The weekly tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1891-1894, 1894-09-21
HAUL OF AT LEAST $50,000.

At Fort Madison, Ia, Division Super
intendent Stockton of the Wells Fargo
express got into the treasure car. He
carried a sawed off Winchester that
once belonged to Bill Dalton. With him
were four men. Detectives Kinney and
Montgomery boarded the engine, while
Superintendent Stockton and two good
shots tarried in the express car. In the
forward end of tho smoking car, shut off
by partition from the rest of the car,
dozen men were placed. Each had a
gun with every cartridge loaded espe-
cially for the event with dozen buck
shot. At2 o'clock, when Sheriff Sailing
Of Scotland county climed on board, all
the details of the surprise party were ar
ranged. According to the report, Mat
thews, the spy, would endeavor to be the
one who tagged the train. If so one tor
pedo would precede the swinging of the
lantern. Orders were given that no
matter if every one Of the robbers got
away there was to be no shooting to en-
danger the life of the spy, who had in
fact taken his life in his hands IN order to
Illustrate the attempted robbery. In the
little compartment filled with armed
men the lights were out and the windows
up. In each seat were two men sitting
sideways, the muzzle of their guns pro-
truding just trItle over the seats. Be-
side them stood others, with Winches-
ters at half-cock, resting across their
arms. As out from between two high
embankments, just one mile from Gorin,
sped the train, there came the looked for
signal, and not fifty yards away was a
swinging red light. Within twenty Sec
onds the train was at standstill. Out
from the dense underground, north Of
the track, came four forms, the face of
each hidden by a black mast. One
rushed to the engine almost before his
companions could reach the express car
Within ten feet of the tender he pointed
a rifle at dad" Prescott, the white
bearded engineer, and as he shouted,
"Hold up your hands" pulled the trigger
dad" fell to the floor with bullet in
the right breast. With one bound,
Kenney gained the top of the tender,
and bringing his gun to his shoulder
sent shower Of shots almost into the face
of the man. How the fellow managed
to move is a mystery, but he did and
and made for the woods. The shot
which laid Engineer Prescott low was
the signal for a fusiiade and also sig
nal for the hasty retreat of the robbers
to the shelter Of the timber. They fired
two shots, but although the men were
leaning from the car windows and pull
ling triggers as fast as possible, while
others were after the robbers on foot,
they failed to hit a man. The place
where their horses were tied was soon
found. A cut hitching strap showed
that one man at least had life enough to
escape. The search for the dead and
wounded was postponed until daylight,
but the chase after the one or more who
escaped was started within ten minutes.
1t is not likely that the passengers in
the rear end of the smoker, those who
were doing in the chair cars and half
dozen walzeful ones in the sleepers will
ever forget their experience With the
first shot every man near the window
opapad IL and lOoked ont Within a
second he drew his head in and dropped
on the floor. The cry Train robbers"