deaf
ening volley from both sides of the car,
and 100 of the bandits fell dead, while
the 800 French zouaves, disguised in
the costumes of the country, turned out
of the cars, pursued the robbers and
killed them every one. Train robbery
in Spain is guarded against by the
presence of two national soldiers in
every car. This plan should be tried
on the roads of this country until there
are no more Daltons or men of their
ilk. and all trains liable to hold-uu
should be guarded by determined men,
for awhile at least, until train robbery
meant suicide to those who attempt it.