The evening herald. [volume] (Shenandoah, Pa.) 1891-1966, 1894-02-17

They Turned switch and Throw tho
Train from the Track, md Then Looted
the Express Car by the Aid of Dyna-.
mite.
Los ANGELES, Cal, Feb lT-The bold
est train robbery that ever occurred In
southern California, or for chat mutter
In the state, took place little after mid
night at Roscoe, a small station thirteen
miles north of this city. The train was
the southern Pacific overland No. 90 bound
north. Many Of the passengers were fast
asleep before Burbank was reached The
express messenger, postal clerks and train
men were busily engaged i'm arranging
matters for the night.
Engineer Thomas gave long blast of
the whistle as the train approached the
switch this side of Roscoe. His face
blanched as he discovered a man standing
beside the switch with q Huring torch, and
his face assumed more livid hue when
he discovered that the switch had been
left open He put on the air brake and
whistled for brakes, but IL was OF no avail
The train was going at an unusual rate,
and the momentum it had acquired pre-
cluded the possibility of Immediately
bringing it to a standstil to avoid dis
aster.
About the same time the engineer noticed
the man with the torch he heard the sharp
cracking of revolvers, and many bullets
whistled past him, breaking the windows
Of the cab. Almost iustantaneously the
train crashed over into the ditch, At this
point there is "a hill which runs nearly If
teen feet high Knowing the character of
the place Engineer Thomas jumped aud
ran, miraculously escaping injury. Fire
man Masters was not so lucky, however,
being pinioned between the cab and ten
der, and was horribly mutlated and
crushed. He lived about an hour, dying
about ten minutes before his body
was released. In the midst of his suffer-
ing he begged for pistol that he might
kill himself and end his misery.
Two tramps had gotten on the pilot of
| the engine and We're stealing ride when
| the locomotive jumped the track. One of
| them was hurled fifty feet and miracu-
| lously escaped injury The other was
caught aud buried beneath the debris Of
the engine and was instantly killed His
body was horribly mangled and lacerated,
His name is Harry DAILY
AT the moment of the overturning of the
train two men wearing slouch hats and
black masks leaped from the heavy bushes
| alongside tbe tracl, There are soma dif-
| farancas of oninion onoono, those Who wore
ON tbe train as to the number of men com.
| noein,, the robhar GANG Al all a,,ent. tbo
| two men fool, nositions on either side Of
| tbe train and commenced a furious fnsil-
| ado from revoIvers After tbis wild ana
seemingly nnrnoseIv firing one of tbe mon
won't To tbe evnrass cor and noundad ON
tba doo,, da,nandine that II ba onaned
| Trnon the refusal of the rnassane,e,. tc
corr,l,, the rohbers nIaced threa oI fonI
| Jynan1ite hor,hs On tho giu Then ensned
| ter,+ fio exrlosion nearly tho ,vbola sid,
| of the cor being form into snlintprs Harr,
Edgar who had exnected ais proceednre
got INTO the further corner of tbe car nnl
even then narrowly eecaped deoth IN, in
inr, from tbe living snIinters Evp,ytbine
In tbe ca, was shaken mn md tbe datona
tion was most terri6c
Inst oftnr bIoyvin, nm tba avnrase %,
tbe rohbers ut tbe noint of N revoIver com
neIsd tbe extra fireman who had bepr
ridiuo an tbe engine to GET into the car
vbue ono robhpr followed him mi
wa. done in order tn nrotect the robber il
case tbe messenger fred Hinder the com
nnnd of the robher tbe evtro brennan car
riod tj,s cortarts of tba locked bo, yylicl
held many dollars i'm roId. outside The car
where the robbprs were waiting All tbi